Former civil servant reflects on serving the county

MINERAL COUNTY – Former Mineral County Justice of the Peace Wanda James said recently, while she was enjoying retirement after stepping down from the bench she occupied for nearly two decades, there were parts of the job she was going to miss.

James became the Mineral County Justice of the Peace in 1996 after studying criminology, sociology and pre-law. James was appointed to the position to finish out the term of the previous justice of the peace and was re-elected to four consecutive terms. She said, originally, she wasn’t planning on serving that long on the bench but because she wanted to stay, work and live in Mineral County, the position fit the bill.

“It just kind of worked out for me,” James said. “When I first started, everything was done by hand. We didn’t have a computer. Now, everything is automated. There’s been major changes and I think it’s all positive. I’m really proud of where things are at. This has been good to me. My family lives here. It was a great thing. I met a lot of wonderful people here. We’ve come a long ways in Mineral County.”

James said one the best innovations in county operations during her tenure was the creation of the drug and treatment court. She said, in her mind, the reason the drug and treatment court has made such an impact was because it was such a departure from traditional legal practices.

“It’s so different from what judges in the system typically do,” James said. “We hand down punishment. We summon people to treatment. This was a way to get involved in people’s lives and form a personal relationship and keep people as a contributing member of society instead of them going to jail. It’s a rehabilitative model. It was hard but I think we saw some good results. It gives people the tools to get help.”

As James settles into retirement after serving the community of Mineral County, she said the thing she would miss most about the job were the people she worked with every day and the people she encountered during her years on the bench.

“I love people and their stories,” James said. “There are some good ones out there. Everything was always different. The job was new everyday. I loved my colleagues and the challenges of the job. Every day was an opportunity to learn something new or meet someone new. I’m gonna miss the interactions with the people I worked with. I like people. I’m gonna the challenges of the law. Cause it’s always changing. It keeps you on your toes mentally. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to do some volunteering and see where the road leads. My best plan is I have no plan. I think whatever comes along will be good.”