FLAGSTAFF — Tomorrow is the third annual High Country Stand Down organized by Philan Tree—Assistant to Coconino County Supervisor Mandy Metzger. The event will open with the posting of the colors at 10 a.m. and run until 3 p.m.
The services that will be available are numerous. There will be hot meals, hygiene kits, and clothing and survival gear available. Services include notary, dental, vision, medical care and pet food and care.
The services and products are free and available to any veterans that require them.
There will be a special version of Veterans Court held by Judge Cathleen Brown Nichols and Flagstaff Justice of the Peace Howard Grodman. Veterans with warrants for arrest that can be transferred to Veterans Court can have them removed at this special session.
DNA legal services of Flagstaff will be available for consultation at the event.
The Veterans Court is a service of the Coconino Superior Court system and the other judicial courts of Coconino County. It is not just available at the High Country Stand Down. This special court meets the first and third Thursday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Warrants that are transferable to this special court setting may be eliminated at this special court system, but possible penalties are subject to the laws of the State of Arizona.
In an interview with Justice of the Peace Rob Krombeen of the Williams Justice Court, he noted the significant savings to taxpayers to quash outstanding warrants.
Judge Krombeen said, “[W]hen you look at the out-come from a warrant arrest—the police involvement, the detention facility involvement, and then everything else that has to happen to get that defendant back into court—there’s a significant cost.
“In fact, Maricopa County did a study this last year, and through their research down in their county they found that a warrant arrest cost the taxpayer about 793 and some-odd cents. So it’s a significant amount of money per warrant that acutally ends up being closed by arrest. So this is saving, literally, thousands of dollars by getting folks to voluntarily appear and get their cases back underway.”
The special Veterans Court at the Stand Down is empowered to hear cases from all judicial jurisdictions in Coconino County. Veterans can also obtain more information about the Veterans Court system at the Stand Down.
Philan Tree, organizer of the event, said that last year over 200 veterans took advantage of the services last year. She said that there could be as many as 500 this year because the word is getting around about the event.
