SUPERNATURAL TOWNS AROUND
FAIREST OF THEM ALL
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COMING TO JARRELL’S COUGAR PLAZA
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Y O U R
October 21, 2014
N E W S
Remove some of the pain (and cost) from your healthcare
There is a growing trend toward
direct care, membership-based health care programs that offer discounts on services to customers. Cutting out the middleman can get things like a cholesterol test done for pennies on the dollar, versus the $90 the lab company once billed to insurance carriers, according to a CNN Money report. Jarrell will soon be home to a direct care practice and Dr. Loy Graham is excited to introduce this once-familiar doctor-patient relationship to the community. What inspired you to transition to direct care medicine? Medicine has become much more of a chore than I ever expected. I spend more time on the computer or filling out paperwork than I do with patients. Almost everything I do is to satisfy an insurance company who knows nothing about my patient and is only concerned about the bottom line. Admittedly, we have been spoiled into thinking that insurance should cover “everything”, when in reality, insurance should be for—and is headed toward— only major medical incidents. Just like car insurance comes with big
THE WRIGHT STUFF AT JP3
by Ann Marie Ludlow
I
nspired by County Court at Law #2 Judge Tim Wright, Justice of the Peace Bill Gravell recently created a Juvenile Substance Abuse Court and named it “The Wright Track.” Gravell says, “I and my staff deal with a large number of cases every day in our court. The law of averages means a large number of them are students in court for drug-related charges; minors in possession of drugs, consumption of illegal substances or truancy. Instead of putting these kids in jail, which can potentially ruin their entire future, we now provide a no-jail time, intensive deferred disposition probation period.” What this means for offenders is a weekly meeting with the court staff and progressing through three major steps of recovery. The requirements include everything from weekly drug testing, counseling with family, community service, and even in-patient rehab. Teens may be sent to Rock Springs, which is the first teen-friendly facility in the area. Gravell says the goal is to help
every child deal with and overcome a substance abuse problem before it becomes a more serious problem and results in criminal charges or adult imprisonment. As the Judge likes to say, “We want to nip it in the bud, or with a Texas flavor, close the gate before the horse runs away.” The Wright Track will include a weekly meeting with an assessment team. Members from Bluebonnet Trails, Juvenile Services, attorneys and case workers will review the week’s progress for each participant to determine status, milestones reached, and steps toward future mitigation. “The whole point,” Judge Gravell says, “is to keep kids out of the prison system by dealing with substance abuse, avoid long-term addiction and prevent them from making adult, liferuining decisions. State facilities are full of people convicted of drug-related crimes. We don’t want to put drug addicts in a place of violence if we can help them first.” The staff at JP3 agree that the goal is to make kids substancefree so they will make great life choices. Judge Gravell says “The court has been a collaborative effort,
and an opportunity made possible through the efforts of the Williamson County Commissioners Court who have expertly managed the resources they are entrusted with.” Precinct 3 Commissioner Valerie Covey commented, “The Wright Track is modeled after the adult drug court and it is a great opportunity to address the issue of drug abuse before it escalates to something worse. Judge Wright does this work with adults and we are pleased to be able to address it with children as well.” JP3 has a juvenile docket every Monday and moving forward, the Wright Court will begin at 11am, where offenders and parents will sign a contract to begin the corrective program. Photo: Justice of the Peace Bill Gravell (seated with therapy dog “Lady”) and his staff at JP3 took part in a leadership retreat October 13 at the Schwertner Ranch. Jim Schwertner himself led a discussion on applying the Code of the West in business...e.g., live each day with courage, take pride in your work, do what has to be done, when you make a promise you keep it.
COUGAR VICTORY Page 5
THERE’S NO “T” IN GOLF CARS Page 4
BRAIN WAVES AND YOUR HEALTH Page 14
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