Justice vacancy draws more applicants

Four more candidates have submitted their names to fill the vacancy created by the Aug. 6 resignation of East Fork Justice of the Peace Jim EnEarl.

Applicants who submitted letters of interest this week included:

-- Therese M. Abraham-Noble, 53, Minden, bakery owner, photographer and video producer;

-- Wayne A. Fazzino, 57, Minden, special investigator, Nevada Attorney General's office;

-- Rev. Dr. Jane Foraker-Thompson, 72, Gardnerville, retired Nevada prison chaplain;

-- Thomas E. Perkins, 59, Minden, attorney.

In her application, Abraham-Noble said she was a 26-year resident of Douglas County and had raised three children as a single parent.

It is her intent as justice of the peace to "create, research, design, direct and implement new programs that will enable potential inmates an opportunity to build self-esteem, create a positive experience via the justice system to make changes in their personal lives."

Abraham-Noble said she would use alternative programs, reducing incarceration of "persons in need of other treatments other than jail, using incarceration as a last resort."

Fazzino, a retired police inspector, said he was the first special investigator in the Douglas County District Attorney's Office, taking the position in 1980.

He would bring 34 years in law enforcement to the job.

"If the board (of commissioners) intends to continue the tradition of lay person serving as justice of the peace in East Fork Township, then the depth of my law enforcement experience, community service and educational training exceeds most, if not all of the former justices elected to this position," Fazzino said in his letter of interest.

"My high level of professionalism, concentration and excellent organizational skills have helped me to achieve great success during my 34 years of law enforcement tenure," he said.

Foraker-Thompson moved to Douglas County in 2000.

She earned her undergraduate and master's degrees in political science and public administration. In earning a doctorate at Stanford, Foraker-Thompson said the emphasis of her dissertation was criminal justice.

Foraker-Thompson spent 24 years in the field of criminal justice including teaching at Boise State University for 13 years. Foraker-Thompson earned a masters of divinity and came to Nevada in 1999 to work for the Episcopal diocese.

She was the social justice coordinator for the diocese and the Episcopal representative on the board of the Religious Alliance in Nevada.

She said the group exists to represent five Christian churches at the Legislature "to inform the legislators and others of the position of those mainline churches on social justice issues that arise before the Legislature and to be a moderate, informed voice of reason there."

Perkins has 34 years of court experience, including 27 in Douglas County.

He served as public defender, prosecutor, private practitioner and district court judge.

Perkins said he had appeared in justice court hundreds of times in nearly every form of action and procedure.

"And, while legal training alone does not make for a good judge, I have always tried to use my legal education to help people understand the workings of the law and legal procedure in simple and effective ways," he said.

"The justice court has significant responsibility for the health and well-being of the community because it strikes the initial balance between individual freedom and individual responsibility in the relationship between the government and its citizens. This occurs in everything the judge does; in the review and issuance of warrants, in criminal cases and infraction and in civil and small claims, protective orders, and landlord and tenant relations. I am prepared and willing to assume this responsibility," he said in his letter to commissioners.

Candidates for the position have until Aug. 20 to submit applications. County commissioners will select the new justice who faces election in 2012 when EnEarl's six-year term expires.

The job pays $103,417.60 annually.

To be considered for the judgeship, the applicant must be a resident and qualified voter in East Fork Township with a high school diploma or equivalent.

To qualify as an elector, the applicant must be a United States citizen, minimum age 18, and a resident of the state for six months and East Fork township for 30 days. The applicant must have never been convicted of treason or a felony or judged incompetent.

The only other requirement to be East Fork justice of the peace is that the candidate never faced discipline resulting in removal or retirement from judicial office.

Interested applicants must submit a resume and letter of interest to Douglas County Human Resources, 1594 Esmeralda Ave., first floor, Minden, 89423.

For additional information, contact Darcy Worms, 782-9860.

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