Morgan County District Judge David Breland deals with the heartbreak of family violence, drug abuse, sexual abuse and other matters that rip the life out of humans.

He singled out Probate Judge Greg Cain and Phil Hastings, safety manager for city schools, Thursday night for stopping “a lot of problems before they get to my level.”

Another way to say that would be that Mr. Cain and Mr. Hastings saved a lot of lives.

The Morgan County Substance Abuse Network gave its Red Badge of Courage Award to the relatively new probate judge last week.

Before becoming probate judge in January, he served 16 years as a city police officer. He was one of the first Drug Abuse Resistance Education officers and helped launch the highly successful Alternative Choices Education System in which police work with youths.

The award was a big honor but what Judge Breland said probably meant more to Judge Cain. Going to juvenile court isn’t a promising route to travel on the way to becoming an adult.

Email This Page