Attempt to create a Blog

It is my belief that most of my family is already thinking I talk too much; share too much information with others, and likely are tired of viewing the tons of photos I am always posting. However, I am yet again attempting to communicate with friends and family.

Fall is a beautiful season. So colorful, especially here in Bedford. Living near the Blue Ridge Parkway sure gives us the opportunity to witness the beauty around us as the seasons change. 

This years my porch decor consisted of a few pumpkins and some fall flowers. Also wreaths on front and back doors and a nice Fall doormat at the back entrance.

I was scheduled to work 4-12 on Halloween night, so I missed seeing all our many trick or treaters. Over 700 folks parade up and down the street with kids as well as parents in costume. Sorry but no one took photos for me this year!

I did cook dinner in a pumpkin and left that at the house for Bob, Rob and family who were coming over to help hand out candy to the many who come by Halloween night trick or treating. I had heard, through my Face Book page, of an activity in a City Park near our home and told Kathy about that. She took the girls by there and they got to ride on some ponies, see many cute small animals that were there for a small petting zoo. They also got to make tiny sand art key chains. Emily was excited as the shapes were of various sea animals and her costume this year was Ariel from the Little Mermaid. Hailey was a princess and Katelynn a lady bug. When Kathy brought them by the office she was buzzing around the other two as she knows they are scared of bugs. Isn't Halloween supposed to be scary? But she was really just too cute to scare anyone.

I took a few days off this past week and just enjoyed being away from my office. I love that I now work eight hour days. Still on the rotating shifts, but we stay on the same shift for a month and that seemingly gives my system time to acclimate. I will admit that the on call 12 and 24 hour shifts were beginning to get to me. I have been very blessed that I have been able to maintain my sanity and health with so little sleep for so many years.

There are those who work in our district, over in the Lynchburg office, that want to stay on the 12 hour rotation, I suppose because of the three day breaks. I like the fact that after 8 hours my time for the rest of the day is my own. Unless one works an on call job it is unlikely one can understand how difficult it is. The fact that I no longer have to lay waiting for the phone to ring, calling me out at all hours, seems so much nicer. I do have to stay in the office the whole 8 hours. For me this means I can stay over there and not be running back and forth for 12 or 24 hours when on duty! I like this better.

With only three people to cover an office 24 hours a day 7 days a week we have to have weird schedules. One thing that has occurred in the past few years is technology! We now can do hearings by video. After enduring 2 years of not being able to take any leave... including sick leave! One day after working with the flu and so distraught about not being able to take any time off I spoke to people in Richmond who are the tech experts and recommended that they consider connecting the offices in the counties of our judicial district and then we could cover time for each other.

It was very apparent that they would never hire more people and they really wanted to get this video conference equipment into use. One idea was to have us all in Lynchburg and two or three of us on duty at the same time doing hearings. Hey folks, the sweat shop concept of telephone sales or tech help by phone is simply not a good idea for judicial hearings. Anyhow, they liked my idea. It took a while, and it is still extremely frustrating at times working with all the technical problems that can crop up with the equipment. Such as being in the middle of a hearing and the picture freezes up, or for some reason the lines are messed up and we cannot print remotely. So we have a defendant, under arrest, and an officer waiting (not so patiently) and you can't get the process printed!!  Then you try not to swear on camera or look stupid while you try to unravel how to do the impossible. Also, inevitably it will be very quiet for a period of time and then suddenly all four offices I am covering will want services at the same time! Many nights I cover Bedford, Amherst, Nelson, and Campbell County and the town of Altavista, all at the same time. Anyone arrested during my shift located in that area of the State, or any officer serving a paper on anyone, or any citizen who needed to file a criminal complaint would need to see me.

Then one night it came to attention that anyone in my region who has video equipment might be able to tune me in. That was a fun night.... I was in the middle of hearings and a State Trooper who was attempting to serve a paper on an inmate over in a Regional Jail in Salem, that I did not even know was there, suddenly dialed me up on the video interrupting my hearing! They could at least call first. This was very unusual and out of the norm. But realistically, I have learned that there are over 35 video systems in my region, and if they do eventually get them all connected and allow access to our number to connect with our equipment this could be really fun! Being two places at once is hard. More offices may be available for us to cover, but we can still only conduct one hearing at a time! So far, we only cover the five counties in our judicial district. There should be three of us on duty at the same time in the county offices. However, due to shortages, the promise that someone would always be on duty in each office to cover day shifts, and that always there would be two of us available to the five offices the video covers. has fallen by the way side. Many of my sifts I am covering all five offices at the same time for 8 hours.

They have now passed legislation giving us authority to act in the newly redistricted Regions. So that is coming, they claim only in an emergency, but I see the handwriting on the wall!! Our region 2 covers a huge part of the State of Virginia. All the area in orange.

It is just my humble opinion that a face to face interview is much more professional in our line of work; but hey! I now can ask for vacation and get it!! Here lately, I have endured more aggravation from the complaints I keep hearing from fellow employees, than from citizens who come before me with their complaints.

I took some days off this month and next month, so I would not once again loose my time off. I am fortunate that in 24 years I have only taken about 4 sick days. I may have been sick more than that, but with shortages of staff I went in anyhow. I must be from the old school in the way I view my leave. I don't take sick leave unless I am sick, and if my name is on the schedule I feel it is my duty to show up. One of the newer employees took more days off in the first two months of their working than I have asked for in my whole 25 year career! So I now will ask for my days off! Would you believe someone filed a complaint that I was scheduled to work less days than they were this month!! Well, guess what? It will happen again next month and I am going to keep taking my leave.... I am just as entitled as these kids they are hiring!!

I read more and now. Thankfully I have regained the ability to concentrate that I lost when Rob was in Iraq and was too stressed to be able to read!

I am no longer on call, working at home and feeling resentment when interrupted and called to the office. We cannot take off on Holidays. So unless the schedule rotation puts your day off on the date of the Holiday you have work it. I am scheduled day shift on Thanksgiving. 4-12 for Christmas Day. We are given a day per month off as our Holiday repay day. The boss tries to put that day next to the regular scheduled two days off so that can mean a three day break once a month.

The past two years have been even tougher than usual with my job. They came up with the idea that we would have to have law degrees within ten years or no job. Impossible! For one thing how would I have time to take any classes with the schedule I work? Not to mention the low pay and how could I afford to take any classes. I almost laughed myself to death when they offered us reimbursement for education... six hundred dollars a year!! That would not pay for books!!! Not to mention if I did have a law degree I sure would have better sense than work this job with  it's low pay and horrid schedules.

Well, they grandfathered those of us with experience and then decided last year we had to be re-certified. I took their test and passed it, without the four weeks of training the new hires get at the Supreme Court. When I was hired it was one week of classes there back in 1985. So, I still have my job. Another fellow in my office and one other person in our district were not able to pass and actually lost their jobs. Sadly, I do not think the test proved we know our jobs. Because they both knew their jobs and had done them for many years. Even more sad is the fact that due to all the stress they have put on us, many with experience who were good Magistrates have opted to retire. The State has lost lots of good experienced employees and in this transition period of hiring many young attorneys, some with no life experience, and other practicing attorneys, who seemingly are readily admitting that a Magistrate position is harder than being an attorney, it will take years to give them back good experienced employees like they got rid of or lost.

Not sure how often I will attempt to send a Blog. But I have been able to shed light on how my situation has changed in the past couple of years and I hope I can start feeling less stressed and fearful and will be able to get back to just working and enjoying my job and my life. Sure have had my fellow employees spoiling that for me for the past several years.  Oh, guess who the lawyers are calling to ask questions? The young man in my office that I helped train actually called me his savior. I told him I was not flattered at that statement. He has told others that he thinks I am a walking encyclopedia of information. That he cannot believe it seems I have almost every Statute number in the Code of Virginia memorized. Maybe if he remains in the job for 25 years he will see how that is possible. But my feeling is that most of them will not stay but will use the System as a resume builder. I will wait and see.