Probate judge candidate Carol Berry (third in line) with her campaign supporters Tuesday night in Vinemont / Heather Mann
VINEMONT – Tuesday’s meeting of the Vinemont Town Council welcomed a special visitor: Carol Berry, founder of Restoring Women Outreach and candidate for Cullman County probate judge. Berry discussed her hopes for the future of the office, as well as her work in the field of mental health and how she plans to use that experience in office.
“The three things I’d like to see changed in the office: I want to see the office returned to the people, I want to do some updating and streamlining in the office to make it more efficient and I want to work on mental health and finding other avenues that people can take to get help for their loved ones,” Berry said. She also stated that she would ensure an open-door policy and would do everything possible to help anyone who came in with a problem, including finding someone else who could help in the event that the office was unable to do so.
On her work with mental health, Berry referenced her women’s wellness program – Restoring Women Outreach (RWO)- which helps women who struggle with substance abuse and who have been diagnosed with mental health issues. Eight years after its foundation, RWO has five recovery houses, 31 women in its care and claims an 86 percent success rate.
“We work with substance abuse, we’ve seen cutting, eating disorders. We’ve seen bipolar, depression, anxiety, and we’ve seen other worse scenarios where people might be harmful to other people than just themselves,” said Berry, who said her work has brought her in connection with private practices and nonprofit organizations who help with mental health issues; Berry said she hopes to bring those connections into the office with her to help as many people as possible.
Of holding the office of probate judge, Berry stated, “I might not have the experience, but I can do the job. I can make the tough decisions – I have to make them every time we’re forced to send a woman back to jail. I can work with the other agencies and departments in the courthouse to get the job done. That office needs someone with love and compassion, and I’m the one for the job.”
Berry is challenging incumbent Cullman County Probate Judge Tammy Brown in the June 5 Republican Primary.
In other council business, the council passed resolutions to surplus three vehicles:
– a Nissan Sentra town car that was purchased about five years ago with new tires and low mileage
– a red Dodge truck purchased three to four years ago that had some work done and has been replaced by a 2011 Chevrolet
– a small white utility truck which was involved in an accident and has not been needed since being replaced by a Gator
The council also discussed the issue of drivers cutting across the median to get to the post office or the trailer park, but, aside from joking about not needing to mow that area anymore, agreed it couldn’t do anything to resolve the issue as the median is state property. With no other business, the council adjourned.
The Vinemont Town Council meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 p.m. at Vinemont Town Hall. The public is welcome to attend.
Copyright 2018 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
