Small town law — Union County: A slower, unhurried pace

Jerry Petro bounced from behind the counter at Bertch’s hardware store in Liberty, hunched over the key duplicator and expertly ground a spare for a customer. A self-described people person, Petro once dreamed of being an attorney. However, in college in the 1980s, he changed his mind after learning more people were studying to be lawyers than were currently practicing. He was worried the implied supply-and-demand imbalance would prevent him from making a living. Certainly, the economics of practicing law in Union County are difficult. Lillie Mae Hubbard, a certified public accountant, earned a law degree in 2015 when she and her husband became empty-nesters. She has focused her legal practice on estate planning, business and tax law, but she spends most of her time working as an accountant. People in Union County have legal needs and do stop in her office seeking advice. While she has helped clients through very stressful situations, Hubbard does not expect her law practice alone will enable her to pay the remaining six years and five months left on her student loan. Attorneys hanging a shingle in Liberty will likely not be able to survive on local business, Hubbard said. They will have to travel to surrounding counties and serve clients in other communities. Petro became a schoolteacher. The classroom was better suited to his personality and enabled him to make a home in Liberty. “I like a small town,” he explained. “People take care of each other. That’s the way life should be.”

Bertch's Hardware is a fixture in downtown Liberty, the seat of Union County in eastern Indiana.

By the time the Union County line arrives, the twists and hills of U.S. 27 have straightened out and the overgrown trees and foliage have calmed to fields of corn and soybeans. The trek to the county of just about 7,000 takes a bit of determination, but opioids and methamphetamine have made the journey with ease. Addiction has crowded the court docket, overflowed the 10-cell jail and exhausted the first-responders continually called to overdose emergencies. “It’s tearing our families apart,” said < Ford Hoskins Jr., director of the Union County Community Corrections. To stem the heartbreak, Circuit Judge Matthew Cox led the creation of the community’s own drug court. Local people from inside and outside the judicial system joined to develop a comprehensive program that includes fitting addicts with a bridge device, an electronic mechanism that reduces the symptoms of opiate withdrawal. “We just came together as a community and said, ‘We need to do something,’” Cox said. “And it’s worked.” Tuesday evenings, Edwards Memorial United Methodist Church opens its doors for the local chapter of Brianna’s Hope, a support group for people struggling with addiction. Pastor Scott Bell oversees the sessions, which start with a meal then progress to the meeting, where folks will tell of their hardships and celebrate their accomplishments. But the conversation will stop when the firehouse siren wails. As the piercing cry starts with each 911 call, the support group members who know well the stories of overdosing will look at one another, Bell said, and wonder “who’s it for, who’s next?”

Just about any student who wanders into the Union County Courthouse peddling something to support a school organization or class project will find an easy mark in Jason Ray. The chief deputy prosecuting attorney has gladly forked over a few dollars for flowers, a candy bar or whatever else is being sold. Ray grew up in Liberty, has only practiced in his hometown and harbors a strong belief in giving back. “Union County gave me a lot, fortunately, growing up,” he said. “I think it’s important that I try to give … the next generation of people the same opportunities I received.” Ray’s office is decorated with Cincinnati Reds paraphernalia, a framed handwritten arrest warrant from the 1800s and a coat rack laden with several blazers for when he has to appear in court. Ray started in private practice, but when the opportunity came to join Union County prosecutor Andrew “A.J.” Bryson, he jumped. The prosecutor’s position allowed Ray to follow his passion for criminal law and provided another way for him to support his community. “It’s the one area of the law where I feel like you have a real chance to help people,” he said. “Unfortunately, you see them at some of their all-time lows. … But the goal is for them to get through this time and then come back and have a more productive and positive outcome.”