WESTBOROUGH ASSISTANT CHIEF SHARES
PERSONAL STORY DURING SEMINAR

Several times a month, Westborough District Court Assistant Chief Probation Officer Jim Butcher and State Police Officer Rich Eubanks, team up to speak to driving offenders and junior operators (ages 16 to 18) as part of the State Courts Against Road Rage (SCARR) Program, a two-hour informational seminar.

Butcher is not helping to conduct this program as part of his job. No, it is a lot more personal than that. He is there as a grieving father to talk about the loss of his 18-year-old daughter, Courtney, who died in a car accident last spring.

When Butcher speaks of his loss and the sadness during the holidays he and his family felt as they spent their first Christmas without Courtney, the pain is palpable.

"I want to prevent parents from going through what I had to go through. I knew all of the kids who were in the car with Courtney," Butcher said.

"Sometimes I get emotional. But, doing this (speaking during the SCARR Program) has helped me to move forward," he said. "I feel I can do this to help other parents."

Butcher, a 14- year Probation employee, has three other children. Courtney was his oldest child. A basketball standout in high school, Courtney was a freshman at the University of New Hampshire at the time of the accident. She was studying to become an athletic trainer.

Eubanks said of Butcher's involvement with the program, "It is great having Jim here. He brings a personal perspective. He is a parent who has lost a child."

Butcher and Eubanks presented to about 30 teens and adults at the day-long SCARR seminar held recently at Natick District Court. In fact, it was Natick District Court Chief Probation Officer Daniel Marzilli and Probation Officer Joyce Fenney who first suggested that Butcher consider sharing his story during the SCARR Program. The SCARR seminar addresses topics such as road rage, dangerous behaviors and public safety.

After the presentation, a young man sheepishly approached Butcher and thanked him for speaking to the class.

"I feel I can do this although it (death of a child) is a tough thing to go through," Butcher said.

Butcher and Eubanks offer the class at Milford District Court, Milbury State Police Barracks, Haverhill District Court, Malden District Court, Gardner District Court, Orleans District Court, and Peabody District Court. More than 2,000 people have attended the SCARR Program since it was first established at the Newburyport District Court in January 2000.