Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

EMS Week: Hovey receives Community Service award

A six-year member of Community Ambulance Service of New Rockford, Judge James Hovey, was recently recognized for his volunteer service.

Foster County State's Attorney Kara Brinster nominated Hovey for the Southeast Judicial District Bar Association Community Service Award. Members choose an individual to nominate at their annual meeting.

Hovey joined the local ambulance service in 2015 and took the EMT class. He volunteers, on average, 1,200 hours per year. He is on call for the ambulance many weekends, covering five shifts of pager duty from 6:00 p.m. Friday until 6:00 a.m. Monday. In comparison, the average person volunteers 50 hours of their time each year.

Eddy County State's Attorney Ashley Lies, who serves as the vice president of the association, said Hovey stood out for his dedication to emergency services. Any person licensed to practice law in the district is eligible for nomination, and Lies said typically a lawyer is nominated. It is rare for a judge to receive the honor, but in Hovey's case it is certainly well deserved.

The Southeast Judicial District was created in 1979, and includes Barnes, Dickey, Eddy, Foster, Griggs, Kidder, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Ransom, Richland, Sargent, Stutsman and Wells counties.

Hovey will be recognized at the State Bar Association of North Dakota's annual meeting, along with nominees from the state's seven other districts.

Hovey was appointed to serve as a Southeast District Judge in New Rockford in 2010, after Judge James Bekken died.