Liberty Bell Award recipient named

The St. Joseph County Bar Association has announced its recipient of the organization’s 29th annual Liberty Bell Award.
Spencer Price, who began working at St. Joseph County Community Mental Health in January 2008, will be honored during a ceremony next week.
According to Judge Jeff Middleton, chairman of the Liberty Bell Committee, Price has become an important link between Community Mental Health and the St. Joseph County courts and criminal justice system.
Middleton said Price created the St. Joseph County Community Mental Health Jail Diversion Program, intended to divert criminal defendants with mental-health issues from the criminal system in the jail into Community Mental Health treatment and services instead.
Price also served as one of the original team members for the creation of the St. Joseph County Sobriety Court program.
A formal presentation of the Liberty Bell Award takes place at 9 a.m. Monday in the courtroom of Judge Paul Stutesman.