Pubdate: Mon, 19 Mar 2007
Source: Grand Island Independent (NE)
Copyright: 2007 Grand Island Independent
Contact:  http://www.theindependent.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1023
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

FOUR COUNTIES PLAN TO SET UP DRUG COURT

WILBER, Neb. -- Four counties in southeastern Nebraska plan to form a 
cooperative drug court whose goal will be to rehabilitate drug users 
facing felony charges.

The drug court for Saline, Gage, Jefferson and Fillmore counties is 
scheduled to begin sometime this summer and would be similar to those 
in Lancaster, Douglas and other Nebraska counties, Saline County 
District Judge Vicky Johnson said.

The 18-month program would mix drug testing with counseling, 
outpatient drug treatment, rewards for good behavior and punishments 
for bad behavior. At the end, participants would be expected to have 
jobs or be taking classes and, most important, be sober.

Johnson said if offenders meet conditions, the felony charges that 
landed them in drug court would be dropped.

The Gage County attorney's office would handle the prosecution, 
Johnson said. County attorneys from the other three counties would 
decide who was eligible for the program.

The court was set into motion about a year ago after the Saline 
County Board of Commissioners saw a presentation about the Lancaster 
County Drug Court, Johnson said.

Johnson said authorities in nearby counties expressed interest in 
combining their efforts to establish a multi-county drug court.

Gage County Attorney Randall Ritnour said the methamphetamine problem 
in southeast Nebraska necessitates a drug court in the area. Gage 
County saw 13 felony drug cases last year and already has matched 
that total the first three months of 2007.

"You look at violence, you look at burglaries, you look at thefts, 
and drugs fuel a lot of that," Ritnour said.

Probation officer Christina Lyons, who is helping set up the drug 
court, applied for a $215,000 federal grant that would be used to 
fund the first two years of the program. T0he money would be used to 
hire a coordinator and possibly one other employee, among other things.

She said the four counties would absorb the cost of the drug court 
after the first two years, if it's effective.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman