The topic came up in February when Chief Probation Officer Charles Brown and Judge Roger Perry discussed the concept of a drug court, which will be coming to the region at a PIECES drug coalition meeting.
The duo explained that drug courts could possibly be an improvement in the way southern West Virginia deals with the current prescription drug epidemic.
"This would be a court specifically for drug offenders and we could give more focused attention to those types of cases," Brown said, explaining how the system would work.
County Commission President Art Kirkendoll said he had met with the judges and county commission members from Boone and Logan about the project.
"We all agreed to support it," Kirkendoll said explaining the counties will provide grant funding in the amount of $400,000 to budget the drug court.
"We will work with the judges and make this project work," Kirkendoll said.
According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, drug courts handle cases involving drug-addicted offenders through an extensive supervision and treatment program. In exchange for successful completion of the program, the court may dismiss the original charge, reduce or set aside a sentence, offer some lesser penalty, or offer a combination of these, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
As of April 2007, there were 1,699 drug courts operating in the United States, and 349 more were in the planning phases. Currently, 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam, two Federal Districts and 121 tribal programs have drug courts that are in operation or are being planned.
At this month's PIECES meeting the topic came up again and Charles Brown noted Boone County is ready to go online and Logan and Lincoln Counties will follow.
"We will have it started as soon as the grant funds are available," Brown said. It is already operating without funding in Boone County."
Brown said Logan, Lincoln and Boone Counties are all pitching in for a total of $45,000 for one year to hire a regional drug court director and employees and pay for operating expenses. The drug court hopes to find funding from other sources next year.
Currently, Logan County has been declared a High Drug Activity Area by federal law enforcement. Magistrates, judges and police point to dramatically increased numbers of local drug arrests that often rival other larger counties. Committees have been formed to address the issues and to promote drug education and prevention, extra law enforcement officers have been hired and neighborhood watch groups have formed to address what many local authorities admit has become an epidemic, which has shattered lives, decimated communities and led to dramatic jail bills that have become a financial burden on some counties.
Kirkendoll said he hopes that the regional drug court program will work.
In other County Commission news:
* The commission reappointed Greg Dalton, Bernard Cook and David Howerton to the Logan County Building Commission. Gerald Sloane pointed out that Cook was no longer a resident of the county and Kirkendoll said that the commission will replace Cook.
* The commission approved hiring Iva D. Porter as a part time record clerk for the Logan County Sheriff's Office.
* Kirkendoll said the matter of the Logan County Amateur Radio Club was under advisement as he didn't get all the information he needed. Kirkendoll said he did not want to delay the proposal and wanted to move forward so members could attend training classes. 911 Director Marilyn Crosby told Kirkendoll the organization could assist the county and 911 by acting as an emergency back up communications system.
* The Shawnee Trail associates requested a $1,000 grant for the annual living history exhibit at Chief Logan State Park. Kirkendoll noted the group has received funding from the commission for many years as it gives area children a hand's on view of their history.
Post a Comment
