Pubdate: Sat, 07 Oct 2006
Source: Union Leader (Manchester, NH)
Copyright: 2006 The Union Leader Corp.
Contact:  http://www.theunionleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/761
Note: Out-of-state e-mail letters are seldom published.
Author: Paula Tracy
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

DRUG COURT IS COMING SOON TO GRAFTON COUNTY

Plymouth - Community leaders from the Upper  Valley and throughout 
Grafton County heard how a drug  court could make a difference in 
turning around the  lives of drug addicts, their families and 
citizens who  are victimized by drug-related crimes.

"With this we have a good chance to change the paradigm  so we don't 
see as much recidivism," said Grafton  County Superior Court Judge 
Jean Burling, who attended  a luncheon yesterday and heard from a New 
Jersey  prosecutor and a drug defendant whose life was changed  by 
the Orange County drug court program.

Burling attended a training seminar in St. Louis in  August with 
seven other members of a Grafton County  team who are working to 
develop a drug court in North  Haverhill by 2007. A similar program 
was begun in Strafford County this spring.

There would be intensive, and intrusive judicial  oversight, with 
drug testing three times a week for  three months, counselling and 
meeting weekly with a  judge and a coordinator to go over progress. 
That judge and coordinator would know the participant well. 
Those  involved in the drug court would be required to show a  weekly 
pay stub to prove they are working, to attend  counseling and after 
time, would be rewarded with more  freedom once they prove they are 
clean and productive.

Already, the county of 85,000 residents has set aside  $52,000 over 
two years as seed money for the drug  court. Efforts are underway to 
obtain grant money from  the federal government to help pay for the 
intensive  treatment, which Grafton County Attorney Rick St.  Hilaire 
believes will over time reduce the problems of  drugs, particularly 
the problem of heroin in the  Lebanon area. The first step to 
eligibility for federal  money was the task force attending the 
seminar in St.  Louis. The county was chosen among 40 others in the 
nation to attend.

The idea for the Grafton County drug court came after  Bill Sahlman 
of Energy Shield Century 21 in Lebanon  began to work on a house for 
Bob Gasser, an Orange  County, N.J., prosecutor who was planning to 
retire to  the Upper Valley. Gasser told Sahlman of his work 
and  what a wonderful experience it was to see people's  lives change.

Sahlman contacted St. Hilaire and began to discuss the  idea of a 
drug court here.

Yesterday at the Common Man Inn, Gasser and one of the  men he 
prosecuted, Vincent Reeves, 36, spoke to law  enforcement officials, 
state elected leaders, and  Grafton County community leaders about 
how the program  worked.

"It was the intense supervision, that's what worked for  me," said 
Reeves, who had a $100 a day heroin habit  that was destroying his life.

He said he had two consecutive two-year sentences over  his head when 
he went to the drug court. He qualified  because he was a 
non-violent, non-sexual offender who  was addicted. After a 30-day 
inpatient treatment  program, he showed up three times a week for 
drug  testing and met weekly with a judge and Gasser, 
the  prosecutor, to go over where he was headed.

He said he is now three years clean and has an  11-month-old baby.

"It's an unbelievable program," he said.

Attending the luncheon were police chiefs or top  officials from 
Lebanon, Plymouth, Canaan, Ashland,  Lincoln and Bristol along with 
Anne Rice of the state  Attorney General's Office and District 1 
Executive  Councilor Ray Burton. Also present were members of the 
task force working on the plan, including Sahlman,  Grafton County 
Commission Chairman Mike Cryans, Judge  Burling, Superintendent of 
the Grafton County House of  Correction Glenn Libby, Gasser, defense 
attorney Gary  Apfel, treatment specialist Greg Norman, Grafton 
County Superior Court Clerk Bob Muh, Lebanon Police Chief 
Jim  Alexander, and St. Hilaire.

After the presentation, Judge Burling was asked how the  program 
might work in the court. She said one thing  that needs to be worked 
out is getting quick drug  testing results so when participants come 
for weekly  sessions with her, she can get a drug test result on  the 
spot. Currently those results take several weeks.

There are other logistics, but Burling said such a  court is crucial 
to reduce the "scourge" that plagues  the community, not just from 
the addicted person's  perspective, but those who are preyed upon to 
support  the habit.

"We'll just do it because it is a priority," Burling said.

St. Hilaire said he hopes to have the drug court up and  running by 
the spring of 2007.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman