ESSAY WINNER FORGOT HER LESSON

A woman who was honored a decade ago for an essay about avoiding
drugs and alcohol has been ordered to spend the next decade in
federal prison for distributing meth.

Susan M. Gardner, 24, of Independence, sold methamphetamine to
undercover detectives four times and led police on a chase before she
was arrested with another package of the drug stuffed in her pants.

In imposing the sentence of 10 years and one month in prison on
Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gary Fenner said Gardner had the
capacity to live a productive life.

But, he said, there was a price she had to pay for her actions.

"You were significantly involved with the distribution of drugs in
this community," Fenner said. "That's something that has to be taken
seriously and cannot be tolerated."

Fenner said he would recommend that Gardner be sent to a prison where
she can enroll in a 500-hour substance-abuse program.

Defense attorney Robert Kuchar said it was a "sad situation."

"We're dealing with a decent young lady who made some bad decisions
in her life," he said.

When Garden was in eighth grade, the Missouri Peace Officers
Association picked her essay as the best of more than 400 other
entries, according to news accounts.

Gardner declined to speak on her behalf before she was sentenced.