JUDGE: POTTAWATTAMIE DRUG COURT OFF TO GOOD START

Pottawattamie County's drug court is off to a successful start, the court's
judge told the executive committee of the Fourth Judicial District at a
meeting Tuesday night.

District Judge Keith Burgett said the seven people who have been admitted so
far have had some bumps along the way, but they were making good efforts and
were seeing improvement.

"Every one of the people in there, I'm proud of," Burgett said. "It's a
program that's going to work here."

The drug court got under way in January after 18 months of preparation. It
provides a program of intensive supervision - as opposed to a standard
prison sentence - aimed at freeing people from drug addiction and related
criminal activity.

Although the court is starting small, it eventually might handle up to 120
people at a time, said Kent Ellithorpe, director of the Iowa Corrections
Department in the Fourth Judicial District. That district serves nine
southwest Iowa counties.

"We'll have to let time show us how many we can handle," Ellithorpe said.

Also to be determined is future funding for the program. The district has
submitted a bid for a three-year federal grant and expects to hear later
this year if it will receive any money.

Ellithorpe told committee members that the court may pursue more state
funds. Currently, the court's operations are being paid for with state and
Pottawattamie County funds.

In other business, Ellithorpe said he hopes construction of a new facility
for female offenders can start by April. The district is in the final stages
of buying land along Ninth Avenue between South 10th and 11th Streets.

The district has mixed male and female offenders in its programs. Ellithorpe
said that it is an unproductive distraction, and a new facility would allow
for more treatment and alternatives to prison for women offenders.