DRUG COURT PARTICIPANTS HONORED

Staff and volunteers hosted a reception Tuesday in Sturgis for three
of the six participants who have worked to advance from level I to
level II. Kristi Haberman, the director of drug court, said these
people have done well under her supervision.

"They'll get more freedom, they'll get to come to the office for a
visit instead of all in the field, and so they'll get more freedom
and we'll see how they do," she said.

The participants have kept their jobs, paid their fines and passed
all tests and screenings. "This is an amazing number, but we've had
over 793 contacts with our participants in four months. And over 500
of them are face-to-face," she said.

The one drawback is that Haberman could use some more staff, as
everyone including her assistant is out making contacts and following
up visits, doing curfew checks and conducting drug screens. She added
she would like a female officer so she could conduct urine tests on
female participants, making everyone more comfortable. Another issue
is the designation itself. The legislature mandated drug court be
used to fight methamphetamine addiction, not marijuana or alcohol.
So, now, only meth addicts can use drug court, whereas other drugs
are in use as well. Haberman did say while meth use is down,
according to the State of South Dakota, use of other drugs are on the
rise. Therefore, she said that the drug court operation needs to be
expanded to include those drugs not on the list.

The participants will be in the program until September 2008.