DRUG SENTENCING PROGRAM HONORED

HAVERHILL -- West Huddleston, chief executive officer of the National
Drug Court Institute located in the nation's capital, recognized the
Grafton County Drug Court Sentencing Program this week for its
outstanding achievement, lauding the county's "tireless efforts to
foster community transformation through reducing drug addiction and crime."

The Community Transformation Award has been awarded to only four
other jurisdictions nationwide out of a total 2,016 drug courts in operation.

County Attorney Rick St. Hilaire remarked, "It is a credit to the
drug court sentencing team -- from Judge [Jean] Burling to our
coordinator, Bob Gasser, and to the supervision officers, defense
attorneys, and treatment providers -- that the pilot program has
shown success so early. The years of planning and hard work have paid
off, and this award is quite an honor for the team."

The Grafton County drug court began as a pilot project in April,
holding its first courtroom session in May. The program works to
improve public safety while decreasing county criminal justice costs
by placing non-violent, jail-bound offenders who have a history of
addiction and drug-or alcohol-related crime, into an intense program
of enhanced judicial supervision and targeted substance rehabilitation.

A study by the National Justice Institute found that, within one year
of arrest, 16.5 percent of drug court graduates had been rearrested
and charged with a felony and 27.5 had been charged after two years.

The Grafton County Drug Court Sentencing Program was conceived by
real estate broker Bill Sahlman of Lebanon and St. Hilaire. Their
preliminary work resulted in the formation of a steering committee
which also included County Commissioner Mike Cryans, Justice Burling,
Department of Corrections Superintendent Glenn Libby, Lebanon Police
Chief Jim Alexander, Superior Court Clerk Bob Muh, Attorney Gary
Apfel, and Carr Robertson and Greg Norman of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Medical Center.

For further information, contact the Office of the Grafton County
Attorney at 787-6968 or the drug court coordinator's office at 787-2042.