DRUG COURT GRADUATION HIGHLIGHTS STRUGGLE, HOPE

Amid turbulent times in our community, the Lycoming County juvenile drug
court celebrated its first graduate this month.

Such are the struggles of today and the hopes for tomorrow.

The City of Williamsport is searching for solutions in the wake of a
disturbing, gang-influenced shooting death of a local teen-ager and another
fatal shooting early Tuesday morning.

The story of Terrance Baity's death is overwhelmingly sad on a number of
levels.

Perry Hart, the first juvenile court graduate, knows a thing or two about
sad stories. That's how he got in the drug court, which aims to treat
problems rather than punish them, offering rewards and incentives for good
behavior.

At his graduation, Hart extolled the virtues of the tough-love program and
promised to become the productive member of the community that the drug
court calls him to be.

While the adult drug court is in its eighth year, the juvenile drug court
is in its first. The recent tragedies in our community serve only to
underscore the need for a program such as this.

And Hart, the first person in his family to graduate from high school, is
something of a symbol, whether he wants to be or not.

Behind most of the sad stories of youth violence in our community is some
sort of wrongful association rooted in illegal drugs. We suspect there are
a lot of Perry Harts out there. They need to overcome their demons and free
themselves of bad company. That is one of the clearest ways to reducing the
likelihood of a repeat of the Mothers Day tragedy in Williamsport and
Tuesday's tragedy.