FIRST CLASS COMPLETES DRUG COURT PROGRAM

Officials Of Clark County's Drug Court Recently Presented Diplomas To The
Program's First Two Graduates.

Drug Court is a program that allows persons who are charged with
drug-related offenses to complete a year-long program as an alternative to
incarceration. If the program is successfully completed, the offense is
erased from the person's record.

Drug Court is a division of the Arkansas Department of Community
Corrections' division of probation and parole.

Although the program has been in various locations around the state for
five years, Clark County's program only began a year ago.

The court works through a cooperative agreement between the local and
county resources and state programs, Rhonda Sharp, spokeswoman for the DCC,
said.

The county provides a prosecutor, public defender, judge and support staff.
The state provides the training required to administer the program and a
counselor who also serves as the probation officer.

The program works, according to Leotis Box of Arkadelphia, one of the two
graduates of the program.

"It wasn't difficult," Box said. "It sure was easier than going to jail."

Box, a self-professed crack addict, was arrested for possession of that
controlled substance. He said the program stressed self-discipline through
drug classes, job-training and personal development classes.

The classes also stressed self-esteem. "I wake up every morning with a
smile on my face," Box said.

The Drug Court program is only for persons who are using or possessing
drugs, not those who deal them.

"With the assistance of a jury, drug dealers go to prison," Prosecuting
attorney Henry Morgan said.

The Drug Court program targets those who have drug addictions. "We are
trying to get them off of their drug of choice," Morgan said.

"If the candidate has no violent history, and wants to work on his or her
addiction, we offer the Drug Court opportunity," he said.

Candidates for the program are first screened by an intake officer of the
probation department to determine if they are suitable for the program.
They then appear before a judge and plead guilty to their crime. The judge
holds the plea without entering a judgment. If the candidate successfully
completes the one-year program, the judge dismisses the charge and the
person has no criminal record of that charge.

The program consists of three phases, including meetings with drug
counselors, undergoing scheduled and random drug tests, and surprise home
visits. Candidates are also required to either be employed or enrolled
full-time in school during the year-long program.

Participants must also appear in court every two weeks to tell the judge
about their progress, or problems. The judge has discretion to reward or
punish the candidate for his or her behavior.

Although he's glad the year is over, Box said he's more grateful for the
persons who helped him. "They looked out for me," he said.

He's going public with his experience in an effort to help others who may
be in similar situations.

"If I can help one person avoid going through what I did, it will be worth
it," he said.