JUVENILE DRUG TREATMENT COURT JUST WHAT TEEN NEEDED

In the back of his mind, Zach Wilde knew he was headed for
trouble.

At the age of 12, the teen had become his father's drug buddy, sharing
"mainly pot, some pills." The elder Wilde, a long-time addict, is
serving time in state prison in Avery County for armed robbery.

The boy wanted a dad "so bad,"says his grandmother, Trudy
Wilde.

Dad, however, acted more like a teenage friend than a father, family
members say.

During that time, Kenneth Wilde stayed at Trudy's home, where Zach
lived.

Zach had lost interest in any outside activities. He spent much of his
time holed up in a locked room.

On at least one occasion, he smoked pot 10 minutes before he left for
school, Trudy says.

Zach's father -- Trudy's son -- had turned Zach against the family, she
says.

The situation reached its boiling point the day Zach threw a cup of
iced tea at his wheelchair-bound grandmother, striking her in the eye.

Playing together: Trudy Wilde tries out her grandson's new keyboard as
Zach plays drums. Photo by James Barringer, Salisbury Post.

"I think it scared him as bad as it did me,"Trudy recalls. Looking
back now, "I guess that was the best black eye I ever got."

That assault led Zach into the juvenile justice system.

Meanwhile Zach's mother, Laurie, called around, desperately looking
for help for her son, she says.

A juvenile court counselor assigned to Zach following the assault
mentioned an ongoing program that could help, but at the time the
trial phase of Rowan County's new Juvenile Drug Treatment Court was
ending.

There was no guarantee the teen would be able to stay in the program
for the length of time he needed, officials told the family.

Desperate, family members agreed to try it and kept their fingers
crossed.

Counseling had begun, and a judge had ordered his father to stay away
from Zach.

Joining Rowan's Juvenile Drug Treatment Court would continue Zach's
turnaround.

In May 2002, before Zach had entered the Juvenile Court system, the
first group of 10 juveniles selected by Juvenile Court counselors
began attending twice-monthly court sessions of the Juvenile Drug
Treatment Court.

The program had its beginnings under former Chief District Court Judge
Anna Mills Wagoner, who applied for the grant for the pilot program.

When Wagoner became the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North
Carolina, her successor, Judge Charlie Brown, took over the program.

Along with court officials, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and
the Rowan County Youth Services Bureau participate in the program.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys attend the hearings to provide support.

Under the program, the juveniles are required to appear in court twice
a month, attend drug counseling and receive random and frequent drug
screens.