COUNTY NEEDS ITS OWN DRUG COURT TO FIGHT ABUSE

Nonviolent drug and alcohol abusers are staples of the lower courts, often
repeat offenders who get little help in breaking the self-defeating pattern
of partying down, getting arrested and sitting in jail.

The courts offer plenty of punishment for offenders of drug and alcohol
laws, but little incentive -- other than avoiding more punishment -- to act
like responsible adults.

But there is a growing movement toward rewarding good behavior in the court
system, something one drug counselor called "therapeutic jurisprudence."
Nice name -- and we think it's high time Muskegon County got on the
bandwagon.

Ottawa County already has such a court, led by 58th District Judge Susan
Jonas and a staff of 10 dedicated professionals.

It is one of 50 such courts to be established in Michigan since Kalamazoo
led the way in 1992, and another 14 are planned. Nationwide, more than 1,000
drug courts have been established since the first one opened in Florida in
1989.

This, obviously, is more than an experiment. It is a proven method that not
only costs much less than jail or prison, but gets results.

One hallmark of such courts is that instead of automatic incarceration, the
"sentence" carries with it mandatory drug counseling, intense supervision,
daily drug testing and bi-monthly court appearances. Even so, it costs
considerably less to help someone this way than to simply lock him or her
up. Compared to the $20,000 to $50,000 it costs to house one prisoner for a
year, the cost of a year of drug court treatment ranges from $2,500 to
$4,000.

Another positive element is that they do not treat people as carbon copies
of one another. In Ottawa County, assistant prosecutors, public defenders,
police officers, treatment specialists and others in the system work
together to assess each probationer on a case-by-case basis.

Muskegon County applied unsuccessfully for a $500,000 grant to start a
juvenile drug court, and is now seeking a planning grant to set up such a
court at the adult level, covering all misdemeanor offenses and the milder
felonies.

We urge local officials not to drop the ball on this one. Muskegon County's
citizens, too, have their share of substance abuse and alcohol problems,
which fill jail beds that should be reserved for violent criminals, those
who destroy their families by creating patterns of abuse that can span
generations, and those responsible for a host of other crimes against
property and people.

Time is of the essence for library

We hope residents of Norton Shores, Roosevelt Park, Muskegon Township and
Fruitland Township will pay very close attention to the letter on this page
from James J. Schiltz. A related story on the continuing efforts to
establish a Muskegon Area District Library was in Saturday's newspaper.

The issues involved -- in which YOU must play a direct role -- are
critically important to the future of your local libraries.

These warnings have been sounded before. A few weeks ago, Elizabeth Winsche,
director of the Muskegon County Library, explained that the failure of last
November's Headlee Amendment override has forced the Muskegon County Board
of Commissioners to make tough spending choices. Among the "victims" of the
cuts will be the county library system.

To save that system on which so many rely, the wisest course of action
appears to be the formation of a property tax-supported district library,
like others established throughout the county, including Hackley, Whitehall
District, Spring Lake's Walker and Grand Haven's Loutit. However, such
action needs the approval of ALL the 21 municipal boards within the proposed
library district to prevent having to reinvent this wheel a second time. To
date, 17 of the 21 needed have voiced approval.

The two cities and two townships listed above have yet to sign on to the
plan so it can move forward. That's where you, the citizens, must be heard.
If a full-service library system is important to you and your children,
please contact your representatives and ask them to endorse the district
library plan.

It is becoming increasingly clear that if they don't hear your voice soon,
they won't act. Please don't let this opportunity slip away.