JUDGE SANDERS: 'WE ARE VERY, VERY CLOSE' TO NEW DRUG COURT

NATCHEZ -- Close to 20 citizens attended a meeting Monday night to discuss
the progress of the Adams County drug court.

Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders said she hoped for a bigger crowd in the
future but was happy to see the important faces in the crowd.

Sanders and the drug court team updated the small crowd on the court
scheduled to begin in a few weeks.

"We are very, very close," Sanders said. "We know we will have failures, but
right now we are counting 100 percent success."

Members of the drug court team asked for support from the community in order
to rehabilitate the participants.

"We can't do it by ourselves," court defender Pam Ferrington said. "We need
the community to make it work and first of all we need money."

Adams County gave the drug court $6,000 for supplies such as drug tests, but
the court currently has no other funding. The judge, lawyers, counselors,
law enforcement officers and clerks are all volunteers.

Ferrington said monetary donations from the community would be necessary.
She estimated the cost per candidate to be around $1,000 for two-year
program.

The drug court will start out with four participants and expand later on,
Sanders said.

Each participant will first be screened by the district attorney's office
before meeting with lawyers and counselors who will determine if they are
appropriate for the program. Once in the program they will have weekly drug
tests, visits from law enforcement officers and weekly court appearances. If
a drug test turns up positive or the participant fails to take the test they
will be sentenced to jail time.

Each participant must hold down a job and participate in community service.

The court team will work with the community to find employment, housing and
volunteer work.

Ferrington also asked the community for mentors, use of public facilities,
babysitting services and refreshments.

Sheriff Ronny Brown was part of the crowd in attendance.

"I've seen this work first hand," Brown said. "People will come forward and
give these people jobs. They know that someone is going to check on them and
the community will get involved.

"It's a win-win for everybody. Everybody knows we have a drug problem here."

Two-year Natchez resident C.C. Harper volunteered to help out and said she
was glad to see the program getting started.

"It's going to take everybody, a collaboration," Harper said. "I see great
things for Natchez. I see the sickness, it is there."

Violent offenders will not be eligible for drug court and the majority of
participants will not have a criminal record, Sanders said.

The drug court is a state organization and therefore considered a
non-profit.

"We found out incarceration does not solve the problem," Adams County Chief
Deputy Charles Sims said. "It's not how you deal with it. You have to
rehabilitate people and we need all the help we can get.