PROSECUTOR: COSTS ONLY GOING TO GET HIGHER

HILO - If legislators are going to address the ice epidemic, they better be
willing to pull out their "legislative pocketbooks," or they are going to have
to pay a higher price later.

County Deputy Prosecutor William Smith said that Wednesday night to the Joint
House - Senate Task Force on Ice and Drug Abatement in Hilo. He was among 15
people who had testified at that information - gathering hearing by presstime
Wednesday.

Smith, who primarily handles juvenile cases on the island, said it is not a
"one - issue problem."

"You have to look at the whole family unit. It can't be piecemeal or it's not
going to work. You can't treat children then send them back home to families
using, dealing, and in some cases giving ice to their kids," Smith said.

He urged judges be given the authority to not only "pull the family in as part
of the solution" but also order other agencies aside from the Department of
Human Services to provide services to the youth.

He spoke of the state Department of Health taking as long as eight weeks to
find a program that has a six - month waiting list and, "in the meantime, your
children are swaying in the breeze."

Smith and others called for more drug treatment options on the island in
addition the Big Island Substance Abuse Council (BISAC), and at least two Ka'u
mothers with ice - addicted children called for treatment facilities in rural
areas such as their own.

"We need help in Ka'u," said Colleen Gundaker, who has two daughters receiving
treatment at BISAC in Hilo and one addicted son she "might be burying."

She said a treatment center is needed in Ka'u because "there are a lot more
kids out there who need help."

At the very least, transportation between Ka'u and Hilo is needed, she said.
"Nobody has a car because nobody works because of ice," she said.

Ka'u resident Debra Javar, whose son is being treated for an ice addiction,
called for legislators to "move fast" because of how swiftly the drug turns
people into "the living dead."

Billy Kenoi, an executive assistant to the mayor, noted there are 400 sworn
police officers on the island, and the number could be doubled but it wouldn't
solve the ice problem.

"All the programs and services that are funded are just that, programs and
services. You've got to support the communities. Support the Debbies and
Colleens."

Stressing the need for everyone to work together, as "one team," Kenoi said the
ice issue is non - partisan.

"I've never met any pro - ice lobbyists," he said.

Kenoi noted ice is not new, it's been around for 15 years, and "there are
children in intermediate school who have seen ice their whole lives."

He snapped his fingers to emphasize Javar's point that legislators needed to
move quickly and reminded them of the "three simple measures" toward addressing
the problem: enforcement, treatment and prevention through education.

Also Wednesday night, people suggested to legislators which laws to revise or
enact, including one to protect "unborn infants."

Big Island Prosecutor Jay Kimura spoke of a recent case in which a mother was
addicted to ice prior to, during and after her pregnancy, and the child died
while breastfeeding. He said current law precludes Child Protective Services
from intervening until after a child is born.

Funding for the island's drug courts was also requested Wednesday night, not
only by island prosecutors and Chief Public Defender Mike Ebesugawa, but
Circuit Judges Ronald Ibarra and Greg Nakamura.

Legislators host a similar information - gathering hearing 6 - 9 p.m. today at
King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel.