GRADUATE SINGS PRAISES OF HARDIN COUNTY DISTRICT DRUG COURT

Standing before Hardin District Judges Kimberly Winkenhofer Shumate and
John David Simcoe on Tuesday, Erin Bohannon, an admitted user, dealer and
manufacturer of drugs for more than 20 years, appeared nervous.

This time, however, he didn't face incarceration or fines. Bohannon was in
court Tuesday to be released from the judicial system along with eight
others as a graduate of the Hardin County District Drug Court Program.

Bohannon, 35, of Glendale, said the nervousness at his graduation - part
court procedure, part celebration - was because of seeing "the end of the
cycle." Because he participated in the program, his misdemeanor arrest for
marijuana possession is now expunged from his record.

The graduation Tuesday marked the third time in less than a year that drug
court has held such a ceremony, bringing the total number of graduates to
more than 20.

The next planned graduation is in roughly six months, and should have
similar numbers, both judges said.

Bohannon said he now would concentrate on other battles, not the least of
which is his health.

He said that as a methamphetamine addict, he contracted Hepatitis C through
the use of shared needles. Although Bohannon said he has no insurance and
doesn't intend to seek government assistance, he has been seeing a
physician in Louisville who is working with him on an affordable payment plan.

"I'll know in the next few days based on tests he's done what the next step
in the treatment will be," he said. "I just have to be grateful that I'm
clean and people are watching out for me."

Bohannon said that because of the disease and an injury that he received at
work since his enrollment in drug court, he has had to put his education on
hold. He had been attending classes at Elizabethtown Community College.

"I'm not sure what is in store for me right now, but I know I'll never go
back to that life (drugs)," he said. "It's all problems and pain in that life."

Hardin County Drug Court Coordinator Diane Kavanaugh said Bohannon has
taken the program to heart, attending a national conference earlier this
month in Atlanta.

"He has also helped to organize a new 12-step-program at the LaRue County
Jail," she said. "Erin also wants to help with a new drug court alumni
group we're starting to help those just beginning to recover."

As the reception provided by the Hardin County Bar Association wound to a
close, Bohannon smiled as he caught a glimpse of his teen-age son across
the room.

"It's not just me, you know, I have to be here and be clean for him, too,"
he said.