Five more join growing list of drug court graduates

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Daily Mail

Five individuals, three men and two women, sat in the Vernon County Court facing Judge James Bickel. They weren't there as defendants, they were graduates of the Vernon County Adult Drug Court. They were graduates 28 through 32 of the local program, joining 3,500 graduates of more than 100 drug courts statewide.

The graduates have gone through four phases of the process, which takes different amounts of time for different people. He explained the four phases the drug court participants went through.

"The first is finding out about drug court, what the procedures are," Bickel said. "The second phase things can lighten up a little as they gain experience. The third they are moving on up, by now they know what is going on. The fourth they are preparing to graduate."

Bickel spoke at length about each of the graduates, highlighting some of the good, and some of the bad.

"A five-year old girl wrote about a talk (Jane Doe 1) gave at her school," Bickel said. "The girl wrote that because of the talk she would never use drugs. Jane made a difference in her life, made it better."

Another graduate had problems completing the course.

"(Jane) spent a lot of time in jail," Bickel said. "She found out that lying wasn't an option. Truthfulness is a necessary part of the process."

Bickel noted that he usually had a guest speaker from either the legislature or judiciary but none were available for this graduation. He said that he liked having someone from the legislature come so they could see the results the Vernon County Adult Drug Court was achieving and that it was good to have a different perspective from other judges.

"It's nice to have their perspective on how our drug court is doing," Bickel said.

Bickel said the drug court committee and participants were justly proud about the program.

"We're proud about it but I think we deserve some praise for what we're accomplishing," Bickel said. "Instead of paying to lock you up, you're out working, earning money and paying taxes."

Bickel said the graduates should be proud of their accomplishments but careful about how they proceed.

"Other people are going to get into drug court to be like you," Bickel said. "You're role models for some who look up to you. Others are also watching you waiting for you to stumble."

"You deserve to be acknowledged for coming so far and finishing the program," Bickel said. "You've reached a crossroads and taken the right turn."

Bickel finished with an admonition to remain connected to the support network provided by the drug court.

"Be active in the alumni program and be sure you like yourself, Mark Twain once said 'A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval,'" Bickel said.