SIKESTON REPORTS SUCCESS WEEDING OUT DRUG DEALERS

SIKESTON -- Thursday was a coup for Operation Weed and Seed promoters, who defied skeptics and met goals in Sikeston's most crime-ridden neighborhood.

The operation, run through the U.S. attorney's office in St. Louis, began in Sikeston last summer. It was promoted as a concerted effort to weed out drug dealers and other criminals and seed in social programs to benefit the community.

Its first focus was the Sunset Addition, an area on Sikeston's west side known for drive-by shootings and gang activity. Assistant U.S. attorney Larry Ferrell said 22 west-side drug dealers have been prosecuted in federal court since Weed and Seed's start.

But on Thursday the seeding side was evident. Law enforcement and Justice Department officials from all over the state came to hear about the program's triumphs -- a new Juvenile Drug Court and a police substation in Sunset.

The drug court, slated to start hearing cases in June, is a new approach to dealing with young people's addictions. Instead of taking them through the Division of Youth Services, they will go through intense therapy, including family, individual and group counseling.

Associate Circuit Judge David Dolan will hear cases from New Madrid, Mississippi, Scott, Pemiscot, Dunklin and Stoddard counties. It is the first program of its kind in Missouri dealing with rural juveniles across three judicial circuits. As a federally funded, pilot program it will be watched closely to see if it works.

Court director Christi Turpin, formerly a counselor in private practice, said it will work because of its educational, not disciplinary, approach. If participants meet all requirements, they won't have a juvenile record.

All non-violent, juvenile offenders will have the choice of going through the drug court or through the traditional Division of Youth Services program. Drug court participants will have frequent counseling sessions and urine tests, and they will have to meet with Dolan face-to-face every two weeks.

"If I send a kid to DYS right now, it might be two months before he's placed in a facility," Dolan said. "If he's home, he's in the same situation. If he's in detention, it costs us 40 bucks a day since Scott County doesn't have a facility."

After a gathering to announce the Juvenile Drug Court and a Weed and Seed meeting, most officials headed to the dedication of the Sikeston Department of Public Safety Substation.

It is in projects operated by the Sikeston Housing Authority. Although Sikeston DPS Chief Jim Leist said he isn't sure when it will be manned, the building and two community-oriented police officers are ready.

Eventually, the substation will house six officers. They will patrol the area on foot or bicycles, getting to know Sunset residents and their problems. Their first assignment will be surveying neighbors to see what time the substation should be open.

"All of this is because of Weed and Seed," Leist said. "In the last 18 months we've received a K-9 unit, the substation, a new DARE car, manpower, salary increases -- I can't even remember all of it."

But there is still plenty of work to be done. The U.S. attorney's office said it is waiting for west-side residents to organize into a committee so that grant money can flow. And at Thursday's Weed and Seed meeting, it was clear residents disagree on who should be taking the lead and how programs should be administrated.

Dr. Paul Keys, the dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Southeast Missouri State University, said concerned citizens must organize to get anything accomplished.

"I wouldn't look at this as someone bringing a program to you," he said. "If you think there's a certain kind of program you need here, your committee should vote on it and then present your reasons to the decision-makers."

The program's ongoing goal has been to appoint a full-time director. Once the committee and its director are working in Sikeston, Weed and Seed will spread to Cape Girardeau, Poplar Bluff, Caruthersville and Charleston.