Tammy Curtis, Managing Editor

After a year in a half in existence, Sharp County’s Drug Court saw its first graduate last week. Tara Taylor was the guest of honor at a reception at the Sharp County Courthouse to celebrate her success on June 12.

Circuit Judge Michelle Huff, took the lead of the Sharp County Drug Court after its funding was established in 2022. The first drug court was finally held in September of 2023. 

Judge Huff welcomed the crowd and proudly introduced the person who was to be honored. “We have one person graduating today and that is Miss Tara Taylor. Those of us involved in this program, even prior to its inception, have been waiting for this day for a long time. You may find it unusual that we are having a graduation ceremony with only one graduate but we couldn’t wait a few more months.”

The court is funded by  the 2022 settlement with pharmaceutical companies. 

The drug court in Sharp County, was the last to become a reality in the Third Judicial District.  The first drug court had four participants. At that time, the courts had already been established in Lawrence, Randolph and Jackson Counties. 

Prior to heading the Sharp County Drug Court, Judge Huff,  had previously presided over drug courts and Randolph and Lawrence Counties prior to Judge Adam Weeks’ current program. She witnessed the successes of the stringent drug court set up to assist drug offenders who are the most likely to reoffend to get off drugs permanently. 

In an earlier interview, Judge Huff said drug courts allow counties to reap benefits of allowing the drug offenders a chance at true redemption from a criminal record. The program also simultaneously saves the county thousands in tax dollars by not having to house the offenders, making them productive tax paying members of society and saving the social services money in not having their children be in foster care, among other things. 

During the graduation, she explained the five phase program. All phases must be completed  to graduate. “ Phase one being the most intensive and phase 5 is known as aftercare.   If a participant does everything they are supposed to do and has no sanctions, they can complete the program in 18 months. But keep in mind they have to ask to phase up. Sometimes, even if they are eligible, they may not be comfortable moving up, so that is the reason they have to request it.”

As with any program there are almost always some type of setbacks. With drug court, this is common because of the stringent accountability demands it places on its participants. 

“They have to be on time for everything. They must call in to see if they are drug testing. They have to attend group therapy sessions and individual sessions. They have to have a job and get their GED if they don’t have it.  They must have a mental health assessment.  There are a lot of requirements that aren’t there with regular probation. So you see, it is very difficult.  But this is a voluntary program. They ask to come into it. If they don’t succeed they are sent’ to the ADC, they don’t get to simply go home.  Why do people want to do this?  To get the case expunged, to not have a felony conviction, but mostly to improve their lives,” Judge Huff explained.   

As stringent as the program is, it is designed to help those who are truly dedicated to changing their lives for the better. “We have folks that have gotten their kids out of foster care, gained steady employment, saw their children and/or the rest of their family for the first time in years, attended holiday functions with their family, got a driver’s license back and all kinds of wonderful things on top of achieving sobriety.”

She said the drug court allows its participants to gain a new life, one they may not have ever previously had. “ A lot of our folks have suffered childhood trauma and folks that greatly impacts a person’s thinking and desire to “use.”  Through all of these tools they learn the drugs don’t make the pain go away, it’s still there when you sober up or come off the high.  So learning coping skills is everything.”

Huff requires all participants to write an essay, explaining their situation to her so she can better understand them and their need and desire to become sober. “ The vast majority had childhood trauma and began using at 11 or 12.  I also have them write something when we have court explaining what’s going on in their lives, what they have learned and so on,” Judge Huff told attendees.

“So I have explained all this to let you know what Tara and the others sitting up here on the front row are doing and the work they are putting in so you can appreciate what it takes to get here. We do have setbacks from time to time. We have folks who have been removed from the program. But Tara is graduating with High Honors!  That means that she has no sanctions the entire time.  We also have a “with honors” designation, and that is for folks who have only one sanction in the program.   Tara is not only our first graduate, but she is graduating with high honors,” Huff said, congratulating her. 

Following Huff’s talk, Pastor Keith Chaffin, who has found new life after recovery and sponsors Celebrate Recovery in his church, spoke to the group about the challenges people with substance use disorder face. 

Until 2023, after the drug courts and other education and preventive measures funded by the Opiod settlement had time to show real results, the opioid epidemic in the nation had grown to an all time high every year since 2014, plagues families from every demographic. 

The year the settlement was made, in 2022, a record 107,477 Americans died from drug overdoses, including several in Sharp County. Among these have been several accidental fentanyl deaths, including three locally. In 2022, 73,654 people lost their lives to accidental fentanyl overdoses or poisonings in the U.S. For the first time in history, fentanyl topped accidental deaths over methamphetamine. This was, more than double the amount of deaths from three years prior in 2019. This is not even factoring in the cost for taxpayers to house the offenders, the effects on families and social services and lost work time.  This brought the major need for help to the nation’s forefront and the collective class action lawsuit against big Pharma companies like McKinsey and Company, the firm that promoted marketing schemes and consulting services to manufacturers like OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma.

Former Governor Asa Hutchinson said prior to joining in the collective lawsuit tht opioid manufacturers intentionally misled the medical professionals and the public about the dangers of opioids, claiming them as a non-addictive treatment for chronic pain.

Under an agreement reached in October 2021 and signed in February 2022, Arkansas was set to receive $216 million to combat the opioid crisis across its 75 counties over the next 18 years. 

Huff thanked county and Judicial District officials for their support in the program. These included Sharp County Judge Mark Counts,  Sheriff Shane Russell, Prosecuting Attorney Devon Holder, and supervising public defender Chris Jester, as well as District Judge Mark Johnson. 

She was certain to mention the staff of the drug court. These included a probation officer, Rechelle Mills; a counselor, Kristy Adams; and a coordinator, Sherry Davis.  The court also has two attorneys dedicated to the program,  Amy Clay-Thomas, public defender, and Scott Stalker, deputy prosecuting attorney, as well as Huff’s trial court administrator, Wanda Coffman. 

Attendees celebrated Taylor’s graduation with a small reception after the program. 

The 3rd Judicial District Sharp County Drug Court’s mission is to assist offenders in becoming productive, law-abiding citizens through intensive judicial intervention using treatment and community resources to promote positive lifestyle changes, financial responsibility, and public safety.

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