When the odds seem formidable, the success is all the sweeter.
Thursday evening, Marla Luckert, Chief Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court, hailed the efforts of the Allen County Drug Court to help curb drug and substance misuse disorders.
“You are changing people’s lives,” she said at a dinner intended to celebrate her presence. “We have all heard about the parable of planting a mustard seed and that it takes time to develop. Your perseverance has paid off.”
“These people going through the Drug Court program have not had an easy road. Getting through Drug Court is tough. Many people drop out. But those who finish the requirements end up changing the direction of their lives.
“This is how an effective criminal justice system works. And we will not stop trying.
“I have been inspired by the people I have met today in Iola,” she said.
Daniel Creitz, chief judge of the 31st Judicial District, instigated the rehabilitation program about eight years ago.
“We have a recent graduate who failed in her first attempt to adhere to the protocols,” Creitz said. “They are not for the weak-willed.”
“But she wanted back in. Today, she’s overcome a 20-year habit. She has her three children back with her. She has a job. She owns her own car and a home,” he said.
Creitz credited “my team” for the Drug Court’s success. “They do amazing work, every day and every night, working with these people.”
“It’s a lot of work. And it’s extra work.”
Lt. Gov. David Toland echoed the praises of Creitz’s Drug Court, saying its success “will have long-lasting ramifications for their families and for communities,” and hailed those involved. 
“There’s a lot of opportunity to do good and change the world and to make things better. We all have different ways that we can try.
“There’s no higher calling than using your talents to advocate on the behalf of others,” he said.
Toland said it was a goal of the Laura Kelly administration “to make sure that everybody has a chance to earn a living, to be able to take care of their kids and make sure that if they are in a downward cycle that leads to trouble that it doesn’t happen to their kids and that it doesn’t have to happen to their grandkids.”
Toland singled out the prison work program at Russell Stover Candies as an example.
