ONE-ON-ONE | David McKay Drug court official admits being news junkie

Jim Traficant is the son of a truck driver. Who are you?
The son of an electrician.
So you have a blue-collar background?
Yep. My dad was a really great guy; an excellent provider. We didn't want for anything. My biggest regret in life is that I lost him at a very early age and he never got to see me get married or to meet my kids or anything like that. He was 46 when he passed away from cancer.
If you could pick any job in the world, what would it be?
I'd like to be a foreign correspondent for a major news network. I'm kind of a news junkie. I just think the travel and being on the scene of world-changing events would be an exciting and challenging life.
Being a news junkie, what national news anchor do you trust the most?
That's easy. Bill O'Reilly, Fox News.
But he's a commentator, not an anchor.
Yeah, but I trust him more than any of the other network people when it comes to giving a fair and balanced report. He doesn't let your typical pundit get away with their spin. When they start to try to play him, he'll cut them off and bring them back to reality.
Some people say drug courts coddle criminals. Do you agree?
No, it's not coddling. Drug court is extremely intrusive, intensive and stringent. We hold our people to a very high degree of accountability. The thing about drug courts that makes them work is the fact that we are coercing people into treatment, so they really don't have an option. Their only option is to fail the program, and in that case, they go to prison.
What happens if they succeed?
In that case, they've addressed their problems, they get free and clean of substances, they're employed, they're reunited with their families, and they are giving back to the community. That's the best part of my job.
What's the worst part?
Watching the addiction continue to control peoples' lives to the point that we end up having to terminate them from the program and they end up going to prison.
Do you have any pet peeves?
Yeah, people who take themselves too seriously. Life is too short to go around with a frown or a sour face. It's much easier to smile at someone than it is to chastise them for cutting in front of you in line or something like that.
If you could have lunch with anyone, past or present, who would it be?
Considering the events from Sept. 11, that's a pretty easy one for me. It would be the president, George W. Bush. I think he's done an outstanding job pulling our country together in this time of crisis. To sit down with him for an hour, one-on-one, would be a life-changing event and a true honor.
You're a New York Yankees fan. Do you get razzed a lot about that here in Indians country?
Oh yeah. It started my freshman year at Kent State in the dorm, and it hasn't let up.
But you can gloat over the Yankees' championships, right?
Yeah, but you know, it's almost to the point where in some ways you're embarrassed about that because they just spend so much money to buy players. A lot of people think that's going to end up ruining baseball.
What do you think?
I think if they don't do something to control salaries, it will ruin major sports in general. It's totally ludicrous what athletes are earning today. Something needs to be done to curb it because it's to the point now where you really can't afford to take your kids to too many ball games in a year.
A genie grants you three wishes. What do you ask for?
That's a hard one. [Pause] First of all, I'd ask for a healthy and happy life for my children. Second, I'd ask for lasting peace on earth. And finally, a 15,000-acre ranch in Montana.
What's the one food you just can't live without?
Being from New York, I'd have to say hot Buffalo wings.
Where's your favorite place to get them?
We go to Inner Circle a lot.
What's the most important lesson you've ever learned?
That life is precious and short, and that you shouldn't take it, or your loved ones, for granted.
And your secret of life?
Trust in God and always try to do what's right.