YOUNGSTOWN U.S. DEA chief to visit drug court

Asa Hutchinson will speak during a drug court graduation ceremony Friday.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County's felony drug court will get a visit this week from the country's top drug enforcement officer.
Asa Hutchinson, administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, will be the keynote speaker Friday for a drug court graduation ceremony in common pleas court.
Hutchinson, a former Congressman from Arkansas, was nominated for the DEA post in June by President Bush. He was confirmed Aug. 1 by the U.S. Senate and sworn in a week later.
"I can't believe he's coming," said David J. McKay, drug court administrator.
Strong views: McKay said he saw Hutchinson on a cable television talk show one night and was struck by his strong anti-drug and pro-drug court sentiments. The appearance was shortly after Hutchinson's appointment as administrator.
"I was so impressed with his views that I felt compelled to write him a letter," McKay said.
The letter congratulated Hutchinson on his appointment, gave a brief history of Mahoning County's drug court and included an invitation for Hutchinson to speak during a graduation ceremony if ever his schedule allowed it.
About two weeks after he mailed the letter, McKay got a telephone call from Hutchinson's secretary informing him that the DEA chief accepted the invitation to come to Youngstown. Hutchinson confirmed it in a letter two weeks ago. He could not be reached to comment.
Honored: Judge Jack Durkin of common pleas court, who oversees the drug court, and David L. Schaffer, executive director of the county alcohol and drug addiction services board, said it's a high honor for the county to be visited by such a high-ranking government official.
Judge Durkin gave McKay credit for taking the initiative and extending the invitation.
Hutchinson will meet with Judge Durkin and the alcohol and drug addiction services board around 8:30 a.m. Friday, then head to the courthouse for the graduation ceremony at 9 a.m., McKay said.
The drug court was established in 1998 and has been called one of the best in the country.
Earlier this year, the National Drug Court Institute named it a mentor court, which means it's an example for other courts across the country to follow.
bjackson@vindy.com