Diversion Program

Taking advantage of Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl's traffic diversion program just got a little easier thanks to a change in the six-month-old program which allows drivers to pay the program costs in installments. The program, which began Feb. 1, gave drivers who had been ticketed for moving violations, an option to driving school; one that not only keeps them from losing points, but also removes the infraction from their record as well. For $175, drivers could enter the progam, which unlike the state-run traffic school, is completed at home, either online or on DVD, within a 90-day period.

First Assistant Jessamine County Attorney Anna Roberts-Smith spends a large portion of her time each week in court prosecuting contempt of court cases of people who fail to pay child support for one reason or another. Time and again over the years Roberts-Smith has heard individuals claim they couldn't pay because they couldn't find a job. In looking at the majority of those individuals, she found one common denominator which was hindering them from obtaining a job; the lack of a high school diploma or GED certificate.

Editor's Note: Due to the reporter's error, the original version of this story did not include specific information about a pre-trial diversion program Monhollen is participating in in lieu of jail time. FRANKFORT - A Lexington man who is a certified DUI instructor in Lincoln County has pleaded guilty to charges he falsified DUI program completion forms. Timothy Monhollen, 40, will be formally sentenced Nov. 16 for three counts of tampering with public records, a Class D felony.

STANFORD - An Ohio woman who had been charged with conspiring to murder an elderly Hustonville woman is now the second of four alleged conspirators to plead guilty to substantially reduced charges. Taquisa Horton of Columbus, Ohio, will participate in a five-year pretrial diversion program in lieu of jail time after entering a special "Alford" guilty plea to one count of second-degree burglary on March 8. An Alford guilty plea means Horton is not admitting guilt, but acknowledges the evidence against her "strongly indicates guilt.

A Danville woman has avoided jail time in what authorities said was the starvation of two of her three stepsons but her husband's planned plea deal fell through. Virginia Holsinger pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of second-degree criminal abuse - a lesser charge than she and her husband Charles Holsinger were indicted on last year after authorities found two boys malnourished in the Seminole Trail home. A plea deal was struck after prosecutors agreed that there was no evidence that the Holsingers intentionally starved the two boys, then ages 9 and 12. Virginia Holsinger must meet terms of a diversion program that includes community service in order to avoid jail time.

The mother of a toddler who ingested cocaine last fall will not have to spend any time in prison if she stays out of trouble for the next five years. Ashley Carrier, 21, pleaded guilty Thursday in Boyle Circuit Court to four counts of wanton endangerment. As part of a plea deal recommended by prosecutors, Carrier can avoid a four-year prison sentence by completing a five-year diversion program. Judge Darren Peckler will sentence Carrier on Aug. 5. In asking the judge for a later sentencing date, public defender Melissa Bellew told Peckler that Carrier is nine months pregnant.

Solving problems usually isn't hard. Determine what happened. Determine why it happened. Determine a course of action to reduce the likelihood that it will happen again. The hardest part is knowing the root cause. Many times an attempted fix deals with only one symptom of the problem while the root remains untouched. We become like lawn mowers - we chop off the top of the weeds, but they grow back. The only solution is to dig up the root. The justice system is traditionally good at lawn mowing.

If a tentative plea deal comes to fruition, a Danville couple charged with intentionally starving two of their children will have their cases resolved next month without facing prison sentences. Charles and Virginia Holsinger appeared at a pretrial conference Tuesday in Boyle Circuit Court and accepted a verbal offer from prosecutors to enter a diversion program in exchange for guilty pleas to charges less than first-degree abuse. Public defender Melissa Bellew said details of the deal have not yet been worked out but the offer has been accepted in principle and has a 99 percent chance of being completed when the Holsingers appear back in court on April 9 to change their pleas.

One of the Danville women charged after a toddler ingested cocaine pleaded guilty to four counts of wanton endangerment Thursday. Jessica Coffman, 25, faces a recommended sentence of three years in prison but won't have to serve the time if she completes a five-year diversion program as part of a plea deal. "If the diversion doesn't work or something goes wrong, can you pull the three years?" Boyle Circuit Judge Darren Peckler asked Coffman, making sure she understood the ramifications of her guilty plea.

HARRODSBURG - Former Mercer County Clerk Ronnie Compton was sentenced to a year in prison Tuesday, but he won't have to serve it if he pays back about $11,000 and stays out of trouble for five years. Mercer Circuit Judge Darren Peckler signed off of the deal recommended by prosecutors that allows Compton to enter a felony diversion program rather than go to jail. Compton entered an Alford plea earlier to a charge that he failed to deposit $11,123 in fees and other monies collected in his office in 2006.

STANFORD - An Ohio woman who had been charged with conspiring to murder an elderly Hustonville woman is now the second of four alleged conspirators to plead guilty to substantially reduced charges. Taquisa Horton of Columbus, Ohio, will participate in a five-year pretrial diversion program in lieu of jail time after entering a special "Alford" guilty plea to one count of second-degree burglary on March 8. An Alford guilty plea means Horton is not admitting guilt, but acknowledges the evidence against her "strongly indicates guilt.

Editor's Note: Due to the reporter's error, the original version of this story did not include specific information about a pre-trial diversion program Monhollen is participating in in lieu of jail time. FRANKFORT - A Lexington man who is a certified DUI instructor in Lincoln County has pleaded guilty to charges he falsified DUI program completion forms. Timothy Monhollen, 40, will be formally sentenced Nov. 16 for three counts of tampering with public records, a Class D felony.

I recently attended a drug-related program sponsored by the Drug Enforcement Administra-tion. Attending this program were approximately 100 law-enforcement personnel from various police departments as well as state and federal crime-fighters, investigators and regulators. This was a unique opportunity for me, as I was the only coroner present. The program was based on the “Drug Diversion” program, which strongly affects the state of Kentucky as well as most others in the country.

Taking advantage of Jessamine County Attorney Brian Goettl's traffic diversion program just got a little easier thanks to a change in the six-month-old program which allows drivers to pay the program costs in installments. The program, which began Feb. 1, gave drivers who had been ticketed for moving violations, an option to driving school; one that not only keeps them from losing points, but also removes the infraction from their record as well. For $175, drivers could enter the progam, which unlike the state-run traffic school, is completed at home, either online or on DVD, within a 90-day period.

As small Kentucky cities go, Danville has a pretty diverse population. Yes, it is predominantly white, but over the last few years it has been getting browner. The community has always had a relatively large African-American population. But added to the mix are hundreds of Hispanic people, many of whom are making Danville their temporary residence, but an increasing number are making it their permanent home. And there are a number of east Europeans and east and south Asian people who live and work here as well.

STANFORD - A former employee of Hustonville Elementary School pleaded guilty Friday to stealing more than $6,000 from the school's PTO fund. Jennifer F. Mendez, a former part-time teacher's assistant, will not have to serve any time in jail under a plea arrangement with prosecutors. Lincoln Circuit Judge Jeffrey Burdette sentenced her to a supervised two-year diversion program, which requires her repay $6,647 and stay out of trouble or risk going to prison for five years. Mendez, 38, of 230 Willow Springs Road, Stanford, served as PTO treasurer and was indicted on the felony theft charge in October after it was discovered the money was missing from the organization's checking account at First Southern National Bank in Hustonville.

A Danville woman has avoided jail time in what authorities said was the starvation of two of her three stepsons but her husband's planned plea deal fell through. Virginia Holsinger pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of second-degree criminal abuse - a lesser charge than she and her husband Charles Holsinger were indicted on last year after authorities found two boys malnourished in the Seminole Trail home. A plea deal was struck after prosecutors agreed that there was no evidence that the Holsingers intentionally starved the two boys, then ages 9 and 12. Virginia Holsinger must meet terms of a diversion program that includes community service in order to avoid jail time.

Solving problems usually isn't hard. Determine what happened. Determine why it happened. Determine a course of action to reduce the likelihood that it will happen again. The hardest part is knowing the root cause. Many times an attempted fix deals with only one symptom of the problem while the root remains untouched. We become like lawn mowers - we chop off the top of the weeds, but they grow back. The only solution is to dig up the root. The justice system is traditionally good at lawn mowing.

First Assistant Jessamine County Attorney Anna Roberts-Smith spends a large portion of her time each week in court prosecuting contempt of court cases of people who fail to pay child support for one reason or another. Time and again over the years Roberts-Smith has heard individuals claim they couldn't pay because they couldn't find a job. In looking at the majority of those individuals, she found one common denominator which was hindering them from obtaining a job; the lack of a high school diploma or GED certificate.

If a tentative plea deal comes to fruition, a Danville couple charged with intentionally starving two of their children will have their cases resolved next month without facing prison sentences. Charles and Virginia Holsinger appeared at a pretrial conference Tuesday in Boyle Circuit Court and accepted a verbal offer from prosecutors to enter a diversion program in exchange for guilty pleas to charges less than first-degree abuse. Public defender Melissa Bellew said details of the deal have not yet been worked out but the offer has been accepted in principle and has a 99 percent chance of being completed when the Holsingers appear back in court on April 9 to change their pleas.