Cowlitz County Drug Court Takes A Dark Turn

By Tony Lystra / The Daily News Posted: Saturday, April 2, 2011 10:00 pm Editor's Note The Daily News has been following Kelso resident Don Pomerenke's progress through Cowlitz County's Drug Court program since 2009. Pomerenke graduated from the program last year. Clarification: Two Cowlitz County men had already graduated from the county's Drug Court program when Superior Court Judge Stephen Warning hired them to do landscaping work at his home last year. The men were not participants in the program when the judge, who oversees Drug Court, hired them. Both men were mentioned in Sunday's story about a Drug Court graduate's relapse. Don Pomerenke attended countless hours of group therapy, counseling sessions and Narcotics Anonymous meetings. The government gave him a housing voucher so he could rent an apartment. And when Pomerenke graduated from Drug Court nearly a year ago, a judge shook his hand instead of sending him to prison.....Read Full TDN, Tony Lystra Report