NATCHEZ &045;&045; A handful of misdemeanor offenders will get their day in court today.

But they won’t be sentenced to any time or told to pay any fines. Instead they’ll get a warm welcome and a quick rundown of the rules from Judge Lillie Blackmon Sanders.

Three months after initial meetings began the Adams County drug court will convene for the first time at 3 p.m. today.

&uot;We are ready to go and we are a little nervous,&uot; Sanders said.

Six or seven people, depending on one participant’s drug treatment, will stand before Sanders and be introduced to the program, she said.

&uot;We will explain the rules and regulations of the program, give the history of drug court and allow them to say a little about themselves,&uot; Sanders said.

The proceedings in the courtroom are open to the public and family members are encouraged to attend.

The first Adams County drug court comes in the wake of some good news from the state. Gov. Haley Barbour signed a bill on May 4 that will provide funding to the state’s drug courts.

&uot;The bill does affect us,&uot; Sanders said. &uot;It will be awhile before anyone actually gets any money, but we are happy about it. We don’t know what we are going to get and when we are going to get it.&uot;

Senate Bill 2892 adds a $10 special assessment to fines for felony crimes, traffic offense, DUI, game and fish law violations and litter law violations and an $8 special assessment to other misdemeanors. The extra money will go to drug court operations throughout the state.

A state press release said the fines could generate as much as $5 million a year.

The Adams County drug court is currently operating on $6,000 from the Board of Supervisors to buy supplies such as drug tests. The court has no other funding. Future plans include applying for a variety of grants. The staff members of the court are all working on a volunteer basis.

Adams County will join 11 fully operating drug courts in Mississippi. Four other counties have courts in the works. The Adams County Youth Court already has a fully functioning drug court.

Drug court will last about two years for each participant. They will appear before the judge once a week to give a report on their behavior. Weekly drug tests will be given and refusing to take a test or testing positive will result in jail time.

Participants must be employed throughout the process and Sanders has asked for community support in making this happen.