At 18, Nathanial Tate’s drinking was getting him into trouble. Around the same time, Page began a new program to help people with drug and alcohol problems: Drug Court. It’s an alternative to jail time. Instead of spending time behind bars, those accepted into the program wear ankle monitors, take regular drug and alcohol tests, and get counseling. 

“The hard truth about what happens in courts, especially associated with substance abuse, is that incarceration alone does not work,” said Page Drug Court Coordinator Vaughn Goatson.

“It starts cycles. You can put somebody away, they can be released, and you can almost put a timer on them because, sooner or later, they’re going to be brought back into the system. Drug Court is a new way of looking at that, which is not looking at these people as incarcerated individuals but looking at them as who they are. They are people. People that can receive help [and] the tools to become better.”

Tate is the first to complete the Page Drug Court program. It’s a milestone worthy of the graduation ceremony held Nov. 28. Families, participants and city officials were on hand to show their support. “From day one, I believed in Mr. Nathaniel Tate here,” Goatson said. “I want to say to him personally, thank you for letting me help you.”

After Goatson spoke, Magistrate Judge Andrew Hettinger addressed the audience. Hettinger is the driving force behind the Drug Court program. His dedication and enthusiasm permeated his voice as he spoke.

“Mr. Tate was accepted into the Drug Court program on Nov. 1 of 2022,” said Hettinger.

“I remember that day really well. He's one of our first participants into the program. Since that time, he has accomplished the following things: He has had zero new arrests or charges. He completed the Domestic Violence Offender Treatment Program – 26 sections that he had to do as part of another charge he had. He turned down alcohol from a family member who was pressuring him to consume it, and he decided to move residences [to] stay away from that influence. He’s maintained his sobriety for a year, as proven by that ankle monitor he did not like that he wore for 90 days. And then he did twice-weekly breath tests with our Drug Court coordinator, Vaughn Goatson, to make sure he was not consuming alcohol. He came to court approximately 20 times. He came to individual and group counseling sessions approximately 100 times. He completed a budget assessment to make sure his finances were in order. He completed a health assessment to make sure that his health was good. He completed a vocational assessment to work on gaining, maintaining and improving his employment. He has also gained and maintained employment.”

After receiving a certificate and award from Judge Hettinger, Tate was greeted and congratulated by Mayor Bill Diak, Page City Counselors David Auge Mike Farrow, and Page Police Sergeant Ted Barnard.

Tate told the Chronicle he’s working for a houseboat management company. 

“When I first started, I didn't really know what to do because wasn’t much of a boat person,” he said. “But now I'm enjoying it. I thought it was just going to be working on the engines [and] generators. It’s more of like working on the whole house.”

At 18, Tate had given up on himself. Now at 20 years old, he said he knows the difference between a bad day and a bad life. He made the decision to turn his life around and actively makes an effort to do so.

Hettinger, who quoted Teddy Roosevelt during his talk, said one of his favorite quotes of all time came from Nathanial Tate: “When you do stuff, things change.”

What is Drug Court?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services describes Drug Courts as “specialized court docket programs that help criminal defendants and offenders, juvenile offenders, and parents with pending child welfare cases who have alcohol and other drug dependency problems.”

Having a Drug Court is new to Page but has gained traction across the country a smart alternative to jail time. According to Page Drug Court Coordinator Vaughn Goatson, Drug courts have been around for around 30 years. The idea started in a small town in Florida. Now, hundreds of Drug Courts are making a difference across the nation.

City of Page Mayor Bill Diak said the Drug Court is a program that Coconino County wanted to start some time ago.

“And we were able to do so when Andrew [Hettinger] came on board because it was something that he felt very strongly about,” Diak said.

“So he kind of really got that ball rolling for us. Prior to that, our magistrate was basically a temporary magistrate. And so we needed somebody that was going to be more available than just days of court because there’s a lot more involved. And it added a lot to the workload for that department, too. It was something that I felt was of value to our community and the people that we serve.”

The first graduate of the program, Nathanial Tate, currently lives in Kaibeto, Arizona, and works for a company based in Big Water, Utah. Residents in both towns work and shop in Page. Occasionally, some get a ticket or get in trouble with the Page police.

“We’ve got to understand that our court, like our town, serves a lot of people that aren’t necessarily our citizens, but they still serve them and we have to serve them,” said Diak. “And that’s what kind of makes it difficult because sometimes our citizens don’t understand that we are rural, and we have other customers that may not necessarily be citizens. So even though it may be more of a county thing, we work hand-in-hand with one another.”

Diak said the county side of the   court system doesn’t handle the Drug Court; the city’s magistrate court does.

Diak said the magistrate court “serves not only our citizens, but a great general area around us.” 

“Even when tourists get a ticket, they go to the magistrate court,” he said. 

“I think that this program will help us maybe on the long-term, help bring some of those people back out of a society that is not necessarily to their benefit or the community’s benefit, and bring them back into society and make them good citizens wherever they live and give them the help that they need. And the long-term result of that is maybe we have fewer people hanging out on the street because they’re not involved in drugs and alcohol.”