Treatment Court participant helps HPD Christmas Express

HERMISTON – The Sixth Judicial District Treatment Court saw one of its participants go full circle this holiday season – from being arrested by police to involving officers in a holiday Christmas project. Treatment Court requires its participants to create and operate a leadership project to give back to the community.

In early November, Calvin Netherda decided he wanted to collect toys for children in need for Christmas. Treatment Court Coordinator Jillian Viles said she was hesitant, due to the short window of time, but watched Netherda move quickly into action.

He got permission from his employer, Pilot Travel Center, to place a box for toys there, and was surprised to watch the first box fill up within a few days. By the end of the toy drive, he had four large boxes of toys filling the bed of his pickup truck.

Viles assisted Netherda in determining what to do with the toys. The Hermiston Police Department welcomed them as part of its own Christmas Express toy drive.

“To see Calvin partner with an agency that has arrested him many times speaks to the restorative aspect of Treatment Court,” Viles said. “Treatment Court is not just about helping people become free from substance abuse. It is about helping them to restore relationships, reuniting families, reducing criminal activity, and helping them to become productive members of our communities.”

Netherda said he was grateful that the HPD officers who accepted the toys were out of uniform, adding that one of the officers at the event was the man who arrested him the last time before he came into Treatment Court. He should complete the treatment program in February 2022.

Photo of Netherda and HPD officers via the Sixth Judicial District Treatment Court

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Elkhorn Media Group

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