Several sentences handed down in both district and county courts in recent months have provided not only justice for the crimes committed, but also helped to support a handful of nonprofit organizations in the county, as well as in the region.

Last week, the Lilly Grove Special Utility District settled a charge of reckless emission with a mandate from district court to make a $5,000 contribution to Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful.

"It was a pleasant surprise," said Buzz Dutton, executive coordinator for Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful.

While the organization does not yet have the money, Dutton said he would like to use part of it for an illegal dumping seminar for city and county officials to show what impact illegal dumping has on the county and the enforcement alternatives available.

"We've been wanting to do it, but there's a fee to have the speaker come down and do it, and we just haven't had the funds," Dutton said.

"Our feeling was that releasing this chemical into the atmosphere is akin to illegal dumping — it's dumping into the atmosphere instead of dumping onto the grounds — and we're trying to gear whatever we do accordingly with the money," he said, adding he would also like to hold a seminar for the general public, too.

The Lilly Grove court agreement stemmed from a complaint filed in January with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality alleging that a leaking 100-pound canister of chlorine was released into the air near a well site off CR 811.

In addition, Dutton said KNB is considering using the money for another electronic recycling program after the first of the year, but board members are still in the discussion stage.

The East Texas Food Bank, an organization dedicated to ending hunger in East Texas, has also benefitted from punishments handed down in Nacogdoches court rooms in recent months.

An estimated $5,000 has been collected for the organization in the last couple of months, according to County Attorney John Fleming.

Robert Bush, executive director of the East Texas Food Bank, said that, like Keep Nacogdoches Beautiful, his organization has not received the money yet, but he's looking forward to working with Nacogdoches and helping the community feed its more needy citizens.

"It has a significant impact on us, because for every dollar we get, we're able to generate eight meals," he said. "So, whatever the judge's decision on the citizen, we turn that around and turn it into food, and it goes right back into those communities."

Fleming said individuals who are found guilty in county court receive a range of punishments from jail time to probation. He said often times when a probated sentence is handed down, it will be accompanied by a fine, court costs and community service hours.

"One day, I was talking to the judge (Jack Sinz), and I said, 'You know, sometimes it just seems like we go through the motions slightly — $1,000 fine, plus court costs, plus 50 hours community service," he said. He said Sinz responded by informing him about a section of the Code of Criminal Procedures that states in lieu of a defendant working a specified number of community service hours, the judge may order a defendant to make a specified donation to a nonprofit food bank or food pantry in the area in which the defendant resides.

"After visiting with Judge Sinz about it, I liked the idea of being able to dispense justice by having a defendant — someone who has broken the law — helping feed those who are hungry," Fleming said.

He said he is unaware of a ceiling on the amount an individual would have to pay the food bank in lieu of the community service hours, but depending on the circumstances, his office has set payments at anywhere from $50 to $1,000.

Fleming said the county probation department collects the money and distributes it to the local pantries.

Dorothy Brown, director of the probation department, said if the court does not specify which food pantry the donation should go to, her office will send the money to whichever has the lesser donations.

"We try to keep it balanced," she said.

Fleming said he's been suggesting the payments to the food bank for about six weeks, and he felt that it's been a great opportunity for the community.

"Sometimes you get to do your job and do something good at the same time. And, I think this is one of those opportunities," he said.