When most parents think about their children using drugs, the idea of a seedy drug dealer comes to mind. However, many kids are finding drugs much closer to home, often as close as the family medicine cabinet.
At the Tuesday, May 10, meeting of the Wright County Board, the commissioners voted to move forward with drop boxes for used and expired medication.
In a cooperative effort among the sheriff’s department, environmental health and local police departments, Sheriff Joe Hagerty said the county is looking to attack this growing problem with the same ferocity it combated methamphetamine production several years ago.
"What we are proposing is a truly collaborative effort in trying to get our county drug-free," Hagerty said.
"We’re tasked with that at the sheriff’s office. The Drug Enforcement Administration has started a similar plan in the northern half of the state like a junk amnesty day to drop off old prescription drugs to get them out of the system for ‘precursor drugs’ like Vicodin and Oxycontin."
The spread of prescription drug abuse among teenagers has risen significantly and has spawned several such programs.
In addition to the DEA program, the Buffalo Police Department already has a drop-off site in place and several counties are following a pilot program launched by Chisago County.
Hagerty said the time to react is now because the evidence is mounting that the problem is only getting worse over time.
"What we’re finding out from our Safe Schools program is that there is a lot of abuse of prescription drugs and selling them at $10 a pop," Hagerty said. "It’s become a new form of drug dealing."
Hagerty said the proposal will be to set up drop-off lock boxes throughout the county not only to get the drugs away from children but potentially contaminated surface water as well.
Environmental Health Officer Bill Stephens said water treatment plants aren’t designed to handle medicine that is merely flushed down the toilet or even disposed of in a landfill. He said the project can not only be helpful for the environment, it can potentially help save a life.
"From the environmental standpoint, we see a great benefit to it," Stephens said. "From a public safety standpoint, if we can keep one kid from getting involved with drugs from their parents’ medicine cabinet, this will be a worthwhile program."
In other items on the agenda, the board:
– Held a public hearing concerning a plan for an industrial development in the city of Delano accessing County Ditch 34. Seven residents spoke up against having all landowners pay for improvements that will be necessitated by the addition of stormwater runoff from the industrial park. The item was laid over a week because Board Chairman Jack Russek, who represents the area in question, was not able to attend the May 10 board meeting.
– Tabled discussion of a proposed county cost share for a pedestrian underpass along County State Aid Highway 75 in the city limits of Monticello. The city wants the county to pay half of the estimated $150,000 cost. However, the county board has denied four previous requests for such underpasses in other cities in the county. The board will discuss the matter again at its Tuesday, May 31, board meeting after the item is reviewed at the Tuesday, May 24, parks commission meeting.
– Laid over for a week bids received for the county’s 2011 highway overlay projects. Four bids were received, but there were some questions about the completeness of the bids that needed to be reviewed before the board receives a recommendation.
– Awarded the Safe Routes to School contract to Rum River Contracting in the bid amount of $173,950.
– Referred to the personnel committee a request from the sheriff’s office to extend administrative hours in the Law Enforcement Center by 90 minutes on Thursday afternoons to accommodate public requests for administrative services by keeping the desk open until 6 p.m.
– Approved a bid for a flooring replacement in the Human Services Center at a cost of $24,205. The replacement flooring was needed because an area was flooded after a truck accident.
– Authorized a letter of support for an application by the Albertville Guardian Angels to the federal office of Housing and Urban Development for lower income senior housing. The proposed development would be a 47-unit senior citizen housing project.
– Set a bid opening for the CSAH 75 road realignment project for 9:30 a.m. at the Tuesday, June 7, board meeting.
– Authorized signatures on a supplemental boat and water safety grant from the Department of Natural Resources in the amount of $8,875. The grant pays for evening, weekend and holiday overtime patrol shifts during the summer boating season.
– Approved the final payment of $124,405 to Dennis Fehn Gravel & Excavating for its work on the CSAH 6 improvement project.
– Authorized signatures on a $1,000 grant for veteran’s services to conduct a Veterans Benefit Fair, which will inform Wright County veterans what benefits they are entitled to.
– Adopted a resolution to be a sponsoring agent for the Wright County Snowmobile Association as the group seeks to get grant funds for the 2011-12 snowmobiling season.
– Authorized board attendance at the Region 7W Transportation Policy Board meeting Wednesday, May 18, in St. Cloud.
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