Ohio Task Force Commanders Association

Facebookrss

Cleveland Clinic panel discussion on opioids coming to Willoughby Hills

by

A Cleveland Clinic panel discussion on the opioid crisis is coming to Willoughby Hills.

“Heroin, Fentanyl and Carfentanil: The Triple Threat at Our Doorstep” will be held June 28 in St. Noel’s Banquet Center, 35200 Chardon Road.

“Triple Threat” is a series of panel discussions that “bring residents, community partners and local experts together to engage in open conversation about the opioid epidemic” according to the Cleveland Clinic. The Clinic said the events “empower community members by connecting them to the resources and information they need to combat the opioid crisis.” [Read more…]

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Local, state and federal law enforcement agencies keep the peace by working together

by

Just like robbers rob banks because that’s where the money is, and criminals don’t stop at the state line, law enforcement agencies at all levels work together regularly to investigate crimes and prosecute offenders.

From one-time bank robberies to suspected terrorist attacks and everything in between, law enforcement entities from local and county, to state and federal levels cooperate every day, according to the men and women who work in the industry.

“Local law enforcement has always worked with other agencies,” said Mentor Police Chief Kevin Knight in a May 31 telephone interview. “Everybody has their different areas of experience and expertise, so it’s just a natural thing that we help each other out. That’s how it is. That’s how it’s always been.” [Read more…]

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Chief deputy: Treatment, not arrest, best prescription for addiction

by

Every day, Sgt. Shawn Pak saw the damage heroin and opioids cause in his job at the Franklin County jail. And the deputy with the county sheriff’s office believed addicts were responsible for their own misery.

“It was kind of businesslike, kind of a detached view,” Pak said.

That view changed, though, when the brother of Pak’s best friend became addicted to heroin, bringing to his family the pain and helplessness so many other families have suffered.

Pak changed his attitude after “seeing the pain in my best friend’s eyes” when he told Pak about the horror addiction imposed on his family. The family’s matriarch, who is like a second mother to Pak, is now terrified by the telephone.

“She told me, ‘Every time the phone rings, I’m expecting it be be the call that he’s dead,’” Pak said. [Read more…]

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Yost supports photo IDs on benefits cards, food stamp reforms

by

While state Auditor Dave Yost wants to see some changes made to the food stamp program at the federal level, he is also working on getting photo IDs on the state’s electronic benefits cards as a way to deter fraud.

Yost was in town recently and met with some of The Daily Record staff, and publisher Bill Albrecht asked about what some of the top issues are.

The No. 1 issue is the opioid epidemic, Yost said. “Everyone’s talking about it, but no one knows what to do,” he said.

The state has experienced weak revenue for the past eight months, and Yost said he is not sure if it is the result of a soft economy or tax policy. [Read more…]

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Mock trial demonstrates consequences can be deadly

by

Rittman and Norwayne students got a glimpse into a real-life drug case through a mock trial with the intent on driving home the message actions have consequences, sometimes deadly ones.

The scenario laid out by Wayne County Prosecutor Dan Lutz and witness Donald Hall, director of the Medway Drug Enforcement Agency, was one in which a student was sold and given two pills, believed to be oxycodone, by a friend. The student ended up dying. It was later discovered the pills were not prescription medicine, but actually pure heroin pressed into pill form.

Lutz argued his case before Wayne County Municipal Court Judge Timothy VanSickle. Attorney David Knowlton defended “Mike Jones,” played by Rittman junior Cade Cook.

In the trial, Lutz asked VanSickle to give the defendant life in prison for trafficking in drugs, corrupting a person with drugs and reckless homicide, arguing the mere fact Jones sold and gave drugs that were illegal for him to have in his possession was reckless. [Read more…]

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Heroin: Your first time may be your last

Recent News