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About Illinois Valley news. (Cave City, Oregon) 1937-current | View Entire Issue (April 19, 2017)
Page A-12 Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, April 19, 2017 Federal grant for youth drug prevention Jason McMillen IVN Contributing Writer Shawn Martinez, Josephine Coun- ty’s prevention and treatment coordi- nator, is currently pursuing a federal grant which, if afforded, will be used to enhance existing drug abuse prevention strategies that target youth. Josephine County’s primary method of drug abuse prevention currently revolves around outreach and education. The grant is dictated by the U.S. Department of Justice and is entitled the Comprehen- sive Opioid Abuse Site Based Program. There are six specific categories within the grant that can be applied for but only two of them may be awarded to a local government. Specifically, Josephine County will be applying for the Overdose Prevention Program which will award the county’s anti-drug abuse program $300,000 over a period of three years. “Our focus is going to be look- ing at getting the prevention specialists and school resource officers into high school and middle school,” Martinez said, outlining her strategy. The ex- act plan has yet to be finalized so the schools that will benefit from this grant has yet to be announced. However, and if at all possible, Martinez said that a “comprehensive approach” is her ulti- mate goal. The federal deadline is April 25 so the proposal will be sent to the Justice Department around April 20. Martinez expects to hear back from the federal government sometime over the sum- mer. “There’s a limited number of these grants available and so, as with any federal grant, there’s tough competi- tion,” said Martinez. Although it might be a tough fight, Martinez believes, that Josephine County has a good shot at qualifying because the area has experi- enced a statistically significant increase in treatment for opioid addiction. Additionally, opioid use among Oregon’s 11th-graders over the past 30 days is ranked as the seventh highest in the nation. Martinez has also been informed by the chief of police during a recent meeting that there has been six naloxone injections, a drug that instantly stops an opiate overdose, ad- ministered in the last six months. This is reportedly quite high considering the relatively low population of Josephine County. Because of the opioid problem, which of course is not limited strictly to youth in Josephine County, the Of- fice of National Drug Control, a com- ponent of the White House, conducted a roundtable meeting several months ago to discuss the issue. Martinez insists that the Office of National Drug Control’s visit will cer- tainly add another layer of legitimacy to their proposal. “We have a need and I think that we can show we have a need,” Marti- nez concluded. ONE DAY ONLY SALE 20% OFF ANY ECHO UNIT * *20% off MSRP discount applies to all ECHO & ECHO Bear Cat units on the day of the dealer sales event only. Excludes accessories. Not to be combined with any other offers. Saturday, April 22, 2017 9:00AM to 3:00PM Dave’s Outdoor Power Equipment, Inc. BRING IN THIS AD FOR BIG ONE DAY SAVINGS www.shindaiwa-usa.com 287 Hamilton Ave. • Cave Junction, OR 97523 541-592-3416 (Photos by Birdy, for the Illinois Valley News) “Cavetown Underground” entertained a full house at Lorna Byrne Middle School April 15. Serving the Best Cheeseburger with an Attitude! Celebrating 10 years as the Valley’s Bar & Grill T UESDAY THROUGH S ATURDAY N OON TO C LOSE 12235 Redwood Hwy • Wonder, OR 541-476-8990
