Wyoming News Briefs, Thursday, April 29, 2021
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Hot Springs commissioners disband COVID team
THERMOPOLIS (WNE) — At the April 20 Hot Springs County Commissioners meeting, the commissioners held a discussion with County Health Nurse Tricia McPhie to discuss rescinding the Incident Command Team they created in March 2020, which was a response to the COVID situation and other aspects to the emergency situation.
McPhie said, “I think we’ve learned a lot of stuff over the last year. We are not meeting like we did before. Efforts have obviously changed, too. Testing and vaccinating with a detailed plan, more than we were last year.”
Commissioner Jack Baird made a motion to rescind and said, “Back to normal life.”
The commissioners voted to rescind the Incident Command Team.
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‘Drug Take Back Day’ nets more than 1,200 pounds
CHEYENNE (WNE) — Across Wyoming, 1,242 pounds of unused and unwanted prescription drugs were collected last weekend during the most recent National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, said David Tyree, resident agent in charge of Wyoming’s Drug Enforcement Administration field office.
That’s 1,242 pounds less than could end up accidentally consumed by a child, or taken from a medicine cabinet by someone to whom they aren’t prescribed. National Prescription Drug Take Back Day usually takes place in April and October of each year, and is a partnership between the DEA and local law enforcement.
“It’s just an opportunity to remove risk ... just making sure that if someone is struggling with substance use, that those opportunities to maybe grab some old pills or something like that, that those opportunities are removed,” Wyoming Institute of Population Health’s Brittany Wardle said.
According to the 2019 National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 9.7 million people over the age of 12 misused prescription pain relievers, 4.9 million misused prescription stimulants, and 5.9 million misused prescription tranquilizers or sedatives.
The same survey found 50.8% of misused prescription pain relievers were given by, bought from or taken from a friend or relative.
Wardle, who was present at a Pine Bluffs collection site over the weekend, said more than seven pounds of unused prescription drugs were collected in the town of just over 1,000 people.
