Newspaper Page Text
The Led County Ledger
Your Hometown Source Of Local News
Hometown Newspaper of Dennis and Sandra Parker
Volume XXXIV - Number 8
Leesburg, Georgia - - October 12,2011
Fifty Cents
Presciption
Drug Take
Back Day
The Lee County Sher
iff’s Office, The City of
Leesburg and the City of
Smithville Police Depart
ments are hosting the
second Prescription Drug
Take Back Day on Satur
day October 29th. The first
take back event was very
successful and brought in
fifteen pounds of pharma
ceuticals. Sheriff Rachals
and the city police chiefs
are concerned that these
pharmaceuticals could be
accidentally ingested by
a child or be abused by
an addict. This is a great
opportunity for those who
missed the first event or
who have
subsequently
accumulated
unwanted, un
used prescrip
tion drugs, to
safely dispose
of them.
A Sheriff’s Office repre-
sentive reported that they
have seen a sharp increase
of pills being abused in
the past three years. Ac
cording to Captain Danny
McTyeire, the senior
Narcotics Investigator
with the Sheriff’s Office,
drug unit arrests for illegal
possession of a controlled
substance accounts for 70
percent of all drug cases
being made in Lee County.
Meaning more prescription
pills are currently being
abused than marijuana,
cocaine, and methamphet-
amine. One of the reasons
the substances are being
abused is that they are
easily accessible. Each
day, approximately, 2,500
teens use prescription
drugs to get high for the
first time according to the
Partnership for a Drug Free
America. Studies show
that a majority of abused
prescription drugs are
obtained from family and
friends, including the home
medicine cabinet.
This initiative addresses
a vital public safety and
public health issue. More
than seven million
Americans currently abuse
prescription drugs, accord
ing to the 2009 Substance
Abuse and Mental Health
Administration’s National
Surve^onDrug Use and
Health. Nearly 4 billion
prescriptions are filled in
the LIS each year and it
is estimated that nearly
a third is unused, which
leaves approximately 200
million pounds left in
homes across the nation.
The Lee County Code
Enforcement Office
became involved as part
of the Great American
Clean Lip and Rivers Alive
when it was reported that
wastewater treatment facili
ties do not treat the water
for the chemicals found in
medication and the sub
stances make their way into
the creeks. A study was
conducted
nationwide by
the USGS of
139 streams
and the results
found that
80% of the
samples contained phar
maceuticals.. “Why turn
in the prescriptions and not
just flush down a toilet or
throw them away? “ Lee
County Code Enforce
ment Officer Jim Wright
points out that in the past
people did dispose of their
unwanted pills by flush-
See Pills, Page 2A
EMC Collects Cell Phones For Soldiers
Doherty, Duggan
& Rouse Insurors
AN EMPLOYEE OWNED COMPANY
Home • Auto • Business • Life/Health
P.O.Box 71628 (229)888-2040
Albany, GA 31708-1628 800-628-2040
2301 Dawson Road (31707) Fax (229) 435-3036
www.ddrins.com
Lee County
Woman’s
Club will
meet at
6:30 p.m.
Tuesday,
October 18 at
First Baptist
Church
Leesburg
To Subscribe Call 229-759-2413
meeting
Lee County Commissioner Rick Muggridge, State Senator John Crosby and DCA
Commissioner Mike Beaty are pictured with a ceremonial check.
Lee County awarded 2011 CDBG Grant
Special to the Ledger
Lee County has success
fully competed for and
received a (Community
Development Block Grant
(CDBG) / Employment
Incentive Program (EIP)
/ Redevelopment Fund)
grant in the amount of
$356,373.00 from the
Georgia Department of
Community Affairs.
The grant is for the
purpose of paving and
improvements to Livings
ton Road.
The grant award was
presented to the county
by Commissioner Mike
Beatty and was accepted
on behalf of the county
by Commissioner Rick
Muggridge in a ceremony
conducted by the Georgia
Department of Commu
nity Affairs at The Mar
riott Macon City Center in
Macon on September 16,
2011.
A total of 92 awards to
various cities and counties
were recognized on that
date. The State CDBG
program allows local gov
ernments to compete for
resources that can be used
to assist public-private
partnerships that leverage
private investment and
benefit low and moderate-
income persons through
economic development,
public facilities, public
infrastructure and neigh
borhood revitalization
projects. More information
on the State CDBG pro
gram can be found at:
www.dca.ga .gov/com-
munities/CDBG/docu-
ments/CDBGHistorySto-
riesHighlights .pdf.
BANK
of LEE
COUNTY
A Division of Bank of Terrell
Special to the Ledger
Macon State Prison, located
in Oglethorpe, GA, recently
donated 1,205 confiscated cell
phones to EMC Engineering
for the Cell Phones for Soldiers
Project. Thanks to Warden
Gregory McLaughlin and his
staff for their generous contri
bution! It is a tremendous help
by turning these cell phones,
which may have been intended
for unlawful use, into some
thing positive for the troops.
For more than a year EMC
Engineering has been accepting
donations of cell phones for the
sole purpose of our troops. Ap
proximately half of the donated
phones in good condition are
reconditioned and distributed to
a needy soldier. For those cell
phones that cannot be recon
ditioned, the components from
the phones are recycled and
the money is donated to Cell
Phones for Soldiers for calling
cards. For more information,
you can visit their website at
w ww.cellphonesforsoldiers.
com.
Currently, there are more
than 150,000 troops are serving
overseas; in places like Iraq and
Afghanistan. This separation in
difficult and they want to stay
in contact with their loved ones.
This is a great project and one
that EMC is proud to be associ
ated with. In fact, EMC began
its companywide campaign for
the collection of unused cell
phones at the beginning of this
year. The office in Lee County
has been extremely involved
and successful in this cam
paign and we continue to
look forward to more dona
tions for our troops!
3000 N. Slappey Blvd., Albany
(229) 446-0102 FDI€
www.bankofleeco.com
Lee County Board
of Education will
meet Monday,
October 17 at
5:30 p.m. at
the Board of
Education office
building located
at
126 Starksville
Ave. in Leesburg
for their business
