43
Poland township police might soon carry heroin antidote
POLAND
Township police might soon begin to carry Naloxone, also known as Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose from opioids such as heroin.
Township trustees and Police Chief Brian Goodin all expressed support for the idea at a board of trustees meeting Wednesday.
The Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office has offered to give the township an initial supply of the drug and to train officers, at no cost to the township, Goodin said.
Although Goodin said township police do not often deal with heroin overdoses, he said he wants them to be prepared for the situation.
“I don’t want to say it’s going to happen a lot. But you never can tell. No community is immune,” he said.
He said he expects the process of training officers to begin sometime early next year.
Another anti-drug tool the township recently acquired is Mido, a 11/2-year-old police dog who started about three weeks ago. Before Mido’s arrival, the department had been without a police dog since the last one retired in 2007, officer J.R. Jackson said.
Mido came to Wednesday’s meeting to receive a gift from a local Cub Scout pack: a bulletproof vest.
“We by far exceeded our goals this year, so we thought it would be appropriate to give back to the community. And we thought it would be most appropriate to give back to those who protect us every night,” said Pack 2 Cub Master Joe Wrenn. “Hopefully, this will help protect our newest officer.”
In other business, the recycling department announced that township residents might be the first in Mahoning County to get a new recycling program, coordinated by the Solid Waste Management District.
Instead of bins, residents would use large carts that they could wheel to the curb, said Mike Heher, manager of Allied Waste Services’ Carbon-Limestone Landfill in Poland. Allied Waste operates the county’s curbside recycling program.
Officials at the Solid Waste Management District are in the process of applying for grant funds for the project, Heher said.