The General Assembly awarded $500,00 to Partners Health Management to specifically address the needs of Surry County residents battling substance use disorder or for those otherwise struggling with addiction. Partners has pledged to support the programs that have been designed and are being implemented by the county’s office of substance abuse recovery in education, counseling, workforce training, and community outreach.
Mark Willis, the Surry County substance abuse recovery director, asked the county commissioners to accept the funding from Partners that would fund $151,248 toward Vital Links Center. The center spearheads three programs including a return-to-work program for those reintegrating after incarceration, with the idea that successfully reentering the workforce is a way to significantly reduce recidivism.
Recovery Friendly Workplaces will receive training and support in how to assist current employees struggling with substance use disorder. Employers note lost productivity and excess absenteeism due to substance abuse and many are keen to find ways to help. Employee Assistance Programs are much more common now than in the past as employers want to aid and retain employees rather than hire and retrain.
With a Recovery to Work program the county hopes to identify employers with whom to partner to find where there are needs in the labor force that can be filled. The Vital Links Center will receive referrals from the community, treatment providers, law enforcement and the Department of Social Services for individuals to receive screening, vocational case management, and job referrals to approved participants.
Funding in the amount of $65,000 has been earmarked for a planning and implementation study regarding new treatment programs within the new Surry County Detention center. Another $96,400 of the funds provided to Partners from the state will be applied to outreach and education programs from the county. An “aggressive” campaign of education will be deployed across the county to spread the word that prevention is the best weapon against substance use disorder.
For local intervention and recovery support there is an additional $159,089 set aside to increase funding for the county’s Intervention Team and $27,600 to increase funding for community transportation options such as Ride the Road to Recovery.
The support from Partners coupled with funds from opioid settlements will be applied to the county’s long-range plan to combat substance use disorder through education, prevention, treatment, and recovery services.
In other board news:
– The commissioners heard during the open forum portion of Monday’s meeting from members of the public on issues regarding election integrity. Several members of the group marched around the Historic Courthouse in Dobson seven times before Monday night’s meeting recalling the Old Testament Battle of Jericho.
They asked the board for more communication and transparency about their requests and the status of any action to resolve their concerns. A major sticking point remains using paper ballots as opposed to the electronic voting machines they feel are susceptible to outside manipulation and cost former President Donald Trump the 2020 election.
Rachel Collins and Dan Childress each addressed the board with impassioned pleas to reconsider the hasty retreat of the county from the Pietmont Authority for Regional Transportation Authority, the regional bus service that had at one time be a preferred way to move people to work outside of the county.
Diminishing ridership was noted by the likes of Commissioner Van Tucker before the pandemic, and there is a concern among commissioners that the ridership will not return. Mount Airy Commissioner Joe Zalescik also raised ridership concerns before the city board voted unanimously to issue a resolution similar to Pilot Mountain’s asking the service to be restored.
Collins also noted that in exiting PART Surry County let $300,000 in federal dollars be redirected directly to Randolph County and the ballyhooed rental car tax all this was meant to fix remains in place.
– Tony Davis of the Surry Soil and Water Conservation District sent notice to the board that a funding offer for $261,666 for the StreamFlow Rehabilitation Project has been approved. The funds from the North Carolina Department of Agriculture will be used to clear debris from Surry County streams. David said those streams have been identified and that funds will come through as the work is completed. The commissioners gave their approval to sign the contract to being debris removal as part of StRAP.
– County Manager Chris Knopf suggested, and the board agreed, that the county not renew its Planning Services Interlocal agreement with the Town of Dobson. The county had been aiding in planning, zoning, and code enforcement for Dobson since July of 2017 and that agreement ended on June 30.
The county will continue to provide these services to the Town of Dobson on a month-to-month basis through the end of January 2023 or until Dobson has secured a new provider.
– The Department of Transportation will be doing work on North Bridge Street in Elkin and the sign for the Elkin Center needs to be moved or sold to the state so that work may continue. The sign is on the corner of N. Bridge St. and CC Camp Rd. on private land.
Surry County Public Works Director Jessica Montgomery recommended the county sell the sign to the state for $15,000 rather than work with the DOT to remove and later replace the sign, to which the board approved.
– Jerry Sawyers term as one of the public members of the Surry County Board of Health is expiring this month. Health board chair Eddie Jordan recommended reappointing Sawyers. Commissioner Larry Johnson said Sawyers has been a good member of the health board while moving to reappoint him for another term and the commissioners agreed unanimously.
– Finally, Sheriff Steve Hiatt made a request of the board to honor retiring members of the county’s force, “It has been the practice of the county of Surry and the Surry County Sheriff’s Office for a retired officer to receive their badge and service weapon upon retirement.”
North Carolina general statutes allow local discretion for decisions such as these for deceased and retiring members of law enforcement. Sheriff Hiatt has made the request on behalf of retiring Deputy Eric Latza, Deputy Jonathan Bledsoe, and Chief Deputy Paul Barker and he sends his thanks on behalf of the county to all three.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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