CITY & COUNTY
News from Conroe, Montgomery & Montgomery County
County moves forward on fentanyl task force
City terminates city administrator’s contract
BY JISHNU NAIR
MONTGOMERY COUNTY Commissioners are putting together a task force to investigate fentanyl use in Montgomery County, especially among teen- age and young adult users, following discussion at a May 10 Commissioners Court session. Task force members would include Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack, County Judge Mark Keough and Precinct 1 Commissioner Robert Walker as well as representatives from the county sheriff’s office, constable precincts and the district attorney’s office. Part of the committee’s purpose will be putting forward money received from lawsuits against drug manufacturers and distributors that Montgomery County joined. According to Noack, the county is set to receive $3 million. County Attorney B.D. Griffin also said approximately $30 million will be available for Montgomery County to apply for. According to the National Center for Health Sta- tistics, the total reported drug overdoses in Texas increased 33% from 2020-21. “A third of our cases that have been drug related have fentanyl in their systems,” said Kathryn Pinneri, the county’s director of forensic services. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency describes fentanyl as a synthetic opioid 80-100 times stronger
RISING CONCERN Montgomery County commissioners are forming a task force to investigate fentanyl use in the county as drug-related deaths have risen in Texas. The Drug Enforcement Agency describes fentanyl as a synthetic opioid.
BY ANNA LOTZ
MONTGOMERY During a regular meeting May 24, Montgomery City Council voted 3-1 to terminate the contract with City Administrator Richard Tramm, effective May 24. Following a closed executive session, Coun- cil Member Casey Olson, who was sworn into Place 2 on May 24, made a motion to terminate the contract with Tramm for “no confidence.” Council Member T.J. Wilkerson cast the opposing vote. “I appreciate all that you’ve done. I don’t get the same feeling as my colleagues, as the people before me have got,” Wilkerson said of Tramm. Nici Browe, city secretary and director of administrative services, said in an email May 25 that the city had begun the process to work with a consultant agency to find a candidate through a nationwide search. According to the city’s website, Tramm had served as city administrator since June 2019. Council appointed Assistant City Administra- tor Dave McCorquodale interim city adminis- trator at a special May 31 meeting.
The total reported drug overdoses in Texas increased
Synthetic opioid overdose deaths nationwide rose
33% 55.6%
from 2020-21.
from 2020-21.
than morphine, initially designed to relieve pain in cancer patients. Potential solutions put forward included expand- ing access to naloxone, a narcotic that can reverse an overdose. Commissioners unanimously approved the formation of the task force. Noack’s Chief of Staff Evan Besong told Community Impact Newspaper there was no time frame on when the task force will move forward on any items. SOURCES: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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