QUOTE OF NOTE
Fentanyl task force moves forward in Montgomery County MONTGOMERY COUNTY Commissioners in Mont- gomery County will put together a task force to investigate fentanyl use in Montgomery County, especially among teenage and young adult users. BY JISHNU NAIR According to the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- vention, synthetic opioid overdose deaths nationwide rose 55.6% from 2020-21.
HIGHLIGHTS THE WOODLANDS A resident questionnaire on satisfaction with The Woodlands Township services and other topics will be mailed July 1, and it will close July 22. The township aims to collect at least 2,000 responses, according to officials. The results will be presented to the board Aug. 18 in advance of the township budget workshops. The survey cost the township $27,000, and it has $42,000 budgeted for the project, according to township materials. OAK RIDGE NORTH Plans to widen and align Robinson Road in Oak Ridge North took a step forward May 9 when City Council approved a resolution to acquire a key site from Montgomery County needed to advance the project for $581,576. “[FENTANYL] KILLS PEOPLE UNKNOWINGLY, AND IT’S A HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE DRUG.” JAMES NOACK, MONTGOMERY COUNTY PRECINCT 3 COMMISSIONER The Woodlands Township board of directors will meet at 6 p.m. June 22 at 2801 Technology Forest Blvd., The Woodlands. 281-210-3800. www.thewoodlands-tx.gov Shenandoah City Council will meet at 7 p.m. June 22 and July 13, at 29955 I-45 N., Shenandoah. 281-298-5522. www.shenandoahtx.us MEETINGS WE COVER
County Sheriff Rand Henderson said his officers have also encountered marijuana and pressed pills laced with the drug as well. He said the task force combined with access to funding will be a good move going forward. Jason Millsaps, the county’s emergency management director, said expanding access would allow officers to carry multiple units of overdose-reversing drug naloxone, which is usually sold in units of two doses. Kathryn Pin- neri, director of forensic services, said fentanyl overdoses usually require more than one dose.
At a May 10 Commissioners Court session, Precinct 3 Commissioner James Noack brought forward the item. “[Fentanyl] kills people unknowingly, and it’s a horrible, horrible drug,” Noack said. Part of the committee’s purpose will be putting forward money received from lawsuits against drug manufacturers and distributors that Montgomery County joined. Accord- ing 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. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton secured $1.6 billion from lawsuits against manufacturers, includ- ing Johnson & Johnson, and distributors, including AmerisourceBergen. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, total reported drug overdoses in Texas increased 33% from 2020-21. The federal Drug Enforcement Agency describes fentanyl as a synthetic opioid 80-100 times stronger than morphine, initially designed to relieve pain in cancer patients.
WHAT IS FENTANYL? The synthetic opioid fentanyl was originally designed to relieve pain in cancer patients.
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80-100 times stronger than morphine.
Synthetic opioid overdose deaths nationwide rose 55.6% from 2020-2021.
Montgomery County will receive $3 million from lawsuits against drug manufacturers.
SOURCES: CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY/COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
Funding options for sidewalks eyed for pedestrian safety
acknowledged it lacks a means to fund them. City Manager Heather Neeley said the cost to lay concrete for sidewalks on Maplewood Drive, which extends past the city’s southern limit, would be $200,000, not including costs such as engineering services, drainage and surveying. “We are looking at those things; it’s just not in the budget right now,” she said at the meeting. Council Member Dawn Candy said the project should be prioritized in a way it can be looked at as soon as
possible due to safety concerns for children walking to school. “We’ve got residents who are being impacted. ... It’s a public safety issue,” Candy said. “We need to do some- thing to try to push this forward.” Mayor Paul Bond said the city could reach out to the school dis- trict—Conroe ISD serves Oak Ridge North—for a possible partnership on funding. “If they are telling parents not to allow their children to walk to school because it’s not safe, that’s an issue for the district as well,” Candy said.
BY VANESSA HOLT
OAK RIDGE NORTH The city of Oak Ridge North could look to Conroe ISD to partner on sidewalks city offi- cials said are needed to ensure safety for children walking to school. At a May 23 City Council meeting, members agreed there is a need for sidewalks south of the city but
Oak Ridge North City Council will meet at 7 p.m. June 27 at 27424 Robinson Road, Oak Ridge North. 281-292-4648. www.oakridgenorth.com
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THE WOODLANDS EDITION • JUNE 2022
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