Sheriff's Department, Drug Task Force collection drive keeps drugs off the street and out of sewers
(Talk of the Town photos by Jennifer Zartman Romano) Whitley County Sheriff’s Department reserve deputies Tom Smith, left, and Greg Greaf, right, stand with three large bags of unwanted medication collected Friday afternoon. Below, a closer look at the numerous bottles and boxes of pills collected.
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
They were not only responsible for making a little more shelf space available in local medicine cabinets, but, more importantly may helped keep dangerous drugs off the streets and out of the local sewers. 
In cooperation with the Whitley County Solid Waste District’s Earth Day Challenge, the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department and Drug Task Force collected unwanted and expired medications and prescription drugs for disposal on Friday afternoon at the solid waste district facility on South Main Street.
Three large bags of pills and packaging were collected over the course of the afternoon by reserve deputies Tom Smith and Greg Greaf.
“It gets drugs out of medicine cabinets,” Smith said. Smith shared that by purging the drugs, it cuts down on the instances of people breaking into homes to steal drugs. Smith also pointed out other disposal issues avoided by the public collection drive.
Smith said people often throw their unwanted medication into the garbage or flush it down the toilet and both methods are problematic. In the garbage, it can be stolen or find its way into the wrong hands.
Smith also shared that the instance of flushing medication in Fort Wayne has been prevalent enough that trace amounts of medications have been found in water supplies.
“We’re getting it out of homes so that it can be destroyed properly,” Smith said.
The three bags of drugs will be turned over to the Whitley County Drug Task Force and they will be incinerated.
The Whitley County Sheriffs Department and Drug Task Force holds the collection drives several times a year.
Comments
it has come to my attention that several residents at [ADDRESS WITHHELD] have had a lot of traffic in and out of there apartment [APARTMENT NUMBER WITHHELD] and that these people are not staying for more than a few minutes at a time and there are always strange smells coming from there and they are not from cookig so please check into this apt. is rented to [NAME WITHHELD] who is on house arrest anyway please do not involve me this is just a neighbor relying on you to help
Editors Note: We cannot provide the names or addresses here on the website as these individuals may or may not have committed a crime. We have, however, provided the information posted here in its entirety to the local law enforcement officials. Thanks.
Posted by: anonymous | May 29, 2008 06:48 PM
I would like to report the sale of marijuana to my 15 year old son. There are two people he has told me of and addresses. [NAME & ADDRESSES WITHHELD]. I am outraged that these two adults would have the nerve to push drugs on our young children. Please do something about this so other children do not have to suffer.
sincerely,
concerned parent
Editors Note: We cannot publish the names or addresses of the individuals posted because they may or may not be involved in a crime. We have, however, turned the information provided over to the local authorities.
Posted by: anonymous | May 29, 2008 06:54 PM