At its regular Tuesday meeting, theHenry County Board of Commissionersaccepted the donation of two PrescriptionDrug Take Back receptacles from the HenryCounty Kiwanis Club on behalf of the HenryCounty Police Department to assist lawenforcement with its drug disposal

program. The bins were originally donatedby the McDonough Post Office andrefurbished by the Kiwanis Club.

When it comes to prescriptiondrugs, abuse is at an all-time high. Often,these medicines remain in the home afterthey are no longer needed by the patient and

the henry county update 1

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Called MeetingsJuly 23rd at 9:00 a.m.July 25th at 6:00 p.m.July 29th at 6:00 p.m.

August 5th at 10:00 a.m.

Regular MeetingsAugust 6th at 9:00 a.m.August 20th at 6:30 p.m.

Meetings held at: Administration Building

Community Room140 Henry Parkway

McDonough, GA 30253

Regular Commission meetings will air Fridays,Saturdays, Mondays and

Wednesdays on Henry TV Channel 14 andAT&T U-Verse Channel 99,

at 9 a.m. & 7 p.m.

Kiwanis Donation Will Assist Police With Prescription Drug Disposal

July 18, 2013

Continued on Page 2

Tony Moye with the Henry County Kiwanis Club (front row, right) presents a pill disposal box to Henry County tolaunch a Pill Take Back Program in Henry County. Pictured with him are Henry County Commission Chairman TommySmith (front row, left), (second row, from left to right) Major Mark Amerman, District 3 Commissioner Gary Barham;(third row, from left to right) District 4 Commissioner Reid Bowman, District 5 Commissioner Bruce Holmes, District1 Commissioner Bo Moss and District 2 Commissioner Brian Preston.

www.hen r ycoun t y -ga .o rg

The Henry County Board of Commissioners tookseveral steps Tuesday night during its regular meeting to helpensure citizens’ safety during emergency situations. The firstwas the approval of the purchase of early warning stormsirens, and the second step was the purchase of anemergency notification system.

“Both of these projects enhance our ability to providecitizens with the earliest possiblewarning of severe weather,understanding that early noticesaves lives,” said Don Ash, Directorof the Henry County EmergencyOperations Center.

Henry County’s currentweather sirens were installed in1995, when the County’s populationwas less than half what it is today.Consequently, previouslyuninhabited areas of the County arenow densely populated butcompletely lack storm siren coverage.

While the current sirens can only transmit sound ina single direction, the nineteen new sirens by Sirens for Citiesof Jonesboro, Georgia can transmit sound 360 degreessimultaneously with a 5,200 ft. radius, and they have abattery back-up, ensuring they will still be operational, evenif the power goes out.

The nineteen new sirens will be positionedstrategically throughout the County to help create a blanketof coverage that maximizes public safety. They are expected

to be installed within 120 days.The total cost of these sirens was $340,100; however,

a federal grant will provide $253,125, leaving $84,375 tocome from the Capital Lease Funds and $2,600 to come fromthe 2012 PPA grant funds.

To coincide with the new sirens, Henry County willalso be implementing an emergency notification system that

will enable citizens to sign up for free toreceive emergency alerts to their homephone, cell phone and other mobiledevices. Subscribers will receiveadvance weather warnings, as well asinformation and instructions in the eventof other crises or disasters.

The emergency notification systemwill be provided by EmergencyManagement Telecommunications ofMelbourne, Florida, at a cost of $19,995.A federal grant will pay 75 percent, witha local match of just $4,998.75 to be paid

for with Capital Lease Funds.To sign up to receive these emergency alerts, simply

click on the Emergency Notification System link on the righthand side of the county’s home page, www.henrycounty-ga.org. You will be redirected to a form where you canprovide the email addresses and phone numbers to whichyou would like the alerts sent. Alerts will not begin untilAugust 1 at the earliest.

Commissioners Amp Up Emergency Notification System for Citizens

HENRY COUNTY D.O.TROAD RESURFACING SCHEDULE

For the week of July 22nd, 2013Greenwood Industrial Parkway

will be resurfaced.**Weather permitting.

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Focus will be on EducationThe July Town Hall will focus on the future of Henry County PublicSchools and Henry County School Superintendent Ethan Hildreth

will be the featured guest speaker.July 27, 2013 • 9am

Cross Road Christian Church5365 North Henry Blvd. in Stockbridge

Across from the QT

then become susceptible to misuse or abuse and studiesshow that the majority of teens who abuse prescription drugsobtain them from family and friends, even from the homemedicine cabinet.

“Henry County ranks in the top five for mostcontrolled substances prescribed in the State, and 80 percentof the medications that the kids pass around come from momand dad’s house,” explained Tony Moye, retired pharmacistand founder of Moye’s Pharmacy, and member of the StateBoard of Pharmacy.

Experts say that many people simply don’t know howto dispose of prescription drugs and end up flushing themdown the toilet or throwing them away in the trash. Both ofthese methods can pose safety and environmental hazards.Flushing drugs can leach chemicals into the water table andturn up in nearby lakes and streams. Throwing drugs in thetrash can also leach into the environment.

“Even a multivitamin is considered toxic waste byfederal standards, so people are stuck,” said Moye, who isalso a member of the Henry County Kiwanis Club.

To address this growing problem, the DrugEnforcement Agency (DEA) developed a drug disposal

process after the Safe and Secure Drug Disposal Act of 2010was signed into law. With the acceptance of this donation ofdisposal boxes, Henry County will be one of the firstjurisdictions in Georgia to participate in the Pill Take Back Program.

The receptacles will enable residents to dispose ofunused or expired prescription drugs in special receptaclesin a safe and convenient manner. Residents may drop offthese unwanted prescription medication from 8 a.m. to 5p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, at twoconvenient locations in the County:

• The Henry County Police Department Headquarters located at 108 S. Zack Hinton Parkway in McDonough

• The Henry County Police Department North Precinct located at 4545 North Henry Blvd. in StockbridgeSyringes will not be collected. Drugs will be

incinerated along with the police department’s routinedisposal of street drugs during the normal course of businessand at no additional cost to the County.

DRUG DISPOSAL From Page 1

www.hen r ycoun t y -ga .o rg

Every day donated blood is used to save thelives of countless patients in Henry County andacross the state, and blood donations of all types arealways needed.

To help support the life savingmeasures of providing blood, the HenryCounty Police Department and the HenryCounty Sheriff’s Department are hosting aBattle of the Badges Blood Drive, to be heldon Tuesday, July 30 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Each law enforcement department will havetheir own convenient donation siteset up at their respective offices.Donations for the PoliceDepartment will be held at theHenry County GovernmentAnnex (Public Safety Buildingin the training room) located at108 S. Zack Hinton Parkway inMcDonough. The donation sitefor the Sheriff’s Office will beheld on the second floor of the Sheriff’s Administration

Building located at 120 Henry Parkway in McDonough.

Come support the great cause of life-savingblood donation and as a thank you, each presenting

donor will receive a free tee shirt and beentered into a drawing for a $1,000, and ifat least the goal of 37 pints is reached,there will also be a drawing for four $25gift cards.

“Our goal is to definitely exceed that,”said Sgt. Jimmie Spence, with The Henry CountySheriff’s Office.

Individuals who are 17 yearsof age or older, weigh at least110 pounds and are ingenerally good health may beeligible to donate blood. Toschedule an appointment, visitwww.redcrossblood.org andenter the sponsor code hcgvt.If you have questions about

eligibility, please call 1.800. RED CROSS.

Competing Blood Drives for a Good Cause

NATASHA • German Shorthaired Pointer Mixwww.petfinder.com/petdetail/26682376Natasha is a very amazing smart friendly and humble girl. She is a kennel favorite. Tasha is healing from an ingrown collar, we are glad her wounds arenot worse. She was found with her chain stuck to the Water Treatment plantsfence. Who knows how long she had been tangled there in the wooded part ofthe property. She had dug a hole to lay in trying to keep cool. We hope her forever home is out there somewhere, we want to see this great soul make itout! (770) 288-PETS. My I.D. # 7/2-1792please refer to this number when inquiring about me. Lost and stray animals are held at the Henry County AnimalCare and Control Shelter for four (4) calendar days (excluding Sundays andcounty holidays) in order to give their owners a chance to reclaim them. Afterthat time period, adoptable animals are held as long as space allows.