Tuesday, August 15th

From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Tuesday, August 15th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz.

In news today…

District Attorney General Steve Crump announced a new initiative to address the opioid epidemic in the Tenth Judicial District. Over one million Tennesseans are in some stage of either abuse or addiction to opioids. More Tennesseans will die from an opioid overdose than in homicides or car accidents this year. Untold thousands more will suffer from this epidemic if we do not act.

Crump stated: “In an effort to combat this scourge, our office will take a series of steps to stem the tide locally. We will build on our strong prosecution of opioid dealers. We will look at the emerging trends and increase prosecution of those who introduce these drugs into the stream of commerce. We will utilize the civil courts to try to hold those accountable who would profit off this plague. We will work in the schools and civic clubs to increase awareness and encourage prevention. Treatment is a necessary part of the solution and we will start looking for funding for local treatment options to help those already trapped in addiction.”

The initiative will have five components: Increased prosecution for dealers, pharmaceutical company liability, working with community partners, creating a stakeholders advisory group, and treatment options.

The district attorney’s office is committed to this endeavour. They need the help of local elected officials and the public. They need the public to care enough to work with them, students to care enough about classmates to prevent more tragic deaths, and most importantly the resolve to say that we will all not just sit by and allow the problems to continue.

From the Cleveland Daily Banner…

Extending its longtime partnership with a Cleveland-based, hometown grocer, Junior Achievement of the Ocoee Region will be expanding its classroom programming thanks to a fundraiser that ends in eight days.

Since earlier this month, Cooke’s Food Store and Fresh n’ Low have encouraged their customers to make donations ranging from $1 to $5 to the local JA affiliate. The drive concludes Aug. 22.

Rick Platz, a veteran Junior Achievement volunteer and former chairman of the respected nonprofit’s board of directors — who is currently serving as interim president during the search for a new leader to succeed Melanie Connatser — praised the partnership with the local grocers.

Junior Achievement of the Ocoee Region includes five counties in its service area: Bradley, McMinn, Polk, Meigs and Monroe.

From the Daily Post Athenian…

The upcoming eclipse is attracting a global audience to McMinn County.

While large amounts of traffic can cause problems, it can also bring large amounts of money into the area, as well.

That is the hope of the two local Chamber of Commerce directors as the Aug. 21 solar eclipse nears.

“This can have a major financial impact on our community,” Etowah Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Durant Tullock said. “All the hotels and motels are booked, and this will be great for our restaurants and great for our businesses.”

“I’m really excited about this,” Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rob Preston agreed. “Hotels here have been booked for a year. It’s much bigger than I thought it would be.”

Both Tullock and Preston said that people aren’t just coming from around the region and the state for this, but from across the country and even around the world. Tullock said he’s received calls from people in New York, Cali-fornia and Wash-ington, along with other states, who have said they’re coming here this weekend. Preston said he’s heard from people in states including Texas and Mississippi, along with others around the globe in Portugal, Germany, and Canada who intend to be here.

Both Athens and Etowah have festivals planned for Monday, along with another scheduled in Niota.

This has been your local and state news. You can get news anytime by visiting our website, mymix1041.com, powered by Pioneer Credit. From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, this is Jeremy Gault reporting.