INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – One of the nation’s largest pharmacies is cracking down on prescription drug abuse.
CVS and Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill on Thursday said medication disposal bins have been put in 49 stores across the state. Once the meds go inside the bins, a certified vender seals the drugs and destroys them off-site, CVS said.
CVS said the boxes are watched 24/7 by pharmacists. The boxes are locked, bolted to the floor and walls with high-grade heavy steel for security. CVS said the plan is to put boxes in 750 stores nationwide.
The attorney general said, “The idea is to get a regularity about it, so pharmacies all over Indiana become the natural point in which to take back unused, prescription medication.”
“This is certainly a life-saving avenue providing us with one of the solutions to the issue of overabuse of drugs,” Hill said.
Customer Ellis Fawcett of Indianapolis said it is a “very good idea. I think the state needs to do more to get rid of the opioid epidemic.”
According to the attorney general, nearly 5 percent of Hoosiers say they have used opioid drugs for nonmedical reasons.
Tim Troyer, the sheriff of Steuben County in Indiana’s northeast corner and the president of the Indiana Sheriff’s’ Association, said, “Our senior citizens become very fearful of what to do with some of the drugs they have or that are overprescribed.”
Thomas Moriarty, CVS Health chief policy and external affairs officer, said, “A biproduct of this overprescribing has been opioids being really stacked up in medicine cabinets across this country. Our efforts today are about getting them out of the cabinets, off the streets, and disposed of in an environmentally sensitive way.”
CVS, working with law enforcement nationwide, said since 2014 it has safely gotten rid of 350,000 pounds of unwanted meds.
Web links
Indiana’s drug disposal program
Recycle Indiana: Unwanted Medicine
ANGOLA, Ind. (WANE) — Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a snowmobile crash involving two people that took place on Christmas in Steuben County.
According to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Division of Law Enforcement, dispatchers received a 911 call at 12:39 p.m. from Chad Straw, 40, of Angola. Straw said he had been in a serious snowmobile accident at his residence located on County Road 600 West and that his passenger was unresponsive.
Steuben County EMS, the Angola Fire Department and the Steuben County Sheriff’s Department arrived on the scene and treated Straw and his passenger.
The passenger, Kyrie E. Kopf, 31, of Angola was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital for treatment of what were described as extensive head injuries.
Conservation officers interviewed both victims at the hospital and began an investigation at the accident scene.
Neither person was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
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ANGOLA, Ind. (WANE) — Electronic pop rockers The Chainsmokers were in northeast Indiana over the weekend, and played an impromptu show at an Angola bar.
The Grammy-winning duo of Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart performed Sunday night at The Venue in Angola. The band tweeted late Sunday, “Just took over a bar in Angola Indiana that was special.”
The Venue posted several live videos during the performance on its Facebook page. The bar responded in a comment on one of the videos and explained an MTV crew was filming a show that stars part time Clear Lake resident Rory Kramer.
The Chainsmokers were a weekend guest of Kramer’s, an adventurous videographer and director who was behind pop star Justin Bieber’s visit to northeast Indiana in September 2015. Kramer has directed at least one The Chainsmokers video.
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STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – Indiana Conservation Officers are investigating a serious injury head-on collision involving two snowmobiles in Steuben County Saturday evening. Three young people suffered serious injuries as a result of the crash, according to a press release from Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
An investigation indicated that 21-year-old Reese Oberlin was operating a snowmobile in a field south of Pine Canyon Lake near county roads 250 North and 500 West around 5 p.m. When Oberlin drove over a hill, a young girl operating another snowmobile with another young female passenger drove over the same hill from the opposite direction, causing both of them to collide head on.
The drivers of both snowmobiles were not riding together and were unaware of each other’s presence in the field, according to the press release.
All three people involved in the crash were transported to a Fort Wayne hospital, with serious injuries.
STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – I-69 was closed in both directions after a deadly crash in Steuben County late Saturday night.
According to police, 26-year-old Roman Leon, of Angola, lost control of his north-bound pickup truck on an icy bridge around the 340 mile marker, near Ashley.
The truck then crossed the median and hit a car traveling south head-on. The driver, Alyssa M. Bizefski, 22, of Auburn, was killed in the crash.
Leon was flown by helicopter to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
Traffic began moving around 2:00 a.m. Sunday.
Roads were icy and slick following Saturday’s snow flurries. Salt trucks were dispatched to the interstate to clear up the road.
STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) – One person was killed and several others were injured in a single vehicle crash on the Indiana Toll Road, according to Indiana State Police.
ISP Sergeant Jeff Whiteman said the crash happened around 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the eastbound lanes near mile marker 142 – which is near the interchange with I-69 in Steuben County.
Whiteman said one person was pronounced dead at the scene and another person was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital. Four other people inside the SUV were taken to a hospital by ambulance. ISP Sergeant Ron Galaviz said the deceased was a 32-year-old woman seated in the rear of the vehicle. She was thrown from the vehicle during the crash.
The severity of injuries to the five people is unknown.
Galaviz said investigators determined the SUV was in the left lane when it crossed the right lane and went off the road. The vehicle then struck a guard rail and rolled over.
Whiteman said it’s believed all the occupants of the vehicle were from Ohio, but ISP is still working to confirm the names of the people in the vehicle.
The eastbound lanes of the toll road near the crash were closed for several hours and delays were extensive.
The crash is under investigation.
ANGOLA, Ind. (WANE) Police arrested a 30-year-old man after he crashed his motorcycle to end a brief chase, and officers reportedly found drugs and cash on him.
Around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, an Angola Police officer tried to pull over a black 2001 Harley Davidson for speeding. The motorcyclist, though, never pulled over and sped on, according to a police report.
Police chased the motorcyclist on U.S. 20 from Interstate 69, the report said. It ended when the motorcyclist tried to pull onto C.R. 650 West but lost control and laid the motorcyclist on its side, the report said.
Andrew Fitch, 30, was taken into custody. He was not injured in the crash.
On him, police said they found 80 grams of methamphetamine, marijuana, paraphernalia and a “large amount” of cash.
Fitch was arrested on charges of felony resisting police, dealing methamphetamine and possession of methamphetamine, as well misdemeanor charges of possession of marijuana and possession of paraphernalia. Fitch was also wanted in DeKalb County on a warrant. He was booked into the Steuben County Jail.
STEUBEN COUNTY, Ind. (WANE) A wanted registered sex offender has surrendered himself.
Dale Schaeffer, 61, of Fremont surrendered himself to the Steuben County Jail around 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
An arrest warrant had been issued for Schaeffer, charged with one count of felony failure to register as a sex or violent offender. Schaeffer allegedly failed to report required information to the Steuben County Sheriff’s Office Sex and Violent Offender Registry within the lawful 72 hour time limit.
Schaeffer was booked into the Steuben County Jail and was released after posting bond.
STEUBEN CO., Ind. (WANE) – One person is dead and another is in critical condition after the driver lost control of their vehicle Friday night.
The Steuben County Sheriff Department said officers were called to Bellefountaine Road just west of Meridan Road near Pleasant Lake around 8:30.
Police said 46-year-old Owen Meyers and 26-year-old Christopher Harman were in the car at the time of the crash.
The Sheriff’s department said Meyers was speeding while west on the Bellefountaine Road. The vehicle then went off the road and hit two trees. Officers found Myers dead at the scene. The county coroner said he died of blunt force trauma. Harman was ejected from the vehicle. Harman was then taken to the hospital in critical condition.
The Sheriff’s Department said both victims were not wearing seat belts, however the airbags did deploy.
The Steuben County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the Steuben County Coroner’s Office, Angola Police Department, Hamilton Police Department, Steuben County EMS, and Steuben Township Fire/Rescue.
ANGOLA, Ind. (WANE) – Police in Steuben County are working a fatal crash investigation, according to emergency dispatchers.
The crash happened just after 5 a.m. on U.S. 20 near County Road 100 East, just east of Angola High School.
At least one person was killed and two-vehicles were involved, according to dispatchers.
Traffic is being controlled in the area with one lane passable, but motorists are advised to avoid the area until police clear the scene.