Drug Collection and Electronics Recycling Event Scheduled
Save the Date: Saturday, April 29
By Chad Lucht, CPESC, Senior Urban Specialist, Fairfield SWCD
The Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day has been scheduled for Saturday, April 29 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Violet Township Service Center at 490 N. Center St. Participants are asked to enter the event from the North Center Street entrance.
The Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District – in cooperation with Violet Township, Fairfield County Sheriff’s office and Lancaster-Fairfield County Recycling & Litter Prevention – will be participating in the event.
This event marks an ongoing effort to rid the Pickerington community’s medicine cabinets of potentially dangerous drugs, particularly controlled substances. Only prescription pill and capsules will be collected. No aerosols, inhalers, liquids, creams, gels, ointments, powders, patches, suppositories, syringes or IVs will be accepted. We ask that you black out all personal information or remove labels before bringing containers to the disposal site.
In 2016, residents disposed of nearly 170 pounds of pills at this event that was held in the spring and fall. That was 170 pounds that was not discarded in the trash or flushed down the sink or toilet, leading to potential contamination of groundwater and wastewater treatment plants and causing harm to aquatic life and the human water supply.
Electronic recycling is also available at this event. The following electronic items may be dropped off at no cost: computers, laptops, printers, cables, mouses, keyboards, discs, electronic clocks, VHS/DVD players, radios and cell phones. More than 14,000 pounds of electronics was recycled from these same events.
No items containing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), commonly utilized as refrigerant or as propellant in aerosol cans, will be accepted. A certified facility, such as the Lancaster Transfer Station on Ewing Street in Lancaster, must handle the disposal of this compound.
Computer monitors will be accepted at no additional cost if they are included as part of an entire computer system. However, there will be a $3 disposal fee for computer monitors delivered without a processor tower. Televisions will be accepted at the event a cost of $1 per diagonal inch. Only cash and checks will be accepted as payment for disposal fees.
Call the Fairfield Soil and Water Conservation District office at 740-653-8154 or the Fairfield County Sheriff’s office at 740-652-7900 for more information about prescription drug disposal. Call Chad Reed with Litter Prevention and Recycling at 740-681-4423 with any electronic recycling questions.
For those unable to attend this event, a drug drop-off box for prescription drugs is available at the Pickerington Police Department located at 1311 Refugee Rd. Needles and liquids are not permitted for disposal.
We look forward to seeing everyone on Saturday, April 29 as we continue to rid Pickerington and Violet Township of unused medications.
Always More to Learn
By Assistant Fire Chief Jim Paxton
Education can become a portal for discovery.
Education allows the student to travel to a destination or through time. You may visit various cultures, climates and the marvels of the world, and yet never leave the classroom. Even the classroom can be subject to perspective and vision, based upon the person, place and topic.
Education is the backbone to human growth. It provides for the enhancement of moral, spiritual and cultural values. Education allows us to be inspired by philosophers, scientists, activists, educators, leaders, creators and artists.
Through education, we develop acceptance and tolerance. Fortunately, I stumbled across an online article titled “Importance of Education/17 Reasons Why Education is Important” by Sanjay Tripathi (2014). The article defines education as “the systematic process of gaining knowledge and skills through study and instructions education may be obtained in various forms.”
Though I have never finished my college degree, which I deeply regret, I am a huge proponent of education. My wife and I have advocated, nudged and encouraged both of our children to achieve a college education. While I feel a college degree is important, I do not believe that a diploma is the only measuring device for education and/or intelligence.
Life and occupational experiences are valued assets. Curiosity can drive one to a wealth of knowledge and capabilities.
The Fire Service is deeply rooted in traditions and customs. Much can be learned from the experiences of the veterans of the profession, whether paid or volunteer. However, in this rapidly changing world, I firmly believe that education will be the foundation for the evolution of the continued Fire Service.
As a profession, we have to keep abreast of the technological advancements in the world around us. The Fire Service has had to change the tools and techniques required for auto extrication in response to the assembly and components of modern vehicles. Contemporary building construction has affected how we fight structure fires. Computerization of communications, mapping and data analysis has improved emergency response.
Advanced training, adjuncts and tools have increased survivability rates of the patients we may encounter on a daily basis. Improvements in health, fitness, personal protective clothing and SCBAs have made a safer working environment for fire and EMS personnel. These enhancements are just the tip of the iceberg of what has already changed and what potentially lies ahead. It simultaneously can be exciting and overwhelming.
Research and scientific advancements also are teaching us that our profession is inherently dangerous in ways we didn’t realize as young and eager recruits. The cancer rate for both active duty and retired firefighters is alarmingly and disproportionately high. Documented cases of PTSD and suicide are on the rise. These issues have always existed, but better documentation and research techniques have brought them to the forefront of the Fire Service community and legislative leaders.
Hopefully, the thirst for both education and knowledge come from a well that never runs dry. Both can only be limited by our desire and capacity to learn.
Pavement Maintenance
Violet Township’s New Perspective
By Greg Butcher, PE, MPA, Violet Township Engineer
A local government’s inventory of capital assets represents its most significant investment of resources.
Like any portfolio, these assets need to be actively managed to ensure that the most value is received from this considerable investment. In Township government, our most significant investment is our road network.
Across the state of Ohio, funding for township road maintenance comes mainly from state fuel taxes and vehicle license fees. Unfortunately, over the past two decades, those funding sources have remained relatively stagnant in contrast to the increasing cost of maintaining our streets.
In 2016, for the first time ever, Violet Township voters were asked to consider a road levy to fund township road maintenance for our 106-mile (one-way) road network. The issue passed, resulting in a dedicated funding source of $770,000 per year for the next five years. This additional funding represents an approximate threefold increase over recent years.
Violet Township realized at the onset of this five-year program that it was vital to capture an initial inventory of our road system (our capital assets). The magnitude of this inventory represented a daunting task, considering there are more than 800 road sections within Violet Township.
In order to accomplish this, we contracted with a pavement management company to provide an unbiased, independent evaluation of every street within the township’s jurisdiction. The study’s focus was to provide a Pavement Condition Rating or Index for each street. Based on the pavement assessment, the Township could then develop a program to identify which roads will require maintenance and to what degree they should be prioritized within our plan.
Beginning in 2017, Violet Township will embark on year one of its five-year plan. In order to capitalize on the economies of a larger Township paving project, and realizing the City of Pickerington has a similar-sized project, we have partnered with the City and are bidding our respective scopes of work as one project. Work has been scheduled to occur over the summer months.
Violet Township recognizes the importance of its infrastructure. We appreciate the confidence demonstrated by the majority of voters who supported the road levy. We also embrace the accountability of utilizing the increased funding to its greatest extent possible.