R.I.S.E. seeks prevention funding

A nonprofit group working to provide support and resources to prevent drug abuse in Custer County could get as much as $100,000 through Custer County for its cause.
At the Oct. 22 meeting of the Custer County Commission, Juliann Gramkow and Amanda Carlin of Recovery, Intervention, Support and Education (R.I.S.E.) were before the commission requesting funding distributed by the federal government from an opioid settlement reached four years ago.
On July 21, 2021, a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general announced final agreements with pharmaceutical companies and distributors to the tune of nearly $50 billion. National opioid settlements have been reached with defendants Janssen, Cardinal, McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Kroger Co., Purdue/Sacklers and the Generic Manufacturers. These agreements resolve legal claims against those companies stemming from actions that fueled the opioid addiction epidemic in return for their payment and commitment to make major changes in how they do business to improve safety and oversight over the distribution of prescription opioids.  
The states were represented in negotiations by an executive committee of 14 states, working in close coordination and communication with the remaining states and territories. The executive committee was led by Attorneys General Josh Stein (NC) and Herbert Slatery (TN) and included the attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. 
The funds are distributed to state and local governments through a series of national settlement agreements and bankruptcy plans. All 50 states, Washington D.C., U.S. territories, and federally recognized tribes are receiving money.
The county applied for and received the funding, which can only be used for specific purposes, including treating and mitigating opioid use and related disorders, mitigating other alleged effects of the opioid epidemic, prevention efforts, harm reduction programs, substance use disorder treatment and recovery services.
County finance officer Dawn McLaughlin said the county has $104,000 in settlement money, which does not include this year’s funding. The amount the county receives varies from year to year.
R.I.S.E. submitted a proposal for $100,000 of the funding, but Custer County State’s Attorney Tracy Kelley said she would like to see $20,000 set aside for the Custer County Sheriff’s Office to purchase an incinerator that would burn drugs.
“We lack prevention services in the county,” Gramkow said. “We do have some. A lot of our services have left Custer County. Not that we don’t have connections with them, but they don’t come to Custer anymore. R.I.S.E. really wants to build a foundation in Custer so we have those services.”
Gramkow added the state is trying to funnel most of the settlement money to Minnehaha and Pennington counties, which Gramkow said she hopes the state legislature does not go along with.
“It limits our funding for rural communities,” she said. “We really need that prevention money in the Southern Hills.”
In other news from the Oct. 22 meeting of the Custer County Commission, the commission:
• Unanimously approved low bidder Dark Canyon LLC’s bid of around $64,000 to do needed roof repairs on the 1881 Courthouse Museum. The money will come out of the county’s building fund, which will then be supplemented. The bids for the project varied wildly, with the high bid coming in at $187,000.
• Heard from county maintenance supervisor Joe Panza, who told the county he is looking at new siding for the Custer County Library, which has taken a beating from hailstorms. The new siding will match the new addition siding and will handle hail better.
• Heard from county veterans service officer Todd Fish, who said he is tracking 830 county veterans, which is down as some veterans have moved out of the area to be closer to family, etc. He will also once again work with the Custer American Legion and VFW to distribute some gift cards to veterans in need over the holidays.
• Approved allowing Custer County Search and Rescue to spend $1,900 to buy new batteries and props for its DJI drone to extend its life as the United States government continues to restrict the use of DJI drones due to security concerns. A new drone would cost around $50,000 to $60,000, SAR director Sam Smolnisky. The money will come from funds the county received when SAR used its drone to help fly over the 1881 Courthouse Museum to help see what repair work needed done.
• Heard from the director of the aforementioned museum, Deb Hanagan, who said the museum had a really good summer season, with nearly 6,000 tourist visits, which was 1,400 more people than last year. There were visitors from all 50 states and 21 foreign countries. Hanagan said there has been a push to make the museum more of a community hub, as evidenced by a variety of events held there this year.
• Approved a new job description for a temporary training employee position, which will allow the county to temporarily retain a retiring/leaving employee with a large amount of institutional knowledge that needs to be passed on to others in the department from which the person is leaving. The position would not exceed six months at a time.