The Ledger Independent, WFTM Radio and Comprehend Inc. will host a community forum on May 31, at the Mason County Intermediate School Commons.
The forum is being held in conjunction with the current newspaper series, Communities in Crisis: The Opioid Epidemic Hits Home. Robert Roe, WFTM general manager, will serve as moderator of the evening.
Slated to get underway at 6:30 p.m., the forum will feature a panel including Van Ingram.
Ingram is the executive director for the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy which he joined in November 2004, shortly after it was created. Prior to that he served as chief of the Maysville Police Department. He is a former president of the Kentucky Association of Chiefs of Police, and was named “Kentucky Chief of the Year” in 2001. He is the 2004 recipient of the Governor’s Award for Outstanding Contribution to Law Enforcement, as well as, the Melvin Shein Award for distinguished service to Kentucky law enforcement.
Other panel members may include current Maysville Police Chief Ron Rice, Mason County Coroner David Lawrence and Dr. Jeff Drury of Comprehend Inc. Other members of the medical community, law enforcement and court system are also expected to be on hand for the panel.
The MCMS Commons was selected for the event to offer a venue where the public would be more apt to become involved, planners of the program said. The public is welcomed and encouraged to provide input and offer questions for discussion. Questions can be forwarded to [email protected] or to faxed to 606-564-6893 prior to the event. Questions may also be offered during the forum.
“The forum is not designed to simply discuss the problems the area faces with the opioid epidemic but perhaps offer suggestions on where we can go from here and offers possible solutions and preventions,” Mary Ann Kearns, editor of The Ledger Independent said.
