More checks of prescription database, reviews of deaths, medical treatment of addiction and expanded police use of overdose drug proposed.

Building on Delaware’s efforts in recent years to combat prescription painkiller and heroin abuse, a plan released Thursday recommends that regulations governing prescription dispensing become more stringent, that deaths from opiates and heroin be reviewed to learn how they could have been prevented, that medical treatment of addiction be expanded and that more police be equipped with a drug that can counteract the effects on an overdose in an emergency, Attorney General Matt Denn was joined by Secretary of Health and Social Rita Landgraf, New Castle County Police Chief Col. Elmer Setting, Delaware Fraternal Order of Police president Fred Calhoun and atTAcK Addiction board members David Humes, Don Keister, and Rebecca King, to release the plan and begin discussions with those involved in the fight against opiate and heroin abuse.

“We are here today because, notwithstanding some extraordinary effort and hard work by many people in our state, far too many Delawareans are dying from prescription drug and heroin overdoses,” said Attorney General Denn. “The catalysts behind many of the state’s efforts in the last several years to deal with substance use disorder have been the family members of Delawareans who suffered from drug overdoses – some of whom did not survive. We owe it to them, and other families who have lost loved ones, to redouble our efforts.”

“When doctors prescribe opiates as pain medication, it is like giving patients a loaded gun that must be handled properly so that death by the disease of addiction does not occur,” Don Keister said, noting a need for doctors to limit the number of prescribed pills and also inquire into a patient’s family history and situation for signs of potential misuse.

“Sadly we are fighting a disease of epidemic proportion, and this disease is destroying, and is taking lives,” Secretary Landgraf said in talking about recovery options. “We know that treatment works and that recovery is possible.”

The plan addresses in four areas that should positively impact the prevalence of prescription opioid and heroin abuse:

• Strengthening the regulations that govern the amount of care that health care providers must exercise in prescribing opiate drugs. The state Controlled Substance Advisory Committee has drafted regulations to govern prescription by doctors and the plan includes ideas – already submitted in comment form – to make those regulations even strong before they are finalized.

• Conducting routine state reviews of deaths caused by prescription opiate and/or heroin overdoses to determine what could have been done differently, similar to reviews currently done in child death cases. Such a process would need to be created by the action of the legislature in 2016.

• Maximizing the responsible use of medically assisted treatment of substance abuse disorder. A group of medical professionals and advocates would convene to discuss best practices in the use of medications like Suboxone, methadone and naltrexone, which some doctors have advocated for wider use of to treat addiction.

• Encouraging our state’s law enforcement community to expand the number of officers who carry naxolene, a drug that is effective in reversing the effect of heroin overdoses. This drug has been successfully employed in nine cases by New Castle County Police (7), Middletown Police (1) and Ocean View (1) police to avert a potentially fatal overdose.

“The folks that are addicted to heroin aren’t necessarily criminals, they are certainly victims,” Col. Setting said. “These people need help and I am so glad that I am not the only person saying it any longer. This is not just a police problem.”

Speaking about police support for equipping officers with addiction-countering medication, FOP president Calhoun said “None of my officers want to be standing in the doorway when a family member or child walks up from the sidewalk, looking into their eyes, knowing that the next thing you’re going to tell them will impact them for the rest of their lives.”

Deaths from prescription opioid abuse and from illegal heroin remain as problems in Delaware. The Prescription Drug Monitoring Program, begun in 2012, is a significant advancement that should become more effective over time with improved utilization. Using various statistical measures from 2009 and 2010, the Prescription Drug Advisory Committee found in 2013 that Delaware had the nation’s ninth highest drug overdose rate, had a significantly higher percentage of its residents engaging in non-medical use of prescription opioids than the national average, and had the nation’s fifth highest overall rate for opioid sales. Regarding illegal heroin use, the number of deaths in Delaware from heroin overdoses increased from 8 deaths in 2009 to 23 in 2013.

HAYFORK, Calif. (Aug. 6, 2015) — A team of 20 wildland firefighters under the direction of the Delaware Forest Service is working with 1,165 personnel currently battling the Fork Complex, a group of lightning-caused fires near Hayfork, California that totals 11,862 acres but is only 7 percent contained. Fire resources on the Fork Complex include 26 crews, 4 helicopters, 128 engines, 30 dozers, and 30 water tenders with road closures and evacuations in effect for the area. California officials declared a state of emergency late last week due to the widespread wildfires that have burned upwards of 190,000 acres.

For the past two days, Delaware’s crew has been working on the Peak Fire, a 706-acre blaze burning on Plummer Peak, south of the town near Highway 3. According to fire officials, Delaware’s job is to “Establish indirect control lines” and “Hold and patrol established lines.”

Kyle Hoyd, the Delaware Forest Service’s assistant forestry administrator, summarized the crew’s effort: “We did a burnout with two engine teams on the Peak Fire off of a dozer line and put hand line around several structures in the same area.” Earlier in the week, Hoyd reported that “everyone is doing well” but the “fire is in steep terrain with multiple hazards.”

The crew’s hard work and effort has been paying off. According to the U.S. Forest Service, “The Peak fire was active throughout the day with continued burning to the west; crews remained in place protecting structures (homes, residences, and out buildings). Significant progress was made with a dozer line completion on the northwest division of the fire, east of Highway 3.”

Crews might not get relief from the weather forecast. Officials say that “Warm and dry conditions will continue through the end of the week and as the smoke inversion begins to clear; this presents the possibility of more direct heat in and around the fire areas as well as more intense burning.”

The Delaware Forest Service also dispatched James Dowd from Blackbird State Forest to work as an equipment manager on the Mad River Complex, along with Michael Nelson of Pennsylvania, who is assigned to the Reynolds Fire in Montana.

The Delaware Division of the Arts Mezzanine Gallery is pleased to present The Waters Around Us, an exhibition of acrylic paintings by Steve Rogers. The exhibition will be on view from August 7-28, with an opening reception on August 7, 5-8 p.m. The Gallery, open weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is located in the Carvel State Office Building, 820 N. French Street, Wilmington.

The Waters Around Us presents a selection of carefully detailed, realist images of maritime subjects and views of Delaware coastal areas. The artist is a member of the American Society of Marine Artists. Steve Rogers lives and works in Lewes, Delaware.

Watch the Meet the Artist video.

Photos from the event

Governor signs legislation to redraw district lines and better serve city’s high-need students

Wilmington, DE – Emphasizing the opportunity to solve a decades-long problem that has limited educational opportunities for children in the City of Wilmington, Governor Markell today signed two bills that pave the way for redrawing school district boundaries to reduce the number of districts in the City and help families better participate in their children’s schools.

The laws were advocated by the Wilmington Education Advisory Committee (WEAC), which was established by the Governor, at the suggestion of city legislators, to engage the community in Markell’s call to address educational challenges in Wilmington schools. Current and retired teachers, community leaders, parents, and concerned citizens worked on solutions, including a plan to address the now-problematic district lines drawn 40 years ago by a federal judge as part of the desegregation of City schools.

“Forty years of using lines drawn by a federal judge is enough,” said Markell at a signing ceremony at the historic site of Hockessin Colored School #107, famously attended by eight-year old Sarah Bulah before she and her family successfully challenged school segregation. “We should respect the wishes of City children, parents, community leaders, and their elected representatives, and seize this moment of opportunity – a moment when we have more attention on the needs of Wilmington’s children than at perhaps any time in decades.”

WEAC, which issued recommendations that led to the legislation, was created in tandem with Markell’s announcement of the Priority Schools initiative to better support students at the lowest-performing schools in the state, all of which were served youth from struggling Wilmington neighborhoods. The redistricting plan was adopted as a way to not only transform those schools, but also improve the education of students throughout the City.

“We needed to tap into the passions of Wilmingtonians who have a valuable perspective on education in the City, but whose voices are not regularly heard. The Wilmington Education Advisory Committee did just that,” said Markell. “Our initiative to address the inequitable educational opportunities for so many Wilmington youth has turned into something bigger.

“A successful redrawing of district lines will remove the Christina School District from the City and will help more families fully participate in their children’s education. If we are successful, we will see the long overdue end of forty years of busing many students far from their homes – a system that made it difficult for families and the community to engage in their schools.”

The legislation signed by the Governor included Senate Bill 122, which would allow for redrawing school district boundaries in the City of Wilmington. The new lines must be consistent with recommendations of WEAC. The redistricting plan will be developed by the Wilmington Education Improvement Commission, a group established by House Bill 148, also signed today, to advise the state on improvements from schools that have high concentrations of underprivileged students.

WEIC will also create a transition plan to provide necessary services to affected schools and students and effectively implement school district realignment. The plan must be submitted to the State Board of Education, which must act by December 31, 2015.  It must then be submitted to the General Assembly and the Governor for final approval. WEIC will also monitor the progress of implementation and recommend policies and actions to the Governor and General Assembly to facilitate progress and to promote the continuous improvement of public education on dimensions addressed by the WEAC recommendations

“It is critically important that we take a comprehensive and strategic look at schools in Wilmington in a way that acknowledges the unique challenges and opportunities we have there,” said Senate Majority Whip Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington East). “SB 122 gives education officials an opportunity to redraw school district lines in a way I believe will yield a more well-connected network of schools that will better serve our children.”

“The members of the Wilmington Education Advisory Commission spent hundreds of hours working on this and engaging the public to get us to this point,” said Representative Earl Jaques (D-Glasgow), who chairs the House Education Committee. “I thank them for their diligent work, and now we need to get the Improvement Commission moving forward to make their hard work pay dividends. I have complete confidence that they are going to come up with great ideas to overcome the obstacles out there to make redistricting happen. After that, it is up to the General Assembly and the Governor to enact a plan. Then we will be able to move education in Wilmington forward.”

“I want to thank all those involved in this process for all of their hard work on these issues,” said Representative Charles Potter (D-Wilmington North). “We now have a chance to make a big difference in the lives of so many of our young people and I look forward to working with the new commission, my fellow legislators, and the Governor to get the job done.”

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Delaware embraces goals of Clean Power Plan to cut pollution

Wilmington, DE – Governor Jack Markell today endorsed President Obama’s plan to reduce greenhouse emissions from power plants by more than 30 percent by 2030, the most aggressive action taken by the nation to date in its efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change with the co-benefit of improving the country’s air quality and Delaware’s in particular. The state will also benefit from the cleaning up of pollutants generated by other states that often intrude into Delaware’s environment.

The final Clean Power Plan was announced by the President and US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy. Markell welcomed McCarthy to Delaware last year, soon after EPA made its initial proposal, to highlight Delaware as a model for showing states can reduce power plant pollution while growing the economy.

“By setting ambitious but reachable goals, while allowing flexibility for the public and private sectors to work together on the right solutions for each state, this effort represents exactly the right approach to control emissions from power plants and aggressively address climate change” said Markell. “It’s the same approach that worked in Delaware when we reduced dirty emissions faster than any other state through a combination of shutting down, fuel-switching, and installing pollution controls at our power plants, as well as focusing on investments in energy efficiency and deployment of renewables.

“We’ve achieved this success while growing the economy and those who say that’s not possible are choosing to ignore facts to score political points. It’s time for the country to cope with this problem, including all states, not just those of us who have taken early action. I applaud the President and his team for acting boldly and thoughtfully with a solution for one of the most important challenges of our time.” 

EPA released its final rule today after more than a year of receiving public comment and making changes to the initial proposal in response to concerns that were voiced. In testifying to EPA in support of the plan last year, Markell noted that Delaware, as a low lying coastal state, is particularly vulnerable to the impacts of a changing climate and has seen first-hand the damage from extreme weather events — coastal storms, excessive rainfall, and flooding.

The rule allows states to participate in regional emission reduction programs such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), of which Delaware is a member along with eight other mid-Atlantic and New England states. The program requires power plants to obtain credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions. Funds generated from the sale of the credits are used by the state and the Sustainable Energy Utility to reinvest in energy efficiency efforts and the deployment of renewable energy. Delaware’s use of solar energy has increased approximately 300 percent since 2008 and continued participation in RGGI is expected to be a major factor in the state’s ability to comply with the plan.

“EPA listened to all of the stakeholders and I believe Administrator McCarthy and her team have made a number of significant improvements that strengthen the plan while also crafting a regulation that is fair and achievable,” said David Small, Secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

“Through our participation in RGGI, our emphasis on renewable energy sources and investments in energy efficiency, Delaware has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector. While there is clearly more we can do to control emissions from all sectors, we’re off to a good start. We look forward to working with EPA and our partners in Delaware to successfully implement this vitally important effort.”

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