Commissioners consider participating in prescription drug monitoring program

By Laura Schiermeier, Staff Writer
Posted 7/23/20

VIENNA — A few months ago, before Covid-19 came to the U.S. and Missouri, when the world seemed a different place than it does now, the Maries County Commission heard a presentation by Sinks …

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Commissioners consider participating in prescription drug monitoring program

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VIENNA — A few months ago, before Covid-19 came to the U.S. and Missouri, when the world seemed a different place than it does now, the Maries County Commission heard a presentation by Sinks Pharmacy Pharmacist Kim Litton about joining with St. Louis County as a subscriber to the prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP). At that time the commissioners wanted to know the cost of being part of the program. Litton told them PDMP plays a big role in helping curb prescription drug abuse. It allows pharmacies and prescribers to view only controlled prescription history of a patient. It helps keep people from pharmacy hopping, a frequent activity by opioid-addicted persons.

Currently Maries County is only surrounded by one non-reporting county, which is Pulaski County, and Missouri is one of the only states in the country without a mandatory statewide reporting program. Because of inaction on this important issue in Jefferson City, St. Louis County stepped up and put a program together. The program allows counties of all sizes and classes and cities across Missouri to participate in this life-saving monitoring program.

At last Thursday’s commission meeting, Presiding Commissioner Victor Stratman said he was informed the cost to Maries County is $111.41. However, information learned later was that there is a grant that covers this cost through 2022 through the Bureau of Justice Administration.

Maries County Sheriff Chris Heitman was present at the meeting. He said he knows it monitors people and there are opponents of this for possible constitutional reasons, but the sheriff believes the opioid monitoring program saves lives. Stratman said it keeps them from drug shopping at multiple pharmacies. Litton earlier reported about a patient who received 180 additional tablets of oxycodone/acetaminophen because a pharmacy can’t see what another pharmacy has filled.

The sheriff said the legislation that allowed law enforcement to track Sudafed use led them to methamphetamine makers.

“They’ve been trying to pass an opioid tracking bill forever,” Stratman commented, “and St. Louis County did it themselves.”

Heitman said the problem is a serious one in Maries County as his office deals with a narcotic overdose two to three times a month. An overdose does not always mean death as the sheriff’s deputies treat the overdose victim with nasal spray NARCAN and bring them back. NARCAN costs about $75 a unit but “It’s worth it,” the sheriff said. “But they don’t learn from it,” he said about the addicted victims of the opioid crisis in the United States. His officers carry the NARCAN and sometimes when they use it the victims “come out fighting. They are pissed off about losing their high,” the sheriff said.

Stratman asked the sheriff to look at the information Litton sent and let the commissioners know if they should become part of the PDMP with St. Louis County.

While at the meeting, the sheriff said they signed a grant application for 911 for new equipment. They all hope the county can get this grant for new 911 equipment to bring the county’s dispatch center up-to-date. If the county is awarded the grant, it will pay 100 percent of the equipment costs, which is over $100,000.

Sheriff Heitman also is part of an effort to track opioid use in Maries County. The sheriff’s office will receive $40,000 for this work. The county received it because it is close to Rolla and Ft. Wood. The program will pay for some equipment as well as education about opioid addiction at schools in Vienna and Belle. The sheriff’s office also will have a meeting for all county first responders about reporting when they see suspected opioid use. There is an app to download. The reporting will be tracked on a map. Information reported could include situations such as needles being found at a park, or a road grader operator seeing something while working on roads.  All the stats recorded will be sent to Iowa State University for analysis.

In other sheriff’s business, Stratman asked him how the law enforcement work is going with the Belle Division and if the Belle Resource Officer had been cut from the budget. Sheriff Heitman said it had not been cut and he has hired Tim Edwards as the new resource officer at the Belle school. Edwards will graduate from the academy in August. Edwards is a former law enforcement officer and also drove a bus for Maries R-2.

Sheriff Heitman said the sheriff’s office is a little bit in the red financially with the Belle Division because they haven’t had court and no fine money has been received. He said he did a small transfer (about $8,000) from his budget and it will be repaid as the City of Belle will make a payment by Aug. 1. Stratman told him “you are doing a good job.” The sheriff said there have been some complaints but many more compliments. Most people in Belle seem to be happy about the new policing there.

Not Enough Money

The commissioners discussed the bridge over Fly Creek on MCR 213, which begins as Ballpark Road in Vienna and turns into gravel after crossing the old WPA bridge. Western District Commissioner Ed Fagre had hoped to replace this much-traveled bridge using the federal BRO program administered through MoDOT. But, Maries County didn’t have enough federal dollars or match built up and Fagre was instructed to choose a smaller, less expensive project. Rather than being allowed to allow the federal dollars build up to meet the larger project, the county was told to “use it or lose it” so Fagre selected another bridge. This smaller bridge on MCR 608 has a lot less traffic and is not on a school bus route. The bridge is near New Salem Church.

Also, Fagre reported he is hoping to receive the permit soon from he Corps of Engineers to begin rebuilding the Deeken slab on MCR 211.

They talked about which quarries they used by the road districts and Fagre said Road One uses a quarry near St. Robert. He used to use the Kelley Quarry near Dixon. It was bought for $5 million by Willard Quarry and that company then closed the Dixon quarry.

Health Department Request

County Clerk Rhonda Rodgers said the Phelps-Maries Health Department has made a request for additional CARES Act funding, which is in addition to what the department last requested. Director Ashley Wann told Rodgers there were some expenses the health department incurred that she did not know she could request reimbursement for. Rodgers asked her to submit an additional request for $4,799.51 to cover payroll expenses. An additional nurse was hired by the health department to assist with the added Covid-19 duties and work.

Stratman noted Maries County pays 16 percent of the health departments’s expenses and Phelps County pays 84 percent.

License Revocation

Treasurer Rhonda Slone reported receiving from the Missouri Department of Revenue sales tax license revocation notices for the Belle Motel, two for Tri-County Newspapers, and one for Theresa D. Taylor, former owner of the Dinner Belle.

Bruce Sassmann

Bruce Sassmann attended the commission meeting briefly on July 13. He’s a Republican candidate for 62nd District Missouri State Representative. He said he has been enjoying campaigning. “I know a lot of people, but not where they live,” he said, adding it is nice to knock on a door and know the person who answers the knock.

The commissioners spoke of their desire for an increase in the state’s gasoline tax to fund road work. Eastern District Commissioner Doug Drewel said the trouble with the gas taxes they’ve tried to receive voter approval for was that it was not just for roads, but for airports, shipping ports, and last time it was worded that the Highway Patrol received the money. Sassmann agreed they put too many things in some of the last bills. But, ultimately it is up to the voters to decide about raising the gasoline tax. Stratman said Missouri is ranked at 47th in the nation for the lowest gasoline tax at 17 cents per gallon. Fagre said if the last gas tax had been approved by voters, Maries County’s road districts would have received about $246,000 annually. Drewel said that’s about one-third of the road budget.

Fagre said, “Drive some side roads” to see their poor condition. He said MoDOT workers are not receiving raises and the morale is low.

Stratman said he likes the rumble strips, the painted roads and the wide shoulders.

Drewel asked Sassmann about taking on more responsibility as a state representative and Sassmann, a retired funeral home owner and director, said now he can lay his head down at night and not worry about getting called in the middle of the night. But, the reward for the work he did for many years was that he was helping people by easing their suffering and making it less painful for them.

He spoke to the commissioners about Prairie Star Farms that looks beautiful and is full of quail. He used mob grazing and it helped the warm season grass planted there. He added some Little Blue Stem and Side Oats to the Big Blue Stem and they all continue to grow. It is burned every year. It grows tall and he mows a path for the cross country runners to use and they call it a tunnel. If the soil is right the grass will flourish, he said.

Sassmann said he wants to do a good job for Maries County and there other counties in the 62nd District.

An Hour to Find Out

Stratman said he contacted AT&T about the Road One shed being billed for a phone that was disconnected. When Fagre changed the phone service there to internet-based Mytel and Mytel made the connection, it told AT&T to stop service to that phone. It was disconnected in April and the county received a $4 credit. Then, in May it was cancelled and AT&T charged a fee of $68.25 to cancel it. So, the county ones $64.25 and then should be done with AT&T on that deal. Stratman said, “It took me an hour to find that out.” He asked Kottwitz to pay the bill.

Tom Reed

Tom Reed, one of three Republican candidates for State Representative 62nd District, was present for most of the county commission meeting on July 16. He commented from a business owner perspective on some of the topics they discussed during the meeting. Reed is from Owensville, graduating from high school there in 1998, and then he went to work and currently owns several businesses.

Osage County
Agreement

Fagre was looking through commission meeting minutes for an agreement between Maries County and Osage County for maintenance of Turkey Hill Road. A portion of the road is in Maries County, but it’s a good ways away and Osage County maintains road in that area. The agreement has Osage County being paid $2,720 per year by Maries County to do the maintenance of Maries County’s portion of the road. Fagre said he and Commissioner Ralph Sampson both signed it but they can’t find the paperwork as it was long ago. The annual payment  is due this month.

This came up recently when Steve Allen said the brush is not being cut along the road. Last year the county didn’t pay on time but did take care of it, asking Osage County to bill Maries County for it as a reminder. He wants to find the agreement so they all will be on the same page.

48 Employees

Kottwitz said she found a personnel policy on the Department of Labor website and gave each of the commissioners a copy of it. She suggested the county needs to redo its personnel policy and she found a good sample that contains issues not currently included in the one they have. She asked the commissioners to look it over.

While looking through the old commission minutes, Fagre said in 1995 the county’s health insurance premium was $141 per person with a $200 deductible. In 2020, the total cost of the base plan per employee for health insurance is $625.86 with the county paying $474.44 of it.

Kottwitz said a representative of Colonial Life said he can save the county and its 48 employees money on their supplemental insurance. Currently she deals with eight different companies. The rep. also thinks he can save the county money on health insurance. She liked the MD Live feature that had no co-pays which employees can use to get medical questions answered by a doctor.

Fagre said it won’t hurt to look at it.

Drewel said they all say they are cheaper until you get into it. He suggested they wait a couple of months before dealing with health insurance.

Buildings and Grounds

Stratman said he checked into the alarm on the sump pump in the mechanical/boiler room. It goes off but it is in that room with two doors between and no one can hear it. He suggested putting a light alarm on it that would turn on in the dispatch room where workers can see it. That way if sewage backs up, they will know there’s a problem. He said storing items in that room has to be unhandy. Some of the stuff was removed but there is still some that remains there. He was told this only happens every couple of years. They are changing out the mattresses in the jail because of the coronavirus.

Stratman said Marty Buscher will be coming to look at the sewer in the basement and access the county’s equipment there.

Rodgers said they received a case of face masks from SEMA.

Fagre, reading through those commission minutes said in 1994 a road grader cost $91,000. Now that cost $240,000, an increase of $149,000.

Lori Morgan who works in the circuit clerk and recorder’s office and is good with plants, suggested planting a Fire Fighter rose bush to honor fire fighters. Stratman said they lost a tree on the courthouse lawn and it could be replaced with a rose bush.

The commissioners approved a telephone for the back room of the license office to be used by Manager Jennifer Roberson when she’s working in that room. They think there is a phone jack there already.

The signs stating Handicap parking in rear of building were received and will be put up outside the front door. The county has sign posts and will put them in the ground with a post driver. Stratman called Dig Right and they will mark the spot.