Talbot County Council Appoints Blue Ribbon Commission
The Talbot County Council has appointed a Blue Ribbon Commission to review the data on the high rates of alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse by adolescents in Talbot County and to recommend a plan of action for reducing the rates of substance abuse.
Blue Ribbon Commission members represent a cross-section of the community and work with Jane Callahan from Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA). Monthly meetings began in July and a report is expected to be released by March 2007.
Talbot Partnership for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention established an Evaluation Committee to provide data for the Blue Ribbon Commission. The Evaluation Committee consists of representatives from education, health, human services, the judicial system and law enforcement and works with Linda Roy Walls from Just Cause, LLC. Data covers the availability of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs; usage rates among adolescents; hospital and treatment program admissions; and crimes related to alcohol and other drugs.
The Commission has developed a functional problem statement that “Talbot County has a growing substance abuse and addictions problem” that is not limited to its adolescents. The Commission proposed that the substance abuse problem in Talbot County is linked to the ease of obtaining alcohol and other drugs, parents not knowing what to do, and a community culture that is accepting of substance abuse.
The Blue Ribbon Commission’s next steps will be to identify strategies and activities to address the problem in a manner that will lead to measurable, community-wide results.
The members of the Blue Ribbon Commission are Blenda Armistead, Judge Sidney Campen, Councilman Peter Carroll, Dr. Charlotta Denton, William “Buck” Duncan, Health Officer Kathleen Foster, Dr. Steven Harris, The Reverend Fentress Hickman, Sindy Reyes, Joseph Ross, and Robert Schmidt.
“As a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission, I would encourage our community to take very seriously the threat alcohol and drug use poses for our children and make every effort to join us in finding solutions,” comments Buck Duncan, President of Talbot Bank.
Pictured are members of Talbot County’s Blue Ribbon Commission who will identify strategies and activities to address the substance abuse problem in Talbot County in a manner that will lead to measurable, community-wide results. Back row, left to right, are Dr. Steven Harris, Blenda Armistead, Judge Sidney Campen, and William “Buck” Duncan. Front row, left to right, are Joseph Ross, The Reverend Fentress Hickman, Health Officer Kathleen Foster, and Dr. Charlotta Denton. Absent from the photo are Sindy Reyes, Robert Schmidt, and Councilman Peter Carroll.
