Law enforcement agencies in Saline County will be officially announcing their united participation in Operation Medicine Cabinet II at a press conference on September 23 at 11:00 AM.  The event will take place at the Benton Monument Company, located at 223 Pearson St., and will include the heads of every law enforcement agency involved, and local and state representatives. 

    The Benton Monument Company is owned by Russell Goodwin who was instrumental in helping create the prescription drug booklets last fall to help educate the public on the dangers that can be associated with them.  Mr. Goodwin wanted to help cut down on the rising accidental death rates by drug misuse among teens and young adults, because he was seeing an increase in deaths of this nature through his occupation of making headstones.  He brought the idea to light which eventually resulted in the first drug take-back event, Operation Medicine Cabinet I, which brought in over 52,000 pills. 

    Operation Medicine Cabinet II will be taking place on Sept. 25th from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM at eight different locations in Saline County.  This is a chance to help law enforcement help keep old, unused medicine out of the wrong hands, and it provides a safer alternative then placing them into our water system.  As part of this event people will also be rewarded with a gift card or coupon from various businesses while supplies last. 

    This endeavor is part of a nationwide drug take-back event being conducted by the DEA.  The event now has over 200 drop off locations in Arkansas and over 180 law enforcement agencies have signed on to assist.  For more information on the event please visit www.artakeback.org or contact your local law enforcement agency.