The Benton Police Department will be holding a citywide pep rally press conference to kick off our next prescription take-back event, Operation Medicine Cabinet III.  The conference will take place on April 28th, 2011 at 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM, and it will be held at the old Harvest Foods parking lot located at 403 N. Main Street.

The pep rally will have numerous speakers present to help launch this take-back endeavor, including the State Drug Director Fran Flener and Attorney General Dustin McDaniel.  In addition to the speakers the Benton High School drum line team and cheerleaders, the Mayors Youth Council members, and the Saline County Hometown Health Coalition will be present.  The Benton Fire Department will be in attendance with various fire trucks on display as well.

Operation Medicine Cabinet III is a way for citizen’s to take a proactive approach to disposing of old, unused prescriptions they have laying around in their homes.  For taking the time to come out on April 30th, from 10 AM to 2 PM, they will be rewarded with a gift card or coupon while supplies last.  Additionally, those who drop off old medicine will be entered into a raffle for various prizes such as 4 tickets to a St. Louis Cardinals game on July 4th (courtesy of KEWI radio), $100 and $50 prizes, and other items.  The winning numbers for this raffle will be in the Benton Courier on Monday, May 2nd, and also on the Benton Police Department website at www.bentonpolice.org, and on www.mysaline.com

This event is in conjunction with the second national drug take-back day being held across the country on April 30th.  During the first event last year, Saline County law enforcement took in 540 lbs. of prescription drugs, and 440 lbs. alone came from the city of Benton.

The Benton Police Department encourages everyone to attend this pep rally press conference to help show their support for taking a stand against prescription drug use and abuse among our children and young adults.  For more information on a drop off location in your area please visit: www.artakeback.org