The City of Baneberry and Jefferson County Substance Coalition are planning a Town Hall Meeting on Monday April 18th at 7:00pm at the Baneberry Town Hall.

Baneberry Chief Chip Kain stated that he feels there is a need to address substance abuse solutions for their community.

“We obviously are not as big as other cities, but that doesn’t make us exempt from sharing the same problems as other municipalities in the county,” shared Kain. “Since I took over as Chief of Police in the city, three of every four arrests have involved drugs, alcohol, or a combination of both. The fact that substance-related issues are the bulk of what we are dealing with, it makes sense we would be teaming up with Rescue 180 and their team.”

Rescue 180 (Jefferson County’s substance abuse coalition) Executive Director, Rev. Debra Shultz states, “ Unfortunately, substance abuse is found in all communities, and it is wise to collaborate with our law enforcement and try to help them implement and mobilize effective strategies to halt substance abuse activity. We are all about Prevention, and the old adage ‘an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure’ is statistically a fact.”

Shultz, who is a Board Certified Prevention Specialist, continued, “ One federal study shows that there are 18 dollars saved for every dollar invested in prevention, and this is a very solid principle. This is just one example statistic, and there are many other studies which back this up.”

Shultz says that the organization wants to help reinforce the effective barriers that the Town already has, such as a police presence and wants to help enhance it by mobilizing a neighborhood watch designed by Rescue 180.

“Getting the community involved is always a great idea, but just like any program it has boundaries, and protocol.”

“We are just a resource that is willing to provide a service to any area of Jefferson County. This program will be designed just for the needs voiced by each City who implements the program,” said Shultz.

“Baneberry is the third place I’ve worked in my law enforcement career, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s Clinton or the University of Tennessee, both fine places, but it’s substance abuse and the resulting problems that plague communities and exhaust law enforcement resources,” Kain stated.  “I made a determination that in my administration, we would be active in our fight against substance abuse and that we would not be in a position where we have to be reactive.  I want to be proactive in keeping our community safe.  I have been looking for a means to restart our community’s neighborhood watch program and am looking forward to engaging our community in keeping us all safe.”

“I think Chief Kain is spot on, in wanting to establish this program, it will cost the City zero dollars, and our coalition will provide the signs and help the community set up meetings.”

The volunteers that are willing to become part of the Watch Program, will be safe in that their eminentency will be preserved.

The Town Hall Meeting is an open meeting, to all Jefferson Countians.

Shultz says there will be a panel made up of a variety of professional such as prevention, legislature, law enforcement, Schools, Juvenile, courts, recovery community, health field etc.

“We want to provide information for our community as much as possible. We have invited a few folks who are now drug free , to share their testimony’s , and believe me they are astounding, “ says Shultz

“We are also providing some statistics along with solutions from the Coalition. There will also be a special presentation from the Honorable Judge Duane Slone, who will address our Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome problems and workable solutions,” said Shultz.

Kain says he is hoping for a good turn out, and is encouraging all Jefferson County residents to come and be a part.

“We can’t afford to be playing from behind on this one- we have to be active in our fight to save our communities and preserve our way of life,” he said.