INSIDE Goochland shelter pets still waiting to find forever homes > page 2
Volume 66 Number 33 • August 26, 2021
Board approves MOU for opioid abatement fund By Roslyn Ryan Editor
Bulldogs are back G
oochland County School Superintendent Dr. Jeremy Raley was front and center at the Goochland High School and Middle School complex on Monday as students arrived for their first day of school. And if Raley appeared to be smiling a little brighter than usual, he explained that there was a good reason for that: Monday marked the return of full-time in-person learning for all GCPS students. Said Raley, beaming as he helped one young student gather up an armful of brand new school supplies, “We’ve been waiting two years for this — it feels great.” For more back-to school photos, see page 5.
Photos by Roslyn Ryan
Top photo: Goochland High School students Bridget Dinora Katarina Nickolaou and Jack Clarke file past a vibrant mural on the way to their first class. Above, Goochland school superintendent Dr. Jeremy Raley greets Skylar Cleaton during drop-off.
In an effort to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic plaguing Virginia communities, Goochland County leaders have approved a resolution authorizing the execution of the Virginia Opioid Abatement Fund and Settlement Allocation Memorandum of Understanding. Board members discussed the measure briefly during the Aug. 3 board meeting before adopting it as part of the consent agenda. According to Goochland County Attorney Tara McGee, the document allows for the majority of any funds recovered from pending lawsuits against the manufacturers and distributors of opioid medication to be made available for opioid abatement programs provided by localities, the state, or regional partners. McGee told board members that she had reviewed the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding and found they were legally appropriate. According to the resolution, the county and numerous other Virginia localities “share a common desire to abate and alleviate the impacts of the opioid addiction epidemic and to maximize litigation recoveries from those third parties responsible for same.” According to a recent report in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Virginia should receive at least $80 million as part of a pending agreement between 15 states and Purdue Pharma, the prescription drug maker that made the addictive painkiller OxyContin. The more than $4.3 billion agreement would resolve thousands of opioid cases, see MOU > 2