02 | 22 | 2018 VOLUME 23 | ISSUE 08 OUT OF CLASS, BUT THEY’RE STILL CLOWNING AROUND LIVING HERE PAGE 25
COMMENT PAGE 6
TORY INFIGHTING MUDDIES THE ELECTORAL WATERS
Region’s public school trustees defer decision to include naloxone kits in school
www.OBSERVERXTRA.com
WINTER DISAPPEARS, WATERS RISE ... QUICKLY
FAISAL ALI THERE’LL BE NO NALOXONE kits – used for treating opioid overdoses – in Waterloo Region’s public schools until at least September, as board trustees last week deferred a decision on the issue. The deferral decision at the February 12 school board meeting was nearly unanimous. The sole dissenter was trustee Cindy Watson of Cambridge and North Dumfries, who originally made the case for the kits’ inclusion in schools across the region. “Well I believe it is very important,” said Watson, speaking to the Observer. “We have an opiate crisis, it’s not going to go away. From what I understand, it could potentially get worse.” Watson admitted she had never heard of anyone overdosing in Waterloo Region schools. She nonetheless likened the naloxone kits to keeping defibrillators and other lifesaving equipment on hand. “So if something were to happen it’s there, it’s on the wall in case of emergency,” she said. However, Scott McMillan, board chair and trustee for Woolwich and Wellesley, said the board had worked with a number of community groups, including Waterloo Region Public Health and the police, before coming NALOXONE | 4
Heavy rains and mild temperatures led to plenty of melting and, in turn, to flooding that closed many roads in Woolwich and Wellesley townships, along with surrounding municipalities. That forced crews out to put out barricades and repair flooded gravel roads. Some of the trouble spots included Barnswallow Drive in Elmira and the low-lying areas around the covered bridge in West Montrose. [ALI WILSON, JOE MERLIHAN / THE OBSERVER]
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