Eastchester REVIEW THE
October 25, 2019 | Vol. 7, Number 42 | www.eastchesterreview.com
Clergy, law enforcement talk house of worship safety
“An American in Paris,” a classic inspired by a 1928 poem, is now playing at the Westchester Broadway Theatre. For a review, see page 6.
County to participate in National Drug Take-Back Day National Prescription Drug Take Back Day is Oct. 26 across the U.S., and Westchester County’s Department of Environmental Facilities, DEF, will be providing residents the opportunity to dispose of medications, both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, at the Household-Material Recovery Facility, H-MRF, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The H-MRF is located on the county’s Valhalla Campus at 15 Woods Road in Valhalla. No appointment will be necessary on Oct. 26 for residents wishing to dispose of medications only. On April 27, 2019, the most recent National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, DEF collected 437 containers of medications to-
talling 82 pounds. DEF collected and safely disposed of 7,921 pounds of prescription and overthe-counter medications in 2018. Last fall, Americans turned in nearly 469 tons (more than 937,000 pounds) of prescription drugs at nearly 6,300 sites operated by the USDEA, and almost 5,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 17 previous Take-Back events, USDEA and its partners have taken in more than 11.8 million pounds—approximately 5,900 tons—of pills. This initiative addresses a vital public safety and public health issue. Medicines that languish in home cabinets are highly susceptible to diversion, misuse and abuse.
Rates of prescription drug abuse in the U.S. are alarmingly high, as are the number of accidental poisonings and overdoses due to these drugs. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows year after year, that the majority of misused and abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including someone else’s medication being stolen from the home medicine cabinet. In addition, residents are now being advised that their usual methods for disposing of unused medicines—flushing them down the toilet or throwing them in the trash— pose both safety and health hazards. In the event that residents are
unable to make it to the H-MRF on Oct. 26, Westchester offers many opportunities to safely dispose of medications throughout the year. The H-MRF accepts medications on the first Tuesday of each month. For more information or to schedule an appointment to visit the H-MRF visit http:// environment.westchestergov.com/ new-h-mrf. In addition, the county has installed locked and secured collection boxes at 38 police department headquarters throughout Westchester, where medications can be dropped off (most are available 24 hours a day/7 days a week). For more information visit http://environment.westchestergov.com/ medications. (Submitted)
“We’re not just talking about it in Charleston, we are trying our best to live it in our hearts,” he said, referring to vigils, community events and a dialogue that began after the shooting. “We realized from this tragedy that it’s time to put our differences behind. It’s not only the act of an individual, but an act that changed a community and started a movement,” he added. The conference, a partnership between Pace University and New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, also featured experts from the FBI, New York State Police, Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Westchester Medical Center and the Port Authority of NYNJ, among other regional first-responders. Other highlights of the conference included: • A threat briefing from Anthony Molloy, supervisory special agent with the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force that provided background on hate crimes, offenses associated with religious bias, the rise in white supremacy groups, and techniques for detecting and disrupting threats. Between 20002018, there have been 277 active
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A taste of life
Rev. Anthony Thompson, a Charleston, South Carolina-based pastor whose wife Myra was among nine people murdered by a white supremacist during bible study, had a simple and direct message about forging ahead after tragedy: Forgive, unite and work together. Thompson was one of the keynote speakers at a conference on Oct. 17 at Pace University entitled Safety & Security for Faith-Based Institutions where more than 150 clergy, community leaders and law enforcement from the region convened to learn facets of keeping their institutions safe at a time where hate crimes, hate groups and gun violence are on the rise in this country and around the world. “Forgiveness heals everything–spiritually, physically, and mentally,” Thompson told the crowd. “I urge you. I plead with you to forgive whoever you need to forgive. Life will be so much better. It gives you everything positive.” For Thompson, author of “Called to Forgive: The Charleston Church Shooting, a Victim’s Husband, and the Path to Healing and Peace,” forgiving the shooter was not only a personal story of healing, but a broader one for the city of Charleston, which has a long history of racial strife.
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