COLUMN: Prescription drug take-back event set for April 30

Submitted photo.

Ellis County Sheriff Johnny Brown.

This next weekend, Saturday, April 30, your Ellis County Sheriff’s Office will once again join together with other local law enforcement agencies and several organizations and businesses for the spring 2016 prescription drug take-back event.

This is the seventh year your Sheriff’s Office has participated in the program, which typically stages these events twice a year, with several drop-off locations set up for your convenience. This is a free service provided to you.

Please stop by and use this safe means of disposal for your unused or expired medications. It’s anonymous and there are no questions asked. Your taking the time to do this helps the entire community because efforts like this help keep these medications from getting into the hands of people they don’t belong to, like our teens. Another benefit you might not think about is an environmental one. These prescription drug take-back events help protect our earth because these drugs aren’t being thrown away in the trash or flushed down a toilet into our water system.

Here’s a listing of the drop-off locations provided by our local Ennis and Waxahachie Impact programs and the times they’ll be open. I want to encourage your participation; we look forward to seeing you this coming Saturday:

• Waxahachie High School parking lot, 1000 N. U.S. Highway 77, Waxahachie – 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

• Ennis – Walmart, 700 E. Ennis Ave., Ennis – 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

• Palmer – Walmart, 428 N. Dallas St., Palmer – 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

• Italy – Police Department, 161 W. Main St., Italy – 10 a.m.-1 p.m.

• Red Oak – Brookshire’s, 105 E. Ovilla Road, Red Oak – 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

• Cedar Hill – Walgreens, 501 E. Beltline, Cedar Hill – 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

• Corsicana – First Baptist Church parking lot, 509 W. Collin St., Corsicana – 9 a.m.-1 p.m.

As a reminder, any over-the-counter and prescription pills and liquid medications can be accepted; however, the drop-off locations cannot accept inhalers and syringes.

Last year, more than 1,500 pounds of medications were gathered for safe disposal during the drop-off events here in Ellis County. Let’s keep this effort going because it benefits all of us.

Please, everyone, let’s keep our military and service personnel in our thoughts and prayers. We enjoy our rights and freedoms because of their service and safekeeping of our great nation. Y’all have a Blessed Week.

Johnny Brown has served as Sheriff of Ellis County since Jan. 1, 2009, and is a graduate of the National Sheriff’s Institute. He has been in law enforcement for more than 20 years and holds a Master’s Peace Officer’s Certificate with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.