Smoot to replace Kelly as UNITE CEO
LONDON – Dan Smoot, who has been part of the Operation UNITE team since its inception a decade ago, will step up to lead the organization effective May 15. The UNITE Board of Directors voted Tuesday, April 30, to elevate Smoot to President and Chief Executive Officer. He will replace Karen Kelly, who helped create UNITE in 2003. “The Board of Directors is very pleased to announce the hiring...
Read More1,200 lbs of drugs collected in UNITE region
In just a single day, citizens across southern and eastern Kentucky have doubled the amount of unwanted or unused medications returned for safe disposal. On Saturday, April 27, Operation UNITE partnered with local anti-drug coalitions, the Kentucky State Police, and local law enforcement agencies for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s sixth National Prescription Drug Take-Back...
Read MoreFood City to host Rx drug collection sites
Food City has partnered with Operation UNITE to collect and safely dispose of unwanted or unused medications on Saturday, April 27 – National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Six Food City Pharmacy locations in five counties will accept medications from residents between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no charge for this service. UNITE Coalition members, along with law enforcement officials, will...
Read MoreSummit focused national attention on Rx drug abuse
CHAMPIONSGATE, FL – A national outcry about the human cost of prescription drug abuse is needed if efforts to stop this national epidemic are to be successful, participants at the second National Rx Drug Abuse Summit were told. “When are we going to take it seriously, because in the end these are friends and family members” who are paying for the cost of addiction, said Joseph Rannazzisi,...
Read MoreMagoffin drug trafficking arrests
SALYERSVILLE – Three people face drug charges following an Operation UNITE investigation into prescription pills being brought into Magoffin County from Ohio. Elliot Gipson, 32, and his wife, 39-year-old Erma Gipson, both of Lima, Ohio, were arrested by UNITE detectives on Monday, April 8, and charged with third-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. The couple was out on bond for...
Read MoreLee drug RU marks 4,000th UNITE arrest
BEATTYVILLE – Operation UNITE made its 4,000th drug-related arrest during a roundup of suspected dealers in Lee County on Friday, February 22. “This is a significant milestone for UNITE’s Law Enforcement Drug Task Force,” said Paul Hays, UNITE law enforcement director. Law enforcement officers had arrested 17 of 25 individuals sought in the sweep and seized a small quantity of marijuana...
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