CORBIN – A double feature at the Tri-County Cineplex Saturday is receiving rave reviews.
A pill take-back program coupled with a showing of the documentary “An Appalachian Dawn” capped a months-long effort to raise awareness of securing your medications and the area’s problems with prescription drug abuse.
The “Clean Your Medicine Cabinet Out Day” saw 18 citizens bring 12,697 unwanted, unused or out-of-date medicines in for destruction by Operation UNITE’s “Pill Dragon” – a mobile incinerator. Also participating in the event was the Whitley County coroner.
Since first launched late last year, the Pill Dragon — sponsored by UNITE, PRIDE and the Kentucky Army National Guard – has destroyed 298,246 pills.
“The Pill Dragon offers citizens an easy way to dispose of old or unwanted medications,” noted Karen Kelly, director of UNITE. “This is important for two reasons: It reduces your risk of being a victim of a burglary or theft and it avoids the potential health and environmental effects of having these substances in our water system and soil.”
Saturday’s event, hosted by the Corbin Declare Hope/UNITE Coalition as part of its “Accidental Dealer” awareness program, also featured a screening of a documentary focusing on transformation in Clay County.
Produced by The Sentinel Group, “An Appalachian Dawn” explains how local churches and residents have united through prayer and a common goal to fight back against drugs and corruption, and how this movement has made a dramatic change to their image.
The lives of a former drug addict and a notorious drug dealer, both of whom found salvation and a reason for living because of their community’s actions, are chronicled in the movie.
“This film is relevant to every community across America – rural or urban, small town or large city,” Kelly said. “It is a thought-provoking, emotional story documenting how citizens from all faiths can, with a collective voice, successfully confront any challenge.”