Needle exchange approved for the Bedford area…Verizon taking old cell phones to help domestic violence victims.
LAWRENCE COUNTY INDIANA NEEDLE EXCHANGE
Indiana’s health commissioner has declared a public health emergency in southern Indiana’s Lawrence County that allows local officials to start a needle-exchange to curb the spread of hepatitis C and HIV. The Indiana State Health Department says Commissioner Dr. Jerome Adams declared the emergency Friday, making the county where Bedford is located the seventh in Indiana to win permission for a needle exchange following a southern Indiana HIV outbreak linked to intravenous drug use. The six others are Clark, Fayette, Madison, Monroe, Scott and Wayne counties.
The Lawrence County declaration follows a request for one by the county commissioners. The declaration will run through Sept. 29, 2017.
LEWIS AND CLARK BRIDGE
A historical re-enactment group is advocating for a southern Indiana bridge to be named after the Lewis and Clark expedition. The News and Tribune reports that Discovery of St. Charles, a Missouri-based organization, put a life-size replica of the keelboat Meriwether Lewis and William Clark used in the Corps of Discovery expedition in the waters of the Ohio River on Thursday. The group hopes to garner support for naming the east-end bridge the Lewis and Clark Bridge. Discovery of St. Charles chair Jan Paul Donelson says the effort is about honoring the duo’s significant contributions to the area. The group is holding the Lewis and Clark Indiana Bicentennial Festival in southern Indiana and Louisville this weekend. The bridge is expected to be completed in December.
CELL PHONES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Your old cellphone can help victims of domestic violence. All month, Verizon is collecting used cellphones, chargers and tablets at its Indiana stores and in dropboxes around the statehouse. They’ll also take donations before the Colts’ game against the Chiefs October 30. The phones get recycled, and the money is used to donate new phones to shelters and police departments so victims have a way to call for help or contact family members. Verizon vice president Neil Krevda notes cellphones sometimes are on contract in the abuser’s name. leaving a victim with no way to reach the outside world. Verizon has donated 700 phones in Indiana so far this year.