River Valley Meth Project recognizes service, awards scholarship
By Adam Franks
Reporter
The River Valley Meth Project gathered Wednesday morning at Chambers Cafeteria on the Arkansas Tech University campus for its first meeting since April. Three individuals were recognized at the meeting for their civic service and dedication to the RVMP.
Jerry Hamrick, a representative of the River Valley Safety Association, John Bearden and Sue Ann Strait, both area realtors, were presented awards by ATU associate professor Marti Wilkerson.
“We want to recognize you for your years of service to our community through this organization,” Wilkerson said.
Wilkerson also introduced the recipient of the 2008 Bob Adkison/Arkansas River Valley Area Council Addictions Research Scholarship.
Maggie Fitch of Hindsville is a psychology major at ATU. Recipients of the scholarship must be a junior or senior majoring psychology, sociology, or rehabilitation sciences with a GPA of 3.25 or higher.
The coalition of law enforcement officials, educators, treatment specialists and community leaders was founded almost four years ago to address the growingly problematic presence of methamphetamine in the area. Wilkerson, Pope County Sheriff Jay Winters and 5th Judicial District Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons conceived the organization with five specific strategies for reducing the proliferation of methamphetamine.
“Our goal is to increase awareness, reduce use, reduce production, reduce distribution and improve treatment in our community,” Wilkerson said at the meeting.
The RVMP is currently assessing a new counseling project that began in 2007.
The Meth and Other Drugs and their Effects on Life, or M.O.D.E.L. project, is designed to provide easy access to in-house group counseling services. A collaborative effort between ATU, the Division of Children and Family Services, and Counseling Associates Inc., the project focuses on therapeutic assistance, increasing compliance with case planning and improving communications with case workers.
“We hope for improved outcomes for children and families,” Wilkerson said. “We want to get an idea of what issues are important to the people being served by the program, especially child welfare issues.”
Wilkerson praised the work of the project, and indicated that efforts by the RVMP and other agencies have been effective.
“Drug enforcement officials have said drug arrests in the city and the county are trending down,” she said.
Although progress has been made, the RVMP plans to continue the pursuit of its objectives with unwavering persistence. Phillip Latta, media liaison for the RVMP, stressed the importance of continued diligence and increasing awareness.
“For a coalition to exist it has to have public visibility. People have to be aware of what the coalition does and what benefits it provides to the community.”