Hillsdale County—The Hillsdale County Opioid Committee, which has been assigned the task of distributing opioid settlement funds in accordance with state guidelines, met on 11 June to discuss funding the Civil Air Patrol’s (CAP) “Red Ribbon” drug prevention program.

Commander of the local CAP, Cassie Hambleton, told the committee that the members of the squadron “sign on for a drug-free life” when they take their membership pledges.

Hillsdale’s squadron in particular offers the Red Ribbon Leadership Academy “in conjunction with and as part of the Civil Air Patrol Drug Demand Reduction Program,” Hambleton told the Hillsdalian.

“Cadets in the Civil Air Patrol pledge themselves to a drug free life and a life devoted to respect, integrity, volunteer service, and excellence in all they do, and they seek to lead others to the same whether those others are in CAP or not,” she added, noting that the program helps children “rise above the peer pressure which can often lead to the initial use of drugs.”

According to Hambleton, the Red Ribbon program also involves going into schools to deliver anti-drug presentations on weekends while promoting CAP. The broader CAP program more generally focuses on developing physical fitness as well as skills in leadership, search and rescue, and STEM.

Approximately two-thirds of CAP’s squadron are from Hillsdale County.

CAP’s request was reportedly for $36,000 in funding to cover technology costs as well as scholarships for members of the Civil Air Patrol who may not otherwise be able to afford the program.

Tim Dixon, a member of the committee, suggested that Hillsdale County’s service organizations would be best prepared to fund the requested budget items, but he asked for more information about the Red Ribbon program, which may more closely align with the direct purpose of the Opioid Committee.

Fellow committee member Mark Wiley concurred, noting that there may be some difficulty in justifying funding for such a program under the State of Michigan’s Opioid Settlement distribution guidelines.

CAP, which was founded in 1941, is set to follow up with the Opioid Committee at its meeting on 9 July.

From opioid settlement money, Hillsdale County is set to receive a reported $2.5 million, paid out by organizations like Walgreens, Meijer, and Johnson & Johnson. Funds have been and will continue to be appropriated by the Hillsdale County Opioid Committee, with the approval of the Hillsdale County Board of Commissioners.

At the meeting, the committee also briefly discussed a pending proposal from the Coalition for Youth Drug Abuse Prevention, specifically their Hard Stop advertising campaign.

“I don’t know where it sits,” Dixon said, with Wiley adding that a move cannot be made “until someone comes and presents.”

Jacob Bruns

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