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Opioid crisis

Program could help treat drug offenders, rather than just jail them

WARREN — Working to reduce the grip drugs have on residents will be the focus of a new program proposed by Warren Municipal Court Judge Thomas Gysegem. “What we want to do is to focus on treatment for offenders, instead of (just) sending them to jail,” Gysegem said. “If this is initiated, the court will be channeling some defendants through what is called a Medical Assistance Treatment or MAT program.” The effort also will help to lower costs to taxpayers because fewer people will be sent to Trumbull County Jail, Gysegem said. “Jailing individuals costs the city about ...

Grandparents design support group for raising grandkids

WARREN — In April 2017, Sharon Grover’s daughter, a registered nurse who worked at the Cleveland Clinic and an opioid addict, died of a fentanyl overdose. Now Grover and her husband, Steve, are raising their three grandchildren, ages 2, 4 and 6. Cheryl Baker of Warren said her ...

20 fewer fatal overdoses than in ’17

WARREN — Data indicates there were fewer overdoses in Trumbull County in the first four months of 2018 compared to the same time last year, but officials aren’t convinced fewer deaths and fewer hospital visits for overdoses mean the area’s heroin epidemic is on the decline. Incomplete data from the Trumbull County Coroner’s Office for the first four months of the year show there was likely 20 fewer fatal accidental overdoses this year than last. There were 38 in 2017, and there appears to have been 18 in 2018. Data collected from a hospital alert system shows there were ...

Agreement will expedite OD cases

A partnership aimed at more efficient and effective prosecutions of those who deal drugs that cause overdose deaths has been formed by Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio Justin Herdman. On Tuesday, a Trumbull County assistant prosecutor and an assistant U.S. Attorney were sworn in by Watkins and Herdman, allowing both to work on each others’ cases. Watkins said working jointly on drug cases will ensure that “purveyors of death” who violate federal and local laws are held responsible for their actions. The Trumbull County ...

Man charged with exposing deputies to opioid

WARREN — A Newton Township man faces charges in connection to a Jan. 18 drug overdose call at Blue Water Manor Mobile Home Park that sickened three police officers who were exposed to an opioid. Martin E. Higinbotham, 47, Kings Drive SW, is expected to be arraigned May 14 on three counts of assault on a police officer, one count tampering with evidence and two counts aggravated drug possession. Higinbotham was indicted on the felony charges Tuesday by a Trumbull County grand jury. He is free on $25,000 bond that was set Jan. 22 in Newton Falls Municipal Court. According to a report, ...

Hope, recovery set to take root

ROOTSTOWN — As former president of Warren Fabricating and Machining, Regina Mitchell’s reality found it difficult to fill positions in the family-owned business because so many applicants failed drug tests. But even as four of 10 candidates failed a drug test and an employee found a piece of drug paraphernalia in a restroom, Mitchell was hiding a secret — her own alcohol and substance use addiction. “I thought I could hide it,” Mitchell said. And she did, serving as president of a thriving company that’s headquartered in Hubbard. But her mother eventually noticed signs ...