Bradley: Looking to mandate coverage changes
The Division I subcommittee of the Joint Task Force for the Response to the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic recommended two pieces of legislation to the full task force yesterday. The first piece would remove the pre-authorization requirement and standardize a high level of treatment provided by insurance companies for substance abuse and the second would expand drug and alcohol education in schools.
Senate Majority Leader and Task Force Chair Jeb Bradley, said that removing the prior authorization requirement for substance abuse and outpatient services enables addicts who seek emergency treatment to obtain care without delay. He also said that the bill would require insurance companies to standardize services for substance abuse and provide a high level of care that is consistent regardless of provider.
Stiles: Mandate drug education starting in Kindergarten
The division also recommended the task force call for an expedited review of legislation that amends current statutes regarding age appropriate drug and alcohol education for students starting in kindergarten through grade 12. In acknowledging that districts across the state already have drug prevention programs, State Senator Nancy Stiles pushed for the legislation which she said quote “directs that evidence based prevention education be taught consistently throughout the span of a student’s public education addressing the problem at a very young age.”
Hamlett: Caught stealing in police lobby.
As listeners of this show know, we don’t normally do crime stories, but this one we can’t resist. Manchester Police detectives made an arrest at police headquarters yesterday after a person conducting business with the Records Division came back to the station to report that the cell phone he left on a chair in the lobby was missing. Turns out that thirty four year old Joshua Hamlett who was in the lobby snatched the phone while its owner was at the Records Division window. The department’s press release didn’t say how detectives determined Hamlett was responsible for the theft, but they placed him into custody and, in a subsequent search, found not just the missing phone, but also a hypodermic needle, burnt spoon and a Seroquel pill, which is a Schedule 2 drug.
Merrimack closes bridges
The town of Merrimack has contracted to replace the McGaw Bridge Road Bridge and Bean Road Bridge, both of which span Baboosic Brook. Work is scheduled to begin this month with project completion expected by November. A detour route for Bean Road was created in August when that bridge was closed due to structural deficiencies. A detour route for the McGaw Bridge Road closure will be determined in the coming weeks. Anybody interested in receiving project updates from the Public Works Department should send an email to kfox@merrimacknh.gov with Bridge Update in the subject line. The Public Works Department’s Web and Facebook pages will display updates and progress photos (https://www.facebook.com/MerrimackDPW/).
News from our own backyard continues after this.
Paul: Will attend chamber meet and greet tomorrow
The Greater Derry Londonderry Chamber of Commerce’s New Hampshire Primary Series continues at High Noon tomorrow in the function room of the Halligan Tavern in downtown Derry with a meet and greet event featuring Republican presidential hopeful Kentucky Senator Rand Paul. New Hampshire Primary Series events, which feature candidates from both parties, are free and open to the public. To register, visit g d l chamber dot org.
food pantry: New Boston GOP helping secure needed items
The New Boston Republican Committee is looking for donations to benefit the the New Boston Food Pantry. According to committee Chair Toni Green, the pantry needs canned meats and fish, spaghetti sauce, canned meals such as chili, Spaghetti-Os, Ravioli, and beef stew, canned chowder, school snacks, pancake mix and maple syrup, peanut butter and jelly, rice, Ramen Noodles, instant mashed and canned potatoes, canned corn, and cereal among other items. Donation can be put in the box inside the town’s library or at Town Hall.
Defense for Vets announced
The Souhegan Valley Chamber of Commerce is holding its ninth annual benefit auction to raise funds and awareness for New Hampshire veterans and active duty military families. This year, the chamber is bringing two Super Bowl Champs from the New England Patriots, Malcolm Butler and Rob Ninkovich, to raise funds for our state’s patriots. Together, they are presenting Defense for Vets, on Friday, April twenty second at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Nashua.
Butler: Meet the man who made THE Superbowl pic!
The event raises funds for The Chaplain Emergency Relief Fund which provides New Hampshire’s military families with emergency needs primarily in the areas of rent, mortgage, utilities and medical bills. Funds are used to help families of deployed military personnel while their loved one is serving our country or veterans who need assistance upon returning from deployment. Money for the fund comes solely from individual and corporate contributions and is managed by volunteer trustees, all of whom are New Hampshire Army or Air National Guard chaplains. One hundred percent goes directly toward emergency assistance.
Ninkovich: Defense for Vets!
Ticket holders will have the opportunity to meet and be photographed with both Butler and Ninkovich. Attendees will receive authentic autographed photographs and get ot participate in a Q and A session with both of them. A live auction of football memorabilia, signed in real time by both, will cap off the evening.
Tickets, which make great gifts, (hint hint), are now on sale now souhegan dot net. Feel free to call the Chamber office at 6 7 3 4 3 6 0 for more information.
Auburn: Budget Committee meeting again
The town of Auburn Budget Committee will meet tonight at Town Hall starting at seven. It looks like they’re going to run the table on budget items for those interested in knowing how their money might be spent. Multiple departments, committees, agencies and commissions are on the agenda for presentations that are scheduled to last anywhere from five to fifteen minutes. The meeting is scheduled to adjourn at nine thirty, but it seems to me that if they keep their schedule, they’re not anticipating a whole lot of questions. Maybe you should attend and see if any need to be asked! Anyway, we’ve linked to the agenda from this news read at Girard at Large dot com.
That’s news from our own backyard, Girard at Large hour ___ is next.
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