The Navajo County Board of Supervisors met last week where Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon presented a proposal for spending of opioid settlement monies. In October of last year
the board approved participation in the One Arizona opioid epidemic litigation, joining as a plaintiff in the multi-district litigation in Ohio against certain opioid manufacturers and distributors.
As reported then by The Tribune, Deputy Attorney Jason Moore explained the county was seeking to be compensated for additional burdens placed on the court system, the Public Defender’s Office, prosecution, probation, public safety resources and the greater need for treatment as a result of the opioid epidemic.
One Arizona, consisting of Arizona’s 15 counties was successful in their suit against the defendants, with Navajo County being awarded nearly $500,000 in compensation.
Carlyon said last week, “We need to decide how to spend this money. The stipulations say we need to focus on opioid education and treatment and rehabilitation.”
He then explained his plan for addressing all of the stipulations. “A decade ago, the drug of choice in Navajo County was meth (methamphetamine). Now, it is absolutely opioids, a drug that pharmaceutical companies told us was okay. We are seeing that it is not okay. Our plan includes humanizing the drug user by telling their stories on a website and with a social media campaign, working toward getting these people the help they need and continuing rehabilitation for incarcerated people with substance abuse issues.”
He encouraged the board to consider using settlement monies to concentrate on education materials, including the digital campaign. No action was taken by the board during this meeting.
The Board also declared Sept. 14-17 as Navajo County Fair Days. This year’s theme is Country Fans and Cattle Brands and it is the 91st fair event. The Navajo County Fair Grounds are located at 404 E. Hopi Drive in Holbrook
The fair kicks off at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 14 and will culminate with a GCPRA (Grand Canyon Professional Rodeo Association) rodeo event beginning at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 17.
The crowd favorite demolition derby will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday with pre-sale tickets available for $12 or $15 at the gate. Children under six are free and ticket prices include fair admission. Tickets can be purchased by visiting the fair website at www.navajocountyfair.net.
Other events will include a junior livestock sale, little buckaroo rodeo, roping events, open class exhibits, carnival and main stage entertainment.
In other business, the board:
* Approved a grant award in the amount of $185,049 to the Navajo County Sheriff’s Office from the United States Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs and passed through to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to pay a portion of salaries of participating personnel for MCAT (Major Crimes Apprehension Team).
* Approved the fiscal year 2022 equitable sharing agreement and certification of annual report. This report reflects last fiscal year’s expenditures and revenue for Justice and Treasury funds. Justice funds consist of joint investigations with the Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, US Postal Inspection, and the Food and Drug Administration. Treasury funds consist of joint investigations with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Secret Service, US Coast Guard and US Customs. The funds from both are used for MCAT operations.
* Approved an amendment to the memorandum of understanding between Northeastern Arizona Local Workforce Development Board and the Northeastern Arizona Community Resource Network. The amendment adds all appropriate signatures to establish an affiliate job center in Show Low.
* Approved a request from the Holbrook Police Department for $3,500 from the County Attorney’s Anti-Racketeering Revolving Funds to pay for the HPD’s Special Response Team (SRT) subscriber fees.
* Approved an equipment purchase in the amount of $150,341 for Varonis Software which assists in securing data in the event of a cyber attack and classifies data for State Auditors.
* Approved a memorandum of understanding between the State of Arizona Department of Emergency and Military Affairs-Arizona National Guard and Navajo County for cyber security assessment. This allows the county free access to free services by the National Guard.
* Adopted a resolution cancelling the elections for the Heber/Overgaard, Joseph City and Pinetop sanitation districts slated for Nov. 8 due to lack of candidates.
* Adopted a resolution cancelling elections for the Heber/Overgaard, Joseph City, Timber Mesa, Clay Springs-Pinedale, McLaws Road, Woodruff, Sun Valley and Pinetop fire districts slated for Nov. 8 due to lack of candidates.
* Adopted a resolution cancelling the election for the Navapache Hospital District slated for Nov. 8 due to lack of candidates.
* Adopted a resolution cancelling the elections for the Clay Springs, Porter Creek, Ponderosa, Overgaard Townsite, Wonderland Acres, Heber, Woodruff, Three-O-Three, Pinedale, Joseph City and Misty Mountain domestic water improvement districts slated for Nov. 8 due to lack of candidates.
* Approved a lease agreement in the amount of $6,000 per year with Verizon Wireless to install, maintain and operate communications equipment on county property located at 251 Penrod Road in Show Low.
* Approved tax exemption waivers for widows, widowers or disabled persons whose property is exempt from tax.
* Proclaimed Sept. 11-17 as National Patriotism week.
* Approved an addendum to the indigent defense contract with Attorney John Belt. The addendum corrects the contract end date to Feb. 28, 2023 for attorney services.
* Proclaimed Aug. 14 as Navajo Code Talkers Day.
* Approved a letter of sympathy to Tony Peterson.
* Approved a grant in the amount of $20,000 from the American Library Association’s COVID Library Relief Fund for the county’s archives project. The project partners the Show Low, Winslow, Snowflake-Taylor, Holbrook and Heber/Overgaard Rim Community libraries to digitize library archives.
* Approved an amendment to an intergovernmental agreement with the Arizona Department of Health Services to continue offering family planning services and injury prevention education.
* Approved a contract in the amount of $367,887 with Care1st Health Plan of Arizona for behavioral health care screening and evaluation services.
* Approved an application for a supervised fireworks display permit by Joseph City Unified School District as part of their homecoming celebration upon Sheriff’s Office approval.
* Recognized Sophia Deshcheeny of the Assessor’s Office and Clint Haddox of public works as employees of the month of August.
* Recognized Mario Sandoval of public works and Paula Wright of the Superior Court, both for five years of service to Navajo County; Lynda Young of the County Attorney’s Office for 10 years; and Linda Sandoval of the Public Health District, Bill Dalton of the Sheriff’s Office, Alysia Heward of the Superior Court and Rebecca Taylor, each for 15 years of service.
* Heard a presentation from county employee Mark Lamb on his experience with the county’s benefit offerings and the Edison Health program. Lamb was the recipient of health care benefits during a recent health issue.
* Adopted a resolution approving a special use permit extension of five years to Tiny Town, Arizona a recreational camp site near Show Low.
The next meeting of the Navajo County Board of Supervisors will be held at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 13 in the board meeting room, located at 100 E. Code Talkers Drive.
