Page 18 - June 23, 2017

Groton Daily Independent
Friday, June 23, 2017 ~ Vol. 24 - No. 344 ~ 18 of 54
those on probation and parole to stop using a drug that is almost instantly addicting.
It appears, however, that these efforts have been akin to putting a nger in a dyke that is about to
crumble. Meth use has skyrocketed in the past year and is often a key ingredient in violent crimes. Now, however, meth and the madness and mayhem it creates has a rival and experts say its potency makes it far more dangerous. It’s called fentanyl analog and should alarm everyone who is concerned
about public health and public safety.
On Tuesday, the Lawrence County State’s Attorney’s Of ce announced that nine people were indicted
on 50 felony drug charges. The primary drug cited was fentanyl analog. The investigation that led to the indictments came after two Spear sh residents, ages 23 and 38, died in January after using the synthetic opioid that the National Institute on Drug Abuse says is 50 to 100 more times potent than morphine, making it extraordinarily lethal.
The Lawrence County indictments come just one week after a 19-year-old Chamberlain man was arrested for possessing 20,000 fentanyl pills worth $500,000.
Until recently, fentanyl has been seen as primarily a big-city problem in a few states. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control reported that 80 percent of fentanyl seizures occurred in 10 eastern states.
Since then, however, this killer drug has swept through the nation and now has surfaced in central and western South Dakota where many of us feel insulated from drug epidemics and their fatal consequences. The drug, however, has the potential to sweep through a state like a plague. In New Hampshire, for ex- ample, the number of fentanyl-related deaths climbed from 145 to 283 from 2014 to 2015, according to the National Drug Early Warning System. The state’s population is only around 1.3 million people.
In Lawrence County, 37-year-old Eric Reeder now faces 20 felony charges, including two counts of rst- degree manslaughter. Spear sh police said the suspect told them he ordered the fentanyl on the darknet and they were delivered to him. Also facing a rst-degree manslaughter charge is 32-year-old Ashley Kristina Kuntz.
The Lawrence County Sheriff’s Of ce, the Lawrence County State’s Attorney’s Of ce and Spear sh police are to be congratulated for pursuing this case and seeking convictions on manslaughter charges. It’s be- come all too clear that our ongoing war on drugs has become a lot tougher and the stakes are even higher.
It is a problem that requires an immediate and strong response from law enforcement. In the meantime, we all have a duty to report any suspected drug activity to law enforcement and to do everything possible to protect our families and loved ones from this devastating drug.
___
An innovative approach to improving relationships between youths and law enforcement is coming to Davison County.
In short, the program is meant to redirect youth away from the justice system while still being held accountable for their actions when dealing with criminal matters. Davison County State’s Attorney Jim Miskimins told the county commission this week he’s received approval from a First Circuit Court judge to move forward with the program.
According to a data compilation from SD Kids Count, there were an estimated 89,814 children and youths ages 10 to 17 in South Dakota in 2015. Of those 1,983 lived in Davison County. And while that age range is only about 10 percent of our county’s total population, it’s an in uential time in a person’s life.
That’s why we’re hoping this new approach is successful. The main vision of South Dakota’s Detention Alternatives Initiative is to get youths who are already involved in the juvenile justice system to become healthy adults who can contribute to the community.
Miskimins on Tuesday explained the new program will be an “of cer friendly” approach in which law en- forcement of cers “are not just citing kids into court, but they’re working on solutions for families, building relationships with children and their families.”
The Daily Republic, Mitchell, June 22
Local justice reform better for juveniles, county’s future
That seems to be a proactive way to make youth and children less afraid of of cers and a way to lower