The Northfield Police Department and Rice County Drug Task Force made a series of arrests November 1st and 2nd after investigations lasting 14 months.  The Northfield News chronicled these events here.    Some of the arrests were centered around Greenvale Place Apartments.  A Randolph area man was arrested in the heroin related death of a Northfield man.  The Northfield News updated these stories here.

Kathy Sandberg of the Rice County Chemical Health Coalition wrote a Guest Column for the Northfield News titled “More can be done about heroin problem”.

MTFYADU co-chair Joan Janusz discussed the task force’s “Report to the Community 2011″  with KYMN’s Tim Freeland.   The interview is available here.    The “Report to the Community 2011″ is available here.

Northfield’s Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol and Drug Use has released its annual “Report-to-the-Community.   This report details the mission and projects done by the group.

The TLC Committee of the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol and Drug Use supported the Northfield Healthy Community Initiative with its Cyberbullying Awareness PSA Video Contest.   This effort was also supported by the Northfield Public Schools and ARTech Charter School.

There are ten finalists in the contest and they are competing for cash prizes.   The public is invited to vote for the video they think is the best.  The videos can be viewed and voted on here.

The MTFYADU was instrumental in starting the “Take it to the Box” project which gives Rice County residents two places to safely dispose of their no longer needed prescription drugs.  This takes potentially dangerous medications out of circulation,  and protects the environment by disposing of the medications in an environmentally safe way.

Northfield’s Public Safety Director, Mark Taylor and Rice County Sheriff, Troy Dunn, discussed “Take it to the Box” with KYMN’s Jeff Johnson in this interview.

MTFYADU co-chair, Joan Janusz, helped spread the message of the mission of the Task Force  in the Northfield area media this month.  In this Guest Column in the Northfield News,  Janusz reminded parents and teens that summer is risky for first time drug use; a 40 percent increase over the rest of the year. When there is too much unstructured time and a decrease in supervision, teens may be faced with an increase in situations that can lead to alcohol or other drug use. Parents and caregivers can be proactive to ensure the safety of their teens during these summer months.

In this interview with KYMN Radio’s Tim Freeland,  Janusz provided an update on the recent activities of the MTFYADU, especially addressing the role of the Task Force in advocating for the passage of the Social Host Ordinance, and reminding parents of their roles in influencing young persons’ decisions regarding alcohol and drug use in regards to summertime.

The Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Alcohol and Drug Use has teamed up with the Healthy Community Initiative with the cooperation of Northfield Public Schools and ARTech to sponsor a video making contest to promote the idea that technology should be used properly.

Three awards of $200 each will be given to the makers of these public service videos.  Rules for the contest are here.

There is a new group of heroin users in the Northfield area, according to this article in the Northfield News written by Suzanne Rook.   Rook interviewed Dr. Charles Reznikoff from the Northfield Hospital’s Opiate Agonist Clinic.

Mayor’s Task Force co chair, Joan Janusz discussed alcohol awareness in this Northfield News guest column 4/15/2011.    Joan expanded on the theme of Alcohol Awareness Month in this interview with KYMN radio’s Jeff Johnson.

Mayor’s Task Force member,  Dr. Kristine Matson conducted a study titled  “A Qualitative Study of Young Adult Heroin Addiction”.   Northfield News’ writer, Suzanne Rook,  discussed Matson’s study and wrote about the numbers of people treated at Northfield’s Opiate Addiction Clinic in this article.