Anti-drug rally set at courthouse

BUCYRUS – Just in case the steady drumbeat of drug arrests in Bucyrus this year isn’t enough, not to mention the discarded syringes still routinely found on the streets, a rally Monday on the steps of the Crawford County Courthouse is intended to serve as a reminder that the county continues to grapple with an insidious drug problem.

“While I have not lost a child or close family member to an overdose, my family has been greatly impacted by substance abuse. It has motivated me to help bring a voice to my family, as well as other families in the area,” said Sarah Carman, a local representative of Ohio Change Addiction Now.

Carman’s organization is joining a “Fed Up” march on Washington, D.C., in October to draw attention to the heroin epidemic sweeping many parts of the nation, including Crawford County. At 6 p.m. Monday, the county will host its own “Fed Up” rally.

Carman said several speakers have been lined up for the event, including Crawford County Common Pleas Judge Sean Leuthold and Tony Grotrian, who serves on an opioid task force in Hancock County.

Bucyrus police Chief David Koepke has been invited to speak, as has Together We Hurt, Together We Heal. Jodi Demo-Hodgins, executive director of Crawford-Marion ADAMH, will present information on opioid addiction at the rally.

The number of deaths from heroin overdose in Ohio has risen from 400 in 2000 to 1,914 in 2012, an increase of 378 percent, according to the Ohio Department of Health.