Public safety, briefly

By ANNEMARIE SCHUETZ
Posted 6/9/21

MONTICELLO, NY — The public safety committee is just one committee that meets on Thursdays at the Sullivan County Government Center. You can stream the meetings, or go in person. You can even give public comment.

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Public safety, briefly

Posted

MONTICELLO, NY — The public safety committee is just one committee that meets on Thursdays at the Sullivan County Government Center. You can stream the meetings, or go in person. You can even give public comment.

Here are a few excerpts from the June 3 meeting:

Sullivan’s opioid toll

Sixty overdoses and 14 deaths since January 1.

Three opioid-related deaths in May.

County deputy commissioner of health and family services Wendy Brown provided the first statistics to the legislature last Thursday. County coroner Albee Bockman gave the latter. 

There were also two homicides in May and two drownings, Bockman said.

Prisoner vaccines

It may be less than the national average, but 31 percent isn’t bad at all.

Undersheriff Eric Chaboty reported that 31 out of 101 prisoners had been vaccinated against COVID-19. Upwards of 2,700 inmates nationwide have died of the disease, according to The New York Times.

Major opioid bust

“We just took steps forward in a major investigation,” said district attorney Meagan Galligan. It “ultimately touched in several areas of Sullivan County as well as Delaware County and [culminated in] a historically large seizure of heroin.” The recent arrest of Carlos Colon, a key figure in local drug distribution, was significant. “He is now in jail with no bail,” Chaboty said. Colon was based in Jeffersonville.

The undersheriff also reported a large drug seizure in White Sulphur Springs.

Galligan thanked sheriff Mike Schiff for his work and that of his department. “That remains ongoing,” she said. “While we are seeking pre-arrest diversion... we’re continuing to investigate large-scale distributors who prey on those with substance-use disorders in Sullivan County.”

Safety, Monticello, Opioids, Vaccines

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