RESIDENTIAL TRASH COLLECTION SERVICES UPDATE

In an effort to standardize and stabilize the cost of residential trash and recycling collection services, the Elyria Township Trustees voted to join the Lorain County Solid Waste Trash Consortium in 2018. Those services were put out to bid by the Consortium in the last quarter of 2018, generating bids from three providers. On January 14, 2019, the Trustees voted to enter into a five-year contract with Rumpke Waste and Recycling Services to be the sole provider of solid waste and recyclable materials collection services for waste generated by residential units, township facilities and Township special events. These services will begin the first week of April.

Residents will be receiving a mailer from Rumpke that will spell out the cost and services to be provided. Everybody will start off with a 95-gal trash cart and a 65-gal recycling cart. Once the service begins, you can call Rumpke Customer Service at 800-828-8171 to request either a 65-gal or 35-gal trash cart.

Republic will cancel your residential service at the end of March and issue a refund for the April collection and being to pick up the old carts on Monday, March 25. They hope to be completed by Saturday, March 30, 2019. The residents will need to leave the old carts at the street after the March 25 trash collection until they are picked up. You will not have to call to cancel service or to schedule the cart pick-up.

If you have any further questions after reading the upcoming mailer, please contact your Township Trustees or Rumpke Customer Service.

Richard L. Hutman, Chairman, Elyria Township Trustees

Rumpke Mailer

THE DRUG & OVERDOSE EPIDEMIC IN LORAIN COUNTY

Preservation of the health, safety, and welfare of our county residents is a responsibility we take seriously. Fatal drug overdoses keep rising in Ohio with the Ohio Department of Health recently reporting a 20% increase. The impact is being felt in our community at an alarming rate.

ere in Lorain County (population 306,000), new research estimates 35,000 residents are misusing or abusing opioids*. Last year, 132 overdose deaths occurred. Some of the dead included grandparents. An alarming number of infants are being born displaying withdrawal symptoms due to drug exposure. 75% of our children being placed in foster care in the county is due to parental substance abuse.

Fentanyl is now being mixed with all kinds of street drugs triggering overdoses and death. It is alarming to report that the federal government has assigned two designations to our county because it has become one of the leading drug trafficking counties in the nation. This drug activity is harmful to our families, our children and our local economy ($200-million/year negative economic burden*).

This Public Awareness Report will provide you with the latest information on the severity of the toll the drug epidemic is having on our county. We continue to work with law enforcement and those on the front line. Public Awareness Report

BUDDY CONNECT PILOT PROGRAM

Friendships are just plain good for you. In fact, social connectedness is strongly linked to a person’s overall health, including risk for chronic diseases, depression, happiness, and suicide. To better connect Lorain County adults ages 55 and over to the community, the Lorain County General Health District is launching the Buddy Connect Pilot Program—for no cost. Starting this fall, two phone calls from a volunteer buddy will help you or a loved one to connect to the community; home visits are also available. Call 440-567-4120 to sign up or to volunteer.