Jackson Co. Commission clears up confusion on opioid settlement spending

RIPLEY, WV (WOWK) — Questions are being brought up about West Virginia opioid settlement money and what it’s being used for, specifically in Jackson County.

Friday evening, the Jackson County Commission addressed public concerns about a new training center and gun range and how much of the settlement money was used to build it.

According to Commission President Dick Waybright, more than $200,000 of that money was used to help build the facility.

He goes on to say that the only other organization that received funding is the Jackson County Quick Response Team (QRT), which deals directly with the community to reduce the harmful effects of substance abuse.

The QRT received around $35,000 from the settlement.

Hearing this information, some members of the public say they have some concerns with how the funds are being dispersed. Some believe more money should go to addiction recovery-related resources.

Waybright says the new center is a major asset in the fight against substance abuse since it provides a professional training environment for all first responders.

As for why the money was divvied up the way it was, Waybright says they didn’t receive applications from any other addiction-related organizations when they were discussing how to use the money.

“Right now, we don’t have anybody like that in the area. The only people that applied for it is the QRT and the other agency that asked for the training center,” Waybright says.

Waybright also says the decision to allocate the funds in this matter wasn’t made overnight. The commission spent several weeks going over potential uses for the settlement funds.

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