Committee to involve 3 counties, Lac du Flambeau Tribe

BY KEVIN BONESKE

REPORTER/PHOTOGRAPHER

The Oneida County Board voted Tuesday in favor of being part of a Tri-County/Tribal Controlled Substance Response Committee.

The idea of forming the committee was proposed in the wake of charges being filed against suspects accused of being involved in the murder of a Lac du Flambeau man, Wayne Valliere, Jr. The Lac du Flambeau Tribe, which hosted a meeting last month with officials and agencies from Iron, Oneida and Vilas counties to discuss the need for a joint effort to fight drug abuse and violence in the Tri-County region, drafted a resolution for forming a committee comprised of representatives of the three counties and the tribe.

That resolution calls for two representatives from each of the counties and the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians.  With the resolution also calling for Oneida County’s representatives to include a county supervisor and one representative of law enforcement, County Board chairman Dave Hintz appointed supervisor Billy Fried and sheriff Grady Hartman to the Controlled Substance Response Committee.

According to the resolution, the Controlled Substance Response Committee’s initial focus will be “the task of ascertaining and evaluating regional controlled substance response strategies, practices, resources, strengths, deficiencies, and barriers, for the purpose of coordinating a comprehensive intergovernmental response to the drug epidemic and creating safer communities within our region.”

The resolution further states that committee “shall develop an action plan and periodically report to the governing bodies of the respective member entities.”

According to the resolution’s fiscal impact statement, the annual cost to the county for attending 12 meeting, not including mileage, would be $518.