Walker County schedules Jan. 15 work session after presentations from legislators and local recovery groups seeking opioid funding

State Sen. Matt Woods and state Rep. Greg Barne attended the Walker County Commission meeting on Jan. 5 as presenters alongside five local organizations seeking opioid‑related funding and support, and commissioners scheduled a work session to review those requests.

Presenters listed by the meeting record included 3D Revolution (Executive Director Amber Sellers), Walker County Child Advocacy Center (Executive Director Johnny Sudberry), NEUMO (Director of Client Relations Connie Taylor and Assistant Christy Cato) and Recovery Den (Executive Director Paige Britton). The commission did not make funding decisions during the Jan. 5 meeting; Chairman Miller and Commissioner Jeff Burrough agreed to set a dedicated work session on Thursday, Jan. 15 at 9:30 a.m. to consider the requests and related project details.

Commissioner Steven Aderholt urged continued, sustained efforts to address what he called the generational effects of opioids in Walker County, saying, "Opioids have affected Walker County and every citizen in it, whether you've been addicted by it, you're related to somebody that's been addicted to it or you've lost family members or distant family members, everybody in Walker County has been affected by Opioids at some level." The commission reiterated thanks to local emergency responders, volunteers and agencies that assisted during a recent search effort connected to a local tragedy; commissioners said they will consider opioid funding options alongside other county priorities.

What comes next: The Jan. 15 work session will allow commissioners and staff to review each organization's funding request and to discuss potential allocations or further analyses; the Jan. 5 meeting record does not specify funding amounts or sources for the presentations. Any funding or policy decisions would be recorded in subsequent commission actions.