Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Caldwell County health officials honor student winners of fentanyl awareness challenge
Summary
Ruth Flanagan told commissioners that Hope for Caldwell’s fentanyl awareness challenge awarded first‑place to Gavin Keyes and second‑place to LaLana Tankai; a video warned pressed fentanyl in counterfeit pills is deadly and urged use of local treatment resources.
Ruth Flanagan, a public health educator with the Caldwell County Health Department, briefed the Board of Commissioners on the Hope for Caldwell coalition’s second annual fentanyl awareness challenge for high school students and recognized the two student winners.
Flanagan said the 2025–26 challenge—funded by Via Health and Bernhardt Furniture—encouraged teens to develop creative awareness projects. "Gavin developed a video to be distributed across multiple social media and other online platforms to be accessible, engaging, and reach the largest audience possible," she said, recognizing Gavin Keyes, a High Brighton High School sophomore, as first‑place winner. LaLana Tankai, a South Caldwell High School freshman, won second place for a poster design the coalition plans to print and distribute.
A video shown during the presentation warned that pressed fentanyl in counterfeit pills can be lethal and urged anyone who sees an overdose to call 911; the video also stated nearly 500 Caldwell County residents were referred to local substance‑use services between 2023 and 2024. The video stressed, "1 pill can kill." (Transcript of the video included several misspellings of the county name; those references have been corrected in this report to "Caldwell County.")
Flanagan thanked coalition members, volunteers and donors, and the commissioners presented challenge coins to the student winners at the meeting.
