Pickerington Council President Calls For Fight Against Drug Abuse

On the same day as the funeral to honor a 20-year-old girl who died of a drug overdose, the city’s council president on Friday called for a citywide fight against growing drug abuse.

Pickerington City Council President Gavin Blair took to his Facebook page and said that Marin Riggs’ death was extremely difficult for him but he was ready to fight back, 10TV’s Tanisha Mallett reported.

“At this point, you look around the community, and you can’t turn a blind eye to it anymore,” Blair said.

Blair said that parents and the community needed to take action.

“We cannot continue to watch idle as another kid in our community gets addicted to heroin and can’t get off of it,” Blair said.

Ken Motsinger, director of community outreach for the parent support group Tyler’s Light, said that not standing idle was one of his organization’s main messages.

“Heroin is a horrible, horrible substance, and once you start on that path, there really is no return,” Motsinger said. “I hope we can continue down our path with Tyler’s Light and help other families not only get through situations like this but to avoid them.”

Tyler’s Light was created by the parents of Tyler Campbell, a 2007 Pickerington High School North graduate, who died in July of a drug overdose after becoming addicted to painkillers.

Motsinger said that Tyler’s Light was familiar with the pain in the Riggs’ family and said that the organization would join in city council’s fight, Mallett reported.

“We shouldn’t have to lose more people to do something about it,” Motsinger said.

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