THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, April 19, 2019 Page 19 S by Jim Miller Safe Ways to Get Rid of Expired, Unused Medicine Dear Savvy Senior, What’s the best, environmentally safe way to dispose of old and unused medications? My mother has a medicine cabinet chocked-full of pills, some of which haven’t been touched in 25 years, and I’d like to clean it out for her. Protective Daughter Dear Protective, Cleaning out the medicine cabinet is a chore that most people don’t think about, but it’s an important task that can help prevent medication problems, and protect children who may have access to these old, unused drugs. Here’s how you can clean out your mother’s medicine cabinet so it’s safe and useful. Return Them Your local pharmacy, as well as hospitals, clinics, longterm-care facilities, and narcotic treatment programs, might accept your mom’s unused medications, often as part of programs that collect and destroy unused drugs. Search for an authorized facility near you at DisposeMyMeds.org. You can also drop off her unused meds at designated police departments, fire stations, and other sites on National Prescription Take Back Day, Saturday, April 27. To find a collection site near you, visit TakeBackDay.dea.gov. Use a Disposal Kiosk Many Walgreens and CVS stores have free, anonymous, and secure kiosks where you can dispose of any medication. Remove your personal information from the packaging and drop unwanted medication, including opioids, in the slot. Mail Them Costco, Rite Aid and CVS pharmacies sell postage-paid envelopes for customers to mail any prescription, including opioids and over-the-counter medications, to a disposal facility. Throw Them Out If mailing them in or getting to one of the drop-off sites is not an option, you can dispose of them yourself, but do so carefully. The Food and Drug Administration recommends taking the medications out of their original bottles and putting them in a sealable plastic bag with an undesirable substance like coffee grounds, dirt or kitty litter. Then seal the plastic bag and throw it in the trash. This will make the medication less appealing to children, pets or other people who may fish through your trash. But don’t do this with dangerous drugs, such as opioids, which can be abused. For these, the FDA says flushing them down the toilet is OK. But trace amounts of drugs can end up in the water supply so this should be done only as a last resort. To see the FDA list of medications that should be flushed when they are no longer needed, go to FDA.gov and type “flush list” into the search box. Or, another option is to purchase some medication disposal bags like the Medsaway Medication Disposal System. These are carbon pouches that are designed to neutralize all medication including narcotics, liquid medication, transdermal patches and controlled substances so you can just add water, and toss them in the trash. You can find medication disposal bags at some local pharmacies or online at Amazon.com for around $15. You’ll also want to make sure to scratch out all your mom’s personal information on the empty medicine bottles or other packaging before throwing it away to protect her identity and privacy. If you have other questions about proper drug disposal, talk to your pharmacist. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book. Saugus Faith Community invites town to join in National Day of Prayer Observance Thursday, May 2 To the people of Saugus: On behalf of the Saugus Faith Community we would like to invite you to join us for our town’s National Day of Prayer observance on Thursday, May 2, 2019, 7:00 p.m. at the First Baptist Church, 105 Main Street, Saugus. We will be specifically praying for local, state and national governmental leaders, our military and our youth. Our town’s churches will be participating in this interfaith community event. Millions of Americans across our country will be gathering on May 2nd to pray to God to heal and unify our country. The National Day of Prayer is an event rooted in American history. The First Continental Congress declared a National Day of Prayer in 1775, just two months after the “shot heard round the world” at Concord. During the Civil War, President Lincoln urged the nation to pray on several occasions. In his 1863 Proclamation appointing a National Day of Prayer and Fasting, Lincoln called on Americans to “confess our national sins and pray for clemency and forgiveness.” In 1952 Congress established the Annual National Day of Prayer, which since 1988 has been observed on the first Thursday in May. This year’s theme is Love One Another, which comes from the words of Jesus in John 13:34, “Love one another. Just as I have loved you.” National Day of Prayer 2019 is sponsored by Saugus Faith Community. We hope to see you at this year’s event! Cordially, Michael & Sue Noonan Saugus Faith Community Harris tops a field of 17 Saugus runners in Boston Marathon By Mark E. Vogler all, 11,341 among men in the race. Branden Harris, 35, led all Saugus runners in this year’s Boston Marathon with a time of 3:40:22. That placed him 11,958 overall, 3,698 among men running in the race. Abbey Chesna, 40, topped all women marathon racers in Saugus and finished second behind Harris with an overall time of 4:11:58. That gave her a finish of 18,840 overall and 7,671 in the women’s bracket. Seventeen of 20 runners registered for the marathon completed the 26.2 mile. Here are the other running results: Robert Favuzza, 54, with 4:14:29, finishing 19,259 overHaley Erickson, 28, with 4:16:36, for 19,609 overall, 8,129 among women. Glen Harrington, 37, with 4:27:54, finishing 212,203 overall, 12,187 among men. Matthew Imbergamo, 40, with 4:30:51, finishing 21,528 overall and 12,332 among men. Jessica Capozzi, 27, with 4:36:53, finishing 22,196 overall and 9,547 among women. Anthony LoPresti, 49, with 4:41:13, finishing 22,668 overall and 12,879 among men. Sheree Wheeler, 44, with 5:00:10, finishing 24,162 overall and 10,588 among women. Dean Skiffington, 57, with 5:02:40, finishing 24,325 overall SOUNDS | from page 18 while the student is receiving homework assistance pursuant to an unaccompanied minors policy. This program is open to students in grades K-5. The subjects students can get help with include math, science, grammar, reading, social studies and geography. Hey parents, here’s some help if your child needs it. A letter from the MassDOT to southbound drivers Dear Staff/Constituents/Patients (etc): Effective April 1, MassDOT has begun a two-year rehabilitation project of the Tobin Bridge and Chelsea Viaduct which together carry Route 1 through Chelsea, over the Mystic River, and into Boston. This project, known as the Tobin Bridge/Chelsea Curves Rehabilitation, will ensure that the elevated portions of Route 1 which have not been significantly rehabilitated since the 1970’s can continue to safely and efficiently carry passenger and freight traffic in and out of Boston. This vital project will have inevitable traffic impacts. To learn more and sign up to receive email updates regarding project progress, please visit: www.mass.gov/tobin-bridgechelsea-curves-rehabilitationproject www.mbta.com/tobinbridge Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact and 13,643 among men. Gina Spaziani, 52, with 5:05:21, finishing 24,460 overall and 10,763 among women. Brittany Sprague, 26, with 5:13:26, finishing 24,893 overall and 11,008 among women. Regina Curran, 48, with 5:20:58, finishing 25,228 overall and 11,197 among women. Annajean McMahon, 67, with 5:24:27, finishing 25,377 overall and 11,262 among women. Allyson Gagne, 33, with 5:30:41, finishing 25,621 overall and 11,391 among women. Maureen Johnson, 50, with 5:40:00, finishing 25,929 overall and 11,574 among women. DJ Webster, 25, with 5:58:37, finishing 26,435 overall and 14,586 among men. the project team: Tobin-Chelsea@dot.state. ma.us Let’s hear it! Got an idea, passing thought or gripe you would like to share with The Saugus Advocate? I’m always interested in your feedback. It’s been more than three years since I began work at The Saugus Advocate. I’m always interested in hearing readers’ suggestions for possible stories or good candidates for The Advocate Asks interview of the week. Feel free to email me at mvoge@comcast.net. Do you have some interesting views on an issue that you want express to the community? Submit your idea. If I like it, we can meet for a 15- to 20-minute interview at a local coffee shop. And I’ll buy the coffee.
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