Fentress Allots $15k To Vaping Program

Vaping continues to grow as an issue in Fentress County, especially among elementary students.

County Attorney Leslie Ledbetter said they had forty-one students in the juvenile court program for vaping within the first month of returning to school. Commissioners approved a $15,000 funding request for the juvenile court’s vaping program. Ledbetter said the funding would pay for one year of the program which costs seventy-five dollars for each child placed in it.

“They expect two hundred kids to start with,” Ledbetter said. “So (we) can see what kind or problem vaping is and that, and we’re not talking about, I asked the question: what were they vaping? Clearly it’s not the strawberry or the kiwi smell, juice. It’s other substances typically so we’re seeing a real need for this.”

The funding for the program will come from the money set aside for the county’s opioid task force. Ledbetter said the program is a four-hour, court-approved course that uses a certified counselor to work with students.

“The first time it would be, the child has to attend,” Ledbetter said. “And if there’s a second offense the child and the parent have to attend.”