HERMANN – Thursday morning, the Gasconade County Opioid Settlement Committee is scheduled to hear two requests for funds.

One of the requests, made by an organization called Hitting the Streets, is for up to $2,000 for vending machines and accessories, apparently for the distribution of NARCAN, the chemical used to combat a drug overdose.

The other application was filed by the county’s Missouri University Extension Council for $14,250, which would be used to fund materials and salaries for prevention education programs as part of the Extension’s 4-H camps and after-school programs. Education and prevention projects are the top priority of the Opioid Settlement Committee.

The committee is a seven-member group that is charged with recommending the distribution of the county’s share of funds received through the settlement of a far-reaching lawsuit by the state and county governments against the makers and distributors of opioid-based medication.

Settlement funds are to be used for treatment and prevention programs aimed at combating opioid addiction in Gasconade County.

The committee is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. in the courthouse. Vice Chairman Jenny Schneider, the county’s circuit clerk, is set to preside over the panel’s session; Chairman Kenna Fricke said she would be unavailable for the meeting.

Also on the committee’s agenda is an update on the Gasconade County CRUSH Summit, scheduled for this fall in Owensville. CRUSH – Community Resources United to Stop Heroin – is the parent organization of local groups that conduct daylong gatherings primarily for middle school students, designed to educate against drug addiction.

In an email to committee members, Fricke expressed appreciation and noted that Gasconade County is making advances in the battle against opioid addiction, while some other counties have yet to start using their settlement funds.

“I also wanted to acknowledge the time and effort that everyone is putting into this project,” she said.