Overdose deaths reported in county

Since the beginning of 2025, there have been about 12 opioid overdoses in Sussex County - three of them were fatal, county administrator Ron Tappan told the Sussex County Board of County Commissioners at its meeting May 14.

”There have been three deaths over the past month in the town of Newton alone due to a batch of bad crack that got out.”

There also have been overdoses from Xylazine, known as tranq, which has become a commonly abused street drug, Tappan said. It is being cut into other drugs, “similar to how fentanyl has been added to other drugs regularly.”

Xylazine is not an opioid and does not respond to Narcan, he added.

According to the Center for Prevention & Counseling’s update on drug trends at the April 30 meeting of the county’s Opioid Settlement Committee, two new drugs are Nitazene, an opioid 40 times more potent than fentanyl, and Medetomidine, which is not an opioid and does not respond to Narcan, Tappan said.

Narcan, also known as naloxone, is a medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.

Funds from the national opioid litigation settlement have been used for substance abuse prevention programs for students in Sussex County and to buy a handheld device for the Prosecutor’s Office Narcotics Task Force that immediately analyzes drugs for their content, he said. Settlement money also will pay for the first Junior Sheriff’s Academy, which is planned July 21-25.

The county has created a mini-grant program for direct-care service projects for agencies and individuals, with preferences for direct services to individuals who suffered from opioid use and overdoses.

”We’re hoping this provides an opportunity for innovative ideas and pilot programs that will serve people in recovery from opioid use disorder as well as prevention programs for all ages.”

In October, county officials plan to seek community feedback about the best use of opioid settlement funds.

County jail’s fate

Commissioner Alan Henderson said he met May 7 with other officials about the future of the county jail.

”I think there’s a lot of conversation to be had before moving forward with the sale of this building,” he said. “If this structure was to be built again, it would cost the county an estimated $150 million for a five-floor structure with approximately 9,000 to 10,000 square feet per floor.

”I feel it’s a diamond in the rough and a very valuable asset to this county.”

County officials have proposed selling the jail, which has been closed for about five years. Sussex County has a long-term agreement to house inmates in the Morris County Jail.

Henderson toured the inside of the jail with other officials May 12.

He proposed housing multiple county offices in that building, which is connected to the courthouse complex, a secure area.

“I’m not saying renovate the entire building all at once but explore the options floor by floor because once it’s sold, the county will never in my lifetime ... be able to rebuild a building of this structure and the county already owns it.”

Henderson also said he checked the records of Sussex County Community College (SCCC) after residents raised questions about enrollment trends there.

During the past nine years, SCCC’s enrollment has been 6 percent higher than other county colleges in New Jersey on average, he said.