By Sam Parsons

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met yesterday morning and discussed an agreement with Mahaska Health for the use of funds from a settlement related to opioid use disorder at the state level. The agreement entails the creation of a new position that would work in partnership with local law enforcement and Mahaska Health, and would serve as a crisis liaison that specializes in opioid use disorder and mental health.

The agreement will be up for renewal annually, and it was approved unanimously by the board with the support of county attorney Andrew Ritland and county sheriff Russ Van Renterghem.

Following that approval, Board Chair Mark Groenendyk made a public comment regarding a letter he received from the Iowa Attorney General’s office dismissing allegations of domestic abuse. Groenendyk was accused of domestic abuse by a family member in February of 2021, for which he entered a guilty plea to a lesser charge. Groenendyk had this to say about the entire ordeal.

Groenendyk said that as part of the process, he had to attend a class related to anger management and abuse, and said it was “very much worth his afternoon” to take that class.

The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors will host their next regular meeting on December 4th.