Cambria County hasn't seen an outbreak of overdose deaths from a lethal heroin-fentanyl mixture that has flooded Allegheny County in the past few days, Coroner Dennis Kwiatkowski said Friday. Allegheny County authorities are investigating 48 suspected overdoses - - six of them fatal - since June 3, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported. Kwiatkowski said his office is awaiting toxicology reports on 10 overdose deaths this year, probably a couple of them from heroin. There is no indication that any of the Cambria deaths are linked to the heroin-fentanyl stamped bags coming from the Pittsburgh area, he said. And Cambria has not been hit with a sudden spurt of deaths in a short period from the deadly mixture, Kwiatkowski noted. [continues 196 words]
Drug-sniffing dogs are leading the fight against illegal narcotics in high-school hallways throughout Cambria County. Called an "Ounce of Prevention," a new program unveiled by law-enforcement authorities allows school administrators to learn which lockers are believed to contain drugs. "The goal is to let parents know that the criminal-justice system is trying to help children, and not trying to arrest them and give them black marks on their record," District Attorney Patrick Kiniry said Monday. "The school is in lockdown while the dogs do the search. If there is a 'hit,' the administrator writes down the number, and then we bring a second dog to see if there is a hit again. The police then leave the school with the dogs, and it's up to the school administrator to decide what to do." [continues 524 words]