DUBOIS – The City of DuBois and the drug treatment facility RHJ Medical Center Inc. will appear before Clearfield County President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman on Wednesday morning.
According to DuBois City Solicitor Toni Cherry, a preliminary injunction was filed and granted on Friday by Ammerman. As a result, RHJ Medical Center Inc. in DuBois was ordered to cease immediate operations and to remove or cover their sign.
The court action was a result of RHJ Medical Center not following the proper channels before opening, according to Cherry. RHJ Medical Center opened their doors on Oct. 10, one day after being asked by council not to open without following the proper channels.
The city received $51,000 from the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for a rehabilitation program involving the park. In a letter to Kathy Jones, CEO of RHJ, Cherry cited the grant money as well as a letter from Kim McCullough, recreation and park adviser with DCNR congratulating the city for their renovations of the walkway.
“It’s a public park,” noted Cherry. “It doesn’t get any clearer than that.”
The Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code states that methadone treatment facilities cannot operate within 500 feet of certain facilities, including schools, churches and public parks. Jones stated in a letter to council that the facility uses methadone and various other drugs to treat opiate dependent addicts.
According to the code, in order to establish such a facility closer than 500-feet, the express permission of governing municipal body must be granted and only after at least one public hearing on the request. Cherry noted that RHJ Medical Center did not follow that channel.
This situation may have a familiar ring to it. Discovery House, a drug treatment facility in Pike Township, faced the same language in regard to a Rails-to-Trails walkway located behind their building.
At a previous city council meeting and in an interview with GantDaily, Jones noted that the medical center was licensed and approved by state bodies. It was her belief that the center would not receive those approvals if they were in violation of state laws barring the location of the facility in proximity to a park.
In her presentation to council, Jones pointed out that “patients seeking treatment are not just your stereotypical heroin users. Prescription medication abusers are a significant percentage of those entering treatment. These patients are addicted to drugs such as Vicodin, OxyContin and Percocet which are commonly prescribed by physicians.”
It should be noted that at the Oct. 9 meeting in which Jones presented her letter to council that there was no public comment on the clinic. This was after an earlier meeting in which DuBois City Mayor John “Herm” Suplizio announced that Jones would be attending the Oct. 9 meeting.
The rest of the issue is set to be heard Wednesday morning before Ammerman in the Clearfield County Courthouse.