ROCKINGHAM — Scores of discarded needles were picked up around East Rockingham on Saturday in an effort to keep the streets clean.
The clean-up was a contest organized by Steve’s Wings for Humanity, with all participants currently in active addiction.
Participants were fed — hot dogs, chips and a soft drink or water — and given a jug to collect used syringes around the neighborhood.
One of the participants said she found most of the needles she collected near the old JP Stevens Mill.
In addition to those collected during the clean-up, Steve’s Wings also conducted a needle exchange — with users turning in their dirty syringes for fresh ones.
Participants in the exchange are given a card granting, via state statute, limited immunity from prosecution of possession for the syringes as well as residual amounts of a controlled substance contained in injection materials.
The needle-exchange program was started by Steve’s Wings in April 2025.
In all, Steve’s Wings collected an estimated 250 needles.
Founder Melissa Schoonover said she is planning to hold another clean-up contest on July 18, from 4-8:30 p.m.
She thanked County Commissioner Jamie Gathings and District Attorney Jamie Adams for their support in the effort.
In addition to the contest, Schoonover also gave out naloxone in both nasal spray and IV forms, as well as test strips to test drugs for the presence of fentanyl, xylazine and medetomidine — the latter two being non-opioid animal tranquilizers — which are being found in the drug supply nationwide.
According to Schoonover, both xylazine and medetomidine have been detected in Richmond County.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has noted that while the two sedatives are generally mixed with fentanyl, they have been combined with cocaine and heroin.
“Similar to xylazine, the effects or presumed overdose of medetomidine is not reversed by naloxone … However, because medetomidine is often encountered in combination with opioids, naloxone should still be administered to individuals suspected of exposure to medetomidine,” reads a fact sheet from the DEA. “Medetomidine toxicity resembles that of xylazine; symptoms include respiratory and central nervous system depression and other life-threatening conditions.”
At least two individuals involved in the needle exchange said they believed they had used a substance mixed with one of the sedatives.
The latest information from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shows that Richmond County is still a leader across North Carolina when it comes to fentanyl-involved death rate.
From April 2025-March 2026, Richmond County had the second-highest rate of 28.6 per 100,000. That number has dropped significantly from a rate of 76.7 in 2022.
Neighboring Scotland County had the highest rate at 29.5 and Robeson County had the third-highest at 27.8.
Rounding out the top 10 are: Rowan (24.8); Buncombe (22.9); Lee and Cumberland (21.9); Burke (21.5); Wilson (20.0); and Gaston (19.0).
The OCME no longer lists the number of deaths per county in that time period, but shows that there were 101 in March — compared to 162 in March of 2025 — statewide.
According to the OCME, there were 302 fentanyl-involved deaths across the state in the first three months of the year, compared to the peak of 815 in 2022.
The Richmond County Board of Commissioners voted last year to fund a drug treatment court using funds from the opioid settlements.
