Todd Zimmerman stays up on current events, but even he was shocked by a recent “60 Minutes” report on prescription drug abuse and how it leads to heroin addiction.

The following day, the adjunct lecturer of history for Lehigh Carbon Community College quizzed his classes in Tamaqua and Jim Thorpe on the prevalence of heroin in the area.The answers he got were startling.“They looked at me like I was from Mars,” Zimmerman said. “To my surprise they immediately told me of local venues that have ATM’s where I can buy heroin. They also knew young people, some previous high school athletes, that have died from this disease. I had asked if their cause of death had been in the local papers, and they told me their families did not want to talk about it. That is exactly what was mentioned in the ‘60 Minutes’ program — everyone is keeping silent.”The conversation sparked Zimmerman to plan a town hall event for residents of Carbon and Schuylkill counties, “Heroin — A Rural Epidemic,” at Jim Thorpe High School from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday.Confirmed attendees include Joni Gestl, Lehighton Ambulance Association administrator; Marshall Bowen, St. Luke’s Miners Campus emergency room nurse manager; Jean Engler, Carbon County district attorney; Jeff Aster, Carbon County detective for special investigations; Bruce Nalesnik, Carbon County coroner; David Moylan, Schuylkill County coroner; Michael Sofranko, Jim Thorpe mayor; Joseph Schatz, Jim Thorpe police chief; Christian Morrison, Tamaqua mayor; Rick Weaver, Tamaqua police chief; and Kelly Salloum, Hillside Detox and Inpatient Treatment Center program manager.“We have an impressive panel to discuss all angles of the drug problem,” Zimmerman said. The goal of this event is to bring this issue to the people of Carbon and Schuylkill County. Each panelist will have four minutes to discuss problems that they see every day, and how they deal with heroin. Then I will open the floor to a question and answer period. Following the event, we hope the panel will continue to communicate with each other, to address possible reforms raised at the town hall meeting.”As district attorney, Engler recognizes the need for the heroin epidemic to be put on the front burner.“So many of the crimes committed here in Carbon County and elsewhere are related to drug use or drug abuse,” she said. “Besides the obvious drug possession or delivery cases, many thefts and burglaries are committed to support a drug habit. Many new DUI cases are not from consumption of alcohol, but rather from consumption of illegal drugs or even prescribed ones. Some assault cases occur due to a person’s addiction.”Heroin is cheap and addictive making it a bad combination, Engler added.“Families in Carbon County need to be aware of the brutal truth about the temptation of these drugs before a loved one becomes an addict or a criminal,” she said. “Years ago, heroin was a drug seen only rarely in this area, its use has now become an epidemic. As this drug affects every social, educational and income level, families need to know that no one is immune. The first line of defense has to come from within the home, long before a person wants to start experimenting with drugs.”The 60 Minutes report focused on heroin overdose deaths in a rural Kansas community, but the epidemic is wide reaching.The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s Philadelphia Field Division released a statewide drug overdose report Wednesday.Carbon County reported 11 overdose deaths with eight being from heroin; Monroe reported 21 with 10 from heroin; Schuylkill reported 17, with seven of those related to heroin and eight related to Oxycodone; Lehigh had 66, with 41 of those related to heroin, and Northampton had 29, with 18 related to heroin.Zimmerman knows the problem won’t be solved overnight.“It is our intention to hold a follow-up meeting in Schuylkill County in Spring 2016 to highlight some positive learning outcomes,” he explained.Jim Thorpe High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions organization is helping plan the event.I feel that the organization needs to get involved with this event to help the students learn about the seriousness of this issue and how so many young adults become addicted,” SADD adviser Suzanne Milkowich said. “Most users don’t start with heroin but with a lesser drug, often a prescription. It is important for our students to recognize how one behavior can lead to others and the seriousness of what can happen. From my own perspective, I have known several people, including one relative and one former student, who have lost their lives to this drug and it saddens me. I feel the only way to stop it is to educate our students. I don’t want to lose anyone else.”