‘A wake-up call’: Recent fentanyl overdoses of students cause for concern in Oak Grove, Missouri

By Morgan Mobley

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    OAK GROVE, Missouri (KCTV, KSMO) — It’s been a terrifying few days at a small-town high school in Missouri.

Just this week, there have been three overdoses at Oak Grove High School.

“Definitely a wake-up call,” superintendent Mindy Hampton said.

A wake-up call in a place Hampton never thought she’d personally be in.

“We hear about it, we read studies about it, we go to trainings about it, there’s articles all over,” she said. “We watch news reports about it. We’ve had concerns about drug use but we would’ve never said this would happen at Oak Grove. And it’s here.”

It’s here, it’s deadly and Hampton refuses to sweep it under the rug.

“We want the people in the community to know not rumors,” the superintendent said. “We want them to know four students in our community have been impacted just in the last couple weeks.”

An Oak Grove High School student died from a fentanyl overdose at the beginning of the school year. Then the three overdoses happened this week, one of whom remains in the ICU.

Hampton said these students are crying out, and it’s time to address it.

“Is it mental health issues?” she asked. “Is it availability and lack of knowledge of what opioids can do to adolescents?”

For any student still tempted to reach for another pill after their classmates’ multiple scares, Hampton said she wants them to here hear loud and clear.

“You’re important. You’re loved. Your life is precious and it’s too short to make a poor decision on a Friday evening.”

The superintendent and the mayor said they are working together to coordinate a community information night soon where they can continue this conversation.

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