Grieving Kennett Square parent showcases drug-awareness crusade
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times
Members of the Kacie’s Cause team, Luis Tovar (from left) and Andy Rumford chat with Kennett Square Police Chief Edward A. Zunino after Monday night’s anti-drug presentation.
The U.S. lost 37,000 lives in 2012 to drug overdoses, 35 in Chester County, which is currently on track to duplicate that number this year, said the Kennett Square father of Kacie Erin Rumford, one of the 2013 casualties.
Addressing Kennett Square Borough Council, Andy Rumford said he recently verified the numbers with the Chester County coroner. He appeared before Council as the spokesperson for Kacie’s Cause, a group founded to turn the heartbreak of his 23-year-old daughter’s fatal overdose in March into a campaign to raise awareness and prevent similar tragedies.
Rumford said he discovered his daughter kneeling by her bed with a needle in her arm, her lips blue. He said zealous CPR efforts failed to revive her, leaving a hole in his heart that he wants to spare other parents from experiencing. To accomplish that, he has disseminated flyers, established an educational website, and held forums to raise awareness.
Since his daughter’s death, Rumford said he has learned how easy it is to obtain the drug. He said a $7 bag could be purchased in the borough outside the Garage or Kennett High School or at Anson B. Nixon Park. He said an informational meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25 at Kennett High. Other well-attended sessions have been held at the Longwood Fire Company and Oxford Borough Hall.
To answer frequent questions about what his daughter was like, Rumford said he compiled a brief slide show, which he played for Council. With background music of Guns ‘N Roses, Kacie Rumford’s favorite group, the presentation featured typical, smiling family photos, ending with images of Kacie Rumford in her coffin: “a father’s worst nightmare.”
Rumford said he would like to see the borough link to his website, display flyers, and perhaps even a banner warning the public about the heroin epidemic, suggestions that Council plans to discuss.
Mayor Matt Fetick, who has attended Rumford’s meetings, extended gratitude to Borough Council for designating a police officer to conduct in-house drug investigations. He also thanked Rumford for his commitment. “I think Kacie’s Cause has a tremendous role to play,” Fetick said.
In other business, Council decided to send the Historic District Ordinance, Act 167 Compliance, which would designate the Kennett Square Historic District and create a Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB), back to the drawing board for further review.
After the meeting, Council President Dan Maffei said the task force would convene later this month to review the input received from Borough Council and the public. He said a new timeline for additional public participation, Council review and consideration of adoption would be established at that time.
For more information on Rumford’s crusade to end the scourge of heroin, visit www.kaciescause.com. Additional information can be obtained by contacting him at longwoodcorvette@yahoo.com.
