Sen. Higdon promotes use of new plate raising awareness of dangers of fentanyl
By NC GAZETTE / WBRT RADIO
STAFF REPORT
Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024 — A new specialty license plate will be available in March/early spring for Kentuckians wishing to help raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl, Senate Transportation Chair Jimmy Higdon shared on Wednesday.
The plate’s availability will follow an update to the Kentucky Automated Vehicle Information System, known as KAVIS, as the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) takes a step forward in modernizing the state’s vehicle information database.
Efforts to create the fentanyl awareness specialty license plate were led by advocates such as Angela Parkerson and Tami Bolitt, mothers of sons whose lives were cut short by fentanyl.
“We began our nonprofit organization after our children, Nick Rucker, forever 24, and Chase Linton, forever 30, were killed by illicit fentanyl after unknowingly ingesting it, believing the pills they consumed were pharmaceutical products, in 2021,” Parkerson and Bolitt said in a shared statement.
A 501(c)(3) organization, the Never Alone Nick Rucker Foundation was established in 2022. The nonprofit advocacy group is dedicated to education and overdose prevention.
“Stories like the loss of Nick and Chase are heartbreaking, and they’re all too common across Kentucky,” Higdon said. “This is an issue that connects many people. It doesn’t matter what region because we’re losing our children and members of our law enforcement community because fentanyl has such as high toxicity and is almost invisible in many cases.
“I’m grateful for advocates like Angela and Tami because they are the ones who get things like this done,” Higdon added. “I would encourage anyone who feels compelled to consider one of the fentanyl awareness plates for their vehicle because the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) requires 500 yearly registrations to keep the plate in active production. I’d also ask people—especially those who’ve felt the same loss as Angela and Tami—to get involved with the organization.”
FENTANYL AWARENESS. The Never Alone Nick Rucker Foundation will host a Kentucky Fentanyl Prevention and Awareness event on August 17 at My Old Kentucky Home State Park rotunda in Bardstown.
The new fentanyl awareness license plate, donning the organization’s logo, is another effort to save lives through education and awareness.
Anyone who has lost a loved one in Kentucky is encouraged to contact Parkerson and Bolitt at www.neveralonenick.org. You will be engaged with the organization’s Never Alone Awareness Angel Missions, which raise awareness across the commonwealth and the nation.
The fentanyl awareness license plates will be $44, $10 of which will go directly to the Never Alone Nick Rucker Foundation to support the organization’s mission for fentanyl prevention and education.
To find all available license plate options and to apply for yours, visit drive.ky.gov.
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