More Details from Terry

Setting up outside the Prairie County Courthouse

The shredder took down everything Prairie County threw at it.



Despite the rain – and snow – the first day of the Great Montana Roundup was a success.

We destroyed 54 pounds of personal papers: old bank statements, tax documents, checkbooks, etc. And we safely locked up 14 pounds of unwanted prescription drugs.

We were also pleased to talk to the entire Terry High School about prescription drug abuse and the kinds of consumer scams targeting teens and young adults.

We posted more pictures here, but one of the most important things we gathered you won’t see in the snapshots: The stories people told. In a community this small and tightly-knit, drug abuse and consumer scams are not theoretical. Almost everyone we spoke with had first-hand stories of either a senior citizen targeted by the grandparent scam or a friend or relative affected by prescription drug abuse.

The pervasiveness of these problems is exactly why we’re here.

Thanks especially to Joan Hubber, Megan Olson, Janet, Sheriff Bill Klunder, and Brittany Straub who made us feel welcome.

First stop: Terry

Here's a photo of our mobile shredder unit at work today. It was a great day -- despite the snow in the air.

What is the Great Montana Roundup?

You have dutifully saved your tax records for seven years. Now you have boxes of old ones down in the basement. What do you do with them? What about those old credit cards? Do you cut them up? And those checkbooks?

What do you do with those painkillers from your shoulder surgery three years ago? The heavy duty ones. You know you’re not supposed to throw them away, but do you just keep them?

We all know there’s a safer way to handle old pills than flushing them down the toilet. And a better way to get rid of personal papers throwing them in the garbage.

The Great Montana Roundup is a project of the Montana Attorney General’s Office to take the guess work out of disposing of these materials and, in the process, help prevent two pervasive crimes before they happen:

Identity theft and prescription drug abuse.

Roughly 300 Montanans die each year from incidents involving prescription drug abuse, making it the deadliest form of addiction in our state.

Identity theft continues to strike Montanans, ruining citizens’ credit, making it difficult for people to buy cars, homes – or even obtain a credit card.

In both cases, criminals often obtain drugs or financial information from the garbage or ill-secured medicine chests.

We've put together a mobile shredder unit and a secure prescription drug drop-off container and we're driving around Montana helping people securely pitch their old pills and papers. We'll shred the personal papers into tiny triangles -- about the size of this capital "D" -- on the spot.  

As for the pills, we're going to collect them in a locked container, stored in a secure law enforcement truck. Then, we'll dissolve them all, mix them up with something undesirable like cat litter, and deposit the mixture in a Class II landfill.

The Roundup is not just about disposal. We’re also going to community centers, senior centers and classrooms to educate young people and seniors about prescription drug abuse dangers and how to avoid falling victim to scams and fraud.

Montanans lost at least a quarter of a million dollars last year to fraud. Teenagers and seniors are particularly vulnerable, with scam artists targeting them with schemes tailored directly to those age groups.

Our first stop is Terry, but we've got a long road ahead of us. If you want the Roundup to come to your town, just call us at 444-2071.

You can find more information about the Roundup and Attorney General Steve Bullock’s efforts to educate Montanans about consumer fraud and prescription drug abuse on the Department of Justice website at www.doj.mt.gov.