Griswold — Town officials gathered at Town Hall on Thursday to honor the efforts of state police to combat the heroin problem plaguing the small town.

First Selectman Kevin Skulczyck said “quality of life is everything,” and when he was elected in 2013 he decided to tackle head-on the growing number of drug overdoses, drug trafficking and crimes associated with drug use.

He said in addition to starting a grass-roots Griswold PRIDE (Partnership to Reduce the Influence of Drugs for Everyone) program, the town turned to state police for help.

State police from Troop E in Montville, in conjunction with Jewett City Resident Troopers Adam Chittick and Jason McCarthy, formed the Jewett City Narcotics Suppression Team to focus on stifling the local drug trade.

Since January, the unit has made nine heroin arrests among a host of other drug-related arrests. Members also have served two outstanding warrants and seized two firearms and $25,983 in cash, according to state police spokesman Sgt. Shane Hassett.

The numbers may sound small compared to larger cities, but in the small borough of Jewett City, Skulczyck said, it had an instantaneous impact.

“We’re cleaning up this community one street at a time,” he said.

State Public Safety Commissioner Dora Schriro called it a “big deal,” and part of the larger effort to combat “one of the state’s thorniest problems.” Statewide in 2014, there were 558 overdose deaths and two-thirds of them were heroin related.

“The number of deaths varies by community around Connecticut but, in virtually every town, one or more persons have died of an accidental overdose in the last year,” Schriro said.

She credited Gov. Dannel P. Malloy for signing a public act one year ago that allows more citizens to access the opioid-reversal drug Narcan and administer it without civil or criminal liability.

When the law went into effect in October, Schriro ordered every state trooper to carry Narcan and be trained to use it.

Within days of completion of state police training, Schriro said the first call came in that a resident trooper had administered the drug to an overdose victim in Griswold. There have been 26 calls since then, nine from Griswold, and 25 of the overdose patients were revived, she said.

“It’s been a cooperative effort to make this as drug-free a community as possible,” Skulczyck said.

Skulczyck and Jewett City Borough Warden John Connelly presented Jewett City Resident Troopers Chittick and McCarthy with proclamations honoring them for their work in the community at a time when Skulczyck said police in general are underappreciated.

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @SmittyDay