Woman finds meds in box for toys at thrift store

Dorothy Talbot got a surprise when she looked inside a box that was supposed to contain a children’s toy. She was shopping at Value Village in New Glasgow, intending to buy a few toys for her grandchildren. But when she opened the box of stacking blocks to make sure they were all inside, she said she found about six bottles of prescription medication instead. “I couldn’t believe it. I was totally shocked,” she said. Talbot, who lives in New Glasgow, said she took the box to the store manager. “Had I taken the box home and given it to my grand-girls – the five-year-old would have thought Nannie had given us candy. It really terrifies me,” she said. “The good news is that I didn’t do that.” Talbot said she wants shoppers to make sure they check boxes when they buy items at second-hand stores. “It’s a safety issue I want to bring forward to the public to be careful.” Value Village store manager Tammy Burton said the incident is being reviewed through surveillance cameras to make sure procedure was followed. “It’s under investigation,” she said. It’s possible that the box went on the shelf without being checked, although that would be against store policy, or that it was tampered with. Value Village is a thrift store that sells gently used items – clothing, toys and household goods – keeping these items out of landfills, while supporting non-profit groups by paying them for donated items.