Arkansas Drug Director Fran Flener is retiring after more than seven years in the post.
Gov. Mike Beebe's office announced Monday that Flener is retiring effective Thursday and Steve Varady will serve as director for the rest of the year. Varady has been the program manager in Flener's office since 2009.
Beebe appointed Flener, the former director of program and product development for Health Resources of Arkansas Inc., as state drug director in April 2007. The state drug director oversees the state's alcohol and drug programs and grants allocated to drug task forces in the state.
Varady helped develop and draft the bill that established the Arkansas Prescription Monitoring Program during the 2011 legislative session. He has also served on the Arkansas Legislative Task Force on Autism Subcommittee.
