Two companies that asked the state for permission to build addiction-treatment centers dispensing methadone in New Albany have been denied because local officials did not support the plans.

Rhode Island-based Discovery House proposed locating next to Wal-Mart at 2820 Grant Line Road, while Colonial Management Group of Florida sought a home downtown at 700 Pearl St. Both companies received rejection letters in mid-January, said Dennis Rosebrough, spokesman for the state's Family and Social Services Administration.

Neither company could persuade a local official to send the state a letter of recommendation, which is one of the requirements for eligibility the state cemented in December.

[continues 218 words]