8 A
SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25, 2018
W HEEL
OF
F ORTUNE
A life-changing Wheel of Fortune
jackpot paid out at Three Rivers
Casino bright and early the morning of
April 16. The Wheel of Fortune slots
game from IGT is known as one of the
most popular slot games worldwide,
and it certainly lived up to its winning
reputation at Oregon’s Three Rivers
Casino Resort.
Wheel of Fortune Jackpot winner
Iliana and her husband were visiting
the scenic Oregon coast for the first
time when they spotted the billboard
along the 101 in Florence showcasing
Special Series from 6A
On the other hand, states like
California, which have very
strict gun laws, have relatively
little violence in comparison,
with rates of 5.3 and 3.6.
But, states like New
Hampshire and Wyoming,
which are considered “gun
friendly” states, both have
homicide rates of 0.0
Gun rights advocates usually
point to Chicago as the poster
child of “do-nothing” gun laws,
but Illinois’ gun control meas-
ures have been considerably
weakened over the years. In
2010, the Supreme Court struck
down Chicago’s 28-year-old
ban on handgun ownership.
City residents are no longer
required to register their
firearms with the city and
obtain a permit.
But gun deaths are rising,
with a rate of 25.1. By compar-
ison, New York City, which has
some of the strictest gun laws
of any U.S. city, has a homicide
rate of just 2.3.
But have gun laws made any
real effect on any of these fig-
ures? It’s difficult to tell.
Along with stricter gun laws,
New York has implemented
aggressive anti-gang initiatives,
the implementation of “preci-
sion” policing, and discontinu-
ing stop and frisk policies all
have contributed to a decrease
in crime, according to a January
2017 report in the Christian
Science Monitor. While gun
restrictions may have benefited
the city, it is impossible to say
that they are a direct cause of
low crime rates.
Chicago’s increase in homi-
cides (67 percent in 2016) is
still considered a mystery.
While many neighborhoods in
the city saw a decrease in homi-
cides, five neighborhoods saw
dramatic increases, according
to a January 2017 report by the
Chicago Tribune.
While some attempted to
blame the violence on gangs,
rates of people arrested for
homicide with gang affiliation
have
actually
dropping.
Poverty and racial segregation
didn’t deepen, and illegal guns
didn’t become suddenly avail-
able. Some laid blame on the
loss of trust with the Chicago
Police Department following a
Department of Justice investi-
gation after the fatal shooting
of Laquan McDonald — but
researchers are still not con-
vinced that’s the ultimate
cause. In fact, after decades of
declining violence in the U.S.,
violent crime rose for the sec-
ond consecutive year in 2016
by 4.1 percent, according to a
September 2017 report by the
New York Times.
“Police officials and crimi-
nologists continue to express
puzzlement about the upsurge,”
the Times reported. “There is
disagreement not only about
the reasons for the increases,
but also about how law
enforcement should respond
and whether the figures repre-
sent a blip or the start of a long-
term trend.”
Multiple theories have been
offered regarding the increase,
from poverty and social isola-
tion, warring gangs involved in
the drug trade, a decline in edu-
cational funding, a lack of
social services and an erosion
of trust in police departments.
“What’s going on?” the
Times quoted Pew Charitable
Trusts Adam Gelb, who has
been studying the rise of crime.
“No one really knows. And if
someone says they do know,
you ought to be deeply suspi-
SLOT HITS BIG AT
the new Bonfire restaurant located
inside the Three Rivers Casino Resort.
They decided to stop for a delicious
meal — and what a lucky dinner deci-
sion that turned out to be.
They stayed to try their luck at a
few of the huge array of slot machines
at Three Rivers, when Iliana decided
to try the Wheel of Fortune. She
played for awhile, then decided to try
a different machine, and then came
back to the Wheel of Fortune. Shortly
after she began playing, the machine
froze up with a winning message of
cious. It’s too early to tell any-
thing.”
While crime statistics have
been increasing over the past
few years, suicide rates have
been drastically accelerating
for almost a decade. In 2014,
13 people per 100,000 commit-
ted suicide, compared to 10.5 in
1999, according to an April
2016 report by NPR.
The biggest increase was in
girls age 10 to 14, tripling over
a 15-year period.
The reasons for this statistic
are also unknown. One possi-
bility is economic stagnation,
which left more people out of
jobs, making it more difficult to
access health care and treat-
ment.
Another possibility is the rise
of social media.
In November 2017, the
Associated Press reported on a
study showing a possible but
yet unproven link between the
two, with suicide rates jumping
as Facebook became more
prevalent. Teens’ use of elec-
tronic devices daily for at least
five hours doubled from eight
percent in 2009 to 19 percent in
2014. These teens were 70 per-
cent more likely to have suici-
dal thoughts or actions than
those who reported one hour of
daily use.
In 2009, 58 percent of 12th-
grade girls used social media
every day or nearly every day.
By 2015, the number had
jumped to 87 percent every day.
They were also 14 percent
more likely to be depressed
than those who used social
media less frequently.
Social media, and media as a
whole, may also be influencing
mass shootings.
It appears that mass shoot-
ings are contagious and occur
in clusters, as reported by
Pacific Standard magazine in
October 2016.
“A 2015 analysis of 232 U.S.
mass murders between 2006
and 2013 and data on school
two exciting words: “VERIFIABLE
JACKPOT.”
Iliana was awarded the Wheel of
Fortune progressive jackpot of
$107,529.57.
A representative from IGT was on
site to verify the jackpot and, along
with Three Rivers Casino representa-
tives, presented Iliana with her big
winnings.
Rich Colton, director of marketing
for Three Rivers Casino Resort, con-
gratulated Iliana and
said, “On behalf of the entire team
shootings from 1998 to 2013
revealed an increase in the like-
lihood of massacres for a peri-
od of two weeks after similar
instances of mass violence,”
the report read. Roughly 20 to
30 percent of all such violence
took place within 13 days of
each other.
A mass shooting takes
places, the media covers it, and
it inspires others to follow suit.
This phenomenon is nothing
new, having been noted years
earlier with suicides: If a high-
profile actor commits suicide,
often other people follow suit.
The body count of a mass
shooting is also important.
There is no evidence of conta-
gion in shootings that involve
three or fewer people killed, but
once the death toll reaches four
people, copycats ensue. If the
copycat is able to either match
or exceed the preceding killing,
the chance for additional mass
shootings also increases.
Social media can make this
phenomenon worse. In the past,
news coverage of such inci-
dences was relegated solely to
television and print media, and
the barrage of such incidents
could be less prevalent.
However, social media can
amplify coverage, with poten-
tially hundreds of news sources
flooding into social media plat-
forms describing each incident
in detail.
And more information about
mass shootings is readily avail-
able — how shooters planned,
the weapons they picked and
the places they chose. Not only
does this information act as
inspiration, but it also works as
research.
In what is sometimes
referred to as the Columbine
Effect, school shooters meticu-
lously study those who came
before them to learn better and
more effective ways of carrying
out their tasks. Of course, most
of this has not been proven out-
right. The sample size of mass
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PAID POLITICAL ADVERTISEMENT
T HREE R IVERS
at Three Rivers, we are so excited for
our Wheel of Fortune Jackpot winner.
We are happy that Iliana and her hus-
band made the drive from California
to visit us at Three Rivers. We hope
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them again soon.”
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shooters is so slight, and the
reasons behind them are so var-
ied, that pointing the finger
specifically at the rise of mass
media would be irresponsible.
As a culture, we ultimately
don’t know what is causing a
rise in mass shootings. We also
don’t know why suicides are
rising — nor the increase in
violent crime. It’s possible
there is no one cause for all of
these issues, but a combination
of factors that include poverty,
education, mental health, drug
addiction, race relations and the
ever-evolving relationship with
rapidly advancing technolo-
gies.
And, also, guns.
Perhaps it’s easier to blame
guns for everything. Or con-
versely, to say that guns have
nothing to do with the issue. Or
even easier still, to not talk
about it at all, simply saying the
debate has already been made
and there is nothing else to say.
“W E TRUST
EACH OTHER ”
“People
very
strongly
believe they should have the
weapons,” Florence Police
Commander John Pitcher said.
“People also very strongly
believe that if there weren’t any
weapons, there would be less
deaths. And there are good
arguments on both sides, and
the facts are there for both
sides. And if there was a way to
get in the middle and actually
look at the issues and the prob-
lems, and how we could best
protect our kids in their
schools, it would be great. I just
don’t know if those two sides
can get together. Each side is
very passionate, but does that
leave for compromise? I don’t
know. I wish I had the answer,
but I don’t. But if people talked
with each other, that would
save lives.”
Pitcher sees the need for a
compromise as a life or death
issue. If people can’t talk to
each other, children die. He
knows this because talking
stopped a possible school
shooting in Florence years
back.
“When I was a sergeant here,
a freshman told the principal
about a kid who was making
some comments that really had
him concerned,” he said. “The
principal came to me with the
young boy. We talked. There
was enough to be concerned
about. We went out, talked to
the young man’s family. There
were definitely concerns. He
had a gun hidden that he had
gotten from his dad, and the
dad didn’t realize he had gotten
it out of his safe.
“But we got that young man
some help. From everything I
know, that young man is a very
good person. A very good man.
A contributing member of soci-
ety.
“That’s what it takes. We talk
with each other. And we trust
each other. That young high
schooler, who was brave
enough to call his principal and
have an adult he felt comfort-
able talking to, very possibly
could have saved lives here in
Florence.”
Pitcher didn’t go into specif-
ic details about the incident —
what the young man was plan-
ning, why he decided to do it.
But for Pitcher, those details
didn’t seem to matter. Instead,
it was the belief that people
trusted each other, and the hope
that things would ultimately
turn out for the good.
“That’s the way you prevent
school shootings,” Pitcher said.
Editor’s note: Throughout
this series, the Siuslaw News
has received countless corre-
spondence on the issue of
firearms in America, covering
numerous facets of the discus-
sion. While there are multiple
topics that could not be cov-
ered in this series, the Siuslaw
News hopes the articles have
at least inspired real conversa-
tion and a foundation of fact
over speculation. We are invit-
ing the community to continue
the discussion in May with a
town hall conversation on the
issue. We hope you’ll join the
discussion, which will include
Florence Police Commander
John Pitcher and other mem-
bers of the community, gun
reformer and gun rights advo-
cates alike, on Tuesday, May
22, at 6:30 p.m. at City Lights
Cinemas.