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FAMILY
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, February 13, 2019
OBITUARIES
Lawmakers propose bill to address bullying, suicide in schools
By Claire Withycombe
Oregon Capital Bureau
Four days before Chloe
Wilson took her life, the
14-year-old from Eugene was
meeting with her legislators
at the state Capitol, eager to
push for more recognition of
people with mental illnesses.
She died Feb. 26, 2018.
Nearly a year later, her
father and stepmother, Jason
and Roxanne Wilson, returned
to the Capitol in Chloe’s
honor to push for more robust
suicide prevention policies in
Oregon schools.
Her family said the funny,
friendly girl who dreamed
of becoming a surgeon was
depressed and anxious, and
bullied by other kids.
“I wanted to give you a
face to this issue,” Roxanne
Wilson testifi ed, holding up a
portrait of Chloe smiling in an
apple-red shirt.
The Wilsons and other par-
ents, students, teachers and
mental health experts came to
the Capitol this week to say
Oregon’s kids are in crisis.
Lawmakers are listening.
Eighteen senators and rep-
resentatives have sponsored a
plan to direct nearly $2 mil-
lion per year to address vio-
lence and bullying in schools.
They call it the “Oregon Safe
To Learn Act.”
The state would help
schools screen for potential
Oregon Capital Bureau/Claire
Withycombe
Jason Wilson holds a photo
of his daughter, Chloe
Wilson, who died from
suicide in 2018.
violence, promote the state’s
school safety tip line and cre-
ate programs aimed at pre-
venting suicide, harassment
and bullying. The idea is to
reduce those incidents.
The act would pay for 15
employees at the Depart-
ment of Education to lead
that work. Those employees
would help school districts
with prevention programs
and help coordinate schools
with mental and behav-
ioral health care providers. It
would also help school and
education service districts
to establish teams to assess
threats to student safety.
Those teams would,
under the proposed law, also
develop intervention plans
and connect students and
families with local resources
and support.
In an interview, state
Sen. Rob Wagner, D-Lake
Oswego, the chair of the Sen-
ate Education Committee,
said lawmakers should check
back next year to see whether
those measures are effective.
“I think it’s not just drop-
ping money and being like,
‘OK, have fun, do whatever
you want with it,’” Wagner
said, “Honestly, the Legisla-
ture is realizing this is a cri-
sis, and we want to make sure
that we’re having oversight
of those resources.”
The proposal has broad
backing, from pediatricians
to police and Gov. Kate
Brown. It’s the product of
years of work by a group of
police, educators and mental
health experts under the aus-
pices of a gubernatorial task
force on school safety.
Some advocates and law-
makers question the fi ner
points of the program,
though.
Sarah Lochner, deputy
director of government rela-
tions for Multnomah County,
worried how the state
would prevent kids of color
from being targeted by the
program.
“We are concerned about
Wayne Lissman
who will be involved in
assessment teams,” Loch-
ner wrote in testimony to the
House Committee on Educa-
tion. “There are many docu-
mented discrepancies with
race by law enforcement and
school systems in Oregon
and we need to make sure
these discrepancies will not
exist within this system.”
In 2018, the federal Gov-
ernment
Accountability
Offi ce found that in public
schools black students, boys
and students with disabili-
ties were signifi cantly more
likely to be suspended or
expelled.
State Rep. Cheri Helt,
R-Bend, a longtime Bend-La
Pine School Board member
until last month, was moved
to tears by the testimony Feb.
6. She said central Oregon
lost 15 children to suicide in
2017.
In that area, she said, a
suicide prevention specialist
in Deschutes County works
with local schools.
“This program that you’re
proposing has fi ve suicide
specialists, so that means
they’re going to have a much
broader area,” Helt told Dave
Novotney, who helped lead
the group that developed the
Oregon Safe To Learn Act,
during a public hearing Feb.
6. “I would say our one in
our county is already over-
worked and struggling.”
Wayne Lissman, 94, died Jan. 12. A memorial service
will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, at LaFollette’s
Chapel in Burns. A luncheon will follow at the Burns Elks
Lodge 1680. Contributions in memory of Wayne Lissman
can be made to the American Legion, Harney County Post
63, in care of LaFollette’s Chapel, P.O. Box 488, Burns,
OR 97720.
Virginia M. Moore
Virginia M. Moore, 93, of John Day passed away Feb.
6 at Blue Mountain Care Center in Prairie City. A grave-
side service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 16, at
the Canyon City Cemetery. Arrangements have been
entrusted to Driskill Memorial Chapel. To leave an online
condolence for the family, visit driskillmemorialchapel.
com.
About Obituaries
News obituaries of 300 words or less are a free service of the Blue Mountain Eagle. The
paper accepts obituaries from the family or funeral home. Information submitted is subject
to editing. Obituaries submitted to the Eagle with incorrect information may be corrected
and republished as paid memorials. Obituaries longer than 300 words may be published
as paid memorials. Send obituaries by email, offi ce@bmeagle.com; fax, 541-575-1244;
or mail, 195 N. Canyon Blvd., John Day, OR 97845. For more information, or to inquire
about a paid memorial, call 541-575-0710.
GRANT UNION STUDENTS OF
THE MONTH — JANUARY
BRIEFLY
Apply for
scholarships
by March 1
Oregon students should
apply for privately funded
scholarships at oregonstuden-
taid.gov by the deadline of
5 p.m. March 1.
Oregon students may
explore over 600 scholarships
and apply for up to 40 with
just one application, and there
is no cost to apply. Scholarship
funds are available for grad-
uating high school seniors,
college undergraduate and
graduate students, GED and
homeschooled students, com-
munity college and vocational
school students, single parents
returning to school and more.
In addition to the schol-
arship application, students
should complete the Free
Application for Federal Stu-
dent Aid (FAFSA) or the Ore-
gon Student Aid Application
(ORSAA) to be considered
for federal and state fi nan-
cial aid, including grants and
loans.
The ORSAA is Oregon’s
alternative to the FAFSA
for undocumented students,
including students who have
Deferred Action for Child-
hood Arrivals status. OSAC
uses data from the FAFSA
or the ORSAA to determine
students’ eligibility for the
Oregon Promise, the Ore-
gon Opportunity Grant and
numerous scholarships. Infor-
mation from the FAFSA is
also used to determine eligi-
bility for federal aid, includ-
ing the Federal Pell Grant,
Federal Direct Loans and Fed-
eral Work-Study.
For further information
about deadlines and eligibil-
ity for the Oregon Promise and
the Oregon Opportunity Grant,
visit oregonstudentaid.gov.
Wells Fargo
awards grant
for foreclosure-
avoidance
counseling
Wells Fargo Housing Foun-
dation has awarded Commu-
nity Connection of North-
east Oregon a $3,000 grant
for their Housing Resource
Center for work on foreclo-
Michael B. DesJardin
Dentistry, PC
Preventive, Restorative & Endodontics
sure-avoidance counseling.
Community Connection
provides counseling to home-
owners at risk of losing their
homes to foreclosure. Their
certifi ed foreclosure interven-
tion and default counselor
counsels homeowners on
options and strategies to retain
ownership of their homes.
This includes available
programs for loan reinstate-
ment and mortgage payment
reduction. Also included is
fi nancial capability coun-
seling, which involves cur-
rent and projected budget-
ing, credit report review with
options and strategies to
improve score, money man-
agement and debt repayment
plans.
Last year, Community
Connection’s efforts in fore-
closure avoidance counsel-
ing saved homeowners a total
of $448,732.65 and saved 38
homes from foreclosure.
Peyton Neault
Grade 10
Parents: Cooper and
Kimberly Neault
Paige Gerry
Grade 9
Parents: Ryan and
Sami Gerry
Jasmine Bryers
Grade 8
Parent: Lisa Hunt-
er-Kennedy
Abbie Justice
Grade 7
Parents: Ken and
Julia Justice
Information submitted for the obituary of Charles Mulcare
published in the Feb. 2 edition of the Eagle stated he died Jan.
16. Mulcare died Jan. 27. The Eagle regrets the error.
The most valuable and
respected source of local news,
advertising and information for
our communities.
Attention Grant County Veterans:
Did you know Grant County Veterans
Services Officer is available to assist
YOU in applying for all VA benefits
you may be entitled to?
208 NW Canton
John Day
541-575-2725
mbddental@live.com
michaelbdesjardinmd.com
Katee
Hoffman
98769
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See your Grant County Veteran Services
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The family of Lori Palm
would like to extend our
gratitude to Tami's Pine
Valley Funeral Home and
Cremation Services for her exceptional
professionalism, thoughtfulness,
sincerity, attention to detail and
courtesy. Words cannot express how
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Customer Appreciation
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He will bathe in an ADVERTISED TUB, shave with an ADVERTISED RAZOR,
have a breakfast of ADVERTISED JUICE, cereal and toast, toasted in an
ADVERTISED TOASTER, put on ADVERTISED CLOTHES and glance at his
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Stop by for Cookies,
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AND THEY SAY ADVERTISING DOESN’T WORK?
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MyEagleNews.com
Donavan Smith
Grade 11
Parents: Kerry John
Smith and Robin
Herberger
CORRECTION
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Welcome!
Advertising is an investment, not an expense. Think about it!
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Grade 12
Parents: Karen and
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Don’t get left behind, call today! Kim Kell 541-575-0710
104520
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John Day ...........................................................HI/LO
Tuesday ........................................................... 28/20
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