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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 20, 2003)
Page 14 The INDEPENDENT, November 20, 2003 Teen suicide prevention effort needed National, state-wide and lo- cal efforts are being made to turn around the decades long trend of rising suicide rates. The United States Surgeon General, Dr. David Satcher, has declared suicide a serious health concern and issued a call to action for states to de- velop suicide prevention strate- gies. Efforts to reduce the sui- cide rate show the greatest success when multiple strate- gies are employed simultane- ously. Many risk factors associ- ated with suicide attempts are known. Educating the public, the school and medical com- munity about recognizing, and seeking help for, troubled teens is the goal of the Oregon Youth Suicide Prevention plan which outlines 15 strategies to coordi- nate long-term, system wide changes. According to the Oregon Health Department (OHD), Oregonians in every age group die by suicide but the upward trend in rates over the past few decades has been driven prin- cipally by suicide among ado- lescents and young adults. The grim facts speak for them- selves: Suicide is the second lead- ing cause of death among Ore- gonian’s aged 10 to 24. Oregon’s 1997 suicide rate among youth was 17th in the nation. In 1999, 16% of Oregon youth surveyed reported seri- ously considering suicide. The rate of suicides among youth aged 15 to 19 increased nearly five-fold between 1960 and 1995. Translated, this means that in every classroom of 30 stu- dents roughly five of them have considered suicide in the last year. Dr. Kirk Wolfe writes that adolescents who die by suicide are most likely to be clinically depressed when they complete suicide. Girls are twice as likely to be affected by depression as boys and are more than three times as likely to attempt sui- cide. However, boys are three times more likely to die by sui- cide, in part because boys tend to use more lethal means (e.g. guns). A key element of the Oregon plan is an effort to edu- cate many people about the warning signs of depression in youth and offer simple, but ef- fective, ways of discussing sui- cidal thoughts. Banks, Forest Grove and Gaston school district have banded together to be part of the solution. Counselors and teachers recognized at an in- troductory program in February that the three adjacent districts could band together to serve the needs of western Washing- ton County. The district’s com- bined their efforts to train mem- bers of the ten-member team last spring. Known as SAFE: Teen (Suicide Prevention For Everyone) will be taught to staff members during November and also offered to the commu- nity at two evening programs, November 13 and December 3 (in Banks). The SAFE:Teen program of- fers everyone information about talking to teens. A simple pamphlet outlining a number of basic strategies (what to look for, what to say and what to do when talking to teens) will be distributed along with an exten- sive list of resources at the lo- cal level, in the school and more broadly available. The OHD site <www.ohd.hr.state.or .us> has the full text of the Ore- gon prevention plan, Dr. Wolfe’s article about recogniz- ing teen depression and “Five Minutes Can Save a Life”. This is a three-step intervention that can be easily used by anyone who may come into contact with a suicidal individual, partic- ularly youth. Inform the parents that the person is at risk for suicide and why you think so. For ex- ample, if someone you know seems suicidal, has expressed intent to suicide, or has a plan for completing suicide, it is im- portant to share your observa- tion and concerns with the indi- vidual’s parents, school coun- selor, or coach. Tell parents that they can Clint Vandehey Carpet & Upholstery Your One Stop Decorating Shop • Mohawk • Wilsonart • Shaw • Pergo • Congoleum • Hunter-Douglas FREE Estimates FREE Loaner Samples reduce the risk of suicide by removing firearms and other lethal means from the house. Research shows that the risk of suicide doubles if a firearm is in the house, even if the firearm is locked up. Most suicide deaths in Oregon are completed with a firearm. Be aware that access to lethal means may be readily available at the home of other family members, friends, or neighbors. Discuss ways to limit ac- cess to firearms if they are in the home. Police department are willing to inform the public about the best means of secur- ing firearms. If parents are re- luctant to involve law enforce- ment removal of firearms and storage in a secure location elsewhere is advised by OHD. Freecycle: How to turn today’s trash into tomorrow’s treasure Freecycle Washington County has announced the launch of a new web site, as well as the inauguration of an accompanying message board, FreecycleWashCoun- tyOregon. Based on the adage that “one person’s trash is another person’s treasure,” Freecycle’s goal is to connect people who wish to get rid of their old junk with those who just want free stuff. Anyone looking to discard or acquire an item is welcome at Freecycle Washington Coun- ty, Oregon, where all items listed are absolutely free! Established in November 2003, and hosted by Yahoo Groups, the Freecycle Wash- ington County board serves the greater Washington Coun- ty, Oregon area. Signing up for the group is simple, with in- structions at <http://groups. yahoo. com/group/freecycle- washcoun tyoregon>. Freecycle Washington County is modeled after the Tucson Freecycle Network, founded in March 2003 and recently profiled in the Sep- tember/October 2003 issue of Utne magazine. Created by the non-profit group “Down- town Don’t Waste It”, the Tuc- son Freecycle Network has sparked a worldwide “freecy- cling” revolution, with groups in several dozen cities and countries thus far. To see grassroots at its best, visit the home of the “freecycling” movement at <www.freecycle. org.> 47J board works on homecoming, policies From page 10 the board that Matt Blair, high school boys basketball head coach, worked with her to inter- view and select coaches for the junior high boys basketball pro- gram. She said that Justin Ward’s commitment to kids, both in the classroom and on the court was commendable. Ward will be head coach for the junior high program and will work with the seventh grade team. Jeff Cheney, formerly head boy’s basketball coach at VHS, will assist Ward and coach the eighth grade team. Homecoming Issues Scholl told the board that he was meeting with a group of parents to discuss issues about homecoming. He formed the group after hearing rumors that some parents and/or communi- ty members were displeased with some aspects of home- coming activities. He told the board that he had not received any phone calls, nor had any- We’re CHEAPER THAN HOME DEPOT! Check us out! one come to him with com- plaints. He strongly urged the public to bring comments to him in the future. Policy Revisions Due to many changes at both state and national levels, many district policies must be updated over the next few months, so a streamlined pro- cess has been developed. Fun- derburg explained that he would present the board with several new or revised policies as information items each month; they will then be moved to the consent agenda for ap- proval the following month. There is no discussion of items on the consent agenda and board members will contact Funderburg if they want to dis- cuss any particular policy, which will then be removed from the consent agenda and placed on the regular agenda as a business item for discus- sion. Asked if there was any way for members of the public to have impact on policy deci- sions, Funderburg said that pa- trons must contact a board member because only a board member can ask to have an item removed from the consent agenda. Policies presented this month dealt primarily with mod- ifications of board and budget matters. In other business the board: • Announced two openings on the budget committee. Ap- plications are available at the district office. • Agreed to offer for sale dis- trict property on Timber Road. Save time while you Avoid Holiday Crowds, Traffic, Full Parking Lots and winter driving! SHOP AT HOME!! 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