Last year, it was reported that 14.6% of BHHS juniors seriously considered attempting suicide. 6.3% actually attempted suicide (twice the rate of juniors statewide), and 80% of those attempting suicide, resulted in an injury, poisoning or overdose that required treatment by a doctor or nurse, compared to .9% statewide. Also that 2% of juniors missed 1 to 6 days of school in the 30 days preceding the survey because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on their way to or from school.

Hopefully, all of these students are still with us as seniors. But, what is District 17-C doing to stop bullies in their tracks? How many children do we have to lose to suicide before we get serious. When are we, as a county, going to wake up to the fact that defunding Curry County's health care system has reduced or eliminated most mental health services?

At the First Friday Salon on May 4th, TheCitizensWhoCare.org will be presenting two films at the Chetco Library on the issue of Bullying and Cyberbullying, one for adults and a separate one for students. Each starts promptly at 6pm and each will be followed by an open discussion.

Any adult concerned for the safety of our children while in the care of our schools, please join us as well as any student who wants to learn how they might help end bullying in Brookings. Then, come to the May 16th School Board meeting at 7pm at K-School where we have been assured bullying will be an agenda item. Let the school board know your thinking on bullying within Azalea, K-School and BHHS. Let's not have any of our students be too afraid to get an education in Brookings. Join us, won't you?

Gordon Clay
Brookings, OR