Thank-you very much.

A couple of things that came up from the earlier meeting uh if you still have the hand-out that I passed out last board meeting. There's a lot of the data like the uh uh report cards, on disciplinary and on Healthy Teens that I provided a five year trend. So it's there and there may be more that you want to do on the report card on the five-year trend. But it gives you something to work with very quickly if you want to.

Also uh in your mission statement I would like, I would ask that you add two words: either before the word "affective" or after and that is "and safe" safe, s-a-f-e. It would read something like "...effective and safe environment". I think it's important to tell our community that one of our goals and mission in this program is to make this a very safe educational experience. We, we, and that would emphasize it.

The reason I'm speaking today is because next month September is suicide prevention month and there will a proclamation both from the city of Brookings and the county of Curry that will be at their next meeting, approved at their next meeting. I wanted to give you a heads-up on that and I will be passing out one of those for each one of you so that you are aware. I think it's a very important thing to look at. And there are a number of "where as's" suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in the United States and the 2nd leading cause of death is 15 to 24 year olds. And veterans 22 die every day 10 times the number of deaths than in combat operations. And Curry County is leading all counties in the state of Oregon number per capita number of vets who kill themselves.

Where as over 50% of people who die use firearms in the suicide attempt, actually it's 43%. I got that number today. And guns stored in the home in 40 times more than on self-protection. So one of the things we know about suicide men are 80%... women are 80% of suicide attempts, men are 80% of successful suicides. And the main reason for that is that they use a gun. Women don't use a gun. If there isn't a gun available in the household. Usually a suicide attempt is in the spur of the moment and it passes. And they don't usually commit suicide but with a gun in the household it's permanent. And it's over.

Uh Where as uh the Healthy Teen survey in 2014, Brookings doesn't uh do that with the 6th graders but in the county 7.7% of the of the 6th graders, 16.8% of the 8th graders and 16% of the 11th graders seriously considered a suicide attempt in the year, in the year 2013/14 school year. The new data, it will be out in October. And in Brookings, the county numbers were 26% of the 11th graders seriously consideed suicide. Brookings it was 28.8%. We, actually, really affected county numbers.

and where as the stigma of suicide as mental illness prevents kids from coming forward and letting anybody know in advance.

One of the things we did several years ago is put, you know the buddy bench, I don't know if you remember it as a buddy bench out in front of the high school but taht was a place for kids who were in trouble went to and were hoping somebody would show up. It was known within the culture you see somebody there go talk to them. And sit with them. And we put in a plaque honoring the seath of Dorothy Shull who was the last suicide we know here in 2012 in the ground and the games keepers are doing a beautiful job of keeping, taking care of that.

But we've got a big stigma about mental illness and not talking about it. One of the thigns I'm really happy with is that you've got a counselor instead of being just one day, not with the school but with the health district, instead of just being here Mondays Mary Trost will be here five days a week. For Azalea one day, K-school one day and for the high school three full days appoinsments and I think that's a hugh hugh advantage because you're looking at those 20% of kids, if we lost one of those you know, because we didn't take the effort to really make it available and help that kid thats uh that would be a shame. And I developed these rack cards, and I've got one on the teen suicide, and it gives people an idea, particularly parents of what to look for and how to help uh and what I would be open to if it was available if I would be happy to be at parent's night and make the 36 cards we have available, like on cutting, which is the new increase, cutting and meth are increased within our youth community. Inhalants, molestation, all these kinds of things how to talk to your kids about these issues. How to see some of the red flags your kids are having. A lot of kids, a lot of people don't realize, alot of parents don't realize what's going on with their kids. And if they see some of these signs, uh it might help them, and help their kids. Anyway, thank-you.

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What the minutes say

Gordon Clay: spoke of data he handed out in August on the 5 year trend. He asked the board to add “and safe” environment to the mission statement. Gordon Clay spoke of September being the suicide prevention month. Gordon Clay offered to be at parents’ night with informational cards that help parents talk with their kids.