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— The Summerville News, Thursday, January 27, 2000
Officer: Teens Should Report
Students Considering Suicide
CHS Resource Officer Gives Data On Youth Deaths
DEPUTY JACK Floyd,
Chattooga High School’s (CHS)
resource officer, has encouraged
the school’s students to seek%xis
help with problems that might
cause them to consider killing
themselves.
He also asked the teen
agers to contact him if they think
a classmate mi§ht be consider
ing suicide, or if one is acting in
strange manner contrary to his
or her usual behavior.
OFFICER FLOYD taught
his first course to about 30 CHS
students in a health and wellness
class headed by teacher Kay
Worsham. Some of the young
sters apgeared to be nonchalant
at first but became attentive as
Flcg;d exglained the seriousness
of the subject to them.
He first touched on the fact
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Staff Photos
RESOURCE OFFICER JACK FLOYD
Student Shanika Adams At Back
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that he cannot get out his mind
the “horrible” sight of the first
suicide he investigated as a
young officer years ago.
WHITE MALES are more
likely to kill themselves than any
other groug, he said Friday
morning, while black females
arg the least likely to commit sui
cide.
Althoufih youngsters as
young as 10 kill themselves, the
percentage of those who attempt
and/or succeed at suicide in
creases throug}l‘\ the teewears
and early 20s, he indicated.
“Boys are lookintfi at the
girls more closely than they were
at 10,” Officer Floyd said.
“Thef"re going steady and have
that love connection.” Then, “if
she’s looking at some other
dude, that’s going to make you
unhappy,” he'sajd.’
“WHAT DO you do?” if
jilted, he asked the boys in the
class.
“Find another one (girl
friend),” an unidentified boy re
sponded.
“Thank ¥ou, sir,” Floyd
Frinned while the students
aufihed. “I wish all of you (boys)
felt like that.”
But some males between 15
and 19 instead attempt suicide or
kill themselves, often after break
ingdup with a steady girlfriend, he
said.
Their attitude toward sui
cide in those cases usually is “I'll
show her,” he explained. Many
times, the teen males who at
temflt suicide don’t realtlfi' intend
tokill themselves but rather want
to draw attention to themselves
and thereby “make” the former
fiirlfriend love them again, he in
icated.
® % 9
UNFORTUNATELY, the
boys often succeed in kiilir‘l‘g
themselves without really intend
ing to do so, Officer Floyd said.
For every completed suicide
by ateen, that person usuall{has
attempted to kill himself eight or
10 times beforehand, he said.
One-third of completed teen sui
cide victims had made at least
one previous attempt to kill
themselves, he said, while one
half were in contact or had been
in contact with mental health
professionals, Floyd said statis
tics showed.
In two-thirds of the suicide
cases reported nationally for the
fie grouf) 18 through 19 in 1993,
oyd told the youngsters, alco
hol or cocaine was discovered in
the bodies.
Both substances “make r\]'ou
look at matters differently” than
if sober, he emphasized.
MOST MALES use a fire
arm to commit suicide while
most females inéest pills that
cause them to suffer respiratory
arrest or a heart attack, Floyd
said. Males tend to shoot them
selves in the head and if a female
uses a firearm, she tends to shoot
herself in the chest, he added.
“They (the females) don’t
want to mess up their prettr
face,” he said. “You (females) still
want to look good as a conipse.
Men don’t care what we look like”
after death.
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The number one method for
committing suicide is using a
firearm while the number two
method is taking pills. Har:)%in%
is another “popular” method o
killing oneself, }le edded.
NATIONALLY, hangings
are pretty evenly sgread across
the country while firearms are
used most 1n rural areas, Officer
Floyd told the CHS teens. As
phyxiation is used more in urban
areas and jumping to one’s death
is more frequent in cities.
Statistics show that the
highest frequency of suicide by
teens occurs in the Western
states and Alaska, he said. Fewer
suicides occur in the Southern,
North Central and Eastern
states, Officer Floyd said.
Some of the warning signs
of a possible pending suicide at
tempt include teens giving away
cherished items, a change in
their method of dressing or men
tall gepression, the students were
told.
Anxietz'; anger, being disci
plined or humiliated, disap
pointed, beinlg rejected, failing
exams and failing to get a job are
other factors that can help push
a teen toward suicide attempts,
he said.
% B &
IF THE STUDENTS in
Ms. Worsham’s class notice any
warning signs in a classmate,
they should immediately contact
a CHS teacher or him, Officer
Floyd said.
“If we can’t handle it, we will
find someone in the mental
health community who can
he]})," Floyd asserted. “If one
child can be saved from going to
jail, from suicide, from usmfi
drugs and/or alcohol, my job wi
have been worthwhile,” he said.
There is a correlation be
tween teens committing suicide
an'ctii broken homes, the deputy
said.
Too, birth complications or
difficulties during t?'le mother’s
pregnancy also might cause con
tribute to problems connected to
suicide, he said.
INDIVIDUALS suffering
from manic-depression an
schizophrenia reflect only a
small percentage of suicides, he
said.
Male homosexuals amount
to a small percentage in the com
munity, he said, and that is why
it is more difficult for them to
find a partner. That frustration
sometimes leads to suicide at
tempts or death, he added. Their
suicides generally “more dra
matic” than those of heterosexu
als, he added.
News stories about suicides
tend to result in “copycat” acts,
Officer Floyd told the students.
He asked all the students to
stand near the end of the class.
All the youngsters stood except
for one girl, who finally got up
when ordered to do so by Ms.
Worsham.
HE THEN asked each of
the students to then tell another
classmate in the room “no mat
ter how bad they feel, someboddy
loves them . . . parents, grand
parents, aunts, uncles. Someone,
someone loves you.”
Desgite some giggling and
low laughter by the youngsters,
it appeared that most of the stu
dents made the statement.
Officer Floyd told the
youngsters he didn’t care if they
referred to him derisively. “It
doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I
don’t care.
“IF YOU’VE got a prob
lem, come to see me,” he said
while smiling. “I love all of you.”
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Civil War Show, Sale Is
Scheduled February 5-6
The annual Great Chicka
mauga Southern National Civil
War Show and Sale is scheduled
at the Northwest Georgia Trade
and Convention Center, Dalton,
Saturday - from 9 a.m.tosp.m.
Feb. 5 and Sunday - from 9 a.m.
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The top Civil War milita?/
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Items ranginF from authen
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camp gear, flags, letters written
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photographs of soldiers, news
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POSTCARDS
This year's event will also
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displaY. There will be dealers
specia iZir:F in hard to find post
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your postcards will be available
at the show.
America’s foremost histori
cal painter, David Wright, will
exhibit a large number of his
original historical paintings.
Civil War Author/Historian
Richard A. Baumgartner will be
yersonally signing his new book
Kennesaw Mountain June
1864 and also his books, “Blue
Lightning,” “Echoes of Battle,”
and “The Struggle For Chatta
nooga.”
Civil War Author, Charles S.
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his book, “Civil War Relics of the
Western Campaigns.”
Civil War Author, William
Scaife, will autograph his books,
“Campaign for Tennessee,”
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“Atlas of Chickamauga and
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DEPUTY FLOYD (BACK) OFFERS HELP TO CHS STUDENTS
Danger Signs Of Potential Suicide Victims Outlined
Battles.”
PHOTOGRAPHS
The world’s largest and fin
est display of original Civil War
photogra?hs of Confederate and
Union soldiers from the collec
ti{)n of Paul Gibson will be on dis
piay. L -
Private collections of Con
federate and Union swords, mus
kets, buckles, and buttons total
ing millions of dollars will be on
display. el
Free af)%;aisals of Civil War
artifacts will be offered on Friday,
Feb. 4, between 4 p.m. and 7p.m.
and on Sunday, Feb. 6, 9 a.m. to
noon.
An award ceremony will be
held at 2 p.m. Saturday honoring
and recognizing local Civil War
preservationists and historians.
The prestigious “Brotherton
Award” will be presented to an
individual recognizing their work
in promoting education and in
terest of CiviFWar heritage in our
area. A “Preservation” award will
be presented to an individual
and‘;or an organization for their
successful attempt to preserve a
local Civil War historical site. An
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“Outstanding Service” award will
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This show, in its fifth con
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The purpose of this show is
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