August 22, 2019 Page 3
Wedding Announcement
Katrina Marie Jackson and Charles Backstrom Walker will be united in marriage on Sunday, September 8, 2019, at Point
Vicente Interpretive Center in Rancho Palos Verdes. The honorable Reverend Antonio P. Herndon Sr. will officiate their wedding.
A native of Santa Barbara, California, the bride-to-be is a graduate of West Virginia University, where she received her Master’s
in Integrated Marketing Communications. Currently, a Legal Assistant at HBO, the bride aspires to be a published writer and
enjoys travelling the world and learning about other cultures. She is the daughter of Lola McIntyre and the late John McIntyre.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, the groom is a graduate of University of Southern California, where he received
his Master’s in Social Work. He is a Psychiatric Social Worker at Del Amo Behavioral Health System, a member of Omega Psi
Phi Fraternity, Inc., and enjoys mentoring at-risk youth. He is the son of Greta Walker, a District Attorney for the City of Los
Angeles, and Ronnie Walker, a retired Sergeant Detective.
The bride and groom met late 2016, fell in love 2017, got engaged in 2018, and have been planning their happily ever
after, ever since.
Student ID Cards Carry Message
That Talking About Suicide Helps
By Rob McCarthy
The new student identification cards for
2019-20 could prove to be a lifesaver at local
campuses. Every ID card issued to seventh
through 12th graders will carry a suicide
prevention phone number. The helpline is so
teen-friendly that it accepts text messages.
Suicide is now the second-leading cause
of death for children ages 13 to 18. It’s also
become a more frequent tragedy affecting
10- to 12-year-olds, according to the
California Department of Education. Suicide is
very rare among children age nine years
or younger, the department says, though
research indicates thoughts about self-harm
can begin early.
Starting this fall, all California campuses
are now required to print suicide prevention
information on student IDs. The National
Suicide Prevention Hotline 1-800-273-8255
and the Crisis Text Line 741741 appear on
the IDs issued by public, private and charter
schools. The law, which lawmakers approved
in 2018, also applies to college campuses.
Lawmakers gave schools until 2019 to issue
the new student IDs. However, campuses
have been active since 2017 in detecting
at-risk students and intervening early. The
state’s education department credits parents,
educators, mental health professionals and
legislators with recent efforts to address “the
critical need to prevent youth suicides in
California.” School districts that serve pupils
in grades seven through 12 LEA must have
in place a policy on pupil suicide prevention,
intervention and postvention.
Those district policies shall specifically
address the needs of high-risk groups and
include consideration of suicide awareness and
prevention training for teachers, according to
the state education department. The 2017 law
did not apply to private schools or schools
with students below grade seven, yet state
officials strongly encourage all campuses
statewide to adopt a suicide prevention policy
“as a safety net for all of their students.”
The California State Parents-Teachers
Association advises parents, teachers and
neighbors to trust their instincts when
something seems wrong with a young person.
Knowing what to look for is a first step toward
preventing someone from injuring themselves
or taking their lives, says the PTA. Almost
always, there are warning signs.
Danger signs that can predict a suicide
attempt include threats or comments about
killing themselves. Aggressive behavior or
social withdrawal from family and friends can
indicate someone is reaching a danger point to
themselves. Talking, writing or thinking about
death is another warning sign that shouldn’t
be ignored, mental health experts say.
The National Alliance on Mental Health
says another tipoff is when someone is giving
away their possessions and putting their
affairs in order. Saying goodbye to family
and friends can indicate a person is thinking
about suicide and needs professional help.
The new student IDs are designed to get
teens talking about their inner thoughts, which
might include taking their lives. Sadness,
despair and disappointment are common
reasons that drive young people who are
impulsive and immature to consider suicide,
according to the experts. People who see the
signs can help by starting a conversation.
“Talking openly about suicidal thoughts
and feelings can save a life. Talking about
suicide won’t give the person ideas about
death. The opposite is true — bringing up
the subject of suicide and discussing it openly
is one of the most helpful things you can
do,” the California PTA says on its website.
Ask a child, relative, neighbor or friend
is they’re thinking seriously about suicide,
and be a good listener. If they confide about
feeling hopeless or considering suicide, take
them seriously, the PTA says in its guide to
suicide prevention and intervention.
Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
anytime at 800-273-8255. In the event the
person appears to be an immediate danger
to themselves, call 911 or take the person
to a nearby emergency room or crisis clinic
for evaluation.
California Senate Bill 972 created the
new requirement that students in middle
and high schools carry with them the phone
number of the 24-hour lifeline. Sacramento
lawmakers and public health agencies have
been addressing mental health issues and
creating outreach programs since lawmakers
approved a Suicide Prevention Act in 2000.
A website called stopbullying.gov offers
parents and educators valuable resources
about classmate bullying, which has been
blamed for student suicides and sparked
backlash against schools for not doing enough
to stop the behavior. As many as one-fourth
of U.S. students report being bullied at
schooled, and 70 percent say they’ve seen
it on campus.
Most bullying happens in middle school,
according to researchers. The most common
types are verbal and social bullying.
Cyberbullying happens much less frequently,
though it has gotten a greater amount of
attention because it can lead to suicide by
its young victims.
Data from schools suggests that bullying
may be declining. It still remains a prevalent
and serious problem in today’s schools.
However, the amount of media coverage
given to the topic has created more awareness,
according to information at stopbullying.
gov. Young people who are perceived as
different from their peers are often at risk
for being bullied.
A valuable tip for children who feel
intimated by another student or are bullied,
either physically or psychologically, is to
speak up. That someone can be a trusted
adult. And be sure to get help if the bullying
is leading to thoughts of hurting yourself or
someone else.
Call 911 if the bullying include physical
violence or threats of violence. Contact
the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
for someone to talk to about self-harm. If
a child is being bullied at school, a parent
should report it to a teacher, counselor
or principal. •
Hawthorne Happenings
News for the City of Good
Neighbors from an Old Guy
Named Norb Huber
North Hawthorne
Community Association
Picnic
All Hawthorne residents are invited
to attend the 9th Annual North Hawthorne
Community Association Picnic to be held on
Saturday, August 31st from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
at Eucalyptus Park. There will be food, fun,
music, crafts and the Spider-Man character
for photos. Plan to wrap up your summer
with a great family event.
Hawthorne Arts Complex
The Hawthorne community is invited to view
some really good art right here in Hawthorne.
The Hawthorne Arts Complex is hosting their
annual “Open Studios” event on Sunday,
September 8 from 2 to 6 p.m. The studios is
located at 13040 Cerise Avenue in Hawthorne.
For more information please check out their
website at: hawthorneartscomplex.com.
Hawthorne Chamber of
Commerce Golf Tournament
The 5th Annual Hawthorne Chamber Golf
Tournament will be held on September 19th
at the Rio Hondo Golf Club 10627 Old River
Rd. Downey, Ca 90241. If you would like
to be a sponsor or play in the tournament,
you can either email at sherice.baker@thehawthornechamber.
com or call the Chamber
at (310) 676-1163.
Power Lines – Wild Fires
As we all saw last fall, wild fires are
deadly. They can spring up in no time
giving residents who live in high danger
zones very little time to evacuate. The
Camp Fire up in this area destroyed the
entire town of Paradise, CA. There have
been wild fires in almost all parts of
California in the past five years. Investigators
are always looking for the cause of each blaze.
The mammoth utility company, Pacific Gas
and Electric, PGE, filed bankruptcy this past
winter after being sued by numerous groups
and individuals for their role in several of the
fires. Downed power lines or sparks generated
from transformers are two of the main causes
of ignition. The State of California is now
mandating that PGE visually inspect their lines
after a power outage. Millions of dollars are
being spent on prevention. One of my brotherin
laws, Neils, recently retired from teaching
and hooked on with a helicopter company who
provides pilots and aircraft to the power company
to go inspect the lines. Neils had many years
of helicopter pilot experience from his Navy
days. Starting recently, a PGE linemen rides
along in the copter looking for any irregularity
in the lines. They have to fly at low altitude,
so they have many homeowners coming out
of their homes wondering what is going on.
I guess they even make more noise than the
Hawthorne Police helicopter which we used
to hear quite frequently at night searching for
a suspect. We can only hope that the wild fire
season of 2019 will be mild compared to the
See Norb, page 4