Teens against suicide speak to Byesville Rotary

Pictured: Sheryl Weber, Suicide Prevention Coalition of Youth advisor; Rebekah Calkins, Kallysta Johnson, Jimmy Allen III, Kylie Sampson, Aaron Ruby, and Becky Brunner, Suicide Prevention Coalition of Youth advisor.

Reading for next meeting:

• January Rotarian, "Starting Fresh," p. 9.

Breakfast with the Easter Bunny committee is being formed. contack co-shairs Phyllis Jeffries or Jum Vaughan to join.

 

 

Sheryl Weber, Cambridge teacher and coach at Cambridge High explained to Byesville Rotarians that she became involved in teen suicide prevention because of her daughter who lost her fight with depression last year. As a result, she decided to do something to fight teen suicide.

One of the challenges to fighting suicide is that is often an invisible and unrecognized problem that few people like to talk about. Many people do not know that someone is lost to suicide every 15 minutes. The number of suicides in Guernsey County is high and makes the county one of the top twenty in the state.

 Because teens are more likely to talk to other teens than to adults, Weber decided to enlist the help of the students at her school. She began with a group of 3 students from Cambridge High School and established the Suicide Prevention Coalition for Youth. Today, there are 10 teens at Cambridge involved and groups have been established at other local schools.

 The students each have personal reasons for becoming involved and are willing to participate in training that will enable them to become advocates for troubled students. They are committed to taking the time to listen to other teens and to direct students to people who are trained to help young people considering suicide. 

Kallysta Johnson explained that she became involved because she lost her grandmother to suicide. She is looking forward to training and will be visiting English classes to speak about the problem of teen suicide. Jimmy Allen was inspired to extend the Suicide Prevention Coalition group to Mid East. He recruited 5 other students. He got involved because he knew several people who committed suicide and believes getting students involved and building awareness about the problem is an important first step to reduce the number of suicides in Guernsey County. 

Rebekah Calkins is one of the original 3 students who joined Suicide Prevention Coalition.  She wants to work to reduce some of the causes of suicide such as depression, bullying, and drug use. Aaron Ruby, also one of the original 3 members, is involved in pairing younger classmates with seniors. He joined because he believes that some of the causes of suicide such as bullying and depression are preventable especially if they are identified early.

 

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.

Byesville Rotarians learn how to improve lives through nutrition

Pictured: Tracey Vlahos, Nutrition Consultant, and Chuck Fair, Speaker Host.

Tracey Vlados, Nutrition consultant for Advanced Spinal Care and Rehabilitation, shared tips on living well and having the energy to do everything a person needs to do. She explained that people need to their bodies correctly. She shared several tips that she believes will increase a person’s energy, focus, and mental ability.

First, she recommended that each person get enough sleep—between 7-8 hours a night. Among the side effects caused by lack of sleep are increased cravings for sugar. Sugar cravings are caused by a reduction in a hormone that is synthesized by the body during sleep. Vlados suggested that a person can gradually increase the amount of sleep a they get by adding 10-15 minutes to their sleep schedule each night for one week. The next week, add a second 10-15 minutes. Individuals should keep adding minutes each week until they reach 7 hours a night.

Vlahos’ second tip is to stay hydrated. She suggested that people start their day with a glass of water before they drink their first coffee. Coffee dehydrates the body and helps create energy ups and downs during the day. She pointed out that drinking water helps even out the ups and downs. She said that warm water will be absorbed by the body faster than cold.

Her last tip was to avoid sugar and hydrogenated oils. She pointed out that not all calories are equal—calories from sugar are not as good for people as calories from protein and from good fats such as olive oil or avocados. She explained that calories from sugar help raise blood sugar and encourage the body to produce insulin. Vlados summed up by saying that a diet of good fats, good fiber, proteins, and grains will insure that a person has enough energy to meet the requirements of today’s lifestyles.

During the business meeting, club members voted to donate $200 to the Living Word and $100 to the Meadow Brook Marching Band toward the purchase of new uniforms. Club members were asked to support the Multi Service Club food drive taking place March 16, 10:00am-6:00pm, at Reisbecks and WalMart by volunteering for a work shift at one of the locations.

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343

Byesville Rotary learns Meadow Brook band members set and meet high standards

 Pictured: Meadow Brook band members—Samantha Roe, Darren McCaughn, Samantha Perkins, Alyssa Harding, and Band Director, Steve Box.

 

Steve Box, Meadow Brook High School band director, said that the Meadow Brook band has a tradition of excellence for over 30 years. The band members represent the community at local and school events as well as by participating in band shows and competitions. 

Excellence of the band is reflected in the number of trophies they have earned. The band has qualified for the Ohio State Marching Band finals for 26 years in a row and has performed at the finals 31 times out of the last 33 years. The band is able to compete consistently at this high level because of the support of the Band Booster and the community. 

Passion and commitment of the band members is the most important ingredient of the band’s success. Four of the current band members, Samantha Roe, Darren McCaughn, Samantha Perkins, Alyssa Harding, shared their experiences participating All shared their love of music and stated that the band had helped them grow in self confidence, their ability to deal with challenges successfully, and develop team working skills. Each liked being challenged to do their very best. Each liked being challenged to do their very best.

Currently, the challenge the band faces is to raise funds to pay for new band uniforms. The cost of replacing the old uniforms is $35,000. In April, a new fund raiser—a daily raffle-- will be launched. Daily winners will be offered the choice of a $100 gift card to Wal-Mart, Reisbecks, or ITunes. Mr. Box believes that they will be able to raise funds needed for the uniforms fairly quickly.

 

The club meets 7:30 am every Tuesday at the Stop Nine Senior Center at 60313 (GPS use 60299) Southgate Road, Byesville. Anyone interested in learning more about the Byesville Rotary can call Membership Chairs Marty Patchen, 740-685-3828, or Evelyn Spring, 740-439-4343.