I got busy.

I know that’s not a good excuse.

I moved across the country, started a new job, and covered a presidential election. If that weren’t stressful enough, Josh didn’t find a full-time job until September and my new doc informed me my hormones were all out of whack.

The last eight months haven’t been the smoothest, but I wouldn’t trade them for easier ones.

We feel at home in the Midwest and love Columbus. I’m settling fine into my new beat. The variety keeps me busy and interested and on my toes, which is really all you can ask for in a dream job. Josh found a great job that uses his skills as a photojournalist and a manager. He also benefited from the presidential election, shooting dozens of events for Corbis Images.

Now that the election is over, we’re looking forward to finishing decorating the house, making weekend plans and just taking things a bit slower.

Columbus Bureau

WILMINGTON — There was little surprise among residents here that the community was chosen to be the backdrop for a discussion about the U.S. economy with Republican presidential candidates on Saturday.

Wilmington, population 12,520, has been the poster child for the recession since DHL Express shipping company started closing its hub there in 2008, eliminating more than 8,000 jobs in the region.

CNN and 60 Minutes swooped in to tell heartbreaking stories from the front lines of the country’s developing recession. Comedian Jay Leno hosted a “comedy stimulus” show here. Celebrity chef Rachael Ray served Thanksgiving dinner at the food pantry and stocked its shelves for a year.

Wilmington also happens to be in Ohio, where the Republican contenders for president are locked in a dead heat days before the primary election.

Mike Huckabee, former Arkansas governor and Republican presidential candidate, hosted his third GOP presidential forum about jobs there Saturday.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich all took part in the forum, which aired on Fox News and on WHIO Radio. The forum was closed to the press.

News of the candidates’ brief stop in Wilmington buzzed around town and a few residents were chosen to participate in the forum and ask questions.

Before the forum, about 100 people showed up at Sams Meats on Saturday morning to hear Romney speak.

Many hadn’t heard Romney canceled the stop late Friday. So the crowd got to hear U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, stump in his place. Portman is getting some buzz as a possible vice presidential nominee.

The extra attention is good for the town, said Sherri Collett, co-owner of Sams Meats.

Collett said she liked U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas but wasn’t sure if she would vote for him Tuesday.

She said she doesn’t know how the president could specifically help southwest Ohio, but said keeping jobs in the U.S. would help everyone.

“Sometimes it’s not about getting the best deal — it’s about helping your neighbor,” Collett said.

That attitude has helped Wilmington. Business is good at the deli despite the economic issues because people either can’t afford to spend their money out of town or choose to spend it with people they know, Collett said.

In Wilmington, if you forget your wallet at home, someone might pick up the tab. Restaurants and shops advertise a benefit for a native son Marine wounded in Afghanistan.

“There’s good people here,” said Michael Lueck, an environmental, health and safety manager for ABX, who was at the Portman event. “If somebody wants to come in here and start a business, there’s a good work force.”

Lueck was in the minority who kept their jobs at the Wilmington Air Park. At one point, Lueck worked with 16 other environment and safety employees.

Lueck said President Obama has had three years to change unemployment and has had little success.

“To me, government gets in the way of recovery,” Lueck said.

Clinton County’s unemployment rate went from as low as 4.4 percent in December 2007 to 19.2 percent in January 2010, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Clinton County had the seventh highest unemployment rate in Ohio in December 2011, at 11.1 percent.

Wilmington residents say the actual rate is much higher, but people have exhausted their unemployment benefits or stopped looking for work.

Small business owner Janet Schultz said DHL’s departure wasn’t completely bad.

Schultz watched customers spend thousands of dollars on ornaments and collectibles at her Hallmark store before the recession. When the economy started to slip, sales went down and Schultz realized she didn’t like that most of the products were mass produced overseas.

She dropped Hallmark and found local vendors to produce products such as honey, handmade soaps and eclectic jewelry for her shop, now called Janet’s Our Store. Many of the shop’s vendors used to work for DHL or the layoffs trickled down to impact their businesses.

Community leaders are supporting local small businesses with a “shop local” campaign while trying to attract new companies to the airpark, said new Mayor Randy Riley. DHL donated the Wilmington Air Park and 1,500 acres to the Clinton County Port Authority in 2010.

The park was cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration as a test site for remote-controlled aircraft earlier this year. Riley is pushing for Wilmington to not only fly unmanned aerial vehicles but build and maintain them. More than 200 acres has been allocated for agricultural and industrial use, possibly as product test sites.

A company that builds professional ovens and kitchen equipment has added some jobs, and Riley hopes to bring industrial bakeries to town.

“Wouldn’t it be great if you drove down to Wilmington and when you got out of your car you could smell muffins?” Riley said. “We were the tip of the spear of the recession. It’d be great if we could be the tip of the phoenix coming back out of these ashes to really show the country how to grow and thrive and turn things around.”

Feb. 7 was my last day at the Casper Star-Tribune. I start my new job reporting Ohio government and state issues for the Dayton Daily News one week from Monday.

Casper sunrise, January 2012

I enjoyed my time in Casper. Like I do with everything, I tried to make the most of it. I met hardworking and passionate journalists and people — it was a great place to do journalism. I left with few regrets, many good memories and a stronger sense of myself and the work I can do.

The new job is a good move for me personally and professionally. Josh and our little dog are moving with me to Columbus and we’re looking forward to learning a new city, a much bigger city.

A favorite New Orleans dish: My uncle

Star-Tribune staff writer

Without approval from the Legislature, Wyoming Department of Education officials have diverted funds intended for specific groups of students and programs to a new teacher professional development program.

Top department officials will defend their 2013-14 budget a second time on Monday and were asked to present a budget and description of the “Teacher 2 Teacher” program initiated under Superintendent of Public Instruction Cindy Hill, who took office in January 2011.

The department has paid more than $218,000 from at least eight budgets to sustain the program, according to a Star-Tribune analysis of budget expenditures obtained from the department. Most has been spent from budgets directly related to instruction, but money was also spent from the budgets for court-ordered placement of students and juvenile detention and federal vocational education. In some instances, salaries were paid with state money while travel was paid for with federal money.

Sen. Phil Nicholas, R-Laramie, questioned the department’s creative budgeting during Joint Appropriations Committee hearings this month. The Teacher 2 Teacher program is mentioned in one sentence of the department’s 177-page request, under “School Improvement.” Nicholas said department officials were “sidestepping” the appropriations process and the $580,000 program should be listed as a separate budget request.

“The process is: If you want to start a new initiative, you create the initiative, you vet it, you provide for a budget, we vet it, joint education vets it, and it goes up or down in the process,” Nicholas said.

The department has also pulled funds from different budgets to support its “summer camp” workshops held in August in Casper and the Principal Leadership Academy, according to department expenditure reports. The department is using administrative funds that would otherwise not go to schools from these budgets for the Teacher 2 Teacher program, Christine Steele, deputy superintendent, told lawmakers Jan. 13.

“It is the purpose of administrative funds to support or promote or help districts and teachers in certain program areas,” Steele said. “How we do that is the focus which we approach the use of the funds.”

Teachers contracted

The department contracted with 15 teachers to administer workshops on a reading strategy geared to improving performance on the Proficiency Assessments for Wyoming Students, or PAWS, during fall 2011. Department Deputy Superintendent Sheryl Lain told the Star-Tribune in May the workshops were a response to lower-than-desired test scores in reading in 2010, scores the department discarded one month later.

Teachers were contracted for up to $17,000 worth of work and travel expenses. Most are currently employed by school districts, and the majority are from Cheyenne. The department contracted Cheyenne teacher Amy Enzi, daughter of Sen. Mike Enzi, for $67,000 to coordinate the workshops, which are held Friday evenings and Saturdays so teachers don’t miss school.

Teachers who attend both days of the workshop and complete follow-up work are eligible for continuing education or University of Wyoming credit and a $200 stipend. A minimum of five such credits is required when teachers renew their five-year teaching licenses.

School districts asked for this professional development, John Masters, attorney to the superintendent, told the Star-Tribune on Friday. Masters said officials have not formally gathered input about the workshops but heard of districts’ and teachers’ desire for them.

“We believe teachers teaching teachers is an effective way of delivering professional development and is a mechanism we’ll probably try to use for a variety of professional development areas,” Masters said.

Hill said told lawmakers and the Star-Tribune that 2,500 Wyoming teachers have been trained through the program, which would be more than one-third of all licensed teachers. But only 703 teachers have completed the trainings and obtained continuing education credits for the workshops, according to records obtained from the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Professional Teaching Standards Board.

Skeptics, believers

Educators have questioned whether the state department should be providing direct instruction to teachers. Joel Dvorak, superintendent of Natrona County School District, said the department at the state level should be working on district-level improvement and school leaders should be working on improving classroom instruction.

“If you jump over two systems at the state level to work on the classroom system, you’re just not going to get much bang for your buck,” Dvorak said. “They’re making an assumption the [principals] don’t know how to direct training for their classrooms.”

The latest round of workshops are targeted for special education teachers. A federal special education grant is funding the workshops, yet the state Special Education Department was not involved beyond initial planning, said Peg Brown-Clark, director of special programs for the Education Department.

Brown-Clark said her staff members gave suggestions to the core group of teachers on how to make the fall workshops applicable for special education teachers, but their suggestions didn’t happen. The department is collecting participant feedback, which Brown-Clark said her staff members will use for future planning.

Terri Alleman, a Natrona County special education teacher, said the workshops have been helpful. Alleman was hired by the department to sit in the workshops with the teachers and lead small group discussions for $200 a session. Alleman said the workshop leaders hired by the department discuss best practices in teaching reading and writing, and small groups then discuss how to adapt the skills for special education students.

Alleman said workshop leaders told participants the practices taught will improve test scores so the Legislature won’t cut education funding.

“[The workshop leaders] are not saying, ‘We’re better than you,’” Alleman said. “They’re saying, ‘This is what’s coming down and we want to join with you because you’re in the trenches.’ We don’t usually hear from the state unless something bad is going on. This is positive.”

Thanksgiving at home didn’t happen this year. Plane tickets were expensive, my sister’s schedule didn’t align with mine and Josh’s dad, stepmom and stepsisters decided to drive to Wyoming for the weekend. I hosted my first Thanksgiving and proved once again I am my mother’s daughter.

Perfect turkey. (Nov. 24)

We served way too many appetizers, including $40 worth of cheese, and enjoyed leftovers for a whole week afterward. We drank wine and played games and watched movies. We were too full for dessert (pumpkin-apple and French silk pies, a la mode) but ate it anyway.

A few weeks before Christmas, I found out family from Virginia that I hadn’t seen in years were driving home. I scrambled to find a plane ticket: $650-800 to fly out of Casper. Flights from Denver were a little cheaper, but I couldn’t afford booking a $350 ticket in the case I-25 closed and I never made my flight. And I didn’t have $800 for a guaranteed flight.

So Christmas at home didn’t happen, again. We ended up driving to New Mexico for a long weekend with Josh’s family. Of course, Nola came with and she behaved so well during the 10ish hour car ride.

Outtake from the Christmas card photo shoot. (Dec. 12)

And when I called my mom’s house where everyone was gathering on Christmas day, no one answered the phone. I called three cell phones before my brother answered, roaring laughter in the background.

They were doing the white elephant gifts, he explained. Apparently, in the Christmases I missed, my family started a new tradition. At that moment, I made a vow to go home next year, no matter what, even if it is only for two days.

Although I’ve done a good job of finding family around the holidays to celebrate with, nothing beats going home.

Nola loves digging in blankets. (Oct. 31)

Two weeks ago, this little one entered my life. It’s hard to imagine life without her.

We named her Nola after New Orleans, something we always agree on. The name seems to suit her well. She’s sweet, loyal and, as demonstrated by more than a few spills, extremely resilient.

She’s part maltese, part poodle — 100 percent love.

We have a lot in common. We both love peanut butter, Motown and falling asleep on the couch to the evening news.

Nola. (Nov. 2, by Joshua A. Bickel)

We searched Wyoming shelters for small dogs all summer. We fell in love with a dachshund, but someone else adopted her before we could. We found dogs in Colorado shelters, but they didn’t adopt out of state.

My mom’s trusted breeder in Illinois happened to have four puppies available when I visited home in September. When I held Nola, she got scared by a sound from another puppy and burrowed her head into my chest with a wimper. I was sold.

My mom drove her as far as South Dakota, and I drove more than 600 miles each way to pick her up. On the ride back, I let her sit in the passenger seat. She climbed into my lap and stayed there until I had to get gas in Rapid City. She felt safe with me. And I didn’t feel so alone driving in the dark.

She’s taught me a few things in the short time she’s been here.

- Patience is something I work on every day. The dog has taken it to new levels. Nola turns into super-hyper puppy for about an hour every morning, and I feel like I’m at mile No. 10 of a half marathon with Josh.

- Confidence is built on a series of experiences. We’re working on her confidence to squat and do her business outside despite barking pitbulls, strong winds and strangers passing by on the sidewalk.

- Sometimes, we need a little help — even when we know we’ll succeed. Nola can get off the couch, but often she will sit on the end and whine for someone to pick her up and put her on the floor.

And the answer is different for each race. And it often changes from the time I sign up for the race to when I cross the finish line.

I trained for my first, a 10K in New Orleans, as a healthy distraction from my master’s project. I ran my first half marathon to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I ended up testing my relationship in the process, as my running partner (and boyfriend) and I had different race mentalities.

After that, I kept running, mostly for the mental escape and runner’s high and pushed myself in the Denver half marathon. I shaved 21 minutes off my Seattle time and gained an appreciation for the strength I’ve built in the past two years. I celebrated that strength with girlfriends on a trail run in Napa.

This year’s Denver race tested that appreciation and, after 10 miles, my patience.

I signed up in May for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Denver marathon — the full 26.2 mile race. I was in decent shape and had a whole summer ahead of me to train. Training went well, very well, actually, until the second week of July. I ran a 5K, my first race in 10 months, and injured myself by starting out the gate too fast.

I hobbled through runs for a few weeks, trying to self diagnose because my health insurance doesn’t cover sports injuries. I realized I would lose too much training time to prepare for the full. Over a few weeks, the point of injury shifted and I realized it was my IT band. I started a daily routine of stretching, foam rolling and doing awkward strengthening exercises such as the clamshell.

I stopped running and lusting after running and enjoyed the things I could do — hiking, biking, walking.

And one day, I could run. I was determined to run the half. I fit in a few runs including a 10 miler. I was in no shape for a personal record, but I knew I could battle through it. My boyfriend, less prepared than me, agreed to run with me.

A scene from Seattle replayed in my head: 12 mile marker. He wanted to walk. I’m yelling, “We’re almost there!” He starts walking. I threaten to run ahead. I do. I stop, walk backwards to meet him. He says, “My legs hurt. I think I broke my knee.” I say things I can’t repeat here. This continues for the longest 12 minutes of my life.

Going into the half marathon, I was more nervous about running with a partner than I was about my muscles falling apart. I have done and do a lot on my own. I also enjoy working on group projects, but I get frustrated with them when what I think to be the most obvious, right idea is ignored.

And this is why I struggle to run with others. For me, running has been such a personal, individual effort where I control when to sprint, how far to run and when to finish. I may not be fast, but my excellent internal clock makes me a terrific pacer. My body knows it can run at a harder pace when I’m only running 3 miles vs. 6 and I sustain that pace over time.

Josh doesn’t run this way. He runs hard, slows down and then, just when I think he’s completely exhausted, has an incredible burst of energy that propels him ahead of me and across the finish line.

Knowing this I set a different set of goals for Denver: Run the whole way with Josh, pace him to a PR and finish injury-free.

Coors Field, Rock 'n' Roll Denver (Oct. 9, 2011)

My hips started hurting after only 6 miles. Josh wanted to stop after 10, but stopping made my calves hurt. I channeled my frustration into obnoxious optimism. “We can do it! Only 3 miles to go! Your legs aren’t broken! Let’s run to that corner and then walk!”

The Seattle race gave me the longest 12 minutes of my life — Denver gave me the longest 3 miles of my life.

Like all races, it eventually ended. Crossing the finish line, I realized we accomplished all three goals. It felt better than a PR.

Rock 'n' Roll Denver (Oct. 9, 2011)

And there’s always more races to run for those PRs.

By JACKIE BORCHARDT - Star-Tribune staff writer

They tried donuts, sandwiches, everything they could think of to entice doctors to share suicide prevention techniques and raise awareness.

But the doctors didn’t come, even though the sessions were in their own offices, so the Natrona County Suicide Prevention Coalition gave up.

“We were trying everything to get in there,” said Jean Davies, executive director of the Wyoming Meth Project and a coalition member. “Nobody was rude, but the only people who ended up coming weren’t the people we were trying to reach.”

In the five years since, the coalition has funneled suicide prevention efforts into schools, where participants had little choice to attend. In health classes and school assemblies, coalition members have a captive audience that wants to learn.

Davies said coalition members would like to reach out to doctors again.

They’re not alone.

Other states and communities are reaching out to the medical community, hoping to make suicide a public health problem akin to smoking or not wearing seat belts.

Big effort, little results

Most states answered U.S. Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher’s call to action in 1999. Armed with strategic plans and varying sums of money to combat suicides, volunteer groups set out to attack what Satcher called “a serious public health program.”

But a decade later, suicide rates nationwide haven’t dropped. The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate things are worse — the rate increased from 10.46 suicides per 100,000 people in 1999 to 11.26 in 2007, the last year for which figures were available.

Suicide has been addressed in small pockets and with various programs, but big change requires a change to the system, said Dr. Lloyd Sederer, medical director of the New York State Office of Mental Health.

“This is not to try to disparage any of the efforts that have gone on but to say there are other ways we should be thinking,” Sederer said.

His office and the New York State Health Department plan to incorporate suicide prevention into physician licensing requirements and insurance incentives.

People on medical plans and who seek medical care are “boundaried populations,” meaning they can be individually identified, targeted and tracked.

The idea comes from several successful efforts, the most widely known being the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit.

The Michigan HMO created the Perfect Depression Care Initiative. The suicide prevention program focuses on patients two ways: assessing signs of depression and suicidal behavior and building a comprehensive follow-up system in which physicians check on patients in person, over the phone and via email.

In the first four years of the program, the number of suicides per 100,000 patients dropped 75 percent. The program celebrated 10 consecutive quarters last year without a suicide, defying statistics and inspiring others to follow suit.

Small program support

The New York plan for a system-wide approach won’t end smaller efforts, Sederer said.

The state Office of Mental Health formed a strong network between county and community offices and research at the University of Rochester and Columbia University.

After the 1999 “call to action,” advocates lobbied the state Legislature to mandate suicide prevention efforts.

“[Legislative action] gives credence to how serious suicide is,” said Melanie Puorto, director of suicide prevention initiatives for New York state. “Otherwise, the grassroots efforts and small community groups have a hard going to make a big difference.”

The smaller groups and programs encourage moving suicide out of the realm of mental health to a place where people feel safe to talk about it.

“People are afraid to seek help because they feel people are judging them, not listening to them,” Puorto said. “You break down stigma one person at a time.”

Nebraska lowered its suicide rate through targeted efforts and partnerships with existing agencies.

The youth rate decreased and Nebraska ranked No. 41 in the nation for high suicide rate in 2007 — an improvement from No. 33 in 2006.

In 2003, the Nebraska Suicide Prevention Coalition developed its own prevention curriculum and specific training for clergy, law enforcement, schools and doctors. Training sessions were free.

“We wanted it to be like CPR but with suicide prevention,” said Dave Miers, licensed professional counselor and commission co-chair. “Everybody in the state should be trained.”

Local coalitions formed and telecommunication makes communication possible across the large state. The farm state also utilizes an existing Nebraska Rural Response Hotline, a toll-free number available to rural families in crisis.

Hospitals hand out fliers about firearm safety and how to properly dispose of medications — two major methods of suicide.

“We know that individuals who have any type of health condition are at a higher risk of suicide,” Miers said. “They may not be suicidal but are at a higher risk. Any information hospitals can have, the better.”

Enacting change

Grassroots efforts help, but governments have the responsibility of getting practices to change, Sederer said.

He said program-based initiatives risk losing funding with the election of a new official or a shift in priorities.

“We’re trying to get around that by saying there are basic standards that supersede all of this and they need to be encoded in the care system,” Sederer said.

For example, a doctor who didn’t take your blood pressure or told you that you don’t need a mammogram or colonoscopy would be considered giving lousy care.

“The same applies to mental health [conditions], which are more common than diabetes,” Sederer said.

In order for an agency to enact change, Sederer said it must have the following:

• leadership;
• a culture of innovation;
• a capacity to measure certain processes of care;
• and the ability to influence practice.

Exercising power over purse strings to reward or punish helps, too.

“Governments have responsibility in terms of getting practices to change, supporting good practice and demanding that practices that are not up to snuff do better,” Sederer said.

“Or there will be impacts on their financing.”

Man, I thought, I would if I were closer.

Obstacle races haven’t reached Wyoming yet. Honestly, running races are scant and when I look for races, I always end up looking in Colorado.

A few days passed and I realized I had more vacation days left than I though, days that had to be used before the end of this fiscal year. I was already taking two days for a wedding in Missouri, but the four-day series running this week made it easy to take the rest of the week off.

And it wasn’t too late to sign up for the Warrior Dash.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t corral our siblings and friends to join us, so we battled the cold, rainy (and challenging) course on our own. The 5K course involved climbing a lot of 12-foot walls and hanging and dropping down on the other side — two things Jenni have never done and rarely do.

But we did it at our own pace and had fun, finished in about 43 minutes. The race was very well organized and I would definitely do another.

Before

So clean. (Sept. 18, 2011)

After

Post-mud pit glory (Sept. 18, 2011)

Oh, yeah.

When we finished (wading through a mud pit under barbed wire), the announcer saw our shirts and said, “We need some Kool Aid over here!” And spectators chanted, “Oh, yeah, oh, yeah, oh, yeah.”

It was a good time. Getting hosed down by firemen was not.

Even better: Changing into dry clothes before retrieving our free beer.

By JACKIE BORCHARDT - Star-Tribune staff writer

Classroom door shut, lights dimmed, a Powerpoint presentation lit one wall.

“Suicide is a tough subject, but it’s everyone’s business.”

Ray Pacheco, a program coordinator with Mercer House, standing to the left of the presentation, spoke somberly.

“There’s a problem and there’s an epidemic in our society, and that’s why we’re here,” Pacheco said.

Pacheco grew up in Casper. While attending Natrona County High School, he lost two friends to suicide.

Now, as a counselor working with teens on Natrona County’s Youth Empowerment Council, Pacheco trains others to lead suicide prevention presentations in schools.

School principals invite the Suicide Prevention Advisory Team (SPAT) to talk to middle and high school students, usually in small groups.

The 45-minute presentations deliver striking facts and preach a message of empowerment — just because you’re kids doesn’t mean you can’t help. Most are delivered by high school students who have experienced suicide in some way.

“It’s not just a program for a lot of kids — it’s their way of truly giving back and wanting to help,” Pacheco said.

Students connect with other students better than adults, Pacheco said.

The student presenters must first undergo a psychiatric evaluation and are limited to two consecutive presentations. Any more might reopen wounds that are only lightly scabbed over.

***

A skinny black plastic band is one of many colored bracelets piled on Emily Talouse’s wrists.

The band reads “Suicide is everyone’s business” in white text.

Tolouse moved to Casper at the beginning of her freshman year. She fell into “the wrong” group of friends and dealt with depression, cries for help and suicide attempts.

At one point, she and friends called the police to report a friend who had written a suicide note and locked herself in her room. Tolouse watched her friend’s parents turn away the police officers at the door. They didn’t want help.

Parents need to know these things, Talouse said. She wasn’t prepared for that first situation — it was “mind-blowing, eye-opening.”

Parents of young people especially need to be vigilant, agreed Charlie Powell, a licensed psychologist at the Central Wyoming Counseling Center and one of the founders of Natrona County’s Suicide Prevention Task Force.

“As parents, what scares us is we know how rapidly their state of mind can change. To continually preach the message that this too will pass is what we have to do,” said Powell, a father of two. “They might have a negative experience with one Facebook photo and their world just crumbles. We have to help our kids build resistance to that.”

“Parents need to open up a little, but the entire community needs to be aware of it and know the signs,” Talouse said.

Talouse knows now that saving a life is more important than guarding a friend’s secret. She doesn’t take chances when it comes to depression and suicide — it’s not a game.

Talouse redesigned the SPAT presentation this spring, made it clearer and easier to understand.

“Facts will get my attention; a personal story will make me bawl my eyes out,” Talouse said.

The facts weren’t new to most of the eighth-graders watching Pacheco’s presentation at Dean Morgan Junior High School in March. Several had heard similar presentations before.

“Who has a gun in their household?” Pacheco asked.

All but a few in the 21-student class raised their hands.

“How many of you know where the ammunition is?”

Six hands remained raised.

Most suicides — 67 percent — are by firearm, Pachecho told the class. Females attempt more, at a ratio of 3-to-1.

“How many of you have been directly affected by suicide — friend or family member killed themselves?”

About five students slowly raised their hands.

Pacheco asked if anyone wanted to share their experience.

“My brother attempted last year, and we didn’t know why,” one boy said.

Another student said he’s tired of talking about it.

“Why?”

“It’s hard.”

***

Health officials turned to videos, posters, websites — anything — to tell students it’s OK to break promises to suicidal friends and tell an adult help is needed.

Many programs have dropped the public service announcements and invested in programs that connect students with each other and trusted adults.

Several Wyoming high schools adopted Sources of Strength, a national program founded in 1998 in rural and tribal areas of North Dakota.

The program teaches students to spot warning signs for suicide and depression and seek one or more sources of strength: supportive family members, positive friends, mentors, healthy activities, generosity, spirituality, medical access or mental health.

The message: You’re not alone.

Tongue River High School, which lost a student and a former student to suicide in the past three years, started the program in 2010-11.

“We’re trying to establish relationships with kids,” said Pete Kilbride, counselor at Tongue River High School. “We know that’s the single greatest factor for a kid being successful in school.”

The secret to preventing suicide — and it shouldn’t be a secret — is developing a competent community where everyone cares about each other’s welfare and knows how to give help when it’s needed, said Maureen Underwood, a licensed social worker and director of the Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide.

Everyone takes responsibility for the well-being of everyone else — recognizes warning signs, offers or suggests help, talks about suicide in a supportive manner.

“If your friend broke his leg and the bone was sticking out, would you try to fix it yourself?” Underwood said. “Why would you try to deal with someone who is suicidal? It’s the same difference.”

Suicide prevention is not required by Wyoming content standards for health instruction. Mental health and suicide are included only in the context of the negative effects of bullying and only at the eighth-grade level. Some school and district anti-bullying programs describe suicide as a dangerous consequence.

A handful of states require teachers to receive suicide prevention instruction. Wyoming does not.

Many health teachers choose to talk about suicide in class, Pacheco said. His group only visits Natrona County schools where teachers and principals have invited them.

The high numbers of suicide attempts warrant more attention, Pacheco said.

“There’s something definitely wrong,” Pacheco said. “We can’t sit on our hands. We’ve got to do something.”