Up & Coming Weekly

January 31, 2017

Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.

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4 UCW FEBRUARY 1-7, 2017 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM PUBLISHER'S PEN STAFF PUBLISHER Bill Bowman Bill@upandcomingweekly.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER/EDITOR Stephanie Crider editor@upandcomingweekly.com SENIOR REPORTER Jeff Thompson news@upandcomingweekly.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Elizabeth Long art@upandcomingweekly.com CONTRIBUTING WRITERS D.G. Martin, Pitt Dickey, Margaret Dickson, John Hood, Erinn Crider, Jim Jones, Shanessa Fenner, Heather Griffiths BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Keri Dickson keri@upandcomingweekly.com SALES ADMINISTRATOR/ DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Laurel Handforth laurel@upandcomingweekly.com ACCOUNTING Paulette Naylor accounting@upandcomingweekly.com MARKETING/SALES Linda McAlister Brown linda@upandcomingweekly.com ––––––––––– Up & Coming Weekly www.upandcomingweekly.com 208 Rowan Street P.O. Box 53461 Fayetteville, NC 28305 PHONE: (910) 484-6200 FAX: (910) 484-9218 Up & Coming Weekly is a "Quality of Life" publication with local features, news and infor- mation on what's happening in and around the Fayetteville/Cumberland County community. Up & Coming Weekly is published weekly on Wednesdays. Up & Coming Weekly welcomes manuscripts, photographs and artwork for pub- lication consideration, but assumes no respon- sibility for them. We cannot accept responsibility for the return of unsolicited manuscripts or material. Opinions expressed by contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. The publisher reserves the right to edit or reject copy submitted for publication. Up & Coming Weekly is free of charge and distrib- uted at indoor and outdoor locations throughout Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base, Hope Mills and Spring Lake. Readers are limited to one copy per person. ©2007 by F&B Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of editorial or advertisements without permission is strictly prohibited. Fayetteville's Weather Forecast February 2 Partly Cloudy February 3 Showers February 4 Mostly Sunny February 5 Light Rain February 6 Mostly Sunny February 7 Showers THURSDAY FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY MONDAY TUESDAY HIGH 60 HIGH 50 HIGH 49 HIGH 54 HIGH 59 HIGH 55 LOW 37 LOW 30 LOW 32 LOW 37 LOW 34 LOW 40 As your community paper, it is an honor to share the many good things in the community and to also speak frankly about the seri- ous issues our community faces. In the coming weeks, we will be sharing news about exciting changes coming to Up & Coming Weekly. This week, though, Dr. Shanessa Fenner weighs in on an important topic: suicide pre- vention. It's a serious issue, one that our publisher, Bill Bowman, considers worthy of this space. Stephanie Crider, Associate Publisher The struggle is real. I remember it like it was yesterday. My phone rang and a good friend was on the other end. She told me she wanted to kill herself. I immediately began talking to her and praying at the same time. It was scary but the right words came out of my mouth at the right time. I am so glad I answered the phone. Nearly 43,000 Americans die by suicide every year. Feb. 5 – 11 is Cumberland County Schools' Suicide Prevention Week. "We want to raise awareness to a topic that is considered taboo and a lot of people do not like to talk about it, but the irony of that is the easiest way to save someone's life is to ask and show that you care," said Dr. Natasha Scott, executive director of student services for Cumberland County Schools. "It is okay to ask someone who is thinking about killing themselves if they are okay. And if you are thinking about suicide yourself, it is okay to ask for help." Scott added this is one of the best interventions for helping some- one who may be suicidal. "Feb. 8 has been designated as Suicide Awareness Day and we are asking everyone to wear the colors purple and turquoise," said Scott. "Those are the national colors for suicide prevention, so we are asking people to wear these colors and take a selfie holding a sign saying, 'It is okay to ask for help.'" Scott added that they are going to use all of the pho- tos to create a photo gallery. This is another way to share valu- able information on CCS's webpage in a neat way and continue to pro- mote the theme. Business leaders, community leaders, educators, parents and students are asked to participate in this initiative. Cumberland County's district office has planned training for all of the principals and central service staff on how to recognize the signs of suicide and to know when and how to get help. Some of the signs that may indicate a person is con- sidering suicide include giving away important possessions, doing poorly in school, not wanting to do things they used to love to do, having an unusual interest in death or vio- lence, a change in friendships, being bullied, mood swings or a change in personality, a change in eating and sleeping habits and a struggle with gender identity. "There is a myth that if you talk about suicide it will put the idea in someone's head and that someone who was not thinking about suicide may become suicidal because you asked," said Scott. "This is a myth and always pay attention to the people that are around you because you never know what is going on with them and it is okay to ask." For more infor- mation call 678-2433. If you know someone or if you are contemplat- ing suicide please call 1 (800) 273-8255. Suicide Prevention Week at Cumberland County Schools by DR. SHANESSA FENNER DR. SHANESSA FENNER, Principal WT Brown Elementary School. Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomingweekly.com. 910.484.6200.

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