Portland Press Herald (ME)
June 27, 2000
Edition: CITY
Section: SPORTS
Page: 2D
Topics:
Index Terms:
ROAD RACING
ROAD RACING – GLEN GILCHRIST MEMORIAL 5K
Author: Farmington
Article Text:
1. Erik McCarthy, 17:33.7; 2. Jeff Howley, 18:27.5; 3. Ian Hubbard, 18:43.7; 4. Matt Mellen, 19:07.1; 5. Eddy Gilchrist, 19:47.7; 6. Todd Richards, 19:57.8; 7. Seth Hubbard, 20:13.9; 8. Marc Glass, 20:16.8; 9. Wyatt Dumas, 20:28.8; 10. Erik Seastead, 20:30.3; 11. Dick Hoisington, 20:41.1; 12. Brian Kelly, 20:54.9; 13. Rich Smith, 20:57.0; 14. Matt Dunlap, 21:05.4; 15. Julianna Lagin Nasse, 21:09.2; 16. Raul Siren, 21:10.7; 17. Steve McCarthy, 22:06.7; 18. Sean Conley, 22:23.9;
19. Jobie Cole, 22:41.7; 20. Ben Milster, 22:43.1; 21. Bob Bachorik, 23:13.8; 22. Luke Ferreira, 23:30.5; 23. Robert Hetzer, 23:32.8; 24. Beth Allen, 23:36.1; 25. Vincent Devore, 24:23.9; 26. Doug Allen, 24:49.7; 27. Paul Fellman, 25:00.0; 28. Tessa Mann, 25:32.3; 29. Katie Wells, 25:32.5; 30. Dan Deshaies, 30:49.1; 31. Specs Eaton, 30:49.4 32. Mary Flint, 34:13.0; 33. Candy Bachorik, 35:55.3; 34. Olivia Roberts, 40:28.2; 35. Jessica Ellingwood, 40:32.4; 36. Deborah Roberts, 41:41.7.
Copyright (c) 2000 Portland Press Herald
Record Number: 0006270014
Portland Press Herald (ME)
September 8, 2001
Edition: Final
Section: Local & State
Page: 1B
Topics:
Index Terms:
Suicide
MOTHER TESTIFIES ABOUT TEEN-AGE SON’S SUICIDE
The Farmington woman addresses a U.S. Senate panel on Friday.
Author: BART JANSEN Staff Writer, Library assistant Susan Butler contributed research to this article.
Dateline: WASHINGTON
Article Text:
Grace Eaton had trouble uttering her son’s name Friday. Facing six television cameras at a U.S. Senate hearing, Eaton arrived in Washington from Farmington to testify before a congressional committee about how Glen Philip Gilchrist – an honor student and top athlete – committed suicide.
But she said the 17-year-old senior, who killed himself in 1997, was also impulsive and hard on himself.
“We were involved,” Eaton said. “The guilt, blame and shame come down on us; we go, `How did we miss this?’ ”
Eaton, a teacher who has become an author and public speaker trying to prevent suicide, lent her expertise to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions subcommittee on children and families.
Her son’s suicide was the third in four years by students at Mt. Blue High School, but there have been none since, she said.
Maine children kill themselves more often than their peers nationwide.
In Maine, 6.1 per 100,000 children aged 10 to 19 committed suicide in each of the last three years, compared to a national average of 5.3 per 100,000, according to a study from the Maine Children’s Alliance.
Nationwide, about 5,000 of the 31,000 suicides each year involve youths 10 to 24 years old. Maine has about 167 suicides a year, with about one in four among teens and young adults.
Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among teens nationwide, behind accidental injuries and homicides. In Maine, it’s second behind accidents. And more teen-agers die from suicide than the next seven causes combined: cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia and influenza, and chronic lung disease.
“This is a serious health problem,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who helped organize the hearing that officials said was the first Senate hearing devoted to teen suicides. “The suffering of the suicidal is private and inexpressible, leaving family members, friends and colleagues to deal with an almost unfathomable kind of loss, as well as grief.”
U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said keys to combating the problem involve talking more about suicide, not less. His recommendations involve increasing awareness through education, intervening to prevent suicide and researching the risks.
“The scars from suicide run deep and wide,” he said.
David Jobes, an associate professor of psychology at Catholic University of America, helped distribute educational literature to the Seattle area after the 1995 suicide of musician Kurt Cobain, in an effort to prevent copycats.
Rather than spurring more suicides, the effort prompted numerous calls to crisis hot lines and no increase in suicides, he said.
Maine was among states where the federal government looked for models on how to deal with suicide, Satcher said. Federal officials set up an informational Web site at www.mentalhealth.org/suicideprevention in order to increase education and demystify suicide, which is largely blamed on mental illness.
The Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program, an initiative of Gov. Angus King and agency aides, seeks to increase awareness of suicide prevention and improve access to services.
The program includes a Web page, a phone hot line, educational brochures and training for adults and youths.
After her son’s death, Eaton helped write a book called “The Hope Book – An Educator’s Guide to Suicide Prevention.” Tips include looking for warning signs, such as the child’s consuming alcohol or drugs, dropping out of activities, discarding belongings or talking about not being around any more.
Looking for clues might not be enough, however, Eaton warned.
Eaton, a special education teacher earning a master’s degree in guidance counseling, and her husband, a high-school administrator, didn’t know their son was considering suicide.
At one point, she asked him directly and he denied it, saying he had too much to live for.
Five months later, he was dead. In contrast to Satcher arguing that suicide is preventable, Eaton said the signs are sometimes illegible.
“If I could have prevented it in any way, I would have,” she said. “But I think the things we don’t know, we just don’t know.”
Staff Writer Bart Jansen can be contacted at 202-488-1119 or at:
bjansen@pressherald.com
Caption:
“The guilt, blame and shame come down on us; we go, ‘How did we miss this?’ ” Grace Eaton
File photo
Glen Gilchrist, a senior at Mt. Blue High School, committed suicide in 1997 after telling his parents he had so much to live for.
Copyright (c) 2001 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
Record Number: 6186621001