Ontonagon, MI: No Bullying Found in Ontonagon Girl's Death

Tue 4/20/10 6:38PM

A young girl's death is not a result of any actions or inactions of any person or entity.
That's the latest word from the Ontonagon County Prosecutor's office.
It comes after what they say was a thorough review of the possible suicide bullying case of 12-year-old Kimberly Linczeski of Ontonagon.
Prosecuting Attorney James Jessup has determined her death to be unexpected and tragic but not a result of any actions or inactions of any person or entity.
He says in a statement,

"There is no blame to be placed upon anyone for this tragic death. ...Unfortunately, stresses and factors we can only guess at can cause unanticipated results.
...It is my hope and prayer that our community can support Kimberly's family in their time of sorrow. And that as a community we can try to find ways to recognize children who may be at risk and help them to seek appropriate solutions to their problems."

Kimberly died on March 6th from injuries she received 3 days earlier.

Woburn, MA: Father says Odgren long spoke of suicide

By Milton J. Valencia, Globe Staff  |  April 21, 2010

WOBURN — John Odgren was anxious, frustrated with the teasing and the harassment. He had thoughts of getting a “golden gun’’ and shooting one of his bullies, and he told his parents that he wanted to kill himself.

He was just 9 years old.

That was the testimony yesterday of his father, Paul, who took the stand to describe his son’s long history of emotional problems and mental disorders.

John bounced from school to school, Paul Odgren testified, and had several psychologists. And he told each one the same story of teasing, of wanting to commit suicide, of being afraid of others and doing anything to stop the harassment.

But he always told counselors, “I could not kill anyone,’’ the elder Odgren told jurors yesterday.

The father’s testimony, during Odgren’s murder trial in Middlesex Superior Court, is central to an insanity defense being presented by his law yers, a seldom-used and rarely successful strategy that they say is appropriate in this case.

John Odgren could face life in prison for the Jan. 19, 2007, stabbing of James Alenson, a 15-year-old freshman whom Odgren had not met, in a boys bathroom at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. If he is found not guilty by reason of insanity, he would be ordered held indefinitely at a state psychiatric hospital until a judge determines that he is no longer a danger to the public.

Odgren’s lawyers argue that he suffers from mental disorders that bred an obsession with weapons and violent stories, to the point that he lost touch with reality. Prosecutors say he was well aware of his actions.

After a week of prosecution testimony that laid out the gruesome details of the attack, Paul Odgren began yesterday to portray the troubled child he remembers from earlier years, the anxious toddler who seemed to live as a loner, the grade-schooler who spoke out in class and often came home crying.

“He told us he really wanted friends, but no one called,’’ his father testified yesterday, showing little emotion but speaking matter-of-factly. “He was far behind and isolated.’’

Odgren’s parents first sought help from counselors after he completed the third grade at the Thomas Prince School in Princeton, where he grew up. In a span of a few months, he had put himself in danger by swimming into a lake to get away from other people, started drinking liquids such as bleach, and told his parents that he wanted to kill himself when he got older, Paul Odgren testified.

The childhood portrait that emerged of John Odgren was complex. He was described as a smart boy; before he could read, he could identify all 50 states by their shapes and name them. But by then he had already shown signs of mental problems, his father said. He was anxious; he would not socialize with others.

And he had organizational problems; he would put his clothes on backwards, Paul Odgren said.

Psychologists diagnosed major depression in the boy, a pronouncement that was particularly worrisome to his parents because of a history of depression in his mother’s family.

When asked by a psychologist to name three wishes, the boy said he wanted to win a million dollars, to have a lifetime supply of junk food, and “for the girls at school to treat me like a person, not like a pitiful mistake,’’ his father said.

Odgren was prescribed the drug Ritalin, to control his attention deficit disorder. But his problems did not stop. Eventually, he was diagnosed with other disorders, including Asperger’s disorder, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, according to his father’s testimony. He would continue to blurt things out in class.

His lack of control did not help him make friends, and he was bullied, according to his father. He spoke of a hate club of people who did not like him. He was fixated on bullies and refused to enter a school dance because one bully was near the entrance.

His first show of violence came in the fourth grade when he was being teased by a student while standing in line. He “turned around and stabbed him in the chest with a pencil,’’ his father said.

“He didn’t injure the boy, but said, ‘I just snapped,’ ’’ his father said.

Odgren’s lawyers have pointed to his mental disorder, particularly Asperger’s disorder, a form of autism, in trying to show that he would fixate on things. In the months before the killing, his fixation was the violence he saw in video games and read about in books, his father said. But even before then, he found his own obsessions, his father testified.

As a youngster, he obsessed about volcanoes and other natural disasters, to the point he feared every thunderstorm would turn into a tornado. In grade school, he feared bullies and started to keep a bat and toy gun by his bed, to feel safe. Eventually, he started to talk about knives and guns, something his father said he tried to discourage, but could not control.

Odgren was forced to leave Thomas Prince School in the seventh grade, after he locked himself in a bathroom for more than an hour out of fear of other students. School officials had to remove the door hinges to get in.

He was transferred to the Caldwell Alternative School in Fitchburg through a partnership with Princeton schools, but the bullying continued. “You told me it was going to get better, but it’s not better; it’s worse,’’ he told his parents.

“He would come home from school, curl up on the floor, and cry,’’ his father said. “We asked the school district to find another place for him; he was deteriorating so fast.’’

Odgren was eventually brought to independent schools. He improved at Pathways Academy, a special needs program run by McLean Hospital.

At the beginning of high school, he attended The Learning Clinic in Connecticut and started to thrive, his father said. He did so well that staff officials told his parents he was ready for a program with more of a mainstream school setting.

Odgren was then referred to the Great Opportunities Program at Lincoln-Sudbury, which is for special needs students ready for an open school environment.

But his father said he soon started to show his old tendencies: he started acting out in classes, speaking out of turn. He brought a penknife to school, then a toy gun.

And his fascination with Stephen King thriller novels became obsessive. He was disciplined for tagging graffiti of the Crimson King, one of Stephen King’s most infamous villains, on bathroom walls and desks. He was also fixated on the number 19, a significant symbol in King’s “The Dark Tower’’ series.

That was also the date, Jan. 19, 2007, he entered a high school bathroom and stabbed an unsuspecting Alenson to death. 

Gloucester, MA: DA: No evidence of bullying in teen's death

By Patrick AndersonStaff Writer

Investigators say evidence does not indicate that bullying played a role in the death of 13-year-old Michael Grzybinski of Gloucester, the O'Maley Middle School student struck by an MBTA train near Babson Reservoir Monday night.

"At this stage of the intensive ongoing investigation, the evidence does not reflect that bullying or any other unlawful behavior by anyone else was the cause of this young boy's death," Steve O'Connell, a spokesman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, said this afternoon.

A cause of death for Grzybinski, a Harrison Avenue resident, has still not been determined as authorities await the findings of the state medical examiner and a Gloucester police investigation.

On Tuesday, police said they did not suspect foul play in the death; they also did not rule it an accident.

Since Grzybinski was struck by the Rockport-bound train around 6:30 p.m. Monday, there has been speculation on the Internet and in conversations that bullying may have played a role in his death.

Official cause of death determinations by the medical examiner, including final autopsy results and toxicology tests, can take months to finalize.

We will update this story here at gloucestertimes.com as any more information becomes available. For full coverage, look to tomorrow's print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times and gloucestertimes.com.

Patrick Anderson can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3455, or panderson@gloucestertimes.com.

Editorial: Bullying takes modern form

TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010

(Updated 3:00 am)

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The suicide death of a Kernersville teenager last week is a private tragedy that raises strong public concerns.

Fifteen-year-old Ashley Rogers hanged herself in her bedroom closet days after her parents complained to Glenn High School officials that she had received hurtful text messages from fellow students.

Todd and Christine Rogers don't attribute their daughter's death to the harassment, noting that Ashley had experienced depression for years. But the youngster's fragile emotional state made her a vulnerable target for hateful attacks. It may be impossible to rule out the influence of peers on her final desperate actions.

Bullying is an unfortunately enduring trait of human behavior, but technology has given it new forms of expression and greater reach. Teens with access to cell phones and online social networking sites can communicate everywhere and all the time. Staying in touch, though, means never escaping the reach of those who inflict pain with insults, rumors and lies.

So it's essential for adults to identify bullies and stop the harassment. In a highly publicized Massachusetts case, that led to criminal charges against six high school students whose bullying drove a classmate to suicide.

Kernersville police are looking into Ashley's death. Any evidence that North Carolina's cyber-bullying law was violated should bring charges against suspects. School officials, while saying they don't tolerate bullying, added they can't discipline students for actions taken outside school. Perhaps not, but they should investigate to find out whether any harassment occurred at school and, if so, take appropriate action.

Meanwhile, parents must monitor their children's activities. It requires pushy parenting to stay on top of teens' cell phone and online habits, but it's important. Inappropriate use should be stopped, and victims must be protected. Online bullies can be as dangerous as online predators. Parents who lock their front doors against anyone threatening their children must be just as guarded against threats that get in by other means.

Maryland: 2 Charged In Beating Death Of Teen Neighbors Say Teen Was Bullied

POSTED: 10:40 am EDT May 31, 2009

UPDATED: 7:15 pm EDT June 1, 2009

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, Md. --Two teens have been charged in the weekend beating death of a 14-year-old boy, and neighbors who knew the victim said the incident may have had to do with bullying.

Anne Arundel County police said the victim, Christopher David Jones, of the 2400 block of Old Mystic Court in Crofton, was found on the ground near his bicycle at about 4:15 p.m. Saturday.

The teenager was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said a group of five to seven teens may have been involved in the beating. Only two have been charged so far.

Police said Javel George, 16, a former classmate of Jones', was charged as an adult with manslaughter, second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. He is currently being held without bail.

A 14-year-old boy faces the same charges, but on a juvenile citation. The 14-year-old will be placed into custody at Cheltenham Juvenile Facility by the Department of Juvenile Justice.

Charging documents show George and the 14-year-old punched Jones in the head and face while he was riding his bike near his Crofton home. Jones fell to the ground and hit his head while fleeing.

Police wouldn’t say Monday if it was the punches or the fall that killed the boy. Authorities said the attack on Jones was not random, but they haven't released further information about a motive.

"It's unbelievable that you can't send your kid out at four in the afternoon and not have him beaten to death. The kids that did this are animals." - Neighbor Philips Byrnes

Detectives said both George and the unidentified 14-year-old admitted to what happened.

Jones was a freshman at South River High School in Anne Arundel County. He had transferred to the school from Arundel High School on May 5.

County school officials wouldn't answer questions about bullying, but a law enforcement officer confirmed Monday that Jones had transferred due to bullying issues.

"This was a group of punks that targeted this small kid because they were bullies, and they beat him to death. There's no sense to it," said neighbor Philip Byrnes, whose daughter befriended Jones after he transferred schools.

Javel George

A memorial cropped up at the sight on Monday. 11 News reporter Kate Amara said a steady stream of mourners visited the site throughout the day. Jones' parents, including his stepfather, who is part of the Prince George's County sheriff's department, said they plan to attend a vigil Monday night at 8 p.m.

Neighbors told 11 News Jones was spunky and well liked.

"It's unbelievable that you can't send your kid out at four in the afternoon and not have him beaten to death. The kids that did this are animals," Byrnes said.

Friends, classmates and neighbors of the victim said they think the attack was related to gang activity in the neighborhood. Police wouldn't comment on the issue, but a law enforcement official told 11 News there is growing problem of young teens creating community gangs.

Police said the charges against George might be enhanced or more may be added as the investigation continues.

Kindness is the death of bullying

BY WENDY POST
Published: April 18, 2010

Principal Diane Tymoski (left), is pictured with the Family Student Advisor Kay Robinson in front of an affirmation displayed in the hallway at Waverly Middle School.

On March 28, 2010, according to national reports, six teenagers and three juvenile students were charged in connection with the death of Phoebe Prince, the South Hadley, Mass. student and teenager who allegedly took her own life in response to a barrage of bullying. The 15-year-old was an exchange student from Ireland.

In the same reports, an 11-year-old Massachusetts boy, Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover, hanged himself on April 4, 2010 after enduring bullying at school, including daily taunts of being gay, despite his mother’s weekly pleas to the Springfield, Mass. school to address the problem.

These forms of bullying, although extreme in their outcomes, are not uncommon. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a recent report revealed that there is noticeably more bullying in middle school (grades 6, 7, and 8) than in senior high school; that emotional bullying is the most prevalent type of bullying, with pushing / shoving / tripping / spitting on someone being second; and that cyberbullying is — for the middle grade levels — the least prominent type of bullying, but is greater in the last three years of high school than in grades 6 through 9.

The report further revealed that most school bullying occurs inside the school, a lesser amount on school property, and even less on the school bus. The least occurs in other areas. And that middle school students, and particularly 6th graders, were most likely to be bullied on the bus.

The report also identified the responses by the victim as resulting in low self-esteem, difficulty in trusting others, lack of assertiveness, aggression, difficulty controlling anger, and isolation.

But for some working in the field of education and adolescence, the concept of bullying is not new — and is a situation that can be combated through training, and programs to deter this type of activity among students.

Kay Robinson, who serves as a family and student advisor for the Waverly Middle School in New York, began putting bullying deterrents in place 15 years ago. According to Robinson, the training she offers to other staff and to students is not so much focused on the actual bullying — which is hard to prevent — but is more focused on how the students react to it.

"We can’t stop people from bullying," said Robinson, "but we can work with students to assist them on how to react to it."

Robinson, who has worked for the Waverly School District for 20 years, started her quest to combat bullying 15 years ago after receiving training that would enable her to educate her peers about the effects of bullying, and how to deal with it.

When Robinson began this quest she was working for the three elementary schools in the Waverly School district, and found most of the bullying was taking place on the playground.

And when she transferred to the middle school, where she serves as an advisor, her task became even greater. But working with Middle School Principal Diane Tymoski, the two have put together a solid program that, according to Tymoski, has a 90-percent resolution rate among their 247 students.

Robinson and Tymoski also talked about the problems that students face during their middle school experience with bullying, and why these challenges call for a stringent program that forbids this type of behavior.

To learn more, we spoke with three students from the middle school who chose to remain anonymous. For this story, they chose to be referred to as Molly, Holly and Dolly for purposes of detailing their own experiences.

To learn the dynamics of those who bully, we first talked to Holly who is an 8th grade student at the Waverly Middle School. Being the only girl in a family

　

with boys, Holly considered herself a tomboy of sorts, and soon found herself being labeled the troublemaker because of her incidents of bullying.

According to Holly, she would often pick on people for the way they dress, and used her physical stature and boldness to intimidate people. "If someone I hung with was being picked on I would stick up for them," said Holly. Holly even went as far as to place spiders on the desk of a girl from her elementary grade that was afraid of them. This act caused her elementary peer to hyperventilate and eventually withdraw from the school.

Tymoski talked of Holly’s behaviors, and noted that she had quite a few visits to her office. "When we first met with her," said Tymoski, "she didn’t even realize she was bullying other students."

Robinson soon intervened and began to work with Holly, and today she is a changed person. "I initially asked her - how would you like to be treated that way," said Robinson. "We try to educate them on what bullying is, and how it makes others feel."

Robinson and Tymoski also relate the dynamics of interaction between students back to their families, and noted that if they are bullying, then that means they have usually been bullied.

When asked, Holly admitted that her brother, who is two years older than her, bullies her.

But after working with Robinson to help correct these behaviors, Holly now says that she is interacting better with other students, and has quit bullying. "I feel better about myself now," said Holly. "Everyone used to look at me as being bad, and the teachers were always watching me."

On the other end of the spectrum, Dolly, who is a 13-year old middle school student, was bullied throughout grade school - and gets bullied now. But Dolly has learned the skills needed to cope with bullying, and described the way that she reacts to it.

Dolly told of a recent incident in which she went to her locker, and another girl from her school came up to her and just started screaming at her. When asked of her reaction, Dolly said she simply ignored her and walked away.

But this reaction was not without an emotional toll. Dolly further explained how this confrontation made her nervous, and she was afraid to attend school in fear that the other student would harm her physically.

Dolly brought the situation to Robinson for mediation, and the two are not only getting along now, but they are also friends. "If I get picked on I will ignore it," said Dolly. "But if that doesn’t work, then I will bring it to Mrs. Robinson."

Seventh grade student Molly has also been picked on and bullied through her elementary and middle school years. Standing at less than five feet tall, and weighing no more than 100 pounds, Molly grew up as an only girl with two brothers and was picked on frequently by them in her younger years.

Described by Tymoski as being extremely academic with good grades, Molly thinks that most of her problems derived from the fact that she is smart. "I got picked on because I’m smart," said Molly. "Sometimes other students would want help and answers with their homework and I felt like I had to help them," she added.

But after working with Robinson, and learning some coping skills of her own, Molly has grown more assertive. "Now I tell them I’ll help them," said Molly, "but I won’t give them the answers."

But this cycle of adolescence and raw emotions that students, especially in the middle school grades, endure is just part of the process of growing up and learning. Tymoski expounded on this period of adolescence, stating it’s a difficult age.

"We call them Tweeners," said Tymoski. "It’s a really tough age." And that is why Tymoski, alongside Robinson, have a program that provides zero tolerance for bullying, and work together to tackle it head on.

According to Robinson, most of the problems among the students stem from rumors. "One student will say something about another student," said Robinson, "and it will spiral out of control."

It is at that point that Robinson will intervene and provide mediation. Describing the process, Robinson said she will sit down with both parties, and they can’t interrupt each other. "Once one is done telling their side, then I will let the other student rebut."

Robinson further explained that the students involved usually come up with their own solution, and then have to sign a written agreement for resolve. "If that doesn’t work," she added, "then it goes to the principal."

But with a 90 percent success rate during mediation, Tymoski and Robinson feel confident that their program is effective. And for Molly, Dolly and Holly, the one time elementary rivals are now friends - and they have learned to be a little bit kinder to each other.

"Kindness needs to be practiced to become effective," said Tymoski of what the students have learned. "By practicing kindness, you become a better and happier person - and kindness, more than anything else, is the death of bullying."

Massachusetts: Police will investigate complaints of bullying

Parents: Schools failed to halt longstanding problem

By Frank Mortimer

Published: Thursday, April 15, 2010 10:09 AM EDT

An eighth-grade girl has been hospitalized since Sunday for emotional distress allegedly brought on by longstanding bullying at the Ahern Middle School.

The trauma peaked Friday when hostile calls to the girl at her birthday party left her in tears, her parents say.

They filed a complaint Tuesday with Foxboro police.

Carla Carey says her daughter has been the victim of a bully for months, and that despite the family's complaints to Foxboro school officials, the problem has continued.

Police say they're taking the case seriously.

"At this point we're looking at it as a criminal harassment investigation," said police Detective Timothy O'Leary, the department's youth officer.

O'Leary said the police department plans to subpoena phone records in an attempt to identify who placed the calls Friday night that the girl found so upsetting.

O'Leary said he met Tuesday with Ahern Principal Sue Abrams and Assistant Principal Trent Danella, and separately discussed the allegations with Assistant District Attorney Erin McIntyre, chief of the DA's juvenile unit.

Abrams voiced concern with the girl's continued distress, which Carey communicated to her and Superintendent Christopher Martes by e-mail Sunday night.

School leaders said a safety plan for the girl was put in place on Feb. 11 after separate meetings with the Careys and the parents of her alleged primary foe, a former friend.

Carey said she was not informed of the plan until Tuesday, and that she and her husband, Phillip Carey, left the Feb. 11 meeting "in disgust" after Ahern administrators "blamed the victim" by attributing the problem to her child's misinterpretation of events.

"We told her that was the plan we were going to initiate," Martes said.

Since that plan was put in place, no new instances of bullying of the student were reported by anyone, Abrams and Martes said.

While of concern to school officials, they said, the calls reportedly made to the girl at her home Friday night occurred away from school and out of the staff's immediate control.

"I feel we've been very comprehensive about it and haven't heard any complaints from February to Monday," Martes said of the school's response over recent months.

The response included keeping the girls apart in the cafeteria and assigning staff to watch for signs of hostile activity, Abrams said.

Carey said her daughter's party at home for her 14th birthday was interrupted Friday night by two threatening phone calls, which left the girl weeping in front on her guests.

On her mother's advice, she did not pick up a third call. The caller left a message labeling the girl a "whore," her mother said. The caller's number was blocked, she said.

Carey said her daughter, who was seeing a private counselor, was hospitalized as a precaution Sunday night after expressing "hopelessness" and saying "nobody will listen to me."

She said the hospital, which she preferred not to name, will not release her daughter until the school provides a new "safety plan."

Cary said Abrams got in touch with the hospital Tuesday after she and her husband went to the police.

After receiving Carey's e-mail Sunday night, Abrams said, she put out a notice asking all teachers if they've seen any hint of bullying of the girl in school, and the response was no.

Carey detailed her concerns about adult and child tolerance of bullying after reading a news report last week about the school department's plan for additional anti-bullying efforts involving students, parents and teachers.

She says Martes's plan appears to be in compliance with new state laws, but charged, however, that to date the school department has failed to adequately protect her daughter, and that school staff need to be better trained to spot and intervene when intimidation occurs.

She said students learn to hurt a peer not only in obvious ways but subtle ways that have damaging effects when continued over a long period of time.

In her daughter's case, Carey says student witnesses refused to speak up and the school's investigation concluded that no bullying occurred.

Carey said the bullying has continued, seriously impairing her daughter's health and ability to concentrate in school.

Responding to the suicide of a South Hadley high school student in January and proposed anti-bullying legislation on Beacon Hill, Foxboro school officials on April 5 discussed the need to better define bullying in student handbooks for all grades.

Martes said Foxboro's goal is to define bullying, educate the faculty more fully, communicate the message to parents, and help students to feel comfortable about reporting.

Carey says harassment of her daughter has been "subtle and sneaky," including obscene gestures behind the teacher's back.

Vermont: Joseph Stillwell Middle Students Get Lesson in the Tragedy of Bullying

 Roger Weeder     3 hrs ago

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- John Halligan is a father who lives in pain knowing his son, Ryan, was a victim of bullying and committed suicide as a result.

Halligan who tours the country talking about his personal experience spent the day at Joseph Stillwell Middle School sharing his story.

"Turns out it was not about throwing punches; it was about throwing words," said Halligan, who detailed how his son was bullied verbally and through the internet.

START A DISCUSSION ON MOMS LIKE ME

"I remember this age. I remember the handful of kids who go for the cheap laugh at someone's expense."

The Vermont father recalls vividly Oct. 7, 2003 when he was traveling on business and got the call from home that his 13- year-old son had committed suicide.

His developmentally challenged son became preoccupied on the internet; only after his death did Halligan become aware of the rumors being spread about Ryan.

He spoke for about an hour before the midddle-schoolers and then took their questions, covering eveything except details of how his son died.

Following his son's suicide, Halligan spearheaded a campaign in Vermont that resulted in that state's bully prevention law. He also was involved in an effort that resulted in mandatory suicide prevention education in Vermont schools.

More information Ryan's life and his dad's efforts

Texas: Montana Lance's Parents Raise Bullying Awareness

Published : Wednesday, 14 Apr 2010, 1:54 PM CDT

For the first time since his death, the parents of 9-year-old Montana Lance spoke about his tragic suicide, and the bullying that led to it.

On FOX 4's Good Day show, they talked about raising awareness with a website and a campaign to help other youngsters get help before teasing and taunting gets too bad.

Viewers also got to chat online with psychologist Dr. Susan Fletcher about how to help children when difficult situations arise at school.

Sad story about death of child in school at The Colony 10:38 AM Fri, Jan 22, 2010

Reporters at The Dallas Morning News are following developments in the death of a 9-year-old boy who died Thursday at Stewart's Creek Elementary School in The Colony after apparently hanging himself in a bathroom in the nurse's office.

The boy was identified by the Tarrant County medical examiner as MontanaLance.

Reporters Jana Martin and Abigail Thatcher Allen reported that a staff member at the school found the boy unconscious just before 1 p.m. Thursday in the nurse's bathroom at Stewart's Creek Elementary. No students saw the boy,Lewisville ISD school district spokeswoman Karen Permetti said.

Montana was taken to Baylor Medical Center at Carrollton, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

This morning, many parents dropping their children off at the school, in the 4400 block of Augusta Drive near North Colony Boulevard and Main Street, were unaware of the death.

Stephanie Rodriguez said a PTA meeting was canceled last night without explanation. She said the fourth-grader's death was hard to fathom.

"It's very sad," she said. "I just can't imagine why this happened."

Permetti said a letter would be sent to parents today informing them of the death.

"This family is in our thoughts and prayers at this time with their grief," she said.

Students, parents and staff members at the school will have the chance to speak to grief counselors today and throughout next week.

Permetti said she was unaware whether Montana was a victim of bullying.

The medical examiner has not released an official determination on how Montana died.

We'll update this story on our Web site throughout the day as we get more information.

---

Broward County, FL: Mom: Teen Beating Suspect "Not a Bully"

Wayne Treacy's mother speaks out, says son snapped before attack

By BRIAN HAMACHER

Updated 12:54 PM EDT, Mon, Apr 12, 2010

The mother of the teen boy accused in the severe beating of 15-year-old Josie Lou Ratley said her son is no bully and that he must have snapped when he went after her.

Donna Powers, mother of 15-year-old Wayne Treacy, appeared on the "Today Show" Monday, along with Treacy's stepfather, Carey Smith and lawyer Russell Williams.

"[We're here] just to get Wayne's side of the story out," Powers said, as she explained how her son could be responsible for the March 17 attack outside Deerfield Beach Middle School.

Treacy has been in a juvenile detention center since the attack in which police said Ratley was punched, knocked to the ground and had her head repeatedly slammed on the concrete by Treacy, who stomped on the girl with his steel-toed boots.

Wayne Treacy's Parents on "Today"

WATCH

Wayne Treacy's Parents on "Today"

Josie Ratley's Condition

WATCH

Josie Ratley's Condition

Josie Ratley's Mom on Today

WATCH

Josie Ratley's Mom on Today

Powers was asked Monday morning if she thought her son had just snapped.

"I believe so," Powers said. "That's not Wayne's nature, he's not a bully."

Police have said that Treacy became enraged when Ratley sent him a text message mentioning his brother Michael, who had committed suicide by hanging himself last October.

Powers, Smith and Williams suggested the suicide has had a lasting effect of the teen.

"How would you like to be 15 and find your only brother hanging in a tree. It hit him pretty hard," Smith said, adding that Ratley mentioning the incident no doubt set Treacy off. "Evidently, she must have said something very derogatory about his brother's death."

Josie Ratley remains in a medically induced coma at Broward General Medical Center. Her family said she's showing signs of improving, opening her eyes and moving, and doctors are trying to wean her off the coma inducing medication.

Ratley's mother, Hilda Gotay Ratley, appeared on "Today" last Wednesday, where she lamented the fact that she's heard no apology from Treacy or his family.

"I have not heard any apology from the family at all," she said. "I know their concern is their child...do they have any remorse, do they have any feelings, do they think about Josie?"

The apologies came Monday morning. Smith said he'd talked to Treacy and that he has expressed sorrow over the incident.

"He would like to apologize to Josie and her family, he's real remorseful about it," Smith said.

"I am so sorry, my heart and prayers go out to you," Powers said, regardingHilda Ratley. "I know the pain that you're going through, I'm just sorry."

Hilda Ratley's lawyer, Rick Freedman, said he spoke with her after Monday's "Today" appearance by Treacy's family.

"She is too hurt right now to even think about an apology," Freedman said in a statement. "The anger and pain she is feeling is too fresh in her mind and all that she can think about right now is her daughter Josie."

Treacy has been charged with attempted murder, though prosecutors haven't said whether he'll be charged as a juvenile or adult.
 
This past weekend, some big fundraisers were held for Josie Ratley to help pay for her medical expenses.

On Saturday, a fundraiser at West Broward Community Church featuring the "Gator Boy" alligator wrestling brought in over $5,000 for the "Josie Ratley Fund."

On Sunday, CJ's Drafthouse in Deerfield Beach held a second fundraiser, sponsored by Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue.

First Published: Apr 12, 2010 7:48 AM EDT

Garretson, SD: Stakes rise as bullying grows more serious

Published Sunday
June 13, 2004

BY STEPHEN BUTTRY
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER

GARRETSON, S.D. - Jessica Haffer insisted she could handle the bullies.
With a third-degree black belt in tae kwon do, 14-year-old Jessi could have hurt her classmates easily. But she let them hurt her - scratching, pushing, hitting, taunting, excluding. Former Nebraskan Jessica Haffer endured bullying before taking her life last year at age 14. Even when Jeri Haffer could see something was wrong, Jessi would tell about the abuse only if her mother promised not to complain to the school. The bullying gets worse, Jessi said, if you tattle. On a snowy Sunday morning last November, Jessi took her parents' handgun and killed herself on their driveway. As another school year ends, Hollywood is counting box-office receipts from "Mean Girls" and Midlands towns and schools are trying to heal
the wounds of real-life bullying:
• In Malcolm, Neb., students and adults wonder how close they were to a Columbine-style slaughter. Joshua Magee, a 17-year-old junior who was teased by other students, faces a charge of attempted
murder after taking explosives and a rifle to school.
• La Vista Junior High is working to prevent a recurrence of a public beating of a 13-year-old girl by six other girls.
• Three Millard North High School students face third-degree assault charges for the videotaped beating of a student.
• In the grieving town of Garretson, school leaders vow to respond aggressively to bullying.
"Maybe I didn't teach her to be tough enough or mean enough," Jeri Haffer said, tears rolling down her cheeks.
Bullying took perhaps its most noticeable toll in the 1999 attack at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., and has claimed lives in school shootings since then. A more steady cost, in teenage suicide, draws little notice beyond the immediate circle of grief. The obituary in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader after Jessi's death Nov. 23 merely said that God had called her home.

Bullies have always been part of growing up. No one formally studied bullying until the 1970s, but studies since then indicate it is growing more serious. "What used to be fists 25 years ago is now a knife and a gun," said Peter Kanaris, a New York school psychologist who helped develop an anti-violence program for the American Psychological Association. A common feature in cases where bullying turns deadly is guns.
"It's very likely that kids will resort to all kinds of bad decisions," said Joan Duffell of the Committee for Children, based in Seattle. "As they have access to firearms, it just means a bad decision turns fatal."
Keith and Jeri Haffer bought a .38-caliber handgun after a 1992 burglary. They hid the gun in a drawer in their bedroom and kept the bullets in a separate drawer. Until the day she killed herself, Jessi had not shot the gun and her parents didn't know that she even knew where it was.
A 2002 study by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Department of Education, prompted by the Columbine
attack, examined 37 school-based attacks since 1974 in which a student or former student committed violence with a particular target in mind. Two-thirds of the attackers used guns they brought from home or from a relative's house. Seventy-one percent felt they had been bullied, injured or persecuted before they attacked.
Not all childhood aggression is bullying. Educators say bullying has three characteristics:
• An imbalance of power. One child is older, bigger, stronger or higher in a social pecking order.
• Intent to hurt. Bullies know they are hurting other children and take pleasure in it.
• Repetition. Bullies pick on the same child or children over and over.
Boys tend to be more physical in their abuse and girls more verbal, but bullies of both genders use both. And verbal abuse sometimes hurts more. "In some cases girls are probably worse than boys, especially in middle school," Garretson School Superintendent Robert Arend said.
Even when victims don't physically hurt themselves or others, bullying has a lasting impact.
"They remember the experience of being humiliated and embarrassed and scared," said Susan Sweater, an
assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
The effects can be profound:
• Children who are bullied are more likely to suffer from depression or anxiety. Bullies also are more likely to be
depressed and suicidal.
• Bullies are more likely to drop out of school and to be arrested as adults.
• Victims become afraid to go to school. Studies show that as many as 160,000 children a day avoid school
because of bullies.
• Grades suffer for victims and bullies alike.
Jessi Haffer, an eighth-grader, was in middle school, where bullying hits its peak.
Born in 1989 in Lincoln, she moved to South Dakota when she was 4. Her parents bought a house on 19 acres with 4,500 lilac bushes. "I loved the idea of a small town, my daughter living in a small town, feeling she would be safe," said Jeri, who grew up in Fairbury, Neb. Jessi, born when her mother was 47, was the couple's only child. Jeri had four children from an earlier marriage and Keith had one. During most of their time in South Dakota, Jessi was the only child at home. Keith develops veterinary vaccines. Jessi helped Jeri run a store in downtown Garretson selling gifts and health products. It's not clear why other children picked on Jessi. Bullies tend to focus on children who are different in some way, often physically different. Kids called Jessica fat and ugly, her mother says, but photos show a slim, pretty girl with an engaging smile.
Jessi was different, though:
• The Haffers travel frequently and own a large home. Classmates expressed jealousy about Jessi's life.
"People perceive us to be very wealthy," Keith said. Though his work pays well, a lawsuit forced the Haffers into Chapter 13 bankruptcy in the 1990s.
• Keith is Jewish and Jessi was the only Jew in her school. A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association says race or religion is the reason for 9 percent of bullying.
• Jessi might have angered bullies by befriending other victims. "Whoever they were picking on, that person became her best friend," Jeri said.
• Jessi was smart, another common factor in bullying. "She didn't want people to know she was smart," her
mother said. A prolific writer who kept a journal, Jessi planned to attend Stanford University, then Harvard Law School (a Harvard pennant still hangs in her bedroom). She wrote about marvelous devices she planned to invent. She dreamed of being a ballerina, an opera singer, a vaccine scientist, a Supreme Court justice.
Jessi's mother recalls dealing with bullying when Jessi was in second grade. "I could tell by Jessi's face that something happened." But Jessi would only tell her mother, "If you see someone hurting someone and you tell the teacher, you're a tattletale."
In later years, Jeri Haffer asked about scratches on Jessi's neck and a torn coat. "She would say, 'I can handle it.'" Despite Jessi's pleas, Keith Haffer did seek help at the school once. The next few days were brutal. "Kids took turns punching her, running into her and calling her names," Jeri said. Jeri's grandson, who is older than Jessi, was visiting once when some boys threw her against a wall, scraping her arm. She held back her nephew, who wanted to go after the bullies. He told Jeri, "Grandma, she won't defend herself and she won't let me go after them." Her mother asked Jessi why she wouldn't defend herself. She responded, "I didn't want to hurt them, Mom." The bullying intensified in middle school, Jeri said. "They would push her, call her narc, slut, you can imagine the names." Like other students, Jessi swapped notes in class. In one note, a boy asked, "How can you be so nice to people who are so awful to you?" She begged her mother to keep her confidence. "I did nothing because she said, 'If I can't tell you, Mom, then I won't be able to talk to anyone.'"
Despite the bullying, Jessi usually was cheerful, and her parents did not think she was depressed.
She had a lot of friends, including girls who played nicely at parties or Girl Scout meetings at Jessi's home but turned on her at school. For Jessi's bat mitzvah in 2002, the crowd at Mount Zion Temple in Sioux Falls included many classmates. A framed photo commemorating the occasion sits on the Haffers' living room coffee table next to a ceramic urn that holds Jessi's ashes.

Experts say teen suicides seldom have a single cause. Jessi left no suicide note.
Her parents see the bullying as a leading factor, though, and school officials held a community meeting the
month after she died, to discuss bullying as well as suicide prevention.
The superintendent says teachers had no idea how severe the bullying was until after Jessi's death.
Classmates' taunts were not the only conflicts in Jessi's life.

Her parents have filed complaints with the Garretson school district and the South Dakota Department of
Education against Julie Mueller, a teacher who they say discriminated against Jessi based on religion. Mueller declined a request for an interview, and Superintendent Arend would not comment.
The Haffers also were battling with city officials over whether they could keep Jessi's two horses inside
Garretson's city limits. The Haffers bought the horses last summer, a bay gelding she named Macs and a black mare she called Baby. A letter arrived Saturday, Nov. 22, telling the Haffers of plans for another hearing. "Why can't they leave us alone?" Jessi asked.
Jessi seemed to be planning, seeking solutions. She asked her parents to home-school her. They said yes.
She circled an ad for a home in Sioux Falls and asked if the family could move there. They said they would
look. The next morning, Jessi went outdoors with her father to help clear the 5-inch snowfall. As Keith worked with an ATV farther down their lane, Jessi shoveled up by the garage. Until she pulled out the gun and pointed it at her head.

Her funeral, the day before Thanksgiving, filled the school gymnasium. Classmates came to the Haffers' home to express grief, some confessing their abuse. "They came to my door and told me, wanting me to absolve them," Jeri said.

Mistreatment continued even after Jessi was gone. Children defaced photographs of Jessi and objects of hers at school and even in her bedroom. Students spread rumors that she was pregnant and using drugs. Dr. Brad Randall, Minnehaha County coroner, said the autopsy showed she was not pregnant or using drugs.
In a Dec. 22 community meeting, school officials started educating staff, parents and students about the
impact of bullying and about their new policy. First offenses involve talking with the bully, second offenses involve an in-school suspension.

Jeri and Keith Haffer keep trying to figure out their daughter's life and death.
"The pain doesn't go away," Keith said. "Not knowing why she died - it doesn't make any sense to us."

What schools can do
Adopt anti-bullying programs.
Educate children how to respond to bullies, even if they aren't the victims.
Take bullying reports seriously.
Listen to children who report being bullied.
Don't single out victims. This can bring repeated attacks. Don't say the victim told you about an incident; say
you know about it.
Involve the bully's parents in discipline, so they know and can help change the behavior.
What parents can do
Encourage children to talk and don't blame them.
Don't encourage them to fight back. Suggest walking away or seeking help from an adult. Help them practice what to say.
Let them know you're going to help.
Tell your children you're responsible for protecting them. Without promising secrecy, tell them you'll work out a plan to inform the school in a way that doesn't worsen the abuse.
Talk to a teacher, guidance counselor or principal. Most schools have policies that take bullying seriously.
Don't wait to seek treatment for a depressed child, just as you wouldn't for a child with a limp or headache. Bullies as well as victims may need treatment for depression.

Source: Dr. David Fassler, University of Vermont, American Psychiatric Association

Getting help

If you are considering suicide, please call the Girls and Boys Town National Hotline, (800) 448-3000
Contact the Omaha World-Herald newsroom

Dalton, GA: Bullying victims speak out

April 10, 2010

Rachel BrownDalton Daily Citizen

DALTON — April Nicole Jones said she tried to go back to school in January, but the bullies who drove her away the first time continued to make life miserable.

Jones, an 18-year-old who finished ninth grade at Murray County High School but never got beyond the 10th, said she was verbally bullied and sexually harassed so much she decided not to go back.

“Whenever they started picking on me, I just couldn’t take it,” Jones said. “I was thinking about (doing) what Tyler Long did.”

Tyler Long was the MCHS junior who took his life on Oct. 17. His parents, David and Tina Long, say their son’s suicide was precipitated by years of being bullied at school. They’ve filed a wrongful death suit against the Murray school district and principal Gina Linder in federal court in Rome. The suit alleges school officials did nothing to stop bullying on campus despite their repeated complaints. Attorneys for the defendants have said school officials did all they could. They are scheduled to file a response to the suit by Saturday.

Each year, between 15 and 25 percent of U.S. students in elementary through high school report being bullied, according to stopbullyingnow.hrsa.gov, a Web site developed through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. According to the site, students with disabilities are more likely to be bullied, and, in some cases, are also more likely to bully others.

Jones said she has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), diabetes, depression, sleep apnea and bipolar disorder. Tyler’s parents said he had Asperger’s Disorder, a mild form of autism that inhibited his ability to interact socially. Some of the students accused in the lawsuit of bullying Tyler were the same students who bullied Jones, members of both families said.

Several families in local school systems have contacted the Longs and The Daily Citizen in the months since Tyler’s death, reporting their experiences with school bullying. They also say the bullying continued despite family members repeatedly reporting the incidents to school administrators. Many parents raised questions again during a community forum on bullying in schools hosted by WRCB-Channel 3 in Murray County in December.

State and federal law bars school officials from discussing individual students’ cases with anyone besides their legal guardians, but officials with Dalton Public Schools, Murray County Schools and Whitfield County Schools have all said they take bullying seriously and take appropriate action when they learn about it. Penalties for bullying range from in-school suspension to being kicked out of school. In some cases, criminal charges may be filed.

Bullying in schools has received more statewide and national attention recently. Authorities say a teen in Massachusetts committed suicide in January after being bullied for several months. Several teens face criminal charges there. Georgia lawmakers have considered several bills aimed at stopping bullying in schools and inducing stiffer penalties. Many families who complain of school bullying reference the Long case.

Dean Donehoo, administrative services director for Murray County Schools, called bullying a “serious problem” in the school system during a public meeting on school safety and other issues in December. He said school officials take bullying seriously and implemented the Positive Behavior Support (PBS) program in five schools last year before making the program system-wide this school year. The program is designed to reward good behavior and educate students on the importance of avoiding bullying.

Several students say too little is being done. Jones said she was sexually propositioned and was called “fat,” “ugly” and some sexually derogatory names. She said the harassment continued even after she and her mother told teachers and school administrators about it and showed them a written note one of the bullies had given her.

“There was this boy in my third period class,” Jones added. “He would come up behind me in the hallway and yell those words out to me and try to get me to turn around and just try to get me mad.”

Shannon Felts said her fifth-grade daughter has been bullied by other students at Blue Ridge School in Dalton for two years. She said her daughter has been hit, bruised, had her face shoved in a water fountain and had her hair pulled. Each day, she would come home crying, saying how much she hated school because of the problems she was having. Her grades dropped from As and Bs to Fs, Felts said.

She said she reported the incidents to teachers and administrators, but the problems continued, and at least some school employees suggested she was overreacting when she complained. She plans to transfer her child to another school or home school her, but she also wants other parents to know they are not alone in dealing with school bullies. She said she wants teachers and school leaders not to be dismissive when told about bullying problems.

“They need to step up,” she said. “Something can be done about it ... My daughter is to the point where she sobs every day she comes in.”

In Chatsworth, another parent said she transferred her son from Murray County High School to Mountain Creek Academy because of bullying. The parent asked to be identified only by her first name, Lynn, because she feared retribution.

Lynn said her son, like Tyler Long, has Asperger’s, and other students often verbally bullied him, hit him and poked him. Lynn said her son had behavior problems sometimes, but whenever he retaliated against his bullies he was punished and the other students were not. Lynn said her son came home often with marks on him, and the marks did not stop until she informed school administrators she would file criminal charges the next time it happened.

Lynn spoke highly of the atmosphere at Mountain Creek Academy, an alternative school students can request to attend. She said administrators and teachers there have low tolerance for misbehavior, and students receive more one-on-one attention.

“They are the school of ‘we understand everybody,’” Lynn said. “They’ve listened to every suggestion I’ve given them. It’s a fabulous alternative.”

As for Karen Jones, April’s mother, she said she’s thankful her daughter’s fate wasn’t the same as that of Tyler Long.

“I love my daughter,” she said, “and I’m just afraid that if she kept on going (to school), she would have done this.”