My grandmother, Mary “Sis” Gaumer Behrens, lived to be 85 years old, dying on May 1, 2002.
Her life was full of trials and tribulations, many of which she shared with me over the years. One story of note that she said had a profound affect to the end of her life was the death of her son, my uncle, David Gaumer Behrens at age 55. She was Editor-Emeritus and he was Publisher of the Journal-Tribune at the time of his death on Feb. 8, 1997, and I remember her saying that burying him was one of the most difficult things she ever had to do.
We detailed a story a few weeks ago that was about another Journal-Tribune employee who had a child die. The story was titled “Stella’s Clouds” and was about how Vanessa Prentice and her family were coping with her daughter Stella’s suicide, trying to shine a light in a dark place in order to help others who may be facing similar difficulties.
After the article was published, we heard from many readers about the story’s impact, so much so, it made the newsroom take a step back and think about how reporters could continue to help draw attention to those dark corners so other families don’t have to go through such tragic instances.
Thus newsroom staffers took a stance that they wanted to delve deeper into other facets of suicide and commit to writing more about what avenues local residents can travel when they are in trouble.
Later in the year they will write about how law enforcement can help as well as what signs or triggers local schools see in order to help parents become aware of problems that can be discussed at their dinner table.
Being that local voice to help in a time of need is our job as a local newspaper, but the past few months of doing this story has made us pause and consider how much is swept under the rug in other neighboring areas like Dublin or Madison County (London) that don’t have a local newspaper.
We hope our readers appreciate the work that the newspaper has been done for the past 170 years and will continue to be done in the future so we can further support local journalism and help the community move forward.