ROCKWALL —
This month, back in my home area of Wisconsin, three young girls who attended my church in River Falls, Wisconsin were murdered by their father. 11-year-old Amara, 8-year-old Sophie and 5-year-old Cecilia Schaffhausen were brutally stabbed by their father, who had asked to go to his ex-wife’s house to visit the girls while she was at work. My friend’s daughter Fallon was the nanny who was home when the father came to the house to visit his daughters and is in the process of having to testify in court. She said that he seemed fine and talked with her before she left the house and left him with the girls. My entire community, and possibly the entire nation is grief stricken over this horrific event. It makes me wonder if there was some way someone could have prevented this from happening; some way that this terrible act could have been prevented; some warning sign that there was tragedy to come.
Although this incident is a terrible extreme, it brings about an imperative point; an important part of being healthy is to be mentally well. We all have stress that we deal with at our jobs, in our relationships, as parents, and finances. Some people may be dealing with depression- whether situational or clinical, or have chemical imbalances causing bipolar disorder or other mental illness. Sometimes people may just need someone to talk to, to find support, or to live a healthier lifestyle to improve the situation that they have before them. Other times, in-depth professional medical help may be necessary.
If you feel that you have more of a load than you can handle, please seek out help. If you do not feel that you have a support system, talk to someone. Or if you know of someone who may be in danger to themselves or others, please don’t look the other way. Call 911 if you are in a crisis.
If you feel you need some help in a non-emergency, I’d like to offer some resources. One person that I have gotten to know since I have been in Rockwall is available to offer counseling and referral services. Kimberly Rumczikas has a Bachelors Degree in Social Work from Valparaiso University in Indiana and a Masters in Social Work from University of Illinois at Chicago-Jane Addams College of Social Work. She is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.
kimberly@freefrombaggage.com
214-882-7601
You can also call 211 to get a list of other mental health resources in the Rockwall area.
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WorldStrides gives area students chance at summer learning trip
A group of local students from Maurine Cain and Williams Middle Schools will be traveling to Washington D.C. and New York City for a five-day educational history program this summer.
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Summer schedule announced at Children's Museum
The Northeast Texas Children’s Museum in Commerce has announced its summer schedule.
Unless otherwise noted, admission to the programs is $5 for children and $3 for adults. Activities begin at 11 a.m. unless otherwise stated. -
RISD hosting summer meal program
The Rockwall Independent School District Child Nutrition Department will once again sponsor the Summer Food Service Program this year.
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RISD administrative changes for new school year
The Rockwall Independent School District has made some administrative changes in anticipation of the 2013-14 school year.
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RPD sets summer curfew for students under 17
With the summer just getting started and all the schools letting out, kids across the county are just itching to go out and have some fun.
But with all that fun comes responsibility, particularly involving anyone under the age of 17 under the Rockwall curfew ordinance. -
RISD agenda includes budget, STARR reports
The Rockwall Independent School District will discuss the budget for the upcoming fiscal year and review the campuswide results from STAAR testing during a regular meeting of the RISD Board of Trustees on June 17. The meeting will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the RISD Administration Building, 1050 Williams Street, Rockwall.
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County to take further look at employee evals
A lengthy discussion about the county’s current employee performance evaluation program ended without a vote Tuesday, but will go before the Rockwall County commissioners at their June 25 meeting after further review.
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Commissioners disagree on jail expansion
One thing made perfectly clear at Tuesday’s meeting of the Rockwall County commissioners is that the court agreed to disagree on the jail expansion issue.
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Playground approved by Heath council
Heath City Council members discussed multiple items regarding the use of property within the city in a public hearing Tuesday night.
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Dallas Race Week returns Father's Day weekend
A popular Father’s Day tradition will take over the area June 16 when Dallas Race Week returns to Rockwall and Lake Ray Hubbard.
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