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School system gets huge grant to boost mental health reach
liberty-schools

The Liberty County School System recently received a $3.87 million Trauma Informed Support Services Project Wellness and Wellbeing grant to be implemented over a fouryear period.

This grant, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was one of only five issued in the nation and the only one in Georgia. It will allow the district to create school-based support and mental health services to include implementing targeted screening to identify students in need, establishing a referral pathway to ensure students receive the necessary supports and services, providing comprehensive training and support for school staff, and implementing a family and community engagement plan to increase awareness of the impact of trauma on children and youth.

“We are so thankful for this opportunity for our district. So many of our students need support and we are fortunate to receive this funding so we can provide the services needed for our students who are experiencing trauma,” said Liberty County Schools Superintendent Dr. Franklin Perry.

School board members learned at their meeting Tuesday the grant had been awarded to Liberty County Schools and approved four positions to go along with the grant.

Work on the grant started in March and the application was submitted in May, said Melaniann Pass, school system military coordinator.

Liberty County has the highest concentration of veterans in the state, and the county and the school system have been identified as having a great need for mental health services. Liberty County has been designated as a Health Professional Shortage Area for all categories measured, including mental health. Liberty County also has the highest death rate due to suicide in the Southeast Georgia region from 201921.

The school system has an existing memorandum of understanding with the Fraser Counseling Center. The support will be done in tiers, with the first tier consisting of students getting screened. In the second tier, there will be small group support. School counselors and social workers will be trained about trauma, Pass said.

“A huge part of this is training,” she said. “We’re going to be staff, we’re going to be training the community, we’re going to be training anybody who works with juveniles and students. A big part of it is community stakeholder and involvement.”

The training will include how to recognize signs of trauma, and Pass said students may have had trauma in their past.

“Sometimes trauma comes out in different behaviors,” she said. “They may not be achieving academically or they may be having trouble behaviorally.”

Board member Carol Guyett said the program can be especially beneficial to the military students in the system.

“Seeing what those children are going through right now, dads, moms are away. The younger you are, the less you understand and the older you are, the bigger the problems are,” she said. “This is going to allow us to do so much more.”

Board Chair Verdell Jones also applauded receiving the grant.

“We like to say mental health is real, and then we don’t do anything about it,” she said.

The grant maximum is four years at $970,000 per year. Liberty County Schools received $969,628 for each year of the fouryear grant.

There also are three fulltime positions and one part-time position as part of the grant — a program director, an implementation care coordinator who makes sure the training is aligned, a third position to oversee the clinical portion and the fourth and parttime spot will be involved in data collection for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“We will get a lot of feedback and guidance from SAMHSA,” Pass said The grant rollout will take place September 30.

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3rd ID, Army, allies mourn four soldiers lost in accident
Farewell ceremony set for Thursday morning in Lithuanian capital
four soldiers

The four U.S. Army soldiers assigned to 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry found deceased near Pabradė, Lithuania have been identified.  

The Army has confirmed the four soldiers who died when their vehicle sank into a bog as Staff Sgt. Edvin Franco, 25, Staff Sgt. Jose Duenez, 25, PFC Dante Taitano, 21, and Staff Sgt. Troy Knutson-Collins, 28.

"First and foremost, we offer condolences to the loved ones of our soldiers,” said Gen. Christopher Donahue, commander of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. “I can't say enough about the support our Lithuanian Allies have provided us. We have leaned on them, and they, alongside our Polish and Estonian Allies - and our own sailors, airmen and experts from the Corps of Engineers - have enabled us to find and bring home our soldiers. This is a tragic event, but it reinforces what it means to have Allies and friends.” 

The four soldiers, who were the crew of a M88A2 armored recovery vehicle, went missing in the early morning hours of March 25. Their vehicle eventually was found March 26 but it was beneath approximately 14 feet of water and sunk into more than six feet of mud.

Crews worked to drain the area around the vehicle to make it stable for heavy equipment needed to pull out the M88. U.S. Navy divers were flown in and attached cables to hoist points so the submerged vehicle could be lifted out of the bog.

"This past week has been devastating. Today our hearts bear the weight of an unbearable pain with the loss of our final Dogface Soldier," said Maj. Gen. Christopher Norrie, 3rd ID commanding general. “Though we have received some closure, the world is darker without them.” 

Knutson-Collins, Duenez Jr., and Franco were all posthumously promoted to the rank of staff sergeant.

Knutson-Collins was an artillery mechanic with over seven years in the Army. He arrived at Fort Stewart in February 2018 and was assigned to 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion.

Knutson-Collins graduated from the Army Basic Leader Course, the Advanced Leaders Course, the Tracked Vehicle Recovery Operations course, and the Combat Lifesaver course. He deployed to Korea in 2020.

His awards and decorations include the Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Good Conduct Medal, Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal and Master Technician Badge.

“Words cannot express how deeply this loss is felt by everyone in our unit,” said Capt. Jackson Patillo, commander, Foxtrot Company, 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion. “Staff Sgt. Troy Collins was an exceptional friend to all of us and an irreplaceable member to our entire Fox family that we will truly miss.”

“The pain we feel from this loss is insurmountable,” said Lt. Col. Erick Buckner, 1/41 Field Artillery Battalion commander. “Staff Sgt. Knutson-Collins was well loved throughout our unit and a brother to all. He was an expert, an incredibly talented mechanic and a warrior. We will never forget his dedication to his unit, his family and his country.”

“We are incredibly relieved that we were able to bring this recovery to an end and bring closure to all the families, friends and teammates of our soldiers,” said Maj. Gen. Curtis Taylor, commanding general of the 1st Armored Division, who also grew up on Fort Stewart. “We cannot thank our Allies and fellow service members enough, especially the Lithuanians, who spared no resource in support of this mission. Together, we delivered on our promise to never leave a fallen comrade.” 

Throughout the seven-day recovery effort, the combined and joint team worked day and night to find the soldiers. 

“As the fourth and final soldier has been recovered from this tragic accident, we will continue to mourn their loss as we work to quickly return our Dog Face Soldiers home to their families,” said Lt. Gen. Charles Costanza, commanding general of V Corps and former Fort Stewart and 3rd ID commanding general. “It has been truly amazing and very humbling to watch the incredible recovery team from different commands, countries and continents come together and give everything to recover our Soldiers. Thank you, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, the U.S. Navy and the Army Corps of Engineers. We are forever grateful.” 

All four soldiers were deployed to Lithuania in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve to provide credible ground deterrence alongside Allies and partners, and were permanently stationed at Fort Stewart. 

“I'm immensely proud of our entire team. They have been relentless in their efforts to search and recover our soldiers and get every capability and asset necessary to enable this effort,” Gen. Donahue said. 

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth also posted on X his sorrow at the loss of the four soldiers.

“I want to personally extend my deepest condolences to the families of all four fallen soldiers,” he wrote. “Our hearts are heavy across the Department of Defense. We are deeply grateful to our brave servicemembers who enabled this difficult recovery and to our Lithuanian hosts who labored alongside them. The recovery was conducted with urgency, resolve and deep respect for the fallen. We will never forget these soldiers — and our prayers are with their families.”

A farewell ceremony for the soldiers will be held Thursday morning in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital.

“Every soldier is also a Lithuanian soldier, and their families’ pain is our pain,” said a statement from the Lithuanian Ministry of Defense.

The U.S. Army is investigating the cause of the accident. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available. 

"We continue to stand by the families and loved ones through this incredibly difficult time,” said Maj. Gen. Norrie. “Now, it’s time to bring them home.” 

 

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