"We have an attorney in our building that's from Houston, obviously we know other people in the area that has family there and we just felt compelled to try to fill up this big huge truck with stuff and so the stuff being the things that the churches and the local politicians in the Houston area have told us are what they want the most," said Attorney Ben Irwin.

Full story courtesy of WDHN

https://www.dothanfirst.com/news/local-news/jurors-rule-in-favor-of-dui-accident-victims/1836725012

DOTHAN, Ala. (WDHN) — A local trial involving a DUI car accident ended with the jury returning a $200,000 verdict for the plaintiffs — a family that was hit by a person driving under the influence. After a two hour-long deliberation, the jury found in favor with the plaintiffs. During the trial, the Dothan Police Department provided expert testimony about the impact of drunk driving in Dothan. With drinking and driving being an issue in and around the Wiregrass, some residents say they are already taking precautions. The number of DUI arrests in the county has gone down. Police arrested 208 people in 2017 and 170 in 2018.

Often bullying goes unreported because the victim fears it filing a complaint will make the situation worse. This is one of the reasons the Halligans failed to report Ryan’s bullying to the school (see our article about bullying and suicide). Some schools encourage anonymous reporting to combat this fear.

Once reported, however, historically schools have cracked down on bullies with discipline such as suspensions with limited success in stopping the activity. In some states physical altercations can result in children as young as eight years old being arrested and charged with crimes.

Some schools are focusing on prevention instead of just reacting. One program involves peers developing a sense of community. Youth take time to get to know their classmates better, develop an understanding of their differences and, hopefully become friends. Friends are much less likely to bully friends.

Alert parents are the best prevention to bullying. Children who display aggressive or bossy behavior and the inability to get along or empathize with others may also have bullying tendencies and parents should obtain assistance for their child to prevent escalation of behavior.

A child who is being bullied may exhibit feelings of low self-esteem, depression, introversion and an unwillingness to go to school or other locations where school children may congregate. They may also come home with unexplained injuries or damaged personal items.

Parents should never ignore a report of bullying, nor should they attempt to handle the situation on their own. The school should be notified immediately if the incident happened on school property. Off school property incidents should be reported to police. Regardless of the location, the parent should follow up with the administration or authorities to insure the ball is not dropped. Obtaining a list of names of other children who have been bullied by the same child can help the parent contact other parents to develop strength through numbers.

Parents should also closely monitor social media use by their child. Close monitoring will insure that a child is not receiving bully messages, but also is not spreading gossip and contributing to the problem.  Ryan Halligan’s parents realized after Ryan’s suicide that had they monitored his social media and instant messaging they would have realized how serious the bullying he received was and they might have been able to intervene sooner and prevent their son’s death.

Cherry & Irwin encourage a dialog between parents, youth and school administration to reduce bullying in our schools and society as a whole. We must act before more children are driven to suicide in an effort to escape a 24/7 onslaught of needless unwarranted humiliation.