Category: Club events

Don’t let your Independence Day celebration end with the fireworks! Attend The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club’s Independence Day Bash and keep the party going.

The event will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 12 at the cool, air-conditioned comfort of the LOW Community Center. There will be catered fried chicken and homemade side dishes and beverages provided by club members.

Beautiful door prizes and a Blue Donkey raffle will give attendees the opportunity to go home with something more than full tummies and smiles on their faces. The “Demettes,” will perform some of their traditional political satire for your entertainment.

Special guests will include Traci Dippert, Democratic candidate for the Virginia State Senate in 2015.

Tickets are $5 per person and are available at the door. Youngsters under the age of 12 will be admitted without charge.

“We need to know that suicide happens,” warned Alan C. Rasmussen of the Rappahannock Rapidan Community Services Board at the March 16 community forum sponsored by LOW Democrats. “Life has its twists and turns and sometimes it may seem to be unbearable.”

Rasmussen’s message to about 60 members and guests at the LOW Community Center was to be prepared to step up when someone we know is considering suicide and not to shy away because we are afraid or unsure what to do.

In a program he called “Saving Lives,” Rasmussen advocated an three-step emergency procedure he called QPR:

• Question the person: “Are you thinking about killing yourself?”
• Persaude: “There are other ways to deal with your problems.”
• Refer: “Let me take you to someone who knows how to help.”

Rasmussen said that 30,000 people commit suicide in the United States each year. That’s one person every 15 minutes.

A little empathy from a loved one, a friend or even a stranger can save lives, he said. Being aware of the signs of potential suicide and knowing how to respond is critical.

The risk factors for suicide are:

• Previous suicide attempts
• Current talk of suicide
• Preoccupation with death or dying
• Depression
• Substance use disorder
• Suicide or attempted suicide by a friend or relative
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Assault or bullying

In Orange County the number to call for help for someone considering suicide is 540-672-2718.

•  On the Web: “Helping via mental health first aid,” The Free Lance-Star

Alan C. Rasmussen, an authority on mental health and suicide prevention, will speak at a community forum on mental health issues from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday, March 16, at the Lake of the Woods Community Center in Locust Grove.

More than 30,000 suicides occur in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, making suicide the tenth leading cause of death for Americans.

Rasmussen is a suicide-prevention specialist with the Rappahannock Rapidan Community Services Board and a faculty member for the Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Students program at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. He graduated from U.Va. in 1975 with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and earned a master’s degee in counselor education in 1977.

The event is open to the public.

Follow the links below for more information on this important topic:

• Rappahannock Rapidan Community Services Board
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Suicide Prevention Resource Center

The Lake of the Woods Democratic Club will hold its annual Christmas luncheon at noon on Dec. 3 at the Bonefish Grill in Central Park.

The cost is $28.75 per person, including tax and gratuity. Checks may be sent to Anne Boyd, 710 Gold Valley Road.

Participants will have a choice of oak grilled salmon, chicken marsala or Maryland crab cakes. The choice of entree need not be made until the day of the luncheon.

New officers for next year will be introduced at this meeting.

For a copy of the flyer annoucing this event click here.