HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2007-12-26, Page 17The Huron Expositor • December 26, 2007 Page 17
News--
Myles Neuts died the first day he was bullied
Local students hear Neuts' father talk about tragic consequences of bullying
Jennifer Hubbard commented.
alilinliMEMEM "It was the first day that Myles
"Kids don't go to school to die." hwas eve
e died » bullied and it was the day
That was the crux of the message A total of 24 recommendations
delivered by Chatham father Mike were made during the inquest,
Neuts during a recent series of pre- focusing on: safety precautions in
sentations in Clinton. schools; policies, procedures and
Students filling the gymnasium at protocols relating to the supervision
CHSS were silent as Neuts shared and safety of children while
they are at school; police
interviewing techniques
involving children; and
police case file manage-
,
n� On
0,1011 alncl meat.
"Schools are a place
children don't to learn, have fun and
be with your friends. If
go tQ school you're here for any
eVe yCla i1 other reason you need
_.Y to leave," Neuts added.
Quoting author and
N@ 'ey speaker Barbara
.-., ;,, ; Coloroso, Neuts
O explained there are
three kinds of people in
bullying - the bully, the
j victim and the
bystander.
"Which one are you?"
his memories of Feb. 6,
1998, when the life-
less body of his oldest
son, Myles, was found
hanging from a coat
hook in the washroom
of St. Agnes Catholic
School.
In the days that fol-
lowed, Neuts recalled
"having many conver
sations that parents
shouldn't have to
have" with his wife
Brenda including one
conver's'ation that
took place six days .13,e' F i
after Myles was dis-le, rj -
covered, when they
decided to pull the plug
on the life support that was keeping he asked, noting bystanders are as
their 10 -year-old son alive. guilty as the bullies themselves.
The next day Myles passed away "One -hundred thousand children
in his fathers arms. The Neuts, don't o to school every day in the
including Myles' younger brother,
were left looking for answers.
"Every day is a little bit better
than the day before, but well never
recover from the loss of our child,"
Neuts said.
"We are obligated to send our chil-
dren to school, that's all we did...
like your parents did today."
Neuts gave an overview of the
police i vestigation into Myles'
death, w 'ch soon began to focus on
two St. Agnes boys, ages 11 and 12.
After interviewing students, staff
and parents,lice discovered that
Myles had a $10 bet over a colour-
ing contest two years prior.
Fourteen months later, the devas-
tated family was told no charges
would be laid.
`There's only two people that can
tell us what happened in the last
few minutes of Myles' life... Myles,
who's dead, and the 12 -year-old boy
who keeps denying he knows what
happened," Neuts said.
The Neuts family filed a $580,000
lawsuit, but later withdrew in hopes
of getting the truth at a coroner's
inquest that was held two years
after Myles' death.
But, as the six-week inquest came
to a close, the family didn't get the
answer they were looking for. The
cause of Myles death was `undeter-
mined."
don't believe the 11 and 12 -
year -old boys went to school that
day with the intention to kill my
son, but I do know they went to
school to make a $10 bet go away
and the course of their actions
resulted in Myles{ death,' Neuts
U.S. because they are afraid of
being bullied," Neuts said.
"If this was the AIDS pandemic in
Africa, we'd respond with help and
food. If it was a hurricane in New
Orleans, we'd do the same. This is
bullying and a lot of people are
wtclun "
nHe encouraged students to do
their part to make CHSS safe by
reporting bullying as a victim or
bystander.
Neuts also spoke on the impact of
violence in the media and the dan-
gers of cyber bullying.
CHSS principal Laurie Langstaff
said Neuts was the first of many
guest speakers
she is hoping to
host to promote
awareness
among students
at the Clinton
high school and
area elementary
schools.
"We're working
closely with our
feeder schools to
try and develop a
good relation-
ship," she said.
"These are our
future students.
If we develop
awareness now,
it may have more
impact because
they are younger.
When they
become sec-
ondary students
they'll bring that awareness with
them.
"It's all part of building a' positive
and safe environment at school."
Bullying was the perfect topic to
begin the series because it impacts
so many people, Langstaff added.
After speaking to the CHSS stu-
dents on Nov 29, Neuts made pre-
sentations to Grades 4-6 and
Grades 7-8 students, tailoring his
information to the age groups..
Clinton Public, Holmesville,
Huron Centennial, Seaforth, Hullett
and Blyth schools were in atten-
dance.
"I don't think
bullying is any
more prevalent
here than any-
where else. We
deal with it when
it's reported, but
we don't always
hear about it,"
Langstaff said.
"There are lit-
tle things that
kids start to do
at a young age
that they don't
realize is bully-
ing until we
make them
aware of it. If
they're not
aware, the
behaviour carries
on when they are
older.
"The more we
build awareness,
the more we will
hear about bully-
ing and then we
can address it."
Langstaff said
parents wishing
to speak with
Neuts can call
CHSS at (519)
482-3471 for contact information.
"Wanting to dosomething to
ensure this would never happen
again," Neuts has retired from his
job to become a full-time speaker.
Travelling across the country, he
has already shared his message
with more than 100,000 students in
the last seven years.
"The most important thing to me
today is the youth of our communi-
ties, schools and country," he told
those in the audience last. week.
"I ask you to think about what I
talk about from forward
throughout the
this
rest
day
of your lives.
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