Letter to the Editor: Thanks to those who supported the recent suicide awareness walk

The following Letter to the Editor has been submitted by Step Up, Reach Out committee member Marcia Oltrogge:

"The Step Up Reach Out committee would like to thank our many sponsors and supporters of our annual suicide awareness walk. Funds raised this year are being used for suicide education and prevention with a special focus on the agricultural community, but any group is able to access this free training. Groups or organizations that would like suicide prevention training at no cost may contact Northeast Iowa Behavioral Health at 563 382-3649 to schedule a training. The training is approximately one hour and is appropriate for ages 13 years and up.

Suicide continues to impact residents of northeast Iowa in a very personal way. Training community members to recognize warning signs and how to intervene saves lives.

The next Step Up Reach Out Walk will begin at 10:00 a.m., September 12th, at 905 Montgomery Street in Decorah. We have moved the walk to September at the request of walk participants to hopefully take advantage of beautiful fall weather."