n general, the rate of suicide among male Veterans Administration clients connected to care with the El Paso Veteran Affairs Health Care System has remained stable, according to Dr. Donna Nesbit-Veltri. (Camilo Jimenez/Borderzine.com)

More younger military veterans are committing suicide despite available VA programs

By |

EL PASO — As he sits at a faded-black dining room table, a man in his mid-twenties stares at the front door, his reflection visible from the dirty tabletop where a brown paper bag holding his lunch rests. His eyes dart focusing from one end of the room to the other as if he’s never been there before, sitting upright, inspecting the room. He specifically chose the seat with the best view of the front door, which he never stops looking at for more than a moment, because he says he is hardwired that way. He seems uneasy even though he has been here hundreds, if not, thousands of times, only four doors down from his childhood home. Esteban, 26, served four years in the United States Marine Corps and did two tours in Iraq.

Front of the El Paso High School building. (Ken Hudnall/Borderzine.com)

Lingering memories of ghostly images and echoing pep rallies haunt El Paso High

By |

EL PASO – It’s dark and late, usually around 2 a.m. when the faint notes of the Tiger fight song begin to sound, then, more clearly, cheerleaders cheering and students laughing, and stamping feet cascading into a pep rally – in a locked empty auditorium. You are hearing ghosts. “You might also think New Orleans is the most haunted city in the U.S but it is actually El Paso,” said Tobias H. “Toby” Tovar, 55, a math instructor at El Paso High School, “and El Paso High School is the most haunted building in town.”

El Paso High located at 800 E. Schuster, opened for classes in 1916 and since then “Lady on the Hill” has graduated many prominent citizens, and has captured hundreds of trophies, plaques, and championships in all fields. “Since the days of its construction, paranormal events have taken place at the school,” said Tovar. There have been numerous interior modifications designed to accommodate a growing student body and changing educational theories.

Bullying words in cyberspace hurt worse than sticks and stones

By |

EL PASO, Texas — Advances in communication on the Internet lifted what once was school-yard bullying to a new mean-spirited high-tech level. The negative consequences of bullying have become a growing problem in schools around the world in the last 10 years, rising to a tragic level. Many victims feeling alone and without relief resort to acts of violence against those who hurt them or commit suicide. “Cyberbullying occurs when the victim is probably totally alone and thus, possibly more prone to reacting negatively, even to the point of suicide, as no one is there for him/her to talk to in person,” according to Dr. Don Combs, Professor of Psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso. “Physical bullying, of course, creates the great possibility of physical harm, even death.