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Saxonburg rally intones 'Believe in Yourself'

Petite Miss Saxonburg Lucy Nagg holds a sign during “Believe in Yourself,” a community outreach event held Sunday in Saxonburg.
Bullying, addiction in group's focus

SAXONBURG — Bullying, addiction and mental illness. These large issues were tackled Sunday by a group of pageant winners and civic and religious leaders.

The first “Believe in Yourself” event was hosted by the Saxonburg Queens, the group that organizes the annual Miss Saxonburg pageant.

The goal of the day's event was to raise awareness about issues that affect the community — and especially the children.

Starting at the borough building, a group of about 100 attendees, holding signs urging others to “Believe in Yourself” and “End the Stigma,” walked down Main Street and convened at the carnival grounds behind the fire department building.

A series of speakers and presenters urged attendees to support each other and take advantage of services offered through churches and the county.

Saxonburg Mayor William Gillespie welcomed the crowd and said that today's youth often confront issues such as problems at home, drug addiction and bullying.“It is important to remember that you are not alone. Please communicate things that trouble you, cause you concern with someone you can trust. Develop a support system, such as God, your parents, your family, your friends, your youth minister.”The Rev. Carmen Shullo, of Saxonburg Memorial Church urged the crowd to “love thy neighbor.”“Lord knows we need compassion in our society today, it seems that is missing,” he said.In talking about bullying, Shullo said that the adage of “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me” does not ring true.“That's a lie straight from the gates of Hades,” he said.Butler County Commissioner Kevin Boozel talked about treatment of mental illness in Pennsylvania. The country had a deinstitutionalization during the 1960s and 1970s when mental patients were taken out of hospitals and put into other programs. But budget cuts over the ensuing years have left many of the same people to struggle.“There are a lot of people with mental illness who should not be in jail, but are because it's the best treatment provided to them. That's not right,” he said.Cellphones and social media have created a new, vicious age of bullying issues, Boozel said.“They do crazy things with cellphones. They say hurtful things because it's not face to face interaction,” he said.He urged parents to talk with their children and learn about services available through the 211 hot line and Center for Community Resources.The event also included performances by Little Miss Saxonburg Rylee Werner, Junior Miss Saxonburg Katelyn Murphy, Miss Saxonburg Sienna Randolph and Petite Miss Saxonburg Lucy Nagg.The evening concluded with a candlelight vigil. Organizers said they hope the event will become an annual occurrence.To see video of the this story, visit butlereagle.com.

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