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Nationally known speaker brings strong message to Palestine students

Morning Journal/Katie White Phil Chalmers (left) and his wife Wendi (right) visited East Palestine High School Friday for an assembly to caution students about the consequences of bad decisions. With them is high school Principal Chris Neifer.

EAST PALESTINE — Phil Chalmers and his wife Wendi didn’t come from perfect backgrounds. In fact, they had their share of family pain growing up, but that didn’t stop them from becoming successful and encouraging others.

Chalmers, a nationally known educational speaker, trainer and author, has also been seen on Crime Watch Daily and Fox News, and is involved in television shows that focus on serial killers.

On Friday he spoke to students at both Wellsville and East Palestine high schools about the dangers of sexting, porn use, bullying, drug use and low self-esteem.

Drawing from the real life stories of people like Adam Lanza, who killed 27 people in the Newtown, Conn., shooting, and Reggie Stephey, an aspiring athlete whose drunk driving killed two people and seriously injured another, Chalmers warned students that people’s lives can be changed instantly.

He also told them not to buy into lies, like the lie that alcohol makes things more fun, or that celebrities are who they appear to be.

“Be careful what you believe about your latest artist. Most of it is not real,” he said, pointing out that Marshall Mathers, also known as Eminem, doesn’t even allow his own daughter to listen to his music.

He also told students that sexting is a serious crime, and that anyone under the age of 18 found sexting can be charged with distributing child pornography, a felony.

“One mistake you make can affect the rest of your life,” he said.

He also warned that people on social media aren’t always who they appear to be, and said there are thousands of fake users everywhere.

“We think we know who is looking at our stuff,” he warned.

He also talked about Condition Yellow, which is about being alert at all times for a potential attack. That includes not using both earphones while out in public, so that you can always hear what is around you, sitting in the back row at movie theaters, and always facing the door in a public place, for sight visibility and easy exit.

Should someone approach you that you do not know and ask you to go anywhere with them, act crazy, he said.

“Immediately scream, make a scene and run,” he said.

He told the story of Carlie Brucia, an 11-year-old who was kidnapped and killed walking home from a Super Bowl party in 2004.

Brucia was approached by a man who gently grabbed her by the arm and told her to walk with him. She was found sexually assaulted and dead in some bushes later.

“In the real world this stuff happens. I’m tired of seeing dead kids. You are the ones that are going to stop it,” he said.

He also said anyone who is being bullied or who witnesses bullying should tell someone. And anyone who is contemplating suicide should tell someone.

“Suicide doesn’t take away the pain. It just gives it to someone else,” he said.

Chalmers was able to visit the schools through a Victims of Crime Act grant awarded to the East Liverpool law director’s office.

Tina Keller of the law office applied for the roughly $85,000 grant and said this year is the first for Chalmers to be brought in to speak with students at school assemblies.

He has already visited the county in August to speak with law enforcement agencies and the county prosecutor’s office, she said.

On April 13 Chalmers will be back in Wellsville for teacher training, she added.

“We are hoping to be able to do this next year,” she said.

More information can be found online at philchalmers.com.

kwhite@mojonews.com

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