LITTLE GEMS
Lake Geneva’s new Harbor Master Erick Nicia gave his report and introduction at last week’s Piers, Harbors, and Lakefront meeting.
Nicia took over the harbor master duties last month as the previous harbor master Steve Russell ended his position on June 17th. Erick graduated from Badger High School in 2013 and lives in Waukesha. He is currently a graduate student of environmental public health at UW Milwaukee. Nicia is a medical sergeant in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. Erick looks forward to meeting and serving the residents of Lake Geneva and creating a safe and inviting lakefront environment.
The report presented showed no significant damage to piers during this summer’s array of storms. The focus of the report was the lagoon. The lagoon has seawall damage that is beyond repair and will need to be completely rebuilt. The job will be rebid and the process of awarding and scheduling the job will start over. The lagoon has more work to be done after the seawall is complete including dredging and possible pier installation. All this will need to be looked at closely as each of the projects is estimated to cost somewhere around $200,000.00.
The lagoon maintenance cost significantly outways the revenue it creates. Residents, especially those who are waiting to get their boat back in the water at their lagoon slips sometime next season, are anxiously waiting for a plan. Erick Nicia is ready for the task and city officials all seem to be impressed with the new hire.
The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
This applied plan is nearing its second anniversary and progress is needed but it has become a critical step in mental health care. 988 is now the three-digit dialing code that routes callers to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (or 988 Lifeline). 988 is a great resource and sometimes the caller is simply looking for someone to talk with. This provides them with confidence that can provide the support the caller needs.
Nationally, more than 80% of calls to 988 are resolved over the phone and for those who require mobile response teams, 70% are resolved in the field. Since 2015, almost one in five fatal police shootings involved a person experiencing a mental health emergency. Unfortunately, there can be a tragic outcome when people cannot get the necessary help. Mental health is a big issue that grows as time goes on. We need to get rid of the stigma surrounding mental health, therapy, and mental illnesses.
In 2021 and 2022, the United States experienced a suicide every 11 minutes, and suicides were the second leading cause of death for those ages 10-14 and 25-34. The Local 988 Response Act requires that calls and texts to the 988-suicide crisis lifeline be routed to the caller’s closest crisis center, rather than one within the caller’s area code. This is a way to make sure every call is answered, and no one is left behind.
Let’s help be part of the solution and not the problem by trying to understand mental health and helping those in need. If you should feel the need to use this new emergency call-in service be careful. You do not want to phrase your vibrant and critical need in such a way that instead of the expected gentle help you might feel you need, SWAT shows up out of fear that you may commit suicide while feeling like you need company to do so.
