This is a slideshow I made to look back on the great year we had. I hope you enjoy it!

 Everyday on the news or online, there is an article that deals with potential problems that a Natural Helper could face. To keep everyone up-to-date on the current news that could be useful to a Natural Helper, here is where we may place different articles for reading purposes. If you’d like, make a comment about what you think about the issue!

 Woman said husband’s slaying was in defense

SOURCE: News Day

Cops: Woman said husband’s slaying was in defense

BY ANN GIVENS | ann.givens@newsday.com

9:51 PM EDT, May 14, 2008

When the first police officer arrived at Kelly Forbes’ Merrick home last November, she was standing at the top of the stairway sobbing, the officer testified Wednesday.

“He came at me with the cord,” Forbes said at the time, according to the officer, Scott Goldhammer. “I was defending myself.”

When Goldhammer looked where Forbes was pointing, he saw the motionless body of Forbes’ husband, Michael Forbes, 50, an orange electrical cord she allegedly used to strangle him still stretched across his palm, Goldhammer testified Wednesday.

Kelly Forbes, 29, is charged with first-degree manslaughter. . This week, Nassau County Judge Meryl Berkowitz must weigh whether what Forbes said to Goldhammer, and other statements she made to police on the day of her arrest, should be admissible at trial.

With her husband still lying in a room off the couple’s bedroom, Kelly Forbes told police that she and her husband of just three months had quarreled the previous night, Nassau Det. Bruce Coffey said in court Wednesday. After the fight, Forbes had slept on the sofa in a room off their bedroom, Coffey said.

Early that morning, Michael Forbes entered the room where his wife was sleeping and wrapped an electrical cord around her neck, Coffey said Forbes told him. Kelly Forbes said she then kneed him in the groin, grabbed the cord, and strangled her husband with it, Coffey said. Her daughter was in the home at the time, police said.

Forbes then called the police from her cell phone, police said at the time.

Kelly Forbes’ lawyer, Anthony Capetola of Williston Park, has not said that he will try to prove that Kelly Forbes acted in self-defense. But he has pointed out that Michael Forbes had a criminal record, and outweighed his wife by more than 100 pounds.

“Draw your own conclusions,” Capetola said.

Michael Forbes spent 4 years and 5 months in prison after pleading guilty in 1984 to charges of rape, robbery and burglary, New York State Department of Correctional Services records show. He also pleaded guilty in 1984 to attempted murder, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm. He also pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a controlled substance after a 1983 arrest.

But his family members have said he loved Kelly, and would never have hurt her.

Police officers Wednesday admitted that they did not read Forbes her rights before they questioned her about what happened. They were only required to do that if she was in custody, and if she was being interrogated.

One police officer, Richard DiGiuseppe, said in court Forbes was not free to leave while he was questioning her, though said he did not tell her that. Coffey, on the other hand, said Forbes would have been free to leave at any time.

We are a group of over 40 students advised under Lori Hart and Kathy DeFonzo in assisting students with various types of problems.

We participate in many events such as: Freshman Orientation, Relay for Life, Folks on Foot, Homecoming, Mr./Mrs. JFHS, Ongoing Fundraising…etc!

We plan on organizing many different events for the Natural Helpers for the 2008-2009 school year. There will be about 3 different events a month to choose from (some more or less depending on what else is that month) and you are obligated to go at least one of the three.

Goals of the Natural Helpers Program:

• To teach Natural Helpers effective ways to help their friends
• To teach Natural Helpers positive ways of taking good care of themselves
• To teach Natural Helpers ways to contribute to a safe and supportive school environment

Remember, as a Natural Helper, you should fulfill these roles:

• Help friends with their concerns
• Recognize when people have serious problems like depression, chemical dependency, and abuse – and referring them to trained helping resources
• Working with members of their helping team to discuss issues and specific problems
• Becoming more involved with your school and community
• Lend a sympathetic ear to loners and new students
• Teaching skills to other students