Recently Tottenville High School lost one of it's very own, David Schreier, when he was found dead in his Eltingville home, apparently due to suicide. Dave, also known as "Davey Dollas," was a popular Junior at Tottenville High School, and was known for his positive energy and bringing fun times to any place he would go. If he wasn't telling jokes, he was impressing friends with his free-style raps. Dave was always spreading good news. Whether he was talking about fixing up his recently-bought gold Pontiac Fiero GT or a job he landed as a telemarketer, with Davey Dollas there was always an exciting new story to be told.

Those closest to Dave are still struggling to figure out why he did this. There was no note and no sign of him being unhappy in any way. The young boy's body was discovered by his best friend Mike when the deep sleeper asked Mike to wake him up the next day for work. Mike arrived at Dave's home at 7 a.m to find no one answering the door. He returned again that evening and ventured upstairs to find Dave's body and a .45 caliber gun which belonged to Dave's stepfather's collection. Friends of Dave stood outside the Ciriaco House teary-eyed, and lit up Newports, the brand that sat on the dashboard of Dave's GT.

While many teenagers are trying to get over Dave' death, they were still not over the shock of another suicide of a fellow friend, Franky Siclari. Franky, a popular Senior at St. Joseph By The Sea High School, was found dead in his car October 8th of last year. This was a shock to many of his friends, considering Franky was the star of the football and wrestling team and had applied for scholarships to many colleges. "Sometimes a kid can be happy, but you never know what's going on in the inside," says Mike Venanzini, a friend of both Dave and Franky.

Teenage suicide from age 15-24 has tripled over the last decade. Suicide has become the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S. and is one of the leading causes of death for college students. Some symptoms of this disorder can be retracting from anything that was once pleasurable, becoming anti-social, significant loss or gain in appetite and/or poor performance in school. If you feel one of your peers fits these categories, don't be afraid to talk it out with them; it will only make it better, not worse. Nobody will ever truly know the reason for suicides, but there are many ways to prevent them. Rest In Peace - Dave Schreier and Franky Siclari; you will be greatly missed.