In a year of business closures, financial strain and social distancing, health officials reported suicide rates remained stable in Nevada County between 2019 and 2020.
It’s been 20 years.
On Jan. 10, 2001, Scott Thorpe went on a shooting rampage in Nevada City and Grass Valley, killing Laura Wilcox, 19, Pearlie Mae Feldman, 68, and Michael Markle, 24. Several other victims were wounded in the attacks that paralyzed the entire county.
Spurred by the death of their daughter, Nick and Amanda Wilcox became nationally known advocates both for gun control and for Laura’s Law, legislation designed to authorize court-ordered outpatient treatment for people with severe, untreated mental illness.
Nevada County Behavioral Health Director Phebe Bell called Laura’s Law an amazing legacy from the Wilcoxes.
“I have so much personal, deep respect for Nick and Amanda, for turning so much pain into such a positive and beautiful thing,” Bell said. “To not end in bitterness – there were so many other places they could have landed, but (instead) they doubled down on compassion and turned it into a useful solution.”