By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff

TALOFOFO Mayor Pedro Paulino is seeking to name the community and youth center in the southern village after Jeromy Paul Newby, the 15-year-old boy who recently passed away after being in a coma for several months as a result of school violence.
Newby, a Southern High School sophomore who was a resident of Talofofo, was brutally beaten up by a 14-year-old boy who is now in the custody of the Department of Youth Affairs.
“This unfortunate incident has resulted in further recognition that increased efforts must be exerted by the entire island in the prevention of violence in our community, with much greater emphasis on encouraging increased positive community activities such as sports, academics and other youth group events,” states Bill 32, which Sen. Adolpho B. Palacios Sr., D-Ordot/Chalan Pago, introduced yesterday in response to Paulino’s request.
Bill 32 memorializes Newby by naming the village facility “Jeromy Paul Newby Community and Youth Center.”
His family remembers Newby as “a bright young man who actively participated in community and village activities with a special interest in traditional artistry.”
“The naming of the facility after Newby would also serve as a reminder to the people of Talofofo and the island of Guam that we must all work together to insure zero tolerance when it comes to violence, whether it be violence in school, violence in the community, or violence in the family,” the bill says.