After more than a week of headlines about suicides, fatal traffic accidents and fatal fires, something happened at Southwest Junior High School Wednesday that gave everybody who witnessed it a reason to stand up and cheer.

It all started in the school’s lunchroom when eighth-grader Jordan Parsons bit off more than he could chew – or swallow.

Jordan, 13, had his mouth full of Cheeto Puffs, chips and a piece of chicken sandwich, he said later.

“I just swallowed them all together,” he said.

Bad idea. The big chunk of food got lodged in his esophagus.

“I was just kind of like, ‘oh, gosh,'” Jordan said, recalling the incident.

Jordan said he didn’t panic because he could breathe a little bit. But he remembers coughing and the “air wasn’t going out right.” He got up, walked a short distance to where Vice Principal Matt Fearing was sitting and tapped on his shoulder.

Fearing got up and performed a couple of thrusts of the Heimlich maneuver and then gave way to Lawrence Police Officer Eric Barkley. He said he thought Barkley might have more training.

Barkley, a school resource officer for the past three years, had been eating nearby when he saw Fearing motion for him.

“I looked up and Jordan had his hands around his throat, like the universal sign for choking,” Barkley said.

“I tried to stay calm because I knew if I stayed calm Jordan would stay calm,” Barkley said. “I was just trying to talk to him and let him know that I was trying to help him the best I could.”

Barkley performed the Heimlich and after about five or six thrusts, got the troublesome clump of food to pop out, he said.

“Once it got out, everybody stood up and clapped,” Barkley said, estimating that there were about 200 people – mostly students – in the lunchroom. He then escorted him to the nurses’ office.

Barkley said he has been a Lawrence police officer since May 2001 and had worked at the Reno County Sheriff’s Office but had never had to perform the Heimlich maneuver before.

School nurse Micki Thomas checked Jordan over and watched him for a while before allowing him to go to class, Jordan said. His mother, Sharon Parsons, also was called.

Parsons was relieved and commended Barkley and the school staff for their response.

“Jordan told me he was sort of seeing things before his eyes, so I think he definitely was losing oxygen,” she said. “I think they all handled this pretty well. He’s doing fine.”