protected static int findUser(String username, Connection cnxn) {
		Statement stmnt;
		ResultSet rs = null;
		
			try {
				stmnt = cnxn.createStatement();
				
				//get user id
				String query = "SELECT id FROM Users WHERE name = '" + username + "'";
				rs = stmnt.executeQuery(query);
				
				//see if user exists in db. if so, return id, else indicate that requested user wasn't foundd
				if (rs.next()) {
					return rs.getInt("id");
				} else {
					return -1;
				}
				
			} catch (SQLException ex){
				//sql error, indicate that requested user wasn't found
				return -1;
			}
		
	}