Blaine County law enforcement, the courts and child protective agencies have been working overtime lately to deal with the 45 ongoing investigations into child abuse and neglect in the county.
Residents have shown their support and how much they want to help the impacted children by making generous donations to the Sheriff’s Office. Those donations were accepted on behalf of the department Monday at the regular commission meeting.
The topic was first discussed when County Clerk Jennifer Haigler introduced a request from Garfield County’s Child Advocacy Council to place cutouts of wooden children on the Blaine County Courthouse lawn in April to mark Child Abuse Prevention Month.
She said the council had previously used pinwheels because there weren’t enough of the wooden cutouts to represent the cases under investigation or in the court system. This year, though, the council confirmed it has enough cutouts to match the number of cases.
Later in the agenda, seven resolutions were passed by the commissioners, accepting donations to the SO for the children. Sheriff Travis Daughtery noted each child was allowed to designate a specific item or toy they really wanted, rather than having to choose from a box of preselected items. He said the act of deciding for themselves helped the children feel safe and like they have a little control over their own situation.
Donations have come in from multiple sources. One was a group donation of $1,270; Mary Lee Jones/State Farm donated $150; Judy Cash-Balzer donated $30; Wallace Boyd donated $100; Christy Ebner donated $75; Steve Spears donated $500; and Wayne Pollock donated $200.
For more information or to make a donation, call the Blaine County Sheriff's Office at 623-5111.