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Superheroes visit Courthouse lawn

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033023 abuse

Special to the News-Timess

COLDSPRING — Each April the San Jacinto County Child Welfare Board along with the Child Protective Service and its parent agency, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, join hands with local government, community groups, churches, service organizations and hometown citizens to put the spotlight on preventing, recognizing and reporting child abuse.

This is a great opportunity for our county to make a difference in young lives, so during the month of April, residents that are concerned about the problem of child abuse are asked to wear blue, especially on April 7, which is the official “Go Blue Day” in Texas.

The Child Welfare Board’s most dramatic statement concerning child abuse will be the placement of a display of heroes on the courthouse lawn, as the signs will indicate “Children Need Heroes, but Abused Children Need Superheroes.”

Each star placed on the courthouse lawn represents a child who was abused during the year 2022-23.

In Texas during 2022-23 there were 182 deaths, which is down from the previous year of 192 deaths. Our very own county had 178 investigations of child abuse with 38 of those being confirmed victims. This is a staggering number for our state and our county, we should all accept the responsibility of making sure that in the future none of our children are ever included in these statistics.

We can look away and often do look away, but the repercussions of child abuse are affecting each citizen every day. This year, 2023 is the 40th Anniversary of April being declared “Child Abuse Prevention Month.”

In 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared and signed proclamation to this effect. Abused children are more likely to abuse substances, perform poorly in school, or become juvenile delinquents. Millions of our tax dollars are spent annually to pay the financial price of child abuse, from child protective services and foster care cost to the cost for court, law enforcement, hospital, medicine and mental care cost.

In 1989, a heartbroken grandmother, Bonnie Finney, took a stand against child abuse by tying a blue ribbon to the antenna of her minivan in remembrance of her late grandson, 3-year-old Bubba Dickenson. The body of Bubba was found bound, beaten and bruised in a weighted toolbox at the bottom of a canal. He had been killed by the boyfriend of the child’s mother.

Bonnie vowed to never forget the battered and bruised body of her grandson and uses the wearing of blue as a reminder to fight for the protection of all children against abuse.

As you drive by the San Jacinto Courthouse, you will notice the Child Abuse Prevention flag proudly displayed on the flagpole at the courthouse lawn during the month of April. Many activities are planned for April in order to heighten public awareness of child abuse.

County Judge Fritz Faulkner and the Commissioners Court will issue an official proclamation declaring April as Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness month. The Child Welfare Board will decorate the gazebo on the courthouse lawn with blue ribbons to highlight the fight to end child abuse.

On April 30, it will be “Blue Sunday” and all churches in our county are asked to participate in a day of prayer for the many children and families who have suffered. We must be the voice for our children and give them hope, courage and prayers.

If you suspect child abuse of a child, please make that phone call to 911 or the Texas Dept. of Family and Protective Services. Let’s all join hands and stop Child Abuse.

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