Missing-children issue finally gains attention
(Editor'« note: This is the first of
a four-part series on missing
children.)
By STEVE MANOR
Staff Writer
Norther Clinton Bureau
ROUSES POINT - Christmas
shopping has started. While you're
looking for that special gift for Uncle Ed, the kids head for the toy section olthe store After a 10-minute
debate — a new pipe or socks — it
dawns on you: Where are those
kids?
The circumstances vary just as
the seriousness but the fear of your
children getting lost or being kidnapped has been felt by all parents
at one time or another. A majority
of the time there's a happy ending,
but there's sometimes tragedy.
Like almost everything else, it
goes back to numbers. Despite the
dramatic emotional upheaval — the
helplessness, the frustration, the
great feeling of loss and the mental
and physical anguish — the issue of
missing children has never been
popular. The numbers just weren't
big enough and it wasn't something
that could be easily remedied.
But the silence surrounding missing children (and persons — those
over age 16) started being broken in
1980 by the parents of the missing. __
que fear; my child could be among
those missing.
The first line of defense begins at
home with the parent and child, ac»
cording to law-enforcement
authorities. It's the parents' responsibility to know where their children
are, and to teach them where they
can and can't go.
The children must be taught to
ask before going, and how to identify anil M n d l e potentially
~
dangerous situations.
Next are the schools, which could
cooperate with law-enforcement
agencies in programs to help
educate children along these lines.
Fress'Republican
original flfld we a r * «H11 f i t t i n g "
Supervised activities
multiple-pattern murderers and
help track them down.
The story of how the missingchildren issue was brought out of
the closet started in the 1980sr
Gloria Yerkovich had been
awarded legal custody of her
daughter. In 1974, her daughter, sixyear-old Joanne Pierce, was abducted by the girl's father during a
court-ordered visit.
Yerovich spent months tracking
her daughter down and trying to get
her back. Her frustrating search for
Joanne, now 15, lead Yerkovich to
other mothers who were also searching for their missing children.
In 1980, Yerkovich and these other
mothers established the non-profit
organization called Child Find,
headquartered in New Paltz.
The organization, which grew
quickly with parents forming grass
roots groups, maintains an information network designed to help
parents find their children.
Number too expensive
"It started out with a child stolen
by a non-custodial parent," Alice
Dunn of Child Find said. "And now
it deals with all missing children."
Child Find has toll-free, hotlines
in states across the nation, one exception is New York State. "Getting
an 800 number is New York State is
just too expensive, but we are working on it. We just have to come up
with the money," Dunn said.
"There have been a number of
groups like Child Find that have
come into being over the past few
years, but we were the first, the
Berry House
in Altona
restored
In "A History of the Altona Flat
Rock," author Gooley concludes
that the berry business in the 1980s
is much as it started 130 years ago,
"strictly a local phenomenon/'
PLATTSBURGH - The second
seminar of a series sponsored by the
Cornell University Cooperative Extension titled "Cropping Strategies
for Optimum Production in Northern New York" will be held at
Howard Johnson's in Pittsburgh
ttom 14 )0 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Dec. $.
A participation fee of % 1 per person will be charged and will include
lunch, milk, bottomless coffee pots
and printed material.
The program will include a summary of past present and future
cropping practices in northern New
York by Dr. Robert Lucey, chairman of the Department of
Agronomy of Cornell.
Dr George Estes professor of
plant science at the University of
New Hampshire will speak about
optimizing management of forages.
Nathan Leonard, a Jefferson
County extension agent wri! discuss
the potential of no-uli annual
forages for renovating pastureiand
Assessments of fertility needs and
com Cloture as Northern New Yon
alto will be discussed
For rxre r^omatwc contact
Bill Paulmg of the C
f fopenove Eneoswc
,countie^s_^nd states, and the FBI,
declining to become'officially involved in the case. The story of their
search gained national attention.
Two weeks after the abduction,
Adam's severed head was found in a
canal about 120 miles from
Hollywood.
Although their own search was
over, the Walshes launched a campaign to help the other missing
children in the nation. Their lobbying efforts led to new federal legislation — the Missing Children's Act,
signed into law on Oct. 12,1982.
The new law has had some farreaching effects, which can be seen
here in the North Country and the
entire state.
(Tomorrow: state and local police
follow Missing Children's Act) •
Silver tea to be held ih Chateaugay
CHATEAUGAY - The Catholic
Daughters of St. Helen 100
-Chateaugay will hold a Silver Tea
on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. in St.
Patrick's Church Parish Center.
Plans are for a touch-and-take
table, crafts, homemade candy and
g r o c e r i e s and food s a l e .
Refreshments will be served and all
are welcome.
SATURDAY ONLY
15% OFF ON
ALL REG. PRICES
(cropthaadicrftfis)
STOCK UP FOR
CHRISTMAS NOW!
toys • porcelain dolls
music boxes * jewelry boxes
many gift ideas for the home
gifts for dads and husbands.
THE PIANO CENTER
Exit 41
844-7243
Chazy, N.Y.
We will be CLOSED Nov. 23-27 to prepare for our
CUSTOMER APPRECIATION DAYS!
We will RE-OPEN Monday, Nov. 28 at 10:00 A.M.
with special, special savings through Dec. 10,
1983.
WE WILL NOT BE UNDERSOLD
Randall Beach outside his parents' Berry House
r M d rOHlltfll AoV#CTIMflOJ
THANKYOU
LAST TIME THIS YEAR!
from
DON H. LAVALLEY
A very special thanks to the Voters of the Town of
Chazy who supported me Election Day,
November 8th.
Paid for by Do* M. UVaftfcy
SPIRITS! Your best holiday gift value!
Enjoy Problem Free
Shopping (no
size/color/style
doubts)
25
See our ad in the P-R Christmas Gift Guide.
r W d rOMHCOl A O V # f t l M f l f
., Vi!!!
iifuiiniiii
tmiimiwi
inMiriupi
WtWi'liiBi
Crop strategy
topic of seminar
"she said.
The plight of missing children got
another boost in 1981, as the result of
the tragic story of six-year-old
Adam Walsh of Hollywood, Fla.
Adam was looking at video games
in a store in a Hollywood Mail, while
his mother, Reve, was looking at
lamps a short distance away. When
Reve returned to the games section
a few minutes later, Adam was
gone.
Adam murdered
There was a dramatic search and
investigation by police, with Reve
and her husband, John, fielding
calls and plotting strategy. The
Walshes found there was very poor
communication on missing children
between police agencies in different
3 door* North of Alice Miner Museum on Rt. 9
By BETSY BAKER
Correspondent
ALTONA — In the center of the
village of Altona stands a simple but
well-built structure, The Berry Housle. Once an important part of the
blueberry business in Altona, The
Berry House was recently restored
by Randy and Lois Beach of Purdy's
Mill in Altona.
Blueberries have played a big
part in the business life and history
of Altona. Families can claim picking blueberries bought the lumber
for a house or barn. Blueberry picking bought one young man his first
car.
What is now a handsome apartment building was once one of the
chief focuses of the blueberry
business. According to author and
historian Larry Gooley, The Berry
House was owned by Napolean
Trombley and then by his sons Edward W. and John B. Trombley who
ran Trombley Brothers Store.
The Berry House was used to
store blueberries during the peak of
the season
or "for weekend
harvests, since no trains ran on Sunday."
21
Friday, November 25,1983
There are other precautions that
can be taken: better chaperoned
and supervised activities at places
where youngsters congregate, for
example.
Then there are the "after-thefact" improvements, which most of
the time require new laws or regulations that mandate better and new
approaches to finding the missing.
These new regulations are more
often aimed at law-enforcement
agencies — local, state and federal
— improving their approach to searching for the missing.
This may include their taking a
"greater share* of the responsibility
for precautions, through education
1.1 million reported missing
and other steps.
Increasing communication and
People started looking and they
cooperation
between all levels of
didn't like what they saw. They
found a very serious, nationwide law enforcement, nationwide, proproblem. They learned that some viding for the timely exchange of
1.8 million children are^reported missing-children information
missing each year. Many are through computerized networks. It
runaways, but about 100,000 are also means better systems of identistolen by non-custodial parents, and fying those who are found — dead or
another 50,000 just disappear — ab- live.
ducted by strangers. The fatality
rate is very high.
Computers play role
*
It really hits home when you conOne of the newest approaches besider every child is a potential
target, a possible victim. With this, ing considered is use of a nationwide
every parent experiences that uni- computer network to profile
They have turned The Berry
House into a' two-story, fiveapartment building. On the inside
wall of the restored building under
the initials "F.H.T." is this piece of
historical graffiti: "Strapped the
last crate of 1928 season at 2:15 p.m.
on Sat, August 22."
IMlok.Si .ftouMttaM
Northern Clmlon oVoou 2974566
Friday, Saturday & Sunday
(Rain date Sunday)
Santa Visits From North Carolina
Truckload Sale
NEW Furniture - Direct From Factory
At
PRAY'S FARMER'S MARKET
(Rt. 3 — Plattsburgh, N.Y.)
GIVE THE GIFT
THEY WONT
RETURN
$999
(750 ml)
IMMiflW
free gift wrapping
Complete spirits gift selections ot
WEST'S LIQUORS A WINES
77 U*e$t.,tovs#s Point
2*7-51*3
SKEET FIELD
TAVERN
Old and New Rock)
Saturday, Nov. 26
9:00 P.M.-1:00 A.M
DuprayRood
(Tpni left aft St. f Morfii f*st
Chazy, N.Y
Early Amoricon Sofa t Choir — Rotoil $15*1 —
Sot of End ToWot — Morsmon Glasstop Toblos — RotoH $400
Qooon Sizo Hido-A-ftod — RotoH $1191.95 —
Swivol Rockors — Rotoil $2S9. —
Rogvlor Sao Sloopor Sofa — Rotoil $420 —
oWroom/D/naffos — And Much/Much/Mon!
Wholowlo
Wholowlo
Wholotolo
WhoJatal*
Whoio*o4o
Com* On Down!
,
4W.
•325.
•3*0.
.»12f-
'310.