Ceremony welcomes children, raises awareness about abuse
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on April 20, 2016 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Jordan King, 3, blows on a pinwheel to make it turn before the beginning of the Child Abuse Prevention Month Proclamation Ceremony Tuesday morning in front of City Hall.
Children from the Seymour Johnson Air Force Base Child Development Center crowded onto the top three steps of City Hall Tuesday morning, absorbed in the blue and silver pinwheels each had been given.
Some enacted virtual sword fights with the toys, others were mesmerized by the light breeze blowing through and causing them to spin faster and faster.
Their youthful innocence and wonder was in stark contrast to the reason for the gathering -- the Child Abuse Prevention Month Proclamation Ceremony. Similar events were going on across the nation, said Trebor Jackson, representing the Division of Juvenile Justice. They serve as a reminder, he said, that even one incident is "much, much too many."
Unfortunately, Sheriff Larry Pierce said, the numbers in Wayne County exceed that.
"Sixty-five cases of child abuse have been investigated by my office in the last 12 months," he said, falling into the categories of neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and emotional trauma.
Extra help has been hired to focus on the task that plaques the nation, he said -- statistically, five children die every day from abuse, 70 percent of those under the age of 3.
Dr. David Tayloe of Goldsboro Pediatrics, piggy-backed on the harsh reality, suggesting "we're all in the same boat when it comes to child abuse and neglect.
"We'll go to our graves without understanding why anyone would abuse or neglect a child."
Like the sheriff, the pediatrician likened child abuse to an epidemic.
"It's pervasive in our culture. It happens in my office every day," he said.
Dr. Tayloe said he has worked with a coalition of community partners since the early 1990s to improve parenting and decrease child abuse and neglect.
While funding for some initiatives has been lost, agencies like the Health Department have developed what they call a "pregnancy medical home" to help expectant mothers as much as possible, he said.
"I'm excited that we have a coalition working on this and I think we'll move forward," he said. "As you look at the statistics that our sheriff has gone through with us, what I can see is the importance of substantiated child abuse coming down."
He praised Goldsboro and Wayne County for having "amazing collaborative supporters," something also noted by fellow speaker Col. Andrew Bernard from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.
"First and foremost, the base is part of the community, which sometimes is not the case," he told the News-Argus afterward.
He noted there is a strong partnership between the city and the county and base.
Bernard, vice wing commander, 4th Fighter Wing, was also appointed leader of the SJAFB Child Abuse Prevention Team, developed for those with a vested interest in prioritizing children and giving them the respect they deserve.
"Today I join in not as an airman but a member of the unified community," he told the audience. "As parents and caregivers we each play a central role.
"We must get to a point where children no longer live in fear of the people they should trust the most."
While April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, it has also been deemed Month of the Military Child, which is no coincidence, Bernard said, in drawing attention to the importance of the youngest segment of the population.
"We're the catalysts for providing for a healthy future for our children," he said. "Our nation depends on it and our children count on it."
The base was also represented on the program by the SJAFB honor guard, which participated in the flag raising, and Capt. Patricia "Slam" Nadeau, 333 FS, B Flight Commander, who sang the national anthem.
Children also played an important role. The SJAFB Child Development Center and their caregivers led the crowd in singing, "If You're Happy and You Know It (Clap Your Hands)."
Noah Carroway, a student at Tommy's Road Elementary School, read the poem, "Let Me Be a Child" and Gavin Tucker, of Northwest Elementary School, shared the meaning of the children's memorial flag.
The red flag bore six paper doll cutouts, all but one in blue. Created by a 16-year-old California student, the image represented the thousands of children lost to violence, Tucker said.