Halloween safety tips

Halloween es un tiempo de diversión para los niños, pero también puede ser de miedo para los padres y conductores.
“Con chiquillos emocionados yendo frenéticamente de un vecindario a otro, los conductores necesitan estar particularmente cuidadosos”, indicó Ray Palermo, Director de Información Pública para el Plan de Seguro de Maestros. “Sin embargo, siguiendo algunos consejos simples, los padres, niños, conductores y propietarios de casas pueden todos tener un momento seguro y agradable”.
Los siguientes son unos consejos que los conductores, los pequeños pidiendo “dulce o travesura” y sus padres, pueden seguir para ayudar a garantizar un Halloween divertido y seguro:
Si los niños están fuera en la noche, los conductores necesitan ser particularmente cuidadosos en la penumbra y cuando conducen en colinas y alrededor de las curvas, donde la visibilidad es limitada . Utilice las luces altas para ver y ser visto.
* Los que piden dulces siempre deber estar acompañados por un adulto o viajar en grupos. Se les debe decir a los niños que no coman ningún dulce o golosina que no esté envuelto hasta que regresen a casa, donde sus papás puedan verlos. Asegurarse de que sus hijos ya hayan comida antes de salir, puede ayudar.
* Los padres quizá quieran limitar a los niños para que acuden a eventos locales organizador por las estaciones de policía, bomberos, centros para personas mayores o negocios locales – u organizar su propio evento a través de sus escuelas.
* Los padres deberían incorporar cinta reflectora a los disfraces o colores brillantes para incrementar la visibilidad. El maquillaje, en vez de máscaras, deberá utilizarse para asegurar que los niños no tengan una visión obstruida de sus alrededores.
* Los pequeños pidiendo dulces podrían quedar atrapados por la emoción del día y no ser tan cuidadosos como deberían. Ellos siempre deben cruzar en las esquinas y ver hacia ambos lados antes de cruzar. Los conductores deben estar atentos al camino y en las aceras, en caso de que alguien salga de entre los coches estacionados.
* Los niños deben permanecer en las aceras – o si no están disponibles, caminar viendo de frente el tráfico. Deben llevar consigo una linterna.
* Los propietarios de casas deben limpiar sus jardines de cualquier cosa que pueden ocasionar un tropezón y asegurarse de tener una luz en puerta frontal o el camino y evitar decoraciones que utilicen una flama abierta que pudiera incendiar el disfraz de un niño.

Carnation couple charged in "worst case" child abuse of teen daughter

Carnation couple charged in "worst case" child abuse of teen daughter
Calling it the "worst case" of abuse a detective had ever seen, King County prosecutors have charged a Carnation couple last Friday with criminal mistreatment after police found their 14-year-old daughter emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from severe malnutrition.

By Sonia Krishnan and Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporters
Calling it the "worst case" of abuse a detective had ever seen, the King County Sheriff's Office arrested a Carnation couple last Friday on suspicion of criminal mistreatment after police found their 14-year-old daughter emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from severe malnutrition.

King County prosecutors today filed criminal mistreatment charges against the girl's father, Jon Pomeroy, 43, and her stepmother, Rebecca Long, 44.

The couple were arrested Friday evening and released on their own recognizance after a first court appearance on Saturday.

If convicted of first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment as charged, Pomeroy and Long could face three and four years in prison, according to King County prosecutor spokesman Dan Donohoe.

An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 27 in King County Superior Court.

Police said they do not intend to arrest the couple immediately.

"We have no reason to run out and arrest them," said Sgt. John Urquhart, a spokesman for the King County Sheriff's Office. "The judge didn't believe they were a flight threat or a threat to the community, and neither do we."

The investigation began Aug. 13, when a sheriff's deputy went to the house on a welfare check after a call from Child Protective Services (CPS), police said. A neighbor had called CPS "after hearing screaming coming from the house the night before," according to a news release.

Authorities say Long and Pomeroy, a software engineer who worked at Estorian Inc. in Bellevue, had withheld water from the girl as a form of punishment. She weighed only 48 pounds and was 4-foot-7 when the investigation began. Police described her as resembling a 7- or 8-year-old.

Hospitalized two weeks

The girl was admitted to Seattle's Children's Hospital for treatment of severe malnutrition, where she stayed for two weeks.

Her 12-year-old brother appeared to not have been treated as badly; he was a normal height and weight. However, neither child was enrolled in school, said Urquhart.

The lead detective on the case, who has been with the special-assault unit for 16 years, said "he's never seen a case of abuse this bad," Urquhart said.According to police, the girl said her stepmother disciplined her by "restricting her water intake" to about half of a small Dixie cup per day.

The girl and her brother "were forced to sleep on the floor in the same room as their parents, and a heavy dresser was pushed in front of the door to keep her from sneaking out and getting water."

That happened after the girl was caught one night sneaking out of her own room to drink water from the toilet, according to police. She told police she feared her stepmother would hear the faucets if she used them. For food, police said, she was mostly given toast.

The stepmother, who did not work outside the home and claimed to be home-schooling the children, also directly monitored her stepdaughter's showers and bathroom habits "to keep her from surreptitiously drinking water," police said. Showers were restricted to every two or three weeks.

The girl told police that her stepmother once duct-taped her hands behind her back and dunked her head in the toilet to discipline her.

Eroded teeth

Doctors evaluated the girl's teeth and found all of them to be eroded and chipped. She told investigators her teeth hurt when she eats, and she recently broke a tooth while eating celery.

Doctors extracted six teeth under general anesthesia and capped the rest. They said the extreme dental erosion was "likely due to the shutdown of her salivary function due to extreme dehydration over an extended period of time," according to police.

Doctors found she has not gained weight since age 9.

Detectives served a search warrant on the residence and found the girl's room had a double deadbolt on the door, indicating that she was locked in the room at times during the day, police said.

They also collected evidence that the family had health insurance and the girl's brother had seen a doctor in the past few years. The family's two dogs were in good health and had recent trips to a veterinary clinic.

Two-month investigation

Even though the children were removed from the home in August, it took two months to complete an investigation before deputies could arrest the parents, Urquhart said.

Prosecutors said the couple were investigated by Child Protective Services in 2005 when the girl reported being locked in her room for extended periods of time. The CPS investigation concluded that the allegations were founded after Long admitted to locking the girl in her room, but the case was not referred for criminal prosecution, prosecutors said.

Urquhart said the girl and her brother are in foster care and doing well. They are now enrolled in school. The girl's foster father reports that she has gained 20 pounds in the past six weeks, goes to a private school, is making friends and does not appear to have behavioral issues, police and prosecutors said.

Grandfather fell out of touch

The children's biological mother and Pomeroy married in the early 1990s in Albuquerque, where he was working for Word Perfect, according to the mother's father, Robert Stokes, 73, of Bosque Farms, N.M. Stokes said Pomeroy was "quiet, and just a little odd."

The couple moved to Orem, Utah, in the mid-'90s and had the two children. The couple separated and divorced while in Utah, and Pomeroy was given custody of the children.

Stokes said he had received a few "nice letters" from his grandchildren in the beginning, but the contacts became less and less frequent. "I haven't heard from him in some time — years," Stokes said.

Stokes learned that his grandchildren had been taken into custody when he received a message on his answering machine from a Department of Social and Health Services caseworker.

"I haven't had a chance to get back in touch," Stokes said. "I'm just sick about this."

"To themselves" kind of people

The house where the family lives is on a cul-de-sac near the north end of Lake Marcel, about 40 miles east of Seattle, between the communities of Duvall and Carnation.

One neighbor, who declined to give his name other than to say his first name was Jordan, said he'd talked to people at the home only twice in about two years.

"They're very 'to-themselves' kind of people," he said. "I never knew they had a daughter," he said. "They just stayed inside a lot. I never heard any screaming. Police took the kids awhile ago."

He said a sport-utility vehicle and a car normally were parked in the driveway at the home, but no vehicles were there today and the house appeared unoccupied.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporters Mike Carter, Peyton Whitely and Christine Clarridge and news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.

Kidney transplant recipient has a fresh take on life

Just six months after receiving a new kidney, Todd Mills was ready for a 4.5-kilometre walk to help others like himself.

"I haven't jumped into too much physical activity yet ... Next year I'll probably do the run and get right into it," said Todd before the start of the Give the Gift of Life Fun Run and Walk on Sunday morning.

The White City resident, who will turn 28 in two weeks, was the lucky recipient of a kidney donation in March. He, along with his wife Crystal and three-year-old daughter Eve, led the first annual walk, which raises money and awareness for organ donation in Canada.

Todd and Crystal were newlyweds and expecting their first child when he learned that, at age 24, he was turned down for a life insurance application.

"I was kind of surprised and sort of in disbelief. I found out I had a kidney disease and went from there. It progressed pretty rapidly and I ended up on dialysis. That was quite the life changing experience," explained Todd.

Crystal said it was devastating at first to learn of his illness. She admitted it was very tough to be juggling a baby while caring and worrying about her husband.

"If you can take it away from that individual at that point is what you try to do and carry a lot of it on your own. It was difficult at first because we had no idea what to expect," she explained.

Todd started dialysis when he was 26 due to the deterioration of his kidney function and was placed on the waiting list for a transplant. He received his new kidney on March 15.

"I had a couple rough patches after that but beyond that, I'm here now and everything is looking good so far," he said.

Roughly 100 people were expected to take part in Sunday's event with recipients of organ donations wearing green T-shirts to distinguish them in the crowd.

The event was designed to raise awareness of organ donation for which Canada has one of the worst records in the developed world.

Todd admitted organ donation was something he really didn't think about until he was in need of one.

"People do take their bodies for granted and it is such an easy thing to say, 'I'll donate my organs to someone else' but people don't do it. I don't know what it is, I was the same way. It took something like this to open my eyes. That's why I'm out here to hopefully encourage other people to do that same," he said.

Todd credits his wife and daughter for pulling him through the difficult time. While there were a few bumps in his recovery, Todd's admitted he is feeling really good.

"Maybe in the last six or seven weeks, I've really turned the corner and started to feel like myself again," he said.