Bella Vista Police got together with firefighters and volunteers to place 439 pinwheels -- one for every confirmed child abuse case in Benton County -- in front of the Bella Vista Police Department on Friday.
The annual event was set up by the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County, an organization that would like to see child abuse eliminated, according to its website. The organization works to provide safe places and services, such as counseling and nursing, to child abuse victims, according its website, while also raising awareness and working to prevent additional abuse cases.
Development director Jolana Aibangbee said that every local police department in Benton County participates in this program, and she's glad to have these displays visible all over the county. The annual event kicks off April 1, which is Child Abuse Awareness Month.
"For us," she said, "it's a great way to build awareness and start conversations in families about child abuse."
The pinwheels, she said, have been adopted nationally as a symbol of a child's innocence. Further, she said, the spinning represents freedom for children.
"It's a good representation of what we do every day, working with child abuse," Aibangbee said.
The event started with a program at Northwest Arkansas Community College. As that event came to a close, volunteers headed north to Bella Vista to perform a scaled-down ceremony in front of the Police Department.
Pinwheels were passed out and sharp objects, including stakes, knives and pens, were used to punch holes in the earth. Volunteers then placed a pinwheel in the newly opened hole.
"It's a heart throb of a moment," Mayor Peter Christie said, "and it's certainly a very visual reminder that the abuse of children is a very real problem that everyone in the community needs to address."
Addressing the issue, Police Chief Ken Farmer said, largely boils down to getting involved. While people in certain occupations, including police and healthcare workers, are required to report abuse, anyone who sees something suspicious needs to report it so it can be properly investigated, he said.
"Even though the general public is not required to report it," he said, "they are allowed to report it and they should consider it a civic duty."
To report suspected child abuse, call the Arkansas Department of Human Services' child abuse hotline at 1-800-482-5964.
The event, he said, is a great way to support the Advocacy Center, which helps with any child victims the department may encounter. They offer a child-friendly environment, he said, as well as specially trained professionals who can interview children, as well as counseling.
"It allows us, in a small way, to repay the work they do every day," Farmer said. "We appreciate what these people do every day for the victims and parents in Benton County."
General News on 04/05/2017