CHILD ABUSE, NEGLECT COUNCIL TO HOLD AUCTION TO RAISE FUNDS

The Cape Girardeau County Council on Child Abuse and Neglect will hold a fund-raising auction next month.

Pat Abernathy, vice president and charter member of the council, said the annual auction will be held Sept. 21 in front of Sanders Hardware store in Town Plaza.

Money raised will be spent to replace car seats used by the local Division of Family Services, Abernathy said.

"We are also wanting to do a new program of videos," she said. "We are planning videos for young mothers to discuss their options of keeping their baby or giving it up for adoption.

"We also are planning some parent-training videos that would provide preventive help so parents don't get in trouble and possibly abuse their child."

The auction will include items donated by local businesses and a few celebrities, Abernathy said.

A $100 gift certificate from Schaper's IGA and Val's Upholstery will be raffled off.

"We are going to have a lot of hand-crafted items," she said.

A Jake Wells painting and a baseball bat autographed by Ozzie Smith are among items to be auctioned.

Radio station K103 is cosponsoring the event and will do live remotes from the auction.

The council was organized in 1979 to coordinate activities to benefit children in Cape County.

The council sponsor seminars for professionals who deal with children, investigators and counselors. The organization also coordinates a foster-parent banquet each spring.

A child protection team developed by the council has served as a model across the state. A team of various people from the community doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers and other members of the community meet twice a month to assist social-service investigators in dealing with tough cases, Abernathy said.