Texas: Two Children Found Living in Abandoned School Bus
March 15th, 2012Via: ABC / AP:
The abandoned school bus had no engine and no front wheels. But there were crude curtains in the windows, an air conditioner and even bunk beds inside.
So when a postal worker repeatedly ran across two unkempt children at the scene, she grew concerned and this week contacted authorities to report that the pair had apparently been living there for months.
Now child welfare agents are trying to unravel the story of the siblings, a 5-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl, whose parents are in prison and whose home was a dilapidated vehicle at the end of a muddy, one-lane road.
The postal carrier saw the kids Wednesday near Houston, and the two were swiftly placed in foster care while authorities investigate.
“The little girl’s hair was just matted, like a stray dog’s,” Vanessa Picazo said.
The father of the pair said he never intended for the bus to be a permanent home. He said the family had planned to build a house at the site, which was now strewn with reeking trash.
Another sad consequence of America’s Pride as the “Prison Nation.”
This isn’t national news. Sorry. Children left at home all day. Parents unavailable (prison). Caretaker (Aunt) checks on them daily to ensure they are ok.
If the number of hours a day where the parental figures are with the children is a measure of how “good” the home is, the states will need to start taking tens of thousands or more children from their homes.
What’s so bad about a bus? And ya Kevin, I know you thought of me when you posted this. 🙂 My bus is nothing like the one portrayed.
The bus in the article was built to withstand rain and heavy winds. Highway winds easily reach an instant velocity of 120mph where two vehicles pass close to each other at 60mph in opposite directions. They’re made to stand up to the elements for far longer than a mobile home or travel trailer.
I’d hazard to guess there are hundreds of thousands of people in the US living in mobile homes and travel trailers.
Oh my gosh, they had air conditioning. While city dwellers frequently see it as a necessity, you’ll find a lot of people do without, usually for financial or environmental reasons.
So the kids were “dirty” when they were “found”. There’s a lot missing from that part of the story. Is this a trend, or a single incident. I’ve seen kids come home covered in mud from head to toe. Even when I was a kid, I did. I road motorcycles a lot, and sometimes things didn’t go perfectly. A teenager with a dirt bike very frequently has undesirable consequences, like being laid down at inopportune moments.
The kids weren’t “found” or “discovered”. Neighbors knew where they were. The caretaker (aunt) knew where they were. It was a simple matter for law enforcement to “find” them. Check their home.
The only thing that I’d see any sort of problem with here is the fact that they were 5 and 11 (as I recall from the video). Were they going to school? They weren’t being home schooled, if no one was there to teach them. Most states mandate at least grade school education of all children. The article does state that they are not enrolled in school, so that’s the only problem I see.
The other issues they mention is the fact the kids are dirty, they ran around, made noise, and there was trash lying around. The trash was attributed to neighbors dumping on their property. We can accept that as fine.
There are kids in my neighborhood, that appear dirty sometimes. They run around, make noise, and are generally annoying. If that’s a crime, they’d better roll a short bus in and collect them. That’s from one neighborhood.
It does seem from what the article states, that the children were better off when their parents were around. Ok, they weren’t the most honest people. Pick anyone well dressed in a business area, and you can probably find serious dishonesty in their actions too. Oh, but we don’t do such things to rich people who can afford nice homes and expensive lawyers.
It would appear that at the time of the parents arrests, the children’s welfare was disregarded. Sure, arrest the parents, ignore the children. That should be one of those little checks and balances. Are there children in the house where you’re taking the adults from? Ensure they have someone to watch them.
As the story says they’re still alive, they were being taken care of. It would have been a much more gruesome story if it was “Bodies of children, who’s parents were arrested a year ago, found at home. Apparent cause of death was starvation.”
This reminds me of the story of a man and his daughter who were found living happily in Forest Park (Portland, Oregon). They committed no crime, other than not living to current standards. They were healthy, happy, and the daughter was educated well above the level expected of a child her age.
I couldn’t find the story, but there is a reference on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest_Park_%28Portland,_Oregon%29#cite_note-Berstein-54
Bernstein, Maxine (May 20, 2004). “Out of the woods police rescue father, girl who say Forest Park was their home for four years”. The Oregonian (Oregonian Publishing Co.): p. A01.
I believe that story was covered here also.
Basically, you must live in approved housing, paying the appropriate property taxes. You must have a traditional job, and pay your income taxes. You must consume as modern standards apply. No computer? cell phone? car? TV? You will be dragged kicking and screaming to meet modern standards.
The way our politicians are behaving, including laws passed recently, attending Christian church, and giving your church requested tidings will be part of those qualifications. Not religious, or of an alternate belief system? Have a non-traditional lifestyle (LGBT is the most obvious)? Take the children, and arrest the parents.
One state is proposing a law that a *single mother* cannot provide an adequate household. Any single parents will be found to have an unfit home. As much as I may dislike my ex-s, I will fight for their right to raise my children. We agreed upon it. They are not in unfit homes. One of my ex-s homes may not be ideal, but the other is fine. Well, beyond fine. Mom is there. Grandparents visit. There are close friends of ours that visit frequently. The most important part is, the children are happy.
[rant mode off]