For the 21st consecutive year, a child registry safety and identification program for kindergarten students in the area is being sponsored by the Auxiliary of Mon-Vale Health Resources Inc. and the Mon Valley Police Chiefs Association.
Mon-Vale Health Resources is the parent company of Monongahela Valley Hospital, and the program is funded by the MVHR Fund Development Committee.
"This is an excellent program," Stephen V. Russell, superintendent of Belle Vernon Area School District, said as the 2009 program opened at Marion Elementary Center. "We can never do enough to ensure the safety and protection of our children, no matter what ages they might be. We are grateful to Monongahela Hospital and its auxiliary for presenting this program and also to the police officers who give of their time to participate."
Washington Township police Superintendent Raymond Moody and Officer Howard Rider conducted the session at Marion and used the Fingerprint America kits to implement it. Rostraver police will handle a similar assignment at Rostraver Elementary Center, also a BVA school, on Oct. 13. Both departments have been involved with the program since its inception in 1989.
"We are pleased to be partners with the hospital, the auxiliary and the school district for this important program," Moody said. "The fingerprints and other information in the ID booklet serve as a valuable resource for the parents of the children and provide a prime tool for police and other authorities in the event that a child is missing."
Janet M. Cieply, community relations director at Monongahela Valley Hospital, who helps coordinate the programs at area schools, said the idea behind child registry and the Fingerprint America child identification and DNA kit is to consolidate information about a child so that information is readily available if it should ever be needed.
"The basic tenet is to furnish law enforcement agencies with sufficient supportive materials to provide a quick and effective search mechanism in the event a child is missing," Cieply said.
In addition to Belle Vernon Area, other school districts participating in this year's programs are Bethlehem-Center, California Area, Charleroi Area, Frazier, Monessen, Ringgold and Yough. Kindergarten students at St. Sebastian School in Belle Vernon and Madonna Catholic Regional School in Monongahela also are included in the identification registrations.
Other police units whose officers will administer the fingerprinting are California, Carroll Township, Monongahela, Charleroi, Monessen, Perryopolis, Donora, North Belle Vernon and the Pennsylvania State Police.
The Oct. 15 program at Monessen Elementary Center again will be conducted in conjunction with Monessen Rotary Club, which sponsors Project KidCare. Project KidCare was developed by Polaroid Corporation and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and members of the auxiliary work with Monessen Rotarians and Monessen police to register the MEC students.
"We are pleased to present the identification programs again in cooperation with area police," Cieply said. "The program in Monessen was enhanced by combining the resources of the Rotary Club and the hospital and the continued cooperation of the Monessen Police Department."
Louis J. Panza, president and chief executive officer of Monongahela Valley Hospital, offered similar sentiments.
"The auxiliary at our hospital has done a wonderful job with these registrations for 21 years," Panza said. "Project KidCare, which also been utilized for child safety for several years, complements those efforts.
Our volunteers and the police appreciate working with the school districts and Monessen Rotary to help protect the children of our communities. In this day and age, with things that have happened across the United States with missing children, we can't do enough to protect them."
Barbara Ferguson and Faye Hefner are co-chairpersons of the auxiliary committee organizing the child safety day events at area schools. Other members also volunteer their time to participate in the programs.
Marion Elementary Center PTA members and MEC administration and staff assisted in coordinating the program there.
The auxiliary of Mon-Vale Health Resources Inc. introduced the registry and identification programs at area schools in the fall of 1989. It is estimated that nearly 20,000 kindergarten students have been registered since that time.
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