CAC gala and PBR to fight child abuse

CLEBURNE – There are rainbows after the storm for children in Johnson County.
“This is a place for children after some terrible things have happened to them,” said Gwen Beeson of Keene, in her first year on the Children’s Advocacy Center’s board of directors. “I know firsthand what this place does for children in this county and I am very impressed.”
While children are referred to the center because of shadows in their past, the center is always a year away from darkness, the danger of closure. But it survives because of charitable support from celebrities and everyday folks around the county, executive director Tammy King said.
More than half of the Children’s Advocacy Center’s funding is derived the annual two-day Cowboys for Kids event. The Roping the Stars Gala will take place at 6 p.m. April 27 at 3165 County Road 808 in Cleburne. A children’s stick horse rodeo takes place at 11 a.m. April 28 at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse’s indoor arena in Cleburne. The Professional Bull Riding and celebrity team roping closes the event at 6 p.m. Saturday with the first bull being bucked at 8 p.m. at the Johnson County Sheriff’s Posse’s outdoor arena.
“We’ve seen what happens in a situation like Penn State when you don’t recognize the problem and deal with it,” King said.
Reports of more than 40 counts of sexual abuse against minors by Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, contact that may have began as early as 1994, shook the nation last fall. But it is all too common, according to Sheriff Bob Alford.
While abuse exists everywhere, including cases across Johnson County, Alford said, many are concerned with federal funding cuts to the center’s budget.
“I would hate to think what might happen if this center were not here,” he said. “I believe it would mean more cost to the residents of this county because more of these cases would be taken to court. Then, the quality of cases would decline and others may not be reported.”
An average of 88 percent of offenders involved in cases treated by the Children’s Advocacy Center result in a plea, King said, but statistically 84 percent of child abuse cases are never reported. One in six boys and one in four girls are abused by the age of 18, King said.
“This center has been so effective in preserving the outcry of the child,” Johnson County District Attorney Dale Hanna said. “It has been a great asset in prosecution of these cases.”
His belief in Johnson County residents was reaffirmed by a jury pool in the recent capital murder trial of Mark Anthony Soliz, Hanna said.
“They said they would consider death,” he said, “but especially if it involved a child.”
Cathy Campbell is one who can recall a different time in social work. A child would be required to share their story time and again with law enforcement and child protective services.
“It’s changed so much,” said Campbell, in her ninth year on the board. “Now, they only have to do one interview. We feel it is important to protect the children, and its not a quick fix for these children.”
All stakeholders participate in the initial interview with a child, an advantage that can’t be underestimated, Alford said.
“The child has a natural built-up fear,” he said. “In the old days the offender and the victim could be in the same place. The child is being told, ‘they won’t believe you.’”
Research found that repeated interviews led children to believe it was true.
“Now, they’re all here to listen the first time,” Green said. “The child doesn’t have to relive it over and over.”
The gala is the single-largest dinner gathering in the county each year. But it took a lot of hard work through the years, according to rodeo announcer Charlie Throckmorton.
“When we first started this, we had 75 people in the audience,” he said. “We started out doing a pretty good bull riding and went to a better bull riding, to a great bull riding, and finally to a PBR.”
A cowboy that has ridden more bulls at the event than about anyone is Chad Eubank, a graduate of Joshua High School and a Cleburne resident. He rode his final bull at last year’s event.
“Now, I feel I have a place,” said Eubank, who is a member of the center’s board. “Riding bulls was what I did for a living. Now, I feel I have a place.”
He’s among a lengthy list of celebrities who will attend the event, including a three-time cowboy – Jay Novacek, who played for the Dallas Cowboys, for the Wyoming Cowboys and is a cowboy by nature.
“Anytime you are dealing with children and good people you get something like this,” Novacek said.
Many of the celebrities are champions from some athletic venue, especially in the world of rodeo. They donate their time to the effort.
“I’ve always said, ‘A champion never stood so tall to reach down and help a child,’” Throckmorton said. “I’ve also said, ‘Get a rope,’ like John Wayne, but we have the help of law enforcement and a legal system.”
The Children’s Advocacy Center is located at 910 N. Granbury St. in Cleburne. Contact the center at 817-558-1599 or info@childadvocacycenter-jc.org. If you suspect a child is being abused, contact local law enforcement or call the sheriff’s office at 817-556-6060 or call child protective services at 817-202-2200.

Benefit trail ride May 18-20
A benefit trail ride will be held to raise funds for the Child’s Advocacy Center on the weekend of May 18-20 at the Chambers Ranch in Grandview. 
The weekend will include two days of riding on the beautiful grasslands of Chambers ranch. Bring your horse or wagon and come have a knee slappin’ good time. Four meals are included.
There will also be games, bass fishing and picture taking. Saturday night will include a camp fire concert, BBQ dinner from a real chuck wagon, and Sheriff Bob Alford will hold an auction.
Participants can camp for the weekend, or just for the meal and entertainment on Saturday night.
The cost is $50 per person, with a cap of $125 for a family of three or more. 
Registration forms can be found on the SVCCSAR.org website.  Mail to: SVCCSAR, PO Box 793, Crowley, TX 76036.