Testing Grounds The latest industry being outsourced to India is clinical drug trials. And any number of tragic things can happen on the way to your medicine cabinet.
Friday Night Rewind It doesn't matter which team you cheer for. We've got video previews of every high school football program in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco and Hernando County.
The transcendent story of Danielle's rise from neglect and filth to a wonderful home with a loving family is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. "The Girl in the Window,'' published in the Times on Aug. 3 and available at www. tampabay.com, survived conditions unfit for human life because of the remarkable compassion of strangers. The outpouring of public support for Danielle since her story became public reaffirms a basic goodness that too often is forgotten or goes unnoticed.
The powerful account by Times staff writer Lane DeGregory and photographer Melissa Lyttle also should trigger a little soul-searching. How could a child live for years in such unspeakable conditions in Hillsborough County before a state investigator and Plant City police officers found her in 2005 and took her to Tampa General Hospital? How could state child abuse investigators twice respond to calls about Danielle to a state hotline and not remove her from an unfit mother? How can a community and a state become more vigilant about the safety and care of its children?
There are no easy answers. Danielle's story challenges the notion that the state's bias should be to keep families together. The investigators who saw Danielle the first two times evidently hoped for something better. Her mother refused their help. While there should be no illusions about the shortcomings that can accompany foster care, Gov. Charlie Crist and state legislators ought to reflect about whether parental rights and the safety of a child are appropriately balanced.
In Danielle's case, humanity finally triumphed. A state investigator, police officers, a judge, a caseworker and a teacher were among those who reacted with compassion and understanding. The true saints are Diane and Bernie Lierow and their son, William, who adopted Danielle and are nurturing her with an extraordinary mix of determination, patience and love.
Danielle's story is a reminder that individual actions can make a difference where government too often cannot. We are not all saints, but we can be citizens. Be aware of your surroundings. Take notice when something involving a child does not look quite right. If you suspect a child is being neglected or abused, call the state's anonymous toll-free hotline: 1-800-962-2873.
If nothing happens, call again. If nothing happens, call police. That third call is what finally saved Danielle.
[Last modified: Aug 14, 2008 08:15 PM]
Subscribe to the Times
Click here for daily delivery
of the St. Petersburg Times.
News
