October 27, 2002 7:19 AM

And all I ever got was peanut butter & jelly

Man jailed after child takes crack to school

You know, THIS is something I never had to worry about when I was in school:

A Brazoria County man remained in jail today after he was indicted on a charge of endangering his girlfriend's 4-year-old son, who took crack cocaine to preschool in Angleton.

John Terrill Ross, 21, of Rosharon, was indicted by a grand jury on one count of endangering a child and one count of possession of a controlled substance, said Brazoria County District Attorney Jeri Yenne.

The charges stem from an incident that occurred earlier this month, when the young boy took a medicine bottle containing crack cocaine to the Angleton Independent School District's Early Childhood Campus, where he attends school. The boy showed the cocaine to other children, but no one ingested the drugs.

The 4-year-old apparently knew what he was bringing to school, calling the drug "rocks," Yenne confirmed.

"He was aware of the street term for cocaine," Yenne said Saturday. "It's very disturbing to me. This is inexcusable."

After the incident at the preschool, the boy and his 3-year-old and 8-month-old siblings were taken from their mother and placed in foster care. A judge has ordered that the children remain in custody of Child Protective Services until a hearing on Tuesday.

I hate the one who would be accused of advocating eugenics, but when I hear stories like this, I've got to wonder. In this society, one needs a license to own a gun, go fishing or hunting, own a business, even drive a car. Incredibly, though, any moron with a sufficient lack of self-control and the correct physical equipment can have a child. Am I the only one who sees the absurdity inherent in this? I didn't think so....

I've always believed that there are some people who just should NOT be allowed to have children. The reasons are numerous- lack of moral fiber, anger control issues, addiction issues, criminal records, ad infinitum, ad nauseum- and because the welfare of our children are at stake, these reasons should carry some weight. Sadly, bearing children is seen as an inalienable right of adulthood, regardless of the situation said child is born into.

Of course, I'm not going to sit here and advocate parental licensing. Frankly, I'd be better off tap-dancing through a minefield. I know what sort of tyranny this idea smacks of, but I still have to wonder why we as a society do such a poor job of protecting our children? If we can protect fish and game animals, should we not be able to provide similar protection for our children? Or is it simply easier for us to wag our fingers at the miscreants when their children show up at school with crack? (I'd NEVER allow my child to do THAT....)

I don't have the answer to this question, but it is a question that deserves to be asked far more often than it is. Our children deserve better.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on October 27, 2002 7:19 AM.

Always the peacemaker.... was the previous entry in this blog.

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