Havens provide alternative to abandoning newborns

Discussions involving safety must include information for one of our most vulnerable demographics: a safe haven for newborn infants. An unwanted pregnancy can be a very traumatic experience, and a new mother may have overwhelming feelings of isolation, fear or shame that could lead to irrational thoughts or acts.

Each year there are many disturbing reports of newborn babies found in dumpsters and other unsafe places. The law says that parents who do not harm their baby cannot be prosecuted for abandonment if they hand their newborn (up to 30 days old) to personnel at a safe-haven facility. No questions asked. They don’t have to give a name. The police will not be called, and the baby will get medical care and be adopted.

Where are safe havens? They are at staffed fire stations, staffed police stations, hospitals and emergency care facilities.

What happens at a safe haven? Staff members will ensure the child is given a physical examination and provided with any needed medical care. There may be a list of medical information about the newborn left with the child to help health care workers.

Biological parents should be aware they are voluntarily terminating their parental rights, which makes the infant available for immediate adoption. Please pass this information on to anyone who may be, even marginally, at risk. You just might save a life.

May 31. Traffic: The slow-moving vehicle appears to be a little out of place at 12:01 a.m. in the area of New Mexico Street and California Avenue.

Disturbance: The beginning of an evening of impaired domestic shenanigans happens at 7:54 p.m. in the 1200 block of Potosi Street.

Thought for the day: The golf game is long over and the vehicle is not suitable for road use at any time of the day.

June 1. Suspicious: The caller believes there is an explosive device in the middle of the road at 12:34 p.m. in the area of Arapaho Way and Eighth Street.

Temporary protective order violation: The adverse party has a hard time believing the judge would say no contact whatsoever (he did) at 2:38 p.m. in the 500 block of Avenue I.

Thought for the day: The training device is a collector’s item and no danger but is removed and disposed of properly.

June 2. Traffic: The driver has confused the traffic stop with a game of tag and expects the “home base” driveway means he is immune from consequences (he isn’t) at 2:31 a.m. in the 600 block of Avenue H.

Disturbance: The inebriated male gives the keys to someone else and goes to sleep it off in his vehicle at 4:58 a.m. in the 1300 block of Arizona Street.

Thought for the day: The trouble is that his head falls forward during sleep and the horn mechanism makes a delightful pillow for him, but not-so-much for all the neighbors.

June 3. Burglary: The homeowner finds the front door damaged and the residence has been compromised at 8:15 a.m. in the 1500 block of Georgia Avenue.

Foot patrol: The night fishing is interrupted by those pesky boys in blue at 10:50 p.m. in the 1600 block of Buchanan Boulevard.

Thought for the day: And just when they were starting to bite too.

June 4. Disturbance: The elderly man with a walker is going in circles and yelling obscenities at 2:03 a.m. in the 1000 block of Nevada Way.

Civil: The caller wants the man in the wheelchair arrested for going to the local convenience store and obtaining liquor at 8:33 p.m. in the 600 block of Adams Boulevard.

Thought for the day: The man explains to the officer that if he was watching the news right now he would be screaming and going in circles too.

June 5. Grand theft: The caller is out of town but the camera has captured the theft of an expensive bike from the garage at 10:34 a.m. in the 600 block of Christina Drive.

Domestic: This argument involves a weapon and a quick departure by the other party at 9:37 p.m. in the 1000 block of Nevada Way.

Thought for the day: The telepathic thief has returned the bicycle, and the owner doesn’t wish to pursue an investigation.

June 6. Burglary: The front door has been kicked in and some expensive items have been taken at 1:26 a.m. in the 1300 block of Wyoming Street.

Assist other: Officers assist with traffic control during a reported kitchen fire at 11:22 a.m. in the 3:46 p.m. in the 500 block of Avenue I.

Thought for the day: Cameras sure make our job easier, and a few subjects just might be surprised one of these days.

Call(s) of the week: Suspicious: The casually dressed man keeps trying to gain entrance to a locked facility insisting he is just there to get some toilet paper. Following a records check and stern questioning, officers conclude … wait for it … that he’s just there to collect some toilet paper — for another facility at 4:05 a.m. June 2 in the 100 block of Veterans Memorial Drive.

Tina Ransom is a dispatcher with Boulder City Police Department. She is coordinator of the Boulder City Citizen’s Academy.