| You may not have a problem with gambling; in fact, you may not even know anyone who has a gambling problem. But are you aware that gambling is a “secret” addiction --- that anyone may be suffering from this disease without showing any visible symptoms of addiction? That could include your spouse, your sibling, your neighbour, your employee, or even your babysitter or child care provider. |
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News Item September 15, 2001
Police say a woman kept three children in a casino parking lot while she gambled.
Toddlers Left In Van for 11 Hours
by Jody Lawrence-Turner
Statesman Journal
Grand Ronde, Oregon: A licensed day-care provider left three toddlers in a van at Spirit Mountain Casino while she gambled for 11 hours Thursday, authorities said.
The two boys and a girl, ages 1, 2 and 3, were found soaked, soiled and dehydrated, Polk County sheriff’s spokeswoman Laureen Paulsen said. Willamina Fire Department medics treated the three children before they were taken into protective custody by Services for Children and Families.
Zelda L. Schmidt, 27, was charged with three felony counts of criminal mistreatment and one count of possession of methamphetamine. The state pulled her day-care license Friday, Paulsen said.
Schmidt, 27, arrived at the casino at 2:52 Thursday morning in her Ford Cargo van. She locked the children in the vehicle with two bottles of juice and a bag of chips, Paulsen said.
Casino security patrol the lot every 10 to 15 minutes but didn’t notice the children in the van. “The problem with the van was that it had those smoked windows, and the car seats were on the floor of the van,” said Siobhan Loughran, spokeswoman for Spirit Mountain Casino. Casino patrons parking in front of the van about 1:30 p.m. saw one of the children through the windshield. “Security confirmed that the children were in the car and contacted Polk County police,” Paulsen said. Schmidt had just returned to the vehicle and was met by Polk County’s Sgt. Nathan Goldberg and casino security. She was arrested and taken to Polk County Jail.
Schmidt was in care of the 1-year-old boy and the 3-year-old girl; the 2-year-old was her adopted son. “The 2-year-old male will remain in protective custody,” said Patricia Feeny, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Human Services. “The other two are being returned to Warm Springs tribe. What will happen will be handled by them.”
Schmidt faces a hearing to determine whether she should be stripped of custody. “What she did, it is a child protection issue for us,” Feeny said. “The bottom line is that you don’t leave children that young alone.”
No statistics were available Friday about how many kids are left in cars each year. “We don’t get a lot of complaints out there (at the casino), sometimes up to four a year, but never for 11 hours,” Paulsen said.
The casino doesn’t offer day care, but it does have a Play World for kids between 3 and 12 years old. “We as a rule do not encourage our guests to bring their children to a place like the casino,” Loughran said. “We would rather lose a guest than having something like this happen.”
(Copyright 2001 Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon)
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It is alarming to hear that the Spirit Mountain Casino claims it does not encourage children on the premises, and yet it offers a Play World for kids between 3 and 12 years old. This casino is not the only casino to take this approach: --- some casinos offer day care, many offer Play Centres and alternative activities for children. Most casinos do check their parking lots to ensure that children are not left locked in the vehicles; however, the pathological gambler will park on the public parkways nearby and enter the casino to play . . . . often for an indefinite period of time. |
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