LETTERS: FOSTER PARENTS DESERVE PRAISE FOR WHAT THEY DO

To the editor:

The Bollinger County Division of Family Services would like to thank Dr. Scott Weiner of Southeast Missouri Hospital in Cape Girardeau for his presentation at our annual Foster Parent Appreciation Banquet. He offered praise to our foster parents for their love and concern for the children they care for.

We would also like to thank Jay's Bar B Que for an excellent meal and the Marble Hill United Methodist Church for allowing us to use its facility. A huge thank you is due to the many businesses in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties that contributed gifts and certificates for our foster parents.

Most importantly, we want to thank our foster parents, who deserve accolades for their unselfish time and attention in caring for children who are unable to live at home.. Foster parents welcome children into their homes even in the middle of the night, sit and listen to children when no one else does, attend school functions for children, and provide a safe and loving environment, which is often the only time these children have felt security and safety in their lives.

KAREN M. BLATTNER

Social Service Worker II

Bollinger County Division of Family Services

Marble Hill, Mo.