Posted: Saturday, November 22, 2008 12:00 am
to Foster property
By Cathy Ingalls
Albany Democrat-Herald
The six children removed Thursday afternoon from property on Jones Road in Foster during an investigation concerning animal abuse and neglect will not be returning.
On Friday afternoon, Judge Carl Brumund in Linn Circuit Court ruled that the children were to stay away from the property. The judge said he was concerned about their safety and well-being. He cited the "deplorable" living conditions found on the property and the number of unsecured weapons that were easily available to the children.
There also was discussion that at least one child was staying in a shed, which one parent referred to as a cabin, that contained rats' nests.
Two of the children taken from the property at 28600 Jones Road near Foster Reservoir were teenagers. They were not part of Friday's proceedings, but a protective services official said they would not be returning either.
The four parents of the four younger children were in court.
Two of the parents asked to regain custody of their children, saying the children did not live on the property permanently but were only visiting.
The judge allowed one of the four to be turned over to his biological father, someone with whom the child has not had a relationship.
The other three remain in state shelter care.
The judge set Dec. 19 for a follow-up hearing. He suggested before that time that if any parent had a problem with drugs or alcohol that they enter a treatment program. Parents who are clean have a faster chance of getting their children back, he said.
The children were taken from the home after investigators from several jurisdictions looking into allegations of animal abuse and neglect discovered how people were living on the 21-acre property.
Linn County deputies took Richard Reed Stevens, 62, into custody. He was charged with 20 counts of second-degree animal neglect of horses and dogs and three counts of unauthorized taking of a game mammal.
Melissa Leeann Corliss, 34, who was living on the property, was charged with seven counts of second-degree animal neglect involving dogs. Both were taken to the Linn County Jail, where they were cited and released to appear in court Dec. 17.