Burkhart, In re, s. 2896
| Decision Date | 08 July 1968 |
| Docket Number | 2892,Nos. 2896,2895,s. 2896 |
| Citation | 15 Ohio Misc. 170,239 N.E.2d 772 |
| Parties | , 44 O.O.2d 329 In re BURKHART. |
| Court | Ohio Court of Common Pleas |
P. Daniel Fedders, Franklin, for complainant.
Scott H. Ray, Jr., Lebanon, for parents.
These causes originated June 25, 1963, when separate complaints were filed in the Juvenile Division of the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas alleging that said minor children were dependent-neglected. The complaints were sworn to and signed by a member of the Dayton Police Department and indicated that the father was Kelly Burkhart whose address was unknown and that the mother was Nora Burkhart whose address was 339 Richard Street apparently in Dayton, Ohio.
August 14, 1963, said Juvenile Court found that said children had a legal settlement in Warren County, Ohio and transferred and certified said cases to the Juvenile Court of Warren County, Ohio, pursuant to Section 2151.36, Revised Code.
November 1, 1963, the Warren County Juvenile Court ordered that the hearing of the case be continued and that said children be continued in the temporary care of the Warren County Child Welfare Board.
August 10, 1967, the Executive Secretary of the Warren County Child Welfare Board filed another complaint charging said children to be dependent-neglected children, 'in that they lack proper parental care because of the faults and habits of their parents, and whose condition and environment is such as to warrant the state, in the interest of the said children, in assuming their guardianship, all contrary to Sections 2151.03 and 2151.04, Revised Code-'
November 18, 1967, the court found that said children lacked proper parental care because of the faults and habits of the parents, Sonia LaSeur and Nora LaSeur and they were ordered placed in the permanent care and custody of the Warren County Child Welfare Board.
March 14, 1968, the court vacated and set aside the judgment granting permanent custody to the Warren County Child Welfare Board and further continued said children in the temporary custody of said board.
Because of the order vacating the judgment of March 14, 1968, these cases revert to their status of November 1, 1963. No commitment of temporary care has yet been made as the result of a completed hearing. The causes on the date were merely continued and temporary care ordered to the Warren County Child Welfare Board pending final hearing.
Since these children were removed from the home, almost five years have elapsed without a final determination as to even a temporary order. This is entirely too long and makes the present task even more difficult.
By agreement of counsel, all three cases have been consolidated for this hearing.
The evidence of this hearing shows that the three children herein were born to Nora Burkhart LaSeur at a time when Nora LaSeur was estranged from her first husband, Kelly Burkhart, but not legally divorced. The father of said children is Sonia LaSeur. Eudora was born Sept. 12, 1960; Sonie Lee Nov. 8, 1961; and Kenneth Jefferson Nov. 7, 1962.
June 25, 1963, Nora Burkhart, now LaSeur, was charged with contributing toward the neglect of her six minor children, including the three childlren here involved by complaint filed in the Division of Domestic Relations, Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, Ohio.
June 28, 1963, Nora Burkhart (LaSeur) was found guilty of said charge and on the 9th day of January, 1964, she was sentenced to the city of Dayton Workhouse for a period of six months and ordered to pay a fine of $300 and costs. Imposition of sentence was suspended on the following conditions.
1. That defendant refrain from any illicit relations.
2. That she live as a law abiding citizen.
3. That she provide a proper home and parental care for her minor children.
4. That she pay the court costs.
5. That she is hereby placed on five years probation.
Probation has not been revoked and Nora Burkhart remains under probation to said court at the time of this hearing.
Nora Burkhart LaSeur was divorced from Kelly Burkhart January 28, 1964, and she married Sonia LaSeur February 10, 1964. Twin children have been born the issue of this marriage on Nov. 22, 1964, and are living in the home of Sonia and Nora LaSeur in Warren County.
Three witnesses testified in support of the complaint. The policewoman who filed the original complaint in June 1963, a caseworker and the executive secretary of the Warren County Child Welfare Board who came to her position in 1965. The policewoman testified as to the neglect of the children in 1963, but she had no personal knowledge of their condition and environment subsequent to that time. The caseworker and executive secretary testified concerning the situation since 1965, but had no personal knowledge of the situation in 1963. Nora LaSeur and Sonia LaSeur, together with two of their older children, friends, relatives and acquaintances testified as to the satisfactory condition of the home and the proper care of the children when in the home.
Since the burden of proof lies with those who support the complaint, we shall consider this testimony first. This court finds on the basis of the testimony of the policewoman and the conviction of Nora Burkhart (LaSeur) of contributing to the neglect of her children that said children were neglected children in 1963. It is also clear that said children were neglected by their parents at least up to and including the time they were living at 36 Buckeye Street, Dayton, Ohio, in November 1965. Admittedly, this was an area of saloons and bars and not a proper environment authorizing the return of the children to the home. Mr. LaSeur did not maintain steady employment and Mr. and Mrs. LaSeur moved frequently. Had this action been heard at any time from June 1963 to November 1965, this court is of the opinion that an order to declare the children neglected and dependent would have been proper and the children should have been placed outside the home.
Little is known from the testimony as to the contacts of Mr. and Mrs. LaSeur with the Child Welfare Department from 1963 to 1965, but it is clear that antagonistic feelings developed. The record shows that since 1965, three calls were made to the LaSeur home by representatives of the Child Welfare Department, two in Dayton and one in Warren County. The evidence indicates that Nora LeSeur has visited with her children in the foster homes many times and has continued to make inquiry and attempts to have her home approved and her children returned. It was the sincere opinion of...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
East, In re
...were, in fact, dependent children.' With this statement this court agrees and has so held. First syllabus of In re Burkhart (1968), 15 Ohio Misc. 170, 239 N.E.2d 772; 'Before the court may consider what disposition should be made of children for their best interest and welfare, there must f......
-
Collar, In re
...the natural mother. In support of such contention appellant cites several cases from other jurisdictions. See e.g., In re Burkhart (1968), 15 Ohio, Misc. 170, 239 N.E.2d 772. The cases cited by appellant from other jurisdictions do not persuade this court. This appeal is controlled by the s......
-
M., In re
...mother incapable of giving the children proper parental care. In re Hock (1947), 55 Ohio Law Abs. 73. As is said In re Burkhart (1968), 15 Ohio Misc. 170, 174, 239 N.E.2d 772, where a child has been removed from the temporary care of its parents because of neglect or inability to discharge ......
-
In Re: in re the Warren Children, 81-LW-0387
...there was any neglect or dependency occasioned by the appellant's action. In re Kronjaeger (1957) 166 Ohio St. 172, and In re Burkhart (1968), 15 Ohio Misc. 170, adopted the reasoning of Kronjaeger, clearly stand for the proposition that the basis for determination of findings of neglect an......