Staff photos / R. Michael Semple Jennifer Kollar, public information officer for Mahoning County Children Services, plants a pinwheel in front of the St. James Meeting House at Boardman Park on Wednesday afternoon to kick off National Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month, which begins today. This is the 15th annual Pinwheels for Prevention event.

BOARDMAN — There’s a special pinwheel garden in Boardman Park that will help bring awareness to child abuse.

The annual event focuses on placing a pinwheel for each adult that has spoken up and become the voice of a young child suffering from abuse.

Four Valley residents showed Wednesday at the park off U.S. Route 224 to create the garden.

“This is our 15th year for the pinwheel program,” said Jennifer Kollar, public information officer for Mahoning County Job and Family Services. “We didn’t hold one last year due to the pandemic. But this year, we are back.”

In years prior to 2020, Kollar said they would have no problem putting up the pinwheels, as the East High School Junior ROTC students welcomed the opportunity for a community project. This year, pandemic rules prevented those helping hands, leaving Kollar and Andrea Mistovich from the Child Advocacy Center at Akron Children’s Hospital to place the entire 1,000-plus pinwheels.

When the two women showed up, two additional volunteers were at the park ready to roll up their sleeves. Wanda and Bill Marland from Poland decided they were not going to leave Kollar and Mistovich to do it all alone.

“Bill and Wanda are cherished volunteers for our children’s services,” Kollar said. “They are a great couple who really care about the children.”

Kollar said she appreciated the help as 1,000-plus pinwheels means a lot of planting. She said when the program first started she tried to have one pinwheel for every person who reported child abuse. It was later decided to go with an average of 1,000 as the pinwheels were getting to be expensive. She did locate a sturdy pinwheel that could be used year after year — this way only the broken ones will have to be replaced.

The pinwheels will remain up for the month of April and the spinning garden display will likely grow. Kollar said park visitors will sometimes add one of their own pinwheels to the display. A few odd pinwheels are in the mix this year from visitors doing just that in prior years.

Kollar said reported child abuse cases are down so far for 2021. She said it is likely not from a slowing in child abuse, but in cases not being reported because of the stay-at -home orders.

She provided information that said nationally, a child abuse report is made every 10 seconds. In Ohio, a child abuse report is received every 30 minutes. In 2020, Mahoning County Children Services received 4,483 reports of child abuse and neglect and of those reports 1,462 cases were opened for investigation.

Mistovich said Akron Children’s Hospital in Boardman often deals with the abuse on the front line. The hospital staff are the ones who do the examinations and interview the children about abuse. She said in many cases the child gets that far because someone has spoken up.

“Our main idea is to bring awareness about child abuse,” Mistovich said. “If you see something, report it. You may be the only one speaking for that child.”

Ohioans who suspect child abuse / neglect can report via the Ohio Child Abuse Report Hotline: 855-O-H-CHILD (855-642-4453). The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services launched this automated telephone directory that links callers directly to an Ohio Children Services agency or law enforcement office in their county.

Locally, report to Mahoning County Children Services 24/7 Report Line at 330-941-8888. Frequently asked questions about reporting child abuse and neglect can be found at www.

mahoningkids.com.