Suspicions High Over Polk County DSS in N.C.

Columbus, NC (TLS). One thing you can say about the mountain folk of North Carolina other than the fact that they are some of most hospitable, good-hearted people on earth is that they don't take kindly to outsiders meddling in their business. And that goes for individuals who work in government agencies that tend to believe that they are the watchdogs of the behavior of private citizens.

A perfect example of this phenomenon is the case of Joyce Painter, a resident of the North Carolina mountain town of Columbus. Painter thought she was minding her own business, raising her 7-year-old son as best she could, when along comes 'Big Brother' to tell her that because her son is 'too fat' she is therefore a sorry Mother.

'Big Brother' in this case is the North Carolina Department of Social Services, which utilizes 'anonymous tips' to justify going after private citizens, usually with regard to cases of suspected child abuse. The Polk County Department of Social Services received such a tip concerning Ms. Painter, except in this case it was not about child abuse but about the weight of her son.

Considered 'morbidly obese' by medical definition, the Painter boy had at one time topped the scales at 254 pounds, despite being taken by his Mother on numerous occasions to see physicians about what to do to correct the problem.

Ms. Painter had placed her son on numerous eating programs recommended by various physicians, all to no avail. She insists that she fed her son only those foods prescribed by the physicians.

In spite of Ms. Painter's obvious concern about her son's health, DSS officials moved in and implicated Ms. Painter with innuendo concerning possible 'child neglect,' 'child endangerment,' or other such terms, all designed to place the blame for the boy's obesity squarely at the feet of his Mother.

Yet DSS had NO medical history of the boy and ordered none. How, for example, do they know that the boy does not have a hidden medical problem that contributes to the weight gain? Does his thyroid gland function normally? What about his digestive system? Does his digestive system function in such a manner that food is digested along a normal continuum?

Studies published in various medical journals indicate that persons who have what is called a 'slow rate of digestion,' that is, food tends to stay in the stomach for much longer periods of time before being emptied into the small intestine, tend to gain weight.

Has the boy ever been checked for this? If not, why?

It would seem that if DSS were actually doing its job rather than conducting a smear campaign against an overweight boy's Mother, it would want to know about potential medical problems that cause this kind of weight gain.

Yet so far, not a single indication has been made public that DSS has checked into these possibilities.

Rather, DSS decided to aggressively pursue Ms. Painter as an 'unfit Mother.'

But this is not the end of the story. DSS in its almighty wisdom decided that the Painter boy needed to have knee surgery at Duke University in Durham...several hours away from the Painter home. A mere 30 minutes to the north, however, is Asheville, North Carolina, a nice medium-sized city with several top-notched medical facilities that routinely do the type of surgery DSS claims the boy needs.

Rather than allow the boy to have the surgery closest to home, DSS instead decided to seize the child, remove him from his Mother, and place him in foster care--so that he could then have knee surgery in Durham.

On Monday a Judge in Columbus put DSS in its place by giving custody back to Ms. Painter, stating in essence that DSS did not have the authority or the proper rationale for removing the boy from his home.

Needless to say, this entire episode has the entirety of Polk County in an uproar. It is clear that DSS Social Workers are attempting to make an example of Painter and her son, but for what reason? At this point it is clear the boy has become nothing more than a football being passed between his Mother and DSS. DSS, however, has been called on a technical foul. In fact, DSS should not even be in the middle of this at all.

This is only the tip of the iceberg. There are rumblings among folks out and about that this is not the first time DSS has used heavy-handed, gestapo-like tactics in dealing with social service issues. And these folk are still in an uproar over the fact that DSS went to Ms. Painter's local grocery story to 'check up on her buying habits.'

A DSS official went to the local Ingle's Supermarket in Columbus to ask employees if Ms. Painter had been buying junk food and other treats for her son.

Store employees were so outraged over this that they immediately contacted a local TV News station and reported the actions of DSS officials who came to them to snoop on Painter's buying habits.

It is time we started to snoop into the Polk County Department of Social Services. Obviously something is terribly amiss in this department. Taxpayers do not pay the salaries of these persons to act as 'Big Brother' or to browbeat citizens who have overweight children. Employees of DSS are supposed to be public servants who act only at the pleasure of the citizens who pay their salaries.

Once they step out of that role and begin to act as if they have more power and authority than our Constitution allows, then drastic action needs to be taken to reign them in. If there ever were a government agency that needs to be reigned in, it is the Polk County Department of Social Services.

An immediate top-to-bottom investigation is in order. And if North Carolina won't do it, then perhaps the Federal Government will.

We as citizens CANNOT allow renegade organizations like DSS to run roughshod over the rights of individual citizens.

The Liberty Sphere intends to use every legal means within its power to expose the gross corruption, over-zealousness, and outright gestapo tactics of the Polk County Department of Social Services. Their reign of terror in North Carolina needs to be stopped.

Court Returns Overweight N.C. Boy to Mother

Columbus, NC (TLS). The overweight North Carolina boy who was seized by the Department of Social Services has been returned to the physical custody of his mother by the order of the Court.

Joyce Painter had her day in Court today to request that her son be returned to her after DSS officials seized the boy last week and placed him in foster care.

The ongoing dispute between Painter and DSS began when Social Workers, operating on an anonymous tip, began investigating the Painter home concerning the boy's eating habits. At one point the 7-year-old boy weighed 254 pounds.

The dispute was brought to a head last week when Social Workers insisted that the boy needed knee surgery and should be taken to Duke University. Painter maintained that doctors closer to home could perform any procedure that was needed.

At this point DSS seized the boy, removed him from his Mother, and placed him in foster care.

The outrage of citizens over this gross misuse of government power must have reached the ears of the Judge in this case, who promptly slammed the tactics of DSS by returning the boy to his Mother. Although DSS still has legal custody of the boy, he will remain in his Mother's care until a hearing in June to determine permanent legal custody.

It is The Liberty Sphere's opinion that this is only the first step in what the Court should do. DSS should be investigated for the gross misuse of power and overstepping their legal and ethical boundaries in removing a child from his Mother for no overwhelmingly pressing reason.

In fact, it appears that Social Workers in the Polk County Department of DSS are punishing Mrs. Painter for daring to defy their omniscient, omnipotent decisions concerning her son. They had threatened to remove the child months ago due to 'obesity.' Apparently they were met with resistance over that one, so they seized upon the surgery ruse to justify removing the child from his Mother.

The fact that this case has produced outrage among local citizens in Polk County is significant. The Judge slapped DSS on the wrist today by returning the boy to his Mother. But he needs to go much further.

Until DSS is fully investigated, it will operate under a dark cloud of corruption, misuse of power, gestapo tactics, and bullying.

Update on Overweight North Carolina Boy

Columbus, NC (TLS). Joyce Painter, the mother of the overweight boy who was seized by the North Carolina Department of Social Services, states that she has a court hearing scheduled for Monday morning in an attempt to regain custody of her son.

Painter's nightmare resulted from being investigated by DSS due to her son's weight. The boy is 7 years old and weighs 250 pounds.

Despite Painter's documented consultation with numerous physicians concerning her son's obesity, DSS officials decided to go aggressive. In the weeks prior to his being snatched from his Mother by government officials, the boy had lost 14 pounds in a special program for obese children at Duke University.

In spite of the progress, DSS officials proceeded to seize the boy, remove him from the home, and then 'ask around' about Mrs. Painter's food choices at the local grocery store.

Outraged store employees contacted the news media about the tactics of DSS officials. Yet thus far, no amount of public outrage about this case has been enough to move DSS one inch away from their heavy-handed, gestapo tactics.

My friends, if the government Gestapo can seize a child because they deem him to be 'too fat,' then no parent in North Carolina is safe from the outrageous intrusion of DSS.

What will be next? Removing a child from a home because grandpa comes over once a week and smokes a cigar during his visit?

Give me a break. This stuff is WAY over the top.

N.C. Food Police Snatch Overweight Boy

Columbus, NC (TLS). Joyce Painter, of Polk County, North Carolina, is back in the news concerning the custody of her 7-year-old overweight son. Painter has informed the media that North Carolina DSS officials have called her to inform her of their intention to file a motion in court to seize custody of the Painter boy.

This is in spite of the fact that the boy has lost 14 pounds at a specially supervised program for overweight children at Duke University.

The Liberty Sphere reported on this case several weeks ago when it came to our attention that the gestapo-like tactics of the N.C. Department of Social Services had placed Mrs. Painter in a quandary. They told her that her son was too fat. They told her if he did not lose weight he would be removed from the home.

The jackbooted government thugs even went to Mrs. Painter's local supermarket to inquire about her food-buying habits...an action that resulted in the supermarket contacting the local news media to complain about the heavy-handed tactics of DSS.

A local TV News station sent a reporter and a camera to the Painter home to confront the Social Worker from DSS concerning their questionable tactics in dealing with the case. The case worker stated she could not conduct the meeting due to 'confidentiality issues.'

This is in spite of the fact that DSS had already violated confidentiality by going to Mrs. Painter's grocery store to 'ask around' about whether or not she had been buying 'treats' for her son.

And now, in spite of the fact that the Painter boy is losing weight, DSS plans to proceed with the motion for a court order to remove the boy from the home.

We at The Liberty Sphere have never attempted to hide our utter disdain for government power run amok. If ever there were an example of the ominous tentacles of 'big brother,' this is it. It seems to us that a court order is in order, alright...an order to shut down the Polk County DSS pending a full investigation into unprofessional conduct, harassment, bullying, and gestapo tactics aimed at Mrs. Painter, simply because her son is overweight.

Let the food police be damned.

State Harasses Mother of Overweight Boy

Columbus, NC (TLS). Joyce Painter, a resident of Polk County, North Carolina, in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains, finds herself in a nightmare with the state concerning her 10-year-old son. Painter, who has multiple health problems and is in a wheelchair, is under the threat of losing her son unless he 'loses weight.'

I kid you not.

The Department of Human Services of the State of North Carolina sent a social worker to investigate Painter after an anonymous source tipped them off due to the excessive weight of Painter's son.

The young boy weights 250 pounds.

But rather than investigate a possible physical malady that has led the boy to gain such weight, the state sends out its Gestapo to harass the mother instead.

I am very familiar with this part of the country, having spent part of my formative years in these mountains, particularly in nearby Saluda. This area is truly the garden spot of the earth and home to the finest human beings one can find anywhere on the planet. This is a very unlikely place to find the long tentacles of the food police who work for government entities that are as intrusive into the private lives of citizens as the KGB and the Gestapo.

Yet right here in God's country, the jackbooted government thugs are busy at work attempting to build a case of child abuse against Joyce Painter--all because her son weighs too much.

Painter has taken her son to numerous physicians seeking help. He has been placed on various and sundry eating programs designed to help him. So far, nothing has worked. Therefore, according to the state of North Carolina and their commie-nazis, the problem must be the mother who is obviously slipping the child treats, candies, and snacks he isn't supposed to have.

News sources report that the N.C. Department of Human Services sent an investigator to the local Ingle's Supermarket where Painter buys groceries. According to store employees, the investigator inquired as to whether or not Painter had bought candy, junk food, and other treats.

When Painter was informed of the investigator's visit to her supermarket, she stated that she felt like she has been tried and found guilty by social workers before her side of the story is adequately checked out. It was then that Painter called a local TV news station, WSPA-TV in Spartanburg, SC.

WSPA sent a reporter and news cameras to the Painter home in order to be present for a meeting Painter was supposed to have with a DHS Social Worker. When the state official arrived, she stated that she could not conduct the meeting with a camera crew present 'due to confidentiality.'

Yet DHS investigators paid no attention to Painter's 'confidentiality' when they approached her local grocery store and asked for information about her buying habits.

WSPA-TV reports that an employee of Ingle's Supermarket contacted them about the investigation, and stated that the DHS officials were not at all concerned about the boy or his mother, but were obviously attempting to build a case against Mrs. Painter.

The employee went further to describe the entire state-initiated witch-hunt as an 'outrage.'

We need a witch-hunt, alright. And it should start with the N.C. state government, particularly DHS.

This case is a perfect example of government power at work. Absolute power corrupts absolutely, and those who have been brainwashed into thinking that government is the ultimate watch-dog over citizens obviously believe that it is entirely reasonable to harass, threaten, investigate, and even potentially remove a child from his mother, all because of the boy's weight.

The Liberty Sphere has warned time and again about the creeping crawl of government power. This is but one nightmarish result. The very same people who tell us we cannot buy and use handguns tell us we cannot smoke in public or eat at restaurants that serve up too much fat. But it never stops there. The food police are now part of the massive government surveillance of individual citizens who have no record of illegal activity.

Do you have an overweight child? Better be careful if you live in North Carolina. You could lose your child and be thrown in jail.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty, shall we? The social workers involved in the harassment of Joyce Painter should be immediately fired, period, end. An investigation should ensue into government corruption in the Department of Human Services. Heads need to roll over this one.

Just as we have seen with the massive corruption in the judicial system in North Carolina, apparently it does not end there. The poisonous tentacles of collectivism are reaching deep into the lives of private citizens with no end in sight, unless we stand up and put a stop it it NOW.

This outrageous behavior on the part of government elitists is ample proof that Jefferson was right about government. The smaller the better. And even then it is to be feared and kept in check.