Corcoran added, There are two sides to every story. When discussion turned toward the case of Jeremy and Angie Halvorson son, Evan, Kelleher commented that he wasn t entirely convinced that taking a baby away from the parents while an investigation is done is a bad thing. He referred to the case in New York where two children were killed after returning the kids to their parents. He pointed out that in that same situation the county was being criticized for not doing their jobs correctly. He said, Precautions need to be taken, it probably wasn t a positive thing for the parents, but the child s welfare and safety is number one.
Parents are secondary to the child.
Kelleher added that the process Houston County followed was mandated by the state. In response to Kittleson, Hustvet added that they strove for openness in the courtroom when they volunteered for open hearings. Commissioner Larry Graf said there are some situations where the innocent until proven guilty measure doesn t apply. Often in domestic disputes both adults are incarcerated until things can be sorted out. He said the fees as they are set up now are way below the actual costs for the labor involved.