By CASSANDRA SHOFAR Staff Writer

MEDINA — With more than 1.3 million children reported missing each year, law enforcement agencies have teamed up to support local fifth-graders in raising awareness of the issue.

Police departments in Medina and Montville townships and the city have joined forces to deliver packets of information to local elementary schools about safety issues and a national poster contest aimed at raising awareness about missing children.

The information has been distributed to schools in the Medina City School District, St. Francis Xavier Catholic School and Medina Christian Academy, said city Police Chief Dennis Hanwell.

“We put together a planning group with Medina Township, Montville Township and us to approach all the fifth-grade classes to ask them to compete for this,” Hanwell said.

Every year, the U.S. Department of Justice sponsors a national poster contest, announcing the winner at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

This year’s theme is “Bring Our Missing Children Home.”

Each state has an independent competition, said Medina Township Sgt. Todd Zieja, and the winner is then submitted to the national competition.

While area schools have participated before, this is the first time all three law enforcement agencies have been involved together to support the contest, Zieja and Hanwell said.

“I think this is a better approach to have the three police departments working in cooperation with one another because I think it just shows a unified approach. It also kind of displays to the schools and the children the different police presences in their jurisdictions,” Hanwell said. Instead of seeing officers in confrontational circumstances, this involvement allows children to see police in a different, positive light.

“It’s kind of a community effort to get behind the program and the contest itself,” Zieja said. “I think it’s important to make students and families aware of the problem of missing children and to bring awareness (higher) so they are more vigilant in protecting their children. The statistics of missing children are alarming.”

He added: “People need to not be afraid to get involved to help recover a child.”

Terri Taylor, fifth-grade teacher at Garfield Elementary School, said teachers will take time in class to explain the importance of the poster competition and how it works. Students then will work on their posters during their free time or over the weekends.

“I feel that it’s really important that the students be aware of … how many children are actually missing each year and how they can play a part in making people aware of the missing children,” Taylor said. The theme is different every year, she said, and this is Garfield’s second year participating in the contest.

“Their poster would then be shown all over the state,” she said. “It would be a positive impact on a negative situation.”

Hanwell said the program permits a winner from each school, so every school participating will select one poster to represent it.

“We’re trying to get the message out that there’s missing children across the country,” he said. “That it should be a constant focus to try to bring these children home.”

According to the contest fact sheet, artwork needs to reflect the theme “Bring Our Missing Children Home” and include this phrase somewhere on the poster. The theme must be depicted by either one or a combination of mediums, including acrylics, watercolor, pencil, charcoal, magic markers, spray paint, crayons and pastels.

Each poster also must have a completed application, which contains a description of the poster and a brief biography of the artist.

Zieja said the departments are hoping to have all the posters completed by Feb. 20 and submitted to Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann’s office by March 1. National Missing Children’s Day is May 25.

Montville Township Police Chief Thomas Acklin said an officer will talk to students before the judging is done to explain how it works and the importance of the competition itself.

“We just want to make children aware that kids go missing out there and maybe this will help them understand that and be more aware of their surroundings and understand some of the hidden dangers out there,” Acklin said. “They’re learning and having fun at the same time.”

Zieja added: “As we introduce more of these activities and make the public more aware, you should see a decrease in the amount of abductions every year.”

Shofar may be reached at 330-721-4044 or cshofar@ohio.net.