OC Sheriff participates in “A Call to Action”

Earlier this month, the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office participated in an event to help bring awareness to the problem of domestic violence in OconeeCounty.  The event was entitled “A Call to Action” and was held at the GatewayOconeeChristianEventCenter on West North First Street in Seneca.  The event was held primarily to bring to the attention of pastors and staff of area churches the issue of domestic violence and the programs and tools that are available to them to help them combat the problem.  The event was billed as a “Campaign Strategy Against Domestic Violence in Oconee County.” Oconee County Sheriff’s Mike Crenshaw spoke at the event, along with Robbin Potrafka from the Gateway Oconee Christian Event Center, Celeste Norris, Director of the Lifetree Café, and Becky Callaham, Executive Director of Safe Harbor.  In addition, other members of the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office were in attendance, as well as several pastors of local area churches and the 10^th Circuit Solicitor’s Office.  “The most important thing to remember that is not about Mike Crenshaw,” says the Sheriff.  “This is not about the Sheriff of Oconee County.  This is about something that God’s hand that I feel like is upon.” The Sheriff talked about the murder-suicide that occurred in Oconee County on January 5^th, 4 days after he took office, to an address that the Sheriff’s Office had never been called to before.  That event, according to Sheriff, was the event that led to his meeting with Becky Callham and Celeste Norris and started the process towards many efforts to combat domestic violence.  The Sheriff said that domestic violence is a county and community wide issue and that help is needed from the religious, business and civic community in an effort of teamwork to combat the problem.  Domestic violence covers many areas and types, from hitting to throwing objects to threats to sexual abuse to economic deprivation.  Domestic violence is a broad spectrum, according to the Sheriff, that one person can use over another to maintain control over that person.  The Sheriff went on to say that, domestic violence has nothing to do with one’s educational or economic fluency, or age or gender.  If you are the victim of domestic violence and need help, visit the Safe Harbor website at www.safeharborsc.org or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at www.thehotline.org.  In addition, victims of domestic abuse are encouraged to call the Oconee County Sheriff’s Office or their local municipal law enforcement department.