Child abuse conference to return in 2024
By Terry Murry on Thursday, June 22nd, 2023 in Columbia Basin News Columbia Basin Top Stories
PENDLETON – The Umatilla County District Attorney’s Office hosted a conference on child abuse in April. It was such a success that District Attorney Dan Primus said it will become an annual event.
“I think we had 120 to 130 people that showed up, which was amazing,” Primus said. “That was not necessarily the plan as we went in.”
The fact that people responded so positively to the conference illustrated the need for such an event. Primus said law enforcement officers, social workers, prosecutors and other first-line responders to child abuse came for the training and speeches that were offered.
“We didn’t want this to be a one-time thing,” he said. “The Umatilla County commissioners gave us money to put this on because they saw that this was something that was needed.”
Primus credited his staff with working hard to make the conference a success, and said that they are all willing to work that hard again next year.
“The goal for my office is not just to do the best that we can for Umatilla County,” he said. “We want to be regional leaders. We want to be that office that the other DA offices reach out to when they need help.”
Primus said they are already planning for the 2024 conference.
