Story Archive

Who’s Watching the Watchers?

The first sign that there was any trouble at the Building Blocks Daycare in Pine County, Minn., was the 2-year-old girl walking down the center line of a highway. Witnesses say “numerous” vehicles swerved to avoid hitting her, but no one did anything about it until a 13-year-old boy was smart enough to run over and grab the girl, and get her off the road. A neighbor called 911 and responding deputies figured out the girl had wandered away from the licensed, in-home daycare. They found children playing outside, and a gate was standing open. They say the solo operator, Carrie A. Richardson, 56, was drunk — a breath test measured her blood alcohol at 0.114 percent. Deputies say Richardson admitted she was using a lot of cough syrup. Then, she said, she had “two or three” glasses of wine. When deputies asked to see the bottle, she couldn’t produce it — but did pull out an empty vodka bottle. Richardson then admitted she had been drinking vodka because she was “having a bad day,” and hadn’t realized the girl had wandered off. She was arrested and charged with child neglect and child endangerment. (RC/Minneapolis Star-Tribune) ...That wasn’t a bad day. The bad day is yet to come — with any luck.