CANYON CITY Ed McCrary of John Day joined the ranks of Court Appointed Special Advocates last week, taking the pledge alongside Sheri Webb, executive director of the Grant-Harney County CASA program.

Both raised their right hand March 29 before Judge William D. Cramer Jr. in the Grant County Circuit Courtroom.

With that ceremony, McCrary of John Day joins four others Wendy Burril, Penny Godwin, Dawn Stewart and Carol Thompson in the Grant County volunteer effort.

In family court, CASAs advocate for children in the foster care system.

Cramer said their work is a great responsibility, and he values their perspective.

I sincerely thank you, he said. CASAs have helped me make better decisions for kids in our community who are in difficult circumstances with their families.

Grant County currently has five cases involving six children, with advocates assigned to all that need them, Webb said.

On the other hand, Harney County has eight CASAs serving 18 children, and five of the open cases have six children waiting for a CASA representative.

McCrary will serve children in Grant and Harney counties.

The volunteers are the heart of the CASA program, Webb said. They do the hard work on behalf of the kids.

McCrary first heard about the need for area CASA volunteers last summer at a golf tournament fund-raiser for the agency.

I thought it was something Id like to do, he said.

He noted that hes learned from the many hours of training that being CASA will be difficult, especially in cases that deal with abuse.

That cant be easy, he said, adding that the reward will be helping a child. Its all about the children.

For more information about CASA, or to volunteer, call Webb at 541-575-5574, or 541-620-0583.