Photos from this past weekend's Legislative Retreat will be coming soon stay tuned or watch the rss feed. ~FF
1) ABATE of SC: Elections for State Office and the rules
2) HELMET LAW FACTS
3) Groups lobby in S.C.
4) Officer facing long journey back from motorcycle accident
5) ABATE of SC Coastal Area: FOR THE RECORD
6) Reader Comments Welcomed
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1) ABATE of SC: Elections for State Office and the rules
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Elections for State Office and the rules
It's election time again. the state offices of Treasurer, Membership Co-ord, ans Products Co-ord are up. I hope that a lot of members will consider throwing their hat in the ring. With that said; these are the rules.
1. The candidate must be a member for a MINIMUM of one year. If you joined after August 2006, sorry but you are not eligible to run. You MUST have been a member in August 2006 to run. This is very clearly stated in the ABATE of SC constitution.
2. The candidate MUST send a brief resume stating who they are, what chapter they are a member of, how long they have been a member, and why they feel they can do the job. A paragraph or two is all that is needed. This is to demonstrate that the candidate actually is interested in filling the post and not being "railroaded" by well-meaning friends. This may be done by e-mail or snail mail, but it must be done.
e-mail to: yamahabob79@netzero.com
snail mail to: Bob Baxter, 203 Flora Avenue, Greenville, SC 29611
All submissions must be received no later than Wednesday, September 5, 2007. This is to allow verification before the newsletter deadline and so the entire slate of candidates may be presented to the BOD and Chapters for the election process.
As election chair, it is my duty to verify that all candidates are eligible to run. I do not approve or disapprove any candidate: I only verify that the candidate is eligible. That being said, I made the mistake of forwarding one candidate to the list without verifying that the candidate was a member in August 2006. Since that person has only been a member since March 2007, her name must be removed from consideration. I regret having to do this: I have no doubt that this person would have done a fine job if elected. But rules are rules. THIS MISTAKE IS MY FAULT AND ONLY MY FAULT. I ACCEPT ALL BLAME FOR THIS AND SINCERELY APOLOGIZE TO ALL THE MEMBERS OF ABATE OF SC FOR THIS.
Bob Baxter, Election Chair
Submitted to the Biker Ezine by Bob Baxter, ABATE of SC Election Committee Chair
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2) HELMET LAW FACTS
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HELMET LAW FACTS
http://www.sbumaui.org/helmet_law_facts.pdf
By Warren Woodward, Chair, State Legislative Committee
Street Bikers United Hawaii, 2007
If helmets have significant safety benefits, then the ratio of deaths to accidents should decline as the use of helmets increases, such as after a mandatory helmet law is enacted. Yet in most states the Death to Accident Ratio (DAR) averages between 2% to 3% both before and after helmet laws have been enacted...
FF Note: Read the whole article at http://www.sbumaui.org/helmet_law_facts.pdf
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3) Groups lobby in S.C.
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http://www.thestate.com/politics/story/143947.html
Groups lobby in S.C.
They’re trying to get candidates to back their causes
From health care to chronic disease to education and global poverty, a number of private groups are spending thousands of dollars and thousands of hours in South Carolina to push their issues to the fore of the presidential campaigns. Some of the groups’ campaigns are less visible, some are flashier — complete with supporters clad in identical red T-shirts or wearing “ED in ’08” stickers. But all are working the Palmetto State. Here’s a primer on the groups and their issues.
Divided We Fail
So many families are one health catastrophe away from financial ruin, said Bill Brown, national chairman of AARPs Divided We Fail campaign.
AARP recently wrapped up 20 round-table discussions with South Carolinians about health care and financial security. The campaign has the support of Fortune 500 chief executives, the Service Employees International Union and AARP, which lobbies for older Americans and retirees. The goal, Brown said, is to get the candidates to acknowledge that this is an important issue and that theyve got ideas.
The Divided campaign is polling 5,000 AARP members in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida, asking which candidates are doing the best to address the issues of health care and financial stability.
Thus far, Brown said, the reaction from candidates has been mixed. Candidates are paying attention, but health care has not received the attention it deserves in the debates. he said. Youve had three debates in South Carolina, and in all three, health care and financial security did come up but not that extensively.
Democrats have made health care a top issue, Brown said. Republicans have held back more because their polls show there are other domestic issues, like illegal immigration, that their voters are more concerned about.
The campaigns distinctive red T-shirts help, Brown said. Candidates look for us. We had 60 members and volunteers of AARP off stage in Greenville and (U.S. Sen. Barack) Obama said, I see AARP is here, and were going to talk about health care and financial security.
Brown said the group does not yet have a litmus test for candidates health-care plans. Were more interested in getting candidates talking, get them to discuss health care.
ED In 08
Were not asking the next president to become the national superintendent of schools, said Marc Lampkin, executive director of Strong American Schools ED in 08 campaign. We want them to ... create a moment of leadership; work with teachers, school boards, parent groups as a leader to say, We have some problems. We have some issues.
The organizations goal is to force candidates to debate education reform. But the group also has three strategies that it says will help the next generation of students:
Raise expectations to create higher standards for students
Provide struggling schools with highly qualified teachers
Extend the school day and school year
The campaign has bipartisan support in the early primary states. In South Carolina, it counts as supporters former state education Superintendent Inez Tenenbaum, a Democrat, and former Gov. David Beasley and former S.C. first lady Iris Campbell, both Republicans.
South Carolina is one of our top-priority states, Lampkin said. Its obviously an early primary state and a great influencer in determining the nominee of the two major parties, and weve committed to having a fairly significant presence in the state.
Lampkins group does not hesitate to express its dissatisfaction with candidates and the media for what it sees as short shrift given to education issues.
In a recent news release, ED in 08 slammed candidates for videos they submitted to a special education page on the popular video-sharing Web site YouTube. The videos demonstrate a shocking disregard for the fact that on our current course, large numbers of these children will leave school without the skills they need to succeed in college, career and life, the release said.
ONE Vote 08
Were trying to reach the candidates everywhere in South Carolina, said Marie-Louise Ramsdale, founding director of S.C. First Steps and a volunteer with the ONE Vote 08 campaign. If candidates are in the state, we are in the state.
The campaign is an off-shoot of the national ONE campaign, created to fight global poverty and disease. ONE Vote 08s plan is to get the general public to make it clear to the (presidential) candidates that our issues are important.
Ramsdale said the group has more than 15,000 S.C. supporters who run the gamut from evangelicals, who see a moral imperative to helping the worlds desperate populations, to national security hawks, who fear poverty breeds extremism, to people who just believe people should have good health and clean drinking water.
In South Carolina, the campaign has the support of a disparate group that includes former Democratic Gov. Jim Hodges, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., faith leaders, civil rights leaders and young voters.
The ONE campaign takes the prize for celebrity endorsements. From Bono, front man of legendary rock band U2, to movie stars Matt Damon and George Clooney, ONE has star power.
It also has a white wristband fashioned after the ubiquitous yellow Live Strong bands that cyclist Lance Armstrong popularized a few years ago. Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain wears one on the campaign trail, as does Obama.
The awareness of the campaign has been in the candidates minds, Ramsdale said. The challenge is to get awareness to translate into action in their platform. South Carolinians care about this, and it will affect how South Carolinians vote.
Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease
More than 1.5 million South Carolinians suffer from at least one of the five most chronic diseases, costing the state billions of dollars, according to the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease.
The group is a national coalition of patients, health care providers, health policy experts, and community, business and labor groups. Their goal is to raise awareness of health care needs and solutions that save lives and reduce costs through prevention and management of chronic disease.
In South Carolina, the groups partners include dozens of hospitals, clinics, community organizations and faith-based groups.
Partnership executive director Ken Thorpe, a professor of healthy policy and management at Emory University, sees South Carolina as a key example of why the groups work is so important.
Look at the Southeast and South Carolina as a great example, Thorpe said. The obesity rates are really high theyve doubled.
Most of the Democratic candidates have unveiled health care plans, and Thorpe said several have referenced the partnerships work directly. He said hell meet with several Republican campaigns as well.
Were having a fairly good impact on the reform proposals, Thorpe said.
-- Aaron Gould Sheinin
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4) Officer facing long journey back from motorcycle accident
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http://www.charleston.net/news/2007/aug/13/officer_facing_long_journey_back12887/
Officer facing long journey back
By Noah Haglund (Contact)
The Post and Courier
Monday, August 13, 2007
For a police officer who prides himself on meticulously documenting his cases, it's tough for Sgt. Rick Keys not to remember the wreck that almost cost him his career and his life.
The North Charleston police officer had volunteered to help Myrtle Beach police during the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest during Memorial Day weekend. Something went wrong a half-hour after he started a shift at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 27.
He was riding his motorcycle down an emergency lane on South Ocean Boulevard at 11th Avenue, going about 35 mph, when a 1976 Cadillac pulled in front of him. The South Carolina Highway Patrol said the Cadillac driver failed to yield the right of way.
"One moment you're at work, the next moment you're in a dark room with machines beeping," Keys said. "That was scary."
After 20 years on bikes and extensive professional training, Keys forgot how vulnerable he was to surrounding traffic. The wreck also strengthened his conviction that all riders should wear helmets and other safety gear, as he was at the time of the crash.
"That's going to be mounted," he said at his office last week, patting the badly scraped helmet he wore during the crash. "That helmet probably saved my life."
He returned to work on light duty last week, but wants his old job back, bike and all. For now, he has trouble lifting his left arm much above his waist.
"I've been an active person ever since I can remember," he said. "I can't sit still for five seconds. I've got to be doing something."
The accident is a blank spot. Keys woke up two days later in the Grand Strand Regional Medical Center ICU. He didn't know he had been in a crash until a nurse told him.
The injuries were extensive: two fractured discs in his neck, spine fractures at C-5 and C-6, 47 stitches above his left eye, broken teeth, broken left arm, wrist and clavicle and road rash on his right arm and both legs.
Witnesses described Keys' motorcycle catching the Cadillac's front bumper and Keys flying through the air upside down. His left side hit a curb, leaving his lung at half capacity because of bruising.
Highway Patrol Cpl. Marty Housand has known Keys for years and happened to arrive at the accident about 30 seconds later.
"He didn't know who I was," Housand said. "It was pretty devastating. We all ride motors, and I just got done talking to him."
The wreck was full of cruel coincidence for someone who makes it a point to attend the funeral of any local officer killed on duty. This year, Keys has escorted five funeral processions for officers who died in the Tri-County area.
A country music performer since childhood, Keys donned a mournful black Stetson and sang "Angels Among Us" at a memorial service after Moncks Corner officers Pfc. Lonnie Wells and Cpl. Marcus Stiles were shot and killed in March.
"Every year, I put together the float for fallen officers," he said. "This year, I almost ended up with my name on it."
The deaths of two friends in motorcycle accidents in November bothered Keys enough that he sold his personal bike, a 2003 Kawasaki Voyager. One of the friends was Chad Rood, a Charleston County Sheriff's deputy and fellow motorcycle cop who died after an off-duty crash.
Motorcycle cops, or "motor officers" in their own lingo, enjoy a strong bond. The locals train together and know each other even if they work for different agencies.
During the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, deputies from Charleston County's motor squad were working in North Myrtle Beach. They heard about Keys' wreck almost immediately and arrived at the hospital at nearly the same time as the ambulance that carried him to the hospital.
One of them, Sgt. Rob Grimsley, has been a friend of Keys since the early 1990s.
"He is very passionate about being a police officer," Grimsley said. "If it can be done, Rick will come back and do it."
Keys started his public service career in 1979 when he joined the Unicoi County, Tenn., Emergency Medical Services at 17. Six years later, he became a local county sheriff's deputy. In 1989, he signed on with North Charleston, where he distinguished himself as officer of the year in 1999 and 2000.
Keys and his wife, Joanne, wanted to thank the friends, family members and strangers who have prayed for his well-being.
"I've been in public service 27 years," he said. "This (accident) scared me to death."
Reach Noah Haglund at 937-5550 or nhaglund@postand courier.com
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5) ABATE of SC Coastal Area: FOR THE RECORD
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ABATE of SC Coastal Area: FOR THE RECORD
As everyone in ABATE of SC should already know it is time to nominate members to run for positions from Chapter Coordinators up to the three positions of Treasurer, Membership Coordinator and Products Coordinator for ABATE of SC. I would like to remind everyone that all these positions are volunteer, that’s right you don’t get paid its done for the love and respect of what ABATE of SC stands for. Saying that the officers, BOD members, down to the chapter coordinators do the best they can do with the time they have left from their everyday life to do it with, that has to be respected also and we aren’t lawyers.
Campaigns have started and I am seeing a terrible thing happening, in reading post on different list I am hearing names and slander being attached to those names without proof of any wrong doing. This is a democratic tactic used by many to get what they want in today’s times regardless of respect or who is damaged if you step in the way. What I am talking about is a person wanting a position, plants a seed of deceit in the minds of the voters, without foundation or proof, and continues to water that seed until the person that is holding that position is degraded as trash, accused of stealing, lying and just not worthy of the volunteer position that he/she has held or is holding.
The chapters in Coastal Area see this taking place and are not pleased one damn bit. Sunday the 12th of August we had our area meeting; in that meeting Coastal Area Chapter Coordinators have decided and have taken steps to implement a plan to police ourselves in stopping this kind of behavior unbecoming of decent and moral people that have respect for their Brothers giving their time freely for the cause. Some will shout, “we have the freedom of speech”, but when the freedoms you use damage the character or harm someone in any way, then the freedom you proclaim has been used for a criminal purpose. Coastal Chapters have demanded actions against this be taken, so this is fair warning to the membership in Coastal Area only, it is harsh but so is slander;
If any evidence is brought to Coastal Area that proves someone has been slandered in writing by a person as a member of Coastal Area, then that person will be given the chance to rectify that wrong; if they refuse then a vote from the Coastal Area Coordinators will be taken to revoke said persons membership in Coastal Area to an at large membership. Their membership will remain at large for one year, then if said person wishes to have their membership reinstated in Coastal Area they must request it after that year is up, in writing, to the Coastal AC for approval from the chapter coordinators at the next area meeting on or after the date their membership was revoked.
Folks the actions of some are unbecoming of a brotherhood and detrimental to the cause of ABATE. We are not proud to see members in this area engaging in such behavior and are going to stop it. Actions have already been taken and are being taken in putting together Area bylaws. We at Coastal feel it is not ABATE of SC’s place to police members from the different Areas and chapters, the areas have to take control and police themselves. The detrimental actions of a few prove they do not support the cause and should be chastised in that respect. Warning; if this happens to a person, think about it, it is a real bad mark against said person.
Coastal Area
Don Ard
Tony H
Tony S
Roach
JT
Submitted to the Biker Ezine by Coastal Area Coordinator Richard "Roach" Mercer
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6) Reader Comments Welcomed
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Reader Comments Welcomed
Got a suggestion, gripe, or comment? Reply to this message or submit it at http://www.fastfreds.com/contact.htm
Submissions must be signed and may not be slanderous or libelous in nature. Otherwise anything of interest to bikers is fair game and likely to be published.
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