Friday, November 6, 2009

Special Olympics Torch Run, Blue Knights trips planned for 2010 and proposed Federal laws

Sometimes I really HATE computers!! I just spent about 30 minutes typing, then one slip of a finger and I lost EVERYTHING!! I do well just to type, and have no idea how to recover what I lost, so I’m starting all over again!

After being hired by the City of Beatrice in late 1989, I found that area Law Enforcement had not yet participated in the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics, which precedes the Nebraska Special Olympics games each year. In 1990, I went back to Grand Island and participated in that leg of the Torch Run. I was also able to do some networking and in 1991, a leg of the Torch Run was run from Beatrice to Lincoln. I was able to participate in this for several years, and was even able to participate in the final few blocks of the run in Lincoln. At that time, the runners coming in from the west met the runners coming from the south a couple of blocks west of the Nebraska State Capitol . The groups merged and were joined by many Special Olympics athletes and ran the torch the last couple of blocks to the Capitol, running under a gigantic U.S. flag that was suspended over the street. This was a very emotional experience for all involved. I left the Patrol Division of the Beatrice Police Department in 1998 to work on the SEADE Task Force and got away from helping with the Torch Run. Other officers stepped up and took over for me.

The National Special Olympics Games will be held in Lincoln, Nebraska next summer, July 2010. A leg of the Torch Run will be coming through Beatrice leading up to the Games. A note from Chief Lang a week ago asked for a volunteer to help with coordinating the Torch Run with the Chamber of Commerce and other entities. After some thought about it, I left Chief Lang a note and told him I would take the responsibility. I have my first meeting at the Chamber of Commerce on November 24th.

The motorcycle riding season is almost over. We are looking forward to 2010 and I’ve already looked at the road atlas to try to decide the best way to go to the Blue Knights International Convention in Billings, MT in July. We also hope to make it to both the Spring and Fall MWRC rides which will be at St Joseph, Missouri in June and Grand Forks, North Dakota in September. The off season can be used not only for planning your trips for the upcoming year, but riders should use the time to replace worn out parts, equipment and riding gear. We need to take an inventory of our safety equipment to be sure we have what we need during our trips, whether they are only a few miles from the house, or all the way across the continent. I have taken the following from the Motorcycle Safety Foundation:
http://www.msf-usa.org/index_new.cfm?spl=2&action=display&pagename=library Things mentioned are helmets, eye and ear protection, jacket, pants, gloves, boots, rain gear, and even high visibility gear. Late last summer, I was at the Blue Knights Fall MWRC in Lawton, Oklahoma. Ft Sill is also right there and there are some very good museums there. However, in order to legally ride on base, I had to have a high visibility vest.

Be sure your driver’s license and insurance is up to date. I carry year round insurance on our Gold Wing for those rare days during the winter that I might be able to make a day trip. During the off season, look your motorcycle over to be sure it is safe for the upcoming riding season. Change the oil and filters, be sure your tires don’t need to be replaced, drain and replace the brake fluids, be sure the brake pads aren’t worn out. Maintain proper air pressure in the tires. If you have an air suspension system, be sure to maintain the proper air pressure in it. If you will be pulling a trailer, be sure to inspect it, too and repair or replace worn parts on it, too. Be sure the lights work and the tires are good. When were the wheel bearings packed last?

I was just looking through the October issue of the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) Journal, which is put out by the National FOP. They usually highlight some of the pending Federal legislation that the FOP either lobbies for or against. I see that there are two pieces of Federal legislation being looked at right now. The first, HR 3245, the “Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act,” would remove references to “cocaine base” from the U.S. Code, thereby greatly reducing sentences of offenders convicted of offenses involving crack cocaine. The goal of this legislation is to eliminate the difference between the Federal sentences received by crack and powder cocaine offenders. The FOP opposes this legislation and maintains that the differences in sentencing should be addressed by increasing the sentences for powder cocaine offenders.

The other piece of legislation that the F.O.P. is tracking is S. 714, the “National Criminal Justice Commission Act.” This would create a national commission to examine the criminal justice system in the United States. The concern of the F.O.P. is the narrow and prescriptive nature of the commission’s recommendation - which are predicated at “solving” the problem of the high prison populations and the disparities in the racial demographics of the prison population by weakening Federal drug laws. My personal feeling is that passing these laws as they are written would further tie the hands of law enforcement and endanger the public. Maybe that’s what happens when a person works on a Drug Task Force for over 8 years.

I’ve heard time and time again that “drugs are a victimless crime.” I strongly oppose that statement. There are many victims in a drug crime. I’ve bought methamphetamine from a mother with a newborn baby. She was afraid if she sold me the meth she had, she would not be able to get more, so she took her newborn with her to get more from her source. That baby was a victim with no say in what happened. I bought meth from a guy who had a 4 yr old and a newborn in the house. He had never met me before and did not know if I might be an axe murderer. Those two little ones were victims. I bought meth in a park from a guy whose 7-yr old son sat in the back seat of the car and watched as his father sold me an “8-ball” of meth. That 7-yr old was a victim. Even after coming back to uniform, I still have no use for drug dealers.

Rehab?? Statistics show that 47% of everybody who try meth are hooked the very first time they use it. “Marijuana is harmless.” I’ve interviewed several hundred people about their drug use, and 99% say their road to meth use started with marijuana. I’m not saying that rehab does not work as I know of people it has worked for and they are doing great now. However, as many times as not, it takes more than once in rehab. They need to completely change their lifestyle, beginning with the people they hang out with.


No comments:

Post a Comment