Tuesday, December 14, 1999 The Greenville News 17A Sale Starts Tuesday (N iw'J Gifts Everyone loses with soft laws, mixed signals on drunk driving Concerned citizens must seek tougher penalties, better enforcement of laws. By Dean Crisp You drink and drive and we all lose. This is the message of the South Carolina Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month Coalition and should be the message of all South Carolinians. Unfortunately it is not. Recently Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) issued to the State of South Carolina a grade of for its efforts against drunk driving.
Being average is not always bad, unless it reflects how we prevent the loss of lives of our citizens. In 1998, South Carolina had a total of 1,002 alcohol-related automobile crashes, 304 people died, and $1.6 billion in property was damaged. As a law enforcement officer for over 22 years I have had direct experience with the enforcement, prosecution and prevention of DUI driving. It is time the people of South Carolina join forces with legislators, law enforcement officers, and court officials to take a more deliberate and ardent stand against DUI drivers in our state. Our state DUI laws are very offender friendly.
Legislators must toughen all of the current DUI laws in this state. South Carolina is one of the only two states in the United States who do not have a per se law of presumptive guilt for drivers who have a blood alcohol level of .08. Per se simply means that if you are arrested while operating a vehicle and found to have a blood alcohol level of .08 or above you are guilty of DUI. Under the current laws drivers with outrageous levels of alcohol (as much as .20 or above) believe they can beat the charges stemming from a DUI simply by 1 Dress Social Occasion Dressing in the Boutique save 40 Sale 23.98 to 53.98 39.97 to 89.97 everyday $80 to $235 elsewhere Ladles' social separates also on sale. SLotuOIoaIi The Joy of Giving More.
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They must support and join with groups like MADD to lend not only a watchful eye but also a determined spirit on behalf of all the victims of drunk drivers. As a young police officer I was fortunate to be selected as a National Thomas Jefferson Award winner in Washington D.C. Also receiving the award was Candy Lightner, founder of (MADD). I listened attentively as she delivered her acceptance speech with an emotional plea for citizens to join together in the fight against drunk drivers. Her message was clear, poignant and packed with emotion.
You see, Mrs. Lightner's 16-year-old daughter Kandace was tragically killed by a drunk driver. Mrs. Lightner made a very compelling case that we should not wait until we are driven by tragedy to enter the fight against DUI drivers. It is my hope that you don't wait for a personal tragedy before joining the fight.
I believe the time is now. The life you save may be your own or that of a loved one. We must fight with all our might, and never underestimate the power of working together. Let us commit to improving our grade in the coming year, like our lives depend on it, because they do. manger.
But who but the Grinch or Scrooge would complain about such things? As Judge Diott observes: "We are all better for Santa The Easter Bunny too. And maybe the great pumpkin To name just a few." Celebrating Christmas as a national holiday is a secular exercise above all, recognizing the traditional habits of Americans of different religions. Judge Diott agrees. "When the government decides to recognize Christmas Day as a public holiday," she writes, "it does no more than accommodate the calendar of public activities to the plain fact that many Americans will expect on that day to spend time visiting with their families, attending religious services, and perhaps enjoying some respite from pre-holiday activities." So make your plans to lift a glass, wrap a gift, say a prayer and enjoy a kiss under the mistletoe. As Judge Diott sayeth: There is room in this country And all our hearts too For different convictions And a day off too.
Write to Suzanne Fields at the Ims Angeles Times Syndicate, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. aupvv our to read BOOKS. 7HERES WCn REFERENCE nocheckitout! Iffl AT TWE PfsRT WHERE THE SSN GETS THE NAKED CHICK TOEMTHfclmE! Dean Crisp is chief of police of Greer, a position he has held since 1991. He is a native of Ashe- ville, N.C., was graduated at Western Carolina University with a bachelor of sci- ence degree in criminal justice and a master's degree in public administration. He has 21 years of law enforce- ment experience and has won numerous awards for his work -with children.
Authoritative commentary on public affairs is welcome in this forum. Contact any member of the editorial page staff. finding a sympathetic jury. Our state needs an illegal per se .08 blood alcohol level law and we need it now. A presumptive level .08 of intoxication would help streamline cases and send a clear message to drivers that South Carolina is no place to drink and drive, and we take DUI laws serious in this state.
But because of our weakened laws the message is clear: Drink and drive and only receive a small sentence and fine that amounts to a mere slap on the wrist. Our motto is "You Drink and Drive and Sometimes You Lose." Law enforcement must commit more manpower and resources to enforcing DUI laws while better training officers on the enforcement, detection, and prosecution of DUI cases. They must also deliver promotional and educational programs to the general driving public as well as high school age students to solicit their help in the fight against DUI. Before the medieval dramatists portrayed the adoration of the Christ Child on stage, actors told the farcical story of a shepherd who stole a sheep and put it in a cradle, suggesting to the officials that his wife had just given birth to a baby. As soon as the baby could say "baa" the shepherd was exposed for his shenanigans.
The farcical episodes and lively dialogue revealed him to be a man who needed to shape up before the Judgment Day. The entertainment, such as it was, was equal to the religious message. (The play probably closed out of town.) Popular mores and religious celebrations often intermingle. The Christmas tree, after all, grew out of the worship of a pagan god. Mistletoe couldn't grow in a We child Suzanne Fields Judge's ruling pays tribute to Dr.
Seuss, holdiday spirit Ohio attorney's lawsuit claims Christmas' national holiday status violates separation of church, state. 2 Take an extra The Court will uphold Seemingly contradictory causes Decreeing "the establishmenf AND "Santa" Both worthwhile "CLAUS(es)," U.S. District Judge Susan J. Diott Let's give the judge kudos for good humor and good sense, qualities not always discernible in our judicial system. 'Tis the season for doggerel and dogma.
Her Honor was paying homage to Dr. Seuss Grinch Who Stole and putting the author of a lawsuit in his place. Richard Ganulin, a lawyer in Cincinnati, Ohio, argues that Christmas is a Christian holiday and making it a national holiday for government workers violates the constitutional division of church and state. "The establishment of Christmas as a national, legal public holiday by the government enhances the status of Christians in our society and diminishes the status of non-Christians," he says. Bah humbug, says this Jewish columnist.
Judge Diott notes that Christmas is a religious holiday for many Christians and a secular celebration for those of other faiths (and of no faith). Sayeth the judge in dismissing the lawsuit: "One is never jailed For not having a tree For not going to church For not spreading glee." In fact, Jews are indebted to Christians for encouraging them to pay more attention to Hanukkah, a relatively minor winter holiday now the focus of family gatherings and gift-giving as well as lighting of candles on a menorah. Holidays in winter have a rich tradition, encouraging men, women and children to decorate and insulate the interiors of their homes against the cold. Festivals of light illumine the darkness and overflow into spectacles outside. Secularizing the Christmas story dates from the Middle Ages.
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