August 10, 2009 Earl Van Wormer, Chairman of the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors, told us that U. S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand was going to be in Schoharie today. We went to the Carrot Barn to wait for her arrival with a group of farmers and others. While we waited, Tony Desmond (candidate for Schoharie County Sheriff) introduced us to some members of her staff. We were able to ask them to support Jason’s Law and give them a copy of our brochure as well as a copy of S.971. They took down all of our information and said that they would pass it on to the Senator. The Senator arrived and mingled among the crowd after which she spoke on agriculture and health care. She listened to many of the people and answered their questions when asked. At the encouragement of Linda Cross, we were able to stand near the make-shift podium. Before she left, she again mingled with the crowd, answering questions and listening to comments. Our hopes of getting to speak to her about Jason’s Law seemed to be slipping away as she was being drawn farther into the crowd, swept away by frustrated farmers. Tony came to our rescue again. He stepped up through the crowd and told her about us, drawing us through the crowd. We were able to tell her about the legislation that is currently in committee and SHE READILY AGREED TO CO-SPONSOR S.971. Thank you Earl, Linda, and Tony for your help in making this happen. We will still meet with David Connors, Senator Gillibrand’s Regional Representative, tomorrow afternoon. He, too, was in Schoharie and we were able to introduce ourselves. We look forward to discussing the legislation with him further tomorrow. We will keep you updated on our progress. August 3, 2009 It has been a very busy summer. Jason’s family and friends have been traveling around, letting people know about Jason’s Law and the importance of getting it passed. On July 12th we traveled to the Washington County Fair grounds for an Antique Truck Show and Antique Tractor Pull. Several people were willing to share their bad experiences at rest areas. This reinforces the determination to continue the fight for more security. We have said we are in this for the long haul and we mean it. There are so many men and women out there who have been put into a similar situation as Jason’s and have been fortunate to escape. We need to make sure that they don’t have to go through it again. The Cops vs. Cops baseball game was a huge success on July 18th. There were three police teams and one team made up of Hope’s friends and families. We are proud to say that, after beating the three police teams, Hope’s team came home with the trophy. Thank you to all of the players and to John Keough for organizing this day fun packed day. We would also like to thank the Central Bridge Civic Association for the use of their fields and for selling food and conducting raffles to help raise money for Hope and her children. Words cannot begin to express the gratitude for all of the support that people are giving our family. July 25th found us standing in front of the Middleburgh High School handing out pamphlets and collecting signatures. Over two hundred signatures were collected and many people learned for the first time about Jason’s Law. The Cobleskill Fair was a success for us. As in every place we have been, we are finding that about half of the people know about our quest and the other half either doesn’t know or only knows part of it. We have also been fortunate to meet representatives from a couple of NYS Senator’s offices. One representative expressed that the senator they work for is behind us. Another asked what senator’s were supporting Jason’s Law. She is going to ask her senator to work on getting something started in New York if nothing is already started. We had set a goal of one hundred signatures a day. After nine days of promoting Jason’s Law, we had 1200 signatures on paper. Many more people said that they were going to go home and look at the information. Several said that they would sign on the website. Looking ahead we have several events scheduled. Next week we will finally be meeting with a representative of Kirsten Gillibrand’s office. This is after several months of trying to get a meeting set up with either her or a representative. The Great American Truck Show will take place on August 20 through August 22 in Dallas Texas at the Convention Center. Hope will be attending the show to promote Jason’s Law. Also on the twenty-second there will be a Bike Run to benefit Hope and her children. Unfortunately due to her commitment to be in Texas, Hope will not be able to attend. A friend of Jason’s family has graciously volunteered to be there for us. There is a Pickle Festival in Grovenors Corners, New York on the same day. While at the fair, the organizers of the festival asked us to set up a booth at the festival. Some family members or friends will be there. People have told us that they have heard Tim on the Al Roney Show on a couple of different occasions. Thank you Al for helping us get the word out. When we started this mission four months ago, we never dreamt the amount of support that we would receive. People from all walks of life have come forward and have helped us spread the word, contacted legislators, signed petitions, offered moral support, and raised money for the family. They have been there for us through thick and thin. We cannot begin to thank everyone enough. June 28, 2009 On June 27th we traveled to Lake George, New York to take part in the Convoy for the Kids. Many people stopped by and signed our petition. As in New Jersey, some of the people were not aware of what Jason’s Law is. Most of them gave us the opportunity to explain what it was and why we are fighting for it. We encouraged them to contact their legislators and to let them know how vital this legislation is. We would like to thank all of the people who donated to the Convoy. Without their generous donations, this event would not have been the success it was. Special thanks to Charlie Clayburn, Bill Sutton, and the other members of Truckers and Citizens for including us. The winner of the 50/50 raffle was the sales representative from “Ball Buster Polish.” The winning ticket number was 781528. A total of $102 was collected making his winnings $51. Congratulations! Congressman Paul Tonko took the time from his extremely busy schedule to come to Lake George at night. As he mingled among the truckers and others he brought them up-to-date on his proposed legislation. With the Energy Bill behind them, they will soon be concentrating on the Transportation Bill. Jason’s Law is among the items to be discussed. His staff in Washington is again working at getting co-sponsors. Congressman Tonko said that when he explains Jason’s Law to his fellow Congressmen, they say it makes sense. This is a good sign. We still need to continue getting the word out and contacting our legislators. Remember, once this gets through on the federal level, we need to make sure that our state legislators are ready to apply for these grants. We still have a lot of work ahead of us. On Thursday, June 25th, Tim was on the Al Roney Show on WGY 810. Thank you Al for helping us get the information out. If you would like to listen to the broadcast you can hear it on his podcast on www.wgy.com. It is in the June 25th - hour #2 section. There will be a baseball game sponsored by the State Police on July 18th. This will be held in Central Bridge at the ballfield on route 30A. Come and enjoy the fun. We will be at the Cobleskill Fair from July 31st through August 8th. Stop by and say, “Hi!” and encourage others to stop by to sign our petition. We are trying to cover as many areas as possible. If you know of any events that we may attend, please feel free to contact us. If it is at all possible, we will be there. June 19, 2009 On June 13, 2009 we traveled to the New Jersey State Fair Grounds in Augusta, New Jersey to attend the East Coast Large Cars Annual Truck Show. Richie provided us with a space among the vendors and we were able to promote Jason’s Law while enjoying the many activities that were going on. At the Show we found about half of the people we spoke to were aware of Jason’s Law and what we were trying to accomplish. The remainder of the people listened intently while we explained to them what it was about. They too were supportive and were more than willing to sign our petition. On June 27, 2009 we will be in Lake George, New York to again promote Jason’s Law. Charlie Clayburn and Bill Sutton of Truckers and Citizens have been organizing a Convoy for the Kids to raise money to benefit a school for children with handicaps. There will be many trucks there for people to look at as well as many other activities. For more information, go to their website at http://truckersandcitizens.webs.com/. As many of you know, the Senate in New York is in a state of disarray right now. Senator Seward was prepared to introduce a resolution on Tuesday, June 16th, in support of the bills in Washington. Due to the confusion in Albany, that has been postponed. We continue to write to the legislators, encouraging them to correct the current truck parking shortage. We got a phone call last night from J.P. from the American Driver with good news. He is waiting for confirmation in writing and will post the news on his website at http://www.theamericandriver.com/home.html. Together, everyone is making a difference for our truck drivers. While they may seem like small steps, they are important steps. We need to continue to take these small steps and soon you will be able to look back and see that it has formed into one big step. Someone told us that it is much better this way. They said that when something is accomplished in one big fanfare, it dies out quickly too. Things that last take time to build and to get a good foundation. We need to be patient and build a good solid foundation for our truckers of tomorrow as well as today’s truckers. Something that will last and something that will continue to improve. Together we can do this but it is going to take time and it is going to have to be done in baby steps. Thank you for taking these baby steps with us. May 25, 2009 We have not compiled the results of the survey yet as they continue to come in. We want to thank everyone who has responded to it and we will be putting the results on in the near future. Last week we met with Alison Cooper from Senator Seward’s office and Kendra Adams from the New York State Motor Truck Association. We discussed ideas for bills on the New York State level. With the Senate in session for only a month more, time is critical. Wording is being prepared and we hope that something can get presented prior to the end of this session. It is one of our goals to turn our home state of New York into a model state for the trucking industry. By doing that, we are hopeful that surrounding states will follow suit and that it will spread across the country. In the meantime we encourage each and every one of you to seek to improve your home state. State legislators need to hear it from you, their constituents. They depend on you to keep them in office. We are in contact with our legislators on a regular basis to make sure that things are continuing to move forward. Although it doesn’t seem it, things are progressing. As we have said, this is going to take a long time and we need everyone to hang in there with us. Together, we have accomplished more than many groups have been able to accomplish in the past. Together, we will make this happen. May 11, 2009 As you have seen on the website, Congressman Paul Tonko introduced legislation on the floor of Congress on April 28th. On May 5th, Senator Charles Schumer introduced the same wording to the Senate. It has been referred to Committee in both places. We want to thank Congressman Tonko and his co-sponsors and Senator Schumer for everything that they have done and continue to do to make traveling safer for the truckers and everyone else. H. R. 2156 and S.971 provides for $20 million dollars a year from 2010 through 2015. If it is passed as it is written, this money cannot be transferred and must be used for this pilot program. The money does not get sent to any particular sector automatically. It must be applied for and used following the guidelines set forth in this legislation. When it becomes available, we need to make sure private businesses as well as state and local governments follow through and use the money wisely. Our work is far from done. Senator James Seward, Senator Martin Dilan, and Assemblyman Peter Lopez are working to improve rest areas and truck stops in New York State. Currently they are looking into various options on how to accomplish this. We are asking that you contact your state legislators and ask them to follow suit. Because we are not their constituents, legislators from other states are less willing to listen to us. They need to hear it from you. Please help us with this. Continue to write or call your legislators asking for their support of Jason’s Law. There are still people who have not heard about it and they too need to be told. Keep spreading the word. April 22, 2009 We met with the Schoharie County Board of Supervisors on Friday, April 17th. After hearing our presentation, they passed a resolution in support of Jason’s Law. Everyone in attendance listened intently throughout the presentation and several expressed their concern over the lack of adequate, secure parking. We would like to thank the supervisors, as well as the concerned citizens that were at the meeting, for their support. On Monday, April 20th, we had a marathon of meetings with representatives of Assemblymen and Senators. Assemblyman David McDonough (Ranking member of the Assembly Transportation Committee) met with us personally. We met with representatives of the following people: Assemblyman Kevin Cahill Assemblyman David Gantt (Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee) Senator Martin Dilan (Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee) Senator James Seward Senator Charles Fuschillo Jr. (Ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee) Steve – Director from Senator Charles Schumer’s Office There were four council members from Assemblyman Gantt’s office. Some of the representatives made us feel that their office would support the legislation, some were still undecided (they need more time to study it), while others were hard to read one way or the other. Overall, we believe the day was a success. We feel good about having the opportunity to meet with these people and to have our concerns heard. Steve, from Senator Schumer’s, has asked that we send him documentation on other acts of violence against truckers. If anyone has anything, please email it to us so that we can submit it to him. Congressman Tonko hopes to introduce his legislation in the House next week. It is extremely critical that everyone let their representatives know that they support this legislation and that they would like them to support it as well. Please tell everyone you know that the success of this legislation depends on them. They can get the addresses of their representatives by following the link on our website. One thing that people need to keep in mind is that EVERYONE will benefit from.this legislation. Everyone is susceptible to becoming drowsy. Most of us will pull over at some time to take a power nap or just to take a break when traveling. Without secure areas, we are all vulnerable to predators. Without resting, we are prone to having an accident. Either way, it could be a lose-lose situation. Let’s work to protect everyone. April 12, 2009 Things are moving along quickly. On Thursday, April 9th, we met with Congressman Paul Tonko and his Director, Sean Shortell. They updated us on their progress and met Joshua, Logan, and Hezekiah for the first time. The Congressman and his staff have been busy researching and working on wording for proposed legislation. He is seeking ten’s of millions of dollars to improve trucker safety. Every five years the federal government works on the Transportation Reauthorization Act. This is the year for it. In May, proposed legislation is submitted to Congress for their consideration. As stated, the Congressman and his staff have been busy working on the wording and will have it completed within the next couple of weeks. Congressman Tonko and his staff are working hard to help us. Once the wording is complete, WE NEED TO HELP THEM. We need people in EVERY state across the nation assisting us. Hundreds of letters need to go to the legislators to show them that we support this legislation and that we want them to support it too. In the near future, we will put a sample letter on this site. Please feel free to copy it, sign it, and mail it to your legislator. For your representative’s name and address, go to http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt. On the left side you will find a place to put your zip code. This will give you the names of your representatives. When you click on their name, you will be able to get their address from the contact tab. Remember, it is very important that your representative hear from you. The more people they hear from, the better our chances of getting this legislation passed. We also met with Senator James Seward and Assemblyman Peter Lopez on April 9th. Assemblyman Lopez invited Kendra Adams from the New York State Motor Truck Association. Discussion on how to proceed on the state level took place. It was refreshing to have a politician admit that they didn’t know a lot about a subject and then proceed to ask questions and listen. Thank you, Senator Seward, for being honest and for listening. Everyone is going to do more research and we will be meeting again in a couple of weeks. Meetings have been scheduled with the following people: Schoharie County Board of Supervisors Assemblyman Kevin Cahill Assemblyman David Gantt (Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee) Assemblyman David McDonough (Ranking member of the Assembly Transportation Committee) Senator Martin Dilan (Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee) Senator James Seward Senator Charles Fuschillo Jr. (Ranking member of the Senate Transportation Committee) Steve – Director from Senator Charles Schumer’s Office Senator Fuschillo’s office was contacted and we were told that they would call back with a time. After waiting more than a week, their office was again contacted at which time we were told that they had been working on it but that they had a scheduling issue and that we would be contacted the following Monday with a time if they could schedule it. We then informed them that we would put that in our update on the website. They quickly told us it wasn’t anything to do with anyone or any issue but a scheduling problem. Within the hour we received a call with a time to meet with a representative of the Senator’s office. We are extremely disappointed in Senator Gillibrand. After numerous attempts, we are unable to get an appointment with her. Senator McDonald’s office has asked to be kept up-to-date. Senator Little has not contacted us yet. Again, we would like to thank everyone for their continued support. When the wording is received from Congressman Tonko’s office, it is imperative that we let our legislator’s know that we support this legislation. Please, please tell everyone you know to send letters to their legislators. April 2, 2009 We want to take this opportunity to bring everyone up to date. As previously stated, we have met with Congressman Paul Tonko and New York State Assemblyman Peter Lopez. We now have appointments set up with the following people: Congressman Paul Tonko – second meeting N. Y. State Assemblyman George Amedore N. Y. State Senator John DeFrancisco N.Y. State Senator Martin Dilan – Chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee N.Y. State Assemblyman David Gantt – Chairman of the Assembly Transportation Committee We will be making an appointment with Assemblyman Peter Lopez to do a follow-up from our first meeting in the next week or two. The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors in Schoharie, New York has granted us privilege of the floor at their April meeting. At that time we will ask for their support in getting this legislation passed. We have been unable to get a meeting with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand after several attempts. We have made these attempts through several different venues with no success. Messages have been left for the following people: N.Y. State Senator Elizabeth Little N.Y. State Senator Ray McDonald N.Y. State Assemblyman Tony Jordan Senator Charles Schumer’s office was contacted and, as requested by his aide, an email was sent with the information requested. No response has been received as of now. The White House has also been contacted. The switchboard first transferred our call to the Public Liaison Office. After listening to the recording, we were told that the mailbox was full at this time and we would not be able to leave a message. We called the switchboard back and explained our dilemma to them and they then transferred our call to Ann Brewer. After again listening to a recording, a message was left requesting that an appointment be set up. Again, we have not heard anything. Because several of the calls were just made, it may be too soon to have heard but we trust we will hear from them shortly. Please check back for an update on how we are making out with them. We again want to thank everyone for their support. We will continue to fight for this legislation and will keep everyone posted on this site. March 22, 2009 We would like to thank everyone for all of their support over the last couple of weeks. People from all over the world have touched our lives in many ways and we will never be able to thank everyone enough.  Currently, we are trying to get meetings with as many legislators as we can. Congressman Paul Tonko and his District Director, Sean Shortell, met with us on Saturday, March 14th. Upon receipt of our letter, they began looking at ways they could help us get legislation to keep our truck drivers safe. At our meeting, they listened intently while we shared our ideas with them, taking notes and assuring us that they would do everything they could to help us. Congressman Tonko is working with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to see what progress can be made. He understands the need for safe havens and is pursuing every venue available.  On Sunday, March 15th, we met with Assemblyman Peter Lopez. He, too, has said that he will do what he can to help get legislation passed in New York State. He has asked us to survey truckers to see what states have the safest rest areas and truck stops. This site contains a link to our survey. Please take a few minutes to complete it and get it to us so that we can give him a clear idea of what is out there.  As we meet with other legislators we will keep you up to date. In the meantime, we are asking everyone to continue to write to their legislators and ask them to support this legislation. We know that this is going to take time to get passed and completed. We promise that we are in it for the long haul. We are asking for your continued support. Together we can get this passed and make the highways a safer place for our loved ones.   Thank you again for all of your support.