[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 157 (Wednesday, October 11, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1918-E1919]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           TRIBUTE TO A YOUNG LEADER: MR. LARRY CHAMPAGNE III

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                        HON. WILLIAM (BILL) CLAY

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, October 11, 1995

  Mr. CLAY. Mr. Speaker, I am sure that by now most of our colleagues 
have either read or heard about Mr. Larry Champagne III, the young hero 
who saved his schoolmates and bus driver when he brought their swerving 


[[Page E 1919]]
school bus to a halt after the driver suffered a stroke at the wheel. I 
am proud to say that Mr. Champagne is one of my junior constituents.
  More importantly, I want to call young Larry's story to the attention 
of our colleagues because his act of courage is one of the many 
wonderful and dynamic things our young people are doing today. Contrary 
to popular belief, Larry Champagne and his schoolmates are among the 98 
percent of young Americans who are doing the right thing. They are the 
young leaders who are studying hard, obeying authority, and making 
small but positive contributions to their communities. They are the 
unsung heroes of the 90's.
  I submit to our colleagues the October 6, 1995 St. Louis Post 
Dispatch article about Larry Champagne. It is my hope that his story 
will touch their hearts, as it did mine, and inspire some confidence in 
young Larry's generation. Then, I offer our colleagues the challenge of 
doing everything within their power to protect the programs that young 
Larry and his peers will need to fully develop the leadership talents 
they displayed on October 5, 1995.

            [From the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Oct. 6, 1995]

                 Peachy--Boy Hero Celebrates Celebrity

                           (By Carolyn Bower)

       Ten-year-old Larry Champagne III got pulled from class 
     repeatedly Thursday to talk with national radio and 
     television reporters.
       But Larry was coping with his sudden celebrity status.
       ``I'm OK,'' he grinned outside Bellerive School in the 
     Parkway School District. ``I'm peachy. I'm carrots and 
     peas.''
       Larry, a fifth-grader, became a hero after he stopped a 
     school bus on U.S. Highway 40 near Sarah Avenue in St. Louis 
     Tuesday after the bus driver suffered a stroke. The bus has 
     been going about 55 mph.
       Larry is credited with saving himself and 17 other students 
     from serious injury. The bus driver, Ernestine Blackman, was 
     in serious condition Thursday at Barnes Hospital.
       On Thursday afternoon, Bellerive's 460 pupils filed into 
     the school gym for an assembly to honor Larry and the other 
     students. In sweet, high voices, the students sang a song 
     about making a difference, taking a risk and becoming the 
     voices of hope in the world.
       Said principal Ken Russell: ``We are here to honor the 
     students on Bus 3 for their courage, wisdom and bravery in 
     the face of danger. * * * You were good listeners. You were 
     helpful. You are heroes.''
       The students were on their way to school from their homes 
     in St. Louis Tuesday morning when they heard cars honking and 
     felt the bus swerve and hit a guardrail.
       Then they saw Blackman fall from her seat. Larry made his 
     way to the front, grabbed the steering wheel and stomped on 
     the brake, stopping the bus. A pickup plowed into the bus.
       Then Larry and five other students helped the bus driver, 
     got the door open and summoned help.
       Russell gave Larry a stack of newspapers and a framed copy 
     of a front-page Post-Dispatch story about Larry.
       School officials presented the Bus 3 students with 
     medallions on red, white and blue ribbons.
       Walle Amusa, and aide to St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley 
     Jr., read a message from Bosley and invited the children to 
     meet the mayor next Wednesday. The mayor's message said: ``I 
     am very proud of you. It is great to know that we have young 
     people like you who are level-headed, responsible, courageous 
     and humble.''
       Tim Stieber, a division manager for Mayflower bus company, 
     gave Larry a billed hat, a bus driver's jacket, commendation 
     and $100 gift certificate to Toys `R' Us.
       The television program ``A Current Affair'' filmed the 
     assembly.
       In addition to local news organizations, Larry has had 
     interviews or inquiries from NBC, CBS, USA Today, National 
     Public Radio, Time Magazine for Kids, the Associated Press, 
     United Press International, CNN in Los Angeles, Paul Harvey, 
     David Letterman's show, the ``Today'' show, the ``Tonight 
     Show'' and radio stations in Boston, San Francisco and Utica. 
     Charles Osgood wrote Thursday's ``Osgood File'' rhyme about 
     Larry.
       Larry's relatives said the attention at first drove him to 
     tears, but he bounced back.
       His grandfather Lawrence Champagne, said: ``Larry didn't 
     want to be a hero, but now he's jumping in with both feet and 
     dealing with it.''
       The grandfather said Larry's actions had lifted the 
     family's spirits just weeks after Larry's father, Lawrence 
     Champagne II, was stabbed to death in St. Louis.
       ``My son may have lost his life, but his son has saved 
     lives,'' the grandfather said. ``This is a memory we'll 
     cherish forever.''

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