[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 19]
[House]
[Page 26626]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING CHARLOTTE'S BLUE RIBBON CAMPAIGN

  (Mr. HAYES asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, last April, Charlotte police officers Sean 
Clark and Jeff Shelton were shot and killed in the line of duty as they 
responded to a call at an east Charlotte apartment complex. As a result 
of these tragic murders came the Blue Ribbon Campaign. Many miles of 
free blue ribbon were distributed throughout the greater Charlotte 
area. Jeff Katz, a former police officer who hosts the afternoon drive 
show on WBT in Charlotte, North Carolina, urged listeners to display 
the blue ribbons on cars and homes as well as on their persons to 
visibly support law enforcement. On his radio show, Katz asked 
listeners to donate to a special memorial fund for the families of the 
slain officers. In a matter of hours, Katz had pledges of $50,000. 
Those making pledges were directed to make their donations directly to 
the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 9.
  I want to commend these officers and their families for their 
sacrifice and thank their brothers and sisters in law enforcement for 
their commitment to keep the city safe. I also want to thank Jeff Katz 
and countless citizens for their tremendous efforts in the Blue Ribbon 
Campaign responding to this tragedy. Out of this tragedy it was 
encouraging to see the tremendous outpouring of support from the whole 
community for our law enforcement personnel who risk their lives every 
day for all of us.

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