Sen Daniel D-44 June 10, 2011 Newsletter

DISTRICT 44

Burke JUNE 10, 2011

Caldwell JUNE 10, ISSUE #2

Dear Friends,

This week the legislature faced the “crossover” deadline.

Each year the General Assembly sets a “deadline” for bills to crossover from one body to the other. If a bill does not pass in either the House or Senate by that time it is considered “dead” for the remainder of the 2011-2012 session. Because of this deadline, both the House and Senate have been hearing dozens of bills each day, and working until late at night. If you are interested in learning more about what your legislature is doing, I encourage you to go to www.ncleg.net or www.ncga.state.nc.us .

National D-Day Museum Bedford, Va www.dday.org

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Senator Warren T. Daniel Legislative Office Bldg., Room 411 300 N. Salisbury St. Raleigh, NC 27603-5925 Email: warren.daniel@ncleg.net Phone: 919-715-7823 Fax: 919-754-3265

Here are a few of the important bills that were passed this week:

District Office of Sen. Warren Daniel 348 Harper Avenue NW Lenoir, NC 28645 Email: senwarrendaniel@bellsouth.net Phone: 828-754-9335 Fax 828-754-9335 (Please call before faxing) www.facebook.com

** http://bit.ly/SenDaniel (For pictures, more news, resources)

SB 679: Castle doctrine, allows concealed carry in state parks (2nd Amendment bill) HB 854: Woman’s right to know (Pro-life bill) HB 351: Voter ID (election reform) SB 8: Eliminated the cap on charter schools HB 289: Choose Life License Plate SB 33: Medical Malpractice Reform SB 781: Regulatory Reform Act of 2011 At the beginning of the session, Republicans vowed to make this long session a short one. If all goes as scheduled, we will be ending this session by June 17th, which will make it one of the shortest long sessions in North Carolina history. This will save the taxpayers millions of dollars. We were able to accomplish this by working together with the House to avoid the need for a conference committee (saving 2-3 weeks), and thereby passing the budget in the first week of June.

TODAY’S MARKET ACTIVITY      

Helium was up.

Feathers were down.

Paper was stationary.

Cows steered into a bull market.

Weights were up in heavy trading.

Knives were up sharply.

   

Pencils lost a few points.

Hiking equipment was trailing.

Elevators rose.

Escalators continued a slow decline.

Burke

Caldwell

DISTRICT 44

JUNE 10, 2011

Page 2

This past Monday marked the anniversary of D-Day. On the morning of June 6, 1944, 150,000 men left the shores of England on planes and naval vessels headed toward an unknown end. To land on a beach with white cliffs; covered with steel obstacles, barbed wire, mines and machine gun fire, to face a rested and entrenched enemy. Many did not return. These men and women we and women we now remember and honor as the Greatest Generation.

When I consider the current state of our nation, and the challenges we face in our great State, I do not fear the lack of revenues, or the loss of this program or that program. What I fear is the loss of the American fighting spirit possessed by the Greatest Generation that simply says: “I can, we will, let’s get going.” Ultimately the success of our state doesn’t rest on the hope of government, but on the protection of the inalienable rights and liberties given by God to every man, woman, and child.

Thank you again for all of your input and support over these last few months. I have worked my hardest to be receptive to all issues from Burke and Caldwell counties and believe we have achieved a great deal. However, we still have a week to go and I have yet to get all I wish to accomplish done. This will be a very busy and trying week and I ask for your thoughts and prayers as we conclude this long session in Raleigh. It is truly an honor to serve the people of Burke and Caldwell counties.

Sincerely,

North Carolina on D-Day William Carey Lee, the “Father of the Airborne,” was born in Dunn in1895, the son of Eldrege and Emma Lee. He attended public schools prior to studying at Wake Forest College from 1913 to 1915. From 1915 until 1917 Lee attended North Carolina State College, where he played baseball and football. Caught up in the patriotic fervor of World War I, Lee volunteered for the United States Army and received a lieutenant’s commission.

Lee served in France as a platoon and company commander before returning to the United States at war’s end. He remained in the army, returned to teach military science at North Carolina State College and then served a three-year tour in Panama.

Lee subsequently entered the Tank Corps, and trained with French armored personnel in the mid-1930s. He returned to North Carolina in the late 1930s, and completed a bachelor’s degree in education. In 1939 he was assigned to the Chief of the Army’s office in Washington, D.C., where he became part of a small, maverick group of army officers advocating for the development of an airborne army infantry force.

In June 1940, the Army authorized the development of a test platoon of paratroopers, and placed Lee, now a lieutenant-colonel, in charge. The following year Lee was appointed head of a provisional detachment of paratroopers, and by 1942 was the colonel commanding the entire Airborne Command Headquarters. In July 1942, after Army officials authorized the raising of two airborne divisions, Lee received command of the 101st Division. For the next two years he oversaw its development and training and was instrumental in getting airborne and glider operations begun at both Camp Mackall and Laurinburg-Maxton Army Air Base.

The inclusion of the airborne divisions in the Normandy Invasion in June 1944 was directly the work of Lee. Nevertheless, Lee would not be allowed to jump into occupied France with his beloved paratroopers. A heart attack on February 5, 1944, ended his war. Although he survived, Lee was forced to retire.

However, the members of the 101st Division, the Screaming Eagles, were ordered by their new commander, Gen. Maxwell Taylor, to scream the name “Bill Lee” as they departed their transports over France in the early morning hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944.

Lee’s health continued to deteriorate. He died on March 1, 1948, survived by his wife Dava Johnson Lee. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Dunn.

STATE GRADUATION RATE CLIMBS ABOVE NATIONAL AVERAGE It was announced this week by Diplomas Count researchers that North Carolina’s public high school graduation rate has exceeded the national average. Our state graduation rate is calculated at 72.8%, which is tied for 25th among the 50 states and Washington, DC. This marks the first time our state’s position has moved above the national average on this annual ranking. Congratulations to our teachers and to all graduating seniors.