Oct. 28, 2010
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: John Raese Funds Project Lifesaver in West Virginia
A little known fact about U.S. Senate candidate John Raese is he and his wife fund Project Lifesaver in West Virginia, a wonderful program that assists emergency personnel in locating children and adults with cognitive disabilities prone to wandering off. Project Lifesaver is operating in about half of West Virginia's 55 counties.
I have a 9-year-old little brother, Ben, who has Down syndrome and is prone to wandering off into the woods alone. Last October, he slipped away and took off into the woods, followed by his dog, Lexi. As my mother realized he was gone, she dialed 911 and went to look for him.
The Wood County sheriff's deputies arrived and activated the Project Lifesaver equipment, and within minutes they had locked on to Ben's position. Just as they began moving in his direction, a neighbor that had been assisting in the search found our little man. Forty minutes of hell that seemed to last 40 hours ended.
Ben loves the water, and swimming is his favorite thing to do. He had jumped into the cold water of a pond with a small dock several hundred yards from his home. He was found hanging by his sweatshirt which was caught on a nail in the dock, only his face above water. God placed that nail on that dock to keep his head above water until help arrived, which ironically isn't the first time He has used nails in wood to save lives.
I may never have the answers to all of the "What if?" questions I have about that day, except one: I know that Ben would not have been in that water much longer because the Project Lifesaver team had already found him. I know something else, too: Without John Raese, there would be no Project Lifesaver!
I had the opportunity of thanking Raese in person. He listened to my story of Ben and the pond and I thanked him for the peace of mind he brings to us. Raese looked at me and with tears in his eyes thanked me for telling him the happiest of stories, and said goal is to have Project Lifesaver in all 55 counties as soon as possible.
I thank God for John Raese and his generous heart to fund such a worthy program. I trust John Raese because I believe he puts others before himself, and I trust him to serve me in the Senate with honest character and integrity.
Eric Jiles
Parkersburg
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: John Raese Funds Project Lifesaver in West Virginia
A little known fact about U.S. Senate candidate John Raese is he and his wife fund Project Lifesaver in West Virginia, a wonderful program that assists emergency personnel in locating children and adults with cognitive disabilities prone to wandering off. Project Lifesaver is operating in about half of West Virginia's 55 counties.
I have a 9-year-old little brother, Ben, who has Down syndrome and is prone to wandering off into the woods alone. Last October, he slipped away and took off into the woods, followed by his dog, Lexi. As my mother realized he was gone, she dialed 911 and went to look for him.
The Wood County sheriff's deputies arrived and activated the Project Lifesaver equipment, and within minutes they had locked on to Ben's position. Just as they began moving in his direction, a neighbor that had been assisting in the search found our little man. Forty minutes of hell that seemed to last 40 hours ended.
Ben loves the water, and swimming is his favorite thing to do. He had jumped into the cold water of a pond with a small dock several hundred yards from his home. He was found hanging by his sweatshirt which was caught on a nail in the dock, only his face above water. God placed that nail on that dock to keep his head above water until help arrived, which ironically isn't the first time He has used nails in wood to save lives.
I may never have the answers to all of the "What if?" questions I have about that day, except one: I know that Ben would not have been in that water much longer because the Project Lifesaver team had already found him. I know something else, too: Without John Raese, there would be no Project Lifesaver!
I had the opportunity of thanking Raese in person. He listened to my story of Ben and the pond and I thanked him for the peace of mind he brings to us. Raese looked at me and with tears in his eyes thanked me for telling him the happiest of stories, and said goal is to have Project Lifesaver in all 55 counties as soon as possible.
I thank God for John Raese and his generous heart to fund such a worthy program. I trust John Raese because I believe he puts others before himself, and I trust him to serve me in the Senate with honest character and integrity.
Eric Jiles
Parkersburg
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