You may have read in the paper or saw on the web or even caught the news on TV where a local (local to me at least) State Trooper was struck by a tractor trailer while conducting a traffic stop on June 14th. Yes, a tractor trailer, and yes it actually hit HIM. He was standing next to the car he pulled over when some @$$hole in a tractor trailer slammed in to his cruiser first and then hit the Trooper that was standing there.
Well, this Trooper is my next door neighbor and a really, really good friend of mine. He is home and recovering now. Not sure how it wasn't worse than what it is but he is extremely lucky to be alive. Or for the godly people, God must have been watching him...but not too close though, otherwise the truck would have missed. Anyways, he has a pretty jacked up shoulder and neck and he suffered a concussion. He is home now and he is slowly recovering.
Here is my beef. I looked up some info on the web and since he is actually not pulling people over and generating dollars for the State, they put this injured Trooper on "administrative pay." This is 2/3 of their normal pay, and they do this for all injured Troopers. Yes, you read it right. They are PUNISHING him FINANCIALLY for getting hit by a 30 TON TRUCK. Now, I don't know about you but if I took a 33% pay cut I would definitely have an extremely difficult time. Sure, workers comp will pay the lost wages, and sure maybe he will get a chunk of dough from the trucking company but guess what? Bills are due on the first of every month and it may be MONTHS until he gets any of those funds. He may need a year to recover. No one knows! You just can't predict things like that. Each pay period that goes by is going to get tougher for him and his family, just like it would with any of us.
This is why I set this up http://www.indiegogo.com/trooperavila?a=782100 This is a site where people can go and contribute to him not just for the hell of it, but because this is a man that has gone through some major horse doo-doo and he shouldn't have to worry about the next mortgage payment, or the next electric bill or the next school supply shopping trip for his 3 awesome kids. We as a community should be more than willing to help a man that puts his life on the line every day to serve and protect. His recovery period should be one thing, a recovery period. Not a worry period.
Now I know some of you know this person and a lot of you don't. I also know that some of you have really good jobs and some of you don't. But it's going to feel good, whether you know him or not or whether you contribute $1 or $100, to know that you are stepping up and helping out.
Thank you all for supporting and thanks for reading!!!
Cheers!
K.A. Ball
