Surry/Yadkin/Stokes Community Action Site

Mandy Collins - CAS Leader -Email: yadkinsurry@maddnc.org  - Phone: 1-336-367-3333

Please volunteer! Mandy would love your help. Please contact her for information.

2009 Being Busy.....

I sent this out 4 years ago and this case was the one that has always bothered me the most. Today, he was finally taken into custody thanks to the Yadkin Sheriff's Office and Yadkinville Police Department. Many, many thanks to you for doing your duties so well!

>>> Mandy Collins <ncmaddmom@yahoo.com> 11/3/2005 9:41:00 AM

On Tuesday July 23rd, 2005, 12 year old Cindy Benitez was killed in a
drunk driving crash in Yadkin County NC. Her 8 year old sister Amy
thankfully enough was unharmed. This crash took a life from a family and
from our community and it was 100 % preventable. 

Ignacio Benitez, the child's father who was driving the vehicle
should have appeared yesterday in Yadkin County Court but was no where
to be found. It seems that he has been deported back to Mexico without
answering to the citizens of the County or State. My question is who
will answer for the death of this child? Who is going to be held
accountable for the death of this child? I keep hearing that Mr. Benitez
will be picked up if he ever returns but who are we kidding? If he does
return to the US and he does use his real name, it will not be to Yadkin
that he returns.  

Everyone done the job that they were required to do. The NC Highway
Patrol charged him. The Yadkin County District Attorney was going to
prosecute him. This was not a "breakdown" on the part of our state.
It was a "breakdown" within the U.S. Government. To my knowledge,
there is nothing that can be done to correct this particular miscarriage
of justice but we can learn from it and make the changes necessary to
ensure that this never happens again. That when a criminal act is
carried out, the responsible party will answer for his/her actions above
being deported from this country. We as a community, as a state need to
rise up and let our representatives know that this is unacceptable. That
we expect more. 

This was not my child but it could have been. As a matter of fact, I
never knew this child or her family but they had a life together. Who
knows what great things awaited Cindy Benitez as she grew into
adulthood. None of us will ever know. According to the May 2000 Journal
of the American Medical Association, from 1985 to 1996, there were 5,555
child passenger deaths involving a drinking driver; of those deaths,
3,556 or 64% occured while the child was riding with the drinking
driver. When is it going to stop??!!  Please help me to correct this
situation by contacting our U.S. Representatives as I have already done.
For NC they are: 

Senator Richard Burr

Senator Elizabeth Dole

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx

Congressman Cass Ballenger

Congressman Mel Watt

---

Hi All

Hi All

 

We will be doing this program once again at Forbush the week of April 14th for the prom. Our "crash day" will be the 17th with the "funeral" on the 18th.

 

I ordered the new planning guides today and we should have them within 6 weeks. If Thurs.Feb.21st will work for you, this is about the best date for a first meeting with all participating agencies, around 7:00 pm in the Forbush High Library. If this date/time isn't good, please let me know and we will change it. Thanks! Mandy

Mandy Collins

Community Action Site Leader

Surry/Yadkin County MADD

336- 367-3333

Sign Up For our Golf Tournament....Click Here  to see the flyer.  Yadkin County Sherriff's Office Golfing for MADD is hosting a golf tournament.  It will be at Silo Run Golf Course on October 18th at 1 PM.  The rain date will be October 25th at 1 PM. Teams need to register by Oct 15th

Prizes:

Hole in One on 1 chosen par 3 hole                  $5000 cash

1ST Place team                                                $400 cash

2ND place team                                                $200 cash

Per Mulligan (1 per person per side4)                     $5 cash

Trophies for longest drive and closest to pin.

Super will be provided.

To sponsor a hole                                              $25 per hole

Can't wait to see you there.

Our agenda for the July 24, 7 PM at the Yadkinville Pizza Hut   meeting:

SURRY/ YADKIN MADD

JULY 24 2007 MEETING AGENDA

Law Enforcement Equipment

Fundraisers for the year

Fundraisers for individual law enforcement agencies/ SRO's

DWI Checkpoints

Court Issues

Banquet

School Programs   *** need prom dates for all high schools***

OPEN TOPICS

Mandy Collins

Mandy Collins

  Presentation of the alco-sensor FST to Deputy John Hicks.

Hi All

MADD  Meeting dates for Yadkin, Surry, Stokes, Davie, Iredell...

We need to look at possible dates for October meeting.  Right now we are looking at Oct. 19th at B-ville Cafe Let me know, I need more input).

Sept. 2nd we had King PD along with the FCSO checkpoint.  Rusty took care of this because I was sick (Thanks a BUNCH!!!).  They had 5 DWI's in the town limits.  We have the support of law enforcement and the Superintendent of schools.  We will also look at having a booth at the King fair.

Other Events 2006

Sept. 6     Jeff Helton in Yadfkin court

Sept. 7-9    National MADD meeting

Sept. 13    Bobby Grigg in Yadkin court

Sept. 15    Dwayne Hunter in Forsyth court (preliminary hearing 2nd degree murder, DWI)

Sept. 19    Dwayne Hunter in Surry court

Sept. 21    Youth In Action (YIA) meeeting with ALE Steve Boone at courthouse in Yadkin 6 PM.

Sept. 23     "Patrol Stroll" in Raleigh, NC

Sept. 27    Billy Snead in Surry Court

Stokes County interest meeting on September 7th to discuss upcoming event, schedule events, implement court monitoring, Victim Impact Panel, Law Enforcement support established w/Sheriff's office.  Location: Danbury at the Government Center 7 PM.

Davie County  Nikki Shore will have a interest meeting at Davie Courthouse at 7 PM.

School Programs: Decide which school/schools in each county wants/needs the "Shattered Dreams/Keys To Life" program.  If you have an SRO who may be interested in the program, please send them to this meeting if possible.  You can find more information on the NC ALE website or at http://www.tabc.state.tx.us/Educa/ShatDreams.htm We need to have our first "big" meeting and start planning No LATER than October to have an April, 2007 program.

All counties above working together as a coalition to take the weight off of each other and have plenty of help.

Implementing the VIP (Victim Impact Panel) in each County.

Law Enforcement equipment MADD National still has the budgets for the whole state.  As soon as we receive ours, we can make purchases.

Family cookout for all counties above.  Set date/location.