Gagnon for House

The Panthers home opener didn’t go too well, but the crowd was in full support of our Panthers. Even the radio folks from Union County were impressed with the enthusiasm of the fans and remarked that it was refreshing to see that students and fans can still have so much fun with High School and High School football! I wholeheartedly agree! Go Panthers!

Last Sunday, I attended the dedication of the caboose behind the Barksdale-McGowan House in Abbeville. The caboose has been restored and donated to the Historical Society. Thank you to the Society, the Pursleys and many others who made this happen. It stands as a memorial to the great history of the railroad industry in Abbeville.

Attended the 9/11 memorial service in Abbeville this morning with Robin. A very touching, patriotic and appropriate recognition of those who lost their lives that tragic day, their loved ones and the First Responders who make our lives so safe. The event was sponsored by our Veterans. Thank you for you service and God Bless America!

Had a great time talking with Senator Tim Scott, Rep. Jeff Duncan and Congressman Trey Gowdy last evening. These men are right for South Carolina and right for America.

The State House was called back into session on Wednesday,  Aug. 27th to deal with 2 vetoes from the Governor. The first was S. 813. This bill gives authority to Librarians to remove disruptive people from the library and sets penalties for those who don’t comply with the order. I disagree with the Governor’s veto. Order must be maintained in our public libraries and disruptive people should not be allowed to return for a certain period. The veto was overridden and will become law.
The second veto (S.293) dealt with a special purpose district that spans two counties. The Murrells Inlet / Garden City Fire District. The legislation called for a tax increase. I agree with the Governor that the citizens should decide to raise their own taxes. The bill will not become law.

It was a great night in Anderson August 25th at congressman Jeff Duncan’s Faith and Freedom Rally! Great speakers including Sen. Marco Rubio, Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Lindsay Graham among others!

The 2014 ACT scores have been released by the SC Department of Education! Congratulations to the Abbeville County School District, their teachers and students for raising the composite test scores from last year’s 19.0 to 21.0! Incredible job! Also, Anderson County School District 5 raised theirs as well from 20.5 to 20.9! This is great news for our college and career-bound students! Way to go!

https://ed.sc.gov/data/national-assessments/documents/ACT-Districts2014final.xlsx

Went to the Veterans Motorcycle rally today. Met a lot of great folks from all over the country! It was quite a scene to see all those motorcycles come streaming into town! God bless our Veterans! They are raising funds for scholarships for the children of our fallen soldiers!

Ashley Bond was the guest of honor at a reception at the Village Grill in Abbeville. She got 2 medals (a silver and a bronze) at the Special Olympics held in New Jersey. Although she did not receive a gold medal, she has enough gold in her heart to go around! And, plenty of delicious cake!