Gagnon for House

Iva celebrated Spring with their town-wide yard sale in Sat., June 14th. I met many nice folks there and couldn’t resist buying some things while there. I also got to get some fine food from C&J Catering – courtesy of Chris Crawford and family. 

I was proud to participate in the Ashley Bond ceremony at the Opera House in Abbeville on Friday, June 13. She is heading to the Special Olympics in New Jersey to compete in Bocce. It was a touching and, at the same time, exciting ceremony. Ashley was honored with a proclamation from the City of Abbeville from Mayor Sherwood, another from County Council and its Chairman Claude Thomas and a Certificate from the State House as well as the State Senate. She also  arrived in great style with the help of the Abbeville Fire Department! 

I was honored to be the keynote speaker at the Memorial Day service on the steps of Abbeville County Courthouse this morning. It was a touching and solemn program. Well organized by our veterans. Many great sentiments were shared. Thank you all for your service to our great country!

Several important bills were brought before the House this week. I voted for H. 3893 ( relating to state educational standards including Common Core) back in April and it passed. It then went to the Senate where it was amended slightly, passed and returned to the House for concurrence. I voted to concur as did 79 other House members. The bill now goes to Gov. Haley’s desk for approval. This bill prohibits Federal “data mining” of our students’ information and makes it mandatory that any changes to the educational standards of SC schools must be approved by joint resolution of the General Assembly. This is a victory for those opposed to Common Core Standards!

The house passed H. 3945 – a huge Ethics Reform bill. The bill was passed earlier in the session, sent to the Senate, amended and returned to the House. There were amendments made and it passed unanimously. It now goes back to the Senate for concurrence. If passed there, it heads to the Governor’s desk for her consent. The bill has been lauded by many outside watchdog groups. you can check it out at http://www.scstatehouse.com.

Lastly, today, the Senate passed H. 4262 (sponsored by me, Rep. Gambrell and Rep. Southard) naming the stretch of Hwy. 72 in the Calhoun Falls town limits the Chief Billy Haynie Memorial Highway.

Robin and I had the honor of attending the dedication ceremony of the flagpole at the Boy Scout facility on Mill Street in Abbeville today. The flagpole has long history. It was once the flagpole at the old J.S. Wright High School – a gift from the class of 1955. Congratulations to Troop 62 and its troop leader – Ed Patton. Ed is a great man and has worked with the Boy Scouts in Abbeville for over 30 years.