June 7, 1995 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E 1171

CONGRATULATORY REMARKS FOR

DAVID JOHNSON, COACH, NATIONAL FORENSIC LEAGUE, BELLAIRE HIGH SCHOOL

HON. KEN BENTSEN OF TEXAS

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

recognize Mr. David Johnson who is celebrating his 25th year as the National Forensic

League coach at Bellaire High School. Under

the direction of Mr. Johnson, Bellaire High

School has become a highly recognized debate team. Among the many awards Bellaire

has been honored with are the National

Sweepstakes trophy, won in 1994 and the

Bruno E. Jacob/PKD trophy. Bellaire has been

awarded the Bruno Jacob trophy more than

any other school in the Nation.

Debate teams teach students how to analyze information and prepare arguments. I believe this education will serve these students

well and provide them with leadership training.

I congratulate Mr. Johnson on his 25-year

dedication to Bellaire High School and its students. As a committed coach and educator he

has become a role model to his students and

other professionals in the education field.

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

fHON. TOM A. COBURN OF OKLAHOMA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. COBURN. Mr. Speaker, I unavoidably

missed several votes on Tuesday, May 23,

due to family reasons—my daughter’s high

school graduation. Had I been present, I

would have voted ‘‘aye’’ on passage of H.

Res. 155 (Roll Call Vote 347) and the

Brownback Amendment to H.R. 1561 (Roll

Call Vote 348).

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LADIES’ VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT

fSOCIETY OF EAST HAMPTON ON

THEIR CENTENNIAL

HON. MICHAEL P. FORBES OF NEW YORK

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to

congratulate the Ladies Village Improvement

Society of East Hampton [LVIS] on their hundred-year anniversary. The LVIS was founded

by 21 women on November 30, 1895 with the

slogan, ‘‘Keep East Hampton Beautiful.’’ Since

then, these women have kept their promise.

Through the years, the LVIS has planted

grass plots and trees, tended the village

greens, exterminated harmful insects, lead

clean up campaigns, and even started a college scholarship fund for high school students

which totaled $23,000 in 1993.

I believe that volunteer work is an asset to

any community. The women of the LVIS of

East Hampton exemplify this spirit of altruism.

Their service is a valuable contribution to improving the lives of everyone in the village of

East Hampton.

Today, membership of LVIS has expanded

to include many women who have professional careers, as well as part-time residents

of East Hampton Village. These women are,

and continue to be valuable members of their

community. Congratulations on 100 years of

dedication to making East Hampton beautiful.

HONORING JOHN KELLEJIAN

fHON. BILL BAKER OF CALIFORNIA

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. BAKER of California. Mr. Speaker, on a

spring day in 1942, a handful of young Americans under the remarkable leadership of

Jimmy Doolittle flew on a mission that has

captivated the hearts and minds of Americans

ever since. They did what was supposed to

have been impossible: they successfully flew

into Japanese airspace and bombed Tokyo.

One of the men on the famed Doolittle raid

was John Kellejian. The devotion to duty and

steely courage he displayed that memorial day

are the stuff of legend. John’s heroism was

honored in May at a Pentagon ceremony in

which he was recognized for his role in the

‘‘60 seconds over Tokyo’’ that live on in history. Today, I want to join in recognizing John

for his contribution to the freedom we enjoy

today.

With his gracious wife, Bev, John is a resident of my hometown of Danville, CA, and is

commander of the Danville chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His life is a testimony

to the virtues of family, freedom, and loyalty

that have imbued our country with greatness

for more than two centuries.

In our country, we seek to commemorate

great acts of bravery, and well we should.

They ennoble our heritage and inspire us in

our daily lives. Yet our inspiration must be

drawn not only from the sacrifices of war but

from lives well lived in times of peace. John

Kellejian’s bravery made history, and his life

helped build a country. He is richly deserving

of America’s thanks for all he has done for his

community, his State, and his country.

STATEMENT OF LINDA SPANGLER

fHON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR. OF TENNESSEE

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Wednesday, June 7, 1995

Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, on June 2, I

was privileged to attend the signing ceremony

for a bill to increase the penalties in the cases

of vehicular homicide in the State of Tennessee. This ceremony took place at the

South Knox county home of the late Katie

Spangler. Mrs. Spangler was killed by a drunk

driver as she was stringing Christmas tree

lights in her yard in December 1993.

Just before this bill was signed by Governor

Don Sundquist, who had made it part of his

crime package, Mrs. Spangler’s daughter,

Linda, made one of the most beautiful and

moving statements I have ever heard. Her

words touched me deeply, and I wish that everyone in this country would read them and

think about what she had to say, especially as

it relates to the nationwide tragedy of drunk

drivers who kill people.

I would like to recall the statement of Linda

Spangler to the attention of my colleagues and

other readers of the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD. Today my family and I with utmost humility would like to express to Governor Sundquist what an honor it is to welcome him to

our home. Words fail us as we attempt to

convey to our Governor our deep appreciation for signing a new vehicular homicide

and DUI bill into law and arranging for funding for such a desperately needed law.

In an attempt to signify what this means

to our family I would like to say that our

mother, Katie Spangler was a Christian. My

family and I are Christians. We believe that

God is sovereign. At the time of mother’s

death each of us children began to question

God as to why our mother had to die at the

hands of a drunken driver. We agonized over

the question ‘‘why’’ because we knew that

God could have let mother die naturally, die

in her sleep—a peaceful death. Because God

had promised in his word that He would protect us ‘‘Lest we cast our foot upon a stone,’’

yet He had allowed our mother to die in such

a horrifying way. What we had experienced

would shatter the faith of the strongest

Christian.

Well meaning Christians would tell us that

we must not question God as to why. We felt

this was not scriptural as the Bible says that

Jesus while dying on the cross for our sins

said My God, My God why hast thou forsaken me. God understands when we ask why

from a broken heart.

God continued to love us even though we

questioned Him. He held us in the palm of

His hand, gave us strength for each day,

guided us in decisions that needed to be

made, gave us rest when there was no rest.

God’s grace was indeed sufficient for us.

Finally we concluded that we may never

know why but that God does not make mistakes and that in His own way God would

turn this horrible tragedy into something

good.

We then entered into the criminal justice

system for the first time seeking justice for

the wrongful death of our mother. The person who killed our mother was given the

maximum sentence of 6 years with 1 year in

jail, 5 years probation. Our faith in the judicial system was at that moment destroyed.

There was a public outcry of protest

against the sentencing. Petitions were

signed and brought to us. People were very

angry. We could not let their cries of outrage

go unheard so we channeled these petitions

to our representative, Wayne Ritchie, to

whom we would like to say, Mr. Ritchie, you

are the epitome of what it means to be a representative of the people, one who cares

what the people in his district are interested

in. Good luck to you always.

As a young person and a new Christian I

sat through a sermon about testing the 2

spirits, the Holy Spirit and the evil spirit. I

did not understand this sermon and I asked

my mother to explain to me. She said that if

I were trying to make a decision about one

thing or another that the first thought I

would have would be a positive thought, and

that immediately I would have a second

thought that would be negative. She said my

first thought would be the Holy Spirit and

the second thought would be the devil. She

said I should always abide by my first

thought.

My family and I feel that you, Governor

Sundquist, along with all of those who voted

to pass this legislation, and Mr. Wayne

Ritchie, have listened to your ‘‘first

thought.’’

In so doing no greater compliment could be

paid to you than to know that God has used

you as an instrument for turning a tragedy

into something good and for us as a family it