Family Crisis Council aids victims of rape, assault

President Obama proclaimed April 2015 National Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month. He urged all Americans to support survivors of Sexual Assault and work together to prevent these crimes in their communities.

The Rape, Child & Family Abuse Crisis Council of Salisbury-Rowan County, Inc., known locally as Family Crisis Council, is the only domestic violence and sexual assault agency in Rowan County. We are fortunate to be one of 16 local agencies supported by the United Way.

The United Way is composed of volunteers from Rowan County that give their time, talents and most importantly their monetary support to assist the citizens of our community when they are in need.

Because of United Way funds, FCC has assisted 613 victims of abuse during the first quarter of this year. We have housed 49 women and children in our battered women’s shelter and have answered over 170 crisis call on our hot line.

1 in 4 women have been the victim of a sexual Assault. Rape and sexual assault is the most underreported crime in the nation. Seventy-five percent of sexual assaults are committed by someone the victim knows.

Family Crisis Council offers victim advocates who provide 24-hour on-call hospital accompaniment to assist victims with support and services to help them through the process of becoming a survivor.

If you are sexually assaulted: get a good description of the attacker, do not shower or alter the crime scene, call 911 as soon as possible, go to the ER and ask about anonymous reporting. Law enforcement or medical staff can call and request a victim advocate for you, or you can call our crisis line directly at 704-636-4718.

— Renee Bradshaw

Salisbury

Renee Bradshaw is the executive director of the Family Crisis Council.

 

Life-saving assistance

I would like to thank all the firemen, first responders and police (sheriff and state troopers) that came to my husband’s aid one year ago on 4-19-14.

My husband, Chris Brown, was hit head-on by a second-time drunk driver here in Rowan County on St. Paul’s Church Road. He was critically injured, and without them, he would be dead today. It has been a year since the accident and our life has been changed forever.

Drinking and driving is a major issue in this county and something needs to be done. Chris has had to have three surgeries and lost his hip due to a careless man that got a slap on the wrist the first time he drove drunk. Chris will never be able to do half of the things he was able to before the wreck. He is lucky he can walk today. Don’t be the next victim. We never thought this would happen to us and it did.

We are very thankful that we have such trained professionals that cared for him, and without them things could have been different. My husband was in the trauma center at CMC for five days, and we thank everyone for keeping him alive.

Our laws need to be stricter because every day you see more and more DUI accidents and charges in the paper ,and it needs to stop. The man that hit my husband was never supposed to be driving the day he hit him head-on, and because of him not following his court charges, we almost celebrated Easter without Chris.

This last year has taught us not to take things for granted and cherish your family every day because you never know what tomorrow will bring.

— Kim Brown

Granite Quarry

Just one question

At this point in time, we (HHC) would like to thank Ann Safrit (4-11) and Jim Murtaugh (4-16) for stepping up to the plate.

But we need a lot more players on our team.

We need the Salisbury Post, Salisbury Running Club, youth leaders — Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts — church groups, the YMCA, school teachers and principals, doctors and the medical profession, CVS and the other drug stores, insurance companies, free thinkers and preachers, the NAACP, the Humane Society, PFLAGs and all parents and grandparents, and anybody else that practices health to join this campaign to make Rowan County tobacco-free.

Houston (Rowan County), you have a problem. It’s your signs. There are way too many, and they don’t make any sense, and as long as you work on the problem you will continue to have a problem. You need to work on the solution.

We, the people (taxpayers), have the solution. Just have one sign.

It is time for Rowan County to become tobacco-free.

We didn’t get our questions answered from our letter posted on Easter Sunday (4-5) from the Rowan County manager’s office. A few of our friends said maybe we as too many (three) or maybe the questions were too hard. So this time we will just ask one question and make it real simple. It can be answered yes or no.

Can you smoke on the trails?

— Sam Chewning  and the Hillbilly Hiking Club

Landis 

Christians vs. atheists

On the issue of the religious freedom amendment, I would like to offer my two cents worth, as the Food Lion lion says.

Suppose all the owners of the food outlets — Food Lion, Aldi, Harris Teeter — and all the restaurants and fast-food companies — Wendy’s, McDonald’s, Chik-fil-A, Ryan’s steak house, Wink’s barbecue and so forth — held this platform, making this statement: “This is a Christian establishment; we will not serve gays or, for that matter, anyone’s presence we object to who rejects our lord and savior Jesus Christ. Atheists, Wiccans, Hindus, Muslims or what have you, stay away. And if you die of starvation, so be it! Get in the word!

If that was the case, I wonder how that would sit with Indiana’s Governor Pence or Rep. Carl Ford.

Speaking of Carl Ford, he recently said on one of his radio broadcasts that Christians are second-class citizens in this country. If so, what is he or Pence doing in office? If I ran against Ford in the next election, how well would I fare against him? I might get 300 votes or so. But Ford would get 10 times that many.

And in this country atheists are not treated like heroes. When an atheist was elected to the city council of Asheville, the local ministers sought to have him thrown out of office. A high school girl once told a classmate she was an atheist. He told her that she didn’t look like an atheist. She said nothing, but she should have told him, “What is an atheist supposed to look like, the creature from the Black Lagoon?” I believe it was George Herbert Bush who said atheists are not good citizens. Ronald Reagan hated atheists and commended Christians for trying to disrupt an atheist convention.

Christians in this country are on Easy Street. In 2004 TV preacher Pat Robertson took in over $461 million. He didn’t pay one dime in income tax on it. If that’s your idea of being a second-class citizen, Mr. Ford, go ahead, make me a second-class citizen!

Parting shot: “We must destroy the press or the press will destroy us.” — Thomas Wolsey (1475-1530), English cardinal, statesman

“… Christianity (is) the most sublime & benevolent, but most perverted system that ever shone on man …”  — Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

— R. Howard Andrews

Spencer