Charles County Fraternal Order of Police Francis C. Garner Lodge #24, Inc. 10285 Rosewick Road La Plata, Maryland 20646
.: lodge calendar!
.: lodge history!
For those of you who know the history of how our FOP lodge was formed this will be familiar. For those of you who do not know how the Lodge started here is how the story goes:
On a rainy night in 1973 a Charles County Sheriff's Officer was out directing traffic at an intersection in Waldorf and he was soaked to the bone because he didn't have a rain coat. A vehicle stopped and the occupants asked the officer why he didn't have a rain coat and the officer replied "we aren't issued rain coats." The occupant of the car then retrieved his Anne Arundel County Police raincoat from his trunk and gave it to the officer. The story is true and those actions led to our Lodge being formed. That person was Leslie "Les" Bates and he was the Maryland State FOP President at the time.
Earl Kratsch, the other occupant of the vehicle that rainy night, and the current Treasurer of the State Lodge informed us that Leslie "Les" Bates passed away the other night at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Please keep the Bates family in your thoughts and prayers.
.: Budget Crisis!
Ladies and Gentlemen
We are in the misdt of a fight for the pay we justly deserve. The county commissioners are attempting to take advantage of the State's 2.5% pay cut. They have plans for that money. Unfortunately, these plans don't include the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
The Sheriff and the FOP have submitted a change in legislation to the county commissioners that could prevent immediate pay cuts for us. However, the commissioners do not seem as though they intend to pass the legislation.
Where does that leave us? Well, we can sit around hoping the Commissioners take care of us or we can start letting them know how we feel. In the coming weeks there will be a legislative session where they will vote on this bill. I implore you to take the time to attend! If you can't find daycare, bring your crying child. I want the Commissioners to actually see whose mouths they are stealing food from.
I will let you know the date of the vote as soon as I know it. In the mean time, please CALL THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS and let them know how you feel on this. Tell them you want them to pass legislation that will prevent pay cuts to the sworn members of the Charles County Sheriff's Office! Their phone number is 301-870-3000 and their email is commissioner@charlescounty.org. PLEASE REMEMBER TO DO THESE WHILE YOU ARE OFF DUTY! Have your family and friends call, too. I cannot stress the importance of this measure!
Let's flood their office with calls. Make your voice heard! If you wait, it might be too late!
The commisioners keep coming back to our budget. Time and time again they have asked us to give back. In a meeting with Commisioner Cooper on Friday, he mentioned a possibility of cutting the benefit of take home cars as a future means of saving money. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
We have been cut to the bone and we haven't had a raise in almost a decade. We do our jobs everyday, keeping our streets safe, and hoping things will get better for our own personal budgets. I know there are officers just like me who struggle to make ends meet. If we stick together, we can make any pay cuts a very costly political mistake for the five commisioners.
Please contact me with any questions, ideas, or comments. I welcome any input you might have.
Jason Hopkins
240-299-3949 or 240-691-2636
.: sheriff's deputy finds rare kidney match in partner!
A Charles County sheriff's deputy with a rare blood type finds a kidney match from his partner.
