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Current Status Bill Number:View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.1283 Type of Legislation:Concurrent Resolution CR Introducing Body:Senate Introduced Date:20000328 Primary Sponsor:Wilson All Sponsors:Wilson, Ryberg, Setzler, Bauer and Peeler Drafted Document Number:l:\council\bills\dka\3821mm00.doc Date Bill Passed both Bodies:20000330 Subject:Joseph Drew Smith, Resolution; Lake Murray Marine Patrol Station, Lexington County named in honor of; Natural Resources History Body Date Action Description Com Leg Involved ______ ________ ______________________________________ _______ ____________ Senate 20000330 Received from House House 20000329 Introduced, adopted, returned with concurrence Senate 20000328 Introduced, adopted, sent to House Versions of This Bill
RECOGNIZING THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JOSEPH DREW SMITH, AND HIS LASTING CONTRIBUTION TO BOATING SAFETY IN THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, BY NAMING THE NEW LAKE MURRAY MARINE PATROL STATION ON BUNDRICK ISLAND IN LEXINGTON COUNTY IN HIS HONOR.
Whereas, Joseph Drew Smith was only eleven years old when he died on the waters of Lake Murray in the early morning hours of July 19, 1997; and
Whereas, Drew's love for life has continued to influence the lives of those he touched as well as those who never knew him. Drew had lived in Lexington all of his life, and that summer he had just completed the fifth grade at White Knoll Elementary where he was described by one teacher as a student that "just seemed to light up the room"; and
Whereas, candles have been lit in his memory in cathedrals all over England, a church pew in a rustic Honduran church was dedicated to him, and a prayer of thanksgiving for his life has been prayed at the Mount of Olives; and
Whereas, another memorial to his life is The Boating Safety Act of 1999, known as Drew's Law, which was passed through the combined efforts of Drew's parents, the General Assembly, the Department of Natural Resources, and concerned citizens and which recognize a death at the hands of drunken boaters to be as devastating as a death on our highways caused by an intoxicated driver; and
Whereas, students of the Lexington High School Swim Team initiated the Lake Murray Swim to honor Drew, to focus attention on boating safety, and to establish the Drew Smith Scholarship; and
Whereas, all the positive results, all the ripple effects of his death, speak to the fact that Drew's life and death made a difference. Last year was the safest boating season since the Department of Natural Resources began keeping records; and
Whereas, it is fitting that the new Lake Murray Marine Patrol facility, to be manned by officers of the Lexington County Sheriff's Department and the Department of Natural Resources, be a continuing legacy of Drew's too-short life and too-tragic death. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring:
That the members of the General Assembly recognize the life and death of Joseph Drew Smith and his lasting contribution to boating safety in the State of South Carolina, by naming the new Lake Murray Marine Patrol Station on Bundrick Island in Lexington County in his honor.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Drew's parents.
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