charity ride for slain trooper in n.c.

[spyderwoman]

for those of you near the asheville, nc area there will be a charity ride starting at parkway harley davidson (exit 59 I- 40 near asheville) for the wife and premature baby of slain trooper shawn blanton. shawn, 27, was killed on interstate 40 on a routine traffic stop. ( the guy who killed him had been arrested 19 times in florida for violent crimes. ) shawn's baby son is fighting for his life in a premature baby intensive care unit at mission memorial, where his father also died. baby tye was born 7 weeks premature right before his father's death. he is now at 3 lbs and still having help from machines to help him breath. if you are in the area on july 26th come join us for the ride. cost is $25 and you get a t-shirt, a patch and bbq dinner(with entertainment) for your donation. the line up is at 10:00 and the ride starts at 12:00. the ride is from parkway harley davidson off I-40 to the cherokee ceremonial grounds. check their website for detail or you can call them at 828-298-1683. the money of course will go to shawn's wife and baby to help pay for medical expenses.

[bjt]

I would like to participate in this but I live too far away to attend. Is there a way to just give a donation to the family?

[Director]

I would like to participate in this but I live too far away to attend. Is there a way to just give a donation to the family?

Brian, I Googled Trooper Blanton's name and here is a link I came up with:

http://wnccb.blogspot.com/2008/06/fund-set-up-for-patrolman-shawn.html

Stories like this make me heartsick. We see them far too often. The slain officer is inevitably a good and dedicated individual, and the killer is inevitably a waste of space on this earth.

May God help his widow and baby, with some assistance from the rest of us.

Bruce

[spyderwoman]

sorry it took some time to get back to you. i found out that shawn was 24 and that he was the first from the eastern band of cherokee indians to become a state trooper. he used to work for the emergency services on the reservation and worked hard to become a state trooper. his people were so proud of him. if you cannot make the ride to the tribal fairground in cherokee and want to help his wife and child you can send a check or money order to:

SECU
c/o michaela nicole blanton FBO tye blanton
po box 97
waynesville, nc 28786

make out money orders/checks to michaela blanton (acct # 60460003)

thanks guys for your concern for this family. we all know what a dangerous world it has become especially for our law enforcement people. here in morganton we just did some charity rides for martin lawing, one of our young local officers that was shot in the neck by a crazy woman. he is now paralized and he has 3 small children. he was featured on america's most wanted last month. anyway i know that the people on this forum are good caring people and i just wanted to pass on the info. thanks again :doorag:

[spyderwoman]

just an update- baby tye was taken to duke medical hospital for heart surgery. he is now close to 4 lbs. keep him in your thoughts/prayers during this rough time. also keep all the participants in tomorrow's ride in your thoughts. they did another ride a few weeks ago and they had 4600 bikers to show up. amazing!!! i hope we have that many tomorrow. they even had police escorts for the entire ride. city cops and state troopers had every road/light/intersection blocked for the riders. i wil take pictures and post them next week. we will be hanging out in cherokee/maggie valley until sunday. look us up if you are in the area...or pm me and i'll give you our cell #'s.