FORUM
Fire Captain Caviness deserves to be remembered, repaid
NOVEMBER 11, 2011
By Millie Carter
Staff Writer
He was courageous in his profession. He
put others before himself. He was always
the one doing charitable work.
He was Fire Captain William Caviness.
Caviness was a firefighter in the
Greensboro area, serving the community
as an eight-year veteran of Station 14 on
Summit Avenue, just seven miles from
Guilford's campus.
He was promoted to captain in December
2010 as recognition of his hard work and
dedication.
Caviness tragically passed away while
running the Chicago marathon to raise
money for the International Association of
Fire Fighters' Burn Foundation.
His death is recognized by the lAFF and
his family has been awarded the lAFF Medal
of Honor to confirm Caviness' charitable
intentions while serving as a firefighter.
The lAFF is not responsible for dealing
out line of duty death benefits, though, as
those are determined by the state.
In this case, his family will not receive the
benefits that states provide for other fallen
fire fighters because his death is not recog
nized as a LODD since he was not "on duty"
at the time of his death.
More than just a marathon runner,
Caviness was running as a member of the
lAFF Bum team, and his goal for the race
was to raise $2,000.
After news of his death, donations
towards his sponsorship page kept pouring
in and truly exceed his goal, with the last
check in at $18,600 for the team's total.
Caviness collapsed 500 yards from the
marathon finish line. He was doing some
thing to better the world for others, and he
tragically lost his own life.
Where, exactly, does the line of duty end
for servicemen like Caviness?
It does not end, and Caviness' circum
stance exemplified this, but he will not be
recognized for it.
Death of a member of society who works
as a serviceman should be held in higher
respect by state policies, especially when
either a direct or indirect affiliation with
his/her profession is the cause of death, as
is the case with Caviness.
Caviness leaves behind a wife and two
small children. While attempting to remain
sensitive to the fact that the hole created in
their family will always remain, the ques
tion remains about what a LODD really is in
Caviness' case.
Yes, Caviness was off duty in regard to
his hours at the station, but his duty as a
serviceman never ended.
Charity work, when directed toward a
profession, should be classified as on-duty
work for cases such as these.
His family will need support, both emo
tionally and financially, to help cope with
the death of a family member. Since his
death is unfairly recognized as an off-duty
death, this financial support solely comes
from the community. Currently, community
members have created the Will Caviness
Memorial Fund in his memory, which is a
step in the right direction, but it is still not
enough.
They are the families of first responders,
yet when these servicemen and women
fall, society's benefit packages are not there
to help soften the blow for those that they
leave behind.
The LODD policy should be revised to
provide for families like the Cavinesses,
because recognition of Caviness' death as
a LODD would respect his memory more
than a medal or a fund. ’
As a member of society who did so much
for so little in return, it is important to give
honor to his name and provide for his fam
ily in the same way that he provided for
others.
He died trying to help others. He was
a hero. He was William Caviness, and the
LODD policy has left his family high and
dry in their time of need.
Occupy Oakland police went too far
By Charlotte Hudson
Staff Writer
What do angry Occupy Oakland protesters, rapid riot police,
tear gas and a skull fracture add up to?
A complete, utter disaster, some would say.
Or more like a disheveled outcry arisen and a general strike
looming.
The Occupy protests all over the world are still continuing,
with police trying to keep the crowds in order.
But there is a fine line between trying to keep order and just
being plain mean.
On Oct. 25, in Oakland, Calif., the protests turned nasty
as police used tear gas and other means of force to deal with
the protesters. Scott Olsen, a former Marine and Iraq veteran,
suffered a skull fracture caused by a projectile fired by police.
Is firing tear gas and putting people's lives in danger "keeping
order"?
I understand if the police are looking to keep order and keep
the city safe, but come on. People are getting seriously injured.
The United States of America was founded on the belief of the
rights.of the people, including freedom of speech. The Declaration
of Independence clearly states that people are endowed with
rights such as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Is a bunch of policemen using excessive and injurious force
to control people who are taking advantage of their freedom of
speech a part of what America should really be about?
I do not think so.
What about the right to "peacefully assemble"? Where is the
line between peaceful protesting and assembling an angry mob?
Both the police and protesters are culpable, no matter if one
is the "99 percent" or the rich "one percent." Friends and family
involved in the protesting side and the police side are all getting
injured and harmed in a situation that could be the blame of the
city not organizing the movement to be as peaceful as possible.
Due to the events that transpired last Tuesday, Oakland entered
the strike zone on Nov. 2, with a city wide general strike.
General strikes tend to involve a great mass of the labor forces
in a city, region or country as opposed to just one workplace.
The purpose of these strikes is usually to bring important labor,
political and economic issues to light.
Even though general strikes tend to happen in European
nations, usually by those going through economic hardships, they
do not often happen in the United States.
"Those countries all have traditions of general strikes that are
more lively and up to the recent time, whereas in the United States
general strikes were always more rare," Georgetown University
labor historian Joe McCartin said in an article for CNN Money.
However, according to an article in the Huffington Post, the
strike went off without many problems. Between 7,000 and 10,000
protesters participated, and the fifth largest port in the nation was
soon shut down.
The strike sent a deep message to people all over the world,
with the thought that it takes a lot of people to get attention in
terms of the situation last week.
Although the strike may be effective, there will be a lot to
address in terms of the handling of the protests and the fine line
between keeping order and outright police brutality.
ffE
staying
involved and
interested
beyond
election day
The heated race for Greensboro's
next mayor came to a close on Tuesday.
Greensboro residents flocked to the
polls to cast their vote for current
Mayor Bill Knight, a more conservative
Republican who fought to reopen White
Street Landfill, or Councilman Robert V.
Perkins, a more liberal Republican who
voted against water-rate tax reductions.
After all the votes were counted,
Robbie Perkins took home the title
of mayor-elect of Greensboro with 56
percent of the votes.
Perkins' winning platform advocated
reform, such as redeveloping roads like
High Point Road downtown. Perkins
also aims to communicate with other
Triad communities in order to bring
more jobs to the area.
No matter what you think about
the election results, you should still
continue, or start, to participate in
politics, because a change in policies can
come out of nowhere. If those in power
do not represent your beliefs, then do
something about it: Take a stand. Make
a difference.
Everyone says that it is your civic
duty to vote, and maybe the outcome
of the Greensboro elections is enough
to encourage you to vote next time,
but there is always more you can do.
The Occupy and Tea Party movements
should be proof enough that political
progress is not just set in motion once
a year when communities head to their
local school or post office to check the
box next to their favorite candidates'
names.
Political change can happen anywhere
and usually starts with a conversation
about what needs to change. The Occupy
and Tea Party movements set a good
example to people who want to make a
stand, but there are other, smaller ways
you can spark political change.
Go to a community meeting to engage
in a discussion about job creation. Write
a letter to the mayor speaking out about
tax increases. Go online and read about
political happenings in your town and
information about how you can join
in. Make a phone call to support a
candidate or just to encourage people to
vote. Create a flier to advertise marches
like the Slutwalk or events such as White
Street Landfill protest.
No one should complain about
policies without actually trying to
change them. Guilford is a great place to
be politically active; there are people to
support and help you, and together, we
can change political policies.