Is city just too busy to care about human life?

Cindy Uken
The Desert Sun
February 18, 2005

Local government can sometimes become so rote that it can overlook the heartache of a mother whose son lay in a coma for 18 days.

Halle Fetty's 20-year-old son nearly died from injuries suffered in a 2002 motorcycle crash. He spent three months hospitalized at Desert Regional Medical Center. Her son Andrew's brush with death was a life-altering experience that has propelled her to fight passionately for motorcycle safety.

Andrew was thrown under the rear wheels of a truck; his head was pushed 6 feet by the rear wheel. The images of his scrapped and dented helmet and the memories of that day still haunt her.

But when her proclamation request to designate May as Motorcycle Awareness Month hit Rancho Mirage City Hall, it was just one more request. It got the treatment that a plea for Chewing Gum Awareness Month might get.

The city outright rejected Fetty's appeal for the proclamation, though seven other valley cities approved her request. The humanity of her passion and tragedy got lost in the sometimes mechanical shuffle of bureaucracy in Rancho Mirage.

Why? Well, "due in large part to the press of other local government business, taken together with an assessment of the demographics and other interests relating to the residents of Rancho Mirage," according to Catherine A. Mitton, director of Management Services.

Sounds like bureaucratic jargon that ignores the person and issues behind the request. Sounds like government was just too doggone busy for one Halle Fetty that day.

City government is a hectic business as it tries to cater to thousands of residents' needs. But people don't want to hear excuses; they just want to be treated with respect and like people with hearts and feelings.

Complicating matters is that the rejection is a 180-degree turn from the city's position last year when Dana Hobart was mayor.

Fetty also is the public relations officer for ABATE Local 36. American Brotherhood Aimed Toward Education is an organization that is actively promoting the safe operation, increased rider training, and increased motorist awareness of motorcycles.

Fetty has secured proclamations from Indio, La Quinta, Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs and Coachella. The request in Cathedral City is pending.

More than 1 million people in California rely on motorcycles for transportation and recreation. Rancho Mirage leaders might want to keep in mind that about 6,255 registered motorcycles are right here in the desert, according to the state Department of Motor Vehicles. Many of them no doubt travel Highway 111, which runs directly through Rancho Mirage.

City leaders might also want to make note of the fact that ABATE Local 36 and the local HOG, Harley Owners Group, both hold their monthly meetings in the city of Rancho Mirage at the Agua Caliente Casino.

In another ironic twist, Rancho Mirage contracts with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for law enforcement services and it has two motorcycle cops that serve the city.

The city's rejection of the proclamation request makes absolutely no sense. You've got to wonder what it was thinking - or if it was.

Even at the state level, Sen. Jim Battin, R-La Quinta, on Thursday will seek approval of Senate Concurrent Resolution 16 proclaiming May as Motorcycle Awareness Month. U.S. Sen. Max Baucus is seeking the same at the national level.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is also involved in raising the awareness of highway and traffic safety during May.

Mayor Ron Meepos could be recognizing the error of the city's ways. "I will take a deeper look at it. We issue proclamations carefully because they are of value and merit to the recipient. We receive requests almost every day and giving them too often denigrates their meaning. After looking at it again, I will possibly reconsider."

This isn't about one more piece of paper, one more annoying proclamation. It's about living, breathing people. It's about raising awareness.

As Thomas Jefferson once said, "The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government."

Rancho Mirage should reconsider its position. That would be good government.

Cindy Uken
The Desert Sun
February 20, 2005

A nod to motorcycle safety

Rancho Mirage Mayor Ron Meepos says, "After due consideration, we will be sending out a proclamation declaring May "Motorcycle Awareness" month in Rancho Mirage. As you know, we do take care in issuing proclamations to ensure that they will continue to have meaning for the recipients. In this case, we were just a little too careful."

It was the right thing to do.

The city had earlier rejected a request for the proclamation from a La Quinta woman whose son nearly died in a 2002 motorcycle crash.