Jefferson Firefighters
12-18-2008, 09:34 PM
It is with unbearable sadness that I find myself having to send this message to all of you. Because you have always done the right thing in the past, even when others begged to differ with me (after Katrina), I always took up for you ... all of you. It breaks my heart to have to sit back and watch what is unfolding right before my eyes. When I saw the "debate" between Bob B. & Mickey L. last Saturday on WWL-TV, I thought that I was halucinating! How a group that I so admired could bring themselves to the depths of such a smear campaign. Maybe all of the other smear campaigns being televised rubbed off on you guys and you felt the need to join???
My husband, A. Shepherd "Shep" Pfister, a 25 year veteran of the JPFD gave his LIFE IN THE LINE OF DUTY on March 4, 2008. Please see the attached photos of him. Perhaps you saw him on the street or in the newspaper (the photo of him opening the fire hydrant was in the paper). He was an awesome guy & he LOVED his job. I am stunned by the picture that Mickey Landry "painted" on TV. He may as well have said that fireman are a bunch of drug-addicts who do no work & still draw HUGE checks. There is so much to be said on behalf of these great men, that I do not know where to begin. I will try to keep this concise. Here are just a few thoughts / questions that I have.
Tommy, I am sure that you would remember if not me directly, you should remember my sister, Lori Scheyd. Our families grew up in St. Dominic parish together. While attending the council meeting in support of the JPFD this past Wednesday, I noticed that you recognized those who have gone on the "meet their reward". Did you give my husband Shep that recognition in the meeting following his untimely death on March 4, 2008? I was pleasantly surprised to receive an acknowledgement in the mail from George W. Bush & Bobby Jindal; although I received tremendous support from JPFD & the IAFF, I received nothing from the parish that he served and for which he gave his life.
How quickly we forget that firemen & policemen TRULY risk their lives every time they put on their uniforms. Since there must be some sort of reason that I now have to be searched just to go to the credit union in the Yenni Building, let me ask you, if the unthinkable were to happen, when all of you are grabbing your briefcases & running for the door, who do you think will be going into the building? On 9-11-01, nearly 400 fireman lost thier lives doing just that. I just returned from the 2008 IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial service in Colorado Springs in September; just this past year (from July 2007 thru June 2008), 137 fireman who were IAFF members gave thier lives; if any of you are interested, I have an extra copy of the program / brochure honoring all 137 of these heroes. Unfortunatley I do not have any info on policeman, but I am sure that the numbers are just as alarming.
According to the "factual" webpage that has been set up via your jeffparish.net website, I believe the comment states something like we have enjoyed a high rating and want to improve safety for the parish - our families deserve it. How do you think that the high rating was achieved??? The existing hard-working firemen that LOVE what they do, that are NOT drug addicts, and are NOT paid for hours that they did not work EARNED the high ratings!!! Have you spoken to each and every person that was served by the JPFD in one way or another? How about you ask each of them? Shep's "brothers" are great at what they do and are paid what they deserve to be paid. If I thought that I could trust you, I would show you ALL of Shep's payroll check stubs to see what a 25 year veteran EARNS. It reflects exactly what he deserved, nothing more nothing less. We were not poverty stricken (maybe that is what you all think fir emen should be?) but we were not riding the gravy train either. You should at least have the deceny to either show the names of the so-called plus $100K earners or you should show all the way down to the rookie wages. You can't keep on excerpting information that supports your "story" and twisting it around. It isn't right and you know it ... or at least you SHOULD know it.
As far as the drug testing goes, Shep was tested on a regular basis LONG before we met in May of 1994 and he continued to be tested right on thru to the bitter end of the life that he gave FOR YOU!!! Shame on you for trying to make them out to be a bunch of drug-addicts. Shame on you!!!
Thank you in advance for your time. Your attention to this most urgent matter is greatly appreciated.
May God help you do the right thing.
Sincerely,
Trisha Scheyd
My husband, A. Shepherd "Shep" Pfister, a 25 year veteran of the JPFD gave his LIFE IN THE LINE OF DUTY on March 4, 2008. Please see the attached photos of him. Perhaps you saw him on the street or in the newspaper (the photo of him opening the fire hydrant was in the paper). He was an awesome guy & he LOVED his job. I am stunned by the picture that Mickey Landry "painted" on TV. He may as well have said that fireman are a bunch of drug-addicts who do no work & still draw HUGE checks. There is so much to be said on behalf of these great men, that I do not know where to begin. I will try to keep this concise. Here are just a few thoughts / questions that I have.
Tommy, I am sure that you would remember if not me directly, you should remember my sister, Lori Scheyd. Our families grew up in St. Dominic parish together. While attending the council meeting in support of the JPFD this past Wednesday, I noticed that you recognized those who have gone on the "meet their reward". Did you give my husband Shep that recognition in the meeting following his untimely death on March 4, 2008? I was pleasantly surprised to receive an acknowledgement in the mail from George W. Bush & Bobby Jindal; although I received tremendous support from JPFD & the IAFF, I received nothing from the parish that he served and for which he gave his life.
How quickly we forget that firemen & policemen TRULY risk their lives every time they put on their uniforms. Since there must be some sort of reason that I now have to be searched just to go to the credit union in the Yenni Building, let me ask you, if the unthinkable were to happen, when all of you are grabbing your briefcases & running for the door, who do you think will be going into the building? On 9-11-01, nearly 400 fireman lost thier lives doing just that. I just returned from the 2008 IAFF Fallen Firefighter Memorial service in Colorado Springs in September; just this past year (from July 2007 thru June 2008), 137 fireman who were IAFF members gave thier lives; if any of you are interested, I have an extra copy of the program / brochure honoring all 137 of these heroes. Unfortunatley I do not have any info on policeman, but I am sure that the numbers are just as alarming.
According to the "factual" webpage that has been set up via your jeffparish.net website, I believe the comment states something like we have enjoyed a high rating and want to improve safety for the parish - our families deserve it. How do you think that the high rating was achieved??? The existing hard-working firemen that LOVE what they do, that are NOT drug addicts, and are NOT paid for hours that they did not work EARNED the high ratings!!! Have you spoken to each and every person that was served by the JPFD in one way or another? How about you ask each of them? Shep's "brothers" are great at what they do and are paid what they deserve to be paid. If I thought that I could trust you, I would show you ALL of Shep's payroll check stubs to see what a 25 year veteran EARNS. It reflects exactly what he deserved, nothing more nothing less. We were not poverty stricken (maybe that is what you all think fir emen should be?) but we were not riding the gravy train either. You should at least have the deceny to either show the names of the so-called plus $100K earners or you should show all the way down to the rookie wages. You can't keep on excerpting information that supports your "story" and twisting it around. It isn't right and you know it ... or at least you SHOULD know it.
As far as the drug testing goes, Shep was tested on a regular basis LONG before we met in May of 1994 and he continued to be tested right on thru to the bitter end of the life that he gave FOR YOU!!! Shame on you for trying to make them out to be a bunch of drug-addicts. Shame on you!!!
Thank you in advance for your time. Your attention to this most urgent matter is greatly appreciated.
May God help you do the right thing.
Sincerely,
Trisha Scheyd