First of all I would like to take the time to express my sincere condolences to the Gonzales family in their time of grief. This was a true tragedy. Secondly, I would like to express my gratitude to the members of Troop 7 for allowing me to serve as their Board Member. There were several items discussed at our July Board meeting. Marvin Masters gave us an update on the status of the Plan B retirement suit. Any member wanting to know specifics can contact me directly. The association presented Marvin with a nice gift (jet-ski) for his efforts not only in this endeavor but for countless other legal battles he has waged for the WVTA membership. Any member desiring to take a look at the WVTAs finances please advised and I will show you the documentation concerning how your money is being handled in various bank accounts and the stock market etc. There were several items on the agenda but they were all over shadowed but the untimely death of Cpl. Gonzales. The board voted to give $1500 to his family and Elaine Harris and the CWA appear to be ready to follow suit. I have not personally read all the comments on the WSAZ web site but a few being critical of the WVTA have been brought to my attention. Every one who knows me is aware that I have a pending law suit against the department. My suit seeks to address some of the issues brought up in these comment sections. There is the short of it; now, I did discuss this issue with the WVTA about two years ago when it first happened. I also spoke with the WVTA about Ex Troopers Brain Morris and Darin Hall who had been treated similarly. Now this is what I would like to impress upon the WVTA membership. This discussion was in general terms and at no time did I ask the WVTA to become directly involved. To my knowledge no trooper has directly asked the WVTA to become involved. There was no call by any board member to call for the resignation of the Colonel at this time. Even me having my prior difficulties (but looking objectively) with the department felt this to be premature. The WVTA President is crafting a letter to all members asking for comments in this area. Any decision in reference a course of action would come later. It is the sincere desire of the WVTA to address the internal morale problem we are having now but it must be done in the proper manner. I have been appointed to recommend changes to the grievance procedure and will present those at the next meeting.