Bill Text: CA ACR169 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Chaptered

California Assembly Concurrent Resolution 169 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Deputy Sheriff Scott Ballantyne and Sheriff’s Pilot James Chavez Memorial Highway.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-08-17 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Res. Chapter 146, Statutes of 2018. [ACR169 Detail]

Download: California-2017-ACR169-Chaptered.html

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 169

CHAPTER 146

Relative to Deputy Sheriff Scott Ballantyne and Sheriff’s Pilot James Chavez Memorial Highway.

[ Filed with Secretary of State August 17, 2018. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

ACR 169, Mathis. Deputy Sheriff Scott Ballantyne and Sheriff’s Pilot James Chavez Memorial Highway.

This measure would designate a specified portion of California State Highway Route 190 in the County of Tulare as the Deputy Sheriff Scott Ballantyne and Sheriff’s Pilot James Chavez Memorial Highway. The measure would request that the Department of Transportation determine the cost of appropriate signs showing that special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.

Fiscal Committee: NO

WHEREAS, Scott Ballantyne, Deputy II with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, was born at Fort Campbell, Kentucky on September 1, 1963; and

WHEREAS, As a young boy, Scott Ballantyne moved to Visalia, California, with his parents in 1968; and

WHEREAS, He graduated from Redwood High School in Visalia in 1982 and attended College of the Sequoias and Fresno State College; and

WHEREAS, In 1989, Scott Ballantyne enrolled in and completed the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Academy in Visalia, California; and

WHEREAS, Officer Ballantyne began employment with the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy in 1989 and held several positions while in the Sheriff’s Office, including that of patrol deputy, evidence technician, and courtroom bailiff for the late Judge Paul Vortmann; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, Officer Ballantyne applied for and was selected to serve in the Sheriff’s aerial surveillance program and greatly enjoyed participating in aerial surveillance, forming a close friendship with his pilot, Officer James Chavez; and

WHEREAS, James Chavez was born on December 18, 1970, to Patricia Chavez and Jacinto Chavez in Stockton, California, where he was raised with his brothers Charles (Carlos), Felipe, and Victor Chavez; and

WHEREAS, He graduated from St. Mary’s High School of Stockton in 1988, and after graduation voluntarily attended Pacific Crest Outward Bound School; and

WHEREAS, He went on to Fresno State University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Geography in 1995; and

WHEREAS, James Chavez became a Navy Officer in 1993, and served one overseas deployment aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in 1998, serving as a Maintenance Officer; and

WHEREAS, In 1999 he met the love of his life, Melissa Scheiner of Hanford, California, and they were married in July 2000 and were blessed with a daughter, Jayleen Isabella, in 2006, and a son, Josiah James, in 2009; and

WHEREAS, In 2005 James Chavez transferred to the Army National Guard and was able to go to flight school to learn to fly the Blackhawk helicopter at Fort Rucker, Alabama, in May of 2006; and

WHEREAS, While on a year-long deployment to Iraq in 2010 to 2011, he served as Company Commander, for Company B, in the 640th Aviation Support Battalion and flew many Blackhawk missions earning a Bronze Star Medal and a Combat Action Badge; and

WHEREAS, He had a total of over 900 hours flying the Blackhawk and received his 20-year letter from the military confirming his eligibility for retirement benefits in 2013, but continued to serve actively with the United States Army Reserves, reaching the rank of Major, and working on courses toward the next rank of Lieutenant Colonel; and

WHEREAS, After being a volunteer pilot for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Aero Squadron for 13 years and then a volunteer Sheriff’s pilot for several months, James Chavez was hired and sworn in as the Sheriff One pilot on January 12, 2015, a position he loved passionately, while continuing to serve his Army Reserve weekends at the 1st Brigade Pacific Division 75th Training Command in Garden Grove, California; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Ballantyne and Sheriff’s Pilot Chavez died in a tragic plane accident in Springville, California, on February 10, 2016, while engaged in aerial surveillance for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office; and

WHEREAS, Deputy Sheriff Ballantyne is survived by his mother, Jean Ballantyne, his brother, John Ballantyne, and his two sisters, Mary Benson and JoAnn Coleman; and

WHEREAS, Sheriff’s Pilot Chavez is survived by his parents, his loving wife and two children, and his three brothers; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the four-mile portion of California State Highway Route 190 between its intersection with Pleasant Oak Drive and just south of HQ Drive, in the County of Tulare between postmile 22.53 and postmile 26.53, as the Deputy Sheriff Scott Ballantyne and Sheriff’s Pilot James Chavez Memorial Highway; and be it further

Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost of the signs for which the donations were made, to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.