Although I try to avoid controversial, political subjects in my weekly KellyGram, the tragic Parkland shooting, and the divide that has arisen in its wake, compel me to share some thoughts about our response to the horrific school shootings that have plagued our nation. Since 2013, the United States has seen 290 school shootings, 17 of which occurred in 2018 alone. The lives stolen in the Parkland massacre and these outrageous statistics have left my brain churning since last Thursday. My thoughts finally began to come together on Sunday while listening to my rector, Reverend Mitchell Smith, at Saint Martin’s-in-the-Fields. His message was so powerful and thought-provoking, that I have since re-listened to the sermon. If you have time, I would encourage you all to do the same; you can access the sermon here.

Mitch’s bottom line was that, whether we have an R, a D, or an I in front of our names, we need, as Christians, to become leaders in finding a solution to the frightening problem of school shootings through calm and rational debate. Whether it is through mental health services, or through gun control, or both, we must take action to ensure that our children are safe and that a predominant theme resonating through this country is one of peace, love, and caring for our fellow man..

I think we can all agree that our nation has strayed from these values and that we must initiate change in order to end the senseless violence on our country’s children and our fellow man. Please pray for our leaders to rise above partisanship, ideology, and political affiliations so that we may restore tranquility and security to the forefront of American society.

We are thrilled to announce that attorney Jamie Smith will be transitioning into a new role as marketing manager for the Mike Kelly Law Group!

The firm hired Jamie as a trial attorney in September 2015, and she has shined in her role on the litigation team. Since then, our practice has grown—particularly in the areas of personal injury and insurance litigation—and attorney Stephen Vicari rejoined the MKLG family in the Columbia office to help take on the increased caseload. With Stephen back on board, Jamie will continue to work on the litigation team as a supporting attorney, but her primary focus will be spreading the word about the Mike Kelly Law Group.

Marketing was Jamie’s first love, and she is excited and honored to be able to incorporate that talent into her legal career. Having graduated from USC’s Darla Moore School of Business with dual degrees in marketing and international business before earning her law degree, Jamie is uniquely qualified for the firm’s marketing manager position. More importantly, Jamie has been involved in our marketing efforts since her first day at MKLG, and she is a champion for our cause—helping others. She intends on bringing a fresh approach to marketing the firm, and directing our involvement within the legal arena as well as the community.

Stay tuned to the KellyGram to follow the changes taking place at MKLG, as we continue to strive to serve our community!

Amtrak has had four lethal train crashes since December, the latest of which occurred on Sunday in Cayce, SC. Three miles from our Columbia office, Amtrak Train 91—a passenger train—collided with a stationary, unoccupied freight train at approximately 56 miles per hour. The train’s engineer, Michael Kempf, and conductor, Michael Cella, were killed in the crash, and over 100 passengers and crew members were transported to local hospitals for treatment. As of Wednesday evening, one hospitalized victim remained in serious condition, while the remaining injured passengers were either in good condition or discharged from emergent treatment. That nearly all of those aboard the train suffered only minor injury seems nothing short of miraculous, and out of this tragedy I want to commend the first responders and local law enforcement for their exemplary care and coordination in ensuring that those injured received the care they needed. That said, the road to emotional recovery from this devastating collision undoubtedly be a long one, especially for the families of Mr. Kempf and Mr. Cella.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigation, though ongoing, has shed light on how this senseless and unnecessary tragedy unfolded. The problem appears to be two-fold: first, CSX—which operates the tracks where this incident occurred—after pulling its freight train from the main line to a side track, failed to redirect a switch to keep traffic traveling along the main track. CSX crew members reported having realigned the switch, but the investigation has revealed that the switch was padlocked into the position of steering oncoming trains off of the main line and onto the side track where the freight train was parked. At the same time, CSX’s trackside signaling system—a system that would have alerted Mr. Cella to the misaligned switch—was temporarily inoperable. Reportedly, the system was down for maintenance while CSX worked to incorporate an automated safety mechanism called positive train control, or PTC, into the system. The dark irony is that PTC is designed to prevent accidents such as this one and, had it already been installed, this disaster almost certainly would have been averted.

Having over 40 years of experience as a personal injury lawyer, I am no stranger to tragedy. Still, the loss of lives that could—and should—have been easily prevented is something I will never grow used to. This catastrophe is, to say the least, heartbreaking, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families.

We have an exciting week ahead in the world of sports! On Sunday, the Eagles Face the Patriots in the 52nd Super Bowl, but what I’m especially looking forward to is the commencement of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games next Thursday.

While I’m personally not a cold weather person—and the worst snow skier in America (LOL!)—I enjoy the presentation of the Winter Olympic Games every four years. I am fascinated by the interplay between sports and geopolitics that comes with the Olympics, and the level of competition and the dedication of the athletes is simply extraordinary to witness. The Winter Games are especially fun to watch and present stimulating and intriguing array of sports—some of which, as a Southerner, I would never know existed without the Olympics! Even the venues themselves are majestic, and the hard work put in to building them to perfection, along with the extravagance of the opening ceremonies, demonstrate the pride that comes with hosting such an incredible event.

This year’s Winter Olympics will be held across the world in PyeongChang, North Korea, kicking off on Thursday, February 8th and ending with the closing ceremony on Sunday, February 25th. Being in opposite time zones won’t keep us from watching, though, as NBC have events airing on TV, streaming live, streaming on-demand, streaming on apps…let’s just say there are plenty of ways to watch the games! I’ll certainly be watching as much as I can along with my MKLG team, and hope you will check it out too!

Go Team USA!

I am still brimming with excitement from the Gamecocks men’s basketball victory over Kentucky on Tuesday night at Colonial Life Arena. Not wanting to be out too late—the game started at 9pm—I gave up my tickets to my eldest son, Patrick. As it turns out, I should have gone with him to the arena! According to Patrick, Colonial Life was rocking, and there is no doubt that the home crowd played a significant role in upsetting the Kentucky Wildcats. Likewise, I watched every play from home, and was so keyed up by the end of the game that I had difficulty falling asleep!

Gamecock head coach Frank Martin, like his counterpart Dawn Staley, is an outstanding leader who stresses teamwork over individual accomplishment, and he puts a premium on defense and intensity. Though the team does not have as much talent as last year, under the tutelage of their future hall-of-fame coach, the Gamecock players have an excellent team dynamic and are an inspiration to their fans, myself included, during this cold winter season. Go Cocks!

(And for the rest of you…Go Tigers!)

One of our service areas, Fairfield County, continues to suffer from the decisions of SCANA and Santee Cooper to terminate the construction of two nuclear reactors within the county. In my opinion, at least one of the facilities is necessary to accommodate South Carolina’s rapidly increasing electrical needs. But of more immediate concern is impact of the failed project on Fairfield County’s struggling economy.

Fairfield County and the two electrical companies had negotiated a deal where the county would receive a fee from the companies in lieu of property taxes on the nuclear sites. The deal was expected to bring substantial income to the Fairfield County government, which it planned to use in part to expand water and sewer access to rural areas of the county where, currently, the utilities are virtually non-existent. The build-out and development of the county would have created jobs and brought wealth to the community; instead, hundreds of residents are left looking for work due to the massive lay-offs following project’s halt. Meanwhile, rate-payers (myself included) have taken a bath in increased utility costs stemming from the expensive, albeit failed, construction. It would be an understatement to say that the mishandling of the project by SCANA and Santee Cooper is a shame—it was, and continues to be, a catastrophe for the citizens and leadership of Fairfield County.

Here’s hoping that Fairfield County and its citizens can find relief from this economic nightmare. My heart goes out to you, my friends!