Blue Knights New Jersey Chapter IX held their 26th annual Gooch’s Garlic Run on June 19. The fully-escorted run departed from the Rockaway Townsquare Mall in Rockaway Township, New Jersey, and arrived at its destination in the Ironbound section of Newark where riders enjoyed food, refreshments and live music. Proceeds of the run are donated to families with children with catastrophic illnesses. The Blue Knights are grateful to all who participated, and as BKNJIX Goodwill Ambassador Jeffrey Hunker says, “Thank you for helping us help them.”… Charmaine Lynn McKelvey, a Breinigsville, Pennsylvania, resident, has been charged with three felonies associated with stealing nearly $24,000 from a charity raffle for the Ride for Adam held August 2012. McKelvey, the raffle organizer, was president of the American Legion Riders chapter in Slatington, and said the money she’d collected must have been stolen or misplaced. Ten selected cash winners did not receive their prizes and the grand prize of a 2012 custom-painted Switchback was never awarded. Most prize winners could not be reached as McKelvey did not record accurate contact information. And the shop that supplied the Switchback had never been paid, so they took it back. As of this writing, she is in Lehigh County Prison on $50,000 bail. How low can you go?… THUNDER PRESS columnist and contributor Fred Nabkey sent me this gem: On the evening of May 18, Nicholas C. Doell of Darien, New York, failed to stop his 2003 Harley when a police car tried to pull him over for vehicle and traffic violations. The 22-year-old led the cops through the New York towns of Batavia, Alexander and Darien, and he must have had a get-off as he then led them on a foot chase resulting in him getting tasered. The young genius faces multiple counts of 13 charges in several towns. Maybe he didn’t stop because the day before he was hit with drug charges and just got out of jail. Still, wouldn’t it have been better just to pull over rather than piling on all those extra charges and pissing off the cops and judges, to boot?… Kim Bracey, mayor of York, Pennsylvania, thought she should learn how to ride a motorcycle because the H-D Vehicle Operations plant is located in her city. She wanted to surprise everyone and pull up to York Bike Night this September on a Harley. Great idea, except that she broke her right ankle in two places while taking a rider education class. She claims that she’s not quite sure what caused the accident, and joked, “I obviously shouldn’t be the driver of a motorcycle. Maybe a passenger.” However, at a public appearance shortly after her mishap, she said she intends to give the class another shot… THUNDER PRESS reader George Aupperlee wrote that on May 19, the 2013 Emergency Medical Services Ride took place, starting at the Lawn Fire Company in Lawn, Pennsylvania, joining more riders at the Lancaster County Public Safety & Training facility in Manheim with the entire group riding to Liberty Fire Company #1 in Berlin for a gas and snack stop, and then to the end point at Susquehanna Valley H-D where food and drinks were served and door prizes given out. All funds go to the Emergency Medical Services Line of Duty Death Fund to support the families of EMTs, paramedics and other rescue personnel who died in the line of duty… The past few months brought the deaths of three people who touched my life in different ways. On June 3, my friend Martha Holster was killed in a motorcycle accident by an elderly woman who turned left into Martha’s Ultra Glide on an Ohio highway. I met Martha, a member of the Motor Maids, when she was living in South Jersey. Ironically, I’d just gotten in a motorcycle accident with an elderly woman who had violated my right of way by running a stop sign, and had posted about it on an online motorcycle forum. Martha posted back, saying that she was a paralegal and that she and her boss would help me the best they could. I got some outstanding legal advice, at no charge, and as a result was able to avoid fighting insurance companies and going to court. Martha and I became friends, but a while back she and her husband Ned moved to North Carolina and, sad to say, I didn’t reach out to her as often as I would have liked. Martha was a warm-hearted, generous, wonderful woman and my sympathies go to Ned and the rest of their family… I recently learned that Tom Hurd of Ardsley, New York, passed away on January 21. Tom, who’d been an automotive machinist at Speed Parts Center in Elmsford, New York, for over 40 years, had done some machine work on my Sportster. He was also a columnist for a magazine that I edited some years ago. Most knew him as a very dependable, dedicated and talented guy, but I often saw another side of Tom—the jokester. He was as funny as anyone I’ve known. RIP, Tom. You will be missed… English Don Cornwallis, a.k.a. the Slimy Limey, passed away peacefully in his sleep on May 13, after years of battling a host of health issues. When Don and Indian Larry both had shops in New York City, they were known as the Bayonet Brothers, traveling around to showcase their brand of chopper culture. Don was also a musician, prolific writer, photographer, filmmaker and online show host (did I leave anything out?), having contributed to several motorcycle magazines including THUNDER PRESS. Don, custom builder and musician Steg von Heintz and builder Kevin Alexander set up at the Laconia Motorcycle Rally in 2011 to kick off Don’s Ride Like Hell tour, which was cut short when he fell ill again. He never did get to finish the tour here on earth, but maybe now that the Bayonet Brothers are together again…
