The month of November is significant for those who knew Jess and Kelli. We try to plan events to mark the anniversary of their deaths. This is our sixth year without them.

Our annual memorial blood drive will be Monday, November 4, from 3pm to 7pm at Dorris Elementary School in Collinsville. All donors will receive a free t-shirt with our Foundation logo.

Our memorial food drive will be Saturday, November 23, from 1pm to 4pm at the Schnucks store in Collinsville and the Schnucks store in O’Fallon. Donations can be dropped off before November 23 at the Collinsville Police Department, State Construction in O’Fallon, Lite Brite in Trenton, or the American Legion in Mascoutah. All donations benefit the local area food banks.

Finally, we are having an online fundraiser through Thirty-One Gifts. You can browse and order at this link – https://www.mythirtyone.com/beckyloyet.

Becky Loyet is donating her commission from the event to the Foundation.  Becky was Maddy and Kelli’s daycare provider.

As always, thank you for your support!

The ex-trooper’s appeal to have his license reinstated has again been denied. He has requested another hearing, which will be in November. We will continue to fight!

The ex-trooper has asked for another hearing to have his driver’s license reinstated.  I will be attending the hearing, which is scheduled for next Thursday, January 17, at 2:30 pm in Mt. Vernon to give a victim impact statement.  Back in July, many of you wrote letters supporting our position that he not be allowed to have his license reinstated.

As this new hearing date was given to us on such short notice, I would ask that if you would like your opinions heard by the hearing officer, please leave your opinion in the comments or email me at kim@jessicaandkelliuhl.com.  I will present your statements when I attend the hearing. Thank you so much for your support.

Our third fundraiser will be held Saturday, July 23, 2011, at the KC Hall in Collinsville, Illinois. The doors open at 7pm and we’ll be enjoying dinner, dancing, silent auctions, raffles and other fun stuff until midnight.

Tickets are $20 per person and can be bought online here. You can also buy them that night at the door.

If you’re in the market for a new TV, we are raffling off a 40″ flat screen Hitachi HDTV. Tickets are available for $5 each or 5 tickets for $20. We have a limited number of raffle tickets available, so get ’em quick. Email me at kim @ jessicaandkelliuhl.com if you want to beat the rush.

All proceeds from the evening benefit the Jessica and Kelli Uhl Memorial Fund, which provides scholarships to local high school students.

I will be appearing on The Today Show on Monday, October 4, to discuss Jessica and Kelli, my work with PursuitSafety, and other policy changes we hope will be made in light of the trooper’s recent workers’ compensation filing.

Today is Jun 4th. Today would have been Jessica’s 21st birthday, a day of celebration, a day where she would have been considered “legal” in today’s society.

Most young people look forward to 21 as the day they are legal to drink alcohol but turning 21 also means you are legally considered an adult. Being 21 means you are able to make your own choices and decisions about who you are, what you want to do in life, that mom and dad’s permission is no longer needed.

Sadly, Jessica is not going to get that chance to make those decisions and choices. Those rights were taken away by a so called “adult” who made a terrible and ultimately tragic driving decision.

Today Jessica would have turned 21 and it would have been a grand celebration as Jessica would have expected no less. She loved parties and it would have been done in style, there is no doubt about that. However, Jessica is no longer with us but we will still celebrate and we will celebrate with style. Flowers will be placed on the grave, prayers will be said, tears will be shed and then a beer, glass of wine or a cocktail will be raised in her honor and her life will be celebrated as it should be, with style.

Happy 21st Birthday my dear, beautiful Jessica.

The trooper entered a plea of guilty today. Here is the statement I read to the media today:

This is the statement that I read after the trooper’s plea hearing:

We, the family of Jessica and Kelli Uhl, would like to take this opportunity to express how indebted we are to the St. Clair County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office for their diligence and professionalism in bringing the case to a close that is acceptable to all parties.

We would also like to express our profound gratitude to everyone who has attended our fundraisers, donated blood, ate at Applebee’s or conveyed their sympathy, thoughts and prayers. We are forever grateful for your support throughout this ordeal.

We are hopeful that this conviction sends a message not only to all first responders and law enforcement officers, but to all drivers: please slow down, pay attention, put down the phone and drive safely.

Kim Schlau and Brian Uhl