A local race team said thank you Tuesday to the men and women in blue with a check honoring two slain Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers. NASCAR team owner Robert Yates remembers the pain of losing a close friend. His son, Doug, grew up with CMPD Officer John Burnette, who was killed in the line of duty on 1993 with fellow Officer Anthony Nobles. At that time, Yates and his team donated $50,000 to the department’s police benevolent fund. “I have a lot of respect for police officers,” Yates said. And that respect motivated him to do it again. This time the team donated $40,000 in honor of Officers Sean Clark and Jeff Shelton, who were shot and killed earlier this year while responding to a call. We’re fortunate we get to do what we love doing racing, Doug Yates said. With M&M and Ford sponsoring us, we want to give back and that’s why we’re here.” Trisha Norket, the mother of John Burnette, knows firsthand how much it hurts to lose a loved one. She says she’s thankful for the donation in her son’s honor 14 years ago and she knows the widows of Clark and Shelton are just as thankful now. I always try to remember what would they have us to do and I have to believe in my heart that Jeff and Sean would say, make this contribution to the police benevolent fund to help my brothers and sisters that are still here,'” she said. The police benevolent fund helps various departments within department.(News 14 Carolina). The donation is to help build the Shelton-Clark Memorial.(7-11-2007)
