They buried Steve Staggs this week

If you go to this link on mental health care, you'll understand how we arrived where we are when it comes to the mentally ill and homeless. It will also help you to understand how timing is everything, considering when these events happened, it was at the same time Vietnam veterans were in dire need of the mental health community.

http://www.sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas.html

I found this on VAWatchdog, one of the best sites out there on veterans. It's about what we don't often enough read about when we talk about homeless veterans. Steve Staggs was a homeless veteran and he died as a homeless veteran, buried in a popper's grave. One more discard from a family that didn't care? Hardly. He had a family caring about him, trying to help him and searched for him after he walked away. They were still searching for him two years after he had been buried in a grave with just some numbers as a marker for the day his body was found.

Please read this and then come back for what I have to say. It won't matter as much unless you see a homeless veteran thru the eyes of someone who loved him.

Laurie Roberts' Columns & Blog

A mother's son finally laid to rest



They buried Steve Staggs this week.

Old soldiers were there and an honor guard detail which offered a three-volley salute and sounded Taps. The Patriot Guard Riders came and the Old Guard Riders, too, standing in formation for more than an hour there in the mid-morning sun as Steve's family laid him, finally, to rest.

Steve didn't die in a war. At least, not the conventional kind. During his last days, most of us probably would have crossed the street to avoid him. We would have seen the homeless man battling mental illness from the empty end of a vodka bottle. We would have seen the disheveled man who shunned help. We would have seen and we would have walked on, never catching a glimpse of the real Steve Staggs.

The man who served his country. The one who was somebody's son, somebody's brother. Somebody's father.

“He was a very religious person in his heart,” his mother, Barbara Larson, told me after Monday's service. “This would have meant so much to him.”

Steve battled depression for most of his 44 years, but he was much more than a man with a mental illness. He served for a decade in the Coast Guard and later worked in the private sector until an accident left him with a head injury.

By 2004, he was no longer able to work and tried several times to commit suicide. He was in and out of hospitals as his family tried to get him help but you have to want help and even then, in this state, that's no guarantee that you'll get it.

Steve, sadly, didn't want help. In the fall of 2006, he threw his belongings in the trash, picked up his backpack and walked away from everything and everyone he knew. For 2½ years, his family searched for him, fueled by that spark of hope that maybe someday he would be found. In March, that spark was extinguished. Steve's body had been found two years earlier in a field in Surprise, lying under a salt-cedar tree, surrounded by empty vodka bottles.

It took two years before anyone realized that the body was the long sought Steve, well loved by some despite how he might have looked to the rest of us. By the time his family found him, he'd long ago been buried by jail inmates in the county pauper's cemetery.
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http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nfjun09/nf062509-2.htm

Mental hospitals were never very good but at least the mentally ill were not left to live or die on their own. Today there are some half-way houses addressing recovery from drugs and alcohol, some shelters for the homeless, but considering reports about neighbors complaining about their property values and "not wanting those people living in my neighborhood" the likelihood of an adequate number of them to take care of all of our citizens needing help, is not about to happen anytime soon.

During WWII, one of my husband's uncles was a Merchant Marine. He was on a ship hit by a Kamikaze pilot and never really recovered. He was not left to wander the streets. He was sent to live on a farm so that he and others were cared for, to live out their lives provided with everything they needed. Even back then, there were not enough places for all of them to go and many ended up in Mental Hospitals. Instead of investing in fixing what was wrong with these facilities, they were shut down. It seems that President Reagan had better uses for tax payer funds resulting in the mentally ill walking the streets, left to suffer without care and die there.

In the long run, not fixing the hospitals for the mentally ill, cost more money than anyone was prepared for. What resulted was not only the increase in homeless, it increased crimes and incarcerations. This resulted in the need to build more prisons. When we provided nothing for the mentally ill, we put suffering people into dangerous positions and then they became more dangerous to the rest of society.

Veterans, with their unique circumstances, joined the ranks of the mentally ill and homeless. The same outcome for these veterans was guaranteed. One of them was almost my husband. Almost, simply because the homeless shelter had a waiting list and there was no way I could face our daughter knowing I put her father out to live on the streets. Looking back on the full shelter, I now consider it a blessing because I became more determined to make sure it never reached that point again.

All the years I had been researching PTSD and helping veterans, left me feeling totally lost and helpless because no matter what I said, what I did, how I acted, I couldn't get my own husband to listen and get the proper help. I stood by him as he entered into private rehabs, joined AA and then watched him sink right back down into the abyss. It was easier for him to accept being called an alcoholic than it was to accept the term associated with mental illness. The fear was greater for him to have PTSD, partly because he still couldn't understand it enough to get his preconceived concepts out of his head, and partly because he didn't think he knew anyone with the same illness. He did however know a lot of "alcoholics" or so he thought. It turned out most of the people he knew that were "just drunks like him" were also PTSD veterans.

Because of this, I ended up visiting the shelter and my heart was tugged by the full capacity of sheltered veterans. This was in the 90's, long before Afghanistan and Iraq veterans were coming back needing help for the same wound. The first tour I took, I was hopeful when I saw how there were doctors and nurses, dentists, all volunteering their time along with mental health providers, trainers and teachers. These veterans were not just being provided with shelter and food, but hope. I had a good feeling until I reached the floor for female veterans. It was there I was told there would be a lot more of them on that floor, but they couldn't take in children. Female homeless veterans with children were sent away.

Over the years, a lot of people have complained to me that I care more about homeless veterans than I do regular citizens. In a way, that's true. It is not that my heart is cold to the plight of all homeless people, it is simply tugged more by our veterans. It is also because they are a minority among the homeless as well as a minority in this nation.

National Coalition for Homeless Veterans - Background & ...
Conservatively, one out of every three homeless men who is sleeping in a ... NCHV strongly believes that all programs to assist homeless veterans

While we are a nation of over 300 million, there are less than 30 million veterans, even less are combat veterans. These are the men and women we counted on, depended on them to risk their lives fighting the battles we decided needed to be fought. It was also us deciding that when they came home, they would just have to go back to being a civilian and left to fend for themselves, unless they happened to have body parts blown off. Those were the only wounds we were willing to accept as any excuse to have our tax dollars used to take care of them. TBI? PTSD? Agent Orange? Gulf War Syndrome? What more did these people want from us? After all, we already have mental health care, cancer treatments and research being done for the rest of us. Why do they expect to be treated any differently than the rest of us? Isn't that what financial junkies use for excuses to do nothing for them?

I can't use "Republican" for this because some of them actually do understand the obligation we have to our veterans, but too many under the "conservative" or "libertarian" banner are more like greedy junkies wanting to hold onto every dime they have, using the social system instead of acknowledging how much they need it all. Safe food and water, roads, bridges, fire departments, police departments, the list goes on but they fail to see where their money goes. They were also the same people standing on the floor of congress saying that taking care of the veterans was something they couldn't afford because there were two wars to pay for. Amazing isn't it? At the same time they took no issue with anything President Bush wanted to spend for Iraq and Afghanistan, they complained about having to take care of the men and women that were participating in it. I often wonder what their attitude would be if they had someone in their own family needing the help of the VA or wounded by PTSD if they would feel the same way?

This is why homeless veterans are very different to me. While they are just like us in many ways, they are also very different in other ways. While we don't risk our lives for anyone, they do. When they end up with life altering events as veterans for the rest of their lives, it's up to us to fulfill our end of the deal for them. The problem is, it's just not personal to the rest of us.

My eye opener on PTSD came when I met a Vietnam veteran I fell in love. My eye opener on homeless veterans came when a shelter was full. It was all personal to me and still is. If it hasn't been personal to you up to this point, then I hope the story you read about Steve Staggs managed to change your heart a little bit anyway.

A lot of people in this country were not really paying attention to what was happening in Iran until the image of Neda dying on the street made the national news. Then, it was personal to us because we thought about how an innocent person could be killed like that. Maybe Steve Staggs can make homeless veterans personal to you as well and move you to care about strangers.

Bank turns down checks for Operation Open Arms?

How does a bank refuse to cash checks at all? I can understand them waiting the usual time for checks to clear before they release funds, but how do they refuse to do it? How do they refuse for a veterans charity of all places when there is such a dire need out there to take care of our troops and veterans?

Capt. John "Giddy Up" Bunch had an idea, perhaps a God sent idea, and has apparently been blessed with success. He managed to touch enough hearts that donations came in to support his work and blessed that he's getting the national media attention. So how is it that this program may be forced to close because of the bank's refusal to handle the transactions now that Operation Open Arms is tax exempt? I really wish that Capt. Bunch mentioned the bank's name because I'm sure all the military families and veterans families out there would be more than happy to pull their money out of whatever bank it is. It would also be very interesting to know if this bank was among the recipients of the bailout the tax payers provided.

Founder may shut down Operation Open Arms in 2010
Nonprofit offers soldiers on leave goods, services

By DREW WINCHESTER, dwinchester@breezenewspapers.com
Operation Open Arms has been so successful over the last four years that its success threatens its future existence.

OOA founder and Pine Island fishing guide Capt. John "Giddy Up" Bunch said he plans on shutting down the nonprofit organization by April 19, 2010, if the financial outlook does not improve.

"I have come to one astounding conclusion: If I can't get enough donations that will allow me to at least compensate our fishing guides and key benefactors by April 19, 2010 ... financially, I am going to have to shut it down," he said.

Bunch recently had to return nearly $24,000 in donations because his bank would not cash the checks. He said the bank refused to cash the checks after he received his nonprofit 5013c status.

With only $1,900 left in the bank account, Bunch had to turn down a prestigious invitation from Maj. Gen. Mark A. Graham to attend a conference in Colorado focusing on soldier mental and physical health.

Bunch said, as honored as he was to be invited, he did not feel right about draining the OOA bank account in order attend. He ranks it as his "biggest disappointment" thus far with OOA.

"I spend this money like I've got a leash around the eagle's neck," Bunch said. "Nothing is spent unless it's necessary."

Started as an organization that focused on Pine Island soldiers returning from active duty, OOA quickly grew to focus on soldiers from all over Southwest Florida. Now troops from 49 of the 50 states make their way to the area to take part in services offered by OOA.
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http://www.cape-coral-daily-breeze.com/page/content.detail/id/507640.html

Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia National Guards, cancer and KBR

Did KBR know Iraq locale was polluted, putting soldiers at risk?

By SHARON COHEN AP National Writer
UNDATED - Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.

James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer, which spread to his spine, ribs and one of his thighs; he must often use a cane, and no longer rides his beloved Harley.

David Moore's postwar life turned into a harrowing medical mystery: nosebleeds and labored breathing that made it impossible to work, much less speak. His desperate search for answers ended last year when he died of lung disease at age 42.

What these three men - one sick, one dying, one dead - had in common is they were National Guard soldiers on the same stretch of wind-swept desert in Iraq during the early months of the war in 2003.

These soldiers and hundreds of other Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases.
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http://www.katu.com/news/national/49006416.html

Girl burned by white phosphorus leaves Bagram

Girl burned by white phosphorus leaves Bagram

By Rahim Faiez - The Associated Press
Posted : Wednesday Jun 24, 2009 17:44:29 EDT

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan — A nurse fixed a black wig on Razia’s scarred and disfigured scalp before the 8-year-old took off around the emergency room to bid farewell to the staff who cared for her after white phosphorous scorched her head, face, neck and hands.

When Razia came to the U.S. military hospital four months ago, Capt. Christine Collins didn’t think she would make it out alive. On Wednesday, the little Afghan girl left this military hospital for an arduous journey to her village, a 50-mile drive from Bagram Air Base.

“I am fine, I want to go home,” Razia quietly told Collins and a group of other hospital staff who had come to see her off.

Wearing a pair of blue jeans and a pink-striped shirt, Razia was eager to see her mother — who awaited her at a cousin’s house deep in the countryside still rife with insurgents. The two have not seen each other since shells ripped through their home on March 14 just after breakfast, killing two of Razia’s sisters.

It’s unclear where the white phosphorus came from that disfigured Razia for life — burning her face, now marked with permanent scars. Razia’s father, Abdul Aziz, blames international forces since U.S., French and Afghan troops gathered outside his home just before the shells were fired. U.S and NATO troops use white phosphorus to illuminate targets, create smoke screens and destroy old bunkers, but say they don’t use it as a weapon.

A U.S. military spokeswoman with NATO’s security force said military officials can’t be certain whether it was their own round or an enemy round that hit Razia’s house.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/ap_burned_afghan_girl_062409/

Is this what we've been waiting for? Nope!

UPDATE.........then again, maybe not.

I took a look at the site and was not impressed by what I read.

This was there,

Folder 8 - THE Burris Life Coach for Warriors

THE Burris Life Coach for Warriors is considered the only legitimate fix for PTSD. The reason for this is the Program Process of THE Burris Life Coach is the only proven process for depression which is the primary symptom for PTSD.

I could not find where or who declared "THE Burris Life Coach is the only proven process for depression which is the primary symptom for PTSD" especially when considering according to the website, they have been doing this for 25 years. I never heard of them before this. Who considers it the only "fix" for PTSD? Any ideas? Do police departments use it? Do fire departments use it? Has any veteran's program used it?

Along with this piece of information I'm really scratching my head now.

July 6, 2009 and Jul 7 2009
by Kelly Burris PhD
Registration Deadline: June 29, 2009
Seat price: $3,997.00

The Definitive Standard for Every Life Coach and All Who Work in the Field of Mental Health
With 25 years of research, development and refinement the framework of the SR™ process will allow you to effectively help your clients with there Emotional - Spiritual - Relationship - Business and Personal objectives with an integral data collection process that will hold up under the most stringent scrutiny. THE Burris Life Coach is "The Only Proven Process for Subconscious Restructuring™." The SR™ process has set a clear standard in the mental health and life coaching disciplines by virtue of its data collection process and its ability to address human behavior at the very beginning of the process at the deepest level of the subconscious. This has allowed the SR™ process to be extraordinarily effective with all people and all behavioral issues. After becoming Certified your question is simply ..."Which demographic do I want to have the greatest impact on?"

22% Success rate?

From their site

The recent studies, conducted by a growing team of "Master SR Coaches," show the process having widespread and consistently dramatic results on depression symptoms. One such study, conducted by Master SR Coach Dr. Ron Clark, has delivered an average 22% reduction in depression symptoms in just 4 hours. While another study, conducted by Master SR Coach Dr. Janis Smith accomplished an average 68% reduction in depression symptoms over a five week period. Dr Burris's company, THE Burris Life Coach is challenging these numbers against results shown by medications and traditional therapy.

Looks like I have to take back my optimism on this now. This PR release plus almost $4,000 for a two day mail course and no outside studies published on the effectiveness of what they claim,,,,,,looks like more of the same claims we've read for a very long time and now, I'm completely depressed all over again.

It very well may be what we've been waiting for, simply because of this part,,...

all human behavior is emotionally driven and you cannot change an emotional state unless you fully understand how an emotional state comes about

I don't know but it sounds a lot better than some of the other things they've been talking about doing.

Rand Study Supports Evidence-Based Subconscious Restructuring Process for PTSD

The only evidence-based program process in mental health uniformly complies with an extensive Rand Study on PTSD in the Military

Henderson, NV (PRWEB) June 24, 2009 -- A Rand study from the Center for Military Health Policy Research titled "Invisible Wounds of War" supports an evidence-based plan for intervention and prevention of PTSD and Suicide in the military. Subconscious Restructuring or SR has 25 years of research, development and documented results with the primary symptom of PTSD and suicide. The Rand study just confirmed what we have been attempting to convey to the mental health system for almost 20 years states Kelly Burris, PhD, developer of the SR process.

The SR process is based on the reality that all human behavior is emotionally driven and you cannot change an emotional state unless you fully understand how an emotional state comes about.

The "Implementation of Evidence-Based SR Process into the Military" proposal covered every issue and beyond brought up by this extensive Rand study. Following are the four recommendations made by Rand after the study and how they would each be addressed by the implementation of the SR Process.

1. Increase the cadre of providers who are trained and certified to deliver proven (evidence-based) care, so that capacity is adequate for current and future needs.

Implementation and integration of the Burris SR process will begin with Burris SR certification of selected Military leadership, psychiatrists, psychologists, chaplains, and Family Support Center staff, then proceed to workshops involving PTSD and/or suicidology-identified warriors and their families, then the general unit population, and their families. Burris Master-level SR Certifiers would initially certify the leadership and intervention staff, then assist in the warrior/family workshops. Over time, each unit and base will reach a point of self-sustaining competence, and the Burris staff would then both monitor incoming data from completed units and their families, and begin to implement the Burris SR program for other units and commands world-wide.

2. Change policies to encourage active duty personnel and veterans to seek needed care.

The evidence-based SR process is not psychotherapy and therefore would remove the stigma of seeking help. Everyone from new recruits to returning Warriors would go through the SR Process as part of their entry and exit from the military. A simple Follow-up with the emotional checklist could be done all throughout the term of military service which would eliminate guessing who might need help.

3. Deliver proven, evidence-based care to service members and veterans whenever and wherever services are provided.

As an already proven evidence-based intervention program with most mental health problems over some 25 years, the infrastructure put in place by Master SR Coaches would allow all service members to become a self-perpetuating healing and wellness intervention unit over time. This would ensure everyone within the Military that needed help would get it.
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Rand Study Supports Evidence-Based Subconscious Restructuring Process for PTSD

Coos Bay NAMI Project aims to help troubled veterans

Project aims to help troubled veterans
By Jolene Guzman, Staff Writer


COOS BAY — They are warriors. They see themselves as strong. They don’t realize — or don’t want to believe — they need help.

Veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder discover months or years later it takes more than time and a few drinks to chase their problems away. A group of local organizations and volunteers wants to be there for those vets and their families when they ask for a helping hand.

Veteran and retired physician John Mesquita said many vets are brought back home and dropped into society without much of a transition. They go through a period when they feel they just need to “man up” and handle service-related problems on their own. Family and friends are more likely to notice the signs of PTSD before the vet.

“The common denominator is do they ask for help,” he said.

Mesquita helped built a partnership between the Coos County National Alliance on Mental Illness, local Department of Veterans’ Affairs mental health professionals and the Nancy Devereux Center to start weekly PTSD group counseling sessions in Coos Bay. The sessions are on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The goal of the sessions is to offer a comfortable place for vets and their families to find helping and understanding.

“We want to give more than lip service,” Mesquita said. “We want this to be a step up, stand up and do the right thing kind of service.”

Monday sessions are for all veterans seeking counseling. Wednesday sessions are directed at vets who have served and returned in the last 10 years, and each Friday special support groups are scheduled for families of vets suffering from PTSD.
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Project aims to help troubled veterans

Why Vietnam Veterans Are Finally Getting Help

There have been a lot of questions about why Vietnam veterans are filing claims for PTSD now, after all these years. This pretty much answers those questions. It's not that they are just now understanding they need help. They are finally finding out there is help for them!

It still irks me that they are the last ones to know when they were the first generation to fight for PTSD to be treated. They came home just like the older veterans did carrying this wound within them but they were the first ones to fight to have it treated and compensated. As bad as it is for the veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, think of how much worse it would be if they did not push for treatment, research and programs to be in place.

I do more videos focused on Vietnam veterans for this reason alone. I started doing outreach work in 1982 because of them and now it's lead to helping the newer veterans, but also police officers, firefighters and victims. The problem is, there are just not enough programs like the VFW is doing for them. It would be wonderful if the rest of the service organizations would do the same. The good thing is, more of them are.

VFW holds event to get info to those who need it
By SEAN PATRICK NORRIS, Staff Writer
Published 06/24/09

Bill Brady served as a Marine in Vietnam for two years.

Bob Prater was as an Army sniper there in 1969 and 1970.

Both men came out of the war needing help and have been struggling to find it.

On Saturday, the two men and 50 other Vietnam-era vets received help from the state Department of Veterans Affairs, benefiting from outreach efforts even as the agency works to help a new generation of soldiers coming home.

"There is a lot more out there than there was when some of these veterans separated 20 or more years ago," said Cate Conroy, deputy director of outreach for the department. "There is a lot of new information."

Soldiers leaving the services now are given an overview of benefits available from the military and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Older vets are often on their own to find out what help they can get.

"Especially now with an aging veteran population and tough economic times it can really make a difference in someone's life," Conroy said.

Vets at Saturday's event said the outreach hasn't always been there for them. Brady, a Glen Burnie resident, said his experiences with the state and federal agencies have been frustrating.

"Whenever I went to them you were always put on hold or put on a list and you never heard from them again," he said. "It was like, hurry up and wait."

The Veterans Muster held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 160 in Glen Burnie, however, provided about 15 tables stocked with information on finding help for health problems, education aid and other issues. He and other vets strolled, browsed and asked questions.

Conroy acknowledged she's heard of people having problems with benefits, but most focus on the federal agency. She said her organization has a better track record.

"I know when I separated (from the military) 17 years ago there was a lot of misinformation," she said. "I know they are working to improve and they have come a long way. I use the VA for health care and it's great."

Prater, the former Army sniper, said Saturday was the first time he received information about getting help for post-traumatic stress disorder, a mental health complication many combat veterans face.
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VFW holds event to get info to those who need it

Vietnam Vet swims Sea of Cortez for Wounded Warrior Project

Night Train Swimmers attempt to break world record with relay swim
June 24, 2009
157-mile Swim Across Sea of Cortez to Benefit Wounded Warrior Project (WWP)

Night Train Swimmers will attempt to break the world record for the longest continuous relay swim. Departing from La Paz, on the Baja California Sur, the six member team will cross the Sea of Cortez to hit mainland Mexico approximately 157 miles away. The team is using this event as a fundraiser to benefit Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors.

The record-breaking relay swim will commence on June 27th at 8:00am from a beach near La Paz, Mexico, and is expected to take approximately 3-4 days and nights of continuous swimming. Live GPS tracking will be available at www.nighttrainswimmers.com where the team will also keep an updated blog and photo gallery.

Vito Bialla, himself a Wounded Vietnam Veteran, says, “I’m taking it upon myself to try to make the world just a little bit better. By completing this swim and raising money for Wounded Warrior Project, we can make a huge difference for our injured heroes when they return home. It’s a privilege to help our returning Veterans.”
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Night Train Swimmers attempt to break world record with relay swim

Football coach fatally shot at Iowa high school

UPDATE June 25th

Family of Iowa suspect urges prayers after coach's killing
Story Highlights
Mark Becker accused of murder in death of longtime football coach Ed Thomas
Becker's family "wishes to express our deepest sympathy to the Thomas family"
Becker is a former football player, former student at coach's high school
"It's just too early to speculate" on motive for shooting, law enforcement official says


(CNN) -- The family of a man suspected of fatally shooting an Iowa football coach urged the community Thursday to pray for the victim's family.

Mark Becker, 24, faces first-degree murder charges in the death of Ed Thomas, 58, a longtime football coach at Aplington-Parkersburg High School.

Investigators believe Becker walked into the school's weight room, where Thomas was overseeing athletes' training Wednesday morning, and shot him several times as about 20 horrified students looked on. Thomas was flown to a hospital, where he later died.

"Our family wishes to express our deepest sympathy to the Thomas family," the Becker family said in a statement to CNN television affiliate KWWL.

The community has lost an icon, a leader and a teacher, the statement said.
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http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/25/coach.shooting/index.html

Football coach fatally shot at Iowa high school
Story Highlights
NEW: Coach Ed Thomas has died after being shot inside a school

He was flown to a hospital after the incident

An adult has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting

About 50 high school students present during the shooting; none were injured


(CNN) -- An Iowa high school football coach died Wednesday after he was shot inside the school as athletes were lifting weights, the district superintendent told CNN.


Ed Thomas had been with the school district for more than 30 years and was well-known in the region.

Ed Thomas died shortly after he arrived at Covenant Medical Center in Waterloo, Iowa, according to a hospital statement.

He was flown to a hospital after he was shot about 8:30 a.m.at Aplington-Parkersburg High School, said Holly Fokkena, Butler County auditor.

No students were injured, although about 50 students were present at the time of the shooting, she said.

One person, an adult, was taken into custody, Fokkena said.

Superintendent Jon Thompson of the Aplington-Parkersburg Community Schools said crisis counselors were on scene to assist students who witnessed the shooting.
go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/06/24/football.coach.shot/index.html

Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and wife among dead in DC train crash

UPDATE,,,,They were together since high school.

Service set for Guard commander killed in crash

Staff report
Posted : Friday Jun 26, 2009 13:26:51 EDT

The former commanding general of the D.C. National Guard and his wife, both killed in a deadly train collision in Washington, D.C., will be remembered at a service Monday.

The ceremony in memory of retired Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann, begins at 6 p.m. Monday at the D.C. Armory.

The couple will be interred together at Arlington National Cemetery. That ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Tuesday.


Wherley and his wife, both 62, died June 22 when the Washington Metro train in which they were riding slammed into the back of a stopped train. Seven other people were killed in the crash, the deadliest in Metro’s 33-year history.

The Wherleys, who were high school sweethearts, are survived by a son, Staff Sgt. David Wherley, 36, a member of the Golden Knights, the Army’s parachute team, and a daughter, Betsy Regan, 35, and her family.

go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/army_wherley_funeral_062609w/

Retired Guard commander killed in D.C. crash

By Michelle Tan - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 23, 2009 22:04:30 EDT

The former commanding general of the D.C. National Guard was one of the nine people killed in the deadly train collision Monday in Washington, D.C., according to the National Guard Bureau.

Air Force Maj. Gen. David F. Wherley Jr. and his wife, Ann, were killed when a train on Metrorail’s red line ran into the back of a train that had stopped on the same track.

From July 2003 until his retirement in 2008, Wherley was commanding general of Joint Force Headquarters, D.C. National Guard, where he was responsible for operational readiness and command and control of the 2,500 soldiers and airmen in the D.C. Army and Air National Guard.

“We are all deeply saddened by this sudden and tragic loss of General Wherley and his wife, Ann,” said Maj. Gen. Errol R. Schwartz, Commanding General of Joint Force Headquarters, District of Columbia National Guard. “I am personally grieved by this unbelievable tragedy. David Wherley and Ann were two of the best people you could ever want to know. This community will grieve, as will the entire National Guard throughout the country who knew and loved them both.”
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/army_train_victim_062309w/

Congress to CIA: Review Gulf War illness info

Congress to CIA: Review Gulf War illness info

By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Tuesday Jun 23, 2009 18:44:44 EDT

After a former CIA employee told a team created to investigate Gulf War illness that 1.5 million documents exist detailing poisonous gas exposures during Operation Desert Storm, Congress is asking the CIA to review the secret classifications of those documents.

“Ill Desert Storm veterans have been waiting for years for our government to make public any information in its possession about the kinds of toxic agents they may have been exposed to during and immediately after the 1991 war,” Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J., said in a prepared statement. “This is a long-overdue stop toward meeting that goal.”

The intelligence authorization bill now includes language that would require the CIA to review the classification of those documents, with the intent of declassifying them.

Studies have shown that veterans exposed to sarin — which the military accidentally doused troops with when the 82nd Airborne Division destroyed an Iraqi chemical weapons dump in Khamisiyah in 1991 — are more likely to suffer from symptoms of Gulf War illness.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2009/06/military_gulfwar_cia_062309w/

Troops pause to remember Capt. Kafele Sims at memorial

Troops pause to remember Captain at memorial
By Steve Mraz, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, June 24, 2009


On Tuesday, Quinonez said farewell to Sims, the physician assistant who diagnosed him with appendicitis last August. Quinonez had persistent gas pains and went to see Sims.

"Within five minutes, [Sims] said, ‘You have acute appendicitis,’" Quinonez said. "I can’t tell you what happened 20 minutes later because I was knocked out and in surgery. I do know that I am here today because of [Sims’] actions and decisions. That day he saved my life."

Sims, 32, of Los Angeles, died June 16 in Mosul, Iraq, in a noncombat-related incident. The cause of Sims’ death is still under investigation, said Bruce Anderson, U.S. Army Europe spokesman. Sims was assigned to the 18th Engineer Brigade in Schwetzingen.

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http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=63436

Federal bill would allow GIs to sue for medical negligence

Federal bill would allow GIs to sue for medical negligence
Malpractice claim » A Utah colonel says the military botched her operation.
By Dawn House

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 06/23/2009 10:10:11 PM MDT


A colonel who underwent surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center to remove a cancerous breast says her physician operated on the wrong side of her body, mistakenly removing several healthy lymph nodes and disfiguring her.

But the government rejected all claims brought by Col. Adele Connell of Stansbury Park under a law that makes it nearly impossible for GIs and their families to sue the military for medical malpractice.

Connell hopes a bill the House Judiciary Committee expects to consider today will allow military families like hers to hold the government accountable for noncombat-related injuries. The Carmelo Rodriguez Military Medical Accountability Act would overturn the so-called Feres Doctrine, named for a 1950 Supreme Court case that effectively bars service members from collecting damages for death or injuries caused by negligence.

"These last eight months have been unbelievably difficult," said Connell, 57, who has served in the military for more than 30 years. "The reason I am going public is that I want to try to improve the military for soldiers serving all over the world."

Connell's attorney, Dean Swartz of Washington, D.C., said it's outrageous that imprisoned felons can sue for damages from medical malpractice, but that same right is denied members of the U.S. military.

"This is a no-brainer," he said. "When doctors operate on the wrong side of a patient and cause harm, there should be some compensation."
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http://www.sltrib.com/News/ci_12675099

Bill O'Reilly - Blowhard

Bill O'Reilly - Blowhard
Harmon Biehl

Miami Veterans Affairs Examiner
June 23, 1:46 PM
Greetings Vets, I am a relatively articulate person both in the spoken word as well as the written word. I am an amateur in the field of political coercion in the written word or the spoken word. I am like a fifth grader debating the college freshman in a debate about the dating habits of post adolescent teens. Occasionally I am way more knowledgeable about a topic than the experts, because the experts depend on hearsay and other people to do their footwork and real research homework before shooting off their mouths. Like Take Bill O'Reilly for example.

He has been shooting his mouth off about homeless veterans. He says they are few and far between. I, on the other hand know that to be bullhocky. In Orlando alone, of the homeless vets that are countable we have by my nose count 250 living on the streets and in overnight homeless shelters with the rest of the street people. Above that there are homeless veterans living at the V.A. facility on property in Orlando. I would guess there are at least 150 of them there. I know of homeless veterans that make the rounds of the Christian service centers as well as the Salvation Army's over night lodgings. Just the other day I was bringing a homeless Veteran to the Christian Union Rescue Mission, only to find out in intake that I was sitting next to another homeless veteran.

The other real place to look is in the county jail. The reason to look in the county jail is that Veterans living on the street are there for a reason. PTSD, ANGER, HOPELESSNESS, FEAR, MENTAL ILLNESS, and the list goes on and on. When a local cop asks them for ID or for some good reason why they are panhandling, these old warriors invariably tell the officer some obvious answer that is not flattering to the officers intelligence, which of course, their question was bait in the first place. Yes, Bill could find a bunch of homeless vets in jails all across the country. These were educated, uniformed, highly trained warriors in the employ of Uncle Sam at one time so mostly there is some underlying reason they are homeless. Of course this reason escapes the understanding of the V.A., but then so does a lot of stuff, both medical and psychological. That is an ongoing story though of gigantic proportions.
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Bill O'Reilly - Blowhard

I could think of another term to use for O'Reilly, but that would not make a difference to him or his viewers. They haven't cared all this time and it's doubtful they ever will. There are some people you just can't educate. They have no interest in learning or caring.

Much like the villains in our history, O'Reilly seems to think that if a woman is raped, it's more important to him what she was wearing at the time in order to discern if she was asking for it. Don't be so shocked over this because he has spent a long time shooting off his mouth blaming the victim of a crime. He instigates hatred and seems to enjoy it. Look back at some of the transcripts of his shows. The boy that was kidnapped, O'Reilly said he must have enjoyed it because he was away from the rules of his parents. The abortion doctor murdered in church, O'Reilly instigated hatred against him and when he was murdered, O'Reilly justified himself by pointing out how many "lives" were saved.

O'Reilly attacked homeless veterans, first by saying they were not real, then blamed them because they were "drug addicts and alcoholics" because he could not continue to ignore the fact. He had a chance to redeem himself once provided with some clue of their reality, but once again, he blamed them for their own suffering.

I used to think that O'Reilly had enough viewers to use his power for good, to inform them of what exactly was going on as any honest person would, but O'Reilly preferred to do more harm than good. His viewers apparently approve and agree. I read what they have to say all the time.

People like O'Reilly are all about themselves. They constantly attack anyone they see as a threat to their bubble. They have a view of President Obama, mostly because he's a Democrat, cling onto a bunch of nonsense and rumors ignoring the good he's done for veterans. They hold up people like McCain as heroes to veterans, even though he voted against them every time he had a chance to prove what they meant to him. It does not take a lot of insight to figure out they are not about the veterans needing this nation's loyalty in return for their service, it's about power.

I actually feel sorry for people like O'Reilly because fate has a way of teaching us lessons. Call it Karma if you wish, but it all boils down to what we do, what we send out, comes around to reward us accordingly to all of it. Each time he attacks veterans and victims, his reservations to the pit of hell are being upgraded and confirmed. People like him end up being in need of help one day and find there is no one there to help him up. They will stand and convict him as he has convicted others.

Disabled Vets:Salt Lake Utah makes it easier for tax exemptions

Disabled veterans given easier path to benefits
By Arthur Raymond

Deseret News

Published: Tuesday, June 23, 2009 11:14 p.m. MDT


Disabled veterans facing bureaucratic hurdles in obtaining property tax exemptions in Salt Lake County should have an easier path following a policy shift approved by the County Council Tuesday.

Terry Schow, executive director of the Utah Department of Veteran Affairs, said Tuesday that his office has been besieged with complaints from vets running into trouble securing benefits from the county.

"We've received more complaints from veterans with disabilities in Salt Lake County than the whole rest of the state combined," Schow said.

Disabled veterans are eligible for a break on property taxes, collected by the county treasurer, based on the percentage of their disability — a number that is determined by the Veteran's Administration. Schow said the benefit is offered to vets who have been determined to have a 10 percent or higher level of disability. Each 10 percent increment represents about a $25,000 decrease on the taxable value of their property, up to about $230,000, a number set by the Utah Tax Commission.
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Disabled veterans given easier path to benefits