Top 10 Hot Spot Veterans News from Around the Country – 07-17-08

Today’s Local News for Veterans from around the Country

What’s Inside:  A Summary   

1. Peake Quoted Praising Veteran Counseling Centers.  
2. SBA Improperly Awards VA Contracts To Fraudulent Contractors.  
3. VAONAPPS Allows Veterans To File For Benefits Online.  
4. Veterans Pan VA Independent Living Program Before House Panel. 
5. DFAS Moves To Recheck 25,000 Denied Benefits Claims.  
6. VA Official Touts Small Businesses Supplying Prosthetics Before House Panel.  
7. Continuing Coverage Of VA Suicide Prevention Hotline Advertising.  
8. Texas VAMC Nurse Profiled.  
9. Controversy Surrounds Proposed Vermont Homeless Veterans Shelter.  
10. Maine Iraq Veteran Hiking Appalachian Trail To Draw Attention To Homeless Veterans.  

* SPECIAL NOTE:  Today, President Bush signed H.R. 634, the "American Veterans Disabled for Life Commemorative Coin Act," which requires the Department of the Treasury to mint and issue coins in 2010 in commemoration of disabled American veterans;

1.     Peake Quoted Praising Veteran Counseling Centers.   California’s North County Times (7/16, Walker) reports on a pair of planned VA counseling centers in Temecula and Chula Vista, CA, which are "among 39 new ones being opened across the country next year, bringing the number of such clinics nationwide to 271." The clinics are intended to help combat veterans cope with "stress and readjustment disorders after their military service." Deep in the article, the Times adds, "The centers are a key component of the Veteran Affairs mental health programs, said department Secretary James Peake."
      The Bucks (PA) Local News (7/17, Ciferri) reports, "Bucks County will be among 39 sites across the country to get new veteran’s counseling centers. … While no final location in Bucks has been determined, the VA said Bucks and Montgomery counties are the only Pa. counties included in the plan to open new veterans readjustment counseling centers to the region. "’Community-based Vet Centers are a key component of VA’s mental health program,’ Dr. James B. Peake, Secretary of Veterans Affairs, said. ‘I’m pleased we can expand access and bring services closer to more veterans, including screening and counseling for post-traumatic stress disorder.’"
      The Jacksonville (NC) Daily News (7/17, Dewitt) reports, "Onslow County has been chosen as one of 39 communities throughout the country to receive a new veterans center by the end of 2009. The new centers are part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ effort to improve access to readjustment counseling for all combat veterans and their families." This piece does not mention Peake by name. 

2.      SBA Improperly Awards VA Contracts To Fraudulent Contractors.   The AP (7/17, Yen) reports that according to a pair of GAO audits, the Small Business Administration diverted "millions of dollars in government contracts" to companies that had falsely reported to be operating in poor neighborhoods under its Historically Underutilized Business Zone, or HUBZone, program. "To be eligible, companies fill out applications affirming that their principal office – where the greatest number of employees work – is in a designated HUBZone and that at least 35 percent of the firm’s full-time employees live in that area. … In the Washington, D.C., area, the GAO found 10 out of 17 certified HUBZone firms it investigated failed to maintain minimum employee requirements or falsely claimed principal locations in places such as a dentist’s office. Those firms, providing services such as engineering and information technology, were awarded $105 million in preferential contracts in 2006-2007 from the Pentagon, Veterans Affairs and Health and Human Services – based at least in part on their HUBZone status."

3.      VAONAPPS Allows Veterans To File For Benefits Online.   The Marine Corps Times (7/16, Maze) reports that VA announced Wednesday that "initial claims for a variety of veterans’ benefits now can be filed online," indicating "a step toward modernizing the much-derided VA claims process that could result in more people filing claims, but could also shorten the processing time because it would require essential information to be included. … VA officials call this process VAONAPPS, an abbreviation of ‘VA online applications.’ Applying electronically for claims is not new to VA, but the new process eliminates the requirement that applicants also send paper claims bearing their signatures, which some veterans’ groups have aid defeats the very purpose of electronic applications."

4.      Veterans Pan VA Independent Living Program Before House Panel.   The Marine Corps Times (7/16, Hernandez) reports that veteran Bruce McCartney, in testimony before the House Veterans’ Affairs economic opportunity subcommittee, said that VA’s Independent Living Program "is failing to adequately address the needs of severely disabled veterans" and "is riddled with problems related to application delays, staffing shortages and limited spots in the program. The ILP, created as part of VA’s Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Services, is designed to provide severely disabled veterans with specialized medical and mental health assistance and training in independent living skills. McCartney, who spent 17½ years on active duty, applied for the ILP in 2003 and was taken on what he called a ‘four year-nightmare.’"

5.      DFAS Moves To Recheck 25,000 Denied Benefits Claims.   The Cleveland Plain Dealer (7/16, Koff, 341K) reports the Defense Finance and Accounting Service has responded to a report from a house Veterans Affairs subcommittee about "flaws in the military benefits system" by agreeing to "double-check requests by more than 25,000 veterans who were turned down for back benefits. … The controversy stems from a decision by Congress in 2003 and 2004 to allow veterans to collect their military disability pay as well as their veterans pensions. Previously, the amount of their disability pay was deducted from their pensions on retirement. The change created thousands of claims for retroactive payments — and to what Kucinich says may have been the improper denial of checks for more than 28,283 veterans, as well as errant payments to many others."

6.      VA Official Touts Small Businesses Supplying Prosthetics Before House Panel.   The Marine Corps Times (7/16, Hernandez) reports, "The Veterans Health Administration is working closely with small businesses that provide prosthetic services to amputee veterans, VHA’s chief prosthetics and clinical logistics officer Frederick Downs told a House subcommittee Wednesday. Bruce Braley, D-Iowa, chairman of the House Small Business contracting and technology subcommittee, said providing amputees with quality health care and prosthetics is essential. About 97 percent of prosthetics services are now provided to veterans by small businesses; the rest are provided by VA labs and facilities. VA has 600 contracts with small prosthetic practices all over the country."

7.      Continuing Coverage Of VA Suicide Prevention Hotline Advertising.   WBNG-TV Binghamton, NY (7/16, 5:37 p.m.) broadcast, "The Veterans Affairs department is pushing its suicide prevention hotline. Last year the VA created the hotline and appointed suicide prevention coordinators to all medical centers. Some lawmakers are praising the idea, saying its better for the VA to reach out to veterans instead of waiting for the veterans to come to them. The VA estimates 18 veterans a day take their own lives. That adds up to 6,500 veteran suicides each year."
      WWMT-TV Grand Rapids, MI (7/16, 5:26 p.m.) ran a similar report, as did WGAL-TV Harrisburg, PA (7/16, 12:11 p.m.) and KXRM-TV Colorado Springs (7/16, 8:38 a.m.)

8.      Texas VAMC Nurse Profiled.   The Kerrville (TX) Daily Times (7/17, Harrison) profiles Missy Rockwood, a nurse at the Kerrville, TX, VAMC, praising her for her compassion and work ethic. The piece includes a CV, information about her family’s military background, and testimonials from her patients and superiors.

9.      Controversy Surrounds Proposed Vermont Homeless Veterans Shelter.   The Seven Days (VT) (7/17, Picard) reports that a nonprofit agency’s plans to build a shelter for homeless veterans near the VAMC in White River Junction, VT, have been "stymied at every turn" for three years by local opposition. In 2006, the group, called Upper Valley Haven, "went through a long and costly process, including preparing plans and architectural drawings, to get a shelter built in downtown Lebanon, N.H. The local zoning board rejected the project on a 3-to-2 vote. Less formal efforts to find comparable locations in the Upper Valley have also fallen through." The piece continues to quote local residents expressing concerns about zoning issues and the potential attraction of "unsavory characters, especially those who are more likely to have substance-abuse problems, mental-health issues and criminal records."

10.    Maine Iraq Veteran Hiking Appalachian Trail To Draw Attention To Homeless Veterans.   The Lewiston (ME) Sun-Journal (7/17) profiles Jarad Greeley, a 26-year-old former US Army sergeant from Jay, ME, who is nearing completion of a Georgia-to-Maine hike along the Appalachian Trail "to focus attention and resources on the nation’s homeless veterans. With help from fundraising co-sponsor Palmer Hebert of Livermore Falls, he has raised $1,410. … According to Greeley’s parents, Steve and Carolyn Greeley of North Jay, the 2001 graduate of Jay High School has lost 30 pounds since starting the more than 2,000-mile hike from Springer Mountain, Ga., on March 8." Greeley, who served a 15-month tour in Iraq, "decided to make the journey to draw attention to the plight of homeless veterans, estimated at 195,000 on any given night, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs," soon after his discharge.

11.    Tennessee Officials Doubt Federal Veterans Home Funding Will Come Soon.   The Clarksville (TN) Leaf Chronicle (7/16, Lowary) reports that Clarksville, TN, officials are indicating that despite "Congress’ allocation last week of an additional $165 million for veterans nursing homes across the country," the planned Montgomery County Veterans Nursing Home is unlikely to receive initial funding until 2009. The project "needs about $12 million in federal funding. Officials last week were optimistic that the funding would stretch as far as Clarksville, but now say it is more conceivable that the funding will make it here in 2009."

12.    Wisconsin Nonprofit Seeking Donations To Fly Veterans To See DC Memorials.   The AP (7/17) reports, "A La Crosse nonprofit hopes to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., to visit war memorials. Freedom Honor Flight President Chuck Hanson says there’s an urgency about the trips because veterans are aging and soon may not be able to make the journey. His group will use private donations to fly veterans to the nation’s capitol."

13.    Police Investigating Anti-American Vandalism At Pennsylvania Veterans Cemetery.   WTAE-TV Pittsburgh (7/16) reports, "State police believe some people are so angry with the current state of the country that they took their frustrations out on a veterans’ cemetery in Westmoreland County. Burned flags, broken holders and anti-American writing now litter the Hillview Cemetery in Hempfield Township. … The cemetery provides gravesites for military families who can’t afford them. … A cryptic note that looks to spell out ‘anarchy’ was scribbled near the cemetery office building with the sharp edge of a broken flag holder."

14.    Troubled West Virginia Nursing Home Passes Inspection.   WCHS-TV Charleston, WV (7/16, 12:04 p.m.) broadcast, "The West Virginia veterans’ nursing home in Clarksburg has finally received a stamp of approval from the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Federal inspectors praised the staff for an exceptional job in policies and procedures, pharmaceutical services, patient activities, patient care and quality of life. It took three tries to pass the state inspection."

15.    Water Main Rupture Briefly Interrupts Treatment At California VA Clinic.   In a "California Briefing" feature, the Los Angeles Times (7/17, Pool, 833K) reports, that a broken water main interrupted medical services at a VA health clinic in Los Angeles, causing doctors to scrub two dozen appointments. "But doctors and nurses were able to use hand sanitizers and bottled water and see 275 other patients as planned."

16.    VA Researcher Publishes Groundbreaking HIV Study.   The New York Times (7/17, Wade, 1.12M) reports on a study published in the journal Cell Host & Microbe which reports that "a genetic variation that once protected people in sub-Saharan Africa from a now extinct form of malaria may have left them somewhat more vulnerable to infection by H.I.V., the virus that causes AIDS. The gene could account for 11 percent of the H.I.V. infections in Africa, explaining why the disease is more common there than expected, researchers based in Texas and London say. The researchers said their finding had no immediate public health consequences. But if confirmed, it would offer an important insight into the biology of the virus." The Times adds that the research was conducted by "Sunil K. Ahuja, director of the Veterans Administration H.I.V./AIDS Center, San Antonio, and Matthew J. Dolan of the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md."

17.    Vet Praises Professionalism Of Local VA Care.   In a letter to the editor of the Naples Daily News (7/16, 67K) Ed Hughes of Bonita Springs, FL, writes, "As a Vietnam veteran, I was somewhat upset and angered by the syndicated column by Martin Schram on July 14 titled ‘Why is VA adversary, rather than advocate, of vets?’" Noting that Schram is a syndicated columnist, Hughes continues to suggest that his local experience in the Fort Myers Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic is much better than that described by Schram. "While I am appalled by the four almost incredible stories he outlined of veterans who didn’t receive the type and level of care they obviously deserved (plus apparently ‘scores’ of others in his book), I take issue with his blanket tarring of the VA, and I would be surprised to hear more than anecdotal evidence of poor treatment locally."

18.    Dear Sgt. Shaft.   In the Washington Times (7/17, 83K) "Sgt. Shaft" column, a former soldier who was injured while off-duty in Germany is assured that his claim for compensation related to his injury is actively being processed by "top apparatchiks at Veterans Affairs."

19.    Bikers Ride For Veterans.   The Bedford (MA) Minuteman (7/16, Klingenberg).

20.    County Delays Decision On Funding VA Officer.   The Pensacola News Journal (7/17).

21.    Lynx Cuts May Hit Disabled, Veterans.   The Orlando Sentinel (7/17, Hamburg, 242K).22.    US Opens New Alaska Acreage To Drilling.   The New York Times (7/17, A19, Barringer, 1.12M) reports, "The Interior Department on Wednesday made 2.6 million acres of potentially oil-rich territory in northern Alaska available for energy exploration." But "it deferred for a decade any decision to open 600,000 acres of land north of Teshekpuk Lake that is the summer home of thousands of migrating caribou and millions of waterfowl. The decision will open up for drilling much of the northeast section of the Northeast National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, holding an estimated 3.7 billion barrels of oil, Tom Lonnie, Alaska state director for the Bureau of Land Management, said in a conference call with reporters."