Top 10 News for Veterans from Around the Country – 07-25-08

1. National Wheelchair Games Begin In Omaha.
2. Former Mayor May Face Prison For "Embellishing" Military Record.  
3. VA To Close Nursing Home Due To Safety Concerns.  
4. Sanchez Says Military Is "Overwhelmed" By Wounded Warriors.  
5. Army Chief Of Staff Calls Army "Out Of Balance."  
6. Technician Claims Local VA Clinic Mistreats Veterans.  
7. O’Malley Names Member To Veterans Health Board.  
8. VA Hospital Fast-Tracks $1.1 Billion Expansion Project.  
9. State VA To Celebrate Military Desegregation.  
10. Local VA Officer Under Investigation For "Improprieties."  

     1.      National Wheelchair Games Begin In Omaha.   CBS 3 (IA) (7/25) reports, "The 28th National Veterans Wheelchair Games begin this week at the Qwest Center, the Henry Doorly Zoo, Northwest High School, Tranquility Ice Plex and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. More than 500 veteran athletes with disabilities will take part in the games." One veteran said, "We fought for freedom and all we want is the freedom to move around and do thing like everyone else does. … I can sit there and be a lump or I can get active and be a veterans advocate and help these kids coming back from war not slip through the cracks like the kids from Vietnam slipped through the cracks."
      WHAM-TV Rochester, NY (7/26) reports, "Veterans from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan will compete in 17 medal events over 5 days at the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Omaha from July 25-29, the largest annual wheelchair sports event in the world. Events range from quad rugby to archery and to track and field."
      KPTM-TV Omaha, NE (7/25) reports, "The 500 athletes may have come together as strangers, but they all share an unbreakable bond." One veteran said, "You’re in your own world. People aren’t looking at you like you have two heads. You know why they’re here."
      The AP (7/25) reports on Dave Nelson, who "will compete with nearly 600 other US military veterans from across the United States, Great Britain and Puerto Rico in 17 events" at the Games. Events include swimming, basketball, track, weightlifting, softball, bowling and hand-cycling. A hand-cycle is a bicycle that riders use their hands to peddle. Veterans who compete in the games have suffered spinal cord injuries and amputations, among other things."
      The Arizona Republic (7/26, Halverstadt) reports on "four local veterans" who "are part of a 31-person team from the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care System that will compete in sports such as power soccer, softball and weightlifting" at the National Wheelchair Games. In addition to the competition itself, one of the veterans "said he is especially eager to see old friends and make new ones."
      The Gillette News-Record (7/26, Brown) reports on Chris Santistevan, "the only Wyoming athlete entered" in the Games. "He will participate as a member of the Colorado team," notes the News-Record. Of the Games, Santistevan said, "it just changes your life. You can go out and do the things you want. … There’s a lot of camaraderie and real inspiration, too, about what you can do."
      The Casper Star Tribune (7/26, Wiest) also reports on Santistevan, who says, "It’s nice to be competitive. Everybody’s competitive, I think, at heart. This just levels the playing field to compete against guys with the same problems. … There’s always somebody worse off than you. But everybody is determined. Nobody quits."2.      Former Mayor May Face Prison For "Embellishing" Military Record.   The Washington Post (7/26, Mulvihill) reports that Robert Levy, the former mayor of Atlantic City, "admitted to a federal judge last year that he embellished his military record to get nearly an additional $25,000 in disability benefits from the government. He likely faces up to six months in prison under a plea deal but is hoping to receive probation." One veterans advocate "said some of Levy’s claims should have raised suspicions for VA workers who processed his benefits claims." But Jim O’Neill, an assistant inspector general who examines fraud at the VA, said the claims were "feasible," and argued that "a benefits processor might not recognize" suspicious aspects to his claims. 

3.      VA To Close Nursing Home Due To Safety Concerns.   The Tri-City Herald (WA) (7/26, Chapman) reports that the VA will close the long-term care facility at the Walla Walla VA Medical Center "after reviews by the VA and an independent consultant found concerns with the nursing home’s safety and quality of service." DeAnn Dietrich, acting director of the Walla Walla VA, said, "We have an obligation to ensure that veterans get as good or better care than you can find in the community. And if we can’t provide that here right now, then we will make sure that they get it in the community." The VA will place current patients in "retirement centers in communities where they have family," and will "pay the costs for their care indefinitely."

4.      Sanchez Says Military Is "Overwhelmed" By Wounded Warriors.   In an interview with the National Journal (7/26, Haddad), Gen. Ricardo Sanchez says, "I think [the Army] as an institution have always had significant challenges with taking care of soldiers that either had some sort of physical problem to continue to serve and now we’ve been essentially overwhelmed with the wounded warriors that are coming out of this war. And when you put all of that together, that is a very significant challenge for the institution and our medical community. … And this is a national problem, because you have to take what’s happening to us inside of the active army and combine it also with what’s happening with the Veterans Administration, and it is a significant national challenge."

5.      Army Chief Of Staff Calls Army "Out Of Balance."   The Killeen Daily Herald (7/26, Stairrett) reports, "Gen. George Casey said he worked hard to come up with a way to describe the Army’s current state. The Army is by no means broke, it’s ‘out of balance right now,’ the Army chief of staff said on Thursday at 1st Cavalry Division headquarters. … Casey said the Army is out of balance because it is so weighed down by the demands of fighting, and that is taking away from the ability to take care of soldiers and families for the long haul."

6.      Technician Claims Local VA Clinic Mistreats Veterans.   WECT-TV Wilmington, NC (7/25, O’Hara) reports, "A medical technician is claiming that Wilmington’s Veteran’s Clinic is short changing the men and women who’ve fought for our freedom. Lab technician, Lisa Lynch, said the abuse and neglect we’ve heard about at veterans hospitals all over the country is happening in Wilmington. She claims veterans aren’t getting the respect or treatment they deserve," and says "many elderly veterans wait hours, begging for medical treatment."

7.      O’Malley Names Member To Veterans Health Board.   The Independent (7/26, Sedam) reports, "Gov. Martin O’Malley on Monday named veterans, family members, health providers and local health agencies to a board charged with improving access to behavioral health services for veterans and their families," called the Maryland Veterans Behavioral Health Advisory Board. "The board is required to submit an interim report to the General Assembly by December 2009 and a final report by December 2010."

8.      VA Hospital Fast-Tracks $1.1 Billion Expansion Project.   The San Mateo County Times (7/26, Peterson) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System has fast-tracked a massive reconstruction project at its Palo Alto and Menlo Park campuses. The system plans to construct the nation’s largest veterans rehabilitation hospital, as well as new bone and joint, blind rehabilitation and psychiatric centers all as part of an estimated $1.1 billion overhaul. The Menlo Park campus will house a new nursing home for patients with dementia as well as numerous research and engineering buildings." An official at the facility said, "aside from an environmental assessment, safety studies, and peer design and technical reviews, the approval process contains few hurdles."

9.      State VA To Celebrate Military Desegregation.   The Statesman Journal (7/26, Perez) reports, "The 60th anniversary of the desegregation of the US military will be celebrated Saturday in Salem. The Oregon Military Department and the Veterans Affairs department will honor minority military veterans during a ceremony at the Anderson Readiness Center in Salem. The keynote speaker will be US Air Force Deputy Inspector General, Brig. Gen. Garry Dean, the Oregon National Guard’s first African-American general officer."

10.    Local VA Officer Under Investigation For "Improprieties."   CBS 7 Asheville, NC (7/25, Rothenbach) reports, "The State Law Enforcement Division has confirmed there is an ongoing investigation on Sammy Willard after complaints about his improprieties in his duties at the Veterans Affairs Office." Willard is currently "out indefinitely on unpaid family medical leave, which he requested. However, the Veterans Affairs Office is open and still operating as usual."

11.    Housing Rescue Bill Includes Provisions For Veterans.   Naval Affairs (7/26) reports, "The House approved ‘The American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act’ (H.R. 3221) this week and the Senate is scheduled to debate the measure tomorrow (Saturday, 26 July). The President dropped objections to the bill and is expected to sign it in order to reassure the housing markets. Included in the comprehensive bill are provisions directly related to military retirees, veterans, and active duty personnel."

12.    MTV To Air Special On Young Veterans.   The Charlotte Observer (7/26, Washburn) reports that Shameeka Gray, a veteran "with two tours of the war zone since 2003," is "one of three vets" set to appear on an upcoming MTV special. According to the Observer, "MTV estimates that nearly 70 percent of people in the 18-29 age range know someone who has fought in Iraq," and "producers want young people to understand the sacrifice of their peers and assist them in returning to civilian life."

13.    Vietnam Veterans Say PTSD Recovery Is Possible.   The Grand Junction Free Press (7/26, Vader) reports that Vietnam veterans Doug Schwinn and Jake Faverman "spoke to a handful of people attending a presentation on PTSD at the Grand Junction Veterans Administration Hospital," telling them that "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder never goes away, but with treatment and work, veterans can learn how to live with it."