Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 08-27-08

1. Montana Facility Expands Teleconferencing Program.
2. Jacksonville National Cemetery To Be Dedicated Next Month.  
3. VA Discusses Pennsylvania Cemetery With Review Committee.  
4. Cracks On Tomb Of The Unknowns Spark Debate.  
5. New Clinic About To Open In Virginia.  
6. VA To Offer Urgent Care In New Orleans.  
7. Questions Raised About Veterans Center Investigation.  
8. Texas Resident Wins Medal In Her First Golden Age Games.  
9. Dedication Ceremony Held For Kentucky Veterans Cemetery.  
10. IPF Not On Agent Orange Disabilities List.

1.      Montana Facility Expands Teleconferencing Program.   The Ravalli (MT) Republic (8/28, Gallob) reports the Valley Veterans Service Center in Hamilton, Montana, "which assists veterans with benefits and related issues," has "expanded its nationally recognized teleconferencing program to four half-days per week. The center’s program enables veterans to file claims and resolve issues" with the Department of Veterans Affairs "in a fraction of the time it formerly took to do so." This March, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake "announced that Valley Veterans’ ‘first-of-its-kind, remote benefits delivery program’ had been designated a national pilot program." The center’s director, Ron Skinner, "said the VA is now looking at installing a similar program in Winnemucca, Nev."

2.      Jacksonville National Cemetery To Be Dedicated Next Month.   Florida’s First Coast News (8/28, Jimenez) reports, "The Jacksonville National Cemetery is almost a reality." During a Wednesday press conference in Jacksonville, US Rep. Ander Crenshaw (R-FL) told local veterans authorities that the cemetery will be dedicated as scheduled on September 21. Crenshaw "was joined by National Cemetery Director Arleen Vincenty, as well as Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs William Tuerk," who said the VA considers its cemeteries to be "national shrines." First Coast adds that the "first burials" in the cemetery "are expected to begin" in January of next year. The Florida Times-Union (8/28, Gibbons) publishes a similar story.

3.      VA Discusses Pennsylvania Cemetery With Review Committee.   The Bucks County (PA) Courier Times (8/28, Menno) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs met with a group of residents Tuesday to begin discussing concerns over the cultural and historical resources that could be negatively affected by the construction of the Washington Crossing National Cemetery in Upper Makefield." The residents are on a committee "formed as part of the Section 106 review process required by the federal government for any project involving federal funds and historical property."

4.      Cracks On Tomb Of The Unknowns Spark Debate.   On its website, CNN (8/27, Mount) reported, "The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery is at the center of combat between preservationists and cemetery officials." The "sarcophagus marking the location of unknown" US service members, which opened to the public in 1932, "is showing…scars, with cracks encircling it." As the "cracks worsen, cemetery officials say, the threat of a degraded monument will detract from the dignity and respect afforded to those buried" at the tomb. They "would like an exact replica made with similar marble," but historical preservationists "say…the cracks should simply be fixed as needed." CNN adds that cemetery officials will "pursue replacing the monument…if requirements to the National Historic Preservation Act can be met."

5.      New Clinic About To Open In Virginia.   On its website, WSET-TV Lynchburg, VA (8/27) reported a new Veterans Affairs "outpatient clinic is opening in less than a week…in Lynchburg," and "local vets…say it’s great news." The clinic "hopes to be fully staffed by December. Meanwhile, the Veterans Health Administration wants to open two more outpatient clinics in Staunton and Wytheville."

6.      VA To Offer Urgent Care In New Orleans.   New Orleans CityBusiness (8/27) reported, "The Department Of Veterans Affairs said the Southeast Louisiana Veterans Health Care System" would open an Urgent Care Center in New Orleans on Tuesday. SLVHCS Director Julie Catellier said, "Until now, our veterans were referred to emergency rooms for…urgent" conditions that were not life-threatening, so the center will provide more service than "we have…been able to offer since the hurricane."

7.      Questions Raised About Veterans Center Investigation.   On its website, KWTV-TV Oklahoma City (8/27, Chen) reported, "In June 2008, officials launched an investigation into complaints surrounding" the Norman Veterans Center. But with "the investigation over, some people now question if the investigation was complete and fair." Oklahoma State Rep. Al Lindley "said the investigation’s focus was wrong. ‘I thought the investigation was going to center on the performance of the administration, not the staff,’ Lindley said." Lindley "said he’s considering taking his concerns about the investigation to the Governor’s office," but a representative from the Office of Veterans Affairs "said they believe the report was fair."

8.      Texas Resident Wins Medal In Her First Golden Age Games.   The Corsicana (TX) Daily Sun (8/27, Jacobs) reported 57-year-old Texas resident Amy Hammons won a "bronze medal in croquet" at last week’s Golden Age Games in Indianapolis, Indiana. This was Hammons’ "first time to go to the games, at which there were more than 650 veterans competing." The "event is sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Canteen Service and Help Hospitalized Veterans."

9.      Dedication Ceremony Held For Kentucky Veterans Cemetery.   The Grant County (KY) News (8/28, Gable) reports that at last Friday’s Kentucky Veterans Cemetery North Dedication Ceremony, William F. Tuerk, Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs at the US Department of Veterans Affairs, "said the cemetery was the product of an ‘extraordinary partnership’ between" the VA and the state of Kentucky. The News adds that the state cemetery, which cost $8.2 million, "is being paid for by" the US VA. In a related column, the Grant County (KY) News’ (8/28) Paul Gable writes, "Grant County has done a fine thing by obtaining the…cemetery and it truly is a jewel to be seen." 

10.    IPF Not On Agent Orange Disabilities List.   In answer to a reader’s question, the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (8/28, Fales), notes that a condition known as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), which scars the lungs, is not on the list of disabilities for Agent Orange "because neither" the Department of Veterans Affairs "nor the National Academy of Sciences" has established that IPF "is ‘positively associated,’ even weakly, with exposure to environmental toxins."