Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 09-04-08

1. Peake To Speak At Wounded Warriors Forum.
2. VA Clinics In Louisiana To Reopen.  
3. Facility For Women Veterans Opens At Dayton VAMC.  
4. Son Of WWII Vet Upset With VA Over Benefits Delay.  
5. Man Enters Guilty Plea In Veterans Service Fraud Case.  
6. College Student Raises Money For Veterans.  
7. Veterans Can Find Much To Do This Weekend In Marion, Illinois  
8. State, County Officials In New York Team Up For Veterans.  
9. Wyoming Gets A New Veterans Advocate.  
10. Panel To Discuss Future Of Georgia War Veterans Home.

1.      Peake To Speak At Wounded Warriors Forum.   In a letter to the syndicated "Sgt. Shaft" column, appearing in the Washington Times (9/4, Fales), Norb Ryan Jr., president of the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), says his organization "and the United States Naval Institute (USNI) are partnering to sponsor a major defense forum about wounded warriors and their families on Sept. 17 at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill." The "forum, ‘Measuring Success: Keeping Faith with Wounded Warriors and Their Families,’ will feature panel members and key guest speakers such as…Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake."

2.      VA Clinics In Louisiana To Reopen.   The Alexandria (LA) Town Talk (9/4) reports that the Alexandria Veterans Affairs Medical Center "and its VA clinics in Jennings, LA and Lafayette, LA will reopen on Thursday, September 4th and resume normal operations." Meanwhile, veterans "whose appointments for Tuesday, September 2nd and Wednesday, September 3rd were cancelled" because of Hurricane Gustav-related closures "will be contacted by their clinics to re-schedule."
      Tuscaloosa VAMC Offering Assistance To Hurricane Evacuees.   In an information box accompanying a story on Hurricane Gustav evacuees, the Tuscaloosa (AL) News (9/4, Taylor) notes, "The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center is offering assistance to veterans and their families who have been displaced by Hurricane Gustav." The hospital can help with "medication refills, medical evaluation and treatment, counseling services or housing assistance."
      As Precaution Against Storm, Veterans Moved From One VA Hospital To Another.   WFXG-TV Augusta, GA (9/3, 10:03 p.m. ET) broadcast that a "half-dozen veterans from" the Veterans Affairs hospital "in Charleston were brought to the VA hospital in Augusta today. The people here said they evacuated those veterans just as a precaution in case" Tropical Storm Hanna "hits the Charleston area." WJBF-TV Augusta, GA (9/3, 5:27 p.m. ET) aired a similar report.
      Hefner VAMC Ready To Serve As Shelter.   The Salisbury (NC) Post (9/4, Burchette) reports, "Representatives of nearly 50 governmental agencies, organizations and companies who are on the front line of dealing with hurricanes met Wednesday morning to make sure they are ready" for Hanna. The Post adds that according to "a summary of the meeting," the Hefner VA Medical Center "will be ready to serve as a shelter. If the storm hits eastern NC, patients from other VA facilities will likely come to Salisbury."

3.      Facility For Women Veterans Opens At Dayton VAMC.   WDTN-TV Dayton, OH (9/3, 5:49 p.m. ET) broadcast, "A little bit of history was made in Dayton today." The Department of Veterans Affairs "opened its first facility to care for the women who serve our country." The "new Ohio Avenue Commons," located in a renovated building on the Dayton VA Medical Center campus, "will serve our female veterans in need of housing" by providing them with "apartment-style living, medical services, cafeterias, day care, job training, and counseling. The building renovation was funded by tax credits" and Department of Housing and Urban Development funds.

4.      Son Of WWII Vet Upset With VA Over Benefits Delay.   On its website, KING-TV Seattle, WA (9/3, Jones) reported Patrick Donovan, "says the Veterans Administration is withholding the benefits his father," World War II veteran William Donovan, needs to stay in an adult care facility. Patrick "and his mother signed his father up for benefits last year because they were running out of money. In June, the VA said it would give William Donovan $1,800 a month," but "the hoops the family had to jump through kept the money away." Desperate "for help, Patrick called us," and within "two weeks, Patrick says, case workers came to his home. They’ve worked out their financial issues and his father is waiting for a bed at a facility in Port Orchard," but Patrick "says he is still skeptical about the VA coming through for his father."

5.      Man Enters Guilty Plea In Veterans Service Fraud Case.   In continuing coverage, the Macon (GA) Telegraph (9/4) reports Atlanta resident Darrick Frazier, the "ex-boyfriend of a former Veterans Affairs social worker," has "admitted a role in defrauding the government through her work finding housing and care for mentally ill and disabled veterans. Authorities say…Frazier" pleaded guilty to mail fraud and could face up to five years in prison. A trial date "has not been set for his ex-girlfriend."

6.      College Student Raises Money For Veterans.   The Avon (PA) Grove Sun (9/4) reports Temple University student Brianne Murphy "raised over $5,000 for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans" by holding "a ‘dance-a-thon’ benefit May 31 at the United Sports Training Center during which 150 people participated." Murphy donated the money "to the Coatesville Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Caln. Specifically, she wanted the money to be put toward veterans involved in the Global War on Terror."

7.    Veterans Can Find Much To Do This Weekend In Marion, Illinois.   The Southern Illinoisan (9/4, Homan) reports, "There are activities aplenty for veterans and their families this week" in Marion, Illinois. For "starters, there is the Moving Wall, a 370-foot-long Vietnam veterans memorial on display today through Sunday in the front parking lot of the Illinois Centre mall." A second option, meanwhile, can be found when the "Veterans on Parade kicks off at 11 a.m. Saturday." The Illinoisan notes that Ed Davis, the parade chairman, said that for the first time, nurses from the Department of Veteran Affairs are entering a float in this year’s parade.

8.      State, County Officials In New York Team Up For Veterans.   Newsday (9/4, Evans) reports, "Saying closer cooperation between them can help speed needed services to New York’s more than 1 million veterans," New York State and Nassau County Veterans Affairs officials "have launched a partnership designed to share information on programs and other aid." James McDonough Jr., director of he New York State Division of Veterans Affairs, "said because there is no mandatory, uniform training for county veterans affairs coordinators, the level of familiarity with programs and procedures that could benefit veterans often varies widely from region to region within New York State." 

9.      Wyoming Gets A New Veterans Advocate.   The Billings (MT) Gazette (9/3) reported, "Robert Bragg is the newest Wyoming veterans advocate in the northern half of Wyoming," replacing "Leon Chamberlin, who along with Dave Hall was contracted by the state to help soldiers and airmen and their Navy and Marine Corps counterparts, on a one-on-one basis." Chamberlin now "will assist Wyoming National Guard units preparing to deploy." The Gazette says Wyoming’s advocates "provide a bridge for veterans and their families to assistance. That includes counseling through the Veterans Affairs, local mental health services and clergy."

10.    Panel To Discuss Future Of Georgia War Veterans Home.   Georgia’s Coastal Courier (9/4) reports a Georgia Senate and House legislative panel "will meet…on Friday to discuss the possible closure of the Georgia War Veterans Home due to" budget cuts. The panel will hear from different…representatives," including Georgia Veterans Affairs Commissioner Pete Wheeler.