Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 11-05-08

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Today’s Local News for Veterans

What’s Inside

1. VA Co-Sponsoring Stand Down Event In North Carolina.  
2. DeBakey VAMC Helps Organize Stand Down Event In Texas.  
3. Dayton VAMC To Host Veterans Day Program.  
4. National Cemetery Dedicated In South Carolina.  
5. Land For Bakersfield Cemetery To Be Turned Over To VA On Friday.  
6. Ralph H. Johnson VAMC To Sponsor Parade.  
7. Groundbreaking To Be Held For Missouri Veterans Cemetery.  
8. Clinical Trials Underway For Post-Traumatic Stress Drug.  
9. Quilts Presented To Veterans During Ceremony At Grand Island VAMC.  
10. VA, State Report Data Breaches.  

     

1.      VA Co-Sponsoring Stand Down Event In North Carolina.   The Fayetteville (NC) Observer (11/4) reported, "The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina" and the US Department of Veterans Affairs "will sponsor a ‘Stand Down’ on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the gym in the Indian Education Resource Center at 818 W. 3rd St." The event will offer "health screenings and information about employment, housing and VA benefits counseling services."

2.      DeBakey VAMC Helps Organize Stand Down Event In Texas.   The Houston Chronicle (11/5) reports homeless veterans in the Houston area "can receive free health and social services, including legal advice, during this week’s ‘Stand Down for Homeless Veterans.’" According to the Chronicle, the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center is one of the "agencies behind the two-day event, which begins Wednesday

3.      Dayton VAMC To Host Veterans Day Program.   The Wilmington (OH) News Journal (11/5) reports the Dayton Veterans Affairs Medical Center "will host its annual Veterans Day Program at 11 a.m. Tuesday at 4100 W. Third St., Dayton, in the Building 305 theater."

4.      National Cemetery Dedicated In South Carolina.   In continuing coverage, the AP (11/5) reports, "The nation’s newest national veterans cemetery was dedicated" in South Carolina "last week at Fort Jackson – the first of six national veterans cemeteries approved under legislation signed by President Bush in 2003." The "need for the new cemetery has come as the pace of deaths among aging veterans increases."

5.      Land For Bakersfield Cemetery To Be Turned Over To VA On Friday.   The Bakersfield Californian (11/4) reported, "A ceremony symbolically transferring 500 acres of land from the Tejon Ranch" to the US Department of Veterans Affairs "will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the future site of the Bakersfield National Cemetery. It’s been a long time coming, said Cemetery Director Wesley Jones, but Kern County’s first national veterans cemetery will soon be a reality." Construction "is scheduled to begin later this year with burials beginning in spring 2009, Jones said. A public groundbreaking and dedication ceremony also is scheduled for Dec. 7."

6.      Conference To Screen Film About Female Iraq Veterans.   The Gallup (NM) Independent (11/5, Francis) reports, "The highlight of the University of New Mexico-Gallup’s 2nd annual Women Veterans Conference on Thursday is a screening of the film ‘The Lioness’ at around 1:45 p.m. at Calvin Hall auditorium." The movie "tells the story of a group of Army women – mechanics, supply clerks and engineers – who ended up fighting alongside the Marines in counterinsurgency battles during the Iraq war." Besides the "screening, the women veterans conference will offer presentations and information booths from such resources as the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, Navajo Nation Department of Veterans Affairs, Gallup VA Outpatient Clinic and the New Mexico Small Business Development Center."
7.      Groundbreaking To Be Held For Missouri Veterans Cemetery.   The Springfield (MO) News-Leader (11/5) reports, "The official groundbreaking for Missouri’s fifth state veterans cemetery," to be "financed through a $7.5 million grant" from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, will "be held Friday at Fort Leonard Wood."

8.      Clinical Trials Underway For Post-Traumatic Stress Drug.   The AP (11/4) reported, "Clinical trials have begun" on nepicastat, a new, US-backed "drug to treat the debilitating feeling of heightened vigilance experienced by veterans with post-traumatic stress, Swiss-based pharmaceutical company Synosia said Monday. The study is funded with $1.4 million" from the US Defense Department "and will focus on veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Synosia said."

9.      Quilts Presented To Veterans During Ceremony At Grand Island VAMC.   The Grand Island (NE) Independent (11/4, Munger) reported, "Two Nebraska quilting guilds sought to ease some of the challenges" Shad Rehnberg and other troubled Iraq veterans "encounter by presenting him with a Quilt of Valor on Monday afternoon. Rehnberg and three other veterans received" their quilts "in a ceremony at the Grand Island Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Quilts of Valor is a national organization started by a Delaware woman who wanted to combine her interest in quilting with supporting the troops overseas, when her own son joined the military’s ranks."

10.    VA, State Report Data Breaches.   ComputerWorld (11/4, Vijayan) reported the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the US Department of State, two "federal agencies that have already drawn attention this year for data security breaches," are "back in the spotlight again — for the same reason." Last Saturday, the VA "said that one of its medical centers in Oregon had accidentally posted personal data on about 1,600 patients on its public" website. The State Department, meanwhile, "last week disclosed that it had notified close to 400 individuals that the data they had submitted with their passport applications had been stolen in a database intrusion." ComputerWorld added, "For the VA," last Saturday’s "incident is only the latest in a string of embarrassing data breaches starting with its loss — and subsequent recovery — of a laptop and storage disks containing personal data on more than 26 million veterans in May 2006."

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