Top 10 Veterans News from Around the Country 4-23-09

What’s Inside Today’s Local News for Veterans

1. Senate Confirms Duckworth For VA Post. 
2. VA Officials Barred From Testifying Before Subcommittee.  
3. New House Planned For Disabled Iraq Vet.  
4. VA To Break Ground On Regional Office In Nebraska.  
5. Lawsuit Over Vet’s Death Settled For $390,000.  
6. Meeting Will Discuss Possibility Of New Veterans Hospital In New Jersey.  
7. Vet Returns To College After Taking Part In Winter Sports Clinic.   
8. VA Hospital Honors Volunteers.  
9. VA Grant To Fund Partnership Between Hospital, College.  
10. Pittsburgh To Host National Veterans Wheelchair In 2011.

1.      Senate Confirms Duckworth For VA Post.   In continuing coverage, the AP (4/23) reports the US Senate "on Wednesday confirmed former Iraq war helicopter pilot Tammy Duckworth’s nomination as an assistant secretary" at the US Department of Veterans Affairs. Duckworth "will direct the Office of Public Affairs and Intergovernmental Communications. Among other things, the Illinois National Guard major will oversee" the VA’s "public affairs operations, as well as programs for homeless veterans." The AP adds, "North Carolina Sen. Richard Burr, the top Republican on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, delayed Duckworth’s nomination earlier this month, saying he wanted more due diligence."
      The Chicago (IL) Tribune (4/23, Dorning) reports, "Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) lauded" Duckworth, a disabled Iraq veteran who recently served as director of the Illinois VA, "in a statement issued shortly after her Senate confirmation. ‘President Obama and America’s veterans now have Tammy Duckworth as their advocate and champion,’ Durbin said" in a written statement. He added, "I know Tammy will bring the same level of commitment to the VA that she has shown in fighting for her country and representing Illinois veterans.’"
      The WFLD-TV Chicago, IL (4/22) website said Duckworth’s confirmation was announced by Durbin’s office, while a separate Chicago (IL) Tribune (3/23) story on the confirmation points out that Duckworth "is among three Asian-Americans who will be honored as ‘milestone makers’ next week by the Chicago-based Asian American Institute."
      The Honolulu (HI) Star-Bulletin (4/22, Kakesako) notes that following Duckworth’s unanimous confirmation, US Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "said, ‘More than three months after taking office,’" VA Secretary Eric Shinseki "now has his first confirmed assistant secretary. As VA’s new public face and intergovernmental liaison, Tammy can begin the long and hard work of improving the department’s reputation and relations across the country." The Honolulu (HI) Advertiser (4/23), the Southern Illinoisan (4/23), and the KGMB-TV Honolulu, HI (4/22) website took similar note of Akaka’s comments.

2.      VA Officials Barred From Testifying Before Subcommittee.   The Navy Times (4/23, Maze) reports, "Department of Veterans Affairs officials were barred Wednesday from providing testimony before a Senate subcommittee because they didn’t deliver their prepared statements far enough ahead of time." But that "may have stopped some fireworks," because "the testimony included strong objections to legislation pending before" the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, "including a bipartisan bill to increase benefits to family members who become significant caregivers to disabled veterans." VA officials "also wanted to express concerns about a bill that would make Iraq and Afghanistan veterans eligible for readjustment counseling," and "sought to oppose a rural health care proposal for veterans because it would have the

government pay for air transportation when that is the best way to get to a veterans hospital." The Times notes that US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) "said his committee plans to pass a package of veterans health care legislation, including the caregiver benefits, rural health care expansion and increased access to readjustment counseling, in late May. Aides said they expect efforts will be made to address VA’s concerns, but they hope the embarrassment to VA’s witnesses will encourage future witnesses to deliver their statements on time."

3.      New House Planned For Disabled Iraq Vet.   The Champaign (IL) News-Gazette (4/23, Wood) reports 22-year-old disabled Iraq veteran Cameron Crouch "was in town Tuesday to look at some land in Mahomet, meet with family from Oakland and speak to volunteers who will help build him and his fiancée a wheelchair-accessible new house." The project is "being overseen by Homes for Our Troops, a national nonprofit organization based in Taunton, Mass., and founded by John Gonsalves in 2004." The News-Gazette notes that Crouch, "a graduate of Oakland High School," was "severely injured in a non-combat accident in Baghdad" in 2007.

4.      VA To Break Ground On Regional Office In Nebraska.   The Lincoln (NE) Journal Star (4/23, Duggan) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs will break ground Thursday on a $14 million regional office in Lincoln," which "will be built southwest of South 40th Street and Old Cheney Road, according to a mayor’s news release." In a later version of this story, the Journal Star (4/23) reports Loren Miller, "director of the VA Regional Office," said the new office is a "really a good thing for Lincoln," because there "will be an expansion of permanent jobs and construction of the building will help the local economy."

5.      Lawsuit Over Vet’s Death Settled For $390,000.   The Augusta (GA) Chronicle (4/23, Hodson) reports the Federal government "has decided to settle a lawsuit filed by the widow of a veteran who hanged himself about 12 hours after being admitted to a mental health ward. The $390,000 settlement paid to Ingrid Keller ends all possible claims against the government in connection with the Oct. 29, 2006, death of Maynard E. Keller Jr. " The settlement, reached Tuesday, "specifically states there is no admission of liability." The Chronicle notes that the lawsuit, which was "filed last year" in US District Court, "alleged the Uptown Division" of the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center "was negligent in ensuring a safe environment."

6.      Meeting Will Discuss Possibility Of New Veterans Hospital In New Jersey.   The Hammonton (NJ) News (4/23, Meritt) reports, "Elected officials and health care representatives plan to meet next month to talk about whether the William B. Kessler Memorial Hospital facility could be converted into a veterans hospital. Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-1," who says Veterans living in Hammonton, New Jersey, have to travel too far to reach Veterans Affairs facilities, "is touting the possibility as a way to meet the growing health care needs of aging veterans while restoring the jobs lost when Kessler ceased its acute-care operations on March 12."
      Mayoral Candidate Says He Supports Hospital Proposal.   In a related letter to the editor of the Hammonton (NJ) News (4/23), Joseph Ingemi, a "Democratic nominee for mayor" of Hammonton writes, "I will share the thoughts of myself and my running

mates, freeholder candidate Sam Mento and Town Council candidates Mike Ammirato, Jim Scarpato and Carmen Villani, for moving forward." Drew, "Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Millam, all D-1, have written to our" US senators "requesting Kessler Hospital be converted into a fully operational VA hospital. Assuming the satellite emergency room could be maintained, my running mates and I fully endorse this proposal."

7.      Vet Returns To College After Taking Part In Winter Sports Clinic.   The Dunn County (WI) News (4/23, Kruger) reports veteran Kyle Kienitz, "a native of Appleton and currently a junior at University of Wisconsin-Stout, recently returned from Snowmass Village, Colo., after spending several days participating in the 23rd National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic." According to the News, the clinic "promotes rehabilitation for veterans with significant physical or visual impairments by teaching downhill and cross country skiing, along with rock climbing, scuba diving and sled hockey."

8.      VA Hospital Honors Volunteers.   On its website, WBOY-TV Clarksburg, WV (4/22, Sullivan) noted that on "Wednesday at the Village Square in Clarksburg," a local Veterans Affairs hospital "honored 400 volunteers who worked 64,000 hours" at the hospital, "the Grafton National Cemetery, and the Vet Center in Morgantown. ‘Today we just want to tell them how important they really are,’ said Stan Frum with the VA Hospital. ‘They’re a very significant part of the VA Healthcare System.’"

9.      VA Grant To Fund Partnership Between Hospital, College.   In continuing coverage, the second story in North Carolina’s Smoky Mountain News (4/23) says that thanks "to nearly $1.5 million" in Federal funding from the US Department of Veterans Affairs, Western Carolina University (WCU), "and the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville are establishing a new partnership to provide more nurses to serve the region and its veterans. The three-year grant will increase the number of students in WCU’s Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing entry option by 20 during each year of the grant. At least 50 percent of the graduates of the program are expected to be offered employment opportunities within the Veterans Health Administration, which includes" the Asheville VAMC.

10.    Pittsburgh To Host National Veterans Wheelchair In 2011.   The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (4/23, Bowling) reports, "The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Paralyzed Veterans of America have picked Pittsburgh as the site of the 2011 National Veterans Wheelchair Games." The "VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System and the Keystone Paralyzed Veterans of America are co-hosting the event and are seeking corporate, civic and veteran service organizations interested in helping finance the event. They also are looking for more than 2,000 volunteers to help run the games."