19 deaths at VA traced to substandard care
Two federal reports find fault with 6 doctors at Ill. hospital
AP
updated 8:51 a.m. MT, Tues., Jan. 29, 2008
ST. LOUIS - Substandard care at a southern Illinois Veterans Affairs hospital may have contributed to 19 deaths over the past two years, a VA official said Monday as he apologized to affected families and pledged reform.
The hospital in Marion, Ill., initially drew scrutiny over deaths connected to a single surgeon, but two federal reports found fault with five other doctors.
The hospital undertook many surgeries that its staffing or lack of proper surgical expertise made it ill-equipped to handle, and hospital administrators were too slow to respond once problems surfaced, said Dr. Michael Kussman, U.S. veterans affairs undersecretary for health.
"I can't tell you how angry we all are and how frustrated we all are. Nothing angers me more than when we don't do the right thing," Kussman told reporters during a conference call after releasing findings of the VA's investigation and summarizing a separate inspector general's probe.
Still, Kussman insisted, "what happened in Marion is an exception to what otherwise is a truly quality health-care system" across the VA.
The VA will help affected families file administrative claims under the VA's disability compensation program, he said. Families also could sue.
The VA investigation found that at least nine deaths between October 2006 and March last year were "directly attributable" to substandard care at the Marion hospital, which serves veterans from southern Illinois, southwestern Indiana and western Kentucky.
Kussman declined to identify those cases by patient or doctor, though Rep. Jerry Costello, an Illinois Democrat, said those nine deaths were linked to two surgeons he did not name.
Of an additional 34 cases the VA investigated, 10 patients who died received questionable care that complicated their health, Kussman said. Investigators could not determine whether the care actually caused the deaths.
Inpatient surgeries have not been performed at the facility since problems first became public last August. They will remain suspended indefinitely, Kussman said.
In pledging reforms, Kussman said the VA has launched an administrative investigatory board to review care problems and matters raised by employee groups.
The VA last September also installed interim administrators to replace the Marion VA's director, chief of staff, chief of surgery and an anesthesiologist, moving them to other positions or placing them on leave, Kussman said. The anesthesiologist has since quit, Kussman said.
"The previous leadership will not return" to their former jobs, he said.
The VA's investigation cited by Kussman covered a two-year span, the VA said.
The inspector general's office blamed three deaths on substandard care at the Marion site, but that review covered only the past fiscal year, which ended in October, the VA said. That report was not immediately available Monday.
Telephone calls on Monday seeking comment from the Marion VA were directed to spokespeople with the agency's Washington headquarters.
Neither Kussman nor the VA investigation's 41 pages of findings named surgeons involved in the deaths, though Kussman acknowledged that much of the criticism has focused on Dr. Jose Veizaga-Mendez.
Veizaga-Mendez — identified in Monday's report as "Surgeon A" — resigned from the hospital Aug. 13, three days after a patient from Kentucky bled to death after gallbladder surgery. All inpatient surgeries stopped a short time later.
Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, has said Veizaga-Mendez is linked to 10 patients' deaths at the Marion facility, about 120 miles southeast of St. Louis. Kussman declined to discuss that claim Monday, saying he didn't want to influence additional internal investigations of six of the site's surgeons he said had "at least one episode of substandard care."
Veizaga-Mendez and another surgeon no longer practice at the Marion VA. The remaining four surgeons remain on staff but are "only doing minor cases at this time," Kussman said.
"We don't think the physicians killed the patients," he said. "We think the physicians were trying to care for the patients and did so in an inadequate way."
Costello and fellow Rep. John Shimkus, a Republican from Collinsville, Ill., called Monday's findings "shocking." Durbin said the reports "confirm what many of us in Illinois feared" — that the Marion VA's medical care was substandard and that protocol for protecting patients was ignored.
"As the inspectors who reviewed the Marion hospital put it, the quality of care at Marion was 'horrible,'" Durbin said.
Veizaga-Mendez's whereabouts are unclear. He has no listed telephone number and has been unreachable for comment.
The Marion VA hired Veizaga-Mendez in January 2006 after he practiced in Massachusetts, where he was under investigation for substandard care in 2004 and 2005. The claims include allegations that he botched seven cases, two ending in deaths.
Veizaga-Mendez was permanently barred from practicing medicine in Massachusetts last November — a disciplinary move that also requires him to resign other state medical licenses he may hold and withdraw pending license applications. He has also made payouts in two Massachusetts malpractice lawsuits.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Miss Utah not your Stereotypical Pageant Contestant
Miss Utah not your stereotypical pageant contestant
January 24th, 2008 @ 10:10pm
Bruce Lindsay reporting
Utah's contestant in The Miss America pageant this year is shattering pageant stereotypes. Jill Stevens is a sergeant in the National Guard who served as a medic in Afghanistan. In advance of next week's pageant, we spoke with "G.I. Jill."
In combat boots or in high heels, Jill Stevens hasn't been one to pass up a challenge. "It's been a lot of walking in high heels, and my feet, I feel like they are bruised (laughs). It's a whole new training."
Training to become the next Miss America isn't easy, but Jill says she's enjoyed preparing for the pageant this week in Las Vegas. "It's been great, a lot of rehearsals, a lot of jokes and just laughing around, hanging out with the girls. It's been a lot fun," she says.
Before the contestants could make it on stage, they had to prove they could break away from the "traditional pageant look." The cablecast "Miss America: Reality Check" seriously updates the image of Miss America.
Stevens says, "I really think Miss America should be relatable and really represent the diversity of American women. And I think she should be well spoken, out there, talented -- all what we're portraying in this competition."
The Miss America Organization has announced a new national platform, supporting the Children's Miracle Network. Miss America 2008 will become the goodwill ambassador for this children's cause as well as an ambassador for her personal platform.
Stevens says her platform is emergency preparedness. "Because emergencies are common to everyone, they happen everywhere; but we do not all have to be casualties, and the difference is preparing."
Stevens is prepared and reporting for duty at The Miss America Pageant, Saturday night. It will air on TLC.
January 24th, 2008 @ 10:10pm
Bruce Lindsay reporting
Utah's contestant in The Miss America pageant this year is shattering pageant stereotypes. Jill Stevens is a sergeant in the National Guard who served as a medic in Afghanistan. In advance of next week's pageant, we spoke with "G.I. Jill."
In combat boots or in high heels, Jill Stevens hasn't been one to pass up a challenge. "It's been a lot of walking in high heels, and my feet, I feel like they are bruised (laughs). It's a whole new training."
Training to become the next Miss America isn't easy, but Jill says she's enjoyed preparing for the pageant this week in Las Vegas. "It's been great, a lot of rehearsals, a lot of jokes and just laughing around, hanging out with the girls. It's been a lot fun," she says.
Before the contestants could make it on stage, they had to prove they could break away from the "traditional pageant look." The cablecast "Miss America: Reality Check" seriously updates the image of Miss America.
Stevens says, "I really think Miss America should be relatable and really represent the diversity of American women. And I think she should be well spoken, out there, talented -- all what we're portraying in this competition."
The Miss America Organization has announced a new national platform, supporting the Children's Miracle Network. Miss America 2008 will become the goodwill ambassador for this children's cause as well as an ambassador for her personal platform.
Stevens says her platform is emergency preparedness. "Because emergencies are common to everyone, they happen everywhere; but we do not all have to be casualties, and the difference is preparing."
Stevens is prepared and reporting for duty at The Miss America Pageant, Saturday night. It will air on TLC.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Mom Searches for Missing Veteran Son
Mom Searches for Missing Veteran Son
By DAN BARRY,The New York Times
Posted: 2008-01-21 15:15:38
Filed Under: Nation News
KENNESAW, Ga. (Jan. 21) -- The man emerged from the night’s anonymity to sit at the counter, across from the stainless steel grill and the stacks of white plates. He wore a blue jacket appropriate for the January cold, but his left hand was covered with writing of some kind. And, ever so softly, he was talking to himself.
It was 3:20 on the second morning of a new year indistinguishable still from the difficult one just past, in a 24-hour chain restaurant on Highway 41 called the Huddle House, where pie and respite are served to the hungry and solitary. The tired waitress, Patsy Schirmer, pulling a rare overnight, approached the customer and asked:
What can I get for you?
The man accepted this open-ended question in terms of food only, muttering an order of scrambled eggs and grits and requesting water, with lemon. He ate everything on his plate, continuing his private conversation all the while. He paid his bill, left no tip, and slipped back behind night’s curtain.
A woman walked in 20 minutes later, carrying leaflets. Her name was Sheryl Futrell and she had been searching for weeks for her disoriented son, an Iraq-Afghanistan war veteran named Gary Chronister. Here is his photograph, she said — and you know the rest.
Soon the waitress was wailing Oh my God, he was just here. Soon the mother was making frantic telephone calls, searching for a flashlight to beam into the brush out back, bouncing between sorrow and joy. Yes, my son always orders scrambled eggs. Yes, he always asks for lemon with his water. Yes, he is so off his meds that he would be talking to himself.
Faint hope found in a Huddle House.
Two months ago, Mr. Chronister’s green Ford pickup truck was found here in Cobb County, where he used to live, in a convenience store parking lot a couple of miles from the Huddle House. Since then, Dr. Futrell has driven up, down and around Highway 41, looking for her 33-year-old son, the troubled vet, missing in action at home.
More StoriesShe has arranged search parties, talked with dozens of shop owners, handed out hundreds of fliers, and festooned intersections with sad little signs that bear his photograph. “Missing Gary Chronister,” the signs say. “Confused & Unable to Call Home.” In searching the surrounding woods of this prospering county just northwest of Atlanta, she has come upon homeless veterans in lean-tos, living lives of invisibility.
But the longer her son remains missing, the more complex his story becomes. Last week the sheriff’s office in Cherokee County, to the immediate north, issued a warrant for his arrest on charges that he molested a young girl last summer. Dr. Futrell says it is untrue, unfair — un-Gary.
She also maintains that he is not on the run. For one thing, she and the child’s mother both say that investigators told everyone months ago that there were too many inconsistencies to prosecute a case. For another, Mr. Chronister was living in Bibb County, 100 miles to the south: if he was on the run, why would he run toward his pursuers?
“Because my son has disappeared, and is talking to himself, then he’s guilty,” Dr. Futrell says. “He’s not running; he’s walking.”
Or so the sightings say. Here he is, walking near the Circle K convenience store on Highway 41, a big smile on his face. And here he is, at a stoplight on Wade Green Road, trying to cross the street but not making it, walking out a few feet and then back, out and back, head bowed, smiling.
The smile, his mother says, voice breaking, “seems to be a hallmark of my son.”
Dr. Futrell returned recently to the Huddle House, driving up in her son’s pickup that she hopes he might recognize from the road. Stacks of “Missing Gary Chronister” signs, each one adorned with a small American flag, sat in its bed.
She is 53, stout and tired, with a ready smile conveying disbelief at what her life has become. A school psychologist by profession, now a manhunter by circumstance. That is why she chose a back booth: she wanted to see everyone and everything.
Her ever-ringing cellphone rang again before she could take a bite of her meal. “This is Gary’s mom,” she answered, hopeful, then not. “No, no, that wouldn’t be Gary ... I so appreciate you calling, though. Thank you so much. Keep your eyes open, sweetie.”
Dr. Futrell said her son has a great intellect, a mild case of Tourette’s syndrome and a sense of right and wrong so rigid that he sometimes struggles through the grays of life. He is also a loner. Asked if he ever had a girlfriend, his mother said with a note of reluctance, “Not really.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in English in 1998 from the University of Tennessee, he enrolled in a seminary in Kentucky to pursue “full-time Christian service,” his mother said. But things didn’t work out there, and he had a lot of outstanding college loans. So, several weeks before 9/11, he joined the Army.
Over the next three years he spent several months in Afghanistan and several in Iraq, helping to erect guard towers, install light fixtures and build memorials for dead soldiers. Although he saw no combat he came home different, his mother said, with the only telltale sign a check mark on a military document, next to the words “personality change.”
Mr. Chronister disappeared many days into his bedroom, which he kept boot-camp spotless. He had trouble holding jobs. Then came his first psychotic break, in which he quietly disengaged from reality. Tests revealed an unspecified brain injury. Was it from being beaten up when he was 16? Was it from something that happened in the military?
After several go-rounds with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Chronister finally received medication that seemed to work, but only for a while. “This is the first day of my healing,” he wrote in his journal on Nov. 8. Within two days, he was gone.
Now the police are looking for Gary Chronister, up, down and around Highway 41. And so, still, is his mother, who hasn’t forgotten one of their last conversations. He had said he was having trouble again controlling the thoughts, and she answered, “Son, I’m here.”
By DAN BARRY,The New York Times
Posted: 2008-01-21 15:15:38
Filed Under: Nation News
KENNESAW, Ga. (Jan. 21) -- The man emerged from the night’s anonymity to sit at the counter, across from the stainless steel grill and the stacks of white plates. He wore a blue jacket appropriate for the January cold, but his left hand was covered with writing of some kind. And, ever so softly, he was talking to himself.
It was 3:20 on the second morning of a new year indistinguishable still from the difficult one just past, in a 24-hour chain restaurant on Highway 41 called the Huddle House, where pie and respite are served to the hungry and solitary. The tired waitress, Patsy Schirmer, pulling a rare overnight, approached the customer and asked:
What can I get for you?
The man accepted this open-ended question in terms of food only, muttering an order of scrambled eggs and grits and requesting water, with lemon. He ate everything on his plate, continuing his private conversation all the while. He paid his bill, left no tip, and slipped back behind night’s curtain.
A woman walked in 20 minutes later, carrying leaflets. Her name was Sheryl Futrell and she had been searching for weeks for her disoriented son, an Iraq-Afghanistan war veteran named Gary Chronister. Here is his photograph, she said — and you know the rest.
Soon the waitress was wailing Oh my God, he was just here. Soon the mother was making frantic telephone calls, searching for a flashlight to beam into the brush out back, bouncing between sorrow and joy. Yes, my son always orders scrambled eggs. Yes, he always asks for lemon with his water. Yes, he is so off his meds that he would be talking to himself.
Faint hope found in a Huddle House.
Two months ago, Mr. Chronister’s green Ford pickup truck was found here in Cobb County, where he used to live, in a convenience store parking lot a couple of miles from the Huddle House. Since then, Dr. Futrell has driven up, down and around Highway 41, looking for her 33-year-old son, the troubled vet, missing in action at home.
More StoriesShe has arranged search parties, talked with dozens of shop owners, handed out hundreds of fliers, and festooned intersections with sad little signs that bear his photograph. “Missing Gary Chronister,” the signs say. “Confused & Unable to Call Home.” In searching the surrounding woods of this prospering county just northwest of Atlanta, she has come upon homeless veterans in lean-tos, living lives of invisibility.
But the longer her son remains missing, the more complex his story becomes. Last week the sheriff’s office in Cherokee County, to the immediate north, issued a warrant for his arrest on charges that he molested a young girl last summer. Dr. Futrell says it is untrue, unfair — un-Gary.
She also maintains that he is not on the run. For one thing, she and the child’s mother both say that investigators told everyone months ago that there were too many inconsistencies to prosecute a case. For another, Mr. Chronister was living in Bibb County, 100 miles to the south: if he was on the run, why would he run toward his pursuers?
“Because my son has disappeared, and is talking to himself, then he’s guilty,” Dr. Futrell says. “He’s not running; he’s walking.”
Or so the sightings say. Here he is, walking near the Circle K convenience store on Highway 41, a big smile on his face. And here he is, at a stoplight on Wade Green Road, trying to cross the street but not making it, walking out a few feet and then back, out and back, head bowed, smiling.
The smile, his mother says, voice breaking, “seems to be a hallmark of my son.”
Dr. Futrell returned recently to the Huddle House, driving up in her son’s pickup that she hopes he might recognize from the road. Stacks of “Missing Gary Chronister” signs, each one adorned with a small American flag, sat in its bed.
She is 53, stout and tired, with a ready smile conveying disbelief at what her life has become. A school psychologist by profession, now a manhunter by circumstance. That is why she chose a back booth: she wanted to see everyone and everything.
Her ever-ringing cellphone rang again before she could take a bite of her meal. “This is Gary’s mom,” she answered, hopeful, then not. “No, no, that wouldn’t be Gary ... I so appreciate you calling, though. Thank you so much. Keep your eyes open, sweetie.”
Dr. Futrell said her son has a great intellect, a mild case of Tourette’s syndrome and a sense of right and wrong so rigid that he sometimes struggles through the grays of life. He is also a loner. Asked if he ever had a girlfriend, his mother said with a note of reluctance, “Not really.”
After earning a bachelor’s degree in English in 1998 from the University of Tennessee, he enrolled in a seminary in Kentucky to pursue “full-time Christian service,” his mother said. But things didn’t work out there, and he had a lot of outstanding college loans. So, several weeks before 9/11, he joined the Army.
Over the next three years he spent several months in Afghanistan and several in Iraq, helping to erect guard towers, install light fixtures and build memorials for dead soldiers. Although he saw no combat he came home different, his mother said, with the only telltale sign a check mark on a military document, next to the words “personality change.”
Mr. Chronister disappeared many days into his bedroom, which he kept boot-camp spotless. He had trouble holding jobs. Then came his first psychotic break, in which he quietly disengaged from reality. Tests revealed an unspecified brain injury. Was it from being beaten up when he was 16? Was it from something that happened in the military?
After several go-rounds with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Mr. Chronister finally received medication that seemed to work, but only for a while. “This is the first day of my healing,” he wrote in his journal on Nov. 8. Within two days, he was gone.
Now the police are looking for Gary Chronister, up, down and around Highway 41. And so, still, is his mother, who hasn’t forgotten one of their last conversations. He had said he was having trouble again controlling the thoughts, and she answered, “Son, I’m here.”
Thursday, January 17, 2008
1 in 5 Returning Troops May Have Brain Injury
Associated Press
updated 6:13 p.m. MT, Thurs., Jan. 17, 2008
WASHINGTON - As many as 20 percent of U.S. combat troops who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan leave with signs they may have had a concussion, and some do not realize they need treatment, Army officials said Thursday.
Concussion is a common term for mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI. While the Army has a handle on treating more severe brain injuries, it is "challenged to understand, diagnose and treat military personnel who suffer with mild TBI," said Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw, chairman of a task force on traumatic brain injury created by the Army surgeon general.
The task force, which completed its work in May, released its findings on Thursday.
It estimated that from 10 percent to 20 percent of soldiers and Marines from tactical units leaving Iraq and Afghanistan are affected by mild traumatic brain injury. The most common cause was blast from an explosion.
The symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, light sensitivity, sleep problems, memory problems, confusion and irritability. With treatment, more than 80 of patients recover completely, the task force said.
Less than half who suffered from a mild traumatic brain injury in combat have persistent symptoms associated with it, said Col. Robert Labutta, a neurosurgeon with the Army surgeon general's office.
In some cases, however, symptoms from the injury such as irritability affect a soldier's interaction with his or her family and fellow soldiers, said Col. Jonathan Jaffin, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
"By identifying them, giving them a diagnosis, so they don't think they're just going crazy ... we think that helps them deal with it," Jaffin said.
Thousands of troops have been treated for traumatic brain injury, and it is commonly called the signature wound of the war. Reports that troops were not properly treated or diagnosed for the injury led to some improvements in care.
Today, all troops brought to military treatment facilities from a war zone are screened for traumatic brain injury, Bradshaw said. But troops lacking more outward signs such as bleeding following a blast or other incident might not realize they experienced a concussion, Bradshaw said.
One of the challenges in treating a mild traumatic injury is that it can have some of the same symptoms as post-traumatic stress disorder, such as difficulty sleeping.
Labutta said more research and tracking is needed to determine if a mild traumatic brain injury can put someone at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
The task force praised work done at Fort Carson, Colo., where soldiers going back to war are screened for brain injury. Surveys there found that about 17 percent of the soldiers returning to war could have a traumatic brain injury.
The task force identified problems associated with the treatment of troops with traumatic brain injuries, such as inconsistent treatment and documentation at some facilities, but it said some of its recommendations have already been implemented.
updated 6:13 p.m. MT, Thurs., Jan. 17, 2008
WASHINGTON - As many as 20 percent of U.S. combat troops who fought in Iraq or Afghanistan leave with signs they may have had a concussion, and some do not realize they need treatment, Army officials said Thursday.
Concussion is a common term for mild traumatic brain injury, or TBI. While the Army has a handle on treating more severe brain injuries, it is "challenged to understand, diagnose and treat military personnel who suffer with mild TBI," said Brig. Gen. Donald Bradshaw, chairman of a task force on traumatic brain injury created by the Army surgeon general.
The task force, which completed its work in May, released its findings on Thursday.
It estimated that from 10 percent to 20 percent of soldiers and Marines from tactical units leaving Iraq and Afghanistan are affected by mild traumatic brain injury. The most common cause was blast from an explosion.
The symptoms can include headaches, dizziness, nausea, light sensitivity, sleep problems, memory problems, confusion and irritability. With treatment, more than 80 of patients recover completely, the task force said.
Less than half who suffered from a mild traumatic brain injury in combat have persistent symptoms associated with it, said Col. Robert Labutta, a neurosurgeon with the Army surgeon general's office.
In some cases, however, symptoms from the injury such as irritability affect a soldier's interaction with his or her family and fellow soldiers, said Col. Jonathan Jaffin, deputy commander of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.
"By identifying them, giving them a diagnosis, so they don't think they're just going crazy ... we think that helps them deal with it," Jaffin said.
Thousands of troops have been treated for traumatic brain injury, and it is commonly called the signature wound of the war. Reports that troops were not properly treated or diagnosed for the injury led to some improvements in care.
Today, all troops brought to military treatment facilities from a war zone are screened for traumatic brain injury, Bradshaw said. But troops lacking more outward signs such as bleeding following a blast or other incident might not realize they experienced a concussion, Bradshaw said.
One of the challenges in treating a mild traumatic injury is that it can have some of the same symptoms as post-traumatic stress disorder, such as difficulty sleeping.
Labutta said more research and tracking is needed to determine if a mild traumatic brain injury can put someone at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease.
The task force praised work done at Fort Carson, Colo., where soldiers going back to war are screened for brain injury. Surveys there found that about 17 percent of the soldiers returning to war could have a traumatic brain injury.
The task force identified problems associated with the treatment of troops with traumatic brain injuries, such as inconsistent treatment and documentation at some facilities, but it said some of its recommendations have already been implemented.
Utah Company Surprises National Guard Members with Cruise
Utah company surprises National Guard members with cruise
January 16th, 2008 @ 6:10pm
(KSL News) The CEO of a Utah company surprised some lucky Utah National Guard members with a special "tour of duty": a seven day cruise to Bermuda.
The Utah-based scrapbook company Stampin' Up donated 85 cruise cabins to the guard to thank the soldiers for their service.
The unsuspecting winners received the good news today. One guardsman felt overwhelmed by the unexpected gift. "This has been kind of a dream come true. We've been married 22 years and I've been trying to get my wife on a cruise, just a three- or five-day cruise," Lt. Col. David Osborne said.
Many of the guard members selected for the cruise have served multiple tours of duty overseas.
January 16th, 2008 @ 6:10pm
(KSL News) The CEO of a Utah company surprised some lucky Utah National Guard members with a special "tour of duty": a seven day cruise to Bermuda.
The Utah-based scrapbook company Stampin' Up donated 85 cruise cabins to the guard to thank the soldiers for their service.
The unsuspecting winners received the good news today. One guardsman felt overwhelmed by the unexpected gift. "This has been kind of a dream come true. We've been married 22 years and I've been trying to get my wife on a cruise, just a three- or five-day cruise," Lt. Col. David Osborne said.
Many of the guard members selected for the cruise have served multiple tours of duty overseas.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Man Accused of fraud in case tied to fundraising for Vets
Man accused of fraud in case tied to fundraising for vets
January 15th, 2008 @ 6:25pm
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A man who raised money to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., last year has been charged with communications fraud and a pattern of unlawful activity.
Court documents say Paul McSweeney misspent $90,000, partly to pay expenses remaining from a 2006 trip to the nation's capital. A trip last May was suddenly canceled when McSweeney's group, Our Unsung Heroes, said there wasn't enough money.
McSweeney, who lives in Mapleton, did not return a phone call seeking comment. The Deseret Morning News says he's due in 3rd District Court on Wednesday.
In September, about 130 war veterans finally took their free trip to Washington after another group raised more than $200,000.
Info from Deseret News and KSL.com
January 15th, 2008 @ 6:25pm
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- A man who raised money to send World War II veterans to Washington, D.C., last year has been charged with communications fraud and a pattern of unlawful activity.
Court documents say Paul McSweeney misspent $90,000, partly to pay expenses remaining from a 2006 trip to the nation's capital. A trip last May was suddenly canceled when McSweeney's group, Our Unsung Heroes, said there wasn't enough money.
McSweeney, who lives in Mapleton, did not return a phone call seeking comment. The Deseret Morning News says he's due in 3rd District Court on Wednesday.
In September, about 130 war veterans finally took their free trip to Washington after another group raised more than $200,000.
Info from Deseret News and KSL.com
Company Has Cool Idea for Troops' Comfort in Iraq
Company has cool idea for troops' comfort in Iraq
January 15th, 2008 @ 6:15pm
Jed Boal reporting, KSL news
The blistering heat in Iraq is one aspect of the war U.S. troops will not soon forget. So, a Utah company came up with a cool idea to make the time a little more bearable for one unit.
Think of the hottest day in Utah this past summer, then add 20 to 30 degrees on top of that, and you have an average summer day in Iraq. A business owner in Fillmore realized he could help his hometown troops stay cool under fire.
A big box is headed to Camp Bucca, Iraq.
Steve Robison, an evaporative cooler manufacturer, said, "He set his hottest deployment record in Iraq at 127 degrees, so it's pretty hot."
Members of the 145th Field Artillery Battalion of the Utah National Guard deployed last June. Soon they may feel this is among the greatest care packages.
"They'll see a 40-plus degree drop with this unit," Robison said.
Inside is a MegEvap industrial evaporative cooler, one monster of a swamp cooler for the troops' rest tent. RCF Incorporated manufactures swamp coolers in Fillmore. Robison owns the company. He has a brother-in law and friends in the 145th.
"They're local people. We want them home. We want them home safe. We want them to be as comfortable as they can be while they're there," he said.
To get the 400-pound cooler to the soldiers, he needed help from the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Fred Lange works in that office. He said, "Only way we could help out was to see if we could help make arrangements to get it from here to there."
Operation Give regularly sends shipping containers of gifts and necessities for troops and the Iraqi people. Founder Paul Holton, an Iraq War veteran, offered to send the cooler with an upcoming shipment.
"It's just unbearably hot," Holton said. "Throw in the sand and the wind, and a little bit of comfort goes a long way over there."
In addition to the cooler, Operation Give along with Mesa Systems will send 22 pallets of stuff to Camp Bucca and the soldiers.
Holton said, "Anybody that wants to participate and do something in a positive way to support the troops, support their mission, and reach out to the Iraqi people, that's what this is all about."
The unit will keep cooling for years to come. RCF sent replacement parts, but we're told no one should have to do any maintenance for at least five years.
January 15th, 2008 @ 6:15pm
Jed Boal reporting, KSL news
The blistering heat in Iraq is one aspect of the war U.S. troops will not soon forget. So, a Utah company came up with a cool idea to make the time a little more bearable for one unit.
Think of the hottest day in Utah this past summer, then add 20 to 30 degrees on top of that, and you have an average summer day in Iraq. A business owner in Fillmore realized he could help his hometown troops stay cool under fire.
A big box is headed to Camp Bucca, Iraq.
Steve Robison, an evaporative cooler manufacturer, said, "He set his hottest deployment record in Iraq at 127 degrees, so it's pretty hot."
Members of the 145th Field Artillery Battalion of the Utah National Guard deployed last June. Soon they may feel this is among the greatest care packages.
"They'll see a 40-plus degree drop with this unit," Robison said.
Inside is a MegEvap industrial evaporative cooler, one monster of a swamp cooler for the troops' rest tent. RCF Incorporated manufactures swamp coolers in Fillmore. Robison owns the company. He has a brother-in law and friends in the 145th.
"They're local people. We want them home. We want them home safe. We want them to be as comfortable as they can be while they're there," he said.
To get the 400-pound cooler to the soldiers, he needed help from the Governor's Office of Economic Development.
Fred Lange works in that office. He said, "Only way we could help out was to see if we could help make arrangements to get it from here to there."
Operation Give regularly sends shipping containers of gifts and necessities for troops and the Iraqi people. Founder Paul Holton, an Iraq War veteran, offered to send the cooler with an upcoming shipment.
"It's just unbearably hot," Holton said. "Throw in the sand and the wind, and a little bit of comfort goes a long way over there."
In addition to the cooler, Operation Give along with Mesa Systems will send 22 pallets of stuff to Camp Bucca and the soldiers.
Holton said, "Anybody that wants to participate and do something in a positive way to support the troops, support their mission, and reach out to the Iraqi people, that's what this is all about."
The unit will keep cooling for years to come. RCF sent replacement parts, but we're told no one should have to do any maintenance for at least five years.
Monday, January 14, 2008
From MSNBC.com News~Veterans and Murder
121 war veterans linked to killings, report finds
Paper says murders tied to soldiers are soaring; military questions premise.
updated 4:15 p.m. MT, Sun., Jan. 13, 2008
NEW YORK - At least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing or been charged in one in the United States after returning from combat, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The newspaper said it also logged 349 homicides involving all active-duty military personnel and new veterans in the six years since military action began in Afghanistan, and later Iraq. That represents an 89-percent increase over the previous six-year period, the newspaper said.
About three-quarters of those homicides involved Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the newspaper said. The report did not illuminate the exact relationship between those cases and the 121 killings also mentioned in the report.
The newspaper said its research involved searching local news reports, examining police, court and military records and interviewing defendants, their lawyers and families, victims' families and military and law enforcement officials.
Defense Department representatives did not immediately respond to a telephone message early Sunday. The Times said the military agency declined to comment, saying it could not reproduce the paper's research.
Methodology Questioned:
A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Les Melnyk, questioned the report's premise and research methods, the newspaper said. He said it aggregated crimes ranging from involuntary manslaughter to murder, and he suggested the apparent increase in homicides involving military personnel and veterans in the wartime period might reflect only "an increase in awareness of military service by reporters since 9/11."
Neither the Pentagon nor the federal Justice Department track such killings, generally prosecuted in state civilian courts, according to the Times.
The 121 killings ranged from shootings and stabbings to bathtub drownings and fatal car crashes resulting from drunken driving, the newspaper said. All but one of those implicated was male.
About a third of the victims were girlfriends or relatives, including a 2-year-old girl slain by her 20-year-old father while he was recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq.
A quarter of the victims were military personnel. One was stabbed and set afire by fellow soldiers a day after they all returned from Iraq.
Paper says murders tied to soldiers are soaring; military questions premise.
updated 4:15 p.m. MT, Sun., Jan. 13, 2008
NEW YORK - At least 121 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans have committed a killing or been charged in one in the United States after returning from combat, The New York Times reported Sunday.
The newspaper said it also logged 349 homicides involving all active-duty military personnel and new veterans in the six years since military action began in Afghanistan, and later Iraq. That represents an 89-percent increase over the previous six-year period, the newspaper said.
About three-quarters of those homicides involved Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, the newspaper said. The report did not illuminate the exact relationship between those cases and the 121 killings also mentioned in the report.
The newspaper said its research involved searching local news reports, examining police, court and military records and interviewing defendants, their lawyers and families, victims' families and military and law enforcement officials.
Defense Department representatives did not immediately respond to a telephone message early Sunday. The Times said the military agency declined to comment, saying it could not reproduce the paper's research.
Methodology Questioned:
A military spokesman, Lt. Col. Les Melnyk, questioned the report's premise and research methods, the newspaper said. He said it aggregated crimes ranging from involuntary manslaughter to murder, and he suggested the apparent increase in homicides involving military personnel and veterans in the wartime period might reflect only "an increase in awareness of military service by reporters since 9/11."
Neither the Pentagon nor the federal Justice Department track such killings, generally prosecuted in state civilian courts, according to the Times.
The 121 killings ranged from shootings and stabbings to bathtub drownings and fatal car crashes resulting from drunken driving, the newspaper said. All but one of those implicated was male.
About a third of the victims were girlfriends or relatives, including a 2-year-old girl slain by her 20-year-old father while he was recovering from wounds sustained in Iraq.
A quarter of the victims were military personnel. One was stabbed and set afire by fellow soldiers a day after they all returned from Iraq.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Military Veteran, Teacher honored by KSL news
Military veteran, teacher honored with High 5
January 11th, 2008 @ 7:19am
Brooke Walker reporting
Any history book will teach lessons of sacrifice, patriotism and democracy. But students at Lincoln Academy in Pleasant Grove get an experience beyond any book.
That's because their history teacher, Mr. Durrant, also goes by the title of Master Sgt. And before they say good-bye to him, they wanted to say thanks. So we gave him this week's High 5.
Master Sgt. Charles Durrant uses his military stories and experiences to bring history lessons alive. Teachers and parents agree those experiences have helped his students gain a greater appreciation for the price of freedom.
As Mr. Durrant prepares to leave for his second tour in Afghanistan, his students are very proud of their teacher. But that doesn't mean they won't miss him.
Ninth grader Maegan Jacot said, "I didn't really know a lot about the war. I just knew there was something going on over there. But he has really helped me know why we had to go over there and everything that is happening over there."
The academy's office manager, Lisa Coombs, helped us present this morning's High 5. She told Mr. Durrant, "The students, the teachers, the faculty and board are so pleased with how you inspire these students to learn, how you make history come alive and how you keep them wanting to come to our school every day."
Mr. Durrant said, "I'm simply a soldier and I'm their teacher, and there is nothing heroic in what I do. It's just my life and really a simple thing."
Mr. Durrant received a KSL Swag Bag and tickets to see the Auto Show at the South Towne Expo Center. He deploys on Jan. 20. Also, he will be on Studio 5 later this morning.
January 11th, 2008 @ 7:19am
Brooke Walker reporting
Any history book will teach lessons of sacrifice, patriotism and democracy. But students at Lincoln Academy in Pleasant Grove get an experience beyond any book.
That's because their history teacher, Mr. Durrant, also goes by the title of Master Sgt. And before they say good-bye to him, they wanted to say thanks. So we gave him this week's High 5.
Master Sgt. Charles Durrant uses his military stories and experiences to bring history lessons alive. Teachers and parents agree those experiences have helped his students gain a greater appreciation for the price of freedom.
As Mr. Durrant prepares to leave for his second tour in Afghanistan, his students are very proud of their teacher. But that doesn't mean they won't miss him.
Ninth grader Maegan Jacot said, "I didn't really know a lot about the war. I just knew there was something going on over there. But he has really helped me know why we had to go over there and everything that is happening over there."
The academy's office manager, Lisa Coombs, helped us present this morning's High 5. She told Mr. Durrant, "The students, the teachers, the faculty and board are so pleased with how you inspire these students to learn, how you make history come alive and how you keep them wanting to come to our school every day."
Mr. Durrant said, "I'm simply a soldier and I'm their teacher, and there is nothing heroic in what I do. It's just my life and really a simple thing."
Mr. Durrant received a KSL Swag Bag and tickets to see the Auto Show at the South Towne Expo Center. He deploys on Jan. 20. Also, he will be on Studio 5 later this morning.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
2008 "Sweethearts for Soldiers" Calendar
Military.com | Soldiers R U.S. | December 27, 2007
Former NFL Cheerleaders Form "Sweethearts for Soldiers" Calendar
Scottsdale, Ariz. - On Veterans Day weekend, a group of former NFL cheerleaders representing teams from across the country joined forces in Arizona to shoot the second annual "Sweethearts for Soldiers" calendar to support troops deployed overseas. Just in time for the New Year, the calendar was officially released through its website www.soldiersrus.org.
Several NFL cheerleaders conceived the idea while conducting a United Services Organization (USO) tour in the Middle East. Bari Yonkers, then a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals, discussed the idea of giving back to the troops with some of her fellow teammates. "We were just so humbled when we visited the troops that we wanted to come up with something to bring some cheer to their lives," said Yonkers. "All NFL cheerleaders shoot a swimsuit calendar; why not make a military themed one with proceeds benefiting them?"
When Yonkers returned to the states, she teamed up with Benjamin Moline, founder and chairperson of Soldiers-R-U.S. The inaugural calendar, which was financed through sponsorships from Arizona-based businesses and individuals, raised funds for 595 Arizona National Guardsmen deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The funds for the 2008 calendar will go toward sending care packages and calendars overseas to raise the morale of the troops. The theme of the 2008 calendar, WWII pin-up girls, is a classic concept that expresses universal appreciation for the sacrifices of all deployed service members. The calendar has 13 attractive months of pin-up themed shots.
The models, (all former NFL cheerleaders) for this year's calendar all have a special reason for donating their time and efforts - they all have a personal connection to the military. Not only have most of them been on multiple USO tours overseas, Tonya was married to Cory Helman, a Navy search and rescue (SAR) swimmer who lost his life in January when his helicopter went down during exercises off San Clemente Island, Calif. She is participating in honor of his memory. Kimberly's fiance is a Navy Seal who is in Iraq right now. Brooke and Andrea are sisters who lost their dad when they were kids. Their father was a U2 pilot for a base on the East Coast. Kalani's sister serves in the military and has been deployed to Iraq and finally, Jessica currently serves in the Air Force as a Reservist.
Moline, a former soldier himself, hopes to build on the popularity of the 2007 calendar to create more opportunities to interact with the troops. "We already went on a handshake tour to Ft. Lewis and McChord Air Force Base. We'd like to visit our brave men and women overseas and personally deliver these calendars sometime this year in a USO or AFE sponsored tour."
The website, www.soldiersrus.org, is also designed so that everyone can support our troops through the online purchase of the calendar. On the website, you can learn more about the personal involvement each girl has had with the military and why this project means so much to them.
Former NFL Cheerleaders Form "Sweethearts for Soldiers" Calendar
Scottsdale, Ariz. - On Veterans Day weekend, a group of former NFL cheerleaders representing teams from across the country joined forces in Arizona to shoot the second annual "Sweethearts for Soldiers" calendar to support troops deployed overseas. Just in time for the New Year, the calendar was officially released through its website www.soldiersrus.org.
Several NFL cheerleaders conceived the idea while conducting a United Services Organization (USO) tour in the Middle East. Bari Yonkers, then a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals, discussed the idea of giving back to the troops with some of her fellow teammates. "We were just so humbled when we visited the troops that we wanted to come up with something to bring some cheer to their lives," said Yonkers. "All NFL cheerleaders shoot a swimsuit calendar; why not make a military themed one with proceeds benefiting them?"
When Yonkers returned to the states, she teamed up with Benjamin Moline, founder and chairperson of Soldiers-R-U.S. The inaugural calendar, which was financed through sponsorships from Arizona-based businesses and individuals, raised funds for 595 Arizona National Guardsmen deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. The funds for the 2008 calendar will go toward sending care packages and calendars overseas to raise the morale of the troops. The theme of the 2008 calendar, WWII pin-up girls, is a classic concept that expresses universal appreciation for the sacrifices of all deployed service members. The calendar has 13 attractive months of pin-up themed shots.
The models, (all former NFL cheerleaders) for this year's calendar all have a special reason for donating their time and efforts - they all have a personal connection to the military. Not only have most of them been on multiple USO tours overseas, Tonya was married to Cory Helman, a Navy search and rescue (SAR) swimmer who lost his life in January when his helicopter went down during exercises off San Clemente Island, Calif. She is participating in honor of his memory. Kimberly's fiance is a Navy Seal who is in Iraq right now. Brooke and Andrea are sisters who lost their dad when they were kids. Their father was a U2 pilot for a base on the East Coast. Kalani's sister serves in the military and has been deployed to Iraq and finally, Jessica currently serves in the Air Force as a Reservist.
Moline, a former soldier himself, hopes to build on the popularity of the 2007 calendar to create more opportunities to interact with the troops. "We already went on a handshake tour to Ft. Lewis and McChord Air Force Base. We'd like to visit our brave men and women overseas and personally deliver these calendars sometime this year in a USO or AFE sponsored tour."
The website, www.soldiersrus.org, is also designed so that everyone can support our troops through the online purchase of the calendar. On the website, you can learn more about the personal involvement each girl has had with the military and why this project means so much to them.
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