Veterans Assistance Program Slated to Close

This is how I close all of my emails.

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated by our nation." - George Washington

This is what every governor needs to remember when they think about what programs to cut and what to keep. Governors come and go, just as congressmen and senators, but a veteran is a veteran until they day they die. They are not some kind of charity to put disposable income into nor should they ever be some kind of easy spending cut to hit. These are our veterans and we do a lousy job of proving we finally learned what Washington knew when this nation was first begun. If they are thinking let someone else take care of the veterans, then they should also feel the same way when men and women are asked to step up to serve in the military, yet hear, let someone else do it from them.

Veterans Assistance Program Slated to Close
12/04/09 6:16 pm
reporter: Ann Mercogliano
producer: Bryan Peach

Harrisburg, Pa. - A state program designed to help veterans is on the chopping block. The Governor's Veterans Outreach and Assistance Center in Harrisburg is one five centers that have been cut from the state budget.

Veterans gathered at Fort Indiantown Gap Friday to protest the closure of all five Governor's Veterans Outreach and Assistance Centers located across the state. Veterans said the decision by the state to cut funding to these offices is unpatriotic and simply unacceptable.

"I think it's outrageous," Veteran Jerry Polonsky said, "This to me sounds like a backroom deal."

The Veteran's Outreach and Assistance Center in Harrisburg helps Vets and their surviving spouses. The center said it assists with disability claims, pension claims and medical applications.

According to the office's director, money stopped flowing back in June which means salaries haven't been paid.

The director said he's been working since then for free to help Vets process claims. Veterans said it will be the younger generation hit the hardest by the closures.

"These young guys coming back. It's going to hit them harder than what it did before," Veteran Fred Tregaskes said.
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http://www.whtm.com/news/stories/1209/684419.html