Soldier Serves Wife Chick-fil-A Surprise

Soldier Serves Wife Chick-fil-A Surprise

Husband Surprised Wife After Returning From Deployment

EUSTIS, Fla. -- A Central Florida wife got a surprise she never imagined while dining at the Chick-fil-A in Eustis.

Amy Reed, 24, knew her husband, Staff Sgt. Chris Reed , would be returning home from service in Afghanistan soon, but what she didn't know was when.

Amy's dad hatched a plan to stage a reunion at Chick-fil-A on a Tuesday night. The Reeds say Tuesday family nights at the restaurant helped Amy survive her husband's third deployment.

On Oct. 14, Amy thought an employee would bring out the meal she had ordered, but instead, it was her husband, Chris.
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Eustis cop shoots man after he steals her taser and tasers her

Eustis cop shoots man after he steals her Taser

By Martin E. Comas

Sentinel Staff Writer

2:14 p.m. EDT, October 26, 2009


EUSTIS - A police officer shot and critically wounded a man outside a busy dollar store Wednesday after he grabbed the officer's Taser and fired the weapon at her, authorities said.

The man, who police had not yet identified late Monday, was reported in critical condition after undergoing surgery at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he was airlifted. Authorities said he was shot in the chest.

Eustis police Officer Theresa Graham was taken to a Lake County hospital, where she was being treated after being tased.

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Eustis cop shoots man after he steals her Taser

In Eustis, wife seeks answers about Iraq veteran's deadly tumor

In Eustis, wife seeks answers about Iraq veteran's deadly tumor
Amy C. Rippel Special to the Sentinel
December 12, 2008
EUSTIS - When Kevin Wilkins died suddenly in April from a brain tumor, there was nothing his wife, Jill, could do.

Within days of being diagnosed, he was dead. There was no time to react. No time to help. No time to say goodbye.

But now Jill Wilkins is questioning whether his tumor might have been because of exposure to chemical clouds when he served in Iraq, and she has taken matters into her own hands. Time is on her side now. And she wants answers.

She has launched a one-woman campaign to find out if her husband's contact with the smoke from burn pits was the reason for his brain tumor. In Iraq, where Kevin Wilkins served two tours, trash is burned in pits. Everything from chemicals to plastics is burned, releasing toxins into the air, according to one report.



The U.S. Air Force recently said that the burn pits pose no long-term health risks. However, an earlier Air Force report said the pits were a "health concern."

The Eustis woman said if her husband's death is related to his military service, she and her children -- a 17-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter -- don't stand to gain a lot financially. Mostly, she's pursuing it this she could possibly help other families, she said.
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Down the bottom of this blog there is a video on the burn pits.

I also just found this on Army Times.

Petraeus: Military studying burn pit fumes
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Dec 12, 2008 17:10:38 EST

In response to a question about the burn pit at Joint Air Base Balad, Gen. David Petraeus, the chief of U.S. Central Command, said the need for burn pits will continue, but the military is trying to minimize exposure to possible toxins.

“Much effort has gone into locating/relocating pits in remote areas of the operating bases to minimize exposure, training personnel on proper operation, developing/circulating operating procedures and assessing burn pit operations to include corrective action,” Petraeus wrote.

After Military Times investigated possible chemicals and dioxins troops may have been exposed to in Afghanistan and Iraq from giant open-air pits that were burning everything from plastic bottles to used petroleum products, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., wrote a letter to Petraeus asking if the burn pits were being investigated.

Petraeus said thousands of air, water and soil samples have been tested. However, Military Times has learned that the Balad is the only base where the burn pit specifically has been checked.

A military report found toxin levels in the plume at acceptable levels; however, data on testing for particulate matter in that plume has not yet been released.

More than 100 service members have contacted Military Times saying they became sick with asthma, sleep apnea, heart palpitations, bronchitis, and lymphoma or leukemia while at Balad. click link in this section for more