Reno man is accused of stealing hundreds of surgical masks from a Veterans Affairs

Reno man charged with stealing surgical masks from VA hospital

Las Vegas Review-Journal
By Katelyn Newberg
April 8, 2020

A Reno man is accused of stealing hundreds of surgical masks from a Veterans Affairs medical center, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

Peter Lucas, 35, was arrested Tuesday in Reno and appeared Wednesday in federal court in connection with the theft from the Ioannis A. Lougaris VA Medical Center, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. He is charged with one count of theft of health care property.

“Our military veterans served on the front lines to protect our country, and now our health professionals are doing the same in our fight against COVID-19,” U.S. Attorney Nicholas Trutanich said in a statement. “We will not allow the theft of personal protective equipment to go undeterred, endangering the safety of doctors, nurses, and other health professionals protecting our communities.”
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Las Vegas VA betting veterans want help to heal

VA opens gambling addiction treatment center in Vegas

Military Times
By: Patricia Kime
11 minutes ago

LVR3 has 20 beds, including a separate wing with five beds for women veterans, and will focus on individual treatment plans using a “whole health approach” geared to emotional, physical and mental healing.

VA has opened its newest inpatient treatment facility in Las Vegas. The center is available for veterans nationwide. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

The Department of Veterans Affairs has opened its second in-patient gambling addiction recovery center, right in the heart of Sin City.

VA officials announced this month that the Las Vegas VA Residential Recovery and Renewal Center, or LVR3, will host 30- and 45-day programs for gambling and substance abuse treatment.

The facility is the second of its kind in nearly 50 years at VA: the department’s first gambling addiction center – a trailblazing treatment facility that was the first of its kind in the country for addressing compulsive gambling – opened at the Brecksville, Ohio, VA Medical Center in 1972.

Now part of the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center, it was the sole inpatient treatment center for gambling addiction, drawing more than 100 veterans annually from around the country for care.
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Vietnam veteran's proud grandson needs help finding lost dog tags

Vietnam Veteran's family is asking for helping finding lost military dog tags

KTNV News
Carla Wade
Jun 01, 2019

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Vietnam Veteran’s family is asking for your help after an important memento was lost over the Memorial Day holiday weekend.

A picture of her father and an American flag are the centerpiece of Lynann McGee's kitchen. And her 14-year-old son Cameron has fond memories of his grandfather who passed away from Alzheimer’s less than a year ago.

"It was a lot of fun spending time with him,” Cameron said. “He was a lot of fun. He was always grateful of every little thing you do."

So, it meant a lot to Cameron when his mother allowed him to wear his grandfather's military dog tags to a Memorial Day observance Sunday. Proud to wear them, Cameron kept them on when he went to run errands at this Walgreens near Craig and Decatur. But later when he got home he realized the tags were missing.

"I know that he was panicking and that he was scared that he had lost something very significant to the family,” said McGee.
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Army Reservist went from homeless to homeowner in Las Vegas

Once homeless, Las Vegas veteran gets 1st taste of homeownership

Las Vegas Review Journal
Briana Erickson
April 26, 2019

Martinez, who starts studying social work at UNLV in the fall, said her next step will be to help other veterans who might be in the same situation she was in.

She had the key, and now it was time for one more thing. The brand-new American flag, still bright and shiny and creased from packaging.

Carrying it to the outside of her new home near downtown Las Vegas, Ana Martinez attempted to erect the flag on the tan house with white finish. But she didn’t have the necessary tools.

Laughing, the 52-year-old veteran used packing tape to secure the metal plate to the wall. As the flag came up, so did the tears. And when the tape didn’t stick, Martinez held onto the flag tightly.

“A lot of people don’t make it back. … They just don’t have an opportunity to live their life and continue giving,” the Army veteran said through her tears. “It’s just a little emotional for me.”

It was the first thing she did Friday morning as a first-time homeowner.

She was determined to put the flag up and to start up the stereo in her living room.

Only two years earlier, she had been homeless, living in her red two-door Mitsubishi Eclipse and working as a chief warrant officer with the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Sloan.
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HOA lost to Vietnam veteran and his patriotic van after neighbors stood up!

Vietnam veteran wins dispute with Henderson HOA over patriotic van

NBC 3 News Las Vegas
by Kelsey Thomas
April 24th 2019

“Being a veteran and serving other veterans should not be offensive.” Donna Lee

The HOA told Johnson to remove the van from his driveway or have it towed and face fines.

(sorry wrong video attached to the report so just the picture on this one. KC)

“I was wondering if we had someone that was unpatriotic (in my neighborhood)?", said Johnson.

The Vietnam veteran fought back.

Now, he’s claiming victory and it’s partly thanks to the support of his neighbors after a story on News 3.

Johnson said his fight is finally over.

The homeowners association in Palm Hills backed down from its order to remove the van from his driveway.

“It’s just a vehicle to transport honor guard to and from the cemetery,” said Johnson.

“To let them know, and their family, they’ll never be forgotten,” he continued.
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Help dying veteran find his service dog in Las Vegas

Las Vegas veteran's dying wish is to be reunited with missing service dog

FOX 5 Vegas
Cassandra Mlynarek
Mar 11, 2019

LAS VEGAS (FOX5) – A veteran’s dying wish is to reunite with 2-year-old service dog, Murphy. Murphy is a Belgian Malinois.

He disappeared Dec. 6 after his owner, 72-year-old Morris Collins, suffered a medical episode.

"I passed out on the floor and had bleeding from my mouth,” said Morris. “When they took me in the ambulance to the hospital on the 6 of December, Murphy chased after the ambulance. That’s how he got lost.”

Morris was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and given six months to live. He was devastated to learn Murphy was missing after narrowly dying himself.

Murphy’s home is in Centennial Hills near Ft. Apache Road and Gilcrease Avenue. He was spotted the day after the incident at Oso Blanca Road and Durango Drive near PT’s Pub.
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Homeless veterans shipping into tiny homes

Shipping containers being turned into 'tiny homes' for homeless vets

Las Vegas Now 8 ABC News
Cristen Drummond
December 11, 2018

"My vision is that we have no veteran that is homeless and that we never use the words United States veteran and homelessness in the same sentence." Arnold Stalk

LAS VEGAS - A local group has found a way to help America's veterans who are struggling with homelessness. There was a groundbreaking Tuesday on a new project that will provide more housing at the Veterans Village.

Veterans Village is dedicated to making sure that those who served our country are not left behind if they fall on hard times.

There is an apartment complex that serves as homes for veterans and now some tiny homes are being added to the village.

The homes are each made from an old shipping container, around 320-square feet, including a bedroom, kitchenette, living room, bathroom and shower.

With the help of donations and federal grants, Veterans Village is able to offer them to homeless vets for just a few hundred dollars per month.
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Social workers placed aboard ambulances in Las Vegas

Las Vegas mental health Crisis Response Team sees success with new strategy

KTNV
By: Joe Bartels
Dec 08, 2018

"We are outperforming expectations by some distance, and I think we are showing a good cost-savings to the state and we're going great care for patients," said Asst. Fire Chief Jon Stevenson with Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There is a small crisis response team that is making a big impact when it comes to the emerging mental health crisis across Las Vegas.

"It can be tense," said Amanda Jurden, a licensed clinical social worker.

"Usually, we just try and talk to the person, kind of gauge where they're at, find out, number 1, are they open to talking to you, are they going to be voluntary patient?" explained Jurden.

Jurden is now on the front lines of the Crisis Response Team and rides aboard an ambulance to make an on-scene patient assessment during a mental health crisis incident.

"They can be angry, they can be agitated, they can be under the influence, all of those things," said Jurden.

"But at the end of the day we just want to see if they are willing to engage with us, and cooperate in some form or fashion," said Jurden.

The Crisis Response Team was organized in April 2018 with the goal of connecting those in mental distress with available resources while reducing the burden on local emergency rooms.
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Police Officers share stories of trauma to encourage others

Marysville officers share stories of trauma to encourage others to seek help

Herald Net
By Stephanie Davey
Sunday, October 14, 2018

They both talk about being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and how they found help. They initially spoke together this summer at a statewide convention for school resource officers, and they plan to share their stories at a national conference in July 2019 in Las Vegas.

At Marysville Getchell High, School Resource Officers Chris Sutherland (right) and Jeremy Wood pose for a photo on Thursday in Marysville. Both men have been diagnosed with PTSD; Wood witnessed a shooting and later held a man as he died, and Sutherland was the first officer to go into the cafeteria after the shooting at Marysville Pilchuck High School. (Andy Bronson / The Herald)

MARYSVILLE — He’s been through a lot here.

But this might be the last year Chris Sutherland watches over Marysville Pilchuck High School. He’s been the school’s resource officer for about six years, the length of his contract.

He was one of the first people to enter the cafeteria after the shootings on Oct. 24, 2014. Four years later, the freshman class from that day graduated. Sutherland spoke during their commencement ceremony.

“You are all my heroes,” he told them, pausing at times to hold back tears.

Sutherland knows the campus well. It is where he met his future wife and graduated, and it’s where he hopes to stay for many years to come.

He and his best friend, Jeremy Wood, have started giving presentations about mental health. Both are 44.
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250,000 radiology orders at VA canceled?

‘I knew something was not right’: Mass cancellations of diagnostic test orders at VA hospitals draw scrutiny
USA TODAY
Donovan Slack
Oct. 1, 2018

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Radiology technologist Jeff Dettbarn said he knew something was wrong at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa City, Iowa, when a patient arrived in February 2017 for a CT scan, but the doctor’s order for it had been cancelled.

“To have a patient show up for a scan and not have an order – you’re like, ‘What the heck is going on?’” he told USA TODAY in an interview.

Dettbarn started collecting cancellation notices for diagnostic procedures such as CT scans, MRIs and ultrasounds.

“I knew something was not right,” he said. “Because none of them were cancelled by a physician.”

Cancellations of more than 250,000 radiology orders at VA hospitals across the country since 2016 have raised questions about whether – in a rush to clear out outdated and duplicative diagnostic orders – some facilities failed to follow correct procedures. At issue is a concern over whether some medically necessary orders for CT scans and other imaging tests were cancelled improperly.

The VA inspector general is now auditing mass cancellations at eight VA medical centers “to determine whether VA processed radiology requests in a timely manner and appropriately managed canceled requests,” VA Inspector General Michael Missal said.

Those hospitals are in Tampa and Bay Pines, Florida; Salisbury, North Carolina; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Las Vegas; and Los Angeles.
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NBC Anchor says "in Nevada 20 veterans a day commit suicide"

Nevada VA takes new approach to combat rampant veteran suicides
NBC 3 News Las Vegas
by John Treanor
July 15th 2018

“A veteran can walk into our facilities and seen, and if they say ‘I’m in crisis,’ they can see someone that day,” said Dr. Komanduri.

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Suicide is still a serious problem plaguing our veterans. An average of 20 veterans take their own lives each day.

The alarming number of veteran suicides has been an ever-present shadow cast over our country. It’s a number that represents a sad fact in America.

read the rest here

The sad fact in America is reporters do not seem to care enough to learn anything about this!

What is really alarming is when a reporter says that the "20 a day" veterans committing suicide are from Nevada! "Believe it or not" he really did say that.
Here is the clip!

If he blames the teleprompter, then he should have known better!

Nevada veterans have one of the highest suicide rates, still

VA Secretary visits Southern North Las Vegas, takes on veteran suicide
KTNV News
Darcy Spears
March 9, 2018

Access to mental health treatment critical

Las Vegas (KTNV) - Veterans Affairs' Secretary David Shulkin came to visit our VA hospital in North Las Vegas today taking on the staggering problem of suicide.

Contact 13 looks into how many Nevada veterans have taken their own lives and how the VA hopes to prevent that in the future.

Suicide among former military members is much higher than the general population on average 20 veterans take their own lives every day. That adds up to over 7000 a year.

While state and VA leaders say those national numbers are not acceptable, what's happening here in Nevada tells an even darker story.

Nevada veterans have one of the highest suicide rates, 59.8, in the country compared to the national rate of 38.4.
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Las Vegas Victims Fund Raised $31.5 Million

$275K going to family of each person slain in Vegas shooting
Associated Press
By KEN RITTER AND ANITA SNOW
Published: March 2, 2018

Victims fund spokesman Howard Stutz said the nonprofit expects to pay 100 percent of the funds raised, with payouts beginning Monday.

Manuela Barela passes crosses set up to honor those killed during the mass shooting in Las Vegas. GREGORY BULL/AP

Police say 851 people were hurt by gunfire or other injuries while fleeing. LAS VEGAS — A $31.5 million victims' fund that started as a GoFundMe effort announced plans Friday to pay $275,000 to the families of each of the 58 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The Las Vegas Victims Fund said the maximum $275,000 also will be paid to 10 other people who were paralyzed or suffered permanent brain damage in the Oct. 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip.

The nonprofit posted a chart projecting payments on a scale to a total of 532 people, including more than $10 million divided among 147 people who were hospitalized.
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Homeless Vietnam Veteran Murdered in Vegas

ONLY ON 8: Homeless man shot, killed was a Vietnam veteran
Las Vegas Now
By: Shakala Alvaranga
Posted: Feb 05, 2018

LAS VEGAS - Oneida Lewis-Baker hadn't heard from her father, 64-year-old James Lewis, for years.

Though their communication was basically non existent, Oneida never stopped searching for him.

"I looked for my dad for years and I couldn't find him," Lewis-Baker said.

It turns out, James lived in the same city as her and was the third homeless person killed last week.

Police believe their deaths may be connected.

"To watch someone drive twice by him, get out and shoot him like he didn't have any loved ones, that was heartbreaking," she said.

A small memorial with candles now sits where Lewis was shot. In the surveillance video, a man gets out of an SUV at 4:15 a.m. early Friday morning, fires two shots at Lewis, and runs away.

There was no struggle and Lewis never even appeared to wake up.

"You took someone who served this country. You took a military veteran," Lewis-Baker said.
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For these veterans, giving to others is what they live for!

Disabled Omaha veteran restores TVs for vets in need
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - A disabled Air Force veteran from Omaha is using his hobby of fixing electronics to help other veterans in need. 

Todd Hering served in the Air Force for nine years and then spent the rest of his career working for an airline. Three years ago, he injured his toe so badly it later infected his leg, resulting in several surgeries and ultimately, had to have his right leg amputated.

read his story here 

Local Vietnam vets giving back to those in need with free wheelchairs, walkers, and more

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Members of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Chapter 17 have been collecting donated wheelchairs, walkers, and scooters for years. Now, the group has a surplus of the assistance items and they’re hoping to give them to local vets in need. 

"We don't give to just Vietnam veterans. We give to any veteran in need,” said Vietnam War veteran J.W., who oversees the chapter’s wheelchair program. "I thought, 'Wow. These guys worked all their lives and they don't even have a car to get to the grocery store? The wheelchair provides that mobility.’”

read their story here 

Las Vegas Shooting Survivors Still Wait for Help

Vegas Strong Fund pays 12 Las Vegas shooting victims — then stops
Las Vegas Review Journal
Nicole Raz
December 29, 2017

P.J. DeMasseo, a survivor of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting, cashed a check for $1,000 Friday from the Vegas Strong Fund.

Survivors of the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting--Jennifer Holub (left), Heather Gooze and Stacie Armentrout discuss ways to deliver immediate financial assistance to survivors and families of the 58 who died in the shooting in Las Vegas, Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2017. Nicole Raz/Las Vegas Review-Journal

He is one of 12 people who received checks this week from the nonprofit totaling $14,800.

He also could be one of the last.

The checks — ranging in amounts from $200 to $3,900 — mark the first distributions to Oct. 1 victims by a nonprofit established in response to the shooting. But it was unclear Friday whether additional victims would receive money from the fund.

The Vegas Strong Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created by the Nevada resort industry after the shooting. The Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit that has raised more than $22 million for victims of the Strip mass shooting — and gained far more attention than the Vegas Strong Fund — isn’t expected to distribute money until March. Many victims have expressed concern with that timeline because they have immediate financial needs, and others won’t qualify for assistance from the Victims’ Fund at all.

Enter the Vegas Strong Fund. The $14,800 came from more than $12 million in commitments and cash collected so far. Most recipients will not qualify for assistance from the Las Vegas Victims’ Fund, which will benefit those who suffered physical injuries and the families of those killed.
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Veteran Crisis Group Doing Work--Including Packing?

Move clouds future for North Las Vegas veteran-aid group
Las Vegas Review Journal
By Kailyn Brown
December 12, 2017

“(We moved to a living and work space) because we wanted to be accessible,” Kelisiha said. “Crisis doesn’t (happen during) banking hours, so normally when veterans have an issue, it is after hours.”

A 24-hour operation aimed at helping to prevent suicide among veterans via therapy and social activities may have to shut its doors after 2 1/2 years, during its busiest time of the year. 

The owners of Forgotten Not Gone, disabled Air Force veterans Peter and Kelishia Guidry, received notice in November to move out of their Clayton Park living and office space near Clayton Street and Gowan Road, where they say they have served 2,500 veterans this year. 

Arik Raiter, a part-owner and manager of Clayton Park, said he originally gave them until Dec. 22 to move but granted their request for a 30-day extension — required by law if someone being displaced is disabled.

Now the Guidrys are looking for a location where they can both live and work — preferably in North Las Vegas, where many of their clients reside.

The move is problematic for them because of their physical limitations, they said, as well as for the veterans they serve. Veterans have 24/7 access to the Forgotten Not Gone headquarters, where they can talk through issues with the Guidrys and go on weekend tricycle rides aimed at helping with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Michael Betts, who regularly visited Forgotten Not Gone for a few years before moving to Virginia, said the organization set itself apart.

“They are truly there 24/7 and they have never closed their doors on me, whether it’s been two, three or four in the morning. They’re truly here. … Their sole purpose for doing this is to get veterans out of the house,” he said.
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Mandalay Bay Survivor Killed By Hit-and-Run Driver

Man who survived Las Vegas shooting killed in hit-and-run
Associated Press
November 25, 2017

LAS VEGAS
A man who survived the Oct. 1 mass shooting that killed 58 concert-goers and injured hundreds in Las Vegas has been killed in a hit-and-run in southern Nevada.

Roy McClellan of Las Vegas was killed Nov. 17 while hitchhiking on State Route 160 in Pahrump, about 50 miles west of Las Vegas.

His widow, Denise McClellan, told KSNV-TV she can't understand why her 52-year-old husband survived the shooting, only to die in a hit-and-run. She says the mass shooting "was messing with his head" and that he was undergoing therapy.
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Gunman Kept Shooting, Paramedic Kept Helping Others After Being Shot

Las Vegas shooting: San Bernardino paramedic helps save lives after being wounded

ABC Eyewitness News
Elex Michaelson
October 8, 2017 

While helping a gunshot victim, Jimmy himself was shot in the leg. He didn't tell Matt about the gunshot wound, at first. He simply told him to run.

LAS VEGAS (KABC) --

Jimmy Grovom is a trained paramedic. But he never thought he'd need to work during his Las Vegas vacation.

The Mission Viejo native came to the Route 91 Harvest festival with his girlfriend, Briana, his brother, Matt, and a group of their friends.

They were enjoying the music when shots rang out. Jimmy knew it was time to get to work.

"It's just how I'm wired, I guess," he said. "I like to help people when I see them in need."

Amid the gunfire, Matt Grovom watched as a woman standing next to him was hit.

"When I first heard the shots, the first person I yelled for is my brother," he said. "That just says something about him right there."

Jimmy began to administer aid to that woman and then moved on to help someone else. Then there was another round of gunfire.
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Some Reporters Doing More Harm Than Good

(My two cents is that this article is very true, but also applies to man on social media.)

Some media covering Las Vegas shooting accused of doing more harm

News 1130

Marcella Bernardo

Associated Press

October 8, 2017

"Miller, who treats sufferers of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, says the last thing you should say to someone who’s been through a trauma is "'You’re lucky to be alive.'"

Melissa Gerber, left, Nancy Hardy, center, and Sandra Serralde, all of Las Vegas, embrace as they look on crosses in honor of those killed in the mass shooting Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, in Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire on an outdoor music concert on Sunday killing dozens and injuring hundreds.(AP Photo/Gregory Bull) 

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – A local psychologist is worried about the impact on survivors of the Las Vegas massacre, saying some TV reporters are deliberately inciting an emotional response with their interview questions.

Doctor Lawrence Miller says it’s not a good idea for reporters to act as amateur psychologists for survivors or first responders who might be traumatized.

“So that’s really risky. If you go up to someone in the crowd in Las Vegas and you say, ‘Oh, you know, you’re lucky to be alive,’ the person may be just kind of still trying to formulate, like, what all this means.  Well, what the person hears is, ‘I could have been killed’ and that is the kind of thought process that can begin the development of post-traumatic stress disorder.”

He adds certain questions are deliberately asked with the goal of prompting tears, but that’s dangerous when dealing with someone who’s mentally fragile.

“When someone’s been through trauma like that, the worst thing you can do is start saying how they should be feeling and ‘You must be the luckiest guy alive, you know, you’re lucky to be alive. 
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