Memphis VA Removed Employee--Or Not?

VA Removing Employee Arrested for Aggravated Assault with Deadly Weapon 
VA News Release

WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that it is taking immediate steps to propose the termination of a Memphis VA Medical Center employee arrested over the weekend for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and criminal impersonation of a police officer.

Upon learning of the employee’s arrest, VA Press Secretary Curt Cashour said, “This behavior is not in line with the norms and values of the VA, and as a result the employee has been suspended from all duties. VA has initiated the process for removal from employment.

“Secretary Shulkin has made clear that VA will hold employees accountable when they fail to live up to the high standards taxpayers expect from us. And that’s exactly what we’re doing in this case.”

Memphis woman back working at VA after being charged with aggravated assault

FOX 13 News

Marius Payton

September 20, 2017

A woman charged with aggravated assault is back at work tonight and guess who's paying her salary? You the taxpayer.

Linda Turner was charged with 2 counts of aggravated assault and criminal impersonation after  police said she pulled a gun on a grandmother and her 2-year-old granddaughter. 

FOX13 has been digging into this story and found that Turner works at a facility that has had its issues here in Memphis, that's the VA Medical Center.

She has been employed at the VA Medical Center since 1998, but this weekend, police said she pulled a loaded gun on a grandmother who was walking her two-year-old grand-daughter across a busy street.

Wednesday, Turner was back at work at a facility struggling to clean up its image, but there is a difference of opinions on how the aggravated assault issue should be handled.

read more here

Woman Loses It Over PTSD Service Dog

And the winners are the veteran, his family, people who stuck up for him and Kathy's Crab House because of what they are doing about this!

Kathy's Crab House & Family RestaurantYesterday at 9:05am · 
We would like to express at this time how sorry we are over the embarrassing turn of events that occurred earlier this week in our restaurant, here in Delaware City.
It is unfortunate that some of the public are not familiar with federal regulations regarding service animals, which, in fact, do permit service animals into establishments such as grocery stores, public buildings and restaurants, giving aid and comfort to their masters in their time of need.
That being said, we would like to take what may have been perceived as a negative incident and turn this into a positive opportunity, by educating and enlightening the public about the role of service animals and how they help and serve many returning veterans who have suffered serious wounds and injuries, as well as those veterans suffering from PTSD.
So, at this time, we would like to announce that we will be sponsoring a fundraising effort for veterans and service animals thru the Montana Wounded Warriors. We would like to enlist your help as a sponsor, volunteer, or as a donor and help us enlighten and educate the public as well as to help those veterans in need.
Details need to be finalized at this time, but as they come together, we will make additional announcements to keep you apprised of our progress.
Thank you

Video captures argument about veteran's service dog in restaurant
USA Today Adam Duvernay
Wilmington News Journal
September 21, 2017


WILMINGTON, Del. — A now-viral video depicting the argument over a veteran's service dog in a Delaware restaurant has participants on all sides explaining their actions.

The video begins in the middle of an argument where a woman believed a veteran's service dog ruined her dining experience. The video shows Delaware resident Ciara Miller standing in the middle of Kathy's Crab House in Delaware City, Del., arguing with a small group of people, which included a man holding the leash of a Great Dane wearing a vest indicating it's a "PTSD service dog."

"I'm not going to keep my opinions to myself. I'm going to voice it just like I did. There's nothing you can do about it," Miller said in the video.
read more here

Air Force Wounded Warrior Program Helps Heal Body and Mind

Letting go of pride: Air Force vets adapt to 'invisible wounds'

Army Times

Charlsy Panzino

September 19, 2017

When a friend suggested he join the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program, Smith hesitated because he felt his non-combat injuries didn’t warrant joining the program. He didn’t “fit the bill” of those wounded in combat, he said.

Retired Tech. Sgt. Joshua Smith competes in the seated shot put during the 2017 Warrior Games July 5 at Soldier Field, Chicago. (Staff Sgt. Alexx Pons/Air Force)

Two Air Force veterans who were severely injured during their service, and who suffered from the “invisible wounds” of post-traumatic stress, said they had to overcome fear of the stigma sometimes associated with getting help ― and their own pride ― to recover from their wounds.

The airmen talked about their roads to recovery during the Air Space Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Md., Monday.

Former Tech Sgt. Joshua Miller and Capt. Mitchell Kieffer, both medically retired, suffered significant injuries during their time in service. Those injuries led to a string of surgeries for both veterans and, ultimately, a choice: between reaching out to overcome those injuries or to isolate themselves.

Smith joined the Air Force in 2003 as an aircrew flight equipment specialist and served on active duty for 13 years.
read more here

As you can see, it is the Air Force Wounded Warrior Program and not the "project" running ads.

Homeless Veterans Funds Get Cut By VA?

Elected Officials Fire Off Letters After Feds Cut Funding To A Veterans Program

WAMC

Allison Dunne

September 19, 2017

Christa Hines is executive director of Hudson River Housing. She says the VA has funded the program since its inception in 2012 in about the same amount, and the program has served more than 458 homeless or at-risk veteran families.

The federal government recently informed a housing organization in Dutchess County that it will cut funding for a program that serves homeless veterans by the end of September. The surprise announcement is prompting local officials to band together for a solution. On Tuesday, two members of Congress from New York asked the Department of Veterans Affairs secretary to reverse the decision.

The Veterans Affairs Department notified Poughkeepsie-based Hudson River Housing at the beginning of September that it would not fund the organization’s homeless veterans program that works with people throughout Dutchess County. Now, in a September 19 letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin, U.S. Senator Charles Schumer and Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney say that cutting this funding breaks a promise to care for veterans, especially the most vulnerable. The letter asks the secretary to do the right thing, as the Democrats put it, to reverse the decision.

“We’re shocked and devastated,” Hines says.

read more here

Is this what POTUS meant when he said he'd take care of veterans? Can they stay at some of his hotels?

Carnegie Hero Fund Honors Heroes Among Us

Veteran who fought library attacker among 18 Carnegie Heroes

Associtated Press

Joe Mandak

September 19, 2017

An Army veteran who fended off a mentally ill man who tried to attack a chess class the veteran was teaching at an Illinois public library is one of 18 people being honored with Carnegie medals for heroism.

The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, based in Pittsburgh, announced the winners on Tuesday.

FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2015, file photo, James O. Vernon, an Army veteran who fended off a mentally ill man's attempt to attack a chess class that Vernon was teaching at an Illinois public library, recovers from injuries he suffered fighting off the knife-wielding man, as he sits in his home in Morton, Ill. Vernon is among 18 recipients of the Carnegie Medal for heroism announced Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2017, by the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission, which awards the medals several times a year. (Robert Downen/Pekin Daily Times via AP, File)

James O. Vernon , 75, was in a conference room at the Morton Public Library with 17 children and four women when 19-year-old Dustin Brown burst in with two large knives on Oct. 13, 2015.

"He actually ran into the room yelling, 'I'm going to kill some people,'" Vernon told the Pekin Daily News days after the attack.

The knives were hunting-type weapons with fixed blades about 5 inches long, Vernon said.

"I can't let this happen," Vernon told The Associated Press at the time.

Letting the children and women escape, Vernon then positioned himself between Brown and the door and fended off Brown until police arrived. He suffered two slashed arteries in his left hand and damaged a tendon in a finger.

read more here