Marine, woman dead after apparent murder-suicide
Marine Corps Times
By: J.D. Simkins
1 day ago
A San Diego-based Marine and an unidentified woman were killed in an apparent murder-suicide Wednesday night, the Marine Corps has confirmed.
Sgt. Massamba Diatta, 29, and the 23-year-old woman were discovered by police inside their Houston hotel room after authorities were tipped off by an individual assigned to Diatta’s unit who notified them of “disturbing information” being posted by the Marine on social media, Lt. Larry Crowson told the Houston Chronicle.
The caller told authorities the Marine, who was assigned to recruiting school at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, could be suicidal and was likely accompanied by a woman and a child.
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Program 'desperately seeking' veterans to speak to Elgin-area students
Daily Herald
Elena Ferrarin
October 5, 2018
John Oliver, principal at Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin, said he's excited to have veterans back in November after they spoke in fourth- through sixth-grade classrooms last year. One thing is to learn about wartime in textbooks, but it's entirely different to ask questions of veterans who served in submarines, aircraft carriers and military support, he said.
A program that invites Elgin-area veterans to speak in classrooms around Veterans Day was so successful that many more volunteers are needed this year.
Don Eageny of Elgin was among veterans who spoke in November at Clinton Elementary School in South Elgin as part of the "Veterans Voices" program. More volunteers are needed this year.
Courtesy of Gail Borden Public Library
There have been about 130 requests for speakers for the "Veterans Voices" program and about 40 veterans have signed up so far, or about 20 short of the ideal, said librarian Tish Calhamer of Gail Borden Public Library.
"People's lives tell stories, and this is a great way to teach kids what it means to serve and what Veterans Day is all about." Calhamer said.
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PTSD Sufferer Says Increasingly Businesses Are Saying No To Service Animals
CBS Miami
By Lauren Pastrana
October 5, 2018
“We’re being hurt. We’re truly being hurt by those not following these regulations and laws that are in place to protect us.” Eduardo Dieguez
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Eduardo Dieguez believes in second chances, for himself and for his four-legged friends.
“If it wasn’t for one of these guys,” Dieguez says referring to his dog, “I wouldn’t be around.”
With the help of Paws 4 You Rescue, Dieguez trains shelter dogs to be service animals.
“We’re giving them a role to play in somebody’s health,” he said.
He doesn’t just train them, he needs one, as well.
Dieguez suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
“My PTSD stems from abuse when I was a young child,” Dieguez said.
Add in military service and more than a decade as a law enforcement officer, and Dieguez says he knew he needed help.
“That just intensified my fight or flight. And it usually went to fight. Dogs were the only thing that helped bring me down from all that fear and anxiety that I had,” Dieguez explained.
But Dieguez says it’s getting tougher to take his service animal with him in to public places.
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Woman says Kissimmee counselor, priest took advantage of her
WFTV
By: Len Kiese
Oct 5, 2018
The former law enforcement officer said she began seeing De Jesus as a patient last year for anxiety, depression, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. "I was there at one of the darkest points in my life, seeking help," she said.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. - A woman said she trusted an Osceola County therapist to help her through one of her darkest times. Instead, she said he took advantage of her.
"It is the most disgusting feeling and such a violation," she said. She is not being identified to protect her privacy.
The Kissimmee Police Department said more women have come forward with accusations against that mental health counselor and Episcopal priest, bringing the number of accusers now to three.
The suspect is already facing battery charges, but even with these two other accusers he's not facing any more charges so far.
Police said a Kissimmee woman won't press charges but will testify against the counselor when he heads to trial.
The other accuser said it happened in California, so it would be up to authorities there to bring charges.
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New state law opens up benefits to an estimated 800 veterans
The Day
by Julia Bergman Day staff writer
October 4, 2018
Hartford — Thomas Burke has been out of the Marine Corps for 10 years but said it wasn't until this week that he felt like a veteran.
Burke, a former infantryman who deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq, received an other-than-honorable discharge for smoking marijuana months after returning from a deployment in Afghanistan, during which he had to clean up the remains of a group of Afghan children who'd been blown up by a rocket-propelled grenade that they were bringing to his military base.
"I can't explain the feelings I have today, after 10 years of service from returning home, I finally feel like a veteran because Connecticut stood up and told me that I'm a veteran," Burke said Thursday.
A new state law that went into effect Monday allows veterans discharged under "other-than-honorable" circumstances, who have post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain injury or sexual trauma resulting from their military service, to access state veteran benefits.
State officials and veterans touted the new law at a news conference Thursday morning in Hartford. Several of them said that the law, the first of its kind, makes Connecticut a leader in the nation.
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