Disabled service members gather for Fla. festival

Disabled service members gather for Fla. festival
By LISA ORKIN EMMANUEL
Associated Press Writer
MIAMI -- Army Specialist Chris Miller was injured in Iraq last fall and has since had his right leg amputated below the knee along with part of left foot. He hadn't been to a beach in three years.

He used to play ice hockey and wants to get back to doing that. Until then though, he will settle for a little scuba diving.

Miller and a group of 17 service members joined hundreds of disabled people Friday for a four-day No Barriers Festival, which includes classes in scuba diving, sailing and an appearance by an amputee pony with a prosthetic leg. It is being held at the Shake-A-Leg Miami Sea Base in Coconut Grove.

The service members were brought to the festival by the Wounded Warrior Disabled Sports Project, which provides year-round sports programs for severely wounded service members and veterans from recent conflicts.

Staff Sgt. Earl Granville, 25, was injured in Afghanistan last summer during a patrol. The vehicle he was in struck a roadside bomb. Four people were in the vehicle, two lived. His left leg had to be amputated through the knee. His right leg was salvaged. He already knows how to scuba dive. He said he used to run and play soccer.


Neal Cabanting, 19, got an infection in his left leg during Army basic training and had to get it amputated in January.
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Disabled service members gather for Fla. festival

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty non-combat death in Iraq

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.



Lance Cpl. Nelson M. Lantigua, 20, of Miami, Fla., died March 31 as a result of a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 10 Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.



The incident is currently under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/Iraq/index.aspx

VA hires vets to go find comrades who need help

VA hires vets to go find comrades who need help
By LISA ORKIN EMMANUEL – 1 hour ago

MIAMI (AP) — Derek Graner can scan a crowd of veterans and pick out those needing help.

The former Army sergeant developed post traumatic stress disorder in Iraq and knows the signs — the withdrawal, the restlessness, the distrust.

"Sometimes there is a certain look in their eye," he said.

Graner is one of 100 former service members hired nationally by the Department of Veterans Affairs as outreach specialists to help get Iraq and Afghanistan veterans into programs aimed at easing their transition back to civilian life.

They frequent job fairs, welcome-home events and other places where troops back from the wars might congregate and look for those struggling to adjust. The goal is to persuade them to visit one of 230-plus vet centers nationwide, which are operated by the VA to offer free services from job hunting assistance to marriage and mental health counseling.

Experts applaud the effort to actively search for veterans who may need help, even if some advocates say the program should be much bigger.
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Homeless man beaten to death "was a veteran"

A homeless man sleeping on a bench, wakes up, looks at another man, "the wrong way" and then is beaten to death. Turns out that man on the bench, the man not worth living after looking at Singleton "the wrong way" was also a man that served his country and was willing to die for the sake of his country.

No Bond For Suspect In Homeless Beating Death
Police Say Murder Weapon Was A Tire Iron
Police: Suspect Beat Homeless Man Over 'The Wrong Way' He Looked At Him
MIAMI (CBS4)

A Miami man, charged with beating a homeless man to death, was denied bond Saturday on first-degree murder charges, one day after the fatal beating.

Sedrek A. Singleton, 29, was charged on Friday with the first-degree murder of Todd Hill after police stopped him in the area with blood stains on his shirt. Singleton allegedly confessed to beating Hill to death because he didn't like the way he 'looked' at him.

According to Miami police, Hill, 41, was sleeping on a park bench behind the River Park Hotel in downtown Miami at SE 88th Avenue and 4th Street Friday morning when he was attacked around 4:00 a.m. Police said that Singleton confessed to the beating, admitting he was angered over "the wrong way" that Todd Hill looked at him.

The police report said the weapon used was an iron bar.

Woodard says Hill was a veteran who had been living on the streets for at least three years.

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Woodard is Hill's friend.

Marine from Miami non-combat death in Iraq

DoD Identifies Marine Casualty


The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Gunnery Sgt. Marcelo R. Velasco, 40, of Miami, died Nov. 19 from injuries sustained in a non-hostile incident in Anbar province, Iraq. He was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I MEF, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

The incident is currently under investigation.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

South Florida Council of Firefighters President "gets cuffed" Obama Rally

Fire chief gets cuffed at Obama Rally
Police, suspecting a man who jumped a fence may be armed, arrested an off-duty fireman-- who turned out to be holding keys. -
BY DAVID OVALLE
Believing that a bag of grenades had been found near Sen. Barack Obama's motorcade route to Miami, officers at Tuesday's Bicentennial Park rally arrested a man who jumped a security fence and carried ''shiny metal objects'' in his hand.

The grenade threat turned out to be a dud -- and the fence jumper turned out to be Dean Parkerson, an off-duty Hialeah Fire Department district chief.

He was holding keys in his hands.

Parkerson, 47, is president of the South Florida Council of Firefighters. Police said he ignored warnings to stay out of the restricted area.

''You're making a big f------- mistake. I'm a fire chief,'' yelled Parkerson, who was clad in a ''Firefighters for Obama'' yellow T-shirt. According to the police report, he also claimed to work with the Secret Service and authorities said he had apparently been drinking.

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His history should matter a lot more than this one thing in considering his future. You don't get where he was being a bad person and you don't make it to fire chief if you were not good at what you do.

Killing ends a lifetime of spouse abuse

Killing ends a lifetime of spouse abuse
A Miami-Dade woman who killed her first abusive husband in 1993 was murdered by her second husband this month, police say.
BY DAVID OVALLE
dovalle@MiamiHerald.com
Bullied and threatened for years to the point of near-suicide, Cassandra Johnson pulled a gun and shot her estranged husband in the head at a Liberty City strip mall in 1993.

She escaped a murder charge.

For the next 16 years, she rebuilt her life, undergoing intense counseling, cleaning condos for work and doting over two-dozen grandchildren -- until her next husband killed her, police say.

Randy Lipkins, father of her first child, stabbed her 22 times and pummeled her face with a hammer earlier this month, Miami-Dade police say. Lipkins surrendered to police Sept. 12 -- only after leaving her body to rot in his apartment for four days.
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Linked from RawStory

Miami Veterans Affairs Examiner

Miami Veterans Affairs Examiner
Hi I'm the Examiner for Veterans Affairs
POSTED September 16, 6:47 PM
Harmon Biehl - Miami Veterans Affairs Examiner

Hi, I’m Harmon David Biehl. Everyone calls me Harm. I’m a Viet Nam Veteran. I’ve been interacting with the V.A since 1968 and I feel like a defacto expert on it.

I know there are a lot of classifications as a vet: I myself am classified as a combat veteran. Sometimes I think that means I’m able to do combat with the V.A.

On a more serious note, I would like to be your servant in helping you along the way if you are a veteran and want to get started at the V.A. Maybe you are a seasoned regular such as myself and have run into roadblocks, or “bumps” in your journey with the V.A.. If so I would like to hear from you also.

In future articles I’d like to tell you about my battle with PTSD and other issues that I have stemming from my service in Viet Nam.

Let’s discuss diabetes, hearing loss, Tinitus, on-going disabling headaches, anger management and Agent Orange issues or whatever else you want to talk about that is V.A. related.

Fellow veterans, please allow me to be a voice for you for V.A. issues; calling in the desert, as it were. You will be surprised to find out who reads this stuff. It makes no difference what your status is with them, Let me know what’s going on, maybe what we do here will be helpful to you and me and possibly to others as well. Maybe I can help!

Simply address your correspondence to Harm a Voice of the Veteran, care of The Examiner in Miami. The URL is WWW.Examiner.com.

Be Blessed. Harm

http://www.examiner.com/x-905-Miami-Veterans-Affairs-
Examiner~y2008m9d16-Hi-Im-The-Examiner-for-Veterans-Affairs

Newborn baby girl found hidden under plant

Newborn baby girl found hidden under plant

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS


Published: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 2:07 p.m.
Last Modified: Tuesday, September 9, 2008 at 2:09 p.m.
MIAMI -
Authorities discovered an abandoned newborn baby hidden beneath a plant in Miami after a 19-year-old woman went to the hospital with heavy bleeding.

The woman allegedly denied giving birth or having sexual activity, but doctors notified police to look for an infant after examining her.
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3 million bees found in Miami home

3 million bees found in Miami home
MIAMI , Aug. 6 (UPI) -- A Miami beekeeper said he removed the second largest hive he has encountered in his 20-year career -- about 3 million bees -- from a home.
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http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2008/08/06/3_
million_bees_found_in_Miami_home/UPI-74321218062627/

Veteran Love and Appreciation Inc. steps up for Miami Veteran

Miami Beach nonprofit gives disabled veterans help

Published Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 12:13 p.m.
Last updated Thursday, July 3, 2008 at 12:13 p.m.

MIAMI — Jorge Roque endured life in the Kuwaiti desert as his Marine Corps unit waited for the signal that the war in Iraq had begun. He survived as friends died fighting their way into Baghdad. He witnessed the famous toppling of the city's statue of Saddam Hussein.

But he wasn't prepared for the hardships he faced when he tried to create a life for himself after he was discharged from the military. He was unemployed and living in his car when he went to the local Veterans Affairs center seeking help.

The VA center directed him to Veteran Love and Appreciation Fund Inc., a private nonprofit based in Miami Beach. It helps needy disabled ex-soldiers who have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and other wars by giving them money until their government checks begin, including rent payments and gift cards for food and gas.

Roque is one of about 130 people Veteran Love has helped since it was created in 2003. He is now studying his longtime dream of filmmaking.

"They come home and they don't know what to do next," said Charlene Riggs, who runs the fund with her mother-in-law Toni Garner. "They need a person to basically walk them through getting the forms filled out. ... The veterans are so lost in trying to become reacclimated into a normal life."

The local VA center has been working with Veteran Love for about two years.

In 2006, Veteran Love had a fundraiser, netting about $116,000, which it has been doling out. It has about $40,000 left and is trying to raise more. The fund was created with the guidance and financial assistance of Garner's son, who pays for the overhead - including a secretary and a recently hired grant writer - while Garner and Riggs volunteer.
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http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20080703/APN/807030626

This is from their site:

American Support - Veteran Help for Disabled Veteran Soldiers in need of assistance
Our Mission Statement Veteran Love and Appreciation Inc., a nonprofit 501(c) (3), exists to provide direct, essential needs to our severely wounded and disabled men and women who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. Our assistance is intended to bridge the gap for these brave men and women as they transition from military service into civilian life. We are helping to put shattered lives and families back together. These heroes of the “War on Terror” deserve America's support for their service and sacrifices made daily.

Veteran Love & Appreciation donates $5,000 to wounded warrior and family at a benefit held in Ocala, Fl April 12, 2008.

FOCUS: Job Fair Veteran Love and Appreciation will once again participate in the 3rd Annual Job Fair for Military Veterans. Click here for flyer and more info.

FOCUS: Food and Fuel Veteran Love understands that there can be a substantial delay in the discharge from active duty and the payment of VA benefits. This is where Veteran Love steps in to help by providing for veterans’ essential, day to day needs. We have initiated Operation: Food and Fuel to provide for veterans and their families vital needs such as food and gas.

To qualify for assistance, the disabled veterans:
Must have served in Iraq or Afghanistan (DD Form 214, required)
Must be a combat wounded disabled veteran (VA confirmation required, normally through VA case worker, Purple Heart and/or medical documentation of war wounds sustained)
Are not presently receiving benefits from either Defense Finance and Accounting Service or the Veterans Administration
Must allow Veteran Love to verify the information provided by the disabled veteran
Must provide substantiating information regarding the disabled veterans’ financial situation

Please email to:assistance@veteranlove.com or mail to:
Veteran Love and Appreciation
930 Washington Avenue Suite 203
Miami Beach, FL 33139

Start a Movement: Get your Dog Tags Today!
In order to better create awareness you will receive with every tax deductible donation, personalized dog tags with your with your name engraved.Our movement will show our support and appreciation of our American disabled veteransDonate Today »
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http://www.veteranlove.com/

Spc. Michael A. McQueen II Competing theories in Ranger slaying trial

Competing theories in Ranger slaying trial

By Ben Nuckols - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Mar 18, 2008 19:55:05 EDT

ROCKVILLE, Md. — An Army Ranger accused of killing a fellow Ranger went to trial Tuesday, with prosecutors accusing Sgt. Gary Smith of lying to police to cover up his crime.

Smith’s attorney told a different story. He said Spc. Michael A. McQueen II committed suicide and Smith, despondent over the loss of his buddy, tried to cover up the circumstances of the death by removing evidence from the scene.

McQueen, 22, who was raised in Miami, died of a single gunshot to the right temple on the night of Sept. 25, 2006, in the apartment that he had begun sharing with Smith just 20 days earlier. After McQueen’s death, Smith threw the weapon, a .38-caliber revolver, in a nearby lake before calling 911. He was covered in McQueen’s blood and had gunshot residue on his hands when he was arrested.

Both sides in the case concede there was no direct evidence McQueen was suicidal and no concrete motive for Smith to kill him. Although they dispute the closeness of the young men’s friendship, the two had served together in Afghanistan and had spent a lot of time partying together in the brief time they lived in the apartment in Gaithersburg, about 20 miles outside of Washington.

“There is no motive in this case. Zero,” said Andrew Jezic, Smith’s attorney.
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http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/03/ap_ranger_trial_031808/