Friends, neighbors pray for wounded Pierce Co deputies

Friends, neighbors pray for wounded Pierce Co deputies
By KOMO Staff


EATONVILLE, Wash. -- With candles in hand, dozens of local residents gathered on Tuesday night to pray for the two Pierce County deputies who were shot at a home near Eatonville on Monday night.

Pierce County sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer said Deputy Kent Mundell and Sgt. Nick Hausner ran into trouble after responding to a domestic violence call.

Investigators said David E. Crable was concealing a gun in clothes he was holding and fired about 10 shots at the two deputies from just a few feet away. Mundell, 44, was hit multiple times, but managed to shoot back and kill Crable, Troyer said.

Friends say Hausner served in the U.S. Marine Corps before joining law enforcement.

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Friends, neighbors pray for wounded Pierce Co deputies

Veterans Still Waiting For GI Bill Payments, Colleges Unpaid

Veterans Still Waiting For GI Bill Payments, Colleges Unpaid
KIMBERLY HEFLING 12/22/09


WASHINGTON — Universities and colleges are still waiting for tuition payments for thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans who attended school last fall under the new GI Bill, leaving the veterans panicked that they'll be unable to return to class in January.

Veterans Affairs Department officials promise to get them back into the classroom. The VA says the number of veterans with claims unprocessed is now fewer than 5,000 – down from tens of thousands – and the goal is to have them all processed by the end of the year.

"We continue to work on a daily basis with schools to make sure that no student is denied attending class as a result of delayed tuition payments," Katie Roberts, a VA spokeswoman, said Tuesday. "It's a top priority for VA to make sure that students can focus on their studies rather than their bank accounts."

But after being besieged by delays and financial hardship last semester that left them struggling to make rent payments and pay for textbooks, many veterans are frantically contacting veterans service organizations such as the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America for guidance.

Clay Hunt, a former Marine corporal who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, attends Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He said he and his wife have racked up about $4,000 in credit card debt because his university won't release student loans he needs for living expenses until tuition is fully paid. Hunt, 27, said under the GI Bill the school is still owed about $6,000 and he personally is owed about $1,700 for housing and books.

"I am disappointed about it," Hunt said. "I'm very disappointed about the way it was implemented. I feel like the VA had ample time to figure out how they were going to disperse these payments and make sure this transition to the new GI Bill went smoothly, and they definitely failed to do that."
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Veterans Still Waiting For GI Bill Payments

VA clerk's bright idea leads to White House visit

VA clerk's bright idea leads to White House visit

President Obama meets with winner of contest on how to reduce federal government waste

By Doug Beizer Dec 22, 2009
A Veterans Affairs Department clerk met with President Barack Obama at the White House Dec. 21 as a reward for her idea on how the VA can save money.

Nancy Fichtner, a support clerk at the VA hospital in Grand Junction, Colo., won the Securing Americans Value and Efficiency (SAVE) Award for her idea on how to cut waste at VA medical centers, according to the White House.

Partially used medical supplies, such as inhalers and eye drops, used at VA hospitals are thrown away when veterans are discharged, according to White House officials. Fichtner’s idea is to find a way to let patients to take those supplies with them after being discharged.
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http://fcw.com/articles/2009/12/22/save-award-winner.aspx

General Backs Off Court-Martial Threat for Pregnant Soldiers

General Backs Off Court-Martial Threat for Pregnant Soldiers
By JIM DAO
It didn’t take long. Just three days ago Stars and Stripes broke the story that the commander of United States forces in northern Iraq had threatened to court-martial military personnel under his command who became pregnant, or impregnated someone else. The order applied also to married couples who are deployed together.

But on Tuesday, the commander, Maj. Gen. Anthony A. Cucolo III, told ABC News that he would use only lesser, nonjudicial punishments to enforce the order. Courts-martial can lead to loss of all benefits and jail time.

“I see absolutely no circumstance where I would punish a female soldier by court-martial for a violation … none,” General Cucolo told ABC News.
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General Backs Off Court Martial Threat for Pregnant Soldiers

Burned Florida teen out of hospital

Burned Florida teen out of hospital
December 22, 2009 5:59 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Michael Brewer, 15, allegedly set on fire by other teens, faces more surgery
He and his family are not returning home, but to an undisclosed location
Brewers mother plans to speak to reporters on Wednesday
Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN) -- A 15-year-old boy who was burned over 65 percent of his body in October when he was set on fire, allegedly by a group of teenagers, was released from the hospital Tuesday, officials said.

Michael Brewer was discharged from the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital Burn Center, spokeswoman Lorraine Nelson said in a written statement.

Doctors and Brewer's mother, Valerie, will speak to reporters Wednesday, Nelson said.
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Burned Florida teen out of hospital