Police: Remains buried under driveway are of lottery winner
By Mallory Simon, CNN
January 29, 2010 7:12 p.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: Remains identified by fingerprints; autopsy results ready Monday
Remains are ex-truck driver Abraham Shakespeare
Remains buried 5 feet below recently added concrete in Plant City, Florida
Shakespeare disappeared two years after he won $31 million
(CNN) -- Police have identified human remains found buried under recently added concrete at a home in Plant City, Florida, as missing lottery millionaire Abraham Shakespeare, police said Friday.
Dr. Dollete White of the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office made the identification. CNN affiliate WTSP reported that the remains were identified from fingerprints.
The full results of an autopsy should be ready Monday, the medical examiner's office said, noting that it will work through the weekend to try to discover the cause of death.
read more here
http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/01/29/florida.missing.lotto.winner/?hpt=T1
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Eight soldiers committed suicide in eight days of New Year
We were told year after year the Army "gets it" and has taken steps to stop the suicides. Year after year it has been proven the steps taken are not the right ones but they keep walking into a minefield. With all the efforts, all the programs they've come up with, all the efforts to reduce the stigma and all the money spent, the numbers went up instead of down. Will they ever understand that this is like buying more rubber bullets and hoping they will finally work once they have enough of them?
Perhaps the most frightening part of all of this is that while their attempts to prevent suicides have apparently failed, they must have been able to prevent at least some of them. If the suicide prevention hotlines along with the rest of the groups sprouting up around the country are any indication, some of what they have been doing has saved lives, but with the numbers going up, there is an untold story here. How many would have been saved if the Army had changed how they address suicides when their attempts had the reverse effect?
Would they have been able to save more lives if they understood why PTSD strikes some and not others? Would they have saved lives if they did more than just acknowledge the redeployments increased the risk of PTSD? Would they have saved lives if they stopped the practice of deploying soldiers with PTSD and a pocket full of pills back into combat? Would they have saved marriages?
They can hold as many conferences as they want, make as many speeches as they have vocal cords for, but while their intentions are good, if they have learned nothing thus far, then it is worse than doing nothing.
The suicides claiming more lives than the enemy, topped off with the suicides of veterans is only part of the story. When a soldier is discharged but is not yet in the VA system, no one is keeping track of them. How many more committed suicide after service but before the VA had seen them?
Perhaps the most frightening part of all of this is that while their attempts to prevent suicides have apparently failed, they must have been able to prevent at least some of them. If the suicide prevention hotlines along with the rest of the groups sprouting up around the country are any indication, some of what they have been doing has saved lives, but with the numbers going up, there is an untold story here. How many would have been saved if the Army had changed how they address suicides when their attempts had the reverse effect?
Would they have been able to save more lives if they understood why PTSD strikes some and not others? Would they have saved lives if they did more than just acknowledge the redeployments increased the risk of PTSD? Would they have saved lives if they stopped the practice of deploying soldiers with PTSD and a pocket full of pills back into combat? Would they have saved marriages?
They can hold as many conferences as they want, make as many speeches as they have vocal cords for, but while their intentions are good, if they have learned nothing thus far, then it is worse than doing nothing.
The suicides claiming more lives than the enemy, topped off with the suicides of veterans is only part of the story. When a soldier is discharged but is not yet in the VA system, no one is keeping track of them. How many more committed suicide after service but before the VA had seen them?
Chiarelli addresses early rash of 2010 suicides
By Gregg Zoroya - USA TODAY
Posted : Friday Jan 29, 2010 7:22:42 EST
WASHINGTON — Alarmed by the suicides of eight soldiers in the year’s first eight days, the Army’s No. 2 general told commanders to have face-to-face contact with GIs to remind them “each one is valued by our Army,” according to the Jan. 8 memorandum provided to USA TODAY.
Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, reinforced that message last week, telling leaders in a videoconference they must pay extra attention to soldiers who are moving from one installation to another and may need more help, says Col. Chris Philbrick, head of the Army’s suicide task force.
Although Army officials say the suicide rate has dropped since then, Chiarelli’s message illustrates the continuing challenge the service faces despite an anti-suicide campaign that started last year.
The military faces a suicide “crisis,” said Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a conference in Washington this month.
The 160 confirmed and suspected Army suicides among active-duty soldiers in 2009 was a record. Winter months were the worst, records show. Twenty-nine soldiers in all parts of the Army killed themselves in January 2009, nearly twice the 15 killed in combat that month. In February, 27 more committed suicide. The Marine Corps suffered a record 52 suicides last year.
read more here
Chiarelli addresses early rash of 2010 suicides
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Mystery soldier who helped with crash is identified
Mystery soldier who helped with crash is identified
By Megan Gildow
Updated 6:16 PM Friday, January 22, 2010
By Megan Gildow
Staff writer
SPRINGFIELD — With the icy roads and dangerous driving conditions the morning of Thursday, Jan. 7, Mike Combs’ family was worried about the soldier — who had just returned home from a 12-month tour in Iraq — driving to Columbus to see his girlfriend.
“He said ‘Okay, I’ll be careful,’” recalled Keith Price, Combs’ stepfather.
It turned out Pfc. Glen Michael Combs, a Dayton native, would be more than just careful that day — he would be heroic.
read more here
Mystery soldier who helped with crash is identified
By Megan Gildow
Updated 6:16 PM Friday, January 22, 2010
By Megan Gildow
Staff writer
SPRINGFIELD — With the icy roads and dangerous driving conditions the morning of Thursday, Jan. 7, Mike Combs’ family was worried about the soldier — who had just returned home from a 12-month tour in Iraq — driving to Columbus to see his girlfriend.
“He said ‘Okay, I’ll be careful,’” recalled Keith Price, Combs’ stepfather.
It turned out Pfc. Glen Michael Combs, a Dayton native, would be more than just careful that day — he would be heroic.
read more here
Mystery soldier who helped with crash is identified
Doctors study link between combat and brain disease
Doctors study link between combat and brain disease
By Seth Robbins, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, January 23, 2010
The California neuropathologist who discovered damage in the brains of former professional football players has found similar damage in the brain of a deceased Vietnam veteran — a potentially groundbreaking finding that suggests combat troops who suffer head trauma might be susceptible to a degenerative brain disease.
Dr. Bennet Omalu, an expert in forensic neuropathology and the chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County, Calif., said the 61-year-old Army veteran had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as psychotic behavior, much of which had been attributed to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
But the autopsy showed something else: an abnormal buildup of harmful proteins in the vet’s brain, the same proteins linked to repetitive concussions in boxers, and now football players.
“This is a sentinel case,” Omalu said. “The brain findings in this deceased Army veteran are similar to the brain findings in the retired contact-sport athletes. Now, we need to look at more brains.”
read more here
Doctors study link between combat and brain disease
By Seth Robbins, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, January 23, 2010
The California neuropathologist who discovered damage in the brains of former professional football players has found similar damage in the brain of a deceased Vietnam veteran — a potentially groundbreaking finding that suggests combat troops who suffer head trauma might be susceptible to a degenerative brain disease.
Dr. Bennet Omalu, an expert in forensic neuropathology and the chief medical examiner of San Joaquin County, Calif., said the 61-year-old Army veteran had a history of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as psychotic behavior, much of which had been attributed to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
But the autopsy showed something else: an abnormal buildup of harmful proteins in the vet’s brain, the same proteins linked to repetitive concussions in boxers, and now football players.
“This is a sentinel case,” Omalu said. “The brain findings in this deceased Army veteran are similar to the brain findings in the retired contact-sport athletes. Now, we need to look at more brains.”
read more here
Doctors study link between combat and brain disease
Local Faith Leaders Team Up to Fight Combat Stress Disorders
Local Faith Leaders Team Up to Fight Combat Stress Disorders
By: Patti Moon
p.moon@krdo.com
COLORADO SPRINGS – Dozens of faith leaders say it's their responsibility to help soldiers and their families deal with combat stress disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
About 70% of soldiers who need medical attention don't seek help. Veterans say many times it's because they are scared it will damage their careers or soldiers are simply in denial.
That's why the Faith Community Education Collaborative sponsored a free training on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs. Faith leaders say more church communities need to get involved in helping soldiers and their families.
read more here
Local Faith Leaders Team Up to Fight Combat Stress Disorders
By: Patti Moon
p.moon@krdo.com
COLORADO SPRINGS – Dozens of faith leaders say it's their responsibility to help soldiers and their families deal with combat stress disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury.
About 70% of soldiers who need medical attention don't seek help. Veterans say many times it's because they are scared it will damage their careers or soldiers are simply in denial.
That's why the Faith Community Education Collaborative sponsored a free training on Thursday at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Colorado Springs. Faith leaders say more church communities need to get involved in helping soldiers and their families.
read more here
Local Faith Leaders Team Up to Fight Combat Stress Disorders
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