Tiny Missouri Church Builds Future for Homeless Veteran

Church Mission Committee Builds Tiny Home for Veteran 
By Karen Butterfield,
Missourian Staff Writer
December 31, 2014

Work Continues on Tiny House Life Stream Church Missions Committee member Louis Todd worked to install locks on a tiny home the committee is building for an area veteran in need. Also shown is Louis Day, committee member. The veteran has been living in substandard housing with no utilities. The home is 12 by 24 feet. Committee members began the project in September and expect to finish the project in January. Submitted Photo.

Life Stream Church’s (LSC) Missions Committee, Washington, is working toward building a “tiny house” for an area veteran in need. Tiny houses are being built across the American landscape to make a better life for homeless veterans and people who cannot earn enough to keep up with the rising cost of utilities and living expenses.

“Our LSC missions project is enabling a veteran who has lived ‘off the grid’ in substandard housing and tents without utilities, to be able to have the comforts of warmth and electricity and the assistance of solar power to reduce energy costs,” said Pat Todd, the LSC missions committee member.

“The joy that emanated from his face when he realized he could lift his arms above his head and also look out a secure window to see God’s creation while sunlight flooded the tiny house was life-changing for us,” she added.

The 62-year-old Vietnam veteran had been living without utilities in substandard or no housing for 26 years, Todd said. She didn’t want to reveal the man’s name. After the war, the veteran had purchased land in the Sullivan area planning to build a home, however; he could never meet county building codes.
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WWII 101st Airborne Medics Treated Friend and Foe in Normandy Church

Ken Moore, 101st Airborne Medic, D-Day (Unedited)
TimGrayMedia
WorldWarIIFoundation

Published on Jan 1, 2015 Two American 101st Airborne (Screaming Eagles) medics caught in a church in Normandy, France during the opening hours of D-Day. Outside a savage battle raged all around them. The church changed hands several times with American and German forces over-running the village of Angoville-au-Plain. Inside the small church the wounded were both Allied and Axis uniforms and civilian clothing. The American medics, Robert Wright and Kenneth Moore of the 2nd battalion, 501st PIR, treated all who were brought into the 12th century Norman church, no matter whether they were friend or foe. Airing on American Public Television in 2014.

Taser ‘Could Have Saved Life’ of Iraq War Vet Shot by Police

Taser ‘Could Have Saved Life’ of Iraq War Vet Shot by Police
India West
Sunita Sohrabji
Posted: Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Mourners stood beside the casket of Indian American Iraq war veteran
Parminder Shergill, who was killed in January by Lodi, Calif., police.
(Preston Merchant photo)

Lodi, Calif., police involved in the Jan. 25 fatal shooting of Parminder Shergill, an Indian American Iraq war veteran, were not equipped with Tasers, according to Lodi Police Chief Mark Helms.

At the time of the shooting, the Lodi Police Department had only a handful of Tasers – guns that shoot darts to temporarily immobilize a person – Helms told India-West, adding that not all officers on the force were equipped with the weapon. Cpl. Scott Bratton, who killed Shergill after firing 12 shots to his chest and head, was not equipped with a Taser. Officer Adam Lockie, also involved in the tragic incident, did not have a Taser.

Manufacturers of the implement note that Taser deployments have saved more than 75,000 lives; injuries to a suspect are reduced by 60 percent. Police officers are less likely to use a lethal weapon once a Taser is deployed. Helms said that all officers of the Lodi Police Department are now equipped with Tasers.
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Veteran in Standoff with Police in Georgia

Law enforcement in standoff with armed man 
Cordele Dispatch
Chris Lewis
December 31, 2014

CORDELE - Law Enforcement officials with the Crisp County Sheriff's Office Special Response Team and officers with the Cordele Police Department are currently in a standoff with an armed man who has barricades himself in his residence and is refusing to come out.

Rainey had returned from the VA Hospital earlier and that he had been previously diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. read more here

Veterans Choice Card Limited to Miles Not Need

Family upset with new veterans Choice Card 
WBIR News
Leslie Ackerson
December 31, 2014

"If you're with a 40-mile radius of a VA healthcare," explained VA Chief of Business Steven Hillis, "then the mileage no longer comes into play."

New choice program hopes to improve veterans accessibility to healthcare.
(Photo: WBIR)

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs faced a scandal-filled year, and now there is new controversy over a new program.

The problem centers on what's called the Choice Card. The goal is help more veterans get access to healthcare. If they live more than 40 miles from a Veterans Administration hospital or clinic, they get a choice to pick their own provider. The VA created the Choice Card to improve patient access.

However, the Autrys of Oneida are not satisfied. They are concerned over how the VA measures their 40 miles.
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