He plays guitar downtown for money. What he really wants is a shower and a home
SAN LUIS OBISPO TRIBUNE
BY MONICA VAUGHAN
September 24, 2018
If you’ve recently strolled through downtown San Luis Obispo in the afternoon or Pismo Beach in the evening, you’ve probably seen or heard Jon Akeman. He’s the guy with long white hair, a patriotic bandana, guitar strapped over his shoulder and harmonica braced around his neck.
Known to locals as Dr. Jon the Citizen, Akeman, 73, serenades pedestrians with classic songs by Bob Dylan, Neil Young or the Eagles.
“I get a thrill of people going by, smiling at me when I play. Plus, I get a little money on the side,” he said, sitting on a bench in front of Ross Dress for Less on Higuera Street on a recent Thursday afternoon. “That’s my job, to make people happy.”
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Deputy's wife texted 'Kirk has lost his mind' before murder-suicide, friend says
Tampa Bay Times
Howard Altman
September 24, 2018
LAND O’LAKES — Samantha Keithley sent a series of disturbing text messages late Sunday, complaining about her husband to a longtime friend.
A Hillsborough County deputy fatally shot his wife before turning the gun on himself in the 17000 block of Terrazzo Way in Land O'Lakes on Sept. 24, 2018. [TONY MARRERO | Times]
“Kirk has lost his mind Kristin,” she wrote in one text to friend Kristin Kellin. “He’s literally losing it. He’s been harassing me for the last 6 hours and I’ve asked him repeatedly to just leave me alone because I’m sick.”
The wife also wrote that she had tossed her ring outside, a reference to a wedding ring.
That was 11:50 p.m. The texts were not seen for hours. Sometime near midnight, authorities say, Samantha Keithley, 33, was fatally shot by her husband, Kirk Keithley, a 39-year-old Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy. He then turned the gun on himself and died by suicide.
“She was an amazing mother and an amazing friend and amazing wife,” Kellin said in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times. “This is horrible.”
Pasco County deputies were called to the home at 17364 Terrazzo Way when a 14-year-old boy ran from the house and alerted 911 after hearing an argument and a gunshot, Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco said at an early morning news conference.
Once deputies arrived, they found the body of a woman, Nocco said. They went upstairs and found three other children safe.Then deputies found the husband in another room, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a preliminary investigation.
“Sam was part of our Hard Rock family for over 10 years,” he said. “She was truly loved by all who knew her. Our focus now is to support each other as we mourn this devastating loss. We are broken-hearted.”
Kirk Keithley was hired by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in 2009 and worked as a patrol deputy in the northeast area of the county. He had prior experience at the St. Petersburg Police Department.
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Family of soldier who took own life asks VA whistle-blowers to come forward
AZ Family
Lindsey Reiser
September 24, 2018
The 2016 letter specifically mentioned Castaneda, among other veterans, saying the Phoenix VA failed him by not checking on him. "He was considered such a high risk that they were supposed to be having someone check on him at his home, and apparently they weren't not checking on him all the time," Smith said.
PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) - Arizona's Family has been covering problems at the Phoenix VA for years. We told you in 2016, whistle-blowers wrote a letter alleging serious problems there.
Now, the family of one of the veterans mentioned in that letter is making a plea, asking those whistle-blowers to come forward to give them closure.
Three years after Army Ranger Antouine Castaneda took his own life, his mother-in-law, Margaret Smith, said they are still searching for answers. And she said her granddaughters ask questions about their dad.
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Hardin County veteran reported missing
Jackson Sun
Cassandra Stephenson
Sept. 24, 2018
A 30-year-old veteran suffering from PTSD has been missing for several days, according to the Hardin County Sheriff's Department.
Terry Michael Woodall was last seen in Hardin County. He recently received treatment at the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Memphis, according to the Hardin County Sheriff's Department.
Officials have no vehicle description and do not know Woodall's intended direction of travel.
Woodall is described as a 6-foot-tall white male weighing approximately 195 pounds.
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Female Veterans Honor Flight
"M*A*S*H" actress Loretta Swit (second from left) poses with participants in Monday's honor flight for female military veterans at the Women in Military Service for America Memorial.
MIKE THEILER, For the Journal Star (Go to link above for more great pictures)
Women-only honor flight takes 135 veterans from Nebraska to D.C.
Lincoln Journal Star
JULIE KOCH
September 24, 2018
OMAHA — Since 2008, Bill and Evonne Williams have taken more than 3,500 veterans to Washington, D.C., on honor flights.
But Monday's trip to the nation's capital is different. The Patriotic Productions flight consists of all females. All of the 135 veterans are women, as are the volunteers, members of the media and the plane's pilots.
The trip, which is free to the veterans, left Omaha at 4 a.m. The veterans will spend all day Monday visiting military memorials in Washington, including Arlington National Cemetery, the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon, the Women in Military Service for America Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, the World War II Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
But before their trip to Washington, the veterans were treated to a dinner at a hotel in La Vista on Sunday evening. The guest speaker was Loretta Swit, who played Maj. Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan on the hit TV series "M*A*S*H."
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