Homeless Air Force veteran and street artist receives national attention after stranger buys his work
ABC 13 NEWS
Deborah Wrigley
October 11, 2018
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- As cars travel over a creek on a Katy Freeway service road, yards beneath out of view, a homeless vet applies paint to plywood, creating art.
It is where Baird Asher has lived for two months after he caught a ride to Houston from New Orleans, where he was a street artist. As an Air Force veteran who was an aircraft mechanic, "I can put an engine together," he said, but his real calling is his art.
"I'm an artist, and this is what I do," he said. "I don't necessarily refuse to do anything else, but this is what God gave me the talent to do."
Technically, Asher is homeless.
"I live under a highway bridge," he said with a laugh. But he needed the kindness of strangers to eat.
Two days ago, he was standing at an intersection with a sign that read, "Hungry Vet." That caught the eye of Suzanne Coppola, who was stopped at the light. At his feet was one of his paintings. It got Coppola's attention.
"I parked illegally and talked to him," she said. "He had an amazing story, and he's an amazing artist and I put it on my Facebook page, asking the creative community if we could do something for him."
The response amazed Coppola.
"I have artists contacting me about ideas they have for him, and a gallery owner from Dallas, who also has a gallery in Miami, asked to buy all his paintings," she said. read more here
The bullet was fired at a street sign. It killed a retired Marine on his porch, SC cops say
The State BY NOAH FEIT October 11, 2018
The 48-year-old was a retired Marine major, and his family had recently moved into the Hodges house, the Index-Journal reported.
A retired veteran was killed Wednesday when a bullet fired at a street sign went through it and fatally struck him while he was on the porch of his South Carolina home, according to law enforcement.
Greenwood County Coroner Sonny Cox said Joe Darius Black was killed by a gunshot wound to his upper body, WYFF-4 reported.
He was a retired United States Marine, according to the Greenwood County Sheriff’s Office, which said Black “served his Country for 20 plus years.”
When sheriff’s deputies arrived around 11:30 p.m., they reported Black’s family was “administering CPR,” which they continued, along with Greenwood County EMS personnel, but the veteran died on the scene, according to the sheriff’s office. read more here
Guilty Plea Entered by Man who Fired BB Gun at Navy Seals in Training
San Diego Union Tribune
Pauline Repard
October 11, 2018
First Phase Basic Underwater Demolition/SEALs candidates participate in log physical training at Naval Amphibious Base Coronado, July 14, 2016. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Timothy M. Black)
A man who fired a pellet gun at Navy SEALS who were diving near Liberty Station pleaded guilty Wednesday, a day before his trial was to begin. Scott Weaver, 48, pleaded guilty to brandishing a replica firearm and attempting to threaten a witness. A charge of assault with a deadly weapon was dismissed in an earlier hearing. read more here
Former Reality TV Star Gets 16 Years After Crash that Killed Coast Guardsman
Canadian Press
October 11, 2018
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A former reality TV star will serve 16 years in prison for killing a U.S. Coast Guard technician in a drunken wrong-way collision on a Virginia highway. News outlets reported that Melissa Hancock was sentenced Wednesday after earlier pleading guilty to manslaughter, driving the wrong way and failing to obey a highway sign...Daniel Dill was a Logan Township, New Jersey, native who was stationed in Portsmouth, Virginia, as an information systems technician. read more here
The Mustard Seed of Central Florida is helping people get back on their feet, including veterans! They helped a veteran and his family find a place of their own after becoming homeless. That homelessness happened after Marine was discharged for medical reasons after serving 4 years!
I have spent most of my life knowing what the DAV does. After all, my Dad was 100% disabled Korean War veteran and they helped him with his claim. Then they helped my husband. If you have questions or need some answers...or someone to fight for you for a change, contact them! DAV Chapter 16 in Orlando~
The Vet Centers have been able to get veterans understand that they are not taking another veteran's place, but help them understand that they matter just as much. Heck, they helped me back in the 90's in Massachusetts when I was trying to get my husband understand that he paid for his care the day he signed the blank check to Uncle Sam.
No one washes their hands of veterans who choose hospice services from VITAS. It does not matter if you need to be in a facility or, choose to stay home, they will help you when you need it, but also help your caregivers when they need it. They know what you are dealing with and everything that came from your service. It does not matter which war, illness or even if it is from being on a contaminated military base, like Camp Lejeune. If you want to find out more about all the fabulous services they offer, call 407-921-2695
The UCF Veterans History Project is also near and dear to my heart! Since I grew up surrounded by two generations of combat veterans, I am ashamed to admit, I stopped listening to their stories...then I stopped remembering them. This is about documenting the services of veterans so that we never forget those who paid the price for the freedoms we have.
Orlando Veterans Court has a mission to help veterans heal instead of seeing them locked up! It is not a get out of jail free pass, but they set veterans up with the resources they need to begin to heal their lives!
UCF Cares About You
Phone 407-823-5607 Email ucfcares@ucf.edu Location Ferrell Commons, Room 142
UCF Cares is an umbrella of care-related programs and resources dedicated to fostering a caring community of Knights. However, it takes all of us from students to staff, from faculty to friends, to show that we care about one another. The goal of the UCF CARES initiative is to build a culture of care one KNIGHT at a time. We are all UCF and need to do our part in connecting any fellow knights in distress to appropriate resources.
UCF Restores Among other awesome things UCF Restores is doing, they are conducting research on smelling~ Yep! You know how when you smell something, it can bring back memories of growing up. I sure do, because it is chocolate chip cookies out of the oven and right away I remember my Aunt's cookies. I get all warm and filled with great memories. Those smells can also be a trigger for something bad that happened to you. When you survived "it" every part of "you" was involved. That is why sounds and smells can bring things back you do not want to relive. They are trying to understand the association and how it can be treated. Awesome right? For older veterans it is the smell of diesel. You know what that does. Anyway, they are looking for males from 18 and up who are OEF OIF veterans. They want you to call 407-823-3910.
If you are still wondering how to #TakeBackYourLife, then contact all those great groups and START DOING IT!
Charity for veterans' funerals faces federal investigation
Military Times
Geoff Ziezulewicz
October 10, 2018
“Personal purchases” allegedly included tattoo parlor payments, private school tuition for the Walkers’ children, $9,000 at Disney resorts, $5,000 in “food and entertainment expenses” and $7,000 to a law firm representing the couple “in connection with a dispute with the City of Norwood Young America,” according to the affidavit, which Military Times obtained from the U.S. Department of Justice.
To hear Army veteran Troy D. Walker tell it, Dog Tag Furniture’s mission to aid vets began after a service buddy killed himself and the family couldn’t afford a funeral.
The feds are investigating Troy D. Walker, an Army veteran, and his wife for allegedly pocketing proceeds and donations to their organization, Dog Tag Furniture, which raises money for veterans funerals. (Screenshot courtesy KTSP-TV)
The Department of Veterans Affairs can only provide a few hundred dollars, the Minnesota man told “Fox and Friends” on Sept. 23, 2017.
“The body was going to go unclaimed and be put in a baggie,” Walker said.
Walker recalled going into debt to help pay his friend’s funeral costs and then realized no organizations existed to solely help fund veterans' funerals.
read more here
