Army veteran spent last 50 years making wooden toys for kids

Lee County veteran who crafts wooden toys for children in need surprised by viewer donations

ABC 11 News
By Akilah Davis
December 20, 2019

The 80-year-old Army veteran has helped Santa out every holiday season for the past 50 years by creating wooden toys.

"You've got people from California to Texas... way out there. I never dreamed of this many people hearing my story," said Annis. "A lady and a man came in here last week and said it's not much wood, but you can make a few toys."

SANFORD, N.C. (WTVD) -- Jim Annis is just as close to being a real-life Santa as it gets. He spends several hours a day in his wooden workshop making toys out of wood for kids in need every Christmas. It's a small price for a big reward.

"It's amazing what you can do with a block of wood," said Annis. "A lot of times the kids just look in amazement. Like, I'm going to get that?"
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Sen. Jeanne Shaheen wants answers for New Hampshire providers of veterans outsourced care

New Hampshire health care providers face long waits for VA reimbursement

New Hampshire Union Leader
By Josie Albertson-Grove
December 20, 2019

“If providers can’t trust that they will be paid in a timely manner, then ultimately it is our veterans who suffer as these providers drop out of the network,” Shaheen wrote, “and veterans receive fewer options for care.”

U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. KIMBERLEY HAAS/Union Leader Correspondent

WASHINGTON — At least a dozen New Hampshire health care providers are waiting for payments from the Veterans Administration, according to Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s office. One hospital executive estimated the VA owes about $130 million to providers across the state.

Veterans who get health insurance through the VA do not always get treatment at VA facilities. If a veteran lives too far from a VA hospital, is facing a long wait at the VA, or needs specialized care that their local VA hospital does not offer, he or she can go to another local health care provider. These non-VA providers are known as the Community Care Network. A veteran gets care at one of these providers, and the VA reimburses the provider.

Shaheen’s office has heard complaints from numerous community care network providers across the state about long waits for reimbursement from the VA. Last week, the senator penned a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie last week, expressing concern about the delayed payments, and the backlog she said had caused them. read it here

Jennifer Kepner served as an Air Force Medic in Iraq in 2006, killed by cancer caused by burn pits

President Trump signs Rep. Ruiz’s burn pits, law enforcement mental health bill into law

News Channel 3
By Jesus Reyes
December 20, 2019

Kepner lost her battle to cancer on October 16, 2017. She was 39 years old and left behind a husband and two young children. After her passing, her husband continued her fight to end burn pits.

President Donald Trump signed three of local Congressman Raul Ruiz's bills into law, including legislation to stop burn pits and improve mental health services for local law enforcement.

On Friday, Trump signed the bipartisan, $738 billion National Defense Authorization Act into law. The NDAA included two pieces of Ruiz's legislation aiming to end the use of toxic military burn pits.

Burn pits were used as the main way to get rid of waste and garbage on American military bases during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, hundreds of tons of waste were burned each day including plastics, Styrofoam, petroleum products, human waste, and other items.

Many service members and veterans exposed to burn pits ended up suffering from pulmonary issues, insomnia, cancer, and rare illnesses.

An independent registry by Burn Pits 360, a veteran organization whose goal it is to end burn pits, reveals that over 6,000 veterans have been exposed to toxic airborne chemicals and fumes generated by open air burn pits.

Ruiz's legislation calls on the Department of Defense to produce and implement a plan to phase out the use of burn pits and provide a comprehensive list of all locations where the toxic burn pits have been used.

One local veteran affected by burn pits was at the forefront of highlighting the dangers of the practice years ago.

Cathedral City resident Jennifer Kepner served as an Air Force Medic in Iraq in 2006. She told News Channel 3's John White in Sept. 2017, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2016. read it here

Supporting the troops reduced to just a slogan at Fort Campbell

update Of the more than $3.6 billion that was redirected to the wall, $80 million came from projects in North Carolina, including $40 million for a new battalion complex and ambulatory care center at Camp Lejeune, $6.4 million for a storage facility for the new KC-46 tanker at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and $32.9 million for a previously canceled elementary school at Fort Bragg. The ambulatory care center was to replace current facilities that are “substandard, inefficient, decentralized and uncontrolled,” according to the military.

This report makes me sick to think about how many times we hear "support the troops" yet this verifies our politicians reduced it to a slogan!

Their loved ones serve our country but call their living conditions a slap in the face

FOX 17 News
by Erika Glover
December 19th 2019

“Why should my husband, or anybody’s husband or spouse, be deployed or be training and having to worry about if their family is sick this week and in the hospital because of the hazardous conditions?”

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (WZTV) — Back in February, concerned military spouses took their housing frustrations to Capitol Hill. Those at the top vowed to make a change.

However, Fort Campbell families allege some are still feeling the burdens of potentially hazardous housing conditions.

“I am appalled. I am frustrated. I am angry,” said one military wife who concealed her identity out of fear of retaliation.

For nearly one year, her family of four lived in Fort Campbell's on-post housing at the Pierce Village apartments. She said brown recluse spiders took over their two-story duplex, despite paying more than $1,300 per month.

“When I was doing dishes they would crawl across the counter,” she explained. “If I was sitting on the couch, they would crawl on my legs. They were in our bed. They were in our clothes.”

The concerned mother shared photos of mold hidden behind walls and chipping lead-based paint. There are other families, she said, who are currently exposed to these housing conditions.
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Add San Diego Navy housing to this.

Defense Bill Provides New Rights For Families In Private Military Housing

Amputee Iraq veteran who adopted amputee dog has new place to call home

Country singer Craig Morgan surprises Tennessee veteran with mortgage-free home

News Channel 5
By: Laken Bowles
December 20, 2019

NewsChannel 5 featured Ferguson's story over the summer when he adopted a puppy with a missing leg. Ferguson lost his leg during a deployment in Iraq when his vehicle was hit by an IED. He also suffered other injuries, including a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Dickson County veteran received an incredible gift this Christmas – a custom-built, mortgage-free home.

 On Thursday, U.S. Army Sergeant First Class Josh Ferguson, along with his wife and family, were presented with the keys to their new home.

Country singer Craig Morgan and Taya Kyle, who is the widow of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, surprised Ferguson with the keys.
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