Maryland Launches Veterans Network Of Care Portal
Posted on April 04, 2009
Maryland is first state in the nation to launch online program to connect veterans with behavioral health services
ANNAPOLIS (April 3, 2009) – Maryland Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown on Tuesday, March 31, joined representatives of the public mental health industry and veterans affairs as Maryland became the first state in the nation to launch a “Network of Care” Website devoted to the state’s veterans. The Maryland Veterans Network of Care portal is an on-line resource that provides simple and fast access to information on local, state and national behavioral health services available to veterans. The portal is part of Network of Care online community.
“We ask a great deal of our military families and our veterans and for that we owe them a debt of gratitude. When we saw men and women falling through the cracks of a large and out dated federal VA system, we didn’t point fingers. We chose to act,” Lt. Governor Brown said. “Maryland’s Commitment to Veterans initiative is a national model for what states can do to improve veteran services, especially behavioral health services. We are proud to be the first state in America to launch the Veterans Network of Care portal. We hope that other states follow our example and make veterans health a leading priority.”
Last year, the O’Malley-Brown administration introduced to the General Assembly one of the most comprehensive veterans packages in the nation. The cornerstone of the package was the Veterans Behavioral Health Initiative that set aside $2.3 million for behavioral health services for veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. The initiative provides funding for four regional resource coordinators who help direct behavioral health services to veterans in need. The administration introduced a bill this year that will expand the Veterans Behavioral Health Initiative to include all veterans. Brown is working closely with leaders in the General Assembly to protect funding for this program.
“Many veterans do not sign up for services through the VA, and their families don’t know where to turn for help,” said Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Secretary John M. Colmers. “The Veterans Network of Care portal is a comprehensive Website that includes information to help veterans find and sign up for these services.”
go here for more
Maryland Launches Veterans Network Of Care Portal
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Utah filmmaker seeks to help veterans cope with PTSD
Utah filmmaker seeks to help veterans
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted: 04/04/2009 07:13:04 PM MDT
Chantelle Squires thought she was working on a project for school.
In 2004, the Brigham Young University film student heard that her neighbor had just returned home from Iraq, where he had served as a Marine Corps sniper. Unable to fathom how the shy, sweet boy she'd grown up with could have been the man behind a sniper rifle, she convinced him to submit to an interview.
The project turned into a years-long effort to document the lives of four Marines from the Utah-based Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines.
The resulting film, "Reserved to Fight," has won critical acclaim, been nationally televised and was singled out by a major veterans advocacy group for support.
Now the documentary has turned into something else. With Monday's release of the film on DVD, Squires and those she worked with are seeking to use the film as a catalyst for education on the struggles of returning war veterans.
To that end, the DVD's extra features include expert interviews on post-traumatic stress disorder and guidance -- for veterans, their friends and families and mental health care providers -- on how to cope with the mental anguish of war.
go here for more
Utah filmmaker seeks to help veterans
By Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune
Posted: 04/04/2009 07:13:04 PM MDT
Chantelle Squires thought she was working on a project for school.
In 2004, the Brigham Young University film student heard that her neighbor had just returned home from Iraq, where he had served as a Marine Corps sniper. Unable to fathom how the shy, sweet boy she'd grown up with could have been the man behind a sniper rifle, she convinced him to submit to an interview.
The project turned into a years-long effort to document the lives of four Marines from the Utah-based Fox Company of the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Marines.
The resulting film, "Reserved to Fight," has won critical acclaim, been nationally televised and was singled out by a major veterans advocacy group for support.
Now the documentary has turned into something else. With Monday's release of the film on DVD, Squires and those she worked with are seeking to use the film as a catalyst for education on the struggles of returning war veterans.
To that end, the DVD's extra features include expert interviews on post-traumatic stress disorder and guidance -- for veterans, their friends and families and mental health care providers -- on how to cope with the mental anguish of war.
go here for more
Utah filmmaker seeks to help veterans
Saturday, April 4, 2009
North Dakota National Guardsmen Welcome Sight In Fargo
Guardsmen a welcome sight in ND flood fight
By Patrick Condon - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 4, 2009 15:57:09 EDT
FARGO, N.D. — Staff Sgt. Matthew Mitzel has patrolled the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, and now he’s patrolled the Red River in Fargo.
“I’ll take Fargo any day,” said Mitzel, a North Dakota National Guard member and veteran of two tours in Iraq now leading a quick-response rescue team in flood-soaked Fargo.
“It’s the first time in my career I’m not fighting with Iraqi terrorists. I can just help North Dakotans fight Mother Nature. I’m fighting side by side with the people I’m protecting.”
National Guard soldiers were a huge presence in Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., after the Red River rose to a threatening level against the miles of protective dikes. As the water receded, the Minnesota Guard ended its mission around Moorhead on Friday, but the North Dakota Guard kept about 1,200 soldiers on its side of the river.
go here for more
Guardsmen a welcome sight in ND flood fight
By Patrick Condon - The Associated Press
Posted : Saturday Apr 4, 2009 15:57:09 EDT
FARGO, N.D. — Staff Sgt. Matthew Mitzel has patrolled the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq, and now he’s patrolled the Red River in Fargo.
“I’ll take Fargo any day,” said Mitzel, a North Dakota National Guard member and veteran of two tours in Iraq now leading a quick-response rescue team in flood-soaked Fargo.
“It’s the first time in my career I’m not fighting with Iraqi terrorists. I can just help North Dakotans fight Mother Nature. I’m fighting side by side with the people I’m protecting.”
National Guard soldiers were a huge presence in Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., after the Red River rose to a threatening level against the miles of protective dikes. As the water receded, the Minnesota Guard ended its mission around Moorhead on Friday, but the North Dakota Guard kept about 1,200 soldiers on its side of the river.
go here for more
Guardsmen a welcome sight in ND flood fight
Five children found dead in suspected murder-suicide
Five children found dead in Graham-area home
Pierce County Sheriff's deputies late this afternoon found five children, ages 7 to 16, dead in a Graham-area home, apparently the victims of violence.
By The News-Tribune, Seattle Times staff
Pierce County Sheriff's deputies late this afternoon found five children, ages 7 to 16, dead in a Graham-area home, apparently the victims of violence.
Investigators believe the children may have been killed by their father who was discovered dead earlier this afternoon at an Auburn address, according to Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. They believe the man, 35, took his own life.
Deputies were called to check on the welfare of the children in a home in the 20400 block of 135th Avenue Court East after officers found the father's body.
go here for more
Five children found dead in Graham-area home
Police: Dad killed kids because wife was leaving
By PHUONG LE Associated Press Writer
GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) -- Investigators believe a man fatally shot his five children in their home and killed himself after he found out his wife was leaving him for another man, a sheriff's spokesman said Sunday.
The bodies of James Harrison's children were found Saturday in the family's mobile home in Graham, about 15 southeast of Tacoma. Harrison had been found earlier in the day, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot, behind the wheel of his car in Auburn, about 18 miles north of Graham.
Authorities haven't released the family's name, but relatives have identified them as the Harrisons.
The man and his 16-year-old daughter had found his wife with another man at a store in Auburn on Friday night, Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer told The News Tribune of Tacoma.
Ryan Peden, the daughter's classmate, had said she told him Friday night that her parents had gotten into a fight and her mother had left. The father followed the mother and tried to get her to return, said Peden.
click link for more
Pierce County Sheriff's deputies late this afternoon found five children, ages 7 to 16, dead in a Graham-area home, apparently the victims of violence.
By The News-Tribune, Seattle Times staff
Pierce County Sheriff's deputies late this afternoon found five children, ages 7 to 16, dead in a Graham-area home, apparently the victims of violence.
Investigators believe the children may have been killed by their father who was discovered dead earlier this afternoon at an Auburn address, according to Pierce County Sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer. They believe the man, 35, took his own life.
Deputies were called to check on the welfare of the children in a home in the 20400 block of 135th Avenue Court East after officers found the father's body.
go here for more
Five children found dead in Graham-area home
Police: Dad killed kids because wife was leaving
By PHUONG LE Associated Press Writer
GRAHAM, Wash. (AP) -- Investigators believe a man fatally shot his five children in their home and killed himself after he found out his wife was leaving him for another man, a sheriff's spokesman said Sunday.
The bodies of James Harrison's children were found Saturday in the family's mobile home in Graham, about 15 southeast of Tacoma. Harrison had been found earlier in the day, dead of a self-inflicted gunshot, behind the wheel of his car in Auburn, about 18 miles north of Graham.
Authorities haven't released the family's name, but relatives have identified them as the Harrisons.
The man and his 16-year-old daughter had found his wife with another man at a store in Auburn on Friday night, Pierce County Sheriff spokesman Ed Troyer told The News Tribune of Tacoma.
Ryan Peden, the daughter's classmate, had said she told him Friday night that her parents had gotten into a fight and her mother had left. The father followed the mother and tried to get her to return, said Peden.
click link for more
National Guardsmen rush to help one of their own
They didn't leave him behind. They didn't dismiss what he was going thru. Police, didn't overreact. This is the way it's supposed to work and a life is saved because they did the right thing. They are all heroes.
Ark-La-Tex soldier suffers from PTSD
Posted: April 3, 2009 10:21 PM EDT
NATCHITOCHES, LA (KSLA) - Fellow soldiers rushed to the aid of a suicidal Iraqi war veteran Friday, in the Ark-La-Tex.
The incident happened in Natchitoches, Louisiana when Natchitoches Police were called out to a welfare concern near Highway 1 in Natchitoches.
It all began when fellow guardsmen went to the soldier's trailer to find out why he didn't show up for duty.
They found him in his trailer with a gun next to him and he wouldn't hand over the weapon. After speaking with police over the phone, he came out peacefully.
go here for more
http://www.ksla.com/Global/story.asp?S=10129168&nav=0RY5
Vietnam Vet Riding Weapon-toting Harley to Raise Money
Vietnam Vet Riding Weapon-toting Harley to Raise Money
Posted By: Angela Williams
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Whoever said, "less is more," hasn't met Robert Harris.
"In the back are two M16s A1s, the rifles used in Vietnam," says Harris, pointing to his Harley.
Everywhere he goes, he sparks a bit of attention.
"There are hand grenades for my foot peddles for my passenger," says Harris.
And that's exactly his intention. This Vietnam veteran paratrooper now dedicates his life to raising funds, and awareness for homeless and disabled vets.
The mission is called Operation Dust Off. It's named after a rescue mission in Vietnam that actually saved his life. Now, he wants to rescue others.
"Not one vet should be on the street," said Harris. "We never left a soldier behind on the battlefields in Vietnam, and I don't see any reason to leave one on the streets."
With the help of fellow vets, Harris transformed his 1985 Harley into a tribute to veterans of all wars. After winning several awards for his bike, he decided to use the attention for their benefit.
go here for more
Vietnam Vet Riding Weapon-toting Harley to Raise Money
Posted By: Angela Williams
JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Whoever said, "less is more," hasn't met Robert Harris.
"In the back are two M16s A1s, the rifles used in Vietnam," says Harris, pointing to his Harley.
Everywhere he goes, he sparks a bit of attention.
"There are hand grenades for my foot peddles for my passenger," says Harris.
And that's exactly his intention. This Vietnam veteran paratrooper now dedicates his life to raising funds, and awareness for homeless and disabled vets.
The mission is called Operation Dust Off. It's named after a rescue mission in Vietnam that actually saved his life. Now, he wants to rescue others.
"Not one vet should be on the street," said Harris. "We never left a soldier behind on the battlefields in Vietnam, and I don't see any reason to leave one on the streets."
With the help of fellow vets, Harris transformed his 1985 Harley into a tribute to veterans of all wars. After winning several awards for his bike, he decided to use the attention for their benefit.
go here for more
Vietnam Vet Riding Weapon-toting Harley to Raise Money
DOD releases name of another non-combat death in Iraq
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Devin C. Poche, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., died Mar. 31 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sgt. Devin C. Poche, 25, of Jacksonville, N.C., died Mar. 31 at Contingency Operating Base Speicher, near Tikrit, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii.
The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
Tampa woman gets jail over VA benefit fraud
This makes my blood boil! This is not a matter of a widow of a veteran fighting to have a claim honored but a woman with the nerve to take money from the VA after a widow had died. She had nothing to do with the disabled veteran that was willing to die for this country and nothing to do with the life of the wife at his side. She just must have decided that she didn't need to earn any of the money she was taking without a clue of what kind of price others paid. In a time when there are claims tied up in a backlog, claims denied and veterans suffer, here we have someone making a living off of the legacy of a veteran!
Woman Gets Prison For Veterans Benefits Fraud
TBO.com
Published: April 2, 2009
A Palmetto woman who pleaded guilty to cashing veterans benefit checks in the name of her boyfriend's dead mother was sentenced today to five months in prison and five months of house arrest.
Lynn Weber, 55, was also ordered by U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew to pay $62,960 in restitution.
A woman named Eleanor Edwards was the intended recipient of the checks from the Veterans Administration Dependency and Indemnity Compensation program, which is paid to eligible surviving spouses of veterans who have not remarried, according to court documents.
go here for more
Woman Gets Prison For Veterans Benefits Fraud/
Veteran struggle to truly come home
Veterans struggle to truly come home
4/4/2009 1:05:02 AM
By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
After returning stateside from serving in the Gulf War in 1991, Gabe Cruz had a stable job.
He was a surveillance specialist with the Lubbock, Texas, Health Department, tracking the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in the west Texas population. He was considered a public health expert, especially in the field of HIV/AIDS.
"I oversaw 42 counties. I dressed in shirts and ties and I worked in nice clothes," he says.
But he experienced a personal tragedy and an emotional breakdown at work, and he lost his job. Anything can trigger such an unexpected downward spiral for veterans who might think they've returned to normalcy.
"I went crazy," Cruz says, showing his disability documents that state, "you were found running barefoot in the street, claiming people were shooting at you."
He had a flat tire and "I just started crying. I couldn't get it together."
While on active duty, most routine things are predetermined, so changes in routine can throw off veterans.
"I remember one guy getting off the plane, met his wife and family at the airport, went to have a meal and felt completely overwhelmed because the waitress put a menu in his hand," said Katie Burnes, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who helps soldiers at the VA Clinic in Rochester. "Because he didn't have to choose anything. He didn't have to choose what to eat for 16 months. And he didn't know how to act. He didn't know how to respond."
Cruz uses the disability statement as if it's proof for non-believers.
"I read it over and over (because) I forget," Cruz says. "I think any logical person would say they'd want to forget the worst parts."
He has formed a relationship with a woman and her two children, but he struggles. In post-war relationships, when a woman rolls her eyes in response to his behavior, he says, he knows it's over.
"I sleep in the garage because I don't want the kids to see me. ... It's cold in the garage. It's more embarrassing, though, if they were to see me," he says.
Severe panic attacks are the problem. Any unexpected noise can set one off.
go here for more
Veterans struggle to truly come home
Post-Bulletin - Rochester,MN,USA
4/4/2009 1:05:02 AM
By Jeff Hansel
Post-Bulletin, Rochester MN
After returning stateside from serving in the Gulf War in 1991, Gabe Cruz had a stable job.
He was a surveillance specialist with the Lubbock, Texas, Health Department, tracking the incidence of sexually transmitted diseases in the west Texas population. He was considered a public health expert, especially in the field of HIV/AIDS.
"I oversaw 42 counties. I dressed in shirts and ties and I worked in nice clothes," he says.
But he experienced a personal tragedy and an emotional breakdown at work, and he lost his job. Anything can trigger such an unexpected downward spiral for veterans who might think they've returned to normalcy.
"I went crazy," Cruz says, showing his disability documents that state, "you were found running barefoot in the street, claiming people were shooting at you."
He had a flat tire and "I just started crying. I couldn't get it together."
While on active duty, most routine things are predetermined, so changes in routine can throw off veterans.
"I remember one guy getting off the plane, met his wife and family at the airport, went to have a meal and felt completely overwhelmed because the waitress put a menu in his hand," said Katie Burnes, a psychiatric nurse practitioner who helps soldiers at the VA Clinic in Rochester. "Because he didn't have to choose anything. He didn't have to choose what to eat for 16 months. And he didn't know how to act. He didn't know how to respond."
Cruz uses the disability statement as if it's proof for non-believers.
"I read it over and over (because) I forget," Cruz says. "I think any logical person would say they'd want to forget the worst parts."
He has formed a relationship with a woman and her two children, but he struggles. In post-war relationships, when a woman rolls her eyes in response to his behavior, he says, he knows it's over.
"I sleep in the garage because I don't want the kids to see me. ... It's cold in the garage. It's more embarrassing, though, if they were to see me," he says.
Severe panic attacks are the problem. Any unexpected noise can set one off.
go here for more
Veterans struggle to truly come home
Post-Bulletin - Rochester,MN,USA
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife: racial epithets on walls of home
By Nancy Dillon In Murrietta, Calif. and Corky Siemaszko In New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Race may have been the motive for the brutal murders of Brooklyn-raised Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana.
After insisting for months the Pietrzaks were slain by four other Marines for their money, a key prosecution witness dropped a bombshell Friday - racist remarks were spray-painted in the couple's California home.
The words "N----- Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror, Riverside County Homicide Investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified.
Pietrzak, 24, was white, his 26-year-old wife was black, and the four accused Marines are black.
Ramirez's revelation came at the start of a two-day hearing to determine if the Camp Pendleton Marines should stand trial - and plunged the victims' heartbroken mothers into tears.
go here for more
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife
By Nancy Dillon In Murrietta, Calif. and Corky Siemaszko In New York
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS
Race may have been the motive for the brutal murders of Brooklyn-raised Marine Sgt. Jan Pawel Pietrzak and his wife, Quiana.
After insisting for months the Pietrzaks were slain by four other Marines for their money, a key prosecution witness dropped a bombshell Friday - racist remarks were spray-painted in the couple's California home.
The words "N----- Lover" were found on the wall near the master bedroom and on a bathroom mirror, Riverside County Homicide Investigator Benjamin Ramirez testified.
Pietrzak, 24, was white, his 26-year-old wife was black, and the four accused Marines are black.
Ramirez's revelation came at the start of a two-day hearing to determine if the Camp Pendleton Marines should stand trial - and plunged the victims' heartbroken mothers into tears.
go here for more
Grim twist in torture-slay of Marine Sgt. Jan Pietrzak and wife
Survivors may struggle in aftermath of Civic Association shootings
Imagine being one of the people, minding their own business, attending class and all hell breaks loose with a gunman on a rampage shooting people he does not even know.
The investigation will go on and people have gone home. The gunman is dead and while some think he cannot hurt anyone else now, the truth is, he will keep hurting people for many more years. The survivors of the attack will keep paying the price and so will their families for a very long time. Some will recover, but as this article points out, it has a lot to do with the history of the survivors. Sometimes it is one traumatic event too many opening the door for PTSD but other times, it's because the individual exposed to the events carries away the pain of others along with their own.
How can you ever feel safe after this? How can you believe you do not have to look over your shoulder or wonder where the next attack will happen? You can't but you do get to a point when you are able to rationalize that an abnormality like this does not happen every place you go. Your nerves will stop jumping and your senses will not be out of control forever as time replaces this horrific part of your life. The key is to start talking about it, let it out, so that it does not take root inside of you. Too many survivors stuff the horror into the back of their minds, avoiding any discussion or memory of it and they allow it to end up ruling their lives after. You couldn't control the event but you are in control when it comes to you and what you do to heal from it. If you need help, ask for it. If you need to talk, find people to listen. If you need a shoulder to lean on, reach out for it. Do not suffer in silence if you find you need help to heal.
UPDATE
Binghamton struggles to understand why
Wearing body armor and carrying two weapons, Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with his car on Friday, then went inside and fatally shot 13 people before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. "Whatever drove this individual to do what he did I cannot possibly fathom," said Angela Leach, a representative of the association. "He must have been a coward," said Police Chief Joseph Zikuski. full story
Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings
Story Highlights
NEW: Police execute search warrant at suspected gunman's home
NEW: Authorities have also talked with shooting suspect's mother
Fourteen people, including gunman, died Friday in N.Y. immigration center shootings
(CNN) -- Authorities are still sorting out the details after a shooting rampage Friday at a Binghamton, New York, immigration center left 14 people dead, including the suspected gunman.
A senior law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation identified the suspect as Jiverly Wong, who is believed to be in his early 40s.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Wong's home in Johnson City, near Binghamton, and spoke to the suspect's mother, the source said.
Earlier in the day, Binghamton police Chief Joseph Zikuski said the gunman entered the American Civic Association building. At 10:31 a.m., authorities received a 911 call from the receptionist, who said she'd been shot in the stomach, Zikuski said.
She told police that a man with a handgun also shot and killed another receptionist before proceeding to a nearby classroom, where he gunned down more victims, Zikuski said.
Authorities said 37 people made it out of the building alive, most of the survivors managed to survive by hiding in a boiler room and storage closets.
go here for more of this
Motive unclear in deadly Binghamton shootings
The investigation will go on and people have gone home. The gunman is dead and while some think he cannot hurt anyone else now, the truth is, he will keep hurting people for many more years. The survivors of the attack will keep paying the price and so will their families for a very long time. Some will recover, but as this article points out, it has a lot to do with the history of the survivors. Sometimes it is one traumatic event too many opening the door for PTSD but other times, it's because the individual exposed to the events carries away the pain of others along with their own.
Survivors may struggle in aftermath of Civic Association shootings
Press & Sun-Bulletin - Binghamton,NY,USA
By Vanessa Ebbeling • vebbeling1@gannett.com • Staff Writer • April 3, 2009
BINGHAMTON -- They're alive.
But the 37 survivors who walked away from Friday's massacre at American Civic Association might face debilitating emotions in the wake of the shooting tragedy that left 14 dead. Symptoms and the coping mechanisms will be as different as the individuals themselves, mental health experts said.
"It's normal for people to feel anxiety and feel depressed; people often have trouble sleeping," said Meredith Coles, an assistant professor of psychology at Binghamton University. "Typically, that goes down over time and that's one of the amazing things about people facing trauma."
Humans are incredibly resilient and can recover -- and even thrive -- after traumatic experiences. But if symptoms persist for weeks or months, survivors should seek professional help.
"They'll also attempt to avoid stimuli that arouse recollections of the trauma," he said. "But these are normal responses to an abnormal event."
The degree of a survivor's symptoms might depend on their involvement in the circumstance and past traumas in their life.
click link for more of this
How can you ever feel safe after this? How can you believe you do not have to look over your shoulder or wonder where the next attack will happen? You can't but you do get to a point when you are able to rationalize that an abnormality like this does not happen every place you go. Your nerves will stop jumping and your senses will not be out of control forever as time replaces this horrific part of your life. The key is to start talking about it, let it out, so that it does not take root inside of you. Too many survivors stuff the horror into the back of their minds, avoiding any discussion or memory of it and they allow it to end up ruling their lives after. You couldn't control the event but you are in control when it comes to you and what you do to heal from it. If you need help, ask for it. If you need to talk, find people to listen. If you need a shoulder to lean on, reach out for it. Do not suffer in silence if you find you need help to heal.
UPDATE
Binghamton struggles to understand why
Wearing body armor and carrying two weapons, Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with his car on Friday, then went inside and fatally shot 13 people before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said. "Whatever drove this individual to do what he did I cannot possibly fathom," said Angela Leach, a representative of the association. "He must have been a coward," said Police Chief Joseph Zikuski. full story
3 police officers shot in Pittsburgh answering domestic violence call
3 police officers shot in Pittsburgh
Story Highlights
Officers were responding to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said
Gunman is apparently in a house keeping law enforcement at bay
WTAE-TV reports that as many as 80 shots have been fired
(CNN) -- Three police officers were shot in Pittsburgh on Saturday, as they responded to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said.
A gunman is apparently holed up inside a home in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of the western Pennsylvania city.
The conditions of the officers were not known.
Police couldn't say whether the officers struck were from the city, the county or other departments. City, county and state police officers were at the scene.
CNN affiliate WTAE reported that as many as 80 shots have been fired between people in the house and officers
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/04/pittsburgh.officers.shot/index.html
check back with CNN later for details as they come out.
UPDATE
This makes no sense at all. If he was "afraid" President Obama would "ban guns" then why would he do something like this? Why kill police officers for what he was "afraid of" and do something like this?
Story Highlights
Officers were responding to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said
Gunman is apparently in a house keeping law enforcement at bay
WTAE-TV reports that as many as 80 shots have been fired
(CNN) -- Three police officers were shot in Pittsburgh on Saturday, as they responded to a domestic call, Allegheny County police said.
A gunman is apparently holed up inside a home in the Stanton Heights neighborhood of the western Pennsylvania city.
The conditions of the officers were not known.
Police couldn't say whether the officers struck were from the city, the county or other departments. City, county and state police officers were at the scene.
CNN affiliate WTAE reported that as many as 80 shots have been fired between people in the house and officers
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/04/pittsburgh.officers.shot/index.html
check back with CNN later for details as they come out.
UPDATE
This makes no sense at all. If he was "afraid" President Obama would "ban guns" then why would he do something like this? Why kill police officers for what he was "afraid of" and do something like this?
Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers; friends say he feared Obama would ban guns
DAN NEPHINRAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI
Associated Press Writers Associated Press Writers
5:59 PM EDT, April 4, 2009
PITTSBURGH (AP) — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest and "lying in wait" opened fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call Saturday, killing three of them and turning a quiet Pittsburgh street into a battlefield, police said.
Police Chief Nate Harper said the motive for the shooting isn't clear, but friends said the gunman recently had been upset about losing his job and feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.
Richard Poplawski, 23, met officers at the doorway and shot two of them in the head immediately, Harper said. An officer who tried to help the two also was killed.
Poplawski, armed with an assault rifle and two other guns, then held police at bay for four hours as the fallen officers were left bleeding nearby, their colleagues unable to reach them, according to police and witnesses. More than 100 rounds were fired by the SWAT teams and Poplawski, Harper said.
go here for more
Gunman 'lying in wait' kills 3 Pittsburgh officers
UPDATE Sunday April 5, 2009
Urinating dog triggered argument resulting in 3 officers' deaths
Story Highlights
The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995
Third officer killed was on his way home after finishing shift
Officers were responding to domestic call in Stanton Heights area of Pittsburgh
Two more officers were injured in the nearly four-hour standoff that ensued(CNN) -- Three Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, police officers were shot to death while responding to a 911 call of a domestic argument triggered by a urinating dog, according to a criminal complaint filed in the case.
The officers were the first department fatalities since 1995, according to the department.
Police said following the shootings Saturday that Richard Poplawski, 22, would be charged with three counts of homicide, aggravated assault and other charges. Poplawski, who was shot in the leg during a four-hour standoff with police, was hospitalized at an undisclosed location, police said.
Details of the incident were included in the police complaint seeking an arrest warrant for Poplawski. The complaint says Margaret Poplawski called 911 about 7 a.m. Saturday to report that her son was "giving her a hard time." Watch officers respond at the scene »
She told police she awoke to discover that "the dog had urinated on the floor," and awakened her son "to confront him about it."
The two had an argument, and Margaret Poplawski told her son she was calling police to remove him from her home, according to the complaint. When officers Stephen Mayhle and Paul Sciullo III arrived, she opened the door and let them in.go here for more
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/04/05/pittsburgh.officers.shot.dog/index.html
Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office taking women seriously
Rape and sexual assaults are crimes that no one should ever ignore.
New campaign aims to stop sexual assault
By William H. McMichael - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Apr 3, 2009 14:49:01 EDT
The Pentagon on Friday launched a campaign to raise awareness of and prevent sexual assaults with a focus on what it calls “bystander intervention” — service members taking the initiative to step in when someone is about to be victimized.
The campaign, dubbed “Our Strength is for Defending,” is running throughout April in tandem with National Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
Officials are employing posters, brochures and radio and TV announcements and focusing the campaign on 18- to-24-year-old men and women — the age range in which officials say most sexual assaults take place.
The campaign resembles a similar effort by the international advocacy group Men Can Stop Rape. That group’s campaign is focused on men; SAPRO worked with the group to adapt the program to the military and include women as a focal point.
“We all have a responsibility of intervening if we think a sexual assault is going to occur,” said Kaye Whitley, director of the Pentagon’s Sexual Assault and Prevention Office, or SAPRO.
The campaign goal is twofold, Whitley said: preventing sexual assault, and raising awareness of the issue.
go here for more
New campaign aims to stop sexual assault
Wales:Truck carries coffin of soldier to final rest
Truck carries coffin of soldier
Cpl Dean John's coffin was escorted to the crematorium by his army colleagues
A soldier from south Wales with a life-long love of engines and trucks was driven to his funeral service on the back of a brand new lorry.
Cpl Dean John, 25, of Port Talbot, was killed by a roadside bomb in Helmand province in Afghanistan on 15 March.
Hundreds of people lined both sides of the streets as the married father of three was driven to Margam Crematorium.
Fellow soldier Cpl Graeme Stiff, 24, from Grimsby, lost his life in the same blast.
go here for more
Truck carries coffin of soldier
Students at St. Johns Academy talked face-to-face with a pilot in Iraq
Students in Ms. Mahan first-grade got to see that Flat Stanley made it to Iraq to visit some soldiers.
Soldier In Iraq Speaks To Local 1st-Grade Class
POSTED: Thursday, April 2, 2009
UPDATED: 8:29 pm EDT April 2, 2009
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- A soldier serving the country hundreds of thousands of miles away in Iraq made time for some first-graders in St. Augustine on Thursday.
Students at St. Johns Academy talked face-to-face with a pilot who is overseas. Using a webcam, Lt. Col. Jim Baker told the children about the ups and downs of military life and answered all sorts of questions.
"Do you miss your family?" one student asked.
"Oh yes. That's the one thing about being over here that we agree on, that we miss our family," Baker said.
For the first time, the students got to meet with a helicopter pilot stationed in Iraq. The high-tech visit was conducted via Skype.
"We've got everything from hamburgers and hot dogs, to sandwiches and soup," Baker shared about life overseas.
"It's a good opportunity for us to show our gratitude to him for his sacrifices over there," said first-grade teacher Leah Mahan.
go here for more
Soldier In Iraq Speaks To Local 1st-Grade Class
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)