Vietnam Veteran Puts Up Protest Billboard "VA Is Lying, Veterans Are Dying"

Angry billboard brings national VA protest to Haley center
Tampa Tribune
Howard Altman
August 31, 2015

The billboard is on the 1200 block of East Fowler Avenue near the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital in Tampa. SALLY MULCARE

A national group of veterans and their families, upset with the Department of Veterans Affairs, has brought its protest to Tampa — in the form of a message on an electronic billboard on the 1200 block of East Fowler Avenue near the James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital.

“VA is Lying, Veterans Are Dying,” reads the message, sponsored by a Facebook group called “VA is Lying,” launched by a Vietnam War veteran from Indiana.

“I started the Facebook group about two years ago because I was angry at the VA,” Ron Nesler said.

Nesler said he was upset, in part, about the treatment of his step-daughter, whose biological father is a Marine exposed to Agent Orange when he served in Vietnam. The exposure led to severe birth defects in the child and Nesler said his anger has been stoked by the VA’s poor response to a federal law mandating treatment for children of veterans exposed to the defoliant.

The VA’s actions on the matter have been “unconscionable,” said Rick Weidman, executive director for policy and government affairs for the Vietnam Veterans of America, a veteran service organization that has helped Nesler fight for benefits for his stepdaughter.
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Veterans, No Soup For You, Fundraisers Sucked Pot Dry

You are reading the work of a successful do'er and financial failure. Doing the work, I'm good at but I really suck at raising money to do it. I had to go back to work for a paycheck last year since no one has donated in over a year.

Anyway, there are more of "me types" out there doing the work for the sake of the work and not for money. It hurts when I have to file my financials and show a loss of a couple of thousand every year. What hurts more is when I read about charities using professional fundraisers leaving them with about 15 cents for every dollar given for the sake of veterans.

Donations to Illinois veterans charity mostly go to pay telemarketers
Chicago Tribune
David Jackson
August 31, 2015

A VietNow charity volunteer pushes a rack of boxes filled with hundreds of sandwiches bound for homeless people in Chicago on July 19, 2015, in Lombard.
(Stacey Wescott / Chicago Tribune)

To address the profound and unmet needs of veterans, Americans last year donated $1.4 million to a Rockford charity called VietNow National Headquarters.

But most of the money — about 85 percent — went to for-profit phone solicitors, and most of the rest was spent on VietNow's own administrative costs and a convention, public tax filings show.

The fraction of donations spent on direct service to former military personnel and their families did not even reach 7 percent in 2014. The charity gives out scholarships to youths, but it reported only a handful, worth $3,985.

"It may not seem like much, but it's the best we could do. That's probably the best way to put it," said charity President Joe Lewis, who took the top office last year.

In all, more than 90 percent of the $24 million donated to VietNow since 2003 came through telemarketers who kept the lion's share, the Tribune found. After fielding questions from the Tribune, Lewis vowed to renegotiate VietNow's telemarketing contracts.

"I wish (critics) could show me another avenue or how to raise money that we could embrace that would provide us with the funds we need for our organization," Lewis said. "I understand from the public's perception how it seems like so little of it comes to us. Do I wish we could get more? Pardon the language but, hell yes."

Helping to manage all of VietNow's fundraising is Richard Troia, a longtime telemarketer who in 2004 was permanently banned from charity fundraising in Illinois.

Troia bought more than $1 million worth of office and residential property in Florida and launched a company called United Publishing Inc. that since 2009 has been listed as a registered agent for VietNow in that state, the Tribune found.
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Police Office Shot and Killed, Manhunt Searches for Killers

Manhunt In Fox Lake After Police Officer Shot And Killed
CBS Chicago
September 1, 2015

CHICAGO (CBS) — A manhunt was underway in far north suburban Fox Lake, after a police officer was shot and killed while chasing three suspects on foot.

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force Cmdr. George Filenko said an officer was shot Tuesday morning near Rollins Road and Route 59.

At a late-morning news conference, Lake County Sheriff’s Det. Chris Covelli said, around 7:50 a.m., the officer radioed he was pursuing three suspects, after looking into their “suspicious activity.” Police lost radio contact with the officer, who was later found with a gunshot wound. Shortly after the news conference, Covelli confirmed that the officer died.

Covelli said police were conducting a ground and air search for three suspects — two white males and a black male. Unconfirmed dispatch reports indicated the suspects might have taken the officer’s gun and pepper spray. Police did not provide a more detailed description of the suspects.

People in the area were being told to stay inside, and to report any suspicious activity to 911.
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The first female VFW chief in Florida is reaching out to younger veterans

Leaving no Florida veterans behind: Front and Center
Orlando Sentinel
September 1, 2015

VFW Commander Amber Putnam: Veterans deserve better care.

Florida is veterans friendly, says VFW Commander Amber Putnam.

The first female VFW chief in Florida is reaching out to younger veterans.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush, one of the herd of GOP presidential hopefuls, recently made a bid to stake out leadership in one vital area: veterans' affairs.

His VA reform plan would enlarge options for care outside the VA and boost focus on female veterans care. Paramount issues in Florida, home to America's third-largest veteran population and more than 166,000 women veterans, including Amber Putnam, the first female state commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Department of Florida. Putnam, a panelist on the Sentinel's November Florida Forward veterans forum, recently shared plans for the VFW.

Q: What challenges do you foresee as the first female head of the Florida VFW?

A: The challenges I face are in many ways no different than those of state commanders that have come before me. As a woman, I of course come from a different perspective, but first and foremost I am a veteran. One thing we pride ourselves on as an organization is that we embrace and support all combat veterans regardless of race, religion or gender. It was that way when we served in the military, and it remains that way as we continue to serve.
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Veteran with PTSD Missing in Idaho

Missing retired Army vet with extreme PTSD 
Local News 8 ABC
POSTED:Aug 31, 2015

BONNEVILLE COUNTY, Idaho - An Idaho Falls area family is searching for a missing retired Army veteran with extreme PTSD.

Family members say Mark Oliver is a medically retired combat war veteran. He left home last night near Lincoln Road and Edmiston Drive.

The family says he is a high risk veteran. "He suffers from severe PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and depression. He had a medical history of seizures and black outs" says his wife. 

Mark was last seen wearing a black military shirt, blue jeans, and grey tennis shoes. He wears glasses and has a white gold wedding band. He is six feet tall and about 180 pounds.

Oliver has a large rose tattoo on his left forearm. He was driving a 2010 metallic blue Mazda 3.

If you have any information you are encouraged to call the Bonneville County Sheriff's Office (208) 529-1200.
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