Army veteran fighting government for regulating part of his farm to protect spiders
WZTV
by ADRIAN MOJICA
WZTV Staff
August 9th 2019
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (WZTV) – An Army veteran who served his country in the Vietnam War is suing the federal government for regulating part of his family farm over spiders.
John Yearwood runs a small business and lives on the family farm which has been in the family since 1871, nearly 150 years. Spanning 865 acres in Williamson County, Texas, Yearwood is faced with being unable to use part of his land because of a tiny spider he's never seen.
In a lawsuit filed by the non-profit American Stewards of Liberty on behalf of Yearwood, the suit claims the U.S. Department of the Interior is using the Interstate Commerce Clause to keep him from using part of the land due to an obscure cave spider species.
According to the lawsuit, the government is using the clause to protect the Bone Cave Harvestman, a tiny spider which only exists in underground caves in two central Texas counties. It is believed this species of spider lives on Yearwood's family land. The spider is considered endangered, thus protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Due to the endangered designation, Yearwood would be committing a federal crime if he did anything to harm or disturb the habitat of the Bone Cave Havestman spiders. The situation has put Yearwood's family in a tight position according to the American Stewards of Liberty. The organization states Yearwood has used the land for community benefit, allowing church groups, youth groups, and 4-H clubs to use the property for camping. However, the best part of their land for camping is also home to where the spiders are believed to live underground.
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Veterans Urge Changes Before Expansion Of VA Caregivers Program
KSTX
By QUIL LAWRENCE
AUG 8, 2019
"I got a letter saying that I was out of the program because the veteran hasn't shown any progress since 2011," said Alicia. "I asked them, 'What do you mean by progress?' "
Matt shakes hands with members of the Warrior Games community after his race. "I got a letter saying that I was out of the [caregivers] program because the veteran hasn't shown any progress since 2011," Alicia said. "I asked them, 'What do you mean by progress?' "
EVE EDELHEIT FOR NPR
There are times when retired Staff Sgt. Matt Lammers doesn't look like he needs anyone's help — like when he was competing, and winning, races at the Department of Defense Warrior Games in Tampa, Fla., this summer.
"We don't like to say the word 'can't' in our family," says Matt, who lost both his legs above the knee and his left arm to an explosion during his second deployment to Iraq in 2007.
Matt won medals at the games in Tampa for sitting volleyball, swimming and indoor rowing. At the end of the games, the U.S. Army gave him the "heart of the team" award. But he and his wife almost didn't attend, because they were short on cash to make the trip after Alicia was cut from the Department of Veterans Affairs' caregiver program last December because Matt had not "consistently engaged in treatment," according to a letter from the VA. Alicia had been Matt's official caregiver for most of eight years.
"It felt like a stab in the back, like what I do is not worth it in their opinion, like I'm not part of their team like I thought I was," she says.
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update
Funerals held for 4 children killed in day care fire
A funeral service was held Saturday in Erie for 8-year-old La'Myhia Jones, 6-year-old Luther Jones Jr., 4-year-old Ava Jones and 9-month-old Jaydan Augustyniak. All are siblings. The funeral for 2-year-old Dalvin Pacley will be held Monday.
Three of the victims were the children of a volunteer firefighter, Luther Jones. Their mother, Shevona Overton, is also the mother of Jaydan. An adult and two adolescent boys were able to escape. Fire officials suspect last Sunday's blaze was accidental and possibly electrical.
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Firefighter loses three kids in Pennsylvania day care blaze that kills five
NBC News
By Tim Stelloh
Aug. 11, 2019
A firefighter lost three children in an early morning blaze that tore through a home day care in Pennsylvania, killing five and leaving a woman injured, authorities said.
Joe Crotty, chief of the Lawrence Park Volunteer Fire Department, said firefighter Luther Jones was responding to another fire when the blaze ignited at Harris Family Day Care in Erie, NBC News affiliate WICU reported.
Jones had no idea his children were at the overnight day care center a few blocks away, the station said.
It's "unthinkable," Crotty said. "It's really beyond comprehension."
Earlier, city officials said in a Facebook post said that firefighters responding to a structure fire shortly after 1 a.m. rescued seven people who were trapped inside a home.
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Marine kidnapped as baby reunites with rescuer 22 years later
ABC 13 News
By Brittany Tarwater
Aug 09, 2019
"I think that is the perfect bookend. I think to end seeing him again, it really just puts the final touch to a career.” Troy SowersTroy Sowers
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT/Gray News) - A reunion outside the Knoxville FBI headquarters was the second time Stewart Rembert and Troy Sowers have met.
Rembert doesn’t remember the first time, reports WVLT, but FBI Special Agent in Charge Sowers will never forget that day.
Rembert was two days old in 1997 when he was kidnapped from a Washington state hospital by a woman claiming to be a nurse.
It was one of Sowers’s first cases with the FBI. He found baby Rembert in a box behind a dumpster.
“I pulled a baby out of a box,” he recalled. “That was tough. I had to take a couple deep breaths before I started talking.”
Rembert was then reunited with his family. The kidnapper pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
After graduating high school, Rembert joined the Marines and is now stationed at Camp Lejeune.
"Without him, I wouldn't be where I am today, a United States Marine," he said.
Friday was Sowers’s last day with the FBI. He ended his career with one of the first people he started it with. Cpl. Rembert surprised Sowers at his retirement party.
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Thieves take boxed donations slated for veterans; Resident not happy about it
WHIO 7 News
By: J. Frazier Smith
August 09, 2019
HUBER HEIGHTS — A military veteran is not happy about the thief or thieves who took six of the 13 boxes of donated household items his wife put out in front of their Huber Heights home for a veteran's organization.
"I think it's pretty low," the man said Friday afternoon, asking not to be identified by name. "It's the principal. Here I am trying to help veterans and somebody's being a thief."
He didn't call police because they couldn't do anything about the theft of the boxes, which he said contained clothes, silverware, boots, a toy box and more.
The man said his wife put the boxes out Friday morning and went to shower. By the time she got out, 10 minutes later, the six boxes were gone.
"We were just downsizing and didn't need the stuff," the man said. "They wanted it more than the veterans."
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This story infuriates me!
Two weeks ago, we had Vietnam Veterans of America come to pick up a huge donation of furniture, household items and clothes. We are also downsizing, for a move to New Hampshire.
We could have had a yard sale and made a lot of money. We could have donated to any of the other groups out there. We decided to donated to the group who represents my Vietnam veteran husband and fights for all veterans.
Vietnam Veterans of America make it easy for people to donate. You pick the date and where you want to put your items and they come to pick them up. Really easy for generous givers and receivers, but makes it easy for reprehensible takers too.
Will I do it again after reading this story? You bet! Once we see what size house we are moving into, there will be more happily donated from us to the VVA!
Man claims he's being discriminated against because of PTSD and service dog
KMVT 11 News
By Garrett Hottle
Aug 09, 2019
Thompson said his PTSD is the reason he's not a police officer anymore. But that things have recently gotten better, thanks to the addition of his service dog, Ziva. Thompson said he could tell she would make a huge difference in his life, from one of the first times they met.
SHOSHONE, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) A military veteran and former police officer in the Magic Valley, believes he's experiencing discrimination in his search for employment because of his service dog.
Former police offer and veteran Michael Thompson explains how his service dog Ziva helps him cope with PTSD.
Michael Thompson is a Shoshone resident who previously worked for the Bellevue and Shoshone police departments. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Military and saw combat during the invasion of Iraq.
"I did the initial invasion for Iraq," Thompson said. "We were the group that was embedded with special forces that jumped into north Iraq and worked our way south."
Thompson has lived in Buhl most of his life and his time in the military was a big change for him, especially going overseas.
"I went from small town kid to a gunner in a High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), where we were actually fighting and taking over areas as we worked our way south," Michael said.
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