VVA CHAPTER 936
June 2006
SAYING GOODBYE
“Live for something. Do good and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, love, and mercy on the hearts of thousands you come in contact with year by year; you will never be forgotten. No, your name, your deeds will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven.” - - Chalmers
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NEXT MEETING
MEMBERSHIP NEWS
CHAPTER MEMBER’S SPOTLIGHT
Shenandoah Farms’ vegetables and fruit are grown in their hydroponics greenhouses and gardens. They use integrated pest management and organically approved pesticides to control harmful pests to the plants. These methods are more time consuming and expensive than the traditional pesticide method, and they take pride in every item that carries their name. Allen and Debbie do their very best to ensure that all of their customers are treated in the Shenandoah Valley tradition of respect and satisfaction.
Shop for the Sinclairs’ meats, produce and more of Virginia’s finest at the Shenandoah Farms Market, located on 9354 Orkney Grade, about 3 miles west of Mt. Jackson, Virginia, or you can visit their web site at www.shenandoahfarms.net where you can select and order. Telephone (540)477-9792 or fax (540)477-9223.
OLD DOMINION 100 MILE ENDURANCE RUN
SENATE PASSES LEGISLATION TO PROTECT MILITARY FUNERALS
The new bill (H.R.:5037) will not stop the protests, but will restrict under federal law how far away protestors can gather from cemetery access points.
Under the restrictions adopted by the Senate, a protestor making any “noise or diversion that disturbs or tends to disturb the peace or good order of a funeral, memorial service, or ceremony” may not do so within 150 feet of any point of access to or exit from cemetery property. The amended Senate bill also prohibits any demonstration that is within 300 feet of cemetery property that would impede access to or exit from the cemetery.
VA CONTACTING VETERANS WHO RECEIVED PROSTATE BIOPSIES
Although VA has not received any reports of patients being harmed, the Department is notifying all veterans who were treated by the equipment in question, called “a prostate biopsy transducer.” VA is also offering follow-on testing to determine if these veterans were exposed to any other ailments.
Improperly scrubbed equipment carries a small risk of exposing patients to Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
VA is notifying patients who received prostate biopsies with the equipment in question at the following facilities: District of Columbia; Iowa City, Iowa; Togus, Maine; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Fort Harrison and Miles City, Montana; Las Vegas, Nevada; Buffalo and Canandaigua, New York; Cincinnati, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Memphis, Murfreesboro, and Nashville, Tennessee, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Most of the 17 facilities have notified vets at this time. If you had a prostate biopsy at one of the facilities listed above and have not received a letter...please contact your primary health care provider and ask to be screened. This is IMPORTANT. A number of the facilities have over 2,000 patients on their list.
PERSONAL DATA OF 26.5 MILLION VETERANS STOLE
The information involved mainly those veterans who served and have been discharged since 1975, said VA Secretary Jim Nicholson. Data of veterans discharged before 1975 who submitted claims to the agency may have been included.
“The recent statement from the Department of Veterans Affairs about the loss of social security numbers and other data for 26.5 million veterans does not add up, literally,” said John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), “and VVA calls upon Congress to begin immediate hearings on this appalling situation.
“There are only about 26.5 million living American veterans, and only a fraction of these have ever sought anything from the VA. More than two-thirds of us separated from the military well before the 1975 date that the VA alleges. So the real story is: Why did VA have this data in the first place? How did they collect it? For what purpose?”
“The real story here may be hidden in plain sight,” Rowan went on to say, “it is questionable that this data should have been in the possession of VA or anyone other than the Social Security Administration for strictly narrow and legally defined purposes. Did VA share it with some other public or private entity for some other purpose? Was the story about to be leaked by someone that accounts for the timing of the VA disclosure? Why did VA wait nineteen days to notify veterans? There are many questions that remain to be answered here.”
The VA has put veterans at risk for identity theft. If this were the private sector, they would be required to provide each veteran with free credit reporting services so that they could monitor their financial information. VVA urges veterans to monitor all their banking and credit statements to insure that the VA has not compromised their personal information. We call on the VA to assist the compromised veterans.
VVA also calls upon the leaders in the House and Senate to conduct immediate hearings on this disgraceful situation.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has come under criticism for shoddy accounting practices and for falling short on the needs of veterans. Last year, more than 260,000 veterans could not sign up for services because of cost-cutting. Audits also have shown the agency used misleading accounting methods and lacked documentation to prove its claimed savings.
“It is a mystifying and gravely serious concern that a VA data analyst would be permitted to just walk out the VA door with such information,” Illinois Rep. Lane Evans, the top Democrat on the Veterans Affairs Committee, said in a statement signed by other Democrats on the panel.
$50,000 REWARD OFFERED FOR RETURN OF ELECTRONIC DATA CONTAINING VETERANS’ INFORMATION
The primary objective of the investigation is the recovery of the laptop and the external hard drive. Any one who can provide information that leads to the recovery of the laptop and external hard drive that contains the veterans’ data should call Crime Solvers of Montgomery County at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477). A cash reward of $50,000 will be paid for information provided to the Crime Solvers tip line that leads to the recovery of these items. The burglary occurred on May 3, 2006, in the Aspen Hill community of Montgomery County.
WHERE TO REPORT SUSPICIOUS OR UNUSUAL ACTIVITY
FROM SHABOOM’S KITCHEN
We must say goodbye to our friend and brother, Martin Ritenour. Martin is a Charter Member of Chapter 936 and has served distinguishably as our Sergeant at Arms since our beginning. Martin has decided to go out west to Arizona. As a career, senior Non-Com, Martin displayed a loyalty to his Country and a love for our “Flag” as witnessed by a poem he wrote so many months ago that appeared on these pages.
Vaya Con Dios Brother,
Until we meet again.
President: Peter Mulligan (540) 740-3392
Vice President: Roger Stevens (540) 856-2871
Treasurer: Jon Clark - (540) 984-3056
Secretary: Ken Watts - (540) 678-0978
Sergeant at Arms: Guy Miller (540)459-3178
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Charlie Towe
Jon Clark
Peter J. Mulligan
William Mader
Ken Watts
Roger Stevens
Martin Ritenour
Bill Fadely
Guy Miller
STATE DELEGATES
Pete Mulligan, Roger Stevens, Jon Clark,
Ken Watts (alternate)
Our next meeting will be held on the 17th of June at the VFW in Edinburg. The Board of Directors will meet at 10:00AM and the membership meeting will begin at 11:00AM. This change is necessitated by the Virginia State Council Convention being held on the 10th of June in Williamsburg.
Let’s give a warm welcome home to our newest member, Robert Murphy of Basye, VA. Also, congratulations are in order to Larry Nicholson for having made a lifetime commitment to VVA.
Shenandoah Farms, Inc. is owned and operated by Chapter 936 Member, Allen Sinclair, and his wife Debbie. It is a small family farm dedicated to producing quality tasting vegetable, fruits, herbs, and natural Angus cross beef on their farm and year-round vegetables in their gre33enhouses. They do not use antibiotics, growth hormones, or harmful pesticides. Their animals are cared for in a stress-free environment, graze on their open pastures, and fed locally grown natural grain and hay. Food safety is a priority at Shenandoah Farms. To ensure the integrity of their beef, they know where the animals are born, how they have been raised, and what they have been fed, and their animals are strictly monitored throughout their life span.
For those of you who want to volunteer and man an aide station for this event on the 3rd of June, there will be a briefing at the Shenandoah County Fair Grounds, exhibition building, at 5:00PM on Friday the 2nd of June. Here is where you will pick up assignments and supplies.
Demonstrations at 124 VA cemeteries and at Arlington National Cemetery will now be more restricted and families of fallen American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines will soon have greater protection under federal law - thanks to legislation adopted by the U.S. Senate.
Some veterans who received prostate biopsies in medical facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in 11 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico may have been treated with improperly disinfected instruments, VA officials have announced.
Thieves took sensitive personal information on 26.5 million U.S. veterans, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, after a Veterans Affairs employee improperly brought the material home.
The Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General (VA OIG) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have announced a $50,000 reward through the Montgomery County Crime Solvers organization, for information that leads to the recovery of a laptop computer and external hard drive that contained personal information for millions of veterans.
The Federal Trade Commission recommends the following fours steps if you suspect suspicious activity:
1. Contact the fraud department of one of the three major credit bureaus:
* Equifax: 1-800-525-6285; www.equifax.com P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374-02412
* Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com P.O. Box 9532, Allen, TX 75013
* TransUnion: 1-800680-7289; www.transunion.com Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 6790, Fullerton, CA 92834-6790
2. Close any accounts that have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
3. File a police report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.
4. File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission by using the FTC’s Identity Theft Hotline by telephone; 1-877-438-4338, online at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or by mail at Identity Theft Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington DC 20580.
This is great for hot summer evenings, easy entertaining, just a nice light supper, all from your grill. Since everything can be prepared ahead, folks can enjoy this yummy Greek sandwich. This recipe can serve 6.
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 tbs. dried
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tbs. dried
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds boneless pork shoulder -- cut in 1-1/2" cubes
SHREDDED SALAD:
3 cups shredded leaf lettuce
1 small white onion, halved -- thinly sliced
3 ripe fresh tomatoes -- diced
1/2 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper -- to taste
SKEWERS:
6 8-inch wooden skewers
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
6 pita breads -- warmed
MARINADE: In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice, red wine vinegar, oregano, thyme, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add the cubes of pork and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 3 hours or up to 24 hours.
SHREDDED SALAD: Toss all the ingredients in a large bowl, taste and adjust seasonings.
SKEWERS: Soak skewers in water for at least 1 hour while heating up the grill. On each of the skewers, thread 5 pieces of meat. Grill skewers slowly over indirect heat, continuing to turn and brushing on marinade, until meat is done.
To serve, place skewers into a pita half. Holding the pita firmly, slide the skewer our from the meat. Top with shredded salad, and enjoy!
For more recipes from Shaboom’s Kitchen, Go to
www.shaboomskitchen.com
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Copyright © 2006; VVA 936; All Rights Reserved
VVA Chapter 936
P. O. Box 299
Basye, VA 22810