1. Petzel Among "Slew" Of Nominees Confirmed By Senate. CQ (2/12, Lesniewski) reports, "The Senate approved a slew of President Obama's stalled nominees before departing" Thursday for the Presidents' Day recess, "prompting signals from the White House that the move was enough to head off potential recess appointments next week." CQ says one of the nominees confirmed was "Robert A. Petzel...to be undersecretary for health of the Department of Veterans Affairs." The New York Times (2/12, A21, 1.09M) also notes Petzel's confirmation, while the "Federal Eye" blog for the Washington Post (2/12, O'Keefe, 684K) reports, "Senators...confirmed several assistant, deputy and undersecretaries at the departments of Defense, Justice, Labor and Veterans Affairs."
2. VA: Almost 90% Of New GI Bill Enrollments Paid Out. The AP (2/12, Hefling) reports, "The Veterans Affairs Department is more efficiently cutting checks for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans to attend college this semester, following a rocky rollout last fall that left veterans so cash-strapped there was concern some wouldn't re-enroll. As of Feb. 5, nearly 90 percent of enrollments for the 167,000 veterans submitted to the VA for the Post-9/11 GI Bill had been paid out, the VA said." Meanwhile, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki recently "told the House Veterans Affairs Committee that a more automated system to process new GI Bill claims will be implemented by December." The Los Angeles Times (2/12, 776K) also covers this story, making it the second item in its "National Briefing", as does the Chicago Tribune (2/12, 534K).
3. VA To Offer PTSD Counseling Services On Flathead Reservation. The Flathead Indian Nation's Char-Koosta News (2/12, Azure, 4K) said the US Department of Veterans Affairs " recently announced that it would offer post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) counseling services on the Flathead Indian Reservation. According to W.J. 'Buck' Richardson, Minority Program Coordinator for the VA Rocky Mountain Network in Denver, the effort is part of the VA's mission to bring its services to Indian reservations as well as other rural areas." Richardson "will be on the Flathead Reservation Tuesday, Feb. 23 to inform veterans about the services."
4. Even During Severe Weather, Funerals Continue At Arlington. On its website, Fox News (2/12, Hlad) reported, "Arlington National Cemetery's perfect rows of white gravestones were completely covered with snow by Wednesday afternoon, but funerals for America's fallen servicemen and women," including two killed in Afghanistan, continued. Fox added that according to cemetery spokeswoman Kaitlin Horst, the Old Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, performed its duties throughout the severe weather.
Old Guard Remains At Post During Blizzards. At the end of a report it aired on problems created by recent snowfall, especially in Washington, DC,
NBC Nightly News
(2/11, story 3, 3:00, Williams, 8.37M) also mentioned the Old Guard, saying that "through record-breaking blizzards, one routine remained constant" at Arlington National Cemetery, where the "Army's Old Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns never left their post."
5. Memorial Service To Be Held In Texas For Charlie Wilson. In continuing coverage, the AP (2/12) reports, "A memorial service for former" US Rep. Charlie Wilson "will be held Sunday in Texas." Wilson, who "died Wednesday at the age of 76 in the eastern Texas town of Lufkin," also "will receive a Feb. 23 graveside service with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery." The KWTX-TV Waco, TX (2/11) website also took note of the scheduled dates and locations for Wilson's memorial and the funeral, as did the KTRE-TV Lufkin, TX, (2/11, Johnson) website, which focused most of its coverage on two friends reminiscing about Wilson.
6. New Veterans Cemetery To Open This Spring In Missouri. On its website, KY3-TV Springfield, MO (2/11, Nelson) reported, "Not enough room is the reason for the state's newest veterans' cemetery, near Fort Leonard Wood," which donated a "263 acre piece of land" to Missouri for the new facility. Fort Wood Cemetery, which "will be the fifth veterans' cemetery in the state," is "set to open in late spring."
7. RecruitMilitary Hosting Another Job Fair For Veterans In Florida. The St. Petersburg (FL) Times (2/12, Harrington) reports, "Veterans group RecruitMilitary is coming to Tampa to throw a job fair that it promises will draw several hundred job-seeking military veterans. Again. The RecruitMilitary Opportunity Expo will be held at the David A. Straz Jr. Center for the Performing Arts" on Thursday, "Feb. 18, just two months after the organization staged a similar expo at the same location."
8. Field Hearings To Focus On Issues Facing Alaska Vets. In continuing coverage, the Anchorage Daily News (2/12, 59K) reports, "Two field hearings in Alaska next week are planned to air issues facing the state's veterans, including those exposed in a recent audit that found serious problems at the Anchorage office of the Veterans Affairs Department. The Daily News notes that the Anchorage office "said it has made improvements since" the audit.
9. VA Roseburg To Co-Host Event Promoting Hiring Of Recent Veterans. The Coos Bay (OR) World (2/12, 11K) reports the Veterans Affairs Roseburg Healthcare System "and Worksource Oregon invites coastal employers to an event designed to educate employers about hiring returning veterans. The talk will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17, at the North Bend Public Library meeting room." The World notes that during the event, "Dean Ehly, of the Roseburg VA, will discuss reintegration" and post-traumatic stress disorder issues, while Diane Yori-Rogers, also "of the Roseburg VA, will discuss supervising veterans."
10. After Receiving VA Help, Injured Vet Records Song To Give Others Hope. On its website, WTVF-TV Nashville, TN (2/11, Watson) said country music artist Stephen Cochran, a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, "suffered an injury that left him paralyzed, but an experimental surgery at Nashville's Veterans Affairs hospital saved his legs." And now, he is "using music to give other vets hope." According to WTVF, Cochran wrote a theme song, "titled 'Hope'", to be used as "backdrop for a new informational video" from the VA, which is "celebrating 85 years of research and development."
11. Older Vets In Arizona "Feel Let Down" By VBA. The Prescott (AZ) Daily Courier (2/12, Irish, 16K) reports, "Several local Vietnam War and Korean War veterans who experienced trouble getting their disability claims for post-traumatic stress disorder and other health issues approved said they feel let down by the Veterans Benefits Administration." One such veteran, 79-year-old Cliff Dykstra, "is concerned his claim may outlast him. In response to that concern, Veterans Benefits created a Tiger Team of experienced claims reviewers who quickly and efficiently rate cases of veterans over 70 years old whose claims have been in the system for more than a year, said Jeffrey McAdams, veterans service center manager with the Veterans Benefits Administration in Phoenix," who said, "We do make those cases a priority."
12. VA Inviting Communities Into Hospitals To Say Thanks To Vets. On its website, KSL-TV Salt Lake City, UT (2/11, Boal) reported, "Across the country, communities will honor their military heroes this week" during the "32nd annual National Salute to Veterans. KSAL quoted Jill Atwood, spokeswoman for the George E. Wahlen Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who said, "We have fantastic men and women in this hospital and our outpatient facilities who have sacrificed for us, and we've invited the community to come in and simply say thanks." In a similar story, KOLD-TV Tucson, AZ (2/11, Marries) said, "All across the country volunteers are making sure veterans aren't forgotten," including at the Southern Arizona VA Medical Center.
13. VHA Official: Common Security Standards Would Benefit Public, Private Data Exchanges. Federal Computer Week (2/12, Lipowicz, 90K) reports, "Secure and private exchange of patient medical data between federal government agencies and the private sector would be easier if there were common expectations about the security standards to be involved, a federal health information technology security official said" on Thursday during an "online seminar sponsored by Federal Computer Week." After noting that the comments were made by "Gail Belles, health care security director for the Veterans Health Administration," Federal Computer Week adds, "If such exchanges are to flourish, it would be advantageous for federal agencies to agree on common security standards, according to Belles."
The Federal Times (2/12, Neal, 40K) reports, "Federal agencies and companies must ensure citizens trust the security of electronic medical records so patients will be willing to participate in record exchanges. But security can be challenging as both the private and public sectors try to comply with local, state and national laws and standards, industry experts say." Like Federal Computer Week, the Times quotes Belles, who said, "We're finding that our work in health IT and information sharing is very complex."
14. Blizzard Slows Down IAVA's Legislative Push. In continuing coverage, the CNN (2/11, Hornick) website said the "blizzard that hit Washington couldn't have come at a worse time" for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), a "leading veterans group," but the "name for its legislative push this week is certainly fitting. Despite the monster snowstorm," the IAVA "is taking its Storm the Hill campaign directly to members of Congress and administration officials to push for veterans' rights." After stating that many of the meetings IAVA had scheduled "have been canceled or postponed," CNN took note of comments made by Paul Rieckhoff, the group's founder and executive director, who said the key issue for IAVA this year is modernizing the disability claims process at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
15. WWII Vet Opens Funeral Home. The Palm Beach (FL) Post (2/12, Clough) says 88-year-old Joseph Farish Jr. is "tickled about his latest business: Palm Beach National Chapel, a funeral home catering to veterans." The Post says it "took a trip to Normandy," plus the construction of the South Florida Veterans Affairs National Cemetery, "for this World War II combat veteran to realize there was a need for a funeral home to serve his comrades."
16. Despite Economy, Stump VAMC Increasing Services. The Prescott (AZ) Daily Courier (2/12, Cook, 16K) reports, "Services are increasing for military veterans at the Bob Stump Veterans Affairs Medical Center despite the nation's troubled economy, a spokeswoman for the complex said in late January. 'We have cut nothing,' said Ame Callahan, public affairs officer with the Northern Arizona VA Health Care System, which operates the hospital." The Courier notes that the hospital "has received stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act...for infrastructure upgrades on its grounds."
17. Tomah VAMC Preparing For Renovation. In continuing coverage, the Tomah (WI) Journal (2/11, 4K) said the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Center "is beginning preparations for a $1.6 million renovation to its main building -- Bldg. 400 -- located on 5th Street on the Tomah VA grounds." The "renovation is part of the almost $6 million in stimulus money the Tomah VAMC received through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."
Clinic Opening Seen As Unlikely To Impact Employment At Tomah VAMC. In a separate story, the Tomah (WI) Journal (2/11, Rundio, 4K) noted that in April, the VA "is opening a new Community Based Outpatient Clinic in Wisconsin Rapids, but the clinic isn't likely to impact employment" at the Tomah VAMC. The Journal quotes Tomah VA Public Affairs Officer James Theres, who said, "I don't anticipate losing anyone (in Tomah). As two wars wind down, people will be coming to us for services."
18. Omaha VAMC Saluting Veterans. The Bellevue (NE) Leader (2/11) reported, "There are two special opportunities to recognize veterans during" the National Salute to Veteran Patients this week at the Omaha Veterans Affairs Medical Center. First, there will be a "Brown Bag Lunch Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the hospital's Education Conference Room, 4101 Woolworth Ave. You could also take a Valentine's card to a veteran."
19. Cadets Visit Alzheimer's Patients At Norwood VAMC. On its website, WRDW-TV Augusta, GA (2/11) reported, "The Westside NJROTC was invited to pay special tribute and express appreciation" to veterans at the Charlie Norwood Veterans Affairs Medical Center on Wednesday. Nineteen "cadets from Westside visited Alzheimer's patients with various levels of dementia" at the hospital, and "delivered...Valentine Day cards."
20. Preliminary Plans Focus Of Forum On Housing Project For Homeless Vets. The Canandaigua (NY) Daily Messenger (2/12, Sherwood) reports, "A $10 million housing project underway would provide housing for homeless and at-risk veterans and their families on the campus" of the Canandaigua Veterans Affairs Medical Center. At a public forum held Thursday night "at the VA, 400 Fort Hill Ave, the private partners in the project called Cadence Square, presented preliminary plans that involve renovating the VA's vacant Building 14 and building a new, adjacent building."
21. Vet Who Killed Homeless Shelter Director Had Violent Past. In continuing coverage, the AP (2/12, Barr) reports, "Officials at an Ohio homeless shelter" are trying to "piece together how the shelter's director was fatally attacked as details" emerge "about the violent past" of 48-year-old veteran Raymond Ice, "who authorities say killed" the shelter director on Wednesday, before being shot to death by police. Two "years ago, Ice charged at another group of police officers" at the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, "where he had been receiving treatment since August 2006." After noting that Ice was sentenced to probation for the earlier attack, the AP adds, "Privacy laws preclude the VA from releasing whether he had sustained injuries in combat or suffered from post traumatic stress disorder, said VA spokesman Sean Nelson."
Meanwhile, the lead item in "Thursday Ohio Headlines" for the AP (2/12) reports, "A coroner says the director of a Cleveland homeless shelter suffered head trauma when authorities say she was killed by an ax-wielding" veteran named Raymond Ice. Cuyahoga County Coroner's spokesman Powell Caesar "said Thursday that 59-year-old Rita Ciofani...died about two hours after the attack Wednesday at the Cleveland shelter for homeless veterans run by Volunteers of America." The AP adds, "Cleveland shelters are rethinking security in the aftermath of the bloodshed."
22. VANJHCS To Answer Questions About Benefits. The Jersey Journal (2/12, Hayes), a newspaper published in Jersey City, New Jersey, reports, "The Veterans Affairs New Jersey Health Care System will hold a meeting in Jersey City Feb. 27 to answer veterans' benefits questions." The event will be held "at the Lincoln Park Administration Building at Belmont and West Side Avenues in Jersey City from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m."
23. VA Clinic In Colorado To Offer Vaccine For H1N1, Season Flu. The La Junta (CO) Tribune-Democrat (2/12, 4K) reports, "The La Junta Veterans Administration Community Based Outpatient Clinic will have a walk-in vaccination clinic" for the H1N1 flu and the seasonal flu "on Feb. 16 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1100 Carson Ave., suite 204 (primary care)."
24. National Salute To Hospitalized Veterans Program Held Thursday. The WDBJ7-TV Roanoke, VA (2/11) website.
25. Airports Reopen After Paralyzing Blizzard. Near the end of a story highlighting the fact that airports "throughout the Mid-Atlantic began operating again Thursday after a blizzard had shut down runways for the second time in less than a week and caused one of the biggest disruptions to air travel since the 9/11 hijackings," USA Today (2/12, Levin, Pesce, 2.11M) notes, "Daniel Coleman, 46, of the New Castle, Del., area missed his scheduled dialysis appointment Wednesday" at a Veterans Affairs hospital. On Thursday, however, the "Delaware National Guard knocked on his door early" in the "morning to take him to the hospital."
26. More Than A Thousand People Attend Memorial Service For Soldier Killed In Afghanistan. The Chicago Tribune (2/12, Ruzich, 534K).
27. Columbus Soldier Buried With Full Military Honors. The KTVQ-TV Billings, MT (2/11) website.
28. Former Army Chief Of Staff Frederick Weyand Dies. The AP (2/12).
29. World War II Pilot Invented Frisbee. The Wall Street Journal (2/12, A 12, Miller, 2.08M) notes the death Tuesday of 90-year-old World War II vet Fred Morrison, who invented what eventually became known as the Frisbee.
30. Organize Flight For World War II Veterans. The Antigo (WI) Daily Journal (2/12).
31. Anniversary Of Operation Homecoming's Start Noted. According to "Today In History" for the AP (2/12), in "1973, Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place."
32. On the Hill for February 12, 2010:
The House and Senate are not in session this week for the Presidents Day recess. Both chambers are expected to reconvene at 2 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 22, with House votes postponed until 6:30 p.m.
House: Not in session.
Senate: Not in session.
33. Today in History:
- 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Comte de Clermont and John Stuart in the Battle of Rouvray (also known as the Battle of the Herrings).
- 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
- 1554 – A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.
- 1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes and declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
- 1700 – The Great Northern War begins in Northern Europe.
- 1733 – Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day).
- 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops on the Battle of Chacabuco.
- 1818 – Bernardo O'Higgins formally approved the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
- 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government, and migrate west.
- 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
- 1855 – Michigan State University is established.
- 1870 – Women gain the right to vote in the Utah Territory.
- 1879 – The first artificial ice rink in North America opens at Gilmore's Park in New York City.
- 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into Paris's Cafe Terminus, killing one and wounding 20.
- 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
- 1912 – Xuantong Emperor of the Manchu Qing dynasty, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
- 1914 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
- 1924 – Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to deliver a political speech on radio.
- 1934 – The Austrian Civil War begins.
- 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
- 1934 – In Spain the national council of Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista is inaugurated. The council decides to merge the movement with the Falange Española.
- 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
- 1961 – U.S.S.R. launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
- 1973 – Vietnam War: The first United States prisoners of war are released by the Viet Cong.
- 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
- 1976 – Actor Sal Mineo is stabbed to death in West Hollywood.
- 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes premier of Western Australia.
- 1997 – Hwang Jang-yop, secretary in the Workers' Party of Korea and a prime architect of North Korea's Juche doctrine, defects at the South Korean embassy in Beijing along with his aide, Kim Dok-hong.
- 1999 – President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
- 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
- 2002 – The trial of former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He dies four years later before its conclusion.
- 2002 – US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is a suitable site for a deep geological repository for the United States.
- 2004 – The city of San Francisco, California begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
- 2006 – A powerful winter storm blankets the Northeastern United States dumping 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington D.C. to Boston, Massachusetts. The storm dumps a record 26.9 inches of snow in New York City.
- 2007 – A gunman opens fire in a mall in Salt Lake City, killing 5 people wounding 4 others in the Trolley Square shooting.
- 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house near Buffalo, New York killing 50 people.
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