VETERANS CORNER: Will veterans receive COLA this year?

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Veterans Administration facility at Togus. (Internet photo)

by Gary Kennedy

I will pull myself away from partisan things and devote this article to veterans’ issues in tidbit fashion. The reason being there are many veterans issues in the fire currently. The upfront question that veterans seem to have as well as Social Security recipients is, “Will we receive the (COLA) Cost of Living Benefit this year and, if so, how much will we receive?”

For those of you who are unaware, this allocation of money comes once a year in December. It can be anywhere from 0 to 4 percent (historically speaking). With President Trump being under the gun from all sides, it’s hard to say. Where it is near an election year and veterans being extremely active at the polls you would summarize that a COLA would be given and is fairly substantial. However, not much has been said about this award as of yet. It is still a little early to predict. Usually Social Security is the first to hear. Some don’t know that the VA appropriation is the same as that which is awarded to Social Security. That is as far as that relationship goes.

There are thousands of veterans who spend their winters in Southeast Asia. There is news coming from that area, some which needs to be addressed. Examples are the following: VA in Manila will no longer process clothing allowance claims for those who damage clothing because of service connected disabilities. The same applies to durable medical equipment, glasses, hearing aids, etc. If the item or items are needed for VA rated Service Connected Conditions then they could be reimbursed through the Foreign Medical Program (FMP). If you need further help with these issues contact Daniel Gutkoski, VA medical clinic manager at Daniel.gutkoski2@va.gov. FYI: there is still an open door/walk-in relationship on Monday – Friday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m..

On October 6, 2019, VA Manila has a new phone number. The new main VA phone number is 632-8550-3888. This will connect you to the VA switchboard.

On a local level, the Fisher House is basically completed and should advertise an open house soon. As far as the house itself is concerned most of my followers and others know my personal feeling regarding that project. The building, which will house guests, in my opinion was built in the wrong place. It is lovely building but is situated in front of building 200 which houses handicapped parking which has always been “an accident looking for a place to happen.” Emergency is just around the corner from said facility and its parking abuts the handicap parking. So, there will be disabled vets backing into guests. There were many solutions Mr. Lilly could have entertained but like always, he didn’t give the project any thought. I checked with the state land use people regarding wet zones and permits necessary to build on such, but no such authorization was given.

We all enjoy the pond that abuts this building. Canada Geese, Coots and other wildlife enjoy that habitat as well as veterans and their families. Director Ryan Lilly, recently promoted to regional director, could have used many other venues for this much wanted and needed facility. One that comes to mind is a drive which would have the occupants of the Fisher House parking in the rear of the house, thus avoiding congestion, and hazardous possibilities, which could result in lawsuits as well as being cosmetically more pleasing. When I questioned the thought that went into this project the answer I received was a grant with walking distance stipulations. In my opinion anything within 50 yards would be considered walking distance. If they had backed the building up 50 feet it wouldn’t have a problem as long as wet land zoning was respected.

We now have beautiful signs giving directions but the roads are full of dangerous pot holes. Also the sidewalks have many hazards for wheelchair and crutch burdened veterans. Some of the doorways are not wheelchair friendly/compliant, even by state and federal guidelines. Having grants given to the VA is a wonderful thing but they should not have personal stipulations attached which are not negotiable, or are they? The drop off point at Building 200 has become a serious problem at times where people are allowed to park on both sides of the entryway thus causing a bottle neck which even the police don’t seem to be able to control.

The shortage of medical personnel is unacceptable. There are hundreds of thousands of trained medical professionals trying to get into this country on working visas but we are too tied up in politics and border wars. The politicians are saying that the veterans are in a great position at this time because if they have to wait more than 30 days they can request to go outside. Some of that is good but it is a temporary political fix. An example that I would give from positive information is dental teeth trays, VA cost is less than $100, but the cost at an outside dentist is $620. Another is spinal surgery, say L4-5 with implants, performed by VA, three to four hours of time and a possible cost of less than $20,000, where the same surgery done outside, with no complications runs nearly $100,000. How far does a budget go?

All this while we add a few new floors to the VA facility. We need all this but it must be intelligently proportioned and managed. VA needs so much equipment which really needs to go to non-functioning departments or at least minimally functioning departments, such as Neurology, a department in high demand now that baby boomers are here by the thousands.

Regarding people who can’t sign: I am personally against the stamp application. Working with disabled vets I find almost none who can’t pen their name in one way or another. If they can’t they most likely haven’t the ability to do so anymore and should not be voting any way. In the remote chance that a person can’t make their mark then the poles should have “volunteers” to help and the person should be known.

Keep the information coming and we will do our best to answer and get it out to those who are suppose to care about we veterans.

God be with you during the upcoming holiday seasons. Be careful and do your part for your countrymen and women. The future of our children and grand children depends on educated decisions. God Bless.

Kennebec Historical Society to hear about German POWs in Maine

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German prisoners of war picking potatoes in Houlton during World War II. (contributed photo)

In 1944, the U.S. Army Air Base, in Houlton, Maine, in Aroostook, County, became the site of a Prisoner of War (POW) internment camp for German soldiers captured in North Africa and France. The POWs could not be forced to work, but they could volunteer. Those who wanted to work helped the local farmers harvest peas and pick potatoes and cut wood in the forest after harvest time during the winter. In September 1945, Aroostook County farmers decided to take advantage of this opportunity. My dad requested some prisoners to help with our potato harvest. When harvest time rolled around, eight young Germans would arrive by truck each morning about 7 o’clock to help us harvest our crop…with ONE guard. As a 13-year old boy, the arrival of German soldiers, was fearsome. My young mind was not too sure it was a good idea to have the “enemy” right here on our farm.

The Kennebec Historical Society’s November speaker, Henry (Hank) D. Lunn has been a resident of Camden since 1958 and a student of Maine history since his birth on a potato farm in Aroostook County. He graduated from the University of Maine with a major in history and government and has a M.Ed. in Counseling and School Administration. Mr. Lunn retired from public education with over 40 years of experience as a teacher, counselor and educational consultant in the schools of Maine. For the past several years, he has been delivering his “Living History” presentations to schools, historical societies, libraries, and community organizations.

The Kennebec Historical Society November presentation is co-sponsored by the Maine State Library and is free to the public (donations gladly accepted). The presentation will be followed by some light refreshments and take place on Wednesday, November 20, 2019, at 6:30 p.m., at the Maine State Library, located at 230 State Street in Augusta.

Theresa Plaisted presented with Boston Post Cane in 2019

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China Town Manager Dennis Heath, left, presents the Boston Post Cane and a certificate to Theresa Plaisted, of China. (Photo courtesy of the China Town Office)

China Town Manager Dennis Heath, left, presented the Boston Post Cane and a certificate to Theresa Plaisted, of China, on October 21, 2019.

The cane is retained at the Town Office and the recipient keeps a certificate of the presentation. Theresa was born at Augusta on December 19, 1923, and has lived her entire life in China. She attended grammar school at the old school across from the Albert Church Brown Library and graduated from Erskine Academy in 1941. She worked at the Hathaway Mill, in Waterville, for 16 years.

For many years Theresa watched school-aged children who still call her “Aunt Theresa.” She was married to Leon Plaisted for 49 years. At 96, Theresa is still very active and has been wintering in Florida every year since 1999 with her sister Pauline “Polly” Tobey, who turned 93 recently. Theresa’s grandmother, Etta Ward, also held the Boston Post Cane from late 1971 until her passing at age 107 years, 10 months and 2 days on October 23, 1973.

Local Naval boatswain underway

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U.S. Navy Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) 2nd Class Joshua Plummer, from Jefferson, mans a fuel line on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) in the Atlantic Ocean, on November 5, 2019. The John C. Stennis is underway conducting routine operations in support of Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Grant G. Grady)

New books at the Albion Public Library

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Albion Public Library

Non-Fiction:

A Story of Maine in 112 Objects from Prehistory to Modern Times, by Bernard Fishman, Director Maine State Museum.

The Great Halifax Explosion, A WWI Story of Treachery, Tragedy and Extraordinary Heroism, by John U. Bacon.

A Senator’s Eye, by Sen. Angus S. King, Jr.

Fiction:

The Pioneers, by David McCullough.

The Dead Samaritan, by Emily Westbrooks.

Long Forgotten Tales of Downeast Maine, by Jim Harnedy.

Juvenile:

Call of the Wraith, by Kevin Sands.

The Night Country, by Melissa Albright.

Waterville holds 2019 Veterans Day parade

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The Waterville High School performed during the Veterans Day parade, in Waterville, on November 11. (photo by Mark Huard, Central Maine Photography)

A Veterans Day parade was held in Waterville on November 11. One of the marching units was the Winslow Police Honor Guard. From left to right, Captain Fleming, Officer Jones, Officer Theobald and Office Veilleux. (photo by Mark Huard, Central Maine Photography)

Craig Bailey, left, commander of Bourque-Lanigan American Legion Post #5, in Waterville, and Pearly Lachance, offering a prayer on the steps of Waterville City Hall, during the Veterans Day ceremony, in Waterville, on November 11. (photo by Mark Huard, Central Maine Photography)

Vassalboro American Legion holds veterans open house

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Veterans gathered for an open house at St. Bridget’s Community Center, in Vassalboro. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

Nearly 30 people attended the Vassalboro American Legion Post #126’s open house and honor ceremony at St. Bridget’s Center on Veterans Day, November 11. The goal of the open house was to provide veterans and their families with a central place to find information on veterans’ issues.

One of the primary duties of the American Legion is to serve as a source of information for retiring veterans trying to navigate the increasingly complex benefits system. “That’s been one of the biggest issues,” explains Adjutant Jim Kilbride. “[You] try to get into the system and start to find out that you can get lost very easily. And if you’re elderly, it gets even harder.

James Kilbride, Adjutant for Vassalboro American Legion Post #126. (photo by Eric W. Austin)

“We had a lot of people saying, ‘Well, I don’t know who to get in touch with for this, or who to get in touch with for that.’ So, we went out and got in touch with different groups,” he says and waves a hand at various tables set up around the room where pamphlets and information packets are laid out.

With membership declining in many local American Legion posts around the country, Kilbride saw a need for the Vassalboro post to step up and be a center of information for veterans that might need help. “We figure from here on, we’ll be a place that veterans and their families can get in touch, and we’ll have the information for them,” he says.

Veterans throughout central Maine can reach out to Vassalboro’s Post #126 if they can’t find the information they need. To do so, please call 616-3148, or write to Vassalboro American Legion Post #126, c/o St. Bridget Center, PO Box 112, North Vassalboro, ME 04962, or by email at StBridgetCenter@gmail.com. Jim Kilbride and his wife Rachel, who manage the community center, will be happy to respond to any requests, or will help to direct veterans to the best place to find the information they need.

Despite the declining membership in most American Legions, there is some hope. Kilbride reports the Vassalboro post has added three new members in the past year. Still, he sees danger ahead for American veterans if the decline in Legion membership is a trend that continues. “The thing is,” he says, “we need the membership if we’re going to be able to get the changes in Congress and the Senate and so forth that are needed to make sure veterans are taken care of. There’s a big change in what veterans’ benefits are now [compared to] what they were when I left active duty, [but] that’s because we worked at it.”

The St. Bridget Center, once an old Catholic church, has recently been completely restored and is available to rent for weddings, receptions, and other local events. They also host fundraisers for nonprofits at no charge. Call 616-3148 or email StBridgetCenter@gmail.com for more information.

The POW/MIA table (this poem from the American Legion manual):

The tablecloth is white, symbolic of the purity of their intentions to respond to their country’s call to arms.

The single rose in the vase signifies the blood they may have to shed in sacrifice to ensure the freedom of our beloved United States of America. This rose also reminds us of the family and friends of our missing comrades who keep faith, while awaiting their return.

The red ribbon on the vase represents the red ribbons worn on the lapels of the thousands who demand, with unyielding determination, a proper account of our comrades who are not among us.

A slice of lemon on the plate reminds us of their bitter fate.

The salt sprinkled on the plate reminds us of the countless fallen tears of families as they wait.

The glass is inverted; they cannot toast with us at this time.

The chair is empty. They are NOT here.

The candle is reminiscent of the light of hope which lives in our hearts to illuminate their way home, away from their captors, to open arms of a grateful nation.

The American flag reminds us that many of them may never return – and have paid the supreme sacrifice to insure our freedom.

2019 Winslow Youth Cheerleading grades 3 – 7

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Members of the third through seventh grades Winslow Youth Cheerleading squad are, front, from left to right, Neveah, Sophia, Delana, Makayla, Audrey and Clara. Back Morgan, Hailee, Aaliyah, Rachel, Hayden and Norah. (photo by Missy Brown, Central Maine Photography staff)

New inductees in the Maine Ski Hall of Fame 2019

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Pictured are the recent inductees to the 2019 Maine Ski Hall of Fame, held at Sugarloaf Mountain on October 26. From left to right, Leigh Breidenbach, Brent Jepsen for Henry Anderson, Lizzie Chenard for Billy Chenard, Lindsay Ball, Jeff Schipper for Paul Schipper, Seth Wescott, Don Fowler and Bob Zinck. (photo by Dan Cassidy)

SCORES & OUTDOORS: The unfair resources of today’s “great game hunter”

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Roland D. Halleeby Roland D. Hallee

When I was having my usual morning coffee and Danish at a local coffee shop last week following Sunday Mass, I happened to look up at a wide-screen television mounted on the wall to notice an outdoor show. It was your typical show, sponsored by outfitters, outdoor equipment companies and the opinions of various “expert” hunters.

The reason the show caught my attention was the way they were going about hunting. I remember the days when I was an avid hunter (my wife says I have since “lost the thrill of the hunt”), we used to have our favorite spots, get out early in the morning on a full stomach, brave the weather conditions and have great expectations for the outcome at the end of the hunt. It was the hunter vs the hunted. A classic exercise in who could out think, out maneuver or outwit the other. It was wild game hunting at its best. You needed to possess the skills to pursue your prey in its own environment, both parties equipped with all the instincts Mother Nature provided.

I can remember a couple of those adventures when the animal actually out-smarted me – something my wife says is easy to do (her opinion). I once followed a deer through the snow for many hundreds of yards, never catching sight of him, but I could hear him snorting up ahead of me, and hearing his antlers rattling against tree limbs. I followed him until we crossed our original tracks, and he actually passed through two conifers without disturbing a snowflake on the boughs. That was when I knew I was outwitted.

And that’s not to mention, probably, how many times I may have walked right past a deer and not noticed it was even there. They don’t have the nickname “swamp ghost” for nothing. They have this uncanny ability to disappear once they hit the tree line. Have you ever noticed while driving, when you may see a deer either in the road or on the shoulder, and it turns into the woods. As you pass by, try to locate it. They do seem to disappear.

On one day in particular, after having worked the night shift, I headed into the woods at sun up. I found a nice tree and sat down on the ground facing east, and soaked in the warmth of the sun. I fell asleep. I don’t know for how long, but my hunting partner eventually came along and told me a herd of deer could have walked right past me and I wouldn’t have noticed. Those are the stories you don’t forget.

Oh, by the way, I went home without a deer that day.

But that was then.

Today, it just isn’t fair. Here, on this show, they had hunters gathering on game farms, splashed with deer urine scent like it was Aqua Velva, equipped with global positioning equipment, calling the deer with artificial devices. Once the deer was lured, they employed a computerized gauge to calculate the distance to the target, refer to another hand-held instrument to measure the direction and velocity of the wind before finally sighting in the prey. Mounted on top of their high powered rifle was a scope capable of seeing a gnat’s tonsils at 200 yards.

The deer didn’t stand a chance. The only thing the hunters didn’t have were laser guided ammunition or “smart” bullets. After they dispatched the animal, they would break into a wild celebration. What’s with that?

If, after the use of all that sophisticated equipment, you didn’t come home with a deer that was essentially caged, you should be embarrassed to the point of taking up bowling. The whole episode was like shooting fish in a barrel.

So, I’ve decided that a money-making venture would be to make available to deer: human motion sensors, rear view mirrors, bullet proof vests, space-aged unpenetrable deflector shields a-la Star Trek, and laser guided bullet defense systems. After all, it’s only fair.

Remember the old saying, “We believe in the right to arm bears?” Well, the same could be said about deer.

HAS ANYONE NOTICED?

As of this writing, the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics and New England Patriots are all in first place in their respective league divisions. Let’s keep track and see how long it lasts.

Roland’s trivia question of the week:

Name the seven NFL teams with the initials of their cities on the side of their helmets.

Answer can be found here.