APRIL 2015

The Listening Post

NEWSLETTER OF THE VIETNAM VETERANS OF AMERICA, CHAPTER 35 , GREATER TOLEDO, OH

On the Internet at: www.toledovietnamvets.com

Annual Meeting For Election

Sunday April 12, 2015 at 7 p.m.

LAKE TOWNSHIP BUILDING

Corner, St. Rt. 795 and Cummings Rd.

Lake Township, Wood County

“Coffee and fellowship at 6:30 p.m.”

The April meeting, is set aside every

year for chapter elections, nomina-

tions were accepted at our March

meeting and will again be accepted

before the elections begins, April 12,

2015

Self-nominations will be accepted.

It is important to attend every meet-

ing in order to support the chapter.

This past March meeting was im-

portant to begin the election nomina-

tions.

The April meeting is even more im-

portant, since all available members

should make it a point to attend to

vote for the candidate of their choice.

The only way we can have a strong

chapter is to elect strong leaders that

will work hard for the good of our

chapter. We need this in order to

complete our mission, as VVA mem-

bers. The chapter is in need of more

nominees willing to stand for election

in all positions open for election.

Following are the current nomina-

tions presented at the conclusion of

open nominations at the 03/08/15

meeting, by the Nominating Commit-

tee Chair, Ed Digby, officiating.

For President: Gene Shurtz nominated for second

term and accepted

V. President:

Dick Nolte, nominated for second

term and accepted

2nd V President:

George Hart, nominated for second

term and accepted.

Secretary:

No nominations for Secretary were

made.

Vietnam (In-country) veterans and

Vietnam-era veterans, service must

have been between February 28, 1961

through May 7, 1975. Vietnam-era

veterans, who served in the U.S. mili-

tary (for other than training purposes)

must document service between Au-

gust 5, 1964 through May 7, 1975.

Associate Membership is to anyone

that is not a Veteran, or a Veteran that

did not serve during the above dates.

Remember, the $9 promotional dues,

for the first year, are good until

12/31/2015! These applications must

be processed by the Chapter's 1st V.P.

Membership Drive

Chapter 35

2014-15 Officers

Gene Shurtz / Pres.

Dick Nolte/ V. Pres.

George Hart / 2nd V.P

Bob Stewart/ Secretary

Gil Gonzales/Treasurer

Board Members

Bob Stewart / till 2015

Dick Nolte / till 2016

Ralph Wineland/till 2016

Tom Loomis/till 2017

AVVA Jerry Eversman

———————————

Office (419)-242-4293

Chaplin/419.350.4105

Chapter Annual Election Of Officers Set For April 12, 2015

Watch for chapter 35 election

results in the May issue.

Bob Stewart

Gene Shurtz Dick Nolte

George Hart Gil Gonzalas

Treasurer:

Gil Gonzales, nominated for second

term and accepted

Board Member 3 year Term:

To replace Bob Stewart.

Bob Stewart, will stand for re-election

of second term

APRIL 2015 P AGE 2 THE LISTENING POST

May Meeting

Sunday May 17, 2015 7:00 p.m.

Don’t Forget

Always A Week After Mothers Day

LAKE TOWNSHIP BUILDING

St. Rt. 795 & Cummings Rd.

Lake Township, Wood County

Fellowship at 6:30pm

Chapter President Sit Report April 2015 The Mission Statement adopt-

ed by BSC

For All Chapters Within

The purposes of the Chapter is

To help foster, encourage, and pro-

mote the improvement of the condi-

tion of the Vietnam Veteran.

To promote physical and cultural im-

provement, growth and development,

self-respect, self-confidence and use-

fulness of Vietnam-era Veterans.

To eliminate discrimination suffered

by Vietnam Veterans and to develop

channels of communication which will

assist Vietnam Veterans to maximize

self-realization and enrichment of their

lives and enhance life-fulfillment.

To study on a non-partisan basis pro-

posed legislation or rules and regula-

tions introduced in any federal, state

or local legislative or administrative

body which may affect the social, eco-

nomic, educational or physical welfare

of the Vietnam-era Veteran and to

develop public policy proposals de-

signed to improve the quality of life of

the Vietnam-era Veteran and to devel-

op public policy proposals designed to

improve the quality of life of the Vi-

etnam-era Veterans, especially in the

areas of employment, training, and

health.

To conduct and publish research on a

non-partisan basis, pertaining to the

relationship between Vietnam-era Vet-

erans and the American society, the

Vietnam War experience, the role of

the United States in securing peaceful

co-existence for the world community

and other matters which may affect the

social, economic, educational or phys-

ical welfare of the Vietnam-era Veter-

an.

To assist disabled and needy War

Veterans including, but not limited to,

the Vietnam Veteran, and their de-

pendents and the widows and orphans

of deceased Veterans.

Revised August, 2011

This year has been a busy one for our

chapter. I am in deep appreciation of

all the effort that my current

Executive Committee and all of you

expended to help make it a successful

one. The momentum, however, has

just begun for several projects and

fundraisers. Our newly formed Honor

Guard has met organizationally, begun

practicing and outfitting them-

selves. Any of you who would still

consider joining us are more than wel-

come, and encouraged, to come

to some meetings to determine if you

are a "fit" for this duty. Call our Chap-

ter phone, 419/242-4293, to be noti-

fied of their dates.

Several members of this unit had the

opportunity to see how a modified

version of a military honors service is

conducted on Sunday, March

22. Christ Dunberger American Le-

gion Post # 537 extended an invitation

to witness their participation in

their historically 1st ever service for

SGT Bernie, a bomb-sniffing K9 Bel-

gium Milionis. This 13 year old dog

had a distinctive active duty ca-

reer. She served three tours of troop

protection duty in Iraq; several years

along the U.S. border near Yuma, Ari-

zona; and with the U.S. Secret Service

in support of Presidential and foreign

dignitary travels. The Press' March

30, 2015 edition has full coverage of

this event.

My annual challenge to all of you is

more critical than ever this

year. The officers and representatives

you will elect at our April elections

meeting will need all the support you

can provide. Consider standing for the

position(s) of your choice. After you

vote to affirm their leadership, volun-

teer to assist them with the tasks at

hand and those that inevitably arise.

There is much to do, to do it

right. Play an active role in sup-

porting our Chapter's goals to support

our veteran and general municipal

communities.

I hope to see all of you at our elec-

tions, and wherever you feel led to

assist us during this new officer

year

first period, second period, third

period. Still no desks in the class-

room. Kids called their parents to

tell them what was happening and

by early afternoon television news

crews had started gathering at the

school to report about this crazy

teacher who had taken all the desks

out of her room.

The final period of the day came

and as the puzzled students found

seats on the floor of the desk-less

classroom. Martha Cothren said,

'Throughout the day no one has

been able to tell me just what he or

she has done to earn the right to sit

at the desks that are ordinarily

found in this classroom. Now I am

going to tell you.'

At this point, Martha Cothren went

over to the door of her classroom

and opened it. Twenty-seven (27)

U.S. Veterans, all in uniform,

In September of 2005, on the first

day of school, Martha Cothren, a

History teacher at Robinson High

School in Little Rock, did something

not to be forgotten. On the first day

of school, with the permission of the

school superintendent, the principal

and the building supervisor, she

removed all of the desks in her

classroom. When the first period

kids entered the room they discov-

ered that there were no desks.

'Ms. Cothren, where are our desks?'

She replied, 'You can't have a desk

until you tell me how you earn the

right to sit at a desk.' They thought,

'Well, maybe it's our grades.' 'No,'

she said.

'Maybe it's our behavior.' She told

them, 'No, it's not even your behav-

ior.'

And so, they came and went, the

APRIL 2015 P AGE 3 THE LISTENING POST

walked into that classroom, each

one carrying a school desk. The Vets

began placing the school desks in

rows, and then they would walk

over and stand alongside the wall.

By the time the last soldier had set

the final desk in place those kids

started to understand, perhaps for

the first time in their lives, just how

the right to sit at those desks had

been earned.

Martha said, 'You didn't earn the

right to sit at these desks. These he-

roes did it for you. They placed the

desks here for you. They went half-

way around the world, giving up

their education and interrupting

their careers and families so you

could have the freedom you have.

Now, it's up to you to sit in them. It

is your responsibility to learn, to be

good students, to be good citizens.

They paid the price so that you

could have the freedom to get an

education. Don't ever forget it.'

By the way, this is a true story. And

this teacher was awarded the Veter-

ans of Foreign Wars Teacher of the

Year for the State of Arkansas in

2006. She is the daughter of a WWII

POW.

Do you think this email is worth

passing along so others won't forget

either, that the freedoms we have in

this great country were earned by

our U.S. Veterans?... I did.

Let us always remember the men

and women of our military and the

rights they have won for us.

Now That Is A Teacher Every School Should Have

APRIL 2015 P AGE 4 THE LISTENING POST

Manure “Stow High”

An interesting fact about Manure: In

the 16th and 17th centuries, everything

for export had to be transported by

ship. It was also before he invention

of commercial fertilizers, so large

shipments of manure were quite com-

mon. It was shipped dry, because in

dry form it weighed a lot less than

when wet, but once water (at sea) hit

it, not only did it become heavier, but

the process of fermentation began

again, of which a by-product is me-

thane gas. As the stuff was stored

below decks in bundles - you can see

what

could (and did) happen. Methane be-

gan to build up below decks and the

first time someone came below at

night with a lantern, BOOOOM! Sev-

eral ships were destroyed in this man-

ner before it was determined just what

was happening.

After that, the bundles of manure

were always stamped with the instruc-

tion ' Stow high in transit ' on them,

which meant for the sailors to stow it

high enough off the lower decks so

that any water that came into the hold

would not touch this "volatile" cargo

and start the production of methane.

Thus evolved the term ' S.H.I.T ' ,

(Stow High In Transit) which has

come down through the centuries and

is in use to this very day.

You probably did not know the true

history of this word. Neither did I.

I had always thought it was a golf

term.

the veteran would have to travel.”

“Given the clear intent of Congress to

reduce barriers to care, it is perplexing

that the VA is not using its authority to

allow non-VA care for those who face

a geographic challenge in accessing

care, including long drive times or

health conditions that make travel dif-

ficult,” the group wrote.

The group reminded McDonald he has

the authority to modify how the pro-

gram’s distance criteria is calculated

and urged him to do so “without de-

lay.”

Senators also said they were

“dismayed” over a provision in the

administration’s fiscal 2016 VA budg-

et request that would allow McDonald

to funnel money away from the pro-

gram.

“It is deeply disturbing that the admin-

istration would try to reduce funding

for this program before this program

has even been allowed to work —

being in existence for only a few short

months — and as barriers to care con-

tinue to exist.”

They asked him to “stop any attempt

to propose a reallocation of funds de-

signed to kill the choice card program

in its infancy.”

The missive is the latest in a rough

week for McDonald. On Tuesday he

had to apologize for misstating that he

had served in special forces, a false

claim that has put him on thin ice with

Capitol Hill and veterans groups.

By Martin Matishak - 02/25/15

A bipartisan coalition of 41 senators is

pressing Veterans Affairs Secretary

Robert McDonald to remedy the im-

plementation of a program that allows

veterans to seek private medical care.

The effort, often called the "choice

card," allows veterans to seek medical

care at non-VA providers, if they live

more than 40 miles from an agency

facility or if they cannot get a doctor’s

appointment within 30 days.

The program was a cornerstone of

legislation Congress approved last

summer to overhaul the VA — with

lawmakers allocating $10 billion for

the effort — after a months-long scan-

dal over patient wait times that were

linked to a series of deaths.

The VA is “construing the eligibility

criteria as it relates to the 40-mile rule

so narrowly that it is excluding too

many who are far away from the care

that they need,” the group — lead by

Senate Armed Services Committee

John McCain (R-Ariz.) — wrote

Wednesday in a letter to McDonald.

They charged that while the depart-

ment has sent out 8.5 million cards,

only 0.37 percent of veterans who

received them have been authorized to

seek private healthcare.

Senators said the VA “does not con-

sider the type of care available within

40 miles of where a Veteran lives” and

measures the distance “’as the crow

flies’ and not the actual distance that

Senators urge VA chief to fix ‘choice card’ woes