Reveille
March
1999
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Reveille March 1999 |
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Published by International Press Service
for the Veterans for Good Government
Box 4072, Chattanooga, TN 37405
FAX (423) 698-7803
Pete Chaney, Editor and Publisher
James Tollett, Webmaster
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| VA administrator convinces no one at CAVC forum Business man, admiral in charge of AF Day Parade set May 14 Applications mailed for parade entries |
Relive the comradeship you knew in service. Join the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. |
Vets veto VA hospital consolidation Over 200 hear VA hospital
officials talk TAKING THE HEAT for considered changes in hospital treatment at Murfreesboro and Nashville, John Danridge responded to complaints and objections from angry veterans during the Mar. 19 forum held by the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council. In charge of 27 medical facilities in the south east United States, he stated he wasn't a veteran but wanted the best for former service men. However, he admitted a similar consolidation in Alabama had been a failure. (IPS photos by Pete Chaney) For nearly four hours some 200 veterans and families listened and vented their frustrations as the director of 27 VA hospitals in the southeast explained plans being considered for consolidation of VA medical facilities at Murfreesboro and Nashville. John Dandridge, director of the Mid South Health Care Network faced a less than enthusiastic audience. After opening remarks continuing for half an hour, he heard suffering veterans with complaints, comments and tragedies. Many felt the government had let them down after they served their country. The forum was offered by the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council at East Ridge American Legion Post 95 Mar. 19. The CAVC includes veteran organizations from the tri-state area. Fred Tucker, Tennessee Veterans Affairs Commissioner, attended and introduced the official who was accompanied by other VA officials. Dandridge said nothing had been set in concrete—yet. He would make recommendations to Washington on any changes that should or shouldn’t be made. His efforts to present a case for some facilities between the two hospitals didn’t convince the audience. They saw it as a cost saving mood at the expense of veterans. A petition drive spearheaded by Greg and Charlotte Vandergriff has gotten some 3,000 signatures of protest. Greg has said the extra 35-mile drive to Nashville would have cost him his life. Robin Derryberry of Rep. Zach Wamp’s staff and Cathy Kemp from Sen. Bill Frist attended. Zach is pushing for increased spending for the military and veterans. Post 95’s parking lot was filled with cars, protesters and the media. TV and radio stations were there along with newspaper reporters and photographers. |
FRED TUCKER, Tennessee Commissioner of Veterans Affairs, spoke briefly to the Mar. 19 meeting of the CAVC and introduced national officials who explained proposed hospital changes.
SPECIAL AWARD came to Dr. Gussie Hawkins, VA primary care physician, from Terone Chivers of the Ernie Pyle Order of Purple Heart during the Chattanooga Area Veterans council meeting Mar. 19 at American Legion Post 95. In the background are CAVC Honor Guard Commander Ralph Wilson, CAVC Treasurer Erhardt Barnes, CAVC Secretary Sherry Kimbrow, CAVC Chairman Milton Thomas, Tennessee Veterans Affairs Commissioner Fred Tucker and CAVC First Vice Chairman Ernest Seagle. |
Some years ago I thought the fellow was a nut. He was convinced our federal government wasn’t being run by the elected officials, but by an unseen , clandestine group. He called them bureaucrats. Maybe that’s not too far off. Our legislators pass bills they sometimes admit they never read. Consider regulations that affect all of us without regard to the people they are supposed to serve. Consolidation of services at the Murfreesboro and Nashville VA hospitals would be a smart businessman, if the government cares more about saving and making money at the expense of those veterans who made sure there is a government, those men and women who risked health, wealth and their lives to be sure there was an America. Without them there would be no bureaucrats to kick them out of the medical facilities that are supposed to serve them. Instead of expanding facilities to serve veterans in Eastern Tennessee and the area, they are making it more inaccessible. At a time when everyone is looking a overburdened Medicaid/Medicare program. Veterans denied VA services will surely have to turn to the civilian programs available. Veterans must not be crucified on a cross of dollar bills. |
Business man, admiral in charge of AF Day Parade set May 14 A leading Chattanooga business man and a distinguished retired navy admiral are cochairmen of the Armed Forces Day Week Committee. John F. Germ is civilian chairman and Vice Adm. Ronald M. Eytchison is military chairman. They will lead the group in the 50th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day Parade in Chattanooga, the only one still being held in a major American city. A week long celebration will emphasize the military and especially the navy which is the host service in this year’s rotation. Sponsor since 1994 is the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council. The parade is the keynote of the event and will be held on May 14 in downtown Chattanooga. Lt. Cdr. Patty Parks is commandant of the Naval Reserve unit in Chattanooga. The Marine Reserve under command of Maj. Kirk Coker coordinates entries. Bob Lahiere is CAVC liaison officer for the parade committee and Milton Thomas is CAVC chairman. ARMED FORCES DAY PARADE co-chairmen Vice Adm. Ronald Etychison (center) and John Germ (right) listen to Carl Levi discuss plans for the May event. |
Applications mailed for parade entries Entry applications for the 1999 Armed Forces Day Parade have been mailed out. Deadline for those wishing to participate is April 25. |
The eighth annual installation-awards banquet of the Chattanooga Area Veterans Council will be held Friday, Mar. 9, in the Roosevelt Room of the Choo Choo. A table seating eight will go for $135. Individual tickets are $20. For further details, log onto www.ipspress.com/cavc and go to the newsletter. 'Guilty until proven innocent' It is unfortunate, but everyone always assumes someone charged with a crime did it, like being “Guilty until proven innocent.” Joe Davis, a veteran cab driver at Mercury Cab, has begun what amounts almost to a one man crusade to aid a fellow driver accused of rape. The man is being held in jail awaiting trial, and all the evidence is being accumulated against. As Joe points out, the “victim” called specifically for that driver. Obviously, she knew him. Joe also is troubled that emphasis is being placed the man’s prior felony record. “At what point is a man accepted back into society after he’s paid his debt?” he asked. The man is almost seven-foot tall and weighs some 300 pounds. Joe wonders why he would use a metal pipe or try to be romantic in the confines of the front seat, as charged. If the driver is guilty, it is a disgusting crime. If he’s innocent, he’s being overcome by an avalanche. All Joe has asked that all the evidence be accumulated and considered. He wrote the Times-Free Press which said, in part: . . .You've already convicted him with that story. . . . How did such a large man rape a woman in the front seat? Was he taken to a hospital for blood and semen samples? Whose house did she go to when she said she called the police? The car was checked out? A man his size had to leave some evidence if he had done anything. How big was his weapon and where is it? And going to Bonny Oaks why didn't she try to get someone's attention if she were that scared. Remember, she called and asked for him by name to pick her up . . .I'm a cab driver, have been one for 12 years. We pick up people many times your city doesn't want to deal with. So now a woman cries rape and a man with a prior record is guilty even before he has the right to a trial. Great! Is any of this fair? Is any of it the American way? . . . |
Post Script Unless the city has finally become aware of the smell, there is still a dead dog in a garbage can in the 900 block of E 14th street in Chattanooga. Calls by residents were to no avail. ******** If Judge WALTER WILLIAMS got 68 percent of the votes cast for City Judge and only 14 percent of eligible voters voted, that means less than ten percent of the electorate decided who would sit on the bench for Chattanooga. It’s a shame more people didn’t turn out for an important position such as this. ******** “Old Prune Face” PAT BUCHANAN wants to impose quotas on college now—to let people he likes get their “fair share.” Too many Jewish students at Harvard, he says. Maybe what Pat needs most is a good dose of Ex Lax. Then maybe he would be in such a strain and so sour tempered all the time. Now he wants quotas for university to admit his “people.” ******** Readers are still uncomfortable and circulation has not been up to expectations in the changeover at the Times and Free Press into one paper. Newspapers have what they call a “style”—The consistent form followed in writing, etc. The new paper won’t win any prizes for page design and they still follow the archaic method of saying “Mr.” or “Ms.” for everyone like a “country seedy weekly.” But give ‘em credit. There is a lot to read, some well written articles and features. And the photography is excellent. Hat’s off not only to the photographers, but most definitely to the photo editor. ******** Cab drivers have to driver aggressively to make a living, pushing to the speed limit. HENRY SHANNON will never be guilty of that. He once got a ticket for driving too slowly. ******** It may seem presumptuous of us to send out Reveille to a worldwide audience, we happen to believe Chattanooga is a typical American city with its problems and hopes and dreams. Despite our frequent criticisms, we know of no place better to live. And—most importantly—Chattanooga is the Most Patriotic City in America. ******** Workers at Erlanger Hospital are keeping their fingers crossed. They much prefer to go back to working for Erlanger instead of the Mariott chain with the expiration of the contract for food and custodial services. It was part of SKIP REEDER’s failed plan that cost the hospital $26-million. ******** One of our favorite all time movies is “The Best Years of Our Lives” with HAROLD RUSSELL. Our own RALPH WILSON served with him. Harold wasn’t in the navy but in the Army Engineers and was working on a land mine when he lost his hands. But the trivia thing in the movie is showing DANA ANDREWS as a captain leaving service and having five hash marks on his sleeve. We always thought each hash mark meant two years in service. That would have made him serving ten years. World War II didn’t last that long. ******* With all the new bond options, JOE CHEEK is considering a special issue: MONICA BONDS with no maturity; STARR BONDS with no interest; BILLY BONDS with no principle. ******* A proud new grandpa is BOB LAHIERE. His son, BOB LAHIERE, Jr., sent us by e-mail pictures of smiling papa and frowning young BAILEY LAHIERE. You can feel the pride in the hands of the photographer and the collection of pictures. |
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