LEWISTON — A shortage of mental health counselors at the Veteran Center in Lewiston has Maine’s U.S. Congressional delegation pushing for answers and Lewiston Mayor Robert Macdonald warning that a desperate, untreated veteran might act violently. As a measure of the problem, veterans and counselors say the local center has been without a team leader […]
veterans
Posted inOp-Eds
Addressing soldiers’ spiritual wounds
The riveting story by The Associated Press about Sgt. Marshall Powell’s combat related “moral injury” (Sun Journal, Sunday, April 16) has application in Maine. With 127,234 veterans, 94,604 of whom are wartime veterans (source: Department of Veterans Affairs) the necessity of addressing the spiritual wounds of American military who served in war-torn countries has long […]
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Posted inRiver Valley
RSU 10 getting more state aid
DIXFIELD — Regional School Unit 10 learned last week that it will soon receive an additional $339,401 in general purpose aid from the state. Superintendent Craig King told the board at Monday’s meeting that a decision on how that money will be spent will likely be made at the Sept. 14 board meeting. In other […]
Posted inLocal & State
Bill to set up vets commission stuck in LePage’s legal limbo
AUGUSTA — A bill that creates a short-term task force of veterans to review and make recommendations for change to the state’s Bureau of Veterans Services is among a group of 65 bills in legal limbo as the Legislature and Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s lawyers prep to duke it out in the state’s highest court. […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Turner selectmen hear plea for cemetery assistance
TURNER — Representatives of several cemeteries in town attended Monday night’s selectmen meeting to ask for financial assistance. Raynard Gilbert and Jim Talbot said interest on cemetery trust funds has not provided enough income to cover expenses. Selectmen asked the cemetery trustees to form a committee and present a request at the next selectmen meeting. […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston facility gives homeless veterans a ‘hand up’
LEWISTON — Kristopher Boyle had served his country well in Iraq, spending four years in the U.S. Army. Three years later, the 29-year-old veteran had no job, no transportation and had seen his children one time for just a few minutes. He ended up homeless, became an addict and lost his will to live. “I […]
Posted inLocal & State
Maine service members lost since 9/11 honored at State House
AUGUSTA — State Sen. Anne Haskell, D-Portland, never knew her dad. He was killed in 1944, near the end of World War II while serving with the U.S. Army in the Philippine Islands. Haskell joined a group of lawmakers and surviving family members of other Mainers who lost their lives serving their country since Sept. […]
Posted inLocal & State
Fading away: How Maine’s veterans groups are being tested by time
BANGOR, Maine — Retired Navy veteran Ashley Wilson, who served two tours in Iraq, said joining the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post No. 3381 in Old Town gave her something every veteran needs — understanding. “Everyone has the same mindset,” she said over a beer inside the darkened post lounge. “You have that common ground […]
Posted inLocal & State
Gov. LePage and First Lady to honor veterans over Memorial Day weekend
AUGUSTA — Maine Gov. Paul LePage and first lady Ann LePage will pay tribute to Maine’s veterans by joining hundreds of volunteers to place American flags on the gravestones of veterans over Memorial Day weekend. Nearly 15,000 American flags will be placed in Maine Veterans’ Memorial cemeteries in Augusta, Caribou and Springvale beginning at 9 […]