August 2009 NEWSLETTER
PLACE: THE SIZZLER,
PROGRAM: Steve Cooper, General Contractor
Have you ever wanted to be able to find a good source for a plumbing, electrical
or other repair problem? What
are the things you should look for before entering a contract for a repair?
Steve Cooper is a 4th
generation Californian, Fullerton resident, general contractor with 34 years of
construction experience and can answer any construction/repair questions for
you.
Important Message - TriCare for Life Threatened, Action Needed NOW!
In 1994 the Retired Military’s free access to health care was replaced by an HMO
called Tricare & Tricare Prime. In 2002 it was expanded to Tricare for Life, for
members over 65 and on Medicare. Tricare Prime required an enrollment and yearly
fee and co-pays or Dr visits and prescriptions. Tricare for Life eliminated Dr
Co-pays, prescription co-pays remained.
Recently the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has drafted proposed legislation
that will change the Tricare for Life system it would reduce benefits to a
system whereby retirees would pay a deductable and co-pays. There are many areas
contained in the proposal, one of most concern is in Option 96 titled Introduce
Minimum Out-of Pocket Requirements under Tricare for life, Article 189 would
initiate a cost sharing and require retiree to pay the first $525 of medical
cost and 50% of next $ 4,725 of first yr, to be indexed to inflation. This
defeats the purpose of Tricare for Life, and is an insult to our Military
Retirees.
Please call or write your representatives to halt this proposal before it
becomes a bill. The more support we can get the better our chances are of
defeating this before it ever sees the floor of Congress.
This proposal was written by Matt Schmitt Congressional Budget Office
(202) 226-2840.
Ed Royce:
110 E. Chapman Ave Suite 207 Orange, CA 92866 (714) 996-8743
Dianne Feinstein:11111
Santa Monica Blvd Suite 915, Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310)
914-7300
Barbara Boxer:
312 N. Spring St, Los Angles CA 90012
(213) 894-5000
For additional information, contact Mike
Hyland Service Officer (714) 996-8743
Chaplain’s Message to the Members:
“Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?
He who has clean hands and a pure heart...” (Psalms 24:3-4a, NAS
translation) If we can be of service
to you, please call us.
Jim Howland and Hal Dixon
Commander’s Corner:
We had a great time at the Orange County Flyer baseball game on the 18th.
Thanks Don Dutton for planning
the event for us. We met our new
police chief, Mike Sellers, at the July meeting.
He asked us to remind him to come back in a year so he can bring us up to
date with what’s happening in Fullerton.
The new American Legion 29th District commander is Bob
Dillard. His installation dinner had
a Hawaiian theme. The National
Convention will be in August. Our
Girls and Boys State students have come home.
One of our boys was the Boys State Governor.
We are so proud of all the kids, but it sure is fun having one of our
kids make it so far up the elected positions.
Be sure to put the September meeting on your calendar so that you can
meet all the kids we sponsored for special programs this year.
The 2010 year began 1 July. If you
have not paid your 2009 dues, you need to send it in ASAP.
If you pay for 2010 without paying for 2009, your Continuous Years will
start at one (1)
year again.
For those with internet access at home or at the city library, all of our
newsletters and meeting and event pictures are available for viewing at our web
page. (Fullertonpost142.com)
Thanks go to Richard Wakefield and Mike
Box for keeping our web page updated with great stuff.
Upcoming Events:
The Post meetings are always on the second Tuesday of the month.
The officer meeting is the Wednesday prior to the meeting.
The next few monthly meetings are:
September 8, October 13, and November 10.
Please mark your calendars.
August 5, Officer Meeting at Marilyn’s
Please jot this number down in case someone you
know needs it. 800-342-9647 or
www.militaryonesource.com. It is
the number that all active duty, Guard and Reserve and their families can call
24/7 for help of all kinds. Their
slogan is “You name it. We can
help.”
To request your DD-214, go
to the National Archives and Records Administration at
http://www.archives.gov/veterans/evetrecs/.
Follow the instructions. You
can also get assistance from the Veteran Service Office.
If you are not sure what you or your family is entitled to, please call
the Veterans Service Office to talk to a claims officer.
(714) 567-7450
If you reside outside of Orange County, call your County offices to find
the Veterans Service Office location nearest you.
Hospital/Rehabilitation Program.
Please continue to bring things to the meetings or call
Mike and Pat Hyland (996-8743) to coordinate a home pick up.
For more information about this unique project sponsored by Cloudbreak
Development, UC & United States Veterans Initiative, Inc. (a 501(c)(3)
organization), call (562) 499-6717 or visit their web site at www.usvetsinc.org.
Memory Lane Dates:
July 25,
Battle of Lundy’s Lane (1814), Battle of the Little Big Horn begins (1876),
Mussolini Arrested (1943), Allies break out of Normandy (1944);
July 26, Battle of the Little Big
Horn ends (1876), US Freezes Japanese Assets in US (1941), President Truman
Signed Executive Order #9981 Ending Racial Segregation in the Services (1948);
July 27, Army Medical Department
Established (1775), Japanese Occupy French Indo-China (1941), National Korean
War Veterans’ Armistice Day/Korean War Ended (1953);
July 28/9, WWI Began (1914);
July 29,
Army Chaplain Corps and Judge Advocate General Corps Established (1775);
July 30, US Navy WAVES Established
(1942); July 31, Army Transportation
Corps Established (1942).
August 1, Warsaw Uprising (1944);
August 2, Iraq Invaded
Kuwait/Operation Desert Shield begins (1990);
August 3, Peninsula Campaign ends
(1862); August 4, US Coast Guard
Established (1790), Defense of Pusan/Naktong Perimeter Began (1950), Vietnam War
Began (1964); August 5, Women Air
Force Service Pilots (WASP) Established (1943);
August 6, Atomic Bomb Dropped on
Hiroshima (1945); August 7, Badge of
Military Merit (Purple Heart) Medal Established (1782), Shenandoah Campaign
begins (1864), Battle of Guadalcanal (1942), Z-Gram #116 Issued (Equal Rights
and Opportunities for Women in the Navy) (1972), Operation Desert Shield Began
(1990); August 8, Russia Declares War
on Japan (1945); August 9, 2nd
Atomic Bomb Dropped, (on Nagasaki) (1945);
August
10, Battle of Wilson’s Creek (1861);
August 12, Spanish-American War Ended
(1898), Battle of Bunker Hill Began (1952);
August 13, US Forces capture Manila (1898);
August 14, American Forces reach Peking (China Relief Expedition)
(1900), Emperor Announces Japanese Surrender, Japan Surrendered, Unofficially
Ending WWII (1945);
August 15, Allies Land in Southern France (Operation Dragoon)
(1944), Japan accepts unconditional surrender terms (1945);
August 16, Battle of Bennington
(1777), National Airborne Day; August 17,
Axis Forces on Sicily Capitulate (1943), Birthday of US Army Civil Affairs
Branch (1955); August 18, Battle of
Contreras begins (1847), Battle of Bloody Ridge Began (1951);
August 19, Paris Uprising Began
(1944); August 20, Battle of Fallen
Timbers (1794), Battle of Churubusco/Battle of Contreras ends (1847), Civil War
officially declared over (1865); August
24, Battle of Bladensburg; British capture and burn Washington DC (1814);
August 25, Paris Liberated by Allied
Forces (1944); August 26, Battle of
Long Island begins (1776), Women Win the Vote/Women’s Equality Day (1920),
Operation Southern Watch Began (1992), Operation Southern Watch Ended (2003);
August 28, Quebec Campaign begins
(1775), Battle of Second Bull Run (Manassas) begins (1862);
August 29, Battle of Long Island ends
(1776), Korean War’s Largest Air Raid (1952);
August 30, Battle of Second Bull Run (Manassas) ends (1862)
Notes from July Meeting.
Commander Harris introduced Fullerton’s
new Police Chief, Mike Sellars.
Chief Sellars confirmed the quickness our
George Miller in getting speakers.
Before he had a chance to meet with the Laguna Beach department to tell
them he was going to Fullerton, George’s fax arrived inviting him to speak at
our meeting.
Good work George!
Sellars has 33 years of law enforcement experience, beginning as an
officer in La Palma in 1975. He has
also taught at Fullerton College for 33 years.
He indicated that overall crime statistics are improving in Fullerton but
he offered to come back in a year after he has had more time to gain a better
understanding of the city. The
Downtown area had improved and calls are down.
He also indicated they are using technology and working with the FBI to
deal with identity theft. He also
indicated a $100,000 grant has been provided to Parks and Recreation to help
keep kids busy in positive activities for the summer.
Recruitment is a problem for police departments due to military
recruiting. Fortunately, Fullerton
is at full-strength. He believes
when their tours of duty are up, they will be a good source of recruits.
He acknowledged Fullerton has a gang problem and has a special unit
dedicated to dealing with it. There
is also a team to work with the homeless although he indicated beach cities have
a much greater problem dealing with the homeless.
Drunk driving and graffiti calls are up.
Minutes and Finance reports
for May and June approved unanimously.
Cdr. Harris then opened the
floor for committee reports.
Chaplain Jim Howland updated post members on the status of
legionnaires that need support and prayers.
Service Officer Mike Hyland
briefed the post on a proposal to gut the Tricare for Life program by requiring
deductibles, and an additional cost for the first year.
Special Events Officer Don Dutton
informed all post members about
Baseball Nights with the O.C. Flyers.
Commander Harris presented Certificates of Appreciation to the officers and other key
personnel for their efforts over the past year in all the Post activities.
She also reminded everyone to make
sure their spouse or dependents know where their DD-214.
She indicated our new District Commander is Bob Dillard.
Our Boys State participant from Sunny Hills,
Benison Choi, was elected Lt. Governor and due to the resignation of the
Governor, became Governor. That is
quite an honor out of over 800 boys.