Approximately 230,000 Veterans live in the Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System three-state catchment area (south Mississippi, south Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle.). Of that amount, 104,000 Veterans are enrolled for care at VA, with about 71,000 actively receiving VA care. Suicide prevention experts claim that of the 20 Veterans a day that are committing suicide each day, 14 of them are not getting their care from VA.
Who doesn’t love auto-correct on their smartphones? OK, nobody loves auto-correct. I have friends who think I’m a moron because of auto-corrected texts I’ve sent. My relationship with Apple’s “Siri” is better. I can ask Siri a question and get a spoken answer. I ask Siri to take me to a destination and I get step-by-step, verbal directions. However, ours is not a trouble-free relationship. Recently, I asked Siri to take me to a destination. Traffic was heavy, so I drove along in the center lane. At the absolute last minute, Siri said, “Turn left.” No warning. No, “I’m sorry, I must have dozed off.” I missed my turn and had to fight through traffic to recover; Smart phone indeed!
Last week two of our team members went to the naturalization ceremony in Pensacola. After the ceremony, 275 new citizens and their families walked out of the Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum as America’s newest citizens. They get an awesome send-off by the judges, guests and those in attendance who wish them well and tell them congratulations as they walk out the door. It is awesome to witness those that have worked hard along the way toward the path of becoming a citizen and their excitement and sometimes tears when it finally happens. We have a story of one of our country’s newest citizens, Anna Leavenworth of Navarre, who is originally from Russia. You will find her story on page 3B.
Sunday, January 20, a rare “Super Blood Wolf Moon” ascended into the night sky over the Florida panhandle capturing considerable media attention. Some Christian preachers, like author and Pastor John Hagee, teach that this phenomenon is a sign from God, particularly concerning His plans for the people of Israel. Is there any warrant for this belief?
We hope you are enjoying our new faith correspondent, Michael Bannon. We are looking for a Health Correspondent and possibly a Pets Correspondent. However, being a pet correspondent seems like too much fun…we should just have Inkie do that. She needs a fur time job.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2017, 10,874 people died in drunk driving crashes. It equates to one person every 48 minutes. If it takes your breath away, think about this – that number has decreased from previous years.
