July-August 2008

Poulsbo Post 245 Newsletter

Well here we are another year has passed. First I want to thank you all for all of the support that you have given to the post this last year. We came close 100% for membership. The poppys went OK but did not do as well as last year. Thanks to all who were able to help. It has been my pleasure to be commander for the past two years. We will have a work party Sunday 6 July at the post home to cut grass, etc. We will need mowers, and trimmers.

Our annual post picnic is on Saturday July 12th starting at noon. It will be a pot luck so please try to come. We will have a flag ceremony and swear in new officers at the annual picnic.

As we finish the 2008 American Legion year out, my thanks to everyone who took part in at least one of our various activities. As your incoming Post Commander, I look forward to meeting or talking with all of you at one Post 245 function or another.

Evergreen Boys State:
Post 245 sponsored 19 young men to Boys State this year from five area schools (Kingston, North Kitsap and Central Kitsap High Schools, West Sound Academy and Klahowya Secondary School). Amoung the highlights was the election of Douglas Vogel from North Kitsap HS as the Governor. Doug is the brother of Post 245 member Walter Vogel, a recent graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point) and 2003 Evergreen Boys State alumni. Kingston HS had nine students selected in their first year of operation.

Emergency Preparedness: Are you prepared for a natural disaster at your residence? Do you have food and water stored for a minimum of three days? Do you have a First Aid kit, a manual can opener, dust masks, extra prescription medications, personal sanitation supplies, 1-2 working flashlights and good batteries, hand-cranked or battery operated NOAA all hazards/ weather radio and/or a AM-FM radio, local maps, safe wrapped important family documents, a family muster and emergency plan,& spare money.

World War II Veterans: For the past two years, we have been gathering the names and service branch of every World War II veteran and entering their names into the database of the National World War II Museum that opened in May, 2003. If you are a World War II veteran (December 7, 1941 - December 31, 1946) or a descendant, please contact me.

Blood Donations: Have you donated a pint of blood or platelets recently? Please mention to the Blood Center staff that you are an American Legion member so we get proper credit. Regardless of where you live, please call or e-mail the Post 245 office at the Poulsbo National Guard Armory and let us know of your donations via e-mail or voice mail so we may include these important donations on our annual report to the state office.

License Plates and Ball Caps: Do you travel a good amount around the country (i.e., "Snow Birding")? We have an inventory of "American Legion Post 245, Poulsbo, Washington" license plates ($10) and ball caps ($5) available for purchase before you leave town. These are great items to swap at most American Legion posts across our 50 states and overseas locations (District of Columbia, Mexico and Central America, Western and Southern Pacific, across Europe, and Puerto Rico). Contact any of our volunteers on any Thursday at the office or leave a message at the phone number or e-m ail listed above with your request.

American Legion Magazines and Newspapers: Do you recycle your monthly American Legion magazine and the quarterly Departmental "Legionnaire" newspaper? If you don’t utilize them as membership gifts to new or prospective members, we could use them . One of our volunteers would be glad to receive them at our National Guard Armory office anytime on a Thursday.

Polo Shirts: Tony DeCarlo has received the order of various colored "Poulsbo Post 245" polo shirts. If you have not received your order yet, contact Tony at 360-779-3630 or via e-mail at antoniodec@comcast.net.

Military ID Cards: The military ID card offices at Bangor (the former Navy Reserve Center) and Bremerton (Bldg. 1013 adjacent to the Naval Avenue Gate) are open on all Saturdays (excluding holidays) from 0800-1200.

Baseball: Every Seattle Mariners home game on Tuesday nights is now designated "Military Appreciation Night" for all active duty, Reserve and Guard, and retirees. See Mariners web site www.mariners.com for exact ticket prices.

Have a safe and comfortable Summer.Bob Theal Post 245 Senior Vice Commander (Commander Elect)

BLUE WATER SAILORS DENIED CLAIMS
A federal appeals court has delivered a defeat to (Blue Water) sailors and Coast Guard veterans of the Vietnam War who have been fighting for disability compensation from illnesses they contend resulted from shipboard exposure to Agent Orange.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled 2-1 on May 8 that the Department of Veterans Affairs acted lawfully and reasonably in 2002 when it cut off Agent Orange-related disability payments and began to deny new claims from veterans who served on ships off the coast of Vietnam but never actually set foot in country.

The decision reversed a 2006 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for veterans claims in the case of Haas versus Nicholson. The three-judge panel unanimously rejected as "unduly restrictive" VA's interpretation, by revised regulation, of qualifying service in Vietnam under the Agent Orange Act.

Over the last two decades, Congress and the VA expanded the list of illnesses linked to Agent Orange exposure and for which veterans can receive disability compensation. The list of ailments includes prostate cancer, type 2 diabetes, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, certain soft-tissue sarcomas, chlordane and skin conditions, Hodgkin disease, various respiratory cancers, leukemia and multiple myeloma.

The following members were elected for the 2008-09 fiscal year:
President; Barbara Sather
Vice President: Marilyn Theal
Membership Secretary: Joan Watte
Corresponding Secretary: Margaret Seed
Treasurer: Pat Neudorfer
Chaplain: Clara Smith
Historian: Sarah Arnold
Sgt. at Arms: Cleolue White

29 junior girls from our four high schools were sponsored by Unit 245 to attend Girls State this year at Central Washington University. These were top students who will become our leaders of tomorrow. Our July picnic will be held on July 12 and our auxiliary members are asked to bring a food dish or hot dish for this annual event.

We are also planning to have our boys and girls state citizens march in the Kingston parade again this year.

EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Emergency preparedness is a catch phrase that we all have heard. It is something that we might think of when we see pictures of floods, air craft collisions, tornadoes or even earth quakes in other parts of the world. This is an event that may happen to other people in other parts of the world "But Not In My Back Yard". Well folks it is time for a reality break. Our beautiful Northwest area is very abundant in scenic beauty BUT....

Did you know that the volcano that is considered the m ost dangerous in North America is Mt.Rainier? You know the beautiful mountain that we can see on a clear day from most of the higher elevations in Kitsap county which means that if she should blow her top we will be in Line Of Sight for the devastation.

Did you know that Kitsap has over 200 miles of coastline. We live on a virtual island and are isolated from the rest of the country except for the few bridges and ferry system.

Don’t forget that we also live on GROUND ZERO. With the lovely 700 acre submarine base tucked right in the middle of our beautiful county.

The American Legion had a very interesting article about DAMS in our country and I went on the web site for Washington and see that we have 163 dams in this state that are in bad disrepair from before 2000 with little or no intention of fixing them. Do you live beside a lake??? Most are supported by a dam of some sort so the possibility of your seeing some sort of flooding is possible.

Our beautiful coastline is on a ledge that could slide with the slightest of earthquakes.

Just last December we witnessed the devastation in Centrailia, WA from the flooding of I-5.

The purpose of this is NOT to scare or frighten you but to bring your thoughts to the reality of what we will do WHEN it happens.

For years our Post has talked about Emergency Preparedness but in real time we have do NOTHING.

Recently I found that my next door neighbor was the local Fire Commissioner. My wife had told me of the Mt. Rainier being the most dangerous volcano so that prompted by the recent discussion at our meetings about Emergency Preparedness urged me to do more than just think and talk about it.

At our last meeting our Post has voted to join with North Kitsap Fire Department in their Emergency preparedness efforts. All of our members are ex-military trained in how to react in emergencies.

YOU must decide if you and your family are going to volunteer for this effort or be independent in the case of a natural disaster or other types of emergency.

We have a roster of over 250 members and will attach a copy of the Emergency Preparedness Information to this newsletter. I urge you to fill in the information and return it by mail to the post at Poulsbo American Legion Post 245, P.O. Box 678 Poulsbo, WA 98370. Or bring it by to the meeting or to the service office.

Anyone who does not volunteer this information will be hear by considered as independent and are on your own.

Methods of communication will be set up for volunteers and their families to participate in all emergencies.

Ray Stutz has graciously taken the lead in co-ordination of this effort. Ray got our Post Fireman of the Year award last year for his service to his fellow man.

Our Post Sponsored Venture Scout Crew is celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of Venture Scouting this month. Congratulations on a tremendous program which lately have included a 40 mile bike ride, kayaking on Wild Cat lake.

We are in process of considering the sponsorship of Boy Scout troop 1571 which goes back to 1938 and the First American Legion Post in Poulsbo, WA.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

July 10th - Executive Board meeting at Breidablik Hall at 5:30pm.

July 12th- Annual Post 245 Picnic
At Breidablik Hall. Post will provide hot dogs, burgers and drinks. Please bring a pot luck dish with enough to feed you and your guests. All members on the American Legion family and their guests are invited. We will also have swearing in of our new officers and a flag retirement ceremony as part of the event.

July 16th - Riders
Picnic at Fort Ward park.

July 17th-19th Department of WA Legion Convention in Vancouver.
Birger Sather will be honored with a Service Officer Award on Friday at 3PM for his exemplary service to all veterans and widows.

Saturday July 12th Post Picnic at Breidablik Hall.
This is the event where we swear in the new officers of the Post, have a ceremony to burn discarded flags and have a pot-luck feast. It starts at noon that weekend.