Let’s begin this week by answering your questions about Rusty. I talked to Kath; she says “tell everyone that Rusty is doing okay.” Stop by and see him, you’ll find him chowing down on the free stuff.

Fellow veterans, about the upcoming election on November 4th, remember your sacrifices in the military, protecting our freedoms. Many have made the ultimate sacrifice — don’t let their sacrifice go in vain. Please, make every effort to cast your vote.

Gil and I attended a very informative meeting on homelessness last week and heard from many dedicated volunteers. Plans are underway for the January Point In Time (PIT) survey to identify those veterans who are homeless. We also went to the annual Homeless Veterans Stand Down at Togus (Veterans Administration campus in Augusta). It was a very educational experience — 88 homeless veterans were walked through the program. Haircuts, clothing, including shoes, were available and their health needs were addressed. A full series of events were presented, including help with shelters, rentals, food stamps and all the needs to help get off homelessness. The staff at Togus is to be commended for an outstanding program, as well as the many volunteers who helped conduct the program and made it such a huge success.

Gil and I had the pleasure of having lunch at the Blaine House last week, too. Present were the Governor and the First Lady; the Director of Maine’s Bureau of Veteran Services Peter Ogden; Kennebec County Sheriff Randy Liberty; and the Governor’s aide, Jon Nass. Following lunch, we had a lengthy conversation about homelessness in Maine with homeless veterans as the main focus of our discussion. Plans for the PIT survey were discussed — a training program will be put together for the volunteers who help conduct the survey. The Governor briefed everyone on plans underway to provide our elderly citizens a better opportunity to stay in their homes. Other items discussed included issues facing Maine veterans and their survivors, issues affecting our National Guard and reservists, and issues affecting our active duty personnel and their families. It was a very productive session to say the least. And lunch wasn’t bad either — hats off to the chefs!

Also last week, I joined other representatives from Brunswick’s American Legion Post 20 in a meeting with the Director of the Region Ten Technical High School, Barry Lohnes. We explained the Legion’s Oratorical Scholarship program for students, grades 9-12 (including homeschoolers) — an immediate opportunity for Region-10 students to win scholarship money in a speech contest on the U.S. Constitution. We also covered other youth programs, such as the Legion’s annual Boys State and Girls State programs. In turn, Barry described the Firefighter/EMT, auto repair and other courses offered at the school, which led to a discussion about the possibility of enrolling veterans there for such vocational training.

Congratulations are in order for Joanne McMahon, a Region Ten Health Occupations instructor. Joanne is one of the “6 Who Care” selected for an award (and a cash contribution to the non-profit organization of her choice). “6 Who Care” is a WCSH-6 initiative to honor individuals who demonstrate exceptional service to their community. Her profile will be broadcast at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 29, on Channel 6. Joanne is a Navy retiree and, like Barry, is a member of the Brunswick American Legion. She is also the co-chair of Veterans No Boundaries, a specialty program of Maine Adaptive Sports & Recreation that provides free year-round outdoor recreation, multi-day retreats and other activities for disabled veterans free of charge.

The Brunswick Legion is preparing for a Veteran’s Day program, 11 a.m. at the P-3 Park next to the Resource Center on Brunswick Landing. The Brunswick Naval Museum and Memorial Gardens organization has announced it will have the former base Chapel (and future site of a naval museum) open during this event. The Chapel grounds also abut P-3 Park. More on this ceremony will be forthcoming.

This column has brought many of our veterans and their survivors to the Resource Center with VArelated questions. Also, some have been showing up at Togus with their questions. Meanwhile, my home phone is always ringing with calls from people who ask about their benefits. For instance, a female veteran whose spouse is a non-veteran was surprised to hear that he is also eligible for burial in Maine’s veterans’ cemeteries.

Dante celebrated his 91st birthday with the Coffee Crowd at the Pleasant St. McDonald’s last week. Jim brought him a big birthday cake for everyone to enjoy and we all sang him an off key Happy Birthday.

That’s it for this week. Remember to be cautious on Halloween — there will be lots of little ghosts and goblins out and about.

Stay tuned, keep the faith.

———

Chick Ciciotte is the legislative chairperson for the Mid-Coast Veterans Council. He lives in Topsham.