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Veterans commission suggest PTSD cases higher than DOD thinks

June 30, 2008 By

 The state veterans commission urges testing for post-traumatic stress disorder of every service member who comes back from battle zones, whether they stay in the military or leave it.

Sometimes post-traumatic stress disorder can take years or decades to manifest itself. A Rand Corporation study suggests 300-thousand American troops who’ve served in Afghanistan or Iraq suffer from PTSD or major depression.

Ombudsman Pat Rowe Kerr with the state veterans commission thinks the number of cases is on the rise in Missouri although she does not have raw numbers. And she says Defense Department numbers are probably too low. She says DOD figures show 93 percent of the Army and 97 percent of the Marines are exposed to small arms fire, mortar attack, or roadside bombs. But she says the incidents of PTSD or minor traumatic brain injury could be higher than the department thinks, based on those statistics.

She says it’s an injury, not a mental health disorder…and tests need to be run on all service members who’ve been in combat areas to find those who need help. She says there are numerous programs for them.

Download Bob Priddy’s story (:63 mp3)

Filed Under: Military

PSC staff gives good marks to response to December ice storms

June 30, 2008 By

Communication could improve; otherwise, the staff of the Public Service Commission gives high marks to state utilities that had to deal with a series of ice storms in December.

Widespread ice storms caused power outages over much of Missouri in December. Hundreds of thousands of Missourians were left without power, some for days, others for weeks.

Lena Mantle is the head of the Public Service Commission Energy Department. Mantle says AmerenUE, Aquila, Kansas City Power and Light and The Empire District Electric Company all followed the restoration plans they had in place. All called in extra help. That became more difficult than normal, because much of the Midwest was coping with the same storms, forcing utilities to bring in help from farther away than normal.

The PSC staff does recommend the utilities improve communication with customers during outages. Mantle says customers need to have an idea about when power might be restored so they can make plans to cope with an outage.

All of the utilities have reviewed their own efforts in December. The PSC staff recommends a meeting be held so all electric utilities can evaluate best practices for storm restoration.

 

Download/listen Brent Martin reports (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Weather Tagged With: ,

McCaskill helps increase seniors’ awareness of Medicare Advantage plans

June 30, 2008 By

Senator Claire McCaskill The Senate Special Committee on Aging holds a field hearing at the St. Louis Senior Center, with dozens of senior citizens, families, and friends watching Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) trying to raise awareness about Medicare Advantage insurance plans.

These plans are sold by private insurance companies. McCaskill says that while some are good in that they provide added benefits to policy holders, others replace the Medicare benefits already enjoyed by seniors and often require these older people to travel great distances to receive care. McCaskill wants the details made known up front when policies are sold … and she does not want private insurance companies using the word "Medicare" when selling these private plans.
Hearing

McCaskill also wants insurance agents fined if they sell policies without fully disclosing the terms or without making it clear these are private policies and not Medicare.

Download/Listen: U.S. Senate Committee on Aging (1:40:00 MP3)
Download/Listen: Steve Walsh report (:60 MP3)

Filed Under: Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Chrysler will idle one Fenton plant, end shift in another

June 30, 2008 By

Chrysler has announced it will indefinitely idle its St. Louis-area minivan plant and scale back production of pick-ups. Falling truck sales have hit Chrysler hard. The manufacturer reports sales in this country are down more than 19% this year compared to last year. The minivan plant in Fenton will be idled effective October 31 st . The pick-up plant will drop one of its two shifts at the first of September.

The move is a big blow to the St. Louis and Missouri economy, reducing the number of jobs at the two plants by 2,400 jobs. Bloomberg reported earlier that Chrysler’s majority owner, Cerberus Capital Management, told investors the car maker lost $300 million in the first four months of this year, but that that was $400 million less than expected.

Filed Under: Business Tagged With: ,

Obama defines “patriotism,” distances self from Clark comments on McCain

June 30, 2008 By

A definition of patriotism comes today from Presidential candidate Barack Obama, speaking in Independence, and with it, a seeming disavowal of comments from one of his supporters downplaying John McCain’s military leadership experience.

Edited version of 30 minute speech (16 min)
obamaedit

Obama supporter Wesley Clark–a retired general–says McCain has never held executive responsibility for war-making and has not had to be accountable for his decisions. Clark, on CBS’ “Face the Nation” yesterday, refused to back away from earlier comments that McCain is “untested and untried.”

“In the matters of national security policy,” he told host Bob Schieffer, “it’s a matter of understanding risk. It’s a matter of gauging your opponents, and it’s a matter of being held accountable. John McCain’s never done any of that sin his official positions.”

McCain was a Navy squadron commander when his plane was shot down in Vietnam. He spent several years as a POW and is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Early in his speech in Independence today, Obama told the crowd, “I will never question the patriotism of others in this campaign. And I will not stand idly by when I hear others question mine.”

Obama described patriotism as a loyalty to the ideals of the nation, a willingness to dissent when “our laws (and) our leaders or our government are out of alignment with our ideals,” and “the willingness to sacrifice–to give up something we value on behalf of a larger cause.”

In another apparent reference to Clark’s remarks, Obama told the Independence audience, “For those like John McCain who have endured physical torment in service to our country–no further proof of such sacrifice is necessary. And let me also add that no one should ever devalue that service, especially for the sake of a political campaign, and that does for supporters of both sides. We must always express our profound gratitude for the service of our men and women in uniform. Period. Full stop.”

Obama recalled the words of President Truman’s farewell address: “No President could ever hope to lead our country, or to sustain the burdens of this office, save the people helped with their support.”

Obama says Truman’s sentiment “best describes patriotism” in his mind–”not just a love of America in the abstract, but a very particular love for, and faith in,t he American people.”

Filed Under: Politics & Government
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