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The INDEPENDENT, April 19, 2007
The
INDEPENDENT
Published on the first and third Thursdays of each month by
The Independent, LLC, 725 Bridge St., Vernonia, OR 97064.
Phone/Fax: 503-429-9410.
Publisher Clark McGaugh, clark@the-independent.net
Editor Rebecca McGaugh, rebecca@the-independent.net
Assoc. Editor Noni Andersen, noni@the-independent.net
Opinion
Open letter to the Mayor
Dear Madame Mayor:
You are interesting and creative, but sometimes
your creativity seems to be applied to stifling ideas that
don’t coincide with yours, or conversely, to applying
pressure to bring about a result you promote. A leader
works to find ways to incorporate others’ ideas.
Example: The Airport Committee, now in compliance
with all city regulations, recommended that model air-
plane enthusiasts be allowed to use the municipal air-
port. You obviously disagreed with the recommenda-
tion, saying any change should be done in a “proper
and rightful way.” Councilor Whiteman, who is council
liaison to the airport committee, then suggested that
consideration be given for summer use, so the subject
should return to the council for discussion.
Example: The Learning Center Committee decided
at their February meeting that The INDEPENDENT is
“biased against” the Learning Center. This incredible
statement was in committee minutes that were includ-
ed in the City Council packets. Both you and Councilor
Whiteman have been active on that committee. Since
no one could demonstrate the “bias,” we were in-
formed that an apology would be forthcoming. The
apology, however, was for letting unapproved minutes
get into the council packets, not for the false charge.
When asked about it, you said some committee
members would not sign the apology unless it was
changed, or even after it was changed – a remarkable
statement, since they voted to do so. You said some
refused to sign, apparently due to objections they had
to our April 5 Editorial. Equally disturbing was your
comment to the committee that they could talk about
anything – as long as they were careful about what
went into the minutes. Has it occurred to you that there
is an ethical lapse in such a statement? Is this “proper
and rightful”? Also disturbing is that the content of the
minutes was changed, deleting all reference to The IN-
DEPENDENT, by the time they were presented to the
committee for approval.
We know the Learning Center is important to you,
but also to the community. That doesn’t explain why
you think it merits publicity when they fail to provide a
press release. Other organizations know that publicity
is freely given when the information is provided.
Madam Mayor, there is nothing creative about capri-
cious and inconsistent actions. There is nothing cre-
ative about ethical lapses.
Out of My Mind…
By Noni Andersen
Along with growing awareness of our govern-
ment’s appalling treatment of wounded soldiers
and veterans – reducing support at military hos-
pitals, and making it so difficult for wounded vet-
erans to get follow-up care at VA facilities that
many give up – the Army has found another way
to deny help.
Here is a very small part of a well-document-
ed report by Jonathan Kors in The Nation (April
9, 2007). In order to bring this to our readers’ at-
tention, I have edited to fit available space; at the
end of this column there is an internet address
for the whole article.
The story of Army Spec. Jon Town: In Octo-
ber, 2004, in Ramadi, Iraq, Town was standing in
the doorway of his battalion’s headquarters
when a 107-millimeter rocket struck two feet
above his head. It punched a piano-sized hole in
the concrete facade, sparked a huge fireball and
slammed 25-year-old Town to the floor, where he
lay blacked out.
Men from his unit gathered around Town and
were screaming his name. “…I was numb all
over,” he said. “I could see them, but I couldn’t
hear them. I couldn’t hear anything. I thought I
was dead.”
Eventually, the shrapnel was removed from
Town’s neck and his ears stopped leaking blood.
But his hearing never really recovered, neither
has his life. Honored twelve times during seven
years in uniform, Town has spent the last three
struggling with deafness, memory failure and de-
pression. By September, 2006, he and the Army
agreed he was no longer combat-ready.
Instead of sending Town to a medical board
and discharging him because of his injuries, doc-
tors at Fort Carson, Colorado, claimed his
wounds were caused by a “personality disorder.”
Town was discharged from the Army and told
that, under a personality disorder discharge, he
would never receive disability or medical bene-
fits.
Regulation 635-200, Chapter 5-13 in the Army
separations manual is called: “Separation Be-
cause of Personality Disorder.” It is quick and
cheap, and the Dep‘t. of Veterans Affairs doesn’t
have to provide medical care because a 5-13
personality disorder is a pre-existing condition .
The VA is required to treat only those wounds
sustained during service.
Soldiers discharged under 5-13 can’t collect
disability pay either. Disability benefits require
evaluation by a medical board, which must con-
firm that a soldier is wounded and that his
wounds stem from combat. The process takes
several months, in contrast to a 5-13 discharge,
which can be wrapped up in a few days.
If a soldier dismissed under 5-13 hasn’t
served his contract, he also has to return some
of his re-enlistment bonus, an amount often larg-
er than the soldier’s final paycheck. As a result,
on the day of their discharge, many injured vets
learn that they owe the Army several thousand
dollars.
Town would not get disability pay or receive
long-term VA medical care. He also had to give
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