Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Superintendent

A couple of years ago, I stopped writing a weekly column for distribution to students, staff, and parents. I am going to resume my Chat on a bi-weekly basis.

My first article is going to focus on wounded veterans and how I hope our school district and parents will support a massive contribution program. One of my primary goals during my welcome message at the Veterans’ Day program at the K-8 School was to have the students fully understand and appreciate the tremendous sacrifices our servicemen and women have made and are continuing to make. I mentioned that a group from California makes an annual trip here every year with a large truck filled with toys for distribution to children throughout the region. At the “thank you dinner” I always remind students that we also have an obligation to give back. Last Friday, that thought flashed through my mind – let us really make a difference in the lives of our wounded veterans.

The types of wounds that our soldiers and marines face in Iraq and Afghanistan are just hideous. A total of 28,451 have been wounded in Iraq since March 2003. Many of those have been caused by land mines and road sides bombs. The bombs are small, easily hidden, and difficult to detect. They have been hidden under rocks, underneath the ground, in vehicles, and even in the carcasses of dead animals. They explode in crowded marketplaces, at the gates to U.S. military camps and along remote sections of highway as U.S. or Iraqi government convoys pass by carrying the critical supplies. We have greatly increased the armor underneath our vehicles, but the terrorists just enhance the amount of explosives, and they are getting deadly, state-of-the-art bomb making material from Iran. The explosions cause men to lose their arms, legs, and hands. Many are paralyzed. Others have lost their sight and hearing. Often forgotten are the servicemen who now have severe emotional traumas. Suicide rates and chronic depression are very high. Last week on the Internet, I saw that one out of four homeless people is a veteran.

They are many organizations that are involved in assisting wounded veterans. Two that I would suggest we consider are “Homes for Our Troops” and “Helping Our Wounded Veterans.” The nonprofit organization, “Homes for Our Troops”, builds and remodels specially-adapted homes for our nation's most severely wounded veterans. This organization has finished 15 homes for wounded veterans and already has another 20 homes under construction nationwide. There is no home in New Mexico or Arizona at the current time, but Colorado has two that are being built. One is for Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Keil. While serving his second tour of duty, he was hit by a sniper near Ramadi, Iraq. The injury left him a quadriplegic, although he has regained some use of his left arm. Here is a picture of this hero:

· ADA toilets

· Appliances

· Bathroom cabinets

· Concrete

· Counter tops

· Driveway materials

· Exterior doors

· Exterior millwork

· Fencing

· Flooring

· Gutters and downspouts

· HVAC system

· Insulation

· Interior doors

· Kitchen and bath fixtures

· Kitchen cabinets

· Landscape materials

· Lumber

· Masonry supplies

· Paint

· Portable toilet

· Roofing materials

· Sheetrock

· Siding

· Window treatments

· Dumpster

· Electrician

· Engineering and design

· Excavation

· Finish carpenter

· Framer

· Mason

· Tree clearing

· Etc.

A second veteran in need of housing in our region is Sergeant First Class Gordon Ewell. He went on 59 combat missions in Iraq. His vehicle was hit by road bombs in six of those missions. He is now home as a result of head trauma. The last explosion blew his impacted wisdom teeth out the side of his jaw. He has a broken vertebrae in his neck, a permanent loss of hearing, loss of peripheral vision, loss of balance, and he suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is from Eagle Mountain, UT.

Any donation is tax deductible. You can access the donation form at www.homesforourtroops or mail your check to Homes for Our Troops - 37 Main Street, Taunton, MA 02760. Specify that your check is for one of these two men.

The second organization, “Helping Our Heroes Foundation,” is a charitable, non profit corporation that has a need for “hard goods” donations as well as financial donations. Financial donations can be sent to: Helping Our Heroes Foundation, Inc. – 21010 Southbank Street, #805, Potomac Falls, VA 20165

A “hard goods” donation does not necessarily need to be new. The nation’s primary medical veterans’ hospital, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, has 800 patients who live there now. Often, they will be there on medical hold for 6-12 months as the men and women go through physical therapy and are fitted with new arms and legs. Many have their families living there as well. The needs for these veterans and families are enormous, and money is very limited for them. All of us can give items that we simply no longer need, such as:

· Late model computers and printers

· Your old DVD player since you have now upgraded

· Music DVD’s – or you can burn a copy

· Blank DVD’s and video cassettes

· Telephone cards with some time left

· Gift certificates to McDonald’s or some other fast food restaurant

· Clean clothes that no longer fit you. Dad, stop thinking that the size medium sport coat will ever fit you now that you are a large and still growing.

· Cologne or perfume that you never opened

· That present from Uncle Bob that you have never used and don’t intend to

· Anything in your medicine cabinet that remains unopened, such as a pack of three razor blades.

· Surplus batteries, such as AAA or AA, from that set of eight that you have not fully consumed