Veteran`s Advisory Council Newsletter

TOWN OF BABYLON
VETERAN’S ADVISORY COUNCIL NEWSLETTER
An Informational Newsletter for Babylon’s Veterans - Jan. 2016
Warriors,
Happy New Year! I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and loved
ones. Since the last edition of the newsletter, we have had many events that I hope you have been
able to participate in.
The Veterans’ Awareness Week Kickoff celebration was a success with eight winners receiving
gift cards for their winning essays. This year’s topic was ‘The Military and The Price of Freedom’.
We received over 300 essays from local elementary and junior high school students that entered
the contest. The Town also hosted the 8th annual Hope for the Warriors run/walk, which again
raised over $85,000 this November. The Town continues to support veterans and veteran programs
and we are pleased to say that as a community, have raised well over a million dollars for veterans
in the last few years. Early December there was a second viewing of Inside Buffalo, where filmmaker Fred Kuwornu was in attendance to speak about the film. 7Eleven was gracious enough to
provide refreshments for all attendees.
It is my hope that you find this quarterly newsletter and periodic e-mails filled with useful information. If we currently do not have your e-mail address on file, please send it to us at tobveterans@
townofbabylon.com and include your name so we may update our records accordingly.
Local Business’s Show Their Support
Lindenhurst JROTC
Marine Corps JROTC is a focus on Leadership Traits, Lead-
ership Principles and Corps Values consisting of: Honor,
Courage, and Commitment. Doing the right thing for the
right reason can be challenging for today’s youth. Following a guideline of principles and traits, for example: seeking
self-improvement and integrity, can assist a Cadet in making
the right decision in any given scenario. Education cannot be
just about making productive members of society. This is a
program that develops character and citizenship, it is not a recruitment for any branch of the United States Armed Forces.
If a Cadet desires to enter the military, he or she is much
better prepared because of the MCJROTC experience. As
with making any decision in life; knowledge is power and the
more prepared a person is--the more successful a person is.
The four Cadets who
participated in the color guard for the 2015
Hope for the Warriors
are
Cadet Brandon Menno
(holding the American
Flag)he has participated with MCJROTC for
3 years. Cadet Oscar
Fuentes (holding the
Marine Corps Flag),
Cadet Anthony Avery
(Rifleman), his stepfather was in MCJROTC
and he desires to be a
Navy Seal. Cadet Robert Conti (Rifleman).
The Town of Babylon Veteran’s Advisory Council
would like to thank Texas Roadhouse, Commack Road,
Deer Park for offering free lunch to veterans on Veterans Day. Managing Partner, Tony Martinez, no relation
to Deputy Supervisor Martinez, was preparing for eight
hundred free meals that day. Also we would like to thank
the folks at Monsoon Steak & Sushi, Deer Park Avenue
in Babylon for serving free Thanksgiving Day meals for
veterans and their families on Thanksgiving.
Real Property Tax Exemptions
March 1, 2016 Deadline
Veterans living in the Town of Babylon may be eligible for
a Real Property Tax Exemption. To find out information
regarding the Veteran Tax Exemption and the Cold War
Veteran Tax Exemption, please contact the Assessor’s Office
at (631) 957-3014 or download the booklet “Do You Qualify
for a Real Property Tax Exemption” from
www.townofbabylon.com/forms
TOWN OF BABYLON
Richard Schaffer, Supervisor
Councilman Antonio Martinez, Deputy Supervisor
Councilwoman Jacqueline A. Gordon, Chair - Veteran’s Advisory Council
Tom Donnelly, Councilman
Lindsay P. Henry, Councilman
Carol Quirk, Town Clerk
Corinne DiSomma, Receiver of Taxes
[email protected]
Veterans Update
Essay Writers Meet Veterans
Town of Babylon Councilmembers Jackie Gordon and Tom
Donnelly recently joined with Suffolk County Executive Steve
Bellone, Suffolk County Presiding Officer DuWayne Gregory,
New York State Assemblywoman Kimberly Jean-Pierre and
members of the Town’s Veterans Advisory Council to kick-off
Veterans Awareness Week with a special ceremony at Town
Hall, where winners of the annual student essay contest were
honored. The ceremony served to honor the proud veterans of
the Babylon Town community and show appreciation for the
tremendous sacrifices that they have made for our county. At
the ceremony, the winners of the student essay contest were
given the opportunity to read their essays to those in attendance.
Pictured in the front row from left to right are Ricky
Iverson of the Town of Babylon Veterans Advisory & Steering
Council Committees; Nolan Johnson, first place essay contest
winner from Copiague Middle School; Aurora Hurrell, first
place essay contest winner from Albany Avenue Elementary
School in Lindenhurst; Isabel Rosales, honorable mention
recipient from Santapogue School in West Babylon; Evie
Fitzpatrick, second place winner from Albany Avenue Elementary School; Brady Dolan, third place from Albany Avenue
Elementary School; Veronica Szygalowicz, third place from
Lindenhurst Middle School; Isabella Drago , second place from
Lindenhurst Middle School; and Logan Iversen, honorable
mention from Santapogue School.
Pictured behind them from left to right are Robert
Romano of the Veterans Advisory & Steering Committees;
Assemblywoman Jean-Pierrce; Presiding Officer Gregory;
Councilwoman Gordon; County Executive Bellone; Councilman Donnelly; William Lindner of the Veterans Advisory and
Steering Committees; Joe Ingino of the Veterans Advisory and
Steering Committees; Mrs. Turner, Lindenhurst Middle School
teacher; Mrs. Arm, Albany Avenue Elementary School Teacher;
and Mrs. Marciano, Albany Avenue Elementary School teacher.
No-Cost
Flu
Shots
VA Retail Immunization Care
Coordination Program VA and
Walgreens are national partners,
providing no-cost flu shots to enrolled
Veterans of the VA health care system. From August 1, 2015
to March 31, 2016, enrolled Veteran patients nationwide have
the option of getting their flu shot at any of Walgreens’ 8,000
locations in addition to their local VA health care facilities.
Walgreens has the capability to electronically send vaccination information to the VA electronic health record (EHR).
The VA-Walgreens national partnership is part of VA’s
eHealth Exchange project. Last year’s national pilot program
ensured that many Veterans got their no-cost flu shot at their
local Walgreens, satisfying their wellness reminder because
they either found it more convenient or did not have a scheduled appointment at a local VA health care facility.
Run For The Warriors
The 8th Annual Run for The Warriors attracted aproximately
2000 runners and walkers for this year’s 5k, 10k and one mile
walk. Currently, the total is at about $85,000, but they are still
receiving checks. Thank you to all the partisipants for making
this another successful event. It’s never too late to make a donation, just go to: www.hopeforthewarriors.org
Honor Flight Needs Your Support
Honor Flight Long Island, part of the national non-profit Honor
Flight was created solely to honor America’s Veterans, flies our
nation’s heroes to Washington DC to visit and reflect at their memorial. It is the intention of Honor Flight Long Island to honor
as many of these selfless “ordinary people who saved the world”
as we can by providing a FREE trip to visit their memorial.
Honor Flight Long Island needs your help to keep fulfilling
their mission. It takes approximately $300 to cover the cost of a
round-trip ticket, lunch and bus fair for each veteran; guardians
cover their own cost.
You can help provide a U.S. Veteran a free trip to Washington by
making a donation and spreading the word. Send what you can
to: Honor Flight Long Island, C/O Virginia Bennett, 116 Hampton Road, Southampton NY 11968
Veteran Status Designation on a Photo Document
If you are a qualified U.S. military veteran who was honorably discharged, and you have a NYS driver license, learner permit or nondriver photo ID card, you can have the word “Veteran” printed on the
upper left hand of your photo document.
There is no additional fee for the veteran status designation on your
document, but all regular transaction fees will apply.
To apply for the veteran status designation:
You must send or provide proof of an honorable discharge. You may
apply by mail or at a DMV office by showing your proof(s). Originals
or photocopies are acceptable at an office, but send only photocopies
by mail. Acceptable proofs are
a U.S. Department of Defense Form DD-214 that indicates an honorable discharge
a form DD-215 that indicates an honorable discharge if discharged
before January 1,1950, an Honorable Discharge form WD AGO 53,
WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD or
NAVCG 553, or an “Enlisted Separation Paper”
You can apply for the veteran status designation when you renew your
driver license by mail using your renewal notice (MV-2) and a photocopy of your proof of honorable discharge.
You can renew a NYS driver license or NDID within 12 months or less
of the expiration date. If you’d prefer to apply for the designation prior
to this time period and cannot visit your local DMV, you can still apply
by mail for a replacement document, updated with the veteran status
designation. Please include a written request to add the designation,
use the Application for Permit, Driver License or Non-Driver ID Card
(MV-44), send a photocopy of your current photo document and your
proof of honorable discharge.
Mail everything to:
DMV License Production Bureau
Room 331, 6 Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12228
You can apply at a DMV office for a renewal or a replacement document with the veteran status designation. Use the Application for Permit, Driver License or Non-Driver ID Card (MV-44).
You cannot apply by phone or online.
The veteran status will be printed on all of your future NYS DMV
photo documents.