Douglas County Veterans Viewpoint: Town Hall, Diamond N Vets, Suicide Awareness 5K
A Roseburg VA Town Hall Meeting will be held Tuesday, June 13, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Roseburg VA Medical Center, in the Auditorium in Building 16. Town halls are an opportunity for local veterans, their families and supporters, to ask questions, get information, and be kept updated on the most recent happenings at the VA.
Can’t attend in person? The Roseburg VA is livestreaming their town halls through Facebook Live. To access the livestream: 1. go to Facebook, 2. go to the Roseburg VA Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VARoseburg, and 3. scroll down until you get to the first post, which should be the streaming video. There will always be a moderator at the other end, so if you’d like to ask a question, use the chat window on the Live session to write out your question and the moderator will pass it along to the speaker to answer.
The Roseburg VA also provided some tips for watching over Facebook. The Roseburg VA creates event notices for each town hall on their Facebook page. When you see the event notice, click on “Going” and set your notification settings to remind you. If you missed a town hall, the live recording will always be available on their Facebook page by clicking on “Videos” and looking through the “Town Hall” playlist.
The Fifth Annual Diamond N Vets event is scheduled for Wednesday, June 14, starting at 7 a.m., at the Diamond Lake Resort Lodge. The event honors local veterans with a free day of guided fishing on Diamond Lake. A light breakfast will be provided, followed by a day of fishing which usually wraps up around 2 p.m.
The only qualification to participate is to be a veteran, and to pre-register so even organizers know how many people to plan for.
Organizers are also looking for boat captains, providing a boat, tackle, and pole, and first mates to assist captains. Diamond N Vets have arranged insurance through the Purple Heart Association.
Anyone interested in being a boat captain or first mate should contact Dick Kreger at 541-670-1384. Veterans looking to pre-register should contact Ken Rice at 208-520-5514.
The 1st Annual Veteran Suicide Awareness 5k Walk/Run will be held Saturday, July 15, beginning at 8 a.m., at Stewart Park in Roseburg. This event looks to raise awareness about PTSD and veteran suicide, and let those who are suffering know that our community cares.
The event is being organized by local volunteers and “Ride for 22”, a non-profit which seeks to serve as a living memory of the fallen, increase public knowledge and awareness of PTSD, share resources, and provide support and comfort to grieving families. Although based in Idaho, the non-profit was founded by a Roseburg native who still has strong ties to the community.
Proceeds from the event will benefit the local VFW in Roseburg. The VFW has numerous programs to help local veterans, including their meat program, veterans’ relief fund, and more.
Interested walkers/runners may register for the event by going to www.raceroster.com, and entering “Roseburg” in the search field. For more information contact Jennifer at jeng1031@gmail.com or 541-670-6293, or Linda at 541-784-7638, or visit their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/events/240137429784157.
God bless our veterans and God bless America.
