TUESDAY

May 31, 2011

New local business goes to the dogs

Congratulations graduates of the class of 2011

Unfiltered news

Honoring heroes past and present

By Phil Lindeman Mountaineer Staff Writer Some say Pat Hammon does too much. About 30 minutes before the annual Memorial Day service at Freedom Park in Edwards yesterday, Hammon is bustling about, plugging in a sound system and placing flower arrangements while hugging friends and coordinating a cadre of local Boy Scouts. Even in her mid-60s, its easy to pinpoint Hammon as a life-long nurse. Dressed in a beige trench coat to fend off the biting wind, her lithe movements are hardly removed from the woman who, more than 40 years back, treated injured U.S. Army soldiers for five years, two of them in Vietnam. Yesterday afternoon, that singular focus was channeled into her work as the service officer for the Veterans of Foreign Wars post 10721, a local chapter of the national volunteer organization for servicemen and women she has worked

page 11 Edwards West Vail Avon Next to In the Christie Across from Qdoba Lodge Shell Station

Memorial Day service time of reverence for local VFW

with for 18 years. Shes the one who kept us together and in one piece, both then and now, said Pete Thompson, 65, a former Army lieutenant who served with the 5th Ranger Division in Vietnam and now teaches finance at Colorado Mountain College. Hes one of about 10 people to ask Hammon if she needs help, and is kindly shrugged off with a smile as she

In more than nine years of war, Fort Carson has lost 321 soldiers including fifteen soldiersfrom the post who have died overseas since last Memorial Day. Of those killed, 257 died in Iraq and 64 inAfghanistan. An Air Force Academy professor and two academy graduates also died this year. They were gunned down at the Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan on April 27. A ceremony was held Thursday at the Army post outside Colorado Springs to mark the addition on names the forts memorial. The Gazette reports that the names of 21 soldiers killed since April 2010 were engraved in a nine-stone monument near the main gate

THE UPDATE 15 Fort Carson soldiers killed since 2010

Golf fundraiser this weekend

Event will benefit football team, Fort Carson troops
By Matt Minich Mountaineer Editor

greets Eagle County Commissioner Sara Fisher. Thompson shrugs in kind and begins telling his story: Born at West Point into a military family, he left the Army after Vietnam and had a difficult time facing anything related to combat or service. He is part of a surprisingly large group of vets to avoid such events in the past this is only his second year in the VFW and commends all the members for bringing him into the fold when he felt the time was right. These people are so good to us, [See MEMORIAL, page 4]

The people over at Battle Mountain High School love football, but its golf that pays the bills. At least they hope it will. This weekend, locals have organized a charity golf tournament to help fund the team, which event organizer Pat Engle said receives only about $3,500 from the school itself, a fraction of the cost of a successful football program. For the troops Now in its eighth year, the BMHS Huskies and Heroes Football Golf Scramble, doesnt just give the BMHS football program the bulk of its funding, it also provides a relaxing weekend for Americas men and women in uniform. When the event kicked off in 2004, Engle said, it hosted two four-person teams from Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. This year, 40 Fort Carson golfers are expected. And they wont have to pay a dime. Bart Quom of Vail Realty and Tina Liccardi of Fall Ridge Condominiums have donated space for the golfers, so they will not have to pay for lodging. Donors are invited to contribute $150 to sponsor one of the military golfers for the tournament. This will not only include their registration in the event, but all of their meals and other expenses. [See MEMORIAL, page 4]

President Barack Obama moved yesterday to seal an overhaul of his national security team, selecting Army Gen. Martin Dempsey as the next Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman amid protracted battle in Afghanistan, U.S. involvement in the NATO-led effort against Libyas Moammar Gadhafi and a winding down of the war in Iraq. Obama announced a new lineup of his top military leadership group in the Rose Garden

Obama selects new Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman

Members of a Vietnam veterans color guard (from left) Lou Meskimen, Lyn Morgan, and Dick Scott present the American and Colorado flags at a Memorial Day service at Freedom Park in Edwards yesterday, joined by Boy Scouts from Troop 222 of Eagle and Troop 231 of Vail. The presentation was part of a service attended by nearly 75 community members and local veterans, including several who served in World [See THE UPDATE, page 10] War II. Phil Lindeman photo.

2 for 1 Tuesdays
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Apple & Windows certified support
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