Top 5 Veterans News: Oct. 27, 2017

We encourage you to browse our list so that you can take what you want and keep what you need.

1. Feds Should Research Medical Marijuana For Veterans, Lawmakers Say. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) “is uniquely situated to pursue research on the impact of medical marijuana on veterans suffering from chronic pain and PTSD given its access to world class researchers, the population it serves, and its history of overseeing and producing research resulting in cutting-edge medical treatments,” the group of lawmakers who sit on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs wrote on Thursday in a letter to VA Secretary David Shulkin.
2. Student, bored in class, prank calls veterans’ suicide hotline. A Lee County student is in trouble at school after making three false reports to a suicide prevention hotline for veterans all because he was bored in class.  The student, who hasn’t been identified, attends Ida S. Baker High School in Cape Coral and used his cellphone to log into the Veterans Crisis Line.
3. Disabled veteran fights massive tax bill from IRS. A disabled veteran is in the fight of his life as the country he fought to serve and protect is fighting him for a massive sum of money. William Milzarski, 46, is a highly decorated, disabled Michigan Army veteran, but now he’s being forced to take on a new battle. The IRS has left him with a financial burden he struggles to carry. Many college graduates know the crushing weight of college debt. Milzarski said he succeeded in getting his debt canceled, but the IRS still has its hand out.
4. Oneida County expands legal aid to veterans.  Local veterans will have free access to legal aid services through a partnership with the Syracuse University College of Law, Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr. announced. Picente said the county has made a three-year commitment totaling $150,000 that will be utilized for the Syracuse University College of Law to operate its Wohl Family Veterans Legal Clinic from the County Office Building in Utica and a location in Rome, a news release from the county said.
5. Area churches plan tribute to veterans. Several United Methodist Churches in the area have planned an exciting celebration for Veterans Day this year. The celebration will include patriotic music and a special production from a Nashville theatre company, “My Father’s War.” The play is the story of a WWII veteran who reflects, at the end of his life, on the war, what he experienced in war, and the sacrifices every veteran makes.