thedrifter
06-16-07, 06:53 AM
Soldiers, nurse to help veterans with benefits
By JAMES MCGINNIS
Bucks County Courier Times
BENSALEM - Bensalem has selected four retired servicemen and one nurse to fight for the government benefits that veterans living in the township deserve.
The five Bensalem residents volunteered for a newly formed Bensalem Veterans Advisory Board. Each member was nominated by Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo. The township council signed off on each appointment Monday in a unanimous vote.
Board member and Vietnam veteran Dan Sickman said he hopes the board can educate hundreds of township veterans about eligible benefits they just don't know about.
Some of those benefits include job training, pensions, college tuition, home loans, life insurance and funeral benefits.
Retired Col. Larry Rickman, who had spent more than 30 years in the Marines, was also appointed to the board.
Jim Long and Mickey Gray were appointed and represent area VFW posts. Long is commander of VFW Post 9765 in Trevose. Gray is an active member of Andalusia VFW Post 9198. The Courier Times was unable to reach Long and Gray to ask about their military service.
Registered nurse Valerie Bahner is the only board member without a military record, Sickman said. Bahner works at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
The board could meet next month with Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo, Sickman said. Public meetings could be held monthly in the town hall starting this August, he added.
Nearly 12 percent of the township, or 5,354 Bensalem residents, have served in the military, according to the U.S. Census. (Nearby, Bristol Township is home to nearly 6,000 veterans, according to the government.)
Dan Fraley, Veterans Affairs director for Bucks County, said the board would be the first of its kind for any local municipality. “This is very unique and probably a first,” he said.
James McGinnis can be reached at 215-949-3248 or jmcginnis@phillyBurbs.com.
June 16, 2007 3:06 AM
Ellie
By JAMES MCGINNIS
Bucks County Courier Times
BENSALEM - Bensalem has selected four retired servicemen and one nurse to fight for the government benefits that veterans living in the township deserve.
The five Bensalem residents volunteered for a newly formed Bensalem Veterans Advisory Board. Each member was nominated by Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo. The township council signed off on each appointment Monday in a unanimous vote.
Board member and Vietnam veteran Dan Sickman said he hopes the board can educate hundreds of township veterans about eligible benefits they just don't know about.
Some of those benefits include job training, pensions, college tuition, home loans, life insurance and funeral benefits.
Retired Col. Larry Rickman, who had spent more than 30 years in the Marines, was also appointed to the board.
Jim Long and Mickey Gray were appointed and represent area VFW posts. Long is commander of VFW Post 9765 in Trevose. Gray is an active member of Andalusia VFW Post 9198. The Courier Times was unable to reach Long and Gray to ask about their military service.
Registered nurse Valerie Bahner is the only board member without a military record, Sickman said. Bahner works at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
The board could meet next month with Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo, Sickman said. Public meetings could be held monthly in the town hall starting this August, he added.
Nearly 12 percent of the township, or 5,354 Bensalem residents, have served in the military, according to the U.S. Census. (Nearby, Bristol Township is home to nearly 6,000 veterans, according to the government.)
Dan Fraley, Veterans Affairs director for Bucks County, said the board would be the first of its kind for any local municipality. “This is very unique and probably a first,” he said.
James McGinnis can be reached at 215-949-3248 or jmcginnis@phillyBurbs.com.
June 16, 2007 3:06 AM
Ellie