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VOL. 5/ISSUE 11
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2017
MOVE! toward weight loss
K9 commandos
Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
A lot of veterans are somewhere between overweight and obese. In 2015 more than 75 percent of veterans enrolled in the Department of Veteran Affairs were overweight or obese. The numbers might be slightly lower locally. “Somewhere between 60 and 70 percent,” said Mary Lu Williams, chief of nutrition and food services at the Orlando VA medical center. Nicole Richardson, health behavior coordinator at the West Palm VA medical center, said the numbers look no better on the southern end of the Veteran Voice coverage area. “I can tell you more than half the veterans have a diagnosis of being overweight, if not obese,” she said. While locally veterans enrolled in the VA may have slightly lower rates of obesity, this is still a big problem, no pun intended. Obesity increases risks for type 2 diabetes, stroke, some forms of cancer, and other medical issues. The VA has been tackling the problem of obesity for a decade with its MOVE! Weight Management Program, which is supported by the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. MOVE! was rolled out in January, 2006. In addition to having resources for veterans enrolled in the VA, the program has some for those who aren’t. Williams said the VA is aiming to get more veterans educated about diet and exercise. “When a veteran comes to see their primary care provider, they have the vitals done, including weight,” she said. As the information is put into computers, a
See MOVE page 5
Photo by Lance Cpl. Shaehmus Sawyer Marine Corps Cpl. Braxton H. Rico, left, and Sgt. Shawn R. Edens pose for a picture with Segal the K9 at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. Edens and Rico are assigned to Quantico’s security battalion. Segal was last handled by Edens, and is now Rico’s first dog. SEE STORY ON PAGE 11
For love of country 1st elected Jewish representative gave life for new United States
Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER
mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com
In the mid-1770s, South Carolina became swept up in the American Revolution along with the other colonies. But it also made its own history, by electing Francis Salvador, just 27 years old, as the first Jewish elected representative to the colony’s General Assembly. Born in London, Salvador had emigrated from London as a small child, along with other Sephardic Jews seeking religious freedom. Originally settling in Georgia, the community moved north under threat of the Spanish taking them over. Salvador was responsible for writing up the state’s constitution and served on several small committees, eventually being cho-
sen to serve on South Carolina’s provincial congress in 1774, helping write up a bill of rights and a letter of complaint to the royal governor of South Carolina outlining their complaints against the king. Salvador served again in the second South Carolina provincial congress in 1775, strongly championing independence and arguing that South Carolina’s delegates to the Continental Congress should vote for independence from England. He also fought for payment to be made to soldiers in the Continental army. Salvador was a soldier himself. He became known as the “Southern Paul Revere” — in June 1776, he warned the town of Charleston of the approaching British naval fleet. Thanks to his intelligence information, Fort Sullivan in Charleston harbor was able to
See SALVADOR page 3