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VOL. 4/ISSUE 46
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2016
Remembering the missing Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE
pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com
On Feb. 15, 1966, Air Force pilot Oscar Mauterer was shot down during a covert mission over Laos. Witnesses saw him parachute safely to the ground. That’s the last time any American is known to have seen him. He just disappeared after that. His daughter was 12 at the time. When the prisoners of war headed back home, she held her breath. “I vividly remember when the POWs stepped off the plane,” Pam Cain said. “I hoped my dad would be one of them.” He wasn’t. Cain said the years have done nothing to dull the need and drive to find out what happened to her father. She’s now a state co-coordinator for the National League of POW/MIA Families. “Every single day, not a day goes by, in fact a big part of the day, I think I have a responsibility to get him home,” she said. Gov. Rick Scott has proclaimed Friday, Sept. 16, POW/MIA Recognition Day in Florida. Several organizations throughout the Sunshine State will hold memorials and services for National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Congress established it to be on the third Friday of September annually. Among them is the Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 566, St. Lucie County.
See POW page 2
Staff photo by Mary Kemper Air Force veteran Neil London, Stuart, is one of nearly 100 veterans who gather at the Kane Center, Stuart, each day to enjoy camaraderie. It’s just one part of the Kane Center’s mission to serve veterans and all seniors, and the wider community, in Martin County.
The Kane Center is able Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER
mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com
On this past Friday, Sept. 9, the Kane Center in Stuart was busy. Very busy. But then, it’s always a beehive of activities, all centered on two things — seniors of all stripes, including veterans, and the whole community at large. The programs and services are various and numerous. “Basically, our senior activities include fitness activities, clubs — like bridge and quilting clubs,” explained Chelsey Matheson, director of marketing. Other clubs include chess, knitting, poker, mahjongg, painting, photography — the list is long. Fitness activities include line-danc-
ing, Zumba, ballroom-dancing and chair yoga. “Our (other) services include the Kane Medical Group, Meals on Wheels and Kane Cuisine, which is a paid version (of Meals on Wheels) for people who are perhaps temporarily confined to their house after a hospital stay,” said Matheson. The Kane Medical Group is a whole component in itself. In addition with partnership with the Alzheimer’s Association, there are partnerships with hospice — help with wills and overall case management — and a partnership with Martin Health, helping patients who are constantly readmitted, with case management to help keep them at home. Cultural activities include the Kane Cabaret musical performances, which
See KANE page 8