Support is sought for Veterans Treatment Court
The Carroll County Veterans Independence Project’s core mission is to serve those who have served and we are a 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization; our executive director is Jason Sidock.
In line with our core mission, we are attempting to establish a Veterans Treatment Court in Carroll County.
There are four Veterans Treatment Courts in Maryland; Anne Arundel , Baltimore City, Prince George’s and Lower Eastern Shore ( a collaboration of four counties). There are no VTCs in North Central or Western Maryland. Our county has 12,000 veterans. We need this judicial venue.
Sidock is called regularly by different agencies relating to minor offenses our veterans may have committed. He works with all our county social agencies in trying to mitigate these incidents. Although he has a strong working relationship with law enforcement officials, we firmly believe a Veterans Treatment Court would be the next major step forward in addressing this problem here.
We are currently seeking letters of support from veteran-related organizations, businesses and concerned citizens. Such letters are a powerful statement to validate and help bring this effort to fruition. For more information, you can go to our Facebook page, search Carroll County Veterans Independence Project or view our internet page: http://www.carrollcountyvip.org. If you are interested in helping, you can post on our visitors post page on our Facebook page, email us at: hunter10611@gmail.com or send mail to:
Carroll County Veterans Independence Project, 95 Carroll St., Suite, 104 Westminster, MD 21157
Please help us. A general statement supporting the court and the benefits of integrating our veterans back into society is what we are seeking. Your letter of support would be a welcome addition to our supporter list.
On behalf of our Carroll County veterans, supporters and the CCVIP, thank you all and God bless you.
For God and country and Semper Fi.
Josh Marks, Mount Airy
Marks is a brigade volunteer veteran advocate for the Carroll County Veterans Independence Project
As Ukrainians suffer, here’s how to be a patriot
If you have a pulse and any connection to a news outlet, you are no doubt aware that Vladimir Putin has invaded Ukraine, attacking and killing civilians and driving hundreds of thousands to flee in terror. Much of the free world has been inspired by the Ukrainians’ fight to save their democracy and help is starting to pour in. And yet in this country, prominent Republican voices Tucker Carlson and the former president have been highly vocal in support of Putin (”He’s a genius!”)and also loudly proclaiming how badly higher fuel prices will affect us if we try to rein in Putin. The message seems to be, if only everyone cow-tows, everything will be OK!
Given the precious little pushback on the pro-invasion stance taken by these and other prominent Republicans, I have a few questions: 1) For those of you who espouse Christianity, is there ANY point at which you will reassess your adoring relationship with and worship for the former president? 2) For those of you who claim to be patriots, might you consider taking real action to insulate America from our link to foreign oil and Russia? How about we make a huge push for ultrafast conversion to renewable energy with battery storage in this country, combined with rapid electrification of our vehicle fleet? Renewables are now cheaper than the cheapest fossil fuels, so it’s economically stupid not to do so. Cost-parity of EVs is right around the corner as well.
Imagine if Europe and the US quickly had real energy independence, cleaner air (and billions less in health care costs) and greater national security! Seems to me that would be just a bit more patriotic than having truck convoys clog our highways and make things even more expensive — all to complain about wearing a mask (while we watch Ukrainians show us in real time what actual patriotism is). If you are interested in being patriotic, how about call your state senator and legislative representatives and urge them to vote for pending bills in Maryland that would move us toward energy independence and allow us to worry less about fearmongering thugs. Wouldn’t that be more patriotic, decent and Christian than allowing your spokespeople to cheer for the bad guys while they terrorize 40 million fellow human beings?
Paul Kazyak, Westminster
An earlier version had an incorrect address listed for the Carroll County Veterans Independence Project.