Message from blog author.

 I was going to wish everyone a merry or happy Christmas. But this year, I cannot bring myself to do it. 

For the first time in my 50+ years, I just feel that the words would be empty. We have all been thru a very, very hard year. 

My 2 years at the GR Vets home was bad enough a decade ago. But what the current residents have been forced to endure is beyond mere words. Had I been there, I would have gone insane, or would have left to live on the street rather than be in room restriction via unconstitutional house arrest due to the politics that are still ruining what should be one of jewels in Michigan's Crown, making us stand out from the other 49 states. 

The location of the new style of home, is a disaster that destroyed old growth trees that made the grounds a nice place to take a walk. That small forest is now gone, just like Michigan's white pine trees.

The politics of the place is still wrong.  Tracy, the current director is doing as she was hired to do, but its difficult when the MVAA and people within our government insist on micromanaging the place. They refuse to run it as a non profit, and instead run it as a for profit venture on the backs of disabled veterans and taxpayers. 

600 thousand veterans in Michigan and we the people can't even properly care for less than 400 of those who need care the most, at our 2 current locations. The 3rd location will be ready about the time the new GR Home will be finished, but that will mean about 400 total, out of what was nearly 1,000 between the Home in Marquette and the GR home, when I was there a decade ago. 

2020 has also been a year of major change. Isolation, the way we work, the way we go about our lives, everything has been affected by the COV19 virus epidemic. Poor leadership, constant conflicting information, Mass Media sources exerting censorship over peoples conversations on social media, news media that is clearly biased and with an agenda that is not necessarily that of the people of our once great nation, all have taken its toll on us this year. 

Even our election process of one person, one vote, came under attack this year, with the 2020 election filled with hundreds of cases of events which have resulted in the election results not being able to be properly verified. From out right voter fraud, illegals voting, people voting twice, state workers not following their state laws on the handling of votes, the mail in vote fiasco, and election observers not being allowed to attend and witness the vote counting, and the question of the accuracy and validity of the Dominion vote counting machines themselves, have made the 2020 election the worst mess in our nations history. Tens of thousands of voters in all 50 states now are left wondering if voting even matters any more?

And then there is the medical toll this took on so many of us. Hospitals and clinic's both private and public, limited their services to the point where needed procedures were put on hold, and people's heal deteriorated until it became critical, and only then would they be seen and given proper medical attention. 

That is what happened to me. I was having problems in February and our local VA doctors took 9 months to figure out they could not help me and they sent me to Outside Medical people (Spectrum health) after I ended up calling the ambulance and spending a week in hospital.  Non VA medical has done more for me in the last 60 days than the VA has done in the last 24 months. 

Add to that the stress of being forced to relocate during the middle of the economic shut down, unlawfully imposed by our state Governor, added too much stress to my situation, making it worse. At a time when landlords could not evict for failure to pay rent, (I paid mine on time for 6 years at that location) they decided not to renew my lease.  It was difficult to find a new place when everyone was working from home and not at the office. What should have taken 30 days took 3 months. But I did find a place and am relocated. But it took its toll on my health. 

It's gone too far. All this pushed me over the edge so to say. I finally admitted to myself that I am now on the down hill run to making the crossing to the next reality. It may not happen anytime soon, but it will happen sooner than later. And I need to start getting ready for it. Writing a Will, and instructions. Looking at future living locations when my health really starts to fail and I am no longer able to do even the basic things.  None of this is pleasant. 

And like some of you, I too lost family this year to COV19 complications. 2 close relatives caught it and never recovered. Other extended family members have it or got it and when thru it this year. 

And finally after all that draconian lockdown stuff imposed on our veterans at the GR home, we find that after Thanksgiving, a big wave of COV19 hit the place and we lost 12 people, with many more new cases being reported including friends who are still there. 

So I cannot wish anyone a happy or merry Christmas. It just doesn't feel like Christmas this year.

12 deaths from COV19 exposure at the GR Vets home..

 A dozen veterans have died from COVID-19 at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, with half of the deaths reported over the last few days.

https://www.wzzm13.com/article/news/health/covid-19-cases-surge-at-veterans-home-including-a-dozen-deaths/69-c5444b20-ed03-4bc3-9048-281da66d15b7

COV 19 runs thru Vets home

 All the local news media are reporting this. 

Seems that Forty-five residents tested positive between Nov. 27 and Thursday, Fred Schaible of the Michigan Veterans Facilities Board of Managers confirmed to News 8. He added the first two people who tested positive were being released from isolation Thursday.

Sixteen staff members have also tested positive since Nov. 27.

The home recorded its first case in a resident in late April. Archived reports online show that before Nov. 27, it had seen a total of 25 cases among residents all year.

45 Residents represents nearly 50 percent of the current population. 

So it seems to me that the draconian lock down procedures, basically putting residents under house arrest without giving them due process, was a total waste. 

I don't know. I just want things to get back to normal so we can go visit friends, and so volunteers can go help our vets. 

November 2020 update

 Ok its been a while. Just a quick update. Seems both  Chesterfield and GR homes will be completed in just a few months. Jan 2021 is the date being given.

For views of what's going on, check out this link that shows photos of the 2 homes construction. 

GR home population is slowly decreasing. Last report I got, said there were about 150 or so vets at the home. I think the new one will house 120 or so.. so the number is almost where they want it. 

Late Sept 2020 update

 Ok, managed to do a drive by the Vets home the other day. Took some pictures.  Wonder if the home is going to allow limited access outside visitation, as our "ah hem" 'governor' said that nursing homes and such could start doing.

Frankly I think Whitmer is a communist, and has violated her oath of office way to many times and needs to be removed from office. That said, I also think we do need to take extra precautions when going to the Vets home as they are a vulnerable population. I don't think anyone objects to extra steps being taken to protect them from possible COV19 exposure. 

Ok, here are the pic's I took. One is from the Cemetery side of the Duck Pond, another is from the Riverside boat launch entrance looking east at the new construction. 

New Grand Rapids Veterans home construction continues.

Finally got over to the Vets home and managed to take a few pictures.
Construction is once again moving forward.

Michigan Family court judge David Murkowski subpoena's a dead man.

OMG I cannot believe what I was just told, but yes it is true. You may recognize the name of David Murkowski. This is the michigan family court judge who was responsible for imposing many guardians and conservators on the residents of the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans. 

That idiot is responsible for destroying families and helping the state of Michigan systematically steal every penny from a veteran before the vets home killed off the veteran. 

Well now the moron has sent a subpoena to a man that died over 5 years ago and demands this veteran shows up in court.

I told his family to take his ashes Urn to the court and when Judge Dumbass requests he stands up, the family points to the Urn and tells the judge - "hes right there, talk to him all you want, seeing how you killed him." 

2 family members are so afraid of that idiot judge they are having a mental break down now. 

The eldest has hired an attorney and I do believe that a complaint to the Michigan Bar is to be filed against Murkowski. 

My gowd, that monster is responsible as accessory to the deaths of so many vets at the GR home, that and the conservators who fought with the veterans and their families for years.  

And now he has reopened another deep wound in a family that has already suffered at his hands. When does it end? 

Ruby Creek Tavern now open!

Once again, the Ruby Creek Tavern is open to customers for dine in. Shut down due to the COV19 scare, its been closed for a while.

As some of you know, Jerry Welcome who owns it, runs the Ruby Creek Hunting club that offers special hunting trips to veterans, and those at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans.  Residents there get a special hunting trip, transportation provided, place to stay a few days and a great time for all.

Jerry and his group have been doing this for over a decade now and it is really appreciated by the residents of the GR Vets home.

So if you are up near Baldwin, stop in a grab a brew or two, or a good home cooked meal and help support Jerry and his work for the veterans.

Located just off of US 10, west of Long Lake on the west side of the Manistee national forest.
7980 E Washington Rd, Branch 49402

Vets home needs volunteers to help clean up the cemetery.

https://www.fox17online.com/news/local-news/grand-rapids/effort-to-clean-up-veterans-cemetery-needs-volunteers

By: Zac Harmon  Fox 17 news

Posted at 8:56 AM, Jun 19, 2020

 

and last updated 8:56 AM, Jun 19, 2020

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — An Army  Veteran needs help to honor some of Michigan's fallen soldiers.
Jim Burke wants to help keep the Veteran's Cemetery at the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans looking respectable.
Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, the two groundskeepers are only working part time. With the rest of the campus to take care of, they cannot keep up with the mowing and grass trimming needed in the cemetery.
Burke says he noticed the grass growing over the headstones in the past weeks, and he wanted to do something about it.
With permission from the groundskeepers, he is organizing a group to assemble on Wednesday mornings to help get the grounds back in order. The first work day is planned for June 24, and will repeat every week.

More than 5 thousand people are buried at the cemetery, dating back to the Civil War. It's a job that Burke says could use lots of people.
"I don’t know if there will be three people there, or a couple hundred. I would hope for a couple hundred."
If you are interested in helping out, Burke says any volunteer will need to bring their own weed wacker, fuel, rake, eye protection, and water. He plans to start work in the East-most section of the cemetery, and go until noon.
For more information, or to volunteer, call Jim Burke at (616) 481-8101.

Used without permission, just passing on the info! 

Killing off our Veterans at the Vets home, slowly with diabetes.

I have been saying this since 2010. The meals at the Grand Rapids home for veterans are killing the residents due to high amounts of carbohydrate and sugars. This leads to diabetes Type 2 in many otherwise healthy people.

Even when I lived at the home, we usually had those Gowd awful instant mashed potatoes (very high starch, aka sugars) once a day in either lunch or supper meals. If not we had some kind of pasta (noodle) or some kind of high starch item in the meals.  Noodles AND instant mashed potatoes were a double whammy. 

So here is what happens. You go to the home, and move in. You become less active, burning fewer calories, and they begin stuffing you with starches which are in basic forms, sugars.  When your body reaches the point where you are taking in more than you are burning, it starts to store the stuff as body fat. And when your body tank gets full, you end up with insulin resistance, and high sugars in blood. This is Type 2 diabetes.

The American Diabetes Association says the way to treat this is to inject more insulin. Insulin which your body is already reacting to, by either not making it, or not not making enough of it. OR, your body is not reacting to the insulin which helps keep your sugars down.  In other words, these medical genius are trying to force your body to store even more sugar in a body that is already reached its full mark and is saturated with it.

Sounds kinda stupid to me, how about you? But this is what they do, and the Vets home follows the ADA guidelines.  Insulin is not cheap. It also does other things which results in other medical complications. 

Is it possible to reverse the Type 2 condition? Yes. But the home will not and does not treat the problem using the method necessary. And what is that method? Reduce carb/sugar intake to below what the person burns each day. They need to burn off that stored energy from their "full tank" before the Type 2 insulin resistance will reverse itself. 

Think of it like this.. The body is resistant to insulin because there is no place to put the extra sugars because the body's tank is already full. However once you empty the tank, even a little below full, the body then has a place to put extra energy and it will then use the insulin to do so.  Thus insulin resistance is returned to normal.  

The home MUST stop feeding the residents these high amounts of carbs and sugars,  or many more and future residents will continue to develop and die of Type 2 diabetes complications.  Something that can be avoided with a proper diet based on calories being burned, and how much exercise the residents are getting. 

It has to be driving them crazy.

Rumor control stuff here today folks.

Can't get any accurate info in or out of the vets home.

Supposedly at least one or more residents are now living with family or friends outside the home in a temporary state, until the COV19 lock down is canceled.

I don't know if special rules are being made or not, but usually when someone leaves, they are not allowed to return due to the fact that the home is trying to reduce its population to the size of the number of vets that will be living in the new complex being built where Rankin building and the picnic grounds used to be.

Also, Bill, the guy who ran the American Legion Auxiliary poppy program may be one of these people, as he is no longer at the home, according to the Poppy program secretary, Brandy.

These people are in room lock down. I don't even know if they are letting them go outside for a smoke or not.  I would guess not, as the home wants to go to a smoke free campus.

This has to be driving these guys insane with nothing to do but watch TV, or stare out a window, or pace in their rooms. 

Its like being under arrest in prison without a trial or any due process. But the state will respond with its lame excuse "they don't have to be there" or "its a privilege to be there".  Over 660,000 veterans in Michigan and we cannot properly care for less than 600 of them at the 2 locations.

When Gov Snyder took office, Michigan was 52 out of 52 designated veteran zones.  US Federal Territories Guam and Puerto Rico beat us.

Congratulations, we are now at 50 - the last of the 50 states. Shaking my head in disapproval.

Sooner or later they are going to have to open this place back up and let the virus run its course. Keeping these guys locked up for months will only make things worse in the long run. This is being proven more and more to be true as every day passes.

No one wants to lose a loved one, but we have to admit, death is part of life. Making them hang on for our sake, is just plain wrong. Let them enjoy their final days.

Now I do not expect the home to just throw open the doors as if nothing happened. I expect it will have to be done in stages. Great.. lets get started.. 

3 confirmed COV19 cases at GRH4V

Mlive.com is reporting that there are 3 residents with confirmed COV19 cases at GRH4V.

Those of us on the outside knew this was going to happen. It will happen to all of the retirement communities sooner or later.  Just a matter of time.

I for one can only hope it goes thru the home quickly and without taking too many residents. 

However, I do put part of the blame on the administration itself, specifically the kitchen department, or nutritionists that are planning the meals.

For years the home has been serving meals high in carbohydrates or starches. This combined with little or not enough exercise has lead to many within to develop Type 2 diabetes.  Having T2 makes you even more vulnerable to COV19. I know this for a fact and from personal experience.

Let us hope our medical industry can quickly find a vaccine or something to help these people soon, or they will be living in prison like conditions for a long time.

You think you got it bad?

For once I am absolutely in no doubt, that I am glad that I no longer have to live at GRH4V.

Dom unit guys are in prison there. Allowed to leave their rooms twice a day for 15 mins.  Just like in Prison.

Wow, they have to be going insane being cooped up like that for a month.  I haven't even been past the place in 3 weeks, so have no idea what is going on, with them or the construction of the new home.. Maybe they stopped that too..

They gotta be going crazy.

Don't know what its like for our folks in lock down at Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, but I can tell you if it is anything like I am going thru, these guys and gals have to be going crazy.

Its been 3 weeks or so since they, have been in lock down. No visitors allowed in or out. And many of us who went there regularly, either as volunteers or as visitors, also have gone into our own version of lock down by staying at home and leaving only when necessary. 

This is not only to protect ourselves, but to protect others in case we have it. Or had it.  -- yes I said had it, and did not know about it.

I know that in late January and in February a number of us non residents had symptoms that our government later said were signs of having COV19, and we had these signs weeks before the government was even putting out information on it.  So did we have this already when we were visiting the home before the lock down?!!  Now that is a scary thought.

Now as for the residents, I am not getting much info from them as to how things are going on the inside. Its like trying to talk to someone in a maximum security prison.

And to add more worry about it, we have had one retirement community in the area already get hit by COV19 and lost some people.  We do not want that happening to our veterans.  I am talking about the place up in Cedar Springs. That is only about 15 miles away from GRHFV.

Still there is hope. Some thing the worst is over and within another 4 weeks or so things will be reopening and we as a people will start to the recovery process to jump start the economy again. And maybe then, the will be able to open up the home to some degree for visitors.

Lock down continues at GR vets Home.

Yep, we have all seen it now. It is all over the news. The CV-19 virus is a scary thing. People freaking out, buying up all the supplies they can for a 90 day lock in.

Folks are forgetting that we are a free country, and government cannot force us to stay in our homes, placing us under "house arrest", without due process.

And the media has not helped this situation at all. They have made things worse. And we have all the ignorant people posting on social media about it which does not help any ones fear.

Well there is good news. First America was found to be the best prepared country out of all the countries on the planet, according to a recent study. AND despite the doom and gloom claim of about 350,000 deaths that could happen in America or about 5 percent, the current numbers are less than .0002, and revised estimates put the final total to be at less than .004 percent of the population. More like 3,500 not 350 thousand.

And, now that the US industries are in full gear making ventilators and medical supplies, including the new at home testing kits, the experts are saying we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and this may last about 4 to 6 weeks longer then everything will begin going back to normal. The fact is, in many professions, things are going back to normal already.

I see things getting better in the next 3 weeks. We will still see some areas where the numbers climb, but it won't be as bad as it could have been, because we acted faster than many other countries.

We still have to protect the most vulnerable of our people, which is why retirement homes and such will probably remain in lock down until this is over or instant testing kits become widely available. I see that in 6 to 8 weeks.

And congress appears to have passed the stimulus package, which will help many of us who need it when they shut everything down.

So good news all around.. We just need to be patient for a few more weeks. We can do it. This country has endured much worse for longer periods of time.

Grand Rapids Home for Veterans in lockdown due to fear of CV-19, No visitors allowed.

As of yesterday evening, (this morning I was told by Josh, head of safety department, ) the Vets home is in lock down.

No visitors will be allowed at this time. All outside sponsored activities are canceled.

This is being done to protect our Residents at the Vets Home.  Please call the home to be sure its ok to go there, or they will stop you at the main entrance.

Hopefully this will not last long, but be prepared for 30 days or up to 90 days until the country gets this bug under control.

Crona virus concerns at GRH4V, No lockdown yet.

There is no doubt what would happen if this got into the population at the Vets home.

Therefore extra precautions are now being enforced at the visitors entrance.

If you are sick in any way, please do not go to the vets home. When checking in they want your contact info (cell phone number). You will have to use hand sanitizer when entering and leaving.  They are enforcing the "cover when you cough" policy.

It is possible they may go quarantine at any time, so be prepared to be asked to leave if visiting.


Ok, now on to the new homes construction. All the buildings are up. The workers continue assembly of the buildings both inside and out. Construction is going on at a good pace. It was too cloudy the other day to get good pictures, but I will try to get some to post here soon.

Dom Unit to be phased out, will not be part of new Vets Home system.

I know we have not posted much lately. Not a lot of news. Nothing really to post. The new buildings continue to be assembled. Did not see any of the exterior stuff up yet, but it looks like all are framed in and work is progressing.

As for the Train Station. There is talk of turning the NCO club into a museum covering the history of the GR Vets home thru the years. After the new home is built the train station will undergo an upkeep and restoration period. The clothing room and the bait shop will then return to it.

The old VA Clinic behind the existing home, has become a church! Yes they finally got an occupant, and it seems to be working well.

I was talking to one of our state representatives assistants a week ago about the future of the home and how it is going to be ran and if there was going to be a Domiciliary unit (Dom unit) or not. I was told there would not be one. So I had to ask why?

For the first time, someone gave me a proper and informed answer. In a nut shell, there is no longer a need for one.

Mismanagement of the last unit, has contributed to this decision.  When Dom Unit was in the Rankin building it was supposed to be transitional housing, with a limited time. Vets would be allowed to be in Dom while they worked to re-arrange their life affairs after say, a major accident or some other life changing event. The goal was to have them rejoin society, and not make living at the home a lifetime experience. But there are some in the Dom unit that have been there for decades.

With local government focused on eliminating the homeless veteran problem in Kent County, the HUD-VASH program office on Century Ave, along with Community Rebuilders and other such places helping veterans become self sufficient and into a stable environment with steady resources to maintain themselves, there is no longer a need for the Dom Unit.  It will be phased out over the course of the next few years.

This will allow the new home to focus on veterans that need nursing care, both long and short term.

The current buildings will be used for other things, one of which might be the adult daycare center that wanted to move into the old VA Clinic, but could not work out a deal. If this happened, it would make good use of the current buildings, and our own veterans could go there too, for daily activities. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

I for one, agree with this vision.

GRH4V fails again, yet another sent to the street.

Big Jim W, one of the last of the original Dom Unit life time people, who has been there for over 10 years, has been kicked out of GRH4V.

Big Jim had anger issues. Issues that were never addressed. He took to drinking to deal with his anger and his depression and never got any help for it other than to be threatened with discharge if he did not attend AA meetings or go thru some anti drinking program somewhere. They never addressed the underlying issues with him.

He never hurt anyone when he was drunk. Yet they kept messing with him.

Apparently over the last weekend or Monday morning they smelled alcohol on him and decided it was time for him to leave. He was trying to stay there a few more years until he could collect his retirement as you need some kind of income to get any help from anyone outside the home.

Last I heard he was working with community rebuilders program but that is only for 3 to 6 months at most.

Again GRH4V failed to help a vet in need.