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Combat-RelatedSpe- cial Compensation pro- vides special compensation to retirees who have retired pay reduced because of re- ceiving U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation. This means that quali- fied military retirees with 20 or more years of service that have "combat-related" VA-rated disability will no longer have their military retirement pay reduced by the amount of their VA dis- ability compensation. In- stead they will receive both their full military retire- ment pay and their VA dis- ability compensation. In determining eligibil- ity, retired members must be retired with 20 or more years of active duty, or re- tired at age 60 from the Guard or Reserve. They must be receiving retired pay, and have a compensa- ble VA disability of 10 per- cent or higher. Also, retired pay must be offset by VA disability payments. Although CRSC specifi- cally addresses "combat-re- lated" disabilities incurred from armed conflict, retir- ees who developed disabil- ities from other than com- bat may also be eligible. Disabilities caused by expo- sure to Agent Orange, com- bat training, aircrew duties, simulated war exercises, parachuting and munitions demolition potentially qual- ify for compensation un- der this program. But slip- ping and falling in an exer- cise or even during combat — if not caused by some- thing related to combat, combat training or an in- strumentality of war — nor- mally does not qualify for CRSC. Our office can as- sist in applying for this ben- efit. You'll need a copy of your DD214, copies of any VA rating decisions ad- dressing the disabilities be- ing claimed, and any other available documentation. If you don't have these items, we can help get them. The Redding Veterans Resource Center, which as- sists qualified homeless veterans with transitional housing, will be at the VSO office 1:30-4 p.m. March 16 and 23. Please call the VRC directly for appointments at 223-3211. Free yearly TRAX bus passes are available for qualified veterans at the VSO offices. We will issue the bus passes at the Red Bluff office and at our satel- lite office in Corning. This wonderful opportunity will be available until the end of June. Please see the VSO of- fice schedules below. Dependent College Fee Waivers can be submitted to or make an appointment with Beverly Holden at our office after April 15. Docu- mentation necessary prior to the appointment are the Veteran's DD-214 and VA rating disability letter and IRS or Franchise Tax Board 2016 income verification for the dependent. The College Fee Waiver packages will be reviewed by the VSO on ad- ministrative Fridays. Please plan ahead on these pack- ages as the VSO will not be able to approve these pack- ages on the same day as the appointment. Thank you for your support. There are many state and federal benefits and pro- grams available to veterans and their dependents. To find out if you are eligible for any of these benefits, call the Tehama County Veter- ans Service Office 529-3664. The VSO address is the Bank of America Building, 955 Main St., Ste. C, in Red Bluff. Office appointment hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, closed from noon to 1 p.m. for lunch. The Red Bluff of- fice VSO is by appointment only. Corning VSO walk-ins are at the Veterans Memo- rial Hall 9-11 a.m. the every Tuesday of the month. Los Molinos walk-ins are at the Public Library 9:30-11:30 a.m. Mondays. DMV forms for "Veteran" designated on your driver's license are available at all VSO offices. The Tehama County ID card is available in the Red Bluff VSO office. Incarcer- ated and Probation Veteran appointments are Thursday mornings. Friday's we are closed for administration and outreach. We are look- ing forward to meeting you or seeing you again on your return visit. KellyOsborne,retired U.S. Coast Guard, is the Veterans Service Officer for Tehama County. VSONEWS Combat-Related Special Compensation The March meeting of the Fitzhugh Literary So- ciety was hosted by Hill- ary Lindauer-Vasey and featured a presentation by Jill Wabbel, focusing on the Arab-Israeli Conflict that began in the late 1800s and continues today. In 1896, a pamphlet fa- voring establishing a Jew- ish state opened the way for European Jews to escape persecution and to estab- lish their own state in their ancestral homeland. After World War I, the League of Nations divided the for- mer Ottoman Empire, giv- ing Britain control over Pal- estine. The 1930s brought drastic changes as Nazis gained power in Germany and more than 150,000 Jews entered Palestine. Palestinian Arabs, un- happy with British occupa- tion and the huge influx of Jewish immigrants, began to launch attacks against both Jewish settlements and British troops. Jew- ish settlers began to view British imperialism as the enemy and launched their own attacks on British troops. In 1947, unable to reconcile commitments to both Jews and Arabs, Great Britain requested help from the United Nations. The U.N. partitioned Pal- estine into separate Jew- ish and Palestinian states, but the Arabs rejected it, believing that Palestine was all theirs, and that the Jews were foreign implants foisted upon them. In 1948, Jewish leaders in Palestine established the State of Israel. This ac- tion marked the beginning of the First Arab-Israel War. Arab armies from Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Egypt joined those from Palestine and attacked Is- raeli settlements. How- ever, the Zionists held them off and even seized part of the lands desig- nated for the Palestinian state. Even though armi- stice agreements were signed, conflict continued. In 1964, with the basic aim of liberating Palestine and securing the return of the Palestinians displaced by the First Arab-Israeli War, the Palestinian Lib- eration Organization was formed. In 1967, the Six Day War began when Is- rael launched a pre-emp- tive strike against the Ar- abs of Egypt, Syria and Jor- dan after King Nasser of Egypt declared his inten- tion to annihilate the Jew- ish state. The war ended with the Israelis occupying portions of their enemy's lands. Two years later, Yasser Ara- fat was elected chairman of the PLO, which joined multiple militant Palestin- ian factions. In 1972, Palestinian commandos killed 11 Is- raeli Olympians at the Mu- nich Olympics. Meanwhile, as conflicts continued throughout the involved countries, the US and the USSR continued to encour- age cease fire. The First Palestinian In- tifada began in 1987. Fight- ing began as an accumula- tion of tensions between Is- raelis and Palestinians and intensified to battles within the heart of Palestine, to Is- raeli troops using tear gas on demonstrators. From this war was born Hamas, which called for de- struction of Israel and es- tablishment of an Islamic society in historic Palestine. The first Hamas suicide bombing occurred in Is- rael in 1993. That same year saw the signing of the Oslo- Peace Accord by Israel and the PLO. Israel and PLO also signed an agreement in 1999 for a timeline for permanent peace. The Vatican recognized the State of Palestine in 2015 and 2016 saw the US commit $38 billion over 10 years for military assis- tance to Israel. We continue to observe the history of conflict, as- sassination, suicide bomb- ing, military action and peace talks, which are on- going into the current cen- tury. FITZHUGH LiterarysocietydiscussesArab-Israeliconflicts The Tehama County Re- source Conservation Dis- trict will be seeking public comments on its proposal for the 2016/2017 State of California Off-Highway Ve- hicle grant program. According to state re- quirements, public com- ments can be submitted through 5 p.m. Monday, April 3. The application process used by the state allows for public comment and feed- back before final grant sub- mittal. The preliminary grant applications were submitted March 6. This then opens the public re- view and comment period. The district will review and consider the public com- ments before submitting their final grant applica- tion on Monday, May 1. The state is using an Internet- based "On-Line Grant Ap- plication" process as the means to apply for funding. At this time, the district is soliciting public input specific to the its 2016-17 grant application proposals for a Tehama County OHV planning grant through Cooperative Agreements with the Off-Highway Mo- tor Vehicle Recreation Di- vision. The public is en- couraged to provide con- structive criticism and suggestions that will en- able the district to proceed with OHV planning. The preliminary appli- cation is available online by visiting the California State OHV Grants and Co- operative Agreements pro- gram at www.ohv.parks. ca.gov. Hard copies may be requested by calling Kris- tin Lamkin at 737-5185 or writing to kris@tehama- countyrcd.org. The website will pro- vide detailed instructions for accessing the prelimi- nary application and sub- mitting comments. Com- ments must be submitted to both the OHMVR Divi- sion and the district. Com- ments to the district should be submitted to Lamkin by e-mail and to California State Parks by using the "Grants" tab on www.ohv. parks.ca.gov. State regulations require annual public participation in this fund allocation pro- cess. The agreements sup- port OHV management ac- tivities on national forests, including operations and maintenance, restoration, law enforcement and edu- cation and safety. RESOURCE CONSERVATION Input south on off-highway vehicle grant application Mercy High School will present Rodgers and Ham- merstein's Cinderella, the 49th production of its mu- sical tradition March 31 through April 9 at the school, 233 Riverside Way in Red Bluff. The audience will be transported to the mirac- ulous kingdom of dreams- come-true when the time- less enchantment of this magicalfairytaleisbrought to life on stage. With great warmth and more than a touch of hilarity, the hearts of children and adults alike still soar when the slipper fits. Mercy is proud of its his- tory of theatrical excel- lence, and has been com- mitted to providing the community with musi- cal entertainment for de- cades, most recently receiv- ing high praises for its pro- ductions of The Phantom of the Opera, Shrek the Musi- cal and Willy Wonka. The returning Producer is Lisa Gentry, Director Cleo Gambetta, Music Di- rector Fred Reynolds and Accompanist Emily Chris- tensen. "I have enjoyed work- ing with the extremely tal- ented cast of Cinderella," Gentry said. "Our audience is in for a wonderful expe- rience. We cannot wait for opening night." Performances are sched- uled for 7 p.m. Friday, March 31 and Saturdays, April 1 and 8 and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 9. There will be a champagne gala pre- ceding the April 8 perfor- mance at 6 p.m. For tickets, call the school at 527-8313. Tickets are $7 general, $10 reserved and $25 for the champagne gala. MERCY HIGH School to present musical production of Cinderella CONTRIBUTED Pictured are Sophia Rubright and Tatiana Addonizio, as stepsisters, and Mikaela Weber as the stepmother. TheRedBluff Triton Swim Team islookingfora summer swim coach in Red Bluff. $15.00/hr Mid- May-End of July. Contact Dani @736-5701 or email redblufftritons@yahoo.com. 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