On Friday, Nov. 5, 2010, Sandra Reed (left) received a Certificate of Completion for the Family Self Sufficiency Program from Carol Huchingson, Department of Social Services director and executive director of the Lake County Housing Commission. Courtesy photo.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Sandra Reed of Kelseyville is illustrating how an individual with determination and the support from community agencies can overcome adversity and develop skills necessary to become financially independent and self sufficient.

Reed was recognized last week for her accomplishments, receiving an award from the Section 8 Family Self Sufficiency (FSS) Program.

The award was presented by Carol Huchingson, Lake County Department of Social Services director and executive director of the Lake County Housing Commission.

Over the past eight years Reed, a single mother, has sought help from the Department of Social Services (DSS) programs of Cal Works, Food Stamps, and the Section 8 Housing Voucher Program.

These programs are designed to provide support services for low income families in the form of training, child care, education, rent subsidy and cash aid while participants are gaining skills to enter the work force.

A component of the Section 8 program is the FSS Program.

The FSS program is available for Section 8 participants who voluntarily agree to become independent of all welfare assistance for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the end of a five- to seven-year contract by maintaining gainful employment.

In the Section 8 Program, when a family's income increases, their rent also increases. When enrolled in the FSS program the housing commission opens a savings account in the participant’s name. The agency then matches any rent increase caused by increased employment income.

At the successful completion of the program, participants receive the savings account plus any accrued interest. Reed earned enough savings to use as a down payment on the purchase of a home that she anticipates closing on in the next few weeks.

“As a teen parent I had little high school education and my future appeared financially uncertain. When I entered the FSS program, I found the incentive to work towards an attainable goal with a guaranteed reward,” Reed said.

According to Reed much of her success is due to the combined, professional services the Department of Social Services provided for her and her family that allowed her to attend school and earn vocational certificates.

“We are so proud of the success Sandra has found and her graduation from our programs,” Huchingson said. “Despite the myriad of challenges in the past seven years including a temporary disability, caring for an ill parent and career change Sandra maintained her focus towards achieving her goal of financial independence.”

While raising her own family and gaining self sufficiency Reed also gave back to the community by taking in foster children.

For the past three years Reed has been a certified medical assistant employed by Dr. Yuen-Green.

When asked how she achieved her success Reed said, “Set attainable goals, work hard and stick to your dreams; dreams can come true.”

For more information about the FSS program contact Kristen Compher, FSS Case Manager at 707-995-7120.

Steve Citron is the Adult and Housing Programs manager for the Lake County Department of Social Services.

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The Lake County Sheriff's Marijuana Suppression Unit seized 408 pounds of processed marijuana and 820 pounds of unprocessed marijuana at a home in Kelseyville, Calif., on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – Residents in the Buckingham community took their concerns about a marijuana growing operation to a sheriff's deputy, and the result was numerous arrests and huge seizures of marijuana on Wednesday.

Capt. James Bauman of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said a compliance check at an Eastlake Drive home made by members of the sheriff’s Marijuana Suppression Unit resulted in a total of 15 arrests for marijuana and other related charges.

Seized during the raid was 408 pounds of processed marijuana, 820 pounds of unprocessed marijuana plants, and numerous items of evidence of cultivation and sales of marijuana, said Bauman.

The suppression unit also recovered a 9 millimeter semi-automatic handgun that was reported stolen out of San Diego amongst back packs, tents and other camping debris at the address, he added.

Arrested were Bernardo Rivera Corona, 23, of Santa Rosa; Hormisdas Camacho Chino, 36, of Clearlake; Filiberto Camacho Lopez, 23, of Clearlake; Mario Alberto Flores, 29, of Santa Rosa; Humberto Luna Ortiz, 24, of Kelseyville; Marcellino Reyes Perez, 57, of Santa Rosa; Eduardo Mejia Alvarez, 46, of Kelseyville; Ariel Flores Santos, 40, of Santa Rosa; Aldo Figueroa Camacho, 25, of Santa Rosa; Carlos Nunez, 18, of Santa Rosa; Isaias Camacho Chino, 56, of Santa Rosa; Sabas Ramirez Medina, 41, of Santa Rosa; Jorge Lopez Vasquez, 20, of Lower Lake; and Elisandro Nunez Camacho, 18, of Santa Rosa.

They were booked into the Lake County Jail on felony charges of cultivating marijuana, commission of a felony while armed and receiving stolen property, Bauman said. Nine of the men also had immigration holds placed on them.

The homeowner, 60-year-old Benjamin Bizon, was booked on felony charges of cultivation and possession of marijuana for sales, Bauman said.

“The community of Buckingham is putting all drug dealers and pot growers on notice – it won't be in our neighborhood,” said resident Sieg Taylor, one of the community members who took action to notify authorities of what was taking place.

Bill Groody, president of the Buckingham Homes Association, said the issue of marijuana growing at the home had been known to the association's board for some time because of complaints from residents of the 500-home community.

For at least a couple of months, “There was a lot of anxiety building,” said Groody, who said people were reporting seeing individuals with weapons.

Groody also has received reports of as many as five other marijuana grows in and around Buckingham, including one in a large older walnut orchard, where Taylor said a community member was chased off by growers this summer when she was out looking for a missing cat.

A marijuana grow with about 30 plants also was discovered in the raid on Wednesday, November 3, 2010. Photo courtesy of the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

The association board began gathering information and was planning to meet with its attorney to take action under its CC&Rs, and other community members had made code complaints. Groody said other community members, like Taylor, contacted the sheriff's office.

Deputy Frank Walsh offered to come to the association's regular monthly meeting on Oct. 26, where Groody said Walsh “got quite an earful” from concerned residents, which spurred further investigation.

Taylor said there were “more people at that meeting last week than there was in a long time.”

Bauman said the Marijuana Suppression Unit had previously detected a relatively small grow at the Eastlake Drive location during an over flight and already had the site listed as a pending compliance check.

Taylor said a neighbor called him when she saw action at the home, and Taylor said he called Walsh to report what was taking place. It wasn't long afterward that the Marijuana Suppression Unit moved to investigate the residence, he said.

Bauman said it was at 10:50 a.m. Wednesday that detectives went to the residence to check the grow for compliance.

After detecting an obvious odor of processed marijuana in the area and getting no answer at the door, detectives went to the back door of a garage where they had heard voices and were greeted by Hormisdas Camacho Chino, Bauman said.

Inside the garage, detectives located two more male adults – Bernardo Rivera Corona of Santa Rosa and Filiberto Camacho Lopez – who Bauman said were apparently in the process of packaging more than 200 pounds of processed marijuana, 52 pounds of which had already been packaged into one-pound bags.

While the three men in the garage were detained, detectives checked the grow they had previously identified from the air, located about 25 yards behind the residence, Bauman reported.

There, a total of 11 more male adults were found in the small grow in the process of cultivation and were immediately detained. Bauman said the grow consisted of about 30 standing plants, but appeared to have had about 50 plants originally.

Bauman said the unit called additional patrol resources to the scene to assist with arrests, while a search warrant was obtained for the premises.

As arrests were being made, Bizon, the homeowner, drove up and was detained. Bauman said Bizon had two medical marijuana cards but allegedly could not account for the excessive amount of processed marijuana found on the property.

Bauman said investigators believe the Eastlake Drive property was used to package processed marijuana from other gardens, since the small grow found on the property could not have produced the amount of marijuana recovered from the site.

“I have the highest praise for the sheriff's department, the way they moved quickly,” said Groody, who gave Walsh credit for doing an “extraordinary job.”

He suggested it was an example of community activism at its best, with a group of highly motivated citizens working with law enforcement. “I'm extremely proud of the community.”

After he heard that a stolen gun was found at the residence, Taylor said, “We need to stop this,” adding that he wants his community to be safe and to feel safe.

Groody said Walsh has offered to appear at another of the association's monthly meetings.

“He offered to brief the community on this raid and what went on, and also he's got a slide presentation that he's going to do,” said Groody.

Groody added, “I think the more people are aware of this, the better off the community is.”

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the board room at the Kelseyville Unified School District Office, 4410 Konocti Road.

Parents and community members are invited to the meeting to share their input on the site configuration proposals for the 2011-12 school year with the board.

The district reported that the meeting agenda calls for discussion only, with no action.

Previous meetings have taken place on Aug. 12, Sept. 14 and Oct. 5. A district configuration committee also has been exploring the scenarios.

For more information, contact the Kelseyville Unified School District Office at 707-279-1511 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Carol Kesey and her mums at a previous CLTTGC show. Photo by Elizabeth Larson.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – As the fall season is developing, so are the buds on the chrysanthemum plants that are being grown by many members of Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club (CLTTGC) in preparation for the group's annual chrysanthemum show.

The show will be held from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, at the Lakeport Yacht Club, next to the Fifth Street boat ramp in Lakeport. The event is free and open to the public.

The theme for this year’s show is “Memories & Mums,” with all floral arrangements to be created around this theme.

Refreshments of cookies and cider will be available for your enjoyment as you enjoy the show.

Growing mums is an all-year process. Charter member, Carol Kesey, has been sharing her plants and her knowledge of mums with members.

There are many varieties: incurve, reflex, decorative, pompom, single, semi-double, anemone, spoons, quill, spiders, brush and thistle, exotic or unclassified, gnomes, cascades, and garden cushion.

CLTTGC held judged chrysanthemum shows for many years. This is the third year members held a non-judged show – just for the pure joy of enjoying these beautiful flowers with all the varieties and share them with our community.

The flowers will be presented in the form of floral arrangements and also single stems.

Clear Lake Trowel & Trellis Garden Club meets at on the third Tuesday of the month at noon at Scotts Valley Women’s Clubhouse, 2298 Hendricks Road in Lakeport. Visit the group's Web site at www.clttgc.org.

CLTTGC is a member of Mendo-Lake District, California Garden Club Inc., Pacific Region and National Garden Clubs Inc.

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Cranberries and oranges have long been a classic combination for the holidays. Photo by Esther Oertel.

We’re on the cusp of the holiday season and one self-assured, tart little fruit plays a big role in both Thanksgiving and Christmas festivities: the cranberry.

This Thanksgiving a bowl of bright red cranberry sauce will top nearly every table, and many a Christmas tree will be festooned with a string of popcorn and cranberries strung by a child. (Most of my memories of stringing those as a kid revolve around being poked by the needle when making them.)

The cranberry is also known as the bounceberry, because the berries bounce when ripe. (Have you ever dropped a few on the floor? I did Saturday and, yes, they bounce.)

The craneberry is another moniker, given by early European settlers in America who thought the plant’s pink blossoms were reminiscent of the graceful head of a crane. As one might expect, the current name of cranberry is derived from this.

Members of the same family as heather, cranberries are low, creeping evergreen shrubs or trailing vines that prefer growing in acidic bogs. They grow wild in the northern parts of Europe and North America, and are extensively cultivated in the latter, particularly in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Oregon and Washington.

They’re related to the blueberry, huckleberry and bilberry, all healthy fruits like the cranberry, which has gained fame in recent years as a “super fruit” because of its high nutrient and antioxidant content.

They’re extremely acidic. I popped a few raw ones in my mouth Saturday afternoon and the flavor was a bit like an extremely tart apple that had been dipped in lemon juice. They’re crunchy (again, a bit like a crisp apple) and pop when bitten into.

When my sons were in elementary school – about 10 or 12 years ago – extremely tart and sour candies were popular among their peers; the sourer, the better. I think a raw cranberry could rival any of those super sour sweets, and it’s healthier, too!

It took a bit of getting used to, but now I’m enjoying their crunchy tartness! I think I’ve found a new snack.

Cranberry season is brief. They’re harvested from Labor Day through Halloween and are available in stores in their fresh form, generally in 12 ounce plastic bags, from October through December.

Most cranberry bogs are flooded with water after the berry has matured. This enables the berries to float, which makes for an easier harvest. Only 5 to 10 percent of cultivated cranberries are picked dry.

Recent research has shown that this method of harvesting has the bonus of increased health benefits. The phytonutrients that give the berries their bright red color is increased in direct proportion to the amount of natural sunlight striking the berry.

Berries floating on top of water get exposed to increased amounts of sunlight, causing the berry to produce more nutrients which, in turn, give greater health benefits to those consuming them.

Cranberries have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-cancer benefits. They’re extremely high in vitamin C and dietary fiber, they aid in digestion, have properties that protect our heart and liver, they support our immune systems, and are extremely effective in fighting and preventing urinary tract infections.

In short, they’ve earned their “super fruit” status!

Cranberry juice is often thought of as healthful – and it is – but research has indicated that more benefit is derived from eating the berry whole; in other words, there’s a particular synergy in how the components of the berry work together.

American Indians ate cranberries cooked and sweetened with honey or maple syrup, a possible precursor to cranberry sauce, the Thanksgiving staple we now enjoy.

Cranberries also were a source of red dye for them for decorative purposes, and they used them as a poultice for wounds. Their astringent tannins helped stop bleeding, and we now know they also have antibiotic effects.

If cranberries are fresh and in good shape when purchased, they may be stored for up to two months in the fridge in a tightly-sealed plastic bag. As with all berries, if one starts getting soft and decaying, it will spread to the rest, so be sure to sort out the soft ones before storing.

Cooked cranberries can last up to a month in a covered container in the fridge. For longest storage, fresh whole berries may be washed, dried, and frozen in airtight bags up to one year if kept at 0 degrees F.

This versatile berry may be used in chutneys, fruit cobblers, pies and other desserts, such as cheesecake or trifle. It’s often paired with a sweeter fruit, such as apples, oranges or apricots.

Dried cranberries are quite popular for salads, baked goods and a variety of recipes, both sweet and savory.

The recipe I offer today is my mother’s orange-cranberry relish that has been served on our holiday table for as long as I can remember. She serves it in hollowed out orange-skin halves, which make for a pleasant and colorful presentation.

A former chef and restaurateur, my mom did organic, locally-grown food in our family restaurant before it was cool. She’s a true pioneer.

Like me, she cooks in a rather free-form fashion, so my apologies if the recipe seems a bit vague. Please feel free to email me if you have questions.

The cooking of the oranges three times is to ensure they’re not bitter, since the skins are left on.

Danni’s orange-cranberry relish

2 to 3 oranges, cut fine with skins on

1 ¼ cup sugar, divided

12 ounce package of fresh cranberries

Cover oranges with water in saucepan. Bring to a boil and allow oranges to simmer for a few minutes.

Drain oranges in colander and repeat process with fresh water.

Drain oranges again and put in saucepan with fresh water to generously cover them, along with ½ cup sugar.

Bring to a boil and simmer until liquid reduces somewhat and oranges get candied a bit in the sweet water.

Drain them, reserving cooking liquid, and set aside.

Using the cooking liquid and fresh water, measure 1 cup of liquid into a saucepan.

Add ¾ cup sugar and bring water and sugar to a boil.

Add cranberries, return to a boil, and cook until their skins pop.

Remove from heat and stir in oranges.

Allow mixture to cool and refrigerate until served.

If serving in orange skins, they may be refrigerated after filling.

Recipe by Danielle Loomis Post.

Esther Oertel, the "Veggie Girl," is a personal chef and culinary coach and is passionate about local produce. Oertel owns The SageCoach Personal Chef Service and teaches culinary classes at Chic Le Chef in Hidden Valley Lake, Calif., and The Kitchen Gallery in Lakeport, Calif. She welcomes your questions and comments; e-mail her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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If smoke alarms in homes are more than 10 years old, Cal Fire recommends replacing them as well.

According to a recent survey among more than 1,000 adults commissioned by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), conducted over the phone in September 2010, Americans continue to have misunderstandings about smoke alarms, including how many they need in their homes and how often they should be tested and replaced.

Smoke alarms, when properly installed, give an early audible warning needed to safely escape from fire.

That’s critical because 85 percent of all fire deaths occur in the home, and the majority occur at night when most people are sleeping. Last year, NFPA documented 3,420 home fire deaths nationwide.

“By taking the time to replace the battery in your smoke alarm you help ensure that you have one of the best ways to alert your family should a fire occur,” said Chief Tonya Hoover, acting state fire marshal.

Cal Fire has the following tips on smoke alarms:

• Test smoke alarms once a month.

• Replace batteries in all smoke alarms twice a year.

• Don’t “borrow” or remove batteries from smoke alarms even temporarily.

• Regularly vacuum or dust smoke alarms to keep them working properly.

• Replace smoke alarms every 10 years.

• Don’t paint over smoke alarms.

• Practice family fire drills so everyone knows what to do if the smoke alarm goes off.

Find more information visit the Cal Fire Web site at www.fire.ca.gov .

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WASHINGTON, DC – NASA's EPOXI mission spacecraft successfully flew past comet Hartley 2 Thursday morning, and scientists say initial images from the flyby provide new information about the comet's volume and material spewing from its surface.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said images taken and other science collected should help reveal new insights into the origins of the solar system as scientists pore over them in the months and years to come.

“This mission represents one of NASA's most successful deep space exploration projects,” Bolden said.

Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington, D.C., said of the flyby, “This was really an exploration moment, seeing something no one on Earth had ever seen before.”

EPOXI principal investigator Michael A'Hearn of the University of Maryland, College Park, said early observations of the comet show that, for the first time, scientists may be able to connect activity to individual features on the nucleus.

“We certainly have our hands full. The images are full of great cometary data, and that's what we hoped for,” A'Hearn said.

EPOXI is an extended mission that uses the already in-flight Deep Impact spacecraft. Its encounter phase with Hartley 2 began at 4 p.m. EDT on Nov. 3, when the spacecraft began to point its two imagers at the comet's nucleus. Imaging of the nucleus began one hour later.

The comet zoomed past the spacecraft at a relative speed of more than 27,000 miles per hour, NASA reported.

“The spacecraft has provided the most extensive observations of a comet in history,” said Weiler. “Scientists and engineers have successfully squeezed world class science from a re-purposed spacecraft at a fraction of the cost to taxpayers of a new science project.”

Images from the EPOXI mission reveal comet Hartley 2 to have 100 times less volume than comet Tempel 1, the first target of Deep Impact. More revelations about Hartley 2 are expected as analysis continues.

Initial estimates indicate the spacecraft was about 435 miles from the comet at the closest-approach point. That's almost the exact distance that was calculated by engineers in advance of the flyby.

“It is a testament to our team's skill that we nailed the flyby distance to a comet that likes to move around the sky so much,” said Tim Larson, EPOXI project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. “While it's great to see the images coming down, there is still work to be done. We have another three weeks of imaging during our outbound journey.”

Said Bolden, “EPOXI is a wonderful example of the strong collection of NASA science missions we have coming up in the next few years that will enable us to visit destinations across the solar system in new and exciting ways, look through new windows out across our vast cosmos, and expand our understanding of our own home planet. Our increased investment in science will continue to yield valuable dividends for the future.”

The name EPOXI is a combination of the names for the two extended mission components: the Extrasolar Planet Observations and Characterization (EPOCh), and the flyby of comet Hartley 2, called the Deep Impact Extended Investigation (DIXI).

The spacecraft has retained the name Deep Impact. In 2005, Deep Impact successfully released an impactor into the path of comet Tempel 1.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the EPOXI mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate.

The spacecraft was built for NASA by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., in Boulder, Colo.

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Last year, Spirit became partially embedded in the loose sand seen around its left-front wheel in this image. Mobility problems prevented getting the rover to a sun-facing tilt for the current Martian winter. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

PASADENA, Calif. – The ground where NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit became stuck last year holds evidence that water, perhaps as snow melt, trickled into the subsurface fairly recently and on a continuing basis.

Stratified soil layers with different compositions close to the surface led the rover science team to propose that thin films of water may have entered the ground from frost or snow.

The seepage could have happened during cyclical climate changes during periods when Mars tilted farther on its axis. The water may have moved down into the sand, carrying soluble minerals deeper than less-soluble ones. Spin-axis tilt varies over timescales of hundreds of thousands of years.

The relatively insoluble minerals near the surface include what is thought to be hematite, silica and gypsum. Ferric sulfates, which are more soluble, appear to have been dissolved and carried down by water. None of these minerals is exposed at the surface, which is covered by wind-blown sand and dust.

“The lack of exposures at the surface indicates the preferential dissolution of ferric sulfates must be a relatively recent and ongoing process since wind has been systematically stripping soil and altering landscapes in the region Spirit has been examining,” said Ray Arvidson of Washington University in St. Louis, deputy principal investigator for the twin rovers Spirit and Opportunity.

Analysis of these findings appears in a report in the Journal of Geophysical Research published by Arvidson and 36 co-authors about Spirit's operations from late 2007 until just before the rover stopped communicating in March.

The twin Mars rovers finished their three-month prime missions in April 2004, then kept exploring in bonus missions. One of Spirit's six wheels quit working in 2006.

In April 2009, Spirit's left wheels broke through a crust at a site called “Troy” and churned into soft sand. A second wheel stopped working seven months later. Spirit could not obtain a position slanting its solar panels toward the sun for the winter, as it had for previous winters.

Engineers anticipated it would enter a low-power, silent hibernation mode, and the rover stopped communicating March 22. Spring begins next month at Spirit's site, and NASA is using the Deep Space Network and the Mars Odyssey orbiter to listen if the rover reawakens.

Researchers took advantage of Spirit's months at Troy last year to examine in great detail soil layers the wheels had exposed, and also neighboring surfaces. Spirit made 13 inches of progress in its last 10 backward drives before energy levels fell too low for further driving in February. Those drives exposed a new area of soil for possible examination if Spirit does awaken and its robotic arm is still usable.

“With insufficient solar energy during the winter, Spirit goes into a deep-sleep hibernation mode where all rover systems are turned off, including the radio and survival heaters,” said John Callas, project manager for Spirit and Opportunity at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena. “All available solar array energy goes into charging the batteries and keeping the mission clock running.”

The rover is expected to have experienced temperatures colder than it has ever before, and it may not survive. If Spirit does get back to work, the top priority is a multi-month study that can be done without driving the rover.

The study would measure the rotation of Mars through the Doppler signature of the stationary rover's radio signal with enough precision to gain new information about the planet's core. The rover Opportunity has been making steady progress toward a large crater, Endeavour, which is now approximately 5 miles away.

Spirit, Opportunity, and other NASA Mars missions have found evidence of wet Martian environments billions of years ago that were possibly favorable for life.

The Phoenix Mars Lander in 2008 and observations by orbiters since 2002 have identified buried layers of water ice at high and middle latitudes and frozen water in polar ice caps.

These newest Spirit findings contribute to an accumulating set of clues that Mars may still have small amounts of liquid water at some periods during ongoing climate cycles.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the rovers for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more about the rovers, see http://www.nasa.gov/rovers .

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This article discusses how veterans benefits complicate not only the receipt of SSI/Medi-Cal benefits but the drafting of the special needs trust to preserve such benefits should the veteran receive an inheritance or other windfall.

Receipt of VA compensation and pension benefits each reduce SSI benefits dollar for dollar; but SSI does not reduce such government VA benefits.

Accordingly, if SSI is relied upon as the basis for Medi-Cal eligibility then eliminating SSI benefits due to VA benefits may be counterproductive.

Veterans who receive Medi-Cal to pay for their long term care at a skilled nursing home can also receive any VA Pension benefits as income exempt from share of cost requirements, unless otherwise allocated to their stay-at-home spouse’s needs allowance.

Such VA pension money, therefore, increases Medi-Cal’s meager $30 a month spending allowance, i.e., money which the veteran does not have to spend on his or her nursing home care.

But, if the institutionalized veteran’s VA pension benefits are instead allocated to his or her stay-at-home spouse to meet her income needs allowance, then such VA benefits do count towards satisfying the spouse’s needs allowance.

A special needs trust that satisfy only SSI/Medi-Cal requirements will not suffice to preserve VA pension benefits because VA pension benefits are determined based on different criteria.

To qualify for VA pension benefits, a veteran must have served during wartime, be totally and permanently disabled have limited income, and meet a “net worth” test.

The “net worth” test examines whether the veteran’s income and non-exempt assets alone are sufficient to meet his or her basic needs.

Unfortunately, unlike federal SSI and Medi-Cal regulations, there are no federal rules regarding the VA treatment of trust assets.

It appears, however, that a discretionary special needs trust that further limits the trustee to the trust income to buy goods and services for the beneficiary would work to allow the veteran to continue receiving VA pension benefits in addition to SSI/Medi-Cal benefits.

Accordingly, if relevant, any family with a veteran should examine the connections between eligibility for the VA benefits and the SSI/Medi-Cal requirements.

If a special needs trust is being used, it must be drafted more carefully to preserve the VA pension.

Dennis A. Fordham, attorney (LL.M. tax studies), is a State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law. His office is at 55 First St., Lakeport, California. Dennis can be reached by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by phone at 707-263-3235.

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If past budget requests are any guide, going back deep into the George W. Bush’s presidency, then higher TRICARE fees could be sought anew and perhaps now a more deficit-conscious Congress will be receptive.

But in phone interview, Taylor, who serves temporarily as the Defense Department’s top health official, mostly discussed higher priorities, for both him and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, including sustaining wartime medical support, improving wounded warrior care and coordinating better delivery of services across the $50 billion-a-year military health system.

Intentionally or not, Taylor’s list of top challenges, and impressive recent advances to help the wounded, made the prospect of unfreezing beneficiary fees for the first time since 1995 seem almost incidental.

The health system’s top priority, said Taylor, is ensuring that fighting forces have the medical teams on scene that they need – properly equipped, properly staffed and with the most advanced technology and procedures available anywhere. The result is surviving what was once unsurvivable.

A second priority is that warriors get the best possible care to recover from injuries, particularly lost limbs, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder – the signature injuries of current wars.

For amputees, Taylor noted the extraordinary gains in prosthetics but also in the work of the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine and partners like Wake Forest University so that, perhaps within a decade or even five years, they “can actually build new fingers and new ears, new noses and new toes, new feet and, eventually, new legs.”

Meanwhile, field-level policies have been changed to better protect those exposed to bomb blasts, so all receive medical evaluations after an incident and are not returned to the fight with undetected injuries.

Research is advancing to find biomarkers to detect brain injury. DoD and VA continue to partner on psychological health issues, exploring alternative therapies and more effective clinical guidelines to PTSD.

Several thousand behavioral health specialists have been hired into the military direct care system and they partner routinely with civilian mental health experts.

Taylor, a retired three-star officer and former Air Force surgeon general, is deputy assistant secretary for force health protection and readiness.

But until Congress confirms Dr. Jonathan Woodson, Obama’s nominee to be assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, Taylor is performing those duties. So he is DoD’s top health official and Gates’ principal health advisor on health budget and policy including TRICARE.

On whether higher TRICARE fees are in the offing, Taylor said, “Every year for most of the years I’ve been around, the department has proposed changes to the benefit structure.”

Congress has blocked most attempts to raise out-of-pocket TRICARE costs, even for working-age retirees and their families. But some key lawmakers are signaling it may be time to allow at least modest fee hikes.

At a Sept. 28 armed services committee hearing, ranking Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona seemed to be setting the table, asking Deputy Defense Secretary Bill Lynn, “Isn’t the biggest cost escalation to DoD today in health care?”

Lynn conceded medical is the “largest account … growing at a substantial pace” and that in “the fiscal year 2012 budget I think we will be proposing to Congress some ideas about how to restrain health care costs.”

Pressed by McCain, Lynn agreed health costs are growing “dramatically,” in some recent years by 10 percent or higher.

That same day, at a breakfast meeting with reporters, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, called rising health care costs “unsustainable” and said, after 15 years, it’s time to raise TRICARE fees.

A few days later the Office of Personnel Management announced health insurance premiums paid by federal civilian workers and retirees will jump in 2011 an average of 7.2 percent. That could apply more political pressure on Congress to accept some sort of TRICARE fee increase.

What might be proposed for the fiscal 2012 budget is still “in department negotiations,” Taylor said. He said he doesn’t yet know what DoD will sign out, or what the White House will accept.

“It’s quite possible the budget won’t contain any benefit changes,” Taylor said. Or “in terms of the core enrollment benefit, it could be that it will contain some pharmacy benefit changes.”

Taylor noted that Gates is “very well on record that health care costs are eating us alive and we need to do something about it. There are only limited things you can do … You can decrease the total number of people that you have; you can change the benefit; you can change the use [of it] and, lastly, the actual technology or state of medicine.”

Looking at past proposals to raise health fees and co-payments, the most successful and accepted have sought to change patient behavior, he said, specifically the tiered co-payments adopted for the pharmacy benefit.

Patients pay higher co-pays today if they fill prescriptions in the TRICARE retail network where a 90-day supply costs TRICARE an average of $294. Lower co-pays are set for TRICARE’s mail order program, now called “home delivery.”

A 90-day supply of mail-order drugs costs TRICARE an average of $169, or 42 percent less than the neighborhood drug store.

Similarly, patients who use generic rather than brand name drugs see even lower co-payments.

The tiered structure for pharmacies changed behavior without “impeding the benefit,” Taylor said. “So we continue to explore those kinds of options.”

The new goal for TRICARE pharmacy plan is to more than double usage of home delivery so 500,000 prescriptions are filled by mail each week. The potential yearly savings would be $238 million, Taylor said.

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