MURRIETA, CA — More than $11,000 has been raised for a Southern California family hit last week by a terrible accident in Murrieta.

“On May 10, Jimmy and some friends went mountain biking in Murrieta. It was a trail they had been on before, and despite being an avid mountain biker, Jimmy took a fall that ended up being catastrophic,” reads a GoFundMe page established for the family of Jimmy Francis. “He was airlifted to the closest hospital with a trauma center. He is currently in the ICU and is expected to have a recovery that will prohibit his movement for quite a while. Jimmy is a veteran, a Cub Scout leader and a local chef, on top of being a dedicated husband and father. He has two beautiful children and is very involved in their daily lives.”

As a chef at his San Diego-based company, Flights by Jimmy, Francis offers his cooking services for dinner parties and brunches.

Just after 12 p.m. Friday, multiple agencies helped rescue the injured mountain biker from a remote Murrieta trail in the hills abutted by Keller Road and Scenic View Drive, just west of Interstate 215. The area is near the Greer Ranch Trailhead, a popular destination for mountain bikers and hikers.

According to Murrieta Fire & Rescue, the injured rider had to be hoisted from the area by a Riverside County Sheriff’s helicopter. The rider was then transferred to an awaiting AMR ambulance and driven to a nearby hospital. The patient was in stable condition, MF&R spokesperson Dawn Morrison said.

In addition to Murrieta Fire & Rescue and the sheriff’s department, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department was also called to the incident.

According to the GoFundMe page, the money raised for the Francis family will help pay for assistance during Jimmy’s recovery period.

The post SoCal Rallies For Mountain Biker Seriously Injured In Murrieta Crash appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

This expansion is a key step toward improving maternal outcomes for Veterans and part of the work that VA is doing to implement the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis. In addition to these maternity care coordinators, VA provides Veterans with the full range of maternity care services throughout pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum – including primary care, exams, tests, ultrasounds, newborn care, lactation support, and more.

Women Veterans are the fastest-growing cohort of Veterans who use VA, and VA currently provides health care to approximately 600,000 women Veterans — half of whom are of child-bearing age. Pregnancies in women Veterans using VA care have increased by more than 80% since 2014, from 6,950 pregnancies in 2014 to 12,524 in 2022.

“This expansion of care coordination is a critical step toward improving outcomes for Veteran mothers and their newborn children,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough. “Now, Veteran mothers will know that they have one-on-one support throughout every step of their pregnancy — from the day it begins to one year postpartum.”

“Evidence shows that new mothers often need support and care coordination long after 8 weeks post-partum, which is why VA is taking action to support Veteran mothers for much longer after they give birth,” said Under Secretary for Health Shereef Elnahal, MD. “We will also screen pregnant and postpartum Veterans for social determinants of health, mental health risk factors, relationship health and safety, and more.”

“Extended follow-up care for postpartum Veterans is a great step forward, given that a significant proportion of poor maternal outcomes happen later in the postpartum period,” said Acting Chief Officer for VA Office of Women’s Health Sally Haskell, MD. “Extending postpartum care coordination up to one year allows VA maternity care coordinators the ability to double the amount of contact with their patients to help improve the physical and mental health of both parent and child.”

VA maternity care coordinators also screen for social, physical, and mental health concerns; answer questions about billing; provide resources for childbirth education; and offer lactation consulting during pregnancy and after delivery.

VA understands the importance of having a solid support system during and after pregnancy, so along with extended maternity care, the department offers essential wraparound services. In addition to primary care, this incudes access to mental health care, housing assistance, and resources to address food insecurity. Learn more about VA maternity care coordination.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

The post VA expands maternity care coordination for Veterans appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced it is partnering with MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger to improve and ensure Veterans have reliable access to food.

VA and MAZON will work together to distribute information to Veterans to increase awareness about the risks associated with food insecurity and share the benefits of programs like the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP).

“Veterans must have consistent and reliable access to healthy foods in order to thrive,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie. “By raising awareness of the problem of Veterans’ food insecurity and executing solutions, this partnership will lead to more Veterans having more food on the table.”

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger is a national advocacy organization working to end hunger among people of all faiths in the United States and Israel. The organization works to raise awareness about community and government resources to encourage the anti-hunger community to effectively address emerging issues.

“VA and MAZON will use various tactics to help Veterans facing food insecurity access available food assistance resources, like trainings for VA staff to help them better recognize and respond to Veteran food insecurity, ” said MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger President and CEO Abby J. Leibman. “These tactics include exploring the creation of a VA pilot program on SNAP outreach for Veterans that can be replicated and scaled up and formalizing target goals for Veteran SNAP eligibility screenings and application assistance.”

This partnership is managed by the Veterans Health Administration’s Nutrition and Food Services office and was facilitated by the VHA Office of Community Engagement (OCE). Partnerships supported by OCE, such as this one, support VHA’s commitment to delivering patient-driven health care.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

Search: Veteran food security

The post VA and MAZON partner to support Veteran food security appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

In preparation for the event, the youth spent the morning of May 21 placing flags on the graves of more than 50 veterans who are buried there. Because of the uncertainty if the annual event would be able to be held amid the coronavirus crisis, last minute cleaning and maintenance was entrusted to the Soboba Public Works Department. In past years, the youth have cleaned at the time they place flags.

Roo Briones said it’s important to her to participate in these activities because the future is up to all youth and they need to learn what to do and how to do it.

“It is good for the tribe to recognize our veterans for their contributions,” said Roo, 14.

Leah Lopez said that many veterans got injured or died in the process of serving our country and she feels it is a good thing that the tribe honors them.

Soboba Youth Council Co-coordinator Andy Silvas is also director of Soboba Parks and Recreation. His department and members of the Soboba Fire Department were at the cemetery to help youth locate the veterans’ graves and make sure the flags were secure at each one.

“This event is about those who have fallen in service to our country to secure the freedoms we have today,” Silvas said. “We can’t forget them.”

Prior to the Soboba Youth Council taking over the annual project about four years ago, Soboba Elder Marian Chacon said she and her family and friends volunteered their time to do it. She attended a youth council meeting about four years ago and suggested they take it over.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of our youth,” Chacon said. “My mom and aunt started this many years ago and I used to help them. When they passed, I continued to do it on my own for about 10 or 15 years. I’m so glad the youth council is doing such a great job with it.”

Jeremiah Ramos was proud to personally place flags on his grandfathers’ graves – one who fought in World War I and the other in WWII. He said honoring the veterans with flags and the ceremony on Memorial Day shows the love and respect for veterans that they deserve.

“Our veterans need to be noticed for what they did in protecting our country,” said Iyana Briones, who has been the youth council’s chairwoman for three years. “They stood up for us and some gave their lives for us, so we need to show we care and that we noticed.”

About 50 people assembled around the stone and granite Veteran’s Memorial at the north end of the cemetery on May 25. The Rev. Earl Henley of St. Joseph Mission at Soboba offered prayers for the veterans, our nation and all its citizens.

A memorial roll call of veteran tribal veterans and non-tribal veterans buried at Soboba Cemetery was read by youth council members Roo Briones and Emma Organ. After the 15-minute ceremony, guests were invited to a drive-through brunch at the Sports Complex hosted by Soboba Youth Council. To-go boxes were filled and taken to each vehicle that arrived at the east side of the gymnasium.

In memory and honor of those who served:

Soboba Tribal Veterans

U.S. Air Force: Louis Vivanco

U.S. Women’s Air Force: Gloria Cozart, Jessie M. Gilmore

U.S. Army: M.J. Apapas, Daniel Arres, Leonard Arrietta, Ralph C. Arrietta, Robert Arrietta, Robert Bentiste, Peter F. Castello, Benny C. Helms Sr., Reginald P. Helms, Romaldo A. Helms, Martin Hurtado, Joe John Lala, Tiefielo F. Lugo, Danny Navarro, David Navarro, Ernest Salgado Sr., Albert Silvas, Allynn Silvas, Daniel Silvas, Frank “Chico” Silvas, Joe “Jody” Silvas, Eloy Soza, Frank Soza

U.S. Marine Corps: Larry C. Boniface, Paul Boniface, Paul A. Resvaloso, Prudencio Resvaloso, William P.  Soza, John V. Valdez, Carmel P. Valenzuella

U.S. Navy: Norbit Arres, Theodore P. Arres, Marcus E. Mojado, Michael Soza

Non-Tribal Veterans

U.S. Air Force: Bruce Cozart, Philip Rodriguez, James Walker

U.S. Army: Eugene Arenas, Miguel Briones, Refugio R. Garcia Jr., Orvin D. Gilmore, Ben Largo, Arthur R. Lopez Sr., Mariano S. Largo, Leonard Lubo, Senon Lubo, Richard Macy, Peter O. Morillo, Pio Morillo, James P. Navarro, Mariano Tortez

U.S. Navy: Foster Hurtado Sr., Andrew Jackson, Fred Miranda Sr.

The post Soboba Veterans Honored appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.

Name Change reflects the spirit of our Veterans!

At the start of 2020, our local Veteran Warrior wheelchair soccer team decided to “rebrand” itself, becoming Warrior Veterans Adaptive Sports Club (WVASC), This reflects our Veterans’ spirit and the importance of the camaraderie among the veterans, a camaraderie that includes language and shared stories singular to their own experiences and the collective whole. 

The name change really reflects the passion of these guys. Johnny Sandoval has competed in table tennis, basketball, 9-ball, power soccer and he just learned how to ski. He also has competed in the National Veteran Wheelchair games since 2001 and has many medals. Willie Hendrickson is also an avid sportsman: he has competed in discus, javelin, shot put, motor rally, relays and power chair soccer. He also has competed in the National Wheelchair games the last 14 years and has won the gold medal in slalom every year, so it was perfect to add the word “adaptive sports” to the name. Stay tuned later…you will hear more great stories of these terrific athletes.

The name change was just one of the reasons I got so excited to write this story: the other is Jonny Sandoval, the captain of the team. Another reason was Willie Hendrickson an Army Veteran, the assistant and also an ambassador for Invacare Corporation and an advocate for Cloverlane Foundation and Veteran Mobility Projects. You can see these two guys living this spirit everyday and always sharing their stories with fellow veterans around town so they will come back and check it out.

These two are like brothers. They have put together a five-man team: Johnny Sandoval Navy Captain, Willie Hendrickson Army Assistant, Al Marconi Navy team mate, Richard Galindo USMC team mate, and Glen Bryant Navy teammate and all from the Inland Empire . The Warrior Veterans Adaptive Sport Club is the first of its kind. They are like a family that loves to practice and play expo games. They will tell you that it’s not about wining, it is about getting out and having fun, and these guys know how to have fun! If you are a veteran and would like to learn how to play power chair soccer, contact me, Sandy Dee at, 562-719-6826 and I will put you in contact with Johnny Sandoval. It is a great way to get out of the house, meet great veterans, and their families and have fun.

(Veteran Warriors)

Spending time with these guys, filming, taking their pictures, and getting to know them, lead me to get more involved with the team, and, being a disabled veteran myself, I have the pleasure and opportunity to learn something totally new: how to be a soccer coach! I am the coach for this great team. I am having so much fun learning how to be a coach, and the guys make me feel so good. I love their positive energy and I enjoy watching them play and cheering them on. You can see Johnny always giving the opposing team tips and words of encouragement. It really isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about having fun: it’s a totally different mind set…everyone is a winner .

The team is getting ready to go the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in Portland, OR., July 3 -8, the “National Veterans Wheelchair Games 40 years of Excellence.” This is the largest annual wheelchair event in the world. It is co-presented by the VA U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Paralyzed Veterans of America. The athletes come from nearly every generation of veterans and they participates in all kinds of sports. Johnny Sandoval’s favorite saying is “I can do anything you can, I just do it from a chair.”

If you would like to get involved, volunteer or make a donation to get these guys to go to the National Veterans Wheelchair Games in July, check out their facebook page Warrior Veterans adaptive sports club or contact me. Keep an eye out for the posting of soccer practice and games coming to town.

Find your latest news here at the Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle

Search: Veteran Warriors

The post Veteran Warriors are Warrior Veterans appeared first on The Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle.