| Milwaukee company acquires Oregon software firm
Milwaukee-based Virtual Care Provider Inc. (VCPI), a total solutions provider for the long-term care industry, announced it has acquired IT Powered, a Portland, Ore.-based consulting and custom software development company focused on serving assisted living communities. I.T. Powered has contracts with more than 20 organizations, primarily focused on the assisted living sector of the senior housing industry. IT Powered will operate as a division of VCPI. IT Powered's principal, Steve Arndt, will continue to manage the operations of I.T. Powered. "The purchase of IT Powered is a perfect match for our organization. VCPI has been focusing its efforts on growing our long term care business across the country and the acquisition of IT Powered will assist us in our efforts to expand more heavily into the assisted living market," said Loren Claypool, VCPI vice president and managing Director. VCPI was founded in 2000 as a separate, wholly-owned subsidiary by Extendicare Inc., one of the largest operators of long-term care facilities in the United States and Canada.
Chopper pilot was a hero to folks in Orange County
ORANGE, Calif. - Army helicopter pilot Cornell C. Chao was a hero in his Orange County hometown, where the residents of a retirement home threw a party for him when he returned from his second tour in Iraq. A photograph of the 36-year-old pilot, who graduated from Fullerton's Sunny Hills High School in 1988, hung in the lobby at Kirkwood Assisted Living Residence and those living there continued writing Chao when he was shipped back to Iraq a third time. Army Chief Warrant Officer Chao died Sunday when his Apache helicopter went down near Najaf. Chao was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Hood, Texas. Chao bought a house in Killeen, Texas, near the military base, a few years ago. "I did take a liking to him," said Doris Hunsaker, 93, one of the Kirkwood residents at the welcome home celebration in 2004.
New bill seeks faster release of COLA pay
A senator has introduced legislation streamlining the process for releasing the cost of living allowance to government retirees.Senate Bill 15-79, authored by Sen. Luis Crisostimo, would authorize the NMI Retirement Fund administrator to disburse COLA payment without the consent of the NMI Board of Trustees. The purpose of the bill is to avoid delay in the release of COLA funds."The Legislature finds that while the central government has remitted the COLA funding to the NMI Retirement Fund, the retirees are left waiting pending release and approval by the NMI Retirement Fund. In these hard economic times, it is paramount that the immediate disbursement of COLA to the retirees be made promptly to its qualified members as this source of fund is a supplemental resource for the retirees subsistence and purchasing power that is not otherwise available with their present salary," the bill states.A relevant incident took place last month, when the release of COLA was delayed because some Fund trustees were not available to meet and approve the issuance of the funds.Currently, there are 1,494 retirees receiving cost of living allowance.
Love That Lasts
Sometimes love arrives with a big bang! Other times love awakens the heart softly and slowly over a period of time.Around Valentines Day, the young and single wonder about love that is faithful and lasting -- love that sticks like glue, binding two hearts for a lifetime.All people want it; lucky ones have it. There must have been a talent for it in the McDaniel family's gene pool because, as of 2006, Orangeburg natives Thyas, Marvin and Bobby McDaniel have all been married 50 years."Love can come unexpectedly, but can last forever."While serving in the U.S. Air Force, Thyas McDaniel flew B-29's during the Korean Conflict. The four-engine heavy bomber propeller aircraft, he says, could reach true air speed (350 miles per hour) and was capable of flight up to 40,000 feet.When the young soldier returned to the United States, he lovingly embraced his family and the slow pace of country life.
Steven Avery heads to trial Monday
Mike Halbach knows the next six weeks will be difficult for his family. He and the family are bracing to hear in excruciating detail about the alleged torture and slaying of Teresa Halbach, the beloved 25-year-old sister and daughter in the tight-knit family. Her remains were found in November 2005, and the trial of one of her accused killers, Steven Avery, gets under way Monday. "I think the difficulty of the six-week trial doesn't lie in the duration or in the court process itself," Mike Halbach said, "but rather in listening to the retelling of individual experiences and sparking those emotions that my family has connected to those events. "This is one of those big hurdles in life that we have to find a way to get over. Together, it's possible." Hundreds of pieces of evidence and some 200 witnesses are on tap for the trial, which begins with jury selection in Manitowoc, then moves to Chilton for testimony.
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