LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Veterans call it a trip of a lifetime.

Honor Flight Southern Nevada recently toured war memorials built for them in the Washington D.C. area. FOX5 went along and has been telling the stories of victory, sacrifice and loss of life during war.

Some veterans could not hold back tears when they returned home from the trip. They were surprised by “mail call” on the plane back to Las Vegas.

“When many of these men and woman served, one of the things they looked forward to was an opportunity to get mail from home,” said Honor Flight Southern Nevada President Belinda Morse.

Morse made that announcement to a packed plane at about 30,000 feet over Colorado. Honor Flight staff then handed out stacks of cards and letters, written to veterans by friends and family before the trip. A child drew a picture of a person on a boat for Vietnam Veteran Alan Zach, who was in the Coast Guard. Zach was touched by part of what the letter said.

“When I grow up, I want to be in the Coast Guard,” said the letter to Zach.

Kim Duclos accompanied her dad, Michal Morgan, on the Honor Flight trip. Morgan is a Vietnam War veteran. She read a letter to him from his great-grandson, great-granddaughter and his granddaughter.

“It says, ‘Happy birthday. I love you, Papa. Thank you.’ I never said thank you enough for not only being the best Papa but for being my American hero,” said the letter.

Vietnam War veteran Chuck Mooney read a letter from his son.

“Thank you, because you have not just been a father, you have been a constant source of love, support and guidance. You have been and will always be my role model,” read the letter, which brought Mooney to tears.

He added, “He never even mentioned none of this before. This the first time. I know he loved me and still cared about me. But he never said it in these words, man. I’m so grateful. I’m so thankful. I’m so blessed.”

Vietnam War veteran John Allie was consoled by the Honor Flight photographer when Allie received his stack of cards and letters. Allie was too emotional to read the cards and letters and teared up. FOX5 asked what he thought about the stack of mail.

“I didn’t know that, that many people cared,” said Allie.

Honor Flight Southern Nevada is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Its mission is to honor U.S. veterans of World War II, Korea and the Vietnam War by flying them to Washington D.C. free of charge.

More information can be found at honorflightsouthernnevada.org

Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (KOLO) – The Nevada System of Higher Education Board of Regents is highlighting security improvements made in the wake of the deadly 2023 shooting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

They received a report on the progress of the Chancellor’s ad hoc Committee on Public Safety during its recent meeting.

NSHE says the committee’s most notable achievement has been the securing of $2.6 million from the Legislative Interim Finance Committee to bolster security across southern Nevada institutions of higher education.

“We are incredibly grateful to the legislature for prioritizing campus safety within the NSHE system by dedicating $2.6 million in funding,” said Interim Chancellor Patricia Charlton. “Ensuring that every student, staff, and faculty member feels safe and secure on our campuses is of utmost importance. Additional funding and the diligent work of the committee are instrumental in accomplishing this goal. Thank you to everyone involved.”

The committee was created to assess and prioritize opportunities for enhancing campus security and emergency preparedness in the wake of the Dec. 6 shooting.

The committee says it has also made $4.4 million in budget and grant requests. Those requests were for:

• 911 enhancements
• Full-scale exercises
• Procedures for active assailant events
• Additional cameras installation
• Funding requests to restore the learning environment at UNLV

Furthermore, the committee will present 15 preliminary recommendations, including:

• Standardizing locking mechanisms for all NSHE buildings
• Implementing a system-wide emergency notification system
• Mandating active assailant and all-hazards training for all stakeholders
• Standardizing Emergency Response Plans (ERPs) and Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs) across NSHE campuses

“The work of the Chancellor’s ad hoc Committee for Public Safety is vitally important at this moment. We were all rocked by the tragic events that took place on December 6 and I am extremely appreciative for the committee’s comprehensive approach to addressing safety concerns and implementing proactive measures at our institutions,” said Board of Regents Chair Amy J. Carvalho.

Copyright 2024 KOLO. All rights reserved.

Parents in Nevada will have to wait until September to receive benefits from a popular free food program designed to cover kids during summer vacation.

Earlier this year, Nevada signed up for the first new federally funded nutrition program in decades, which established a permanent summer nutrition assistance program for children out of school for the summer.

The new federal nutrition program, known as Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (SEBT), will provide families with $40 in food benefits per eligible child, per month, for the three month summer period. 

But those summer benefits won’t make it to Nevada households until September, according to the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services, which runs the program.

State health officials said the program was delayed until September, because the agency has not yet secured the state funding needed to run the program. However, the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services said they are confident the $6 million needed to cover the program’s administrative costs will be approved by lawmakers during the Interim Finance Committee in June. 

“We just need to get our funding approved first,” said Kristle Muessle, a public information officer for the Nevada Division of Welfare and Support Services. “Once we have that, we’ll be able to get the system updates going, and get those contracts going.”

Although the program is largely funded by the federal government, states need to pay half the cost of administering the program.

Payments will be distributed in one lump sum to eligible households with children from Pre-K through the 12th grade. State health officials estimate that 350,000 children in Nevada will be eligible for the summer food benefits program.

The first round of summer benefits starting in September will automatically be distributed to children living in households already participating in other income-based federal assistance programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or Nevada Medicaid.

Households with children identified by the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) as eligible for the free and reduced lunch program will also automatically receive benefits in the first round of payments in September.

Those benefits will be deposited on existing SNAP or TANF cards as part of a household’s monthly benefits. State officials noted that not all children will receive their benefits at the same time.

For families who do not receive SNAP or TANF benefits, pre-loaded SEBT cards will be sent by mail starting in mid-September. SEBT cards will be mailed to the last known address the parent or guardian provided when enrolling their child in school. 

Parents who have recently moved will need to contact the school their child is currently enrolled in, prior to June 10, 2024, and provide them with a current address or mailing address to ensure they receive the summer food benefits when they are finally available in September, warned the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.

Children in households that are not already participating in other income-based federal assistance programs will receive their summer benefits at a later date. However, that later date has not been determined yet, according to the Nevada Division of Welfare and Supportive Services.

Nevada also has several nutrition food programs for families who need assistance over the summer.  The Clark County School District (CCSD) announced it will serve breakfast and lunch meals to all students through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) at several locations throughout southern Nevada. A list of locations can be found here.

Summer meals served by CCSD schools will be available from May 21 to June 14, before returning from June 17 to July 17. Due to the terms of the CCSD Summer Food Service Program, all meals provided by CCSD must be consumed on-site. 

The Food Bank of Northern Nevada’s also offers free breakfast and lunch meals  to children 2-18 years old throughout summer break. A list of locations can be found here. 

The Summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (SEBT) is a much needed boost for states that have seen food insecurity rise in recent years. 

Earlier this month, data released by Three Square Food Bank revealed that food insecurity in Clark, Nye, Esmerelda and Lincoln counties rose from 12% in 2022 to 14.7% in 2023. An estimated 14.6% of Clark County residents were food insecure, up from 12% the previous year. 

The highest rates are among Esmeralda and Nye counties, at 18.4% and 17.3% respectively. Both counties had a 13.9% rate the previous year.

The report also found that rates among children spiked from 17.8% in 2023 to 22%. Roughly one in five children, about 115,000 children, live in food-insecure households.

While Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed a bill in 2023 that would have provided universal free lunch for K-12 students, the SEBT program will provide much needed additional funding for childhood nutrition programs.

Last month, Democratic lawmakers also criticized Lombardo for pressuring the legislature to fund the states administrative costs related to the SEBT program from an emergency contingency account, rather than reallocating unspent American Rescue Plan Act money.

Using the emergency contingency fund for the EBT programs’ $6 million administrative needs would leave the fund with an $11 million balance–considered too low by lawmakers.

During the legislative session, $9 million in ARPA funding was set aside for the universal free lunch program, which was ultimately left unspent after Lombardo vetoed the free school lunch bill. 

Lawmakers said they intended to use part of the $9 million in unspent ARPA funds to cover the $6 million needed for administrative costs related to the SEBT program.