Lots of friendly people, great food, cheap beer and nice surroundings. These folks do a lot for the…read morecommunity. They are all hard workers

War's never a nice place to visit, and no one wants to live there. Here I saw again that not…read moreeveryone who came home from war ever left there. Here I saw again that not everyone who died in war died during that war. Over the decades, I've been to several Veteran Stand Downs in several states, including this Nevada County All Veteran Stand Down in Grass Valley, California. Like all Stand Downs, the Nevada County All Veteran Stand Down is a local, all-volunteer non-profit organization. It hosted its first Stand Down in 1999. Here are Veterans who Served for those who couldn't Serve and for those who refused to Serve. Some Veterans, like me, came for the camaraderie, others to get some free new clothes and toiletries, food, flu shot, haircut, other services offered, or just out of curiosity. Other Veterans came with a hope of overcoming homelessness, to get potential life-saving benefits or to get connected to help for disease(s) of physical, addiction or mental. Experts caution that those with mental disease are no more likely to be violent than anybody else. They are though 11 times more likely to be themselves the victim of violent crime. The military environment can and often does act as a catalyst for the development and progression of anxiety and depression. Separation from loved ones and support systems, stressors of military Service and seeing oneself or others in harm's way are all elements that increase risk of mental disease in Active Duty and Veteran populations. In addition, many women and men experienced military sexual trauma (MST), including harassment and assaults, while in the military. Loud noise, common in the military, is also a source of stress. It triggers reactions in the body, including the secretion of certain hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. These reactions account for the development of heart and cardiovascular diseases after exposure to loud noise. Research indicates that as many as 50% of Veterans experience significant difficulty acclimating to civilian life after discharge from Active Duty with a third developing mental health diseases including but not limited to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression. The three most common mental health diseases for Veterans are PTSD, depression and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI). Nevada County All Veteran Stand Down is one of about 200 across the country. All are no-charge to Veterans. Robert Van Kurran started the first program in the US in San Diego, California. Veteran Stand Downs are named for a military term for GI's time to rest and recover while at war. It's a grassroots effort to offer rest and recovery to predominately homeless Veterans although open to all Veterans because Veterans for decades succumb to suicide and homelessness at a rate twice that of non-Veterans. For more information such as each year's Nevada County All Veteran Stand Down location, date and time; or to volunteer, be a participant or register: https://www.facebook.com/NCAVSD/ info@ncavsd.org, 530-278-5343 For current Veteran Stand Downs in your area do a google search. All Veteran Stand Downs welcome money and resources for Veterans donations, and need volunteers. As I was here tears came as I again remember the words of General Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., US Army (Ret.), that "the more we sweat in Peace, the less we bleed in war." Those words should be and always must be the war standard that we hold every politician to. For "The military don't start wars. Politicians start war." correctly said General William Westmoreland, US Army (Ret.). That's why I support that all elected or appointed politicians who aren't currently Serving or haven't Served in US Armed Forces, are required to spend the first six weeks of each of their terms in front line combat zone military hospital unit. In 1946, just after end of World War II, Ernest Hemingway, himself a victim with PTSD from being a World War I ambulance driver, wrote, "Never think that war, no matter how necessary, nor how justified, is not a crime." That's why I also support a military draft for all with no exemptions so those who previously never Served would understand the true and full costs of military Service. Dyn that Veterans who are not enrolled with VA who were discharged from Active Duty after more than 24 months and who were not dishonorably discharged or those who Served more than 100 days in a combat operation or those who were victims of a physical or sexual assault in the military are eligible for free VA access to suicide inpatient care or crisis residential care for up to 30 days and outpatient care for up to 90 days, including transportation services such as an ambulance ride and to and from appointments.

Best wedding venue we could of asked for. Debbie was amazing to work with and the venue was…read moreeverything we could have dreamed of.

Such a wonderful experience! We hosted a celebration of life for my mother in law here and we could…read morenot have found a more peaceful and beautiful place to honor her. Russ and Debbie, the owners, were so accommodating, enjoyable, helpful and easy going; people you could just spend all day talking to. There are some RV spaces to camp here so we stayed on site to make set up a little easier on the day of the memorial. We had family that rented a quaint one bedroom cabin on site as well. There is an outdoor covered kitchen area with a huge refrigerator, which allowed us to bring food in advance and prep the day before. It was all so convenient! They were in the path of the Dixie fire, so the drive out there is baron, but don't let that deter you. Once you arrive, you are surrounded by green trees and stunning scenery. It was a perfect hidden gem. We are so pleased with our entire experience at lassen meadows and would absolutely recommend it and use this venue again for other events.

Here's a way, both the anchor and the pixie dust, to save and help Veterans and bees at the same…read moretime. One of my young cousins, who is enigmatic without being egotistical, detached without being cold, self-reliant without being suspicious, a secular humanist who is spiritual without being religious, recently received their Honorable Discharge and asked me to help them with an idea for a business that they can own and operate. I suggested Bees4Vets, and that I and a couple other cousins would sponsor my cousin who has military Service-connected PTSD and TBI. "It is a 501.C.3 non-profit organization partnered with University of Nevada, Reno Agricultural Experiment Station and Research & Innovation. Bees4Vets' incorporated in and based in Sparks, Nevada to serve Veterans and first responder populations. They provide hands-on training in beekeeping to Veterans and first responders with PTSD and / or TBI." https://www.facebook.com/Bees4Vets/ It is organizations such as here that are on the front lines of fighting to reduce the staggering and horrifying number of Veterans who daily succumb to suicide at the rate of more than twice that of non-Veterans. Beekeeping has been known to be a good vocation or hobby for Veterans since at least the end of World War I as published in "Opportunity Monograph, Vocational Rehabilitation Series No. 37 Bee Keeping", April 1919. https://www.losangelescountybeekeepers.com/blog/2015/11/11/veterans-day-veterans-in-beekeeping.html Contact: https://bees4vets.org/contact-us/ If you are a Veteran or first responder with PTSD and / or TBI who would like to participate in this program, living in or close to North Western Nevada, contact 'em. If you are a counselor or other health professional with a Veteran or first responder client who would benefit from Bees4Vetsprogram, reach out to 'em. If you would like a Bees4Vets presentation at your school, office, social organization or church in North Western Nevada, contact 'em. If you would like to sponsor a bee hive or beekeeper student, contact them or make a donation at https://bees4vets.org/donate/ . If you are a gardener, and would like to provide a pollinator friendly garden, do the following: Fill Your Garden With Bee-Friendly Flowers One of the easiest ways to help out bees is by planting lots of bee-friendly flowers in your garden. Bees favour a wide range of flowering plants, which you can grow easily with from seedball bee mix from https://www.americanmeadows.com/wildflower-seeds/wildflower-mix/honey-bee-wildflower-seed-mix or https://www.seedsource.com/catalog/detail.asp?product_id=4505 or https://seedball.co.uk/product/bee-mix/ or https://www.bloomling.com/seedball/bee-mix-seedballs . Simply scatter the seedballs in a location of your choice, water, feed and watch them sprout! Provide Shelter For Bees Like most invertebrates, bees need shelter to nest and hibernate in. You can create your own bee shelter or buy a ready-made bee hotel - just hang it up in a sunny sheltered spot in your garden and watch bees filling the tubes during the spring and summer months. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/media/build-your-own-bee-hotel/ https://www.foxleas.com/make-a-bee-hotel.asp https://offgridworld.com/27-incredibly-beautiful-bee-hotels-and-why-you-should-build-one/ Pesticides are one of the key threats to bees, and so one way to help bees is to stop using them in your own garden. Some pests provide food for crucial pollinators, so leaving them to be controlled naturally is the best choice to help save bees. Help A Bee In Need Often during the summer months you may spot a solitary bee sitting unmoving on the ground. Whilst it is easy to presume it might be dead or dying, chances are it is actually exhausted and in need of a quick pick-me-up. You can help out a tired bee by mixing two tablespoons of white, granulated sugar with one tablespoon of water, placing it near the bee so it can help itself to this homemade energy drink. The greatest contribution of bees and other pollinators is the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world's food. A third of the world's food production depends on bees, i.e. every third spoonful of food depends on pollination. Where trees and woods are essential to filter our air, bees are vital to both pollinate the food we need to survive and pollinate most of the trees and flowers that provide habitats for wildlife. https://www.military.com/benefits/beekeeping-all-rage-these-programs-can-help-veterans-get-started.html#:~:text=In%201919%20as%20troops%20returned,of%20its%20recreational%20therapy%20programs The University of Minnesota Bee Veterans program is at https://beelab.umn.edu/bee-veterans

From the owner: Our mission is to assist military veterans and first responders living with PTSD or TBI through a…read morebeekeeping experiences in the local community; combining outdoor activity, education and community outreach to create an environment of support and training where veterans and first responders can develop the interest and skills necessary to participate in beekeeping as a vocation or hobby.