Non-Department of Defense personnel who require a DoD Common Access Card must be sponsored by a Contractor Verification System trusted agent under new rules being implemented DoD-wide.

Retired Army Chaplain (Col.) James Shaw speaks about the importance of prayer during the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and Fort Leavenworth National Prayer Breakfast Jan. 31 at the Frontier Chapel. The prayer breakfast was sponsored by the 15th Military Police Brigade Unit Ministry Team. Shaw was asked by his son, Combined Arms Center Command Chaplain (Col.) Jonathan Shaw, to speak about his experiences with prayer during his 35 years of federal service, including 24 years on active duty as a U.S. Army chaplain and his 11 years in Washington, D.C., as the endorsing agent to the Department of Defense for the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

Steel is a 2-year-old male mixed-breed dog available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. He has already been neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Bees are very social creatures that depend on each other for survival, said beekeeper Paula Owen, and humans can learn a lot from them.
“One-third of everything we eat is directly related to honeybees, so they’re pretty important,” she told students at Eisenhower Elementary School.
Owen and hundreds of other presenters visited Eisenhower Jan. 27 for Kansas Day. The day, which celebrates the day that Kansas was founded as a state on Jan. 29, is organized each year by school counselor Debbie Sack. Sack gets help from local organizations, farmers and parent volunteers who work to make the day a special learning experience for the children.

Dr. Bridget Cantrell likes to begin her seminars about mental health surrounding deployments with a quote from David O. McKay: “The greatest battles of life are fought out daily in the silent chambers of the soul.”
Cantrell, a licensed therapist in the state of Washington, has written several books on recovery from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. Her most recent book is “Souls Under Siege: The Effects of Multiple Troop Deployments — and How to Weather the Storm.” Cantrell has a doctorate of philosophy in clinical psychology, works as a private mental health provider and also runs a nonprofit group, Hearts Toward Home International. Through her nonprofit, Cantrell conducts mental health awareness seminars throughout the military.

The 40th Military Police Internment and Resettlement Battalion welcomed a new commander Jan. 26.
Lt. Col. Bob Willis Jr. replaced Lt. Col. Erica Nelson, who recently returned from a yearlong Iraq deployment with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 40th MP I/R Battalion. Nelson has been battalion commander for two and a half years, beginning when it was stood up in 2009. The battalion’s stateside mission is care and custody of inmates and operations of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.

Wayne Grigsby Jr. said the story of him becoming a general officer in the Army isn’t just about himself.
It’s the story of two Soldiers who approached him after a 100-hour firefight during Operation Desert Storm, thanking him for his leadership. It’s the story of his wife, Cynthia, a Panama City native who barely spoke English when they met, but supported him through 27 years of marriage. It’s the story of Spc. Kyle Little and Sgt. Blake Stephens, killed in Iraq in 2007 by an improvised explosive device while escorting Grigsby through Salman Pak, 18 miles south of Baghdad. It’s also the story of Grigsby’s faith.

Amber is a young female domestic shorthair cat available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Capt. Shaun O’Laughlin was looking for educational classes and for better treatment methods for his physical therapy patients in a combat zone. He came across a technique that uses acupuncture-style needles to alleviate pain in joints and muscles.
Two years later, O’Laughlin has become certified to perform trigger-point dry needling, a form of physical therapy used in combination with other, more traditional physical therapy practices. The physical therapist at Munson Army Health Center said he uses trigger-point dry needling almost every day to help patients.

Jim Redwine became concerned about his finances when he deployed to Operation Enduring Freedom in 2001, wondering what might happen to his family if he were killed.
Redwine, then a major, and his wife, Gina, had been frugal with their spending before, but that’s when they really began to worry about money.

Seventh-grader Lawson Smead writes a word on his arm as he thinks through how to spell it aloud during the seventh-grade spelling bee Jan. 19 at Patton Junior High School. The top two spellers from each English class participated in the bee to determine who will represent the school in the county bee next month. Lawson won the seventh-grade spelling bee and will continue on to the county bee. Eighth-grader Gabe Buss will also represent Patton at the county bee. Sixth-grader Kaitlyn Linney and fifth-grader Makenna Brunson will represent MacArthur Elementary School, and sixth-grader Mason Nicks and fifth-grader Ana Golden will represent Bradley Elementary School in the Leavenworth County Spelling Bee.

Chief is a young, energetic dog available for adoption at the Veterinary Treatment Facility. Call 684-6510 for more information.
Several family-friendly pets are available for adoption at the VTF. Adoption fees vary according to the needs of the pet. The VTF is at 831 McClellan Ave. and is open 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 1-3:30 p.m. Friday.
Pets available for adoption are listed on www.petfinder.com.

Results from Wounded Warrior Winter Open Olympic weightlifting Jan. 14 at Gruber Fitness Center.

Principal’s Honor Roll
(GPA 4.00)
9th Grade — Jessica Brunson,Taylor Brunson, Anna Lahmon, Brian Riggins, Madeline Snow, Jorden Warren  

Twenty-eight years before the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a black man was lynched in Leavenworth, Kan.
Fred Alexander, accused of attacking a woman, was dragged out of a jail cell, tortured and murdered in a ravine near Spruce Street on Jan. 15, 1901, while an estimated 8,000 citizens of the city watched, according to an archived article from The New York Times.

The Army and Air Force Exchange Service’s most senior enlisted service member visited Fort Leavenworth Jan. 9 and 10 to find better ways to serve customers.
Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jeffry D. Helm also had some tips for Soldiers about how they can better utilize the Post Exchange and www.shopmyexchange.com.

For Sgt. Timothy Finney, a shift worker at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, extra weight was beginning to interfere with his career — most importantly, the chance to work a day job.
The 25-year-old Soldier, a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USDB, began to gain weight and failed a tape measure test. He decided to take action and joined the Army Move! weight loss support program after consulting with his primary care provider at Munson Army Health Center.

2011 proved to be a year of significant milestones for the Mission Command Training Program.
During 2011, MCTP trained the staffs of 18 brigades, five divisions and nine other units. Observer/trainers traveled to Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington, and also conducted a division-level exercise at Fort Leavenworth. Exercises were also conducted outside the United States in Korea and Germany and individual MCTP members served in Afghanistan and Iraq. Two officers were among the last to leave Iraq once the mission was closed down there.

The Fort Leavenworth Adjutant General Division will have new operating hours effective Feb. 6.
To better serve members of the Fort Leavenworth community, the AG will open one hour earlier than the current hours of operation. Starting Feb. 6, AG will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and noon to 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. AG is open most training holidays, but is closed on federal holidays.

The Army Community Service Family Advocacy Program is sponsoring presentations by mental health expert Dr. Bridget C. Cantrell Jan. 26 and 27 at the Frontier Conference Center.
“Souls Under Siege: Effects of Multiple Troop Deployments” is designed to provide “effective tools for military personnel to readjust after experiencing the impact of combat exposure, trauma, family deployment stress and many  other readjustment issues after service overseas,” according to seminar releases.