ARMED FORCES

ARMED FORCES

VETERANS

Reunion at Saxon Club

AUSTINTOWN

The Tri-State Detachment Marine Corps League’s 31st annual reunion is at 6 p.m. Aug. 17 at The Saxon Club, 710 S. Meridian Road.

Tickets are $25 per person. For reservations, send checks, made payable to and addressed to the Tri-State Detachment Marine Corps League, P.O. Box 2980, Youngstown, OH 44511. There are no ticket sales at the door.

For information about the event, which includes a buffet, door prizes and a raffle, call 330-533-6084 or 330-799-8497.

Fundraiser planned

CANFIELD

Profits from the Canfield Republican Women’s Club’s Summerfest Market from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Canfield Fairgrounds will be donated to local veterans groups to help struggling disabled and wounded veterans.

Admission is free, and the public is invited. Vendors will sell antiques, collectibles, baked goods, jewelry, crafts and other items.

The National and Ohio Federations of Republican Women have had a standing project called “Caring for America.” In the past, the Canfield Republican Women’s Club has used profits from its Summerfest to send care packages to military personnel in Iraq and Afghanistan and donated to the Honor Flight Network and the Fisher House Foundation.

Monica Robb is local chairwoman for the Caring for American project, and Pat Woomer is chairwoman of the CRWC Ways and Means Committee, and Suellen Blasdell is its president.

Soldiers’ IRS benefits

WASHINGTON

Members of the U.S. Armed Forces on active duty, including those serving in combat zones, have special federal tax benefits and rules, according to the Internal Revenue Services.

They include deadline extensions, combat-pay exclusion, earned-income tax credit, moving-expense deduction and uniform deduction.

For details about the tax benefits, read “Publication 3, Armed Forces’ Tax Guide” available on IRS.gov or by calling 1-800-829-3676.

RETIREMENTs

Senior master retires

WINONA

Ohio Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. David E. Starcher, of Winona, has retired from the Air National Guard, a Reserve Component of the Air Force, after serving in the military for 30 years.

Starcher, brother of Doris Caldarelli of Uniontown, is a building grounds supervisor assigned to the 179th Airlift Wing, Ohio Air National Guard at Mansfield.

A resident of Winona, he graduated in 1980 from United Local High School, Hanoverton.

DEPLOYED

Off to Afghanistan

Marine L/Cpl. Ken Kirkland Jr. of Cherry Point, N.C., son of Ken and Carla Kirkland Sr. in North Carolina, has deployed to Afghanistan as a member of Marine Air Control Group 28 (MACG-28), 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW), Marine Air Support Squadron (MASS), 1st Platoon.

Kirkland Jr., a grandson of Bruce and Sue Kirkland of Canfield, attended Canfield schools and graduated in 2008 from Cravan County High School, New Bern, N.C. He and his wife, Kelsie, have two sons, Lane and Kaden. Kirkland Jr.’s father and grandfather also served in the Marine Corps.

BASIC TRAINING GRADS

Air Force: Reserve Airman Charles J. Edmonds (Liberty High School, ’12), son of Charles and Camesha Edmonds of Youngstown; Reserve Airman Llan E. Llanos (The Rayen School, ’07), the son of Sarah Merced of Youngstown; Airman Taylor R. Fisher (Smiths Station High School, Smiths, Ala., ’11), the brother of Casey Jones of Smiths and grandson of Connie Fisher of Salem; Airman 1st Class Ehren M. Reffner (Sharpsville, Pa., Area High School, ’08; Clarion University of Pennsylvania, ’12), son of Karen Seaton of Sharpsville and William Reffner of Sharon, Pa.

ACADEMY NEWS

Naval grads from region

Several area men and women recently graduated from the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., and were commissioned as second lieutenants in the Marine Corps or ensigns in the Navy.

Local graduates are:

Marine Corps 2nd Lt. Ryan A. Williams, son of Susan Manna of McDonald and Jay A. Williams of Vancouver, Wash. He is a 2009 graduate of McDonald High School.

Navy Ensign Kelsey L. Owen, a 2008 graduate of Canfield High School.

Navy Ensign Michael D. Smiley, son of Lisa A. and Timothy A. Smiley of Ellwood City, Pa. He is a 2008 graduate of Riverside High School, Ellwood City.

Navy Ensign Sean H. Philbin, son of Rebecca J. and John P. Philbin of Howland. He is a 2009 graduate of Howland High School.

Items of note for the Armed Forces Digest can be sent to The Vindicator, Regional Desk, P.O. Box 780, Youngstown 44501-0780, or e-mailed to alcorn@vindy.com