A message from the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services
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2022 Disabled Veterans’ Controlled Moose Hunt Winners
Six Maine veterans were selected for the opportunity to participate 2022 Disabled Veterans’ Controlled Moose Hunt,
and five alternates were selected in the event a primary hunter cannot attend. The names of the alternates can be found
on our webpage.
The primary winners are:
1. Timothy Cameron, Disabled Veterans of
America’s Lottery Winner
2. Daniel L. Jones, Ellsworth
3. Thomas L. Worcester, Columbia
4. William A. Thomas, Scarborough
5. Mark Merwin, Jefferson
6. Dennis M. Candage, Oxford
Since the program’s inception in 2010, MBVS has partnered
with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W) and Smoldering Lake Outfitters to issue hunting permits
and essential equipment to participating veterans. The hunt, which is entirely free for selected veterans, includes guiding services, essential adaptive equipment, meat processing, travel, meals and lodging.
Unlike the regular IF&W moose lottery, the Disabled
Veterans’ Controlled Moose Lottery is limited to only those veterans with a disability rating of at least 50%. Each hunter is required to team up with a registered Maine Guide who has specific training for the hunt, and if a veteran has ever tagged a moose through the program, that veteran is ineligible to hunt again. The selected hunters will join the folks at Smoldering Lake Outfitters in Bridgewater, Maine for a late summer hunt in Aroostook County.
For more information on the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Services and the Disabled Veterans’ Controlled Moose Hunt, please visit: https://www.maine.gov/veterans/benefits/recreational-licenses/veterans-moose-lottery.html or call 207-287-7020. Applications for the 2023 Maine Disabled Veterans’ Controlled Moose Hunt will be available on the Maine Bureau of Veterans’ Website on March 1, 2023.
If you would like to give a donation to help sponsor a Maine veteran to participation, you can do so through Smoldering Lake Outfitters’ non-profit, Veterans Afield Foundation, and specify that your donation is for the Disabled Veteran Controlled Moose Hunt. |
Educational Benefits Are Available to Maine Veterans and Their Dependents
This May and June, we watched thousands of Maine college and high school students participate in graduation ceremonies. It seems like an appropriate time to remind our veterans that there are many educational benefits that can be accessed for you and your family members.
MBVS is the State Approving Agency for Veterans Education Programs and ensures the quality and integrity of programs of education and training for the use of GI Bill® benefits. We do this through the approval of education and training programs for the use of GI Bill® benefits. The scope of responsibility runs the gamut from high schools, adult education centers, employers providing on-the-job training and apprenticeship training, license and certification testing, vocational training, as well as all certificate and degree levels of post-secondary education. We are also a resource for individuals needing assistance in accessing or applying for GI Bill® education benefits.
You can reach MBVS’ SAA by calling 207-430-6033,
or by email: mesaa@maine.gov .
MBVS also oversees Veterans Dependents Educational Benefits, as Maine provides a 100% waiver of tuition and all mandatory fees for spouses and dependents of veterans as defined in Title 37B, Chapter 7, Section 505(2). Specifically, veterans must meet the following criteria:
• Has a 100% total permanent disability rating resulting
from service-connected disability.
• Was killed in action;
• Died from a service-connected disability as a result of service;
• At the time of death was totally and permanently disabled due to a service-connected disability, but whose death was not related to the service-connected disability; or
• Is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty who has been listed for more than 90 days as missing in action, captured or forcibly detained, or interned in the line of duty by a foreign government or power.
"Veteran" means any person who served in the military or naval forces of the United States and entered the service from this State or has been a resident of this State for five years immediately preceding application for aid and, if living, continues to reside in this State throughout the duration of benefits administered under the educational benefits program.
Schools covered under this program include the University
of Maine System, Maine Community Colleges, and
Maine Maritime Academy.
Our brochure provides more information about the program,
and the application is found here.
The Department of Veterans Affairs also offers the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance (DEA) for children or spouses of a Veteran or service member who has died, is captured or missing, or has disabilities. This educational benefit helps pay for school or job training programs and can be utilized for out-of-state educational institutions or training programs.
More information about the DEA program can be found by clicking this link.
If you have a child or grandchild that who is a recent high school graduate and doesn’t qualify for veteran-specific educational assistance, Maine’s community colleges are now offering up to two years of tuition-free college to all high school graduates from 2020-23 under the new Free College initiative. The initiative was funded in Maine’s supplemental budget, which included a one-time allocation of $20 million for free tuition.
To qualify for the Free College Scholarship, students must have a high school diploma or equivalent from 2020-23, enroll full-time in an associate degree program or one-year credentialing program, live in Maine while enrolled, and accept all federal and state grants, scholarships and other funding sources.
More information can be found here: Free College 2022 - Maine Community College System (me.edu).
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Veteran and Military Caregivers are Eligible to Receive Free Respite Care
The Elizabeth Dole Foundation has partnered with The Wounded Warrior Project and CareLinx to create the Respite Relief for Military and Veteran Caregivers program. This program offers family caregivers of veterans and services members access to 35 hours per year of free, short-term relief with the help of in-home professionals.
To be eligible to for this program you:
Must provide care to a wounded, ill, or injured veteran or service member,
Must seek respite relief care within the 50 U.S. states, and
Must provide proof of service of the individual you are caring for
Respite services include:
Meal prep
Housekeeping
Transportation, if needed
Exercise
Companionship
Mobility
Medication reminders
Personal Care assistance
There are many times when being a caregiver means putting your needs last. Respite time allows for self-care, the ability to get to your own appointments, or find time to visit friends and family. For more information about Respite Relief, click here.
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What's Happening
July 9 and 10 – House In the Woods 5th Anniversary Celebration, 217 Skunk Hill Road, Lee, Maine. Both days activities will run from 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
July 9- Cornhole Tournament hosted by Maine Veterans Project, held in Bangor at the Cole Land Transportation Museum, starts at 12:00 p.m.
July 14-17 – Maine Guide Training, at House in the Woods, 217 Skunk Hill Rd. To reserve a spot contact Angie Gade.
July 27-29 – Veteran's Mountain Bike Trip, 15 Farm View Drive, New Gloucester (Pineland Farms). Will depart on July 27 at 1:00 p.m. and return July 29 at 1:00 p.m.
July 30 – We Ride for Veterans Poker Run. Big Moose Harley-Davidson in Portland. The event starts at 3:00 p.m. Click here to register.
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