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Spending a Day at the Stables!
The Tierra Madre Horse and Human Sanctuary Non-Profit has been in operation for nearly twenty years. Jim Gath created the sanctuary in 2006 and with a team of dedicated volunteers has been providing love and care to previously abused, neglected, injured, abandoned, or surrendered horses ever since. In addition to caring for horses, Tierra Madre Horse and Human Sanctuary provides services and experiences to individuals with autism and those in recovery. It was a pleasure getting to meet with Jim and share in his passion and discuss his motivations and the challenges they face. Thank you to Jim and your team at the Tierra Madre Horse and Human Sanctuary for all that you do for our community!
Read More on the JFK Files
The Mary Ferrell Foundation (MFF) hosts the largest online collection of searchable JFK assassination records. MFF president Rex Bradford announced Wednesday that the foundation’s website now offers all of the latest JFK assassination in searchable form. Social security numbers have been redacted.
If you want to do your own JFK research, check out the 2025 JFK releases on the MFF website. A nonprofit based in Massachusetts, the MFF hosts the largest online collection of records related to JFK’s assassination, as well as the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. **You only get three free searches on MFF.
Recognizing Some Amazing Citizens of AZ-01
In the military, getting promoted means moving up to a higher rank, which comes with more responsibility, leadership, and higher expectations. Promotions are not automatic — they must be earned.
Military service is not just a duty—it is a calling that demands sacrifice, honor, and resilience. When three members of the same family are promoted to the same rank, it reflects a powerful legacy of commitment to country and service beyond self. It showcases a family’s deep-rooted dedication to the principles of duty, honor, and patriotism across generations or among siblings. I am honored to share the promotion of three members of the Preul Family to become Army Captain on May 1.
1LT Kathryn Preul, a Norwich University ROTC graduate — currently Ft. Bragg in Army Captain’s Career Course and in Army Spec. Forces Civil Affairs School.
1LT Samuel Preul, a West Point graduate — currently Ft. Stewart, 3rd Infantry Armor, moving to Captain’s Career Course in Ft. Benning.
1LT Anna Jerald Preul, also a West Point graduate — currently Ft. Stewart, 3rd Infantry Armor, moving to Captain’s Career Course in Ft. Benning.
LT Andrew Preul USN, Navy F-35 Operational Test Pilot Edwards AFB will pin his sister, Kathryn, Captain using father's, Mark C. Preul's, Captain’s bars.
These young people have served multiple deployments and been leaders in their honored units. The Preul family takes pride in their five active duty– now one reserve duty– opportunity to support our country. We thank you for your dedication to patriotism and freedom. This honor is well-deserved, and from the AZ-01 community, we wish you nothing but prosperity and courage in this next chapter.
My Grand Adventure
Last Thursday, I got the opportunity to visit the Grand Canyon again. We could not have asked for better weather, and the sky was extremely clear. The views never get old!
World Immunization Week 2025
World Immunization Week, April 24-30, marks the importance of lifesaving vaccines that protect people of all ages against disease and disability. Vaccines have led to the eradication of smallpox, the near eradication of polio, and a dramatic reduction in child mortality. U.S. government leadership in global immunization must continue to protect children here at home and around the world from deadly, but preventable, diseases. Today, more kids live to see adulthood than ever before in history—and vaccines are a key reason why. From the first polio vaccine in 1955 to new tools to prevent malaria and meningitis, American workers and innovators helped make this progress possible.
What I'm Reading & Why It Matters
Dr. Peter Densen's paper discusses current challenges to undergraduate medical education. Dr. Densen presents data that shows how different medical school curriculum is than occupational work in the medical field. Densen identifies internal factors including studying diseases excluding behavior, inpatient versus outpatient education, and the effects of faculty solely studying subjects on the molecular level. For example, 80 percent of medical curriculum focuses on biology when 60 percent of premature deaths include mainly nonbiologic factors. Additionally, 80 percent of medical undergraduate work focuses on inpatient work when in reality the occupation focuses almost entirely on outpatient work. Dr. Densen references external factors as well such as recent technological innovations, exponential growth in knowledge, and overall societal changes. He presents a "spiral" curriculum focused on disease mechanisms in order to look at basic and clinical material in context as well as revisit core material over time. Densen's proposed curriculum works to ensure an enhanced student learning experience as well as increase physician reliability.
Up until 2022, depression trends in populations ages 12 to 18 and 18 to 25 were steadily increasing. However, in recent years, these trends have reversed. Health policy professor Daniel Eisenberg has found that young people are showing less signs of depression. Examining seven different studies of depression and suicide rates, The Economist revealed both of these rates have been on a steady decline the past couple of years. Although this study yields positive results, psychologists and researchers are having a difficult time landing on explanations. While social media has been strongly associated with the increase in depression in young people, a strong relationship between social media usage and subsequent poor mental health has not been found.
Some state 'provider' tax on hospitals and other health providers indirectly lead to higher federal Medicaid spending, so budget cutters are look for ways to alter these taxes. The Wall Street Journal reports these taxes are collected from facilities that provide healthcare and end up going to the state's budget for funding Medicaid. While Republicans in Congress look to restricting these taxes and what they fund in order to save money for future tax cuts, state legislators on both sides of the aisle are not exactly in support of these limitations. The taxes generate matching funds from the government that end up going back to the healthcare providers, allowing them to provide quality services and usually more of them. State legislators and healthcare providers are worried about how the change in this provider tax would affect healthcare provider funding and the services they offer. |