Marine speaks to Democrats

The Nevada Democratic Veterans & Military Families' Caucus had a house party in Gardnerville on Saturday, hosted by Bud and Jo Ann Orange. Veterans from Carson City and Douglas County attended.

Elliot Anderson, chair of the caucus and a Marine Corps veteran of Afghanistan, was in town to brief local members on the past, present and future of the caucus. Nevada State Democratic Party Chairwoman Jill Derby, also attended.

"When I served in Afghanistan, my best days were the ones when I received care packages from home," said Anderson, who is a member of the Marine Corps Individual Ready Reserve. "It's so easy for us to assemble things like batteries, snacks and magazines in a package, but simple comfort items mean the world to the troops serving in the Middle East. These packages have a great effect on our morale."

The Democratic Veterans' Caucus has launched a Web site, www.nvdemocraticvets.com, which has links to other Web sites that provide information on how to send packages to the troops.

For information, contact the Douglas County Democratic Central Committee at 721-7530.