During the public-comment period on July 21, a Deerfield resident who identified himself as Arnie (Polish surname given as Marktuk) urged trustees to do more for Vietnam veterans experiencing homelessness and post-traumatic stress disorder and described music, controlled breathing and other practices as helpful therapies.
Arnie said the approaches he described—“bombarding negative energy” with controlled music, attention to oxygen and sleep temperature, and using the subconscious/conscious mind—helped with PTSD and depression. He also urged a large federal funding reallocation, saying “I think the way we can, take care of the veterans is take $2,000,000,000 from NASA and take care of the veterans.”
The mayor thanked Arnie for his comments. No formal board action followed; trustees received the remarks for the record during the public-comment portion of the meeting.
Arnie also described personal experiences with friends who are Vietnam veterans and expressed concern for veterans’ homelessness and mental-health needs, but he did not cite specific programs, agencies or pending village actions to address those issues during his remarks.