VETS GEAR UP FOR WWII-DISPLAY BATTLE.

Byline: DENNIS MCCARTHY 

Odds and ends from around the Valley:

This silly flap going on over at the Chatsworth Train Depot is getting downright interesting, if you're looking for a good fight.

As I told you Sunday, city Department of Transportation bureaucrats are playing hardball with local VFW veterans and not allowing them to have a display case of World War II military memorabilia in the depot museum.

The private citizen Depot Foundation had already given the vets approval to use the display case. But the DOT, which oversees the depot museum, nixed it because it felt military memorabilia didn't fit in with the historical transportation/movie motif of the place.

It was an artsy thing. The city's argument doesn't hold water because there are other displays in the depot, such as a Chumash Indian display, that have nothing to do with local transportation or movie history.

Well, the VFW boys aren't backing down. The display case is supposed to be delivered today, and don't be surprised if the vets just go on ahead and put it in the depot museum anyway.

They'll get no argument from the businesses leasing space in the depot because they're all in favor of letting the vets come on in. They already have a memorial outside - why not something inside, too?

If the vets wind up getting kicked out of the depot by DOT officials, they can always move their display case anywhere they want a few miles over in new Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine's West Valley district.

``This controversy is absolutely ridiculous,'' Zine said Thursday. ``I think if you took a poll the community would agree how ridiculous it is.

``If the vets need a home for their display, I'll find one for them in my district,'' he said.

Stay tuned. This could turn into a good old-fashioned range war.

< Wheels for Humanity, a wonderful, nonprofit North Hollywood group that refurbishes used wheelchairs, is having a wheelchair drive on Nov. 10 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Johnny Carson Park in Burbank, across from NBC Studios.

The group collects wheelchairs that may be gathering dust in someone's closet or garage, and delivers them to the disabled in developing countries after refurbishing them.

``The cost of a wheelchair in these countries - if even available - may be many times a family's annual income,'' said Wheels for Humanity Executive Director David Richard, who is making a trip to Vietnam over the Christmas holidays to deliver dozens of wheelchairs.

``These are people of all ages who have been relegated to the ground or spending their life in bed,'' he said.

Physical and rehabilitation therapists go along with each delivery to make sure people receive the correct-fitting chair for their disability.

For more information on the wheelchair drive, call Judith McCalla at [phone].

< Kudos to the Canoga Park Elks Lodge for another great Police & Firefighter Appreciation Night this year, honoring the men and women who serve and protect this city.

In the aftermath of what the country's been through since Sept. 11, this year's program was more timely than ever.

``We owe all our police and firefighters our deepest appreciation for putting their lives on the line every day to do a great job for the citizens of this city,'' said Bob Brennan, past district director of the lodge.

< And, finally, if you're into good Italian food (and who isn't?) keep the afternoon of Nov. 4 open for Tierra del Sol Foundation's annual Italian dinner and craft boutique, benefiting the foundation's training programs for individuals with developmental disabilities.

It's a great family afternoon. While the parents eat, the kids can play over at the kids zone, which includes a jumping box, games, face painting, cotton candy and Tierra's petting farm.

There's also a performance by the Ballet Folklorico de Maria Louisa, homemade baked goods for sale, and gift items created by Tierra students and others.

The family-style dinner will be served between noon and 5 p.m. on the Tierra campus, 9919 Sunland Blvd. in Sunland. Tickets are $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12.