Brown County Texas: Supporting Our Troops ?

Monday May 29, 2006
News
Drive for veterans’ vans $35,000 short

By Candace Cooksey Fulton — Brownwood Bulletin

Volunteers with the Veterans Memorial Clinic are $35,000 short of the necessary funds needed to purchase two shuttle vans used to transport disabled veterans.
A campaign begun in March has so far raised about $10,000, but, by latest estimates, at least $45,000 is needed for two multi-passenger vans.
“If we cannot raise the money, really, very soon,” said Cookie James, the volunteer shuttle coordinator for the Brownwood VA clinic, “we may have to do without, and I just don’t know how that’s going to be possible.”
James said the shuttle vans are in operation Monday through Friday, departing from the clinic at 7:30 each morning and transporting disabled veterans to the Temple and Waco VA hospitals for their appointments. Volunteers make the daily drives.
Each month, the vans are driven 8,100 miles and transport approximately 220 patients. The vans currently in use are 5 and 6 years old, respectively, had have 215,000 and 193,000 miles on them. James said the veterans administration does not provide the vans, but does provide all the maintenance, insurance, rules, safety measures and fuel.
“Once the vans get as high mileage as the two we have, then the maintenance costs start to go up,” James said. “The VA is currently running on a $35,000 deficit and the budget cuts are expected to continue.
“The elimination of services, such as the shuttle, would only alleviate a small part of the budget crisis,” James said, “but just the same it’s understandable the VA won’t or can’t pay for new vans.”
So many veterans depend on the shuttle, James said, that she feels if more people understood the urgency, the money could be raised.
“A lot of our veterans are under doctor’s orders not to drive. We take some to the clinic who are on chemo, and maybe going there they’ll seem OK, but coming back they’re very sick. Some of the ones who use the shuttle are not supposed to drive at all because their diabetes is out of control,” James said.
“Yellow ribbons and prayer vigils show we love and support our veterans, but if these vans could be made a priority, that’s really proving to them that we do appreciate what they have done for our country.”
James said that once the vans are purchased, they will be signed over to the veterans administration so they can be insured, maintained and operated. The VA decides when it’s time for replacement, and that time “has arrived,” she said.
An account has been set up at the local Bank of America, located at 1 Center Ave. in Brownwood. James said if a donor needs to have a 501 3-C charitable deduction, checks should be made payable to the VFW Shuttle Fund. Otherwise checks can be written to Veterans’ Shuttle Fund.
Those wishing to mail their donations can send them (attention Cookie James) to the Brown County VA Clinic, 2600 Memorial Park Dr., Brownwood, TX 76801.
For more information, call James at the volunteer office, 641-0568 (Ext. 58614) or at 642-4264.

source: http://www.brownwoodbulletin.com/articles/2006/05/29/news/news01.txt