Veterans need Brown School site to ensure medical care
Published December 9, 2003
Editor: The Korean War Veterans Association has been the primary organizer of acquiring a new and larger hospital/clinic in Citrus County. We have been meeting with local elected officials and representatives of different political parties. We started this program about 18 months ago and now have 100 percent backing from all of those we have been in contact with such as the VFW, American Legion, DAV, local politicians, political representatives and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Everyone is aware that the present VA clinic in Inverness is at maximum capacity and cannot be expanded because of its size and location. Also, everyone is aware of the existing Brown School site in our area. The site is perfectly suited for a new VA hospital/clinic.
Citrus County has about 24,000 veterans at present, and with the number increasing yearly we desperately need a bigger and better hospital/clinic. The Brown School site is exactly what everyone agrees on: from Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi to state Sen. Mike Fasano of New Port Richey. We also have support from U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, state Rep. Charles Dean, Matthew Ubben of the VA and many more who have inspected this property.
It is no surprise that the Gainesville hospital/clinic is at its maximum and can no longer handle routine medical requests. And it is no surprise to have to wait 18 months to a year for an appointment, but emergency conditions could be accommodated if there is availability.
We have tried to communicate our problems through petitions that have been signed by citizens at our local merchants' establishments and at our veterans exhibit at Crystal River Mall and by writing letters to the Chronicle, St. Petersburg Times and Ocala Star Banner. We have published information in the Bivouac Veterans News Inc., which covers many counties in Florida. We have published our problem in other veterans newsletters throughout Florida, and we are pleading our case to anyone who will listen.
As veterans of the Korean War, we will be around maybe for another 10 years or so, but we have to get the federal government to honor those who come after us, such as Vietnam veterans and those of other conflicts. We need all the support we can get.
This Brown School site could accommodate the five counties around Citrus County, and it is ready to move into: Just turn on the lights and open the doors and watch them come in the thousands. This facility, if set up correctly, could easily employ more than 500 people, including doctors, nurses, aides, lab technicians and support people, and the number of vendors to cater this facility would be an economic boost to our county.
Why in the world hasn't the federal government given Citrus County the go-ahead to purchase this property so the federal government can sign a lease for all veterans to receive the medical treatment they have been told that they would receive? All of these veterans fought for you. Now it is time for the public to fight for veterans' rights.
-- Ken Heisner, Crystal River, Secretary, Korean War Veterans 192
Skip politics when filling seats for county panel
Editor: It's a shame that politics has to enter into the reappointment of Marion Knudsen to the County Planning and Review Board. When a person is doing a good job, why not be glad to keep that person on the board?
I wonder if the applicants who are now trying to get on the board are really aware of all the work that goes into making the necessary decisions.
Politics played the same role in 1991 as what is now taking place. I was considered for a seat on the board but lost when one commissioner changed his vote. Petty politics in action.
I hope one of the commissioners (Batchelor, Fowler and Wooten) lets his conscience be his guide and votes for Marion Knudsen and keeps petty politics out.
-- Edgar Gehman, Beverly Hills
Parkway extension route never included Marion County
Editor: Re: Citrus can beat the Suncoast Parkway, Nov. 25 letter to the editor, by Hahn Vu, Homosassa.
In 1998, Florida's Turnpike, part of the Florida Department of Transportation, completed a Project Development and Environment (PD&E) Study for the proposed Suncoast Parkway 2 Project in Citrus County.
Although a "build" alternative was recommended and a route was identified, funding limitations delayed the project. That route for Suncoast Parkway 2 Project was within Citrus County. It was not located anywhere within Marion County and has never since been located within Marion County.
At approximately the same time (in 1999) the Florida Department of Transportation completed its PD&E Study of the 49-mile Northern Extension of Florida's Turnpike (NEFT) proposed for Levy, Marion and Sumter counties. It would have provided a connecting route from Florida's Turnpike northern terminus at Interstate 75 near Wildwood in Sumter County to a terminus with U.S. 19 near Lebanon Station in Levy County.
At that time the department concluded, due to the fact the project was not included in the local governments' comprehensive plans and was not supported by local governments, to suspend actions proceeding with the further development of the NEFT.
For additional information concerning Suncoast Parkway 2 Project, visit the Web site at www.suncoastparkway2.com
-- Joanne Hurley, Community Relations coordinator, Florida's Turnpike Enterprise
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