Veteran 4 7 2016

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VOL. 4/ISSUE 23

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016

Copas Home You’ve got to see this hits a $20 hidden gem million dollar snag Patrick McCallister FOR VETERAN VOICE

pmccallister@veteranvoiceweekly.com

The much-anticipated Ardie R. Copas State Veterans’ Nursing Home in Port St. Lucie’s Tradition development hit a $20 million snag that could sink it. In March Mike Prendergast — who recently stepped down as executive director of the Florida Department of Veterans Affairs — sent a letter to the feds saying if there’s no give on applying new guidelines the proposed home goes away. “We have attempted to work with your staff to achieve a viable resolution to the challenges that have arisen, but without a strategy to achieve a compromise and assurance of an equivalent 65 (percent) match on the part of the (United States Department of Veterans Affairs), the Florida Legislature will not increase funding to this or any other construction project,” Prendergast wrote to Robert McDonald, the VA secretary. The state and federal departments have similar names, but are separate. Prendergast gave his resignation notice at the last regular Florida Cabinet meeting. The Army veteran is running for Sheriff of Citrus County. The Deputy Director, Al Carter, is filling the vacated seat until a replacement is named. He plans to visit Port St. Lucie to give an update on the home on April 19. The federal VA is insisting that the Copas home be built according to standards adopted after the state applied for and was first approved for grant funding to build its seventh veterans nursing home. The state veterans department is crying foul, because

See COPAS page 2

Staff photo by Mary Kemper Little museum, priceless exhibits. Karl Lehtohla, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, volunteers at the Road to Victory Museum in Stuart.

Mary Kemper STAFF WRITER

mkemper@veteranvoiceweekly.com

A good many people know about the Road to Victory Museum in Stuart — but a good many more need to find out about this nugget of history gold nestled beside the Martin County Water Authority. The museum is open Saturdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m., though it can also open during the week by appointment.

On this particular Saturday, Karl Lehtola, an Army veteran of the Vietnam War, greets visitors with a smile and stands ready to share his sizable store of military history knowledge. Even the museum’s building is a piece of history, he says. “This building comes from Camp Murphy, which is now Jonathan Dickinson State Park,” located between Hobe Sound

See MUSEUM page 6


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