Veteran 7 10 2014

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VOL. 2/ISSUE 36

THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014

Frogman frolic Swimmers make their way to the shoreline to begin the Aaron Vaughn Memorial Frogman 5k Swim Saturday, July 28 at Jensen Beach. The event is named in honor of Aaron Vaughn, a Navy SEAL team member that was shot down in August 2011 in Afghanistan. For additional information, visit www.operation300. com.

Mitch Kloorfain chief photographer

Treasure Coast takes early lead in veteran nursing home search Patrick McCallister For Veteran voice

patrick.mccallister@yahoo.com

Tradition has taken an early top spot in the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs’ hunt for a place to put its next veterans nursing home. “St. Lucie (County) had more points than anyone else, followed by Marion County,” Steve Murray, site selection committee member and communications director at the FDVA, said.

The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs is not associated with the federal Department of Veterans Affairs. The state veterans department now operates six nursing homes with 120 beds each, and an assisted living facility with 150. The nursing homes are, by far, the FDVA’s largest function. The 10 site-selection committee members met by conference call on Tuesday, July 1, to discuss their thoughts after visiting nine perspective sites in six counties. Murray said they used score sheets to grade the perspective locations. He was unsure how strong Tradition’s lead was. The committee members are going to mail their score sheets for review. After verifying the perspective sites’ initial placements — “A recommendation will be made to (Mike Prendergast) our executive director of the Florida Department of Veteran Affairs,” Murray said. Prendergast will give the committee’s recommendation to Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Cabinet at an Aug. 19 meeting. The governor and cabinet will decide where the next veterans’ nursing home will be.

“They don’t have to (follow the committee’s recommendation), but I can tell you with the previous seven homes the governor and cabinet have not gone against us,” Murray said in a previous interview. The cabinet is made up of the Attorney General Pam Bondi, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam Putnam, and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Wayne Teegardin, St. Lucie’s veterans services manager, is leading efforts to get the veterans nursing home on the Treasure Coast. “We are absolutely ecstatic,” he said. “We thought we would definitely would be in the top two. We knew who our main competitor would be, and we were right.” Ben Humphries, president of the Vietnam Veterans of America Florida State Council, responded to the announcement that the Treasure Coast is likely to get the next home with two words. “About time,” the Vero Beach resident said. “The population we have in this area —

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Veteran 7 10 2014 by Veteran Voice, LLC - Issuu