Canandaigua AFGE Local 3306
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Hundreds protest plan to close VABy ANNE JOHNSTON/Messenger Post StaffCANANDAIGUA -- "They were there for you. Are you there for them?" That's the question posed in blue paint on the wall of Building 5 at the VA Medical Center. Yesterday, at least, the community responded with a resounding "Yes." Hundreds -- many of them angry, many of them emotional -- attended a regularly scheduled meeting of the Veterans Advisory Committee to express concern over a Department of Veterans Affairs plan to shut down the 70-year-old facility by 2005. Well before the 10 a.m. start time, a steady stream of cars entered the campus from Fort Hill Avenue, many of the owners having to hike from far-away spots in the overflowing parking lots. Despite the stifling heat, the auditorium was standing room only, the crowd spilling over onto the side porch and the entryways as fans whirred and hospital staffers scurried to provide cold cups of water to anyone who needed them. Surveying the cross-section of people in the room, Ontario County Court Judge Craig J. Doran said it was an indication of how many people care. "You've got to believe, for every person here, there's 100 others who couldn't be here but whose hearts are here," he said. A former state assemblyman, Doran said he believes there is no substitute for "old-fashioned popular support." "No matter how cemented a plan seems to be, if the right people involve themselves in the process, the right thing will prevail," he said. On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs unveiled its plan, a national overhaul that would close six other facilities and bring major changes to several others in an attempt to shift services and cut costs. The approximately 16,000 veterans served each year in Canandaigua would have to go to other VAs in Buffalo, Batavia, Bath or Syracuse for care. Many veterans are still reeling from the shock, feeling like their country is betraying them. "This place has saved my life, my marriage, my family," said Vietnam veteran Robert Page. "I thought I was getting someplace, but now it feels like I'm getting thrown back in the gutter." A number of lawmakers -- local, state and federal -- were on hand for Wednesday's event, and all pledged to do what they could for people such as Page. "We are with you, and we're not going to let this facility close -- period," said U.S. Rep. Amo Houghton, R-Corning. The former Marine was met with a roar of applause and a few "Hoo-rahs!" Assemblyman Joe Errigo, R-Conesus, assured the anxious employees and veterans that he and fellow state lawmakers are also in their corner. "We are gaining momentum, and we will be -- all of us -- fighting, and we will win this fight," he said. Don Hoyt of Lima knows about fighting. He served with the Army in Vietnam and was the first member of the public to step up to the microphone. The Purple Heart recipient said his son served in the first Gulf War and he imagines his grandchildren will probably serve in another war someday. "War is not a good thing. It does things to people," he said. According to Hoyt, it made him "the meanest person in the world," and his family paid the price. But five years of outpatient treatment at the Canandaigua VA has been a "life saver," he said. "If it wasn't for here, I don't know what I would have done," he said, adding that he's concerned it won't be there for the young men and women serving now. Originally from Queens, Marine Corps veteran Gladys Stapleton was transferred to Canandaigua from the Albany VA in March 2000, a "hard-core dope fiend." She had nothing, she said, but learned about honor, loyalty to her country, and about a work ethic. Now clean and sober with vocational training under her belt, she works as a certified nursing assistant at the VA -- in addition to holding down a second job -- and is involved with a union there. The 41-year-old also has a house she loves, in Phelps, and a new pickup truck she's thrilled about. "I am now living my wildest dreams because of this VA," said Stapleton, who had tears streaming down her face as she held the microphone and then turned to face the politicians on the stage. "We served our country honorably! You must help us!" she implored. Fellow VA employee Charlene VanWaes, the widow of a veteran, works with Alzheimer's patients in the facility's nursing home and doesn't believe they could handle being uprooted. "If you close this VA, you're giving those gentlemen on my unit a death sentence," she said. Hoyt, Stapleton and VanWaes were just a few of the people who shared their stories yesterday as the meeting stretched out to nearly two hours. Another, veteran and former VA social worker Sue Kaszynski, said that what the bureaucrats need to hear is facts, not emotion. For example, she noted that the Finger Lakes region has a higher veteran population than the Southern Tier, that both Syracuse and Buffalo have insufficient parking for patients and that the Canandaigua VA is just completing an extensive, $4.5 million renovation. A long line of others wanting to speak formed on the side of the room, and there were several still waiting when the event wrapped up around noon. But Ralph Calabrese, a Korean War veteran from Canandaigua who chairs the advisory committee, said the battle is just beginning. He passionately urged everyone in the room to sign petitions, place phone calls, write letters and send e-mails as part of a united front. People are also being urged to travel to Syracuse on Sept. 19 for a meeting of the 15-member Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) commission. The commission, which proposed closing the Canandaigua VA, will make final recommendations to Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi later this year. Today, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D - NY, was to visit the VA to meet with Director W. David Smith, local veterans and hospital staff. According to his office, the senator fired off a letter to Principi this week saying that the economic impact of closing the VA, coupled with the impact on accessible health care for the region's veterans, would be "devastating."
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