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WACO VA HOSPITAL'S CLOSE PROTESTED |
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CRAWFORD — A caravan of about a thousand people — veterans and their supporters — rolled through town Saturday morning as part of a protest against the proposed closing of the Waco Veterans Affairs Hospital. About 60 local residents, many waving flags, turned out at Crawford's main intersection to offer support to the protesters. The caravan, led by hundreds of motorcycle riders, took about 20 minutes to pass. However, the route came no closer than eight miles from President Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch, so it was unlikely the president saw them. The protesters gathered at the Waco School District football stadium parking lot for a rally before driving the 22 miles to Crawford. "A nation that can afford this year to give a $230,000 tax break to someone sitting at home making $1 million in dividend income is one that can afford to take care of its veterans," said U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco. Veterans of Foreign Wars State Commander Ron Hornsby told the stadium crowd that the VA commissioner looking at closing hospitals could harm veterans all across the country, not just in Waco. "We can never repay the veterans — we hear those words a lot," Hornsby said. "At times like this, those words become very hollow, very meaningless." Many protesters carried signs chastising Bush for the proposal to close the Waco hospital. As the caravan rolled through downtown Crawford, resident Gina Plemons cheered it on. Crawford has drawn several protests since Bush established his "Western White House" here, but this was the first such group Plemons said she was glad to see. "It's a good cause," she said. "Crawford is behind them. I'm sure President Bush is, too. The veterans gave us our liberty and our freedom. Just because they are old and need medical care, we can't abandon them." Last year the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services Commission began studying the nation's system of health services for military veterans. The independent commission, often compared with those that recommended military base closures, has recommended seven VA hospitals across the country, including the one in Waco, for closure. The Waco VA hospital has 250 beds, mostly for pyschiatric inpatients, and 17,000 vets used the facility on an outpatient basis last year. It opened in 1932 and has almost 800 employees. If it closes, most of the veterans who go to the Waco hospital instead would be sent to a VA hospital in Temple, about 30 miles away. A final decision on the closures is expected by the end of the year. The White House press office declined comment on the issue Saturday. |
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