HOT SPRINGS -- Nearly a month to the day after organizing at a Dec. 21 meeting, the separate committees that make up the Save the VA Campaign shared information with the public and each other Friday night at the Mueller Civic Center.
Pat Russell, one of the organizers of the group, said the Friday meeting was to outline steps that should be taken to “return our Hot Springs VA to what it was 20 years ago.”
The informational meeting took on the manner of a pep rally of sorts, as the different committee chairs, or spokespersons shared each group’s vision and goal for the next few weeks. Some new information was shared with those in attendance, while other committees are still in the early stages of their work.
Barb Fetters, who chairs the committee on how the VA’s proposal would affect Fall River Hospital, shared some revealing information that her committee had put together in a short time.
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Fetters said members of her group had spoken to people associated with seven VAs that were scheduled for closure, as is proposed for Hot Springs.
Fetters said that of the seven VAs scheduled for contraction, the four that ultimately stayed open worked at it.
“They made a loud and joyful noise,” Fetters said. “They fought the action through many different means including letters, phone calls and picket signs.”
She added that the other three facilities, which closed, did not do much to counter the proposal presented.
“In most cases, what we found as well is that what the VA promised in the form of care was not what was delivered,” she said. “Many veterans said that they were made to feel like second-class citizens.”
Historic Preservation committee chair Amanda Campbell said that several of the members of the committee had met with state historical officials, to find out where to go for assistance and which organizations can help the Hot Springs effort.
“We want to keep this as the healing place that it has been for the past 100 years,” Campbell said. She also revealed that the National Trust for Historic Preservation had nominated the VA campus for National Treasure status, which would accompany its National Historic Landmark designation.
“This is coming from them,” Campbell said. “It means a lot when the organization chooses you.”
Veteran and organizer Don Ackerman closed the meeting by announcing that on Saturday, Feb. 25, a peaceful march is planned, from the Hot Springs American Legion to the VA campus, to deliver the Save the VA Campaign’s “list of demands.”
“We are closing in on them,” Ackerman said, “like they have never been closed in on before.”