NEWS

From the County of San Bernardino

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 2, 2000

For more information, contact

County Public Information Officer David Wert

(909) 387-4082

dwert@cao.co.san-bernardino.ca.us

County supports funding for Barstow vets home

At the urging of High Desert Supervisor Kathy Davis, the County of San Bernardino will send a letter and direct its legislative advocates to support a proposal to provide emergency funding to the state veterans home in Barstow.

“Our veterans have done so much for us. The very least we can do is make sure they have a decent place to live,” said Supervisor Davis.

The state Department of Veterans Affairs has asked the Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee to allocate $1.8 million to keep the 400-bed home solvent. The shortfall was prompted in part by expenses the department incurred to pass a federal inspection in July.

The home passed the inspection and has retained the support of veterans organizations throughout San Bernardino County and the Inland Empire.

Both the Barstow home and the state’s other veterans home in Yountville in the Napa Valley have struggled with cost-cutting measures stemming from state budget allocations. The state Department of Veterans Affairs is seeking a larger allocation in next year’s state budget.

“We’re going to work hard in Sacramento to make sure our veterans in the High Desert are taken care of,” Supervisor Davis said. “In this booming economy it makes no sense to withhold funding from the people who fought to protect our prosperity.”

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