Scott Swanson
The construction of Lebanon’s new veterans’ home began Thursday, Sept. 20, with a ground-breaking ceremony attended by a host of local movers and shakers, and veterans.
On a grass field across Highway 20 from Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital and just down the street from College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific – Northwest, some 200 people turned out to kick off the project.
They included state and local legislators and officials, some of whom spoke of the “amazing” process that led to Thursday’s event, and were clearly exultant over the results.
County Commission Chairman Roger Nyquist thanked the people who recognized the opportunity, put together the 400-some-page proposal, and decided on and approved the site.
He and others thanked “the citizens of Linn County, who, in the worst economic time since the Depression, ponied up $10 million, voting 2-1 to approve this,” as Nyquist put it.
“We proved we could raise money,” said fellow Comissioner John Lindsay, noting that “roughly 56,000” people voted in favor of the facility. “Nobody else in the state could raise that kind of money. If not for the citizens of Linn County, there’s no way any of these events could take place.”
The new 154-bed facility will be built on 12 acres adjacent to the Samaritan Health Sciences Campus in Lebanon. The project’s contractor, Lease Crutcher Lewis of Portland, will begin site work by October, which will include the site utilities, temporary roads, parking areas and establishing the building pads.
Funded by federal grants and local matching funds, the facility, to be named Edward C. Allworth Veterans’ Home, is expected to open in late-2014.
Allworth, a captain in the U.S. Army, was a World War I Medal of Honor recipient whose personal heroism just days before the signing of the Armistice in November 1918, led his company across the Meuse River and canal under fire and forced the enemy back, overcoming machine gun nests and capturing 100 prisoners – more than the number of his company. He later taught at Oregon Agricultural College (now Oregon State University), where he was known to students as “The Major,” serving as manager of the Memorial Union for 38 years.
Jim Willis, director of the Oregon Department of Veterans’ Affairs said serving the ever-increasing needs of our veterans, especially our older vets, is a priority we take seriously.
“That is why the new veterans’ home in Lebanon is being constructed. Naming the new home after of one of Oregon’s bravest soldiers from World War I is fitting,” he said. “We want always to honor the brave and courageous service of all veterans by providing them with superior care in the season of life when they most need it. The Edward C. Allworth Veterans’ Home will be a testament of Oregon’s regard for its veterans.”
State Sen. Fred Girod, R-Stayton, who noted that his uncle was a physician in Lebanon “forever and ever,” also credited those who made the veterans’ home happen.
Though he said he was “angry” over the decision to reduce the size of the Lebanon home and locate another in Roseburg, he said he was gratified “to see this go forward and the Legislature didn’t foul it up. I feel really blessed.” Girod credited state Sen. Brian Boquist, R-Dallas, chair of the Veterans Committee, for “straightening this thing out in the Legislature.”
The new home is expected to employ about 200 people, including administrators, medical staff, custodians and bus drivers.
Sweet Home Economic Development Director Brian Hoffman, who was in the audience at the ground-breaking, said the new home will be a plus for Sweet Home.
“Obviously, this is a benefit for our veterans – accessibility for families and veterans in Sweet Home,” he said. “But I definitely believe, from an employment perspective, it will have the same kind of impact that Western Medical University has, where Sweet Home residents will work in that facility.
“When these jobs are created regionally, it gives our residents options for employment, which brings income into our community. But just as importantly, if we move towards being the highly desirable living community we can be, improving our quality of life, we need to realize that when these things are happening in the region, it’s beneficial for Sweet Home.
“It’s not just talk. It’s actually happening.”
Rep. Sherrie Sprenger, R-Scio, told the crowd that building the facility will be only the beginning of the community’s commitment to veterans.
“Next year, when we’re past the groundbreaking and we open the doors, does that mean we’ve done our part? No. That’s when we take our family and we come visit. The Sprenger family is going to step up to the plate. I don’t know what we’re going to do. I might be cleaning toilets.”
Willis said that personal attention will be key for the elderly veterans, some of whom, he said, will be far from family.
“I can’t tell you how much visiting the home means to veterans,” he said.
“But,” he added, “do not play Texas Hold ’Em with veterans who have been playing for 65 years. You may be just playing for cookies but you won’t have any cookies.”