Printer-friendly version
PDF versionOGDEN -- Former Utah Jazz Coach Frank Layden, who is also a U.S. Army veteran, will be the keynote speaker at Thursday's dedication of the George E. Wahlen Veterans Nursing Home.
The 120-bed home was built after years of lobbying by Utah veterans, including the late George E. Wahlen, who until he died in June, was Utah's only living recipient of the Medal of Honor. This home is the second in Utah. The other is an 80-bed home in Salt Lake City.
The dedication will begin at 11 a.m. at 1102 N. 1200 West. Terry Schow, director of the Utah Department of Veterans Affairs, said the ribbon will be cut by Wahlen's wife, Melba Wahlen, but he also has a group of World War II, Korean and Vietnam War veterans, plus soldiers from the current conflicts, who will take part.
The 120-bed home was built with funds provided by the Utah Legislature in anticipation of federal reimbursement. Veterans said Veterans Administration funding was going to take as long as seven years to get to Utah.
Three years ago, when Utah was running substantial surpluses, they asked the Legislature to front the full $20 million and wait for the federal match. In 2008, it did.
Schow said patients won't be in the home until January at the earliest. Construction, which began last November, is "substantially complete," he said, but furnishings still need to be installed, there are federal inspections to pass and the staff needs to be hired.
democrats got the ball rolling
I think that this project was not happening until Rep. Neil Hansen
brought this up in a committee hearing on 20th of June in 2007 listen
to this recording at the web site below. You can here him and this all started because a democrat knew how to
get it down.
Thanks Rep. Hansen, that is why you are such a great Represtative.
http://www.le.utah.gov/asp/interim/Commit.asp?Year=2007&Com=INTGOC
By the way it was the republicans that were in charge in all of the
government, that is for the feds and state. So why do we keep electing
these boozoos?