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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News AP Entertainment Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Holiday Guide Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend January 11, 2007 VA dom will hold a ground-breaking ceremony for new residential building By paul fattig Mail Tribune WHITE CITY — Ground breaking for a new 64-bed building at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' Southern Oregon Rehabilitation Center and Clinics is set for Friday. The public is invited to the short ceremony, which begins at 11:30 a.m. near the Building 240 parking lot across from the driving range. The building is the newest construction at the former domiciliary since a 30-bed infirmary was built in 1995. It will provide residential care for rehabilitating veterans. Guest speakers during the informal ceremony will include A.J. Allen, representing the VA regional office in Vancouver, Wash.; Dr. Max McIntosh, SORCC director; Dr. Andy Mebane, SORCC chief of staff; and John Howard, representing U.S. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Hood River. Advertisement Construction of the one-story building is the first phase of a plan to enhance veterans services at the facility, explained SORCC spokeswoman Anna Diehl. Aside from the infirmary, no major building construction has occurred at the facility since World War II, she said. The work is part of a project announced by Veterans Affairs Secretary James Nicholson during a visit to SORCC last summer. The agency will earmark some $4 million for the first building phase, he said at the time. Two red brick structures built as part of a military hospital during the war were razed in August as part of the three-phase program to upgrade SORCC. Buildings 215 and 216, each covering roughly 36,000 square feet total, were part of the 24th Army Hospital. When the program is completed in two to three years, two more of the old military hospital buildings will have been razed and replaced with residential care buildings. SORCC will have the ability to house 600 residents when the work is completed, officials said. The center currently has about 400 resident patients with about 12,000 outpatients. The patient load is growing steadily, officials observed. A seismic study of some of the old buildings, including buildings 215 and 216, has shown they were not strong enough to withstand an earthquake. They were also deemed inefficient, with the cost of upgrading them too high. The facility occupied by the SORCC was once the Army's Camp White. Building began on Dec. 12, 1941, five days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Roughly a quarter of a million soldiers were trained at Camp White during the war. Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] . Would you like to respond to this story? If so Click Here to visit our forums. Advertisement Copyright © 1997-2007 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback online casinos news Home Security Systems Online Casino Reviews Men's Clothing Fundraisers UK Homeowner Loans Discount Hotel Reservations Send Flowers Casinos Canada Texas Electric Choice Compare Electric rates in Texas Windermere Van Vleet Trunks, Footlocker Online poker at AbsolutePoker.com