About 15 volunteers are still needed to take local veterans to Shreveport, La.'s Overton Brooks VA Medical Center.
Greg Beck, president of Texarkana's VVA Chapter No. 278, said during the chapter's regular monthly meeting Sunday that the Texarkana Area Veterans Council, of which he is president, is looking for at least 15 drivers.
Earlier this month, the Veterans Council learned that there's now only one van driver delivering local veterans to Shreveport for medical visits. At least five trips a week, both to and from Shreveport, are now being conducted by that one driver.
Besides needing drivers for the Shreveport trips, van drivers are also needed to deliver local veterans to the Texarkana Community Based Outpatient Clinic at 910 Realtor Ave. Anyone interested in being a volunteer van driver can pick up and fill out an application at the clinic.
Beck said anyone interested in volunteering only needs a driver's license and proof of insurance. He added that they would also need to undergo a physical, which is offered free of charge, along with a drug test at the medical center.
Apart from the need for more van drivers, Beck told VVA members that the Veterans Council will still be holding its 20th annual chili cook-off fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 15 at Texarkana College's Truman Arnold Student Center. All proceeds will go toward buying new veteran transport vans.
Tickets to the cook-off will be sold on site for $6 each and will allow the purchasers to sample each chili entry and be eligible for a post-cook-off drawing for door prizes.
Beck also said the clinic will host the next Veterans Town Hall meeting starting 6 p.m. Jan. 19.
In other business, VVA member Don Ruggles delivered a federal legislative update regarding a deal to provide Department of Veterans Affairs benefits to veterans who served off the coast during the Vietnam War.
Ruggles said the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, which would extend health care to "Blue Water " Navy veterans exposed to Agent Orange, recently failed to pass in the U.S. Senate. Local VVA members believe there will be another chance to get it approved next year.