Montrose Veterans Get New Recreational Bus

"It was a long fight." 

Those were the words from Bill Mahan, a member of the Board of Visitors at the Montrose VA, as he stood before a group of veterans at a gathering Wednesday afternoon for the unveiling of a new recreational bus. 

"We needed a bus that we could depend on. We had one but it was breaking down," he said, recalling a hot day in August when the lift would not work—about 80 percent of the veterans living at Montrose are wheelchair-bound—and the bus was broken down for about 30 minutes.

Another issue with the one bus was that it was reserved for medical appointments above all else. Emergencies would sometimes lead to a cancellation of planned events, which include outings at West Point and the Weschester Theater, and Yankees games, too. 

The new bus costs $60,000. About $34,000 from the Donation Account was earmarked for the purchase, Mahan said. He turned to State Sen. Greg Ball (R, C, I — Patterson) for help finding more funding.

Ball put Mahan in touch with Stamford, CT resident Michael Warshaw. In memory of his friend Capt. Eric A. Jones, Warshaw established Heroes in Transition, a not-for-profit dedicated to helping those who served our country and have special needs. Warshaw was able to come up with the rest of the money.

"He was our savior, working with Sen. ball, and he's also our hero," Mahan said before the ribbon-cutting ceremony. "This gentleman is a true patriot."

Ball thanked Warshaw from "the bottom of his heart," and said the organization is "doing God's work for our veterans" in a time when resources are limited.

"I appreciate the kind words, though I don't look at myself as a hero," Warshaw said. "I'm in a room full of true heroes. The way we view it, it's just our duty to give back to you guys who have given so much for us, and the fact that you're underserved and most of these programs are underfunded, we just have a real problem with that."

The new bus is handicap accessible. There's room for five wheelchair passengers and four ambulatory passengers, or eight ambulatory passengers and three wheelchair passengers.