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FROM PAGE ONE


The Sun /Sunday, June 8, 2014


CLEANUP
FROM PAGE 1

before moving to the
area from Tampa, has
been cleaning up the
Peace River with her
fellow Parrot Heads.
The same goes for
Gloria and Flip Bailey
of Deep Creek.
 "We've been cleaning
beaches and rivers for
10 years," Flip said,
with Gloria adding the
raison d'Otre: "Leave
the world a better
place than you found
it."
 Starting off from
the Nav-A-Gator off
County Road 769
(Kings Highway), Jeff
Harkey captained
the pontoon boat,


scouring the shoreline
for debris. While those
with their own canoes
and kayaks were free
to explore the shallow
depths of the many
offshoot waterways,
the pontoon stayed
the course on the main
channel.
 Passing scenes of
wildlife and other
points of interest, such
as a half-sunken ship-
wreck Harkey called
the "The Ghost Ship
of Deep Creek," the
crew soon came upon
a variety of invasive
man-made materials,
including the No. 1
offender -discarded
beer cans and bottles.
 In years past, how-
ever, other items, large
and small, have been
rescued from the river.


 "We found a trampo-
line after (Hurricane)
Charley. We found ev-
erything after Charley,"
said Dede Stuart, who,
along with her husband
Harry, and a handful of
like-minded nautical
travelers, founded the
Navigator Boat Club in
2000.
 Ever since, the boat
club has participated
in the Peace River
Cleanup and, begin-
ning at 9 a.m. today,
planned to take the
lead in the two-day
river revival.
 Other volunteers
offered their own sto-
ries of treasures lost,
then found, reclaiming
everything from refrig-
erators to bowling balls
to toilets, as well as
parts of picnic tables


and metal sheds. But
their work has paid off.
 "It has gotten a lot
better," Stuart said.
"People are becoming
more educated and
informed about keep-
ing the river cleaner.
People are more
in-tuned to taking the
trash with you."
 The Nav-A-Gator's
Bethyl Thiemt supports
the preservation of
the Peace River, where
the restaurant, and its
patrons, enjoy a front-
row seat to its natural
wonders.
 "We want to keep
the environment
clean and the river
pristine," Thiemt said,
"so it is enjoyable for
everybody for years to
come."
 Email: groberts@sun-herald.com


Flip Bailey of Deep Creek hooks onto a plastic water jug during
Saturday's Peace River Cleanup, which continues from 9 a.m. to
2 p.m. today at the Nav-A-Gator.


Gloria Bailey goes all in to pick up trash during the cleanup.


SUN PHOTOS BY GARY ROBERTS


Nav-A-Gator owner Dennis Kirk not only sponsored the 20th
Annual Peace River Cleanup, but also participated in the week- Bill "Coach" Gurnick of Port Charlotte snares an empty chip bag
end's event in his airboat. along the river.


"Crazy Bob" Brandt of the Charlotte Harbor Parrot Head Club
pulls in a large catch during the Peace River Cleanup Saturday,
sponsored by the Nav-A-Gator Grill & Marina.


WAIT
FROM PAGE 1

resulted in the resigna-
tion of Veterans Affairs
secretary Eric Shinseki
on May 30. The scandal
also prompted U.S.
lawmakers to push for
emergency legislation to
deal with veterans facing
long waits for appoint-
ments and to make it
easier to fire administra-
tors who covered up the
delays.
 The Florida Agency
for Health Care
Administration also filed
suit against the VA in
order to gain access to VA
hospitals in Florida.
 Doctors at Bay Pines
scheduled Conetta for
a bone scan on Aug. 8,
2008. However, by that
time he had already had
the surgery to remove
his prostate, going to a
civilian hospital in Miami
because he believed he
could not wait for the
procedure.
 Conetta asked the VA
to reimburse him for the
$12,500 he paid for the
procedure. He has not
yet received any type of
reimbursement, he said.
 Conetta said the issue
wasn't about money, be-
cause he had the means


"... the world only hears the bad
stuff, and there's so many good
 things with the VA."

 Kim Lovejoy, retired master sergeant


to pay for the operation.
But he pointed out that
many veterans do not.
 "What about them?"
he asked.
 The Punta Gorda
veteran's problems with
the VA system date back
several years. In the early
1990s, Conetta found
out about a new type of
prosthetic leg.
 Conetta already has
a prosthetic leg, but
the new type would
allow him to walk with
less pain, he said. He
obtained the new leg,
but was informed the VA
would not reimburse him
because it was from an
outside vendor.
 In May of 1993,
Conetta wrote a letter
to then-President Bill
Clinton, informing him
of the situation. A few
months later he received
a letter from Clinton
saying that veterans
deserved the best pos-
sible care not the "least
expensive."
 He was then reimbursed
for the leg by the VA.


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 Many veterans
 pleased
 Many veterans, howev-
er, are pleased with the
VA health care system,
said Jason Dangel, public
information officer with
Bay Pines Healthcare
System.
 The Bay Pines VA
Healthcare System
operates the C.W "Bill"
Young VA Medical
Center, a hospital in
St. Petersburg. The
Bay Pines Healthcare
System also operates
clinics in Port Charlotte,
Cape Coral, Bradenton,
Palm Harbor, Sebring,
Sarasota, Naples and St.
Petersburg.
 Calls to the Port
Charlotte and Cape
Coral offices were direct-
ed to the main center in
St. Petersburg.
 Dangel, a veteran
himself who relies on
the VA for health care,
believes the vast major-
ity of veterans around
the nation, and specifi-
cally those served by Bay
Pines, are satisfied with
their service.
 "We're dedicated to
the veterans we serve,"
he said.
 Dangel said he


could not comment on
Conetta's specific issues,
but he added that he
would have someone at
the VA attempt to contact
the local veteran to
discuss his concerns. He
also would not comment
on any litigation by the
Florida Agency for Health
Care Administration.
 He also said the VA
only reimburses for
procedures when it sends
a veteran to an outside
physician approved by
VA officials for a proce-
dure. Dangel compared
Conetta's case to an
individual going outside
of his insurance compa-
ny's network.
 Retired Master Sgt.
Kim Lovejoy, 59, Port
Charlotte, is one of the
veterans who is satisfied
with her health care.
Lovejoy, who is the im-
mediate past president
of the Charlotte County
Veterans Council, has
had no issues at the Port
Charlotte or Cape Coral
clinics.
 "When I have prob-
lems, I'm seen quickly,"
she said. "I have regular
appointments and lab
work a couple of times a
year."
 Watching the news
about the national
scandal makes Lovejoy
sad, she said.
 "Yes, they're uncov-
ering stuff and that's
terrible," she said. "But
the world only hears the
bad stuff, and there's so
many good things with
the VA."


Arthur Falbo


 Arthur Falbo, 66,
Murdock, also has no
complaints about his
health care. The U.S.
Army veteran has had
surgery on his nose
and he goes to the Port
Charlotte Clinic for basic
care.
 "They did a fabulous
job with my surgery at no
charge to me," he said.
 David Rockow, an
assistant veterans service
officer at the Charlotte
County Veterans Services
Division, also believes
local veterans receive
good health care at the
Bay Pines facilities.

Doctor availability
 an issue
 "Most of the com-
plaints I hear is about
the availability of doctors
here in Port Charlotte,"
Rockow said. "The VA
may have to divert the
patients to the Cape
Coral clinic."
 Rockow added that
"90 percent" of the clients
he talks to are satisfied
with the VAs service.
 The Charlotte County
Veterans Services
Division is a county office
that works to connect vet-
erans to services. It is not
under the VAs umbrella.
 Rockow added that
veterans who are having
issues with their health
care should contact his
office so he can help
address the issues.
The Charlotte County


Veterans Services of-
fice can be reached at
941-764-5579.
 Conetta isn't the only
Charlotte County veteran
with complaints about the
VA medical system. Navy
veteran Charles DeBerry,
67, Port Charlotte, has also
had issues.
 DeBerry said that he
has had severe back prob-
lems since last November,
and that he had to go to a
private physician to take
care of the issue.
 "The VA told me they
don't work on backs," he
said.
 The procedure was
paid for by Medicare and
Medicaid, he said.
 DeBerry also had his
teeth pulled at a local
VA clinic. The clinic's
administration told him
it would provide him
with false teeth.
 "And I still don't have
them," he said.
 Richard Panabaker, 69,
Port Charlotte, has had
mixed experiences with
the local VA medical sys-
tem. Overall, he is happy
with his health care, but
he had an issue with one
of his eyes.
 He went to the VA clin-
ic in Cape Coral to have
a doctor look at his eye,
from which he couldn't
see. He said he was told
he needed immediate
care.
 "And then I didn't hear
from them for a week,"
he said.
 The VA doctors referred
Panabaker to a private
care physician because he
needed an eye specialist,
who called him asking if
he wanted to set up an
appointment in a month.
 "I told them what was
going on and they said
get in here immediately,"
Panabaker said.
 Panabaker was treated
with multiple doses
of eye drops and he
regained sight in his eye.
 Email: pfallon@sun-heraldxom