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Thanks to the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), Warren County has a new vehicle for transporting vets.

The 2009 Ford Explorer joins a stable of two Ford Freestars and replaces another Freestar.

The vehicles are available to transport veterans who have appointments at Veterans Administration hospitals.

"A lot of the veterans who use this service, if it were not for this service, they would not be able to use the VA," Warren County Veterans Affairs Director Ed Burris said.

In the last 12 months, the three DAV vehicles racked up 64,000 miles, according to Burris. The vans took county veterans to 621 appointments and volunteers spent a total of 2,455 hours on those trips.

The DAV typically buys a new vehicle for the program each year. "Once a van reaches 100,000 (miles) plus, it becomes a liability that we don't need," Chapter 75 Commander Walter Simpson said.

The new van "is replacing one that had well over 100,000 miles on it," Burris said.

Though the local chapter doesn't want to run the vans much past 100,000 miles, the vehicles are capable.

"Because of the care that our vans get and the upkeep, the VA hospitals themselves will continue to operate them for another two or three years," Simpson said.

Next year will be an exception, he said. The DAV doesn't plan to get a new vehicle next year because all of the existing vans still have low mileage.

Still, the goal of having new vans on a regular basis is an ambitious one.

"Warren County is the is the only county in the state that runs three (vans) that they paid for themselves," Simpson said. "It's a year-long project, just to raise funds for it."

In fact, the van project is the beneficiary of all of the DAV's efforts.

"All of our fund-raising efforts go toward supporting our van project," Simpson said.

Those efforts include fishing tournaments, raffles, and other events.

"We are also the most active chapter in the state," he said.

"Though the efforts of the local DAV chapter and a large host of volunteers along with a community that really supports their veterans, we now have three DAV vans and a list of volunteer drivers that makes a lot of areas jealous," Burris said.

"When I first started as director in 2002, we had one DAV van," Burris said. "If it was scheduled for a trip to Erie, we could not help those who needed to go to Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, or the clinic, which at that time was in Smethport."

Simpson said he is pleased with the Freestars and the decision to get an Explorer was not made locally. The national DAV decides the types of vehicles appropriate for transport.

Ford Motor Company gives the DAV a break on vehicle prices, Simpson said.

According to Burris, veterans who wish to take advantage of the DAV vans must be ambulatory. "Our vans are not wheelchair capable," he said.

Patients who need some sort of care, including help getting into and out of the vehicles, may take a caregiver along to the appointments. Volunteers may not physically assist those they are transporting, Burris said.

Sometimes the Freestars and the seven-passenger Explorer will carry only one patient at a time, Burris said. But, "it's not unusual for the van to go with a full load."

"If people are going to call for a ride, they need to give us at least two weeks notice because all of our drivers are volunteers," Burris said.

Those interested in volunteering must fill out forms and undergo a physical and must be available on week days.

"We're always looking for drivers," Burris said.