Volunteers seek support for Warren Haven at county fair

With stacks of papers and more than 1,000 signatures, Coalition to Save Warren Haven members are canvassing the Warren County Farmers' Fair this week.

Hoping to use the fair to get the most signatures in the shortest amount of time, Coalition President Cheryl Van Gieson of Independence said that after paying the tent and insurance fee to have a table the fair, their group has been there 12 hours each day, seeing what she calls an "overwhelmingly positive" response.

"I would say that 99 percent of the people we approach not only sign, but express anger, frustration, anxiety and puzzlement about the whole process of what's going on with Warren Haven," she said, adding that many have had loved ones stay at Warren Haven throughout the years.

After an advisory committee appointed by county Freeholders determined that Warren Haven should be sold if certain concessions could not be made to offset a deficit in excess of $2 million, county officials then began what Freeholder Ed Smith calls "parallel paths" of exploring the sale of the facility or finding a way to cut costs and save it.

Most recently, negotiations have stopped between the union representing Warren Haven employees and Freeholders after proposed cuts and changes to benefits were turned down by the county's labor attorney via email.

"We cannot understand why the very thing the Freeholders said would save Warren Haven was dismissed," Van Gieson said. "Ed Smith said if we got the givebacks they would stop the sale. ... Did they really want it? Everyone you talk to is completely baffled now by that."

At the fair, the group is focusing on the positive response, hoping that with enough signatures it can impact a potential sale.

"The freeholders can't ignore it, and if they do ignore it they're sending a message to the people that 'you don't have a voice,' and the last time I checked this was a democracy and we do have a voice and they must listen. If they don't it's at their own peril; there's an election in November," she said.

In addition to educating the public and sharing stories of Warren Haven, the coalition is also taking donations to assist the family of a three-year resident of Warren Haven who suffered from severe cerebral palsy and passed away this week.

Donations of $5 will directly benefit the family, and will enter participants to win two hot-air balloon ride tickets.

Noting that volunteers have a busy week ahead of them working many other local events to gain support, Van Gieson offered a history lesson.

"In 1949, post-war Warren County, residents were asked in a non-binding referendum 'Do you support funding Warren Haven?' and even though it was basically the depression, people supported it. We're only asking for that same right to save that nursing home," she said.

The next Warren County Freeholders meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 13.

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