PABLO— The Lake County division of the Disable Veterans of America Volunteer Transportation Network debuted a van to call its own last week, adding a 1999 four-door van to the pool that provides free rides to and from Veteran’s Affairs scheduled medical appointments.

Before last week, the local DAV was sharing a van with Missoula County, making almost daily trips to the VA facility at Fort Harrison. Volunteer drivers spend 12-15 hours a day taking veterans to and from their medical appointments, easily wracking up thousands of miles each week.

Those tricky scheduling efforts were led by Lake County coordinator Dan Jackson, who takes the calls from registered veterans and sets the schedules with volunteer drivers. Now Jackson, a Coast Guard veteran, is hoping the schedule will open up and be more flexible, so the more than 2,000 Lake County veterans are better able to take advantage of the service.

It’s “veterans taking care of veterans,” Jackson said.

The DAV recognizes that many disable veterans are on a fixed income, a DAV brochure said. In the first 22 years of service, the Montana DAV alone has driven more than 11 million miles.

The state network currently has around 750 drivers, 48 vans that wracked up 1 million miles last year. There are nine certified drivers working out of Lake County.  At a small ceremony last week, local drivers Rich Jassen and Bert Todd were given official certification by Missoula coordinator Jim Potter.

The van will be parked in Charlo, making trips to Fort Harrison, and Missoula is medical appointments are scheduled there. Anyone wishing to schedule an appointment can call Jackson at 207-1496. They ask for 72 hours notice.

Anyone can volunteer to drive. Volunteers must pass a physical and meet several other requirements to become certified. Anyone wishing to volunteer can call Jackson.

If the program is well utilized, another van could be heading this way in mid-summer, Jackson said. They will also be working with the Bitterroot DAV to cut down on round trips to Fort Harrison.