Sometimes I am no different than anybody else and I get something stuck in my craw and I want to just bitch and complain. But then, shortly afterwards, I remember that I am a grownup, that bitching never accomplishes what I want it to do, and there are certainly more productive things to do with my time. Such was the case this week as I watched people of all political stripes go bonkers over sports figures exercising their constitutional right to protest. Whether you believe the National Anthem is to be revered or not, damned few people wanted to listen to the other side’s explanation. Nope, it is too easy nowadays to just pick a side and embrace the polarized morass that our country has become.
Instead of becoming all indignant and digging through your closet for an outfit that is red, white and blue, perhaps we should pull together and do something that might actually demonstrate that we care about our country. Why don’t we do something that not only would show everyone that we care about our nation, but those who serve to protect it as well? I have had a notion which has met with underwhelming attention for nearly ten years, but it might just be that now is the time to trot it out there again and see if there is any interest.
I propose that Elbert County remake its image and become the most Veteran-friendly county in this state. Instead of complaining that we do not show the respect to those who have fought for our freedom, we open our doors to United States Veterans who have been disabled in sacrifice to their country.
Everybody knows that the VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System and Hospital is located in Aurora. http://www.denver.va.gov/ It is there to provide medical care to those who have served our country while in uniform. Despite its own rocky start with inadequate funding, the complex is now getting on its feet and helping Veterans from all over the western regions of our country. As a result, we have many families that have relocated to Colorado to be closer to this state-o-the- art medical facility. What I am asking our BOCC to consider as one of its goals is to encourage veterans' based businesses to locate within Elbert County.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) has made provisions to assist disabled veterans to start up businesses based on the the Veterans Benefits Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-183). This was an act passed by Congress. It set up a procurement program for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concerns (SDVOSBC). From the SBA site:
"This procurement program provides that federal contracting officers may restrict competition to SDVOSBCs and award a sole source or set-aside contract where certain criteria are met.
The Small Business Administration has issued an interim final rule, establishing a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Program. This program establishes the criteria to be used in federal contracting to determine service-disabled veteran status; business ownership and control requirements; guidelines for establishing sole source and set-aside procurement opportunities; and protest and appeal procedures for SDVOSBC procurements.”
So we have the Vets, we are located conveniently near a major VA Hospital complex, and our general populace wants to honor the commitment of these great Americans. What they need to complete this scenario is a place to go to work. Small towns like Simla, Elizabeth, Elbert and Kiowa are great locations for these kinds of businesses. Without much modification to existing infrastructure, a small business that does injection molding or cleanroom assembly of electronic or medical devices is very doable. We are talking about businesses that may employ five or six people, some who may be disabled, but others who are not.
Let me give you an example of which I am very familiar. A few years ago, a couple of friends of ours joined my wife and I in a small business endeavor. We purchased an old building in the town of Elbert. It served many purposes over the years, but most notably was the Elsner Building where that family sold tractor and farm supplies. We restored the building. We replaced the old wiring and brought the building up to a standard where it could have been modified into a small manufacturing business. There is three phase power in the town of Elbert. To those who may be unaware, that is a real bonus in manufacturing. The zoning was such that we could have put in an injection molding business, a furniture making shop, etc. Sadly, as is sometimes the case, the partnership dissolved before any plans came to fruition.
That said, I did explore the possibility of a veteran based business in that building. I began floating my idea of making the town of Elbert a veteran friendly town. I talked to locals who seemed interested in the idea and offered to help any family of a veteran move into the community and even go so far as to help convert one of the old houses in the town into an ADA compliant home for the new community member. I talked a bit to a couple of teachers from the school at the time and asked them what they thought the impact might be on the youth of Elbert if their little town opened its doors to someone who had made the kind of sacrifice that a disabled vet might have made but it left them with special needs. To a person, they all thought it was a good idea.
Unfortunately, none of this would or ever will be possible unless the BOCC, the county planner, the zoning officials and grant writers for the county are all on board with this. You see, we do not have a lot of extra cash on hand over at the government offices in Kiowa. We spend too much money (in my opinion) on frivolous litigation, designed to improve our tarnished reputation in the state. Nothing, I repeat, nothing, could repair the reputation with the State of Colorado than a public policy that states, "Elbert County wants veteran based businesses to locate in our county and we are willing to bend over backward to make that happen because we owe them something for their service."
It not only be a boon to those who served. It would not only show our children that this is a worthy endeavor. It would be something we could all agree upon. It would bring others here who might provide services to the veteran community such as physical therapists, ambulance cabs, etc. to help them lead normal lives. It is of course much more involved than this. But if we pulled this off, Elbert County could provide a model for other counties that have this sort of community spirit.
Imagine Elbert County being a leader for other counties and doing such good work. Honestly, doesn’t this make more sense than screaming at your television set when you see an athlete taking a knee during the National Anthem? This is replacing anger with meaningful action and cooperation.
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