Letter to the Editor:
I am a 77-year-old Navy Veteran and have lived in the Grant/Luna County area since 1980. I have worked at both the Chino and Tyrone Mines, Grant Co. Sheriff’s Department as well as the Southwest NM Council of Governments. I used my G.I. Bill benefits to earn a BS degree from W.N.M.U. in 1986.
I am currently the Southwest NM Advocate for the NM Fisher House. (Fisher Houses are like McDonald Houses, only for Military Veterans and their families.)
The long-awaited groundbreaking for the NM Fisher House will take place on November 9 at the VA Medical Facility in Albuquerque, NM. The NM Fisher House will be a 16-unit facility available to Veterans and their families who live outside a 50-mile area of the VA Hospital.
The reason I am writing this letter is to acknowledge a person who was instrumental in the NM Fisher House becoming a reality. She is our District #38 NM House of Representatives, Rebecca Dow. She has been a tireless advocate for the creation of this facility and without her continued support, I fear we would still be in the planning stages.
Representative Dow not only enabled me to address an Economic Development Committee meeting at the Spaceport, where I presented information relating to the NM Fisher House, she continued to work with her constituents in Santa Fe, working with NM Fisher House individuals and keeping everyone aware of the program’s status.
Rebecca Dow’s efforts during this period only exemplifies her overall dedication to our Nation’s Veterans, their families and their welfare. Her boundless energy and tenacity are infectious. She is ever supportive of Veterans, whether it be helping with Bingo at the Ft. Bayard Medical Center, Veterans Day and Memorial Day Services at the Ft. Bayard National Cemetery, carrying the flag during the 4th of July Parade in Silver City or helping at the Veterans Home in TorC.
Representative Dow continues to carry the torch of patriotism and freedom as did her predecessor, Representative Diane Hamilton.
John P. Sterle
Silver City, NM