Donald Stratton, one of five survivors of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, receives honors alongside 17 other local veterans being presented hand-made quilts from Colorado Quilts of Valor, Monday, Jan. 21 in the Mt. Carmel Chapel at 10 a.m. The ceremony is open to the public. 

Veterans are nominated by-name for the honor to receive intricate quilts made specifically for them. The quilts often have patriotic themes and typically represent 40 to 60 hours of needlecraft. 

Quilts of Valor presentation ceremonies highlight the service of each veteran and thank each for their contribution to national security. Previous honorees have compared the ceremony's impact to that of a flag presentation.

Local quilter Mandi Elder, UCCS Associate Professor of Athletic Training, has quilted for more than 38 years. She made her first Quilt of Valor for her uncle, a Vietnam Veteran.

“His choked-up, heartfelt response showed me just how meaningful a quilt can be,” said Mandi. “Coming from a younger generation, I didn't really grasp what the Vietnam war really did to those who fought there. After feeling the gratitude for what I thought was a simple gesture of thanks, I decided making more Quilts of Valor was something that I wanted to continue to do. If I can use some of my time to touch someone so deeply, I simply can't turn away from that opportunity.”

Veterans at Monday’s ceremony served in multiple eras, from Vietnam to Post-9/11, and represent all branches of service. Quilts of Valor Foundation has awarded over 182,000 quilts made by more than 10,000 quilters nationwide. Learn more: qovf.org

Photo Captions

Quilt Team: Audrey Thiesen, Colorado Quilts of Valor State Coordinator, and Liz Foster, Mt. Carmel Quilters President, display a quilt ahead of a previous presentation to a local Veteran.

Quilt Close Up: Most local quilts have a patriotic theme; all are prepared for a specific Veteran.

Quilt Presentation: Vietnam Veteran David Grindstaff is brought to tears during presentation of his quilt in July at Mt. Carmel.

Villa Bella Groundbreaking Ceremony

1/21/2019

After months of preparation, Pueblo’s Villa Bella Expeditionary, elementary school will officially break ground January 21st, 2019 at 10:30AM, 2390 Rawlings Blvd. Pueblo, CO 81001.

The ceremony will include brief statements by Scott Robertshaw (VBE Board President), Logan Gogarty (Founder and Director), Ed Smith (Superintendent for Pueblo School District 70), and Timothy Mottet (President for Colorado State University – Pueblo). They will be followed by a ceremonial groundbreaking. 

Villa Bella would like to thank the founding families, Pueblo School District 70, and CSU-Pueblo for all of the encouragement and support in making the school a reality. 

Being the first Expeditionary K-5 charter school in Pueblo, CO, Villa Bella will introduce a teaching model emphasizing more doing and less lecture. This formula will increase hands on experiences for children and allow them to integrate multiple traditional subjects simultaneously. The student’s curiosity is used to motivate and guide them as they explore challenging questions through personal research and exploration. 

Villa Bella will be located next to CSU-Pueblo and will cultivate a strong relationship with the university that is mutually beneficial. Villa Bella students will have the opportunity to use CSU-Pueblo resources, while CSU-Pueblo students will get professional development and experience through internships and field experience at Villa Bella. This synergistic relationship will help install a college centric culture into the minds of every Villa Bella student. 

Villa Bella encourages you to attend this celebration. After the reception, there will be a fundraiser for Villa Bella at Thunderzone Taphouse & Pizza along with Lobos Tacos between 11:00AM to Noon. 10% of all purchases from these locations during that time will be donated to Villa Bella Expeditionary. We look forward to your attendance.

For more information on VBE please visit www.villabellaschool.org

Pueblo Cooperative Care Center has been receiving calls and getting questions from Federal workers and their family members, Federal contractors and vendors wondering how they will get through the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. We know that when people miss paychecks the food that they can purchase is greatly affected. Pueblo Cooperative Care Center, along with our network of partner agencies and programs across Pueblo County are striving to respond to these needs.

Pueblo Cooperative Care Center exists to provide services during times like these and we firmly believe that individuals and families do not need to suffer in silence.  We serve as southern Colorado’s largest emergency food and crisis center and we recognize that while Federal employees, contractors and vendors are not being paid, the impact in our own communities is substantially greater.

In the first two weeks of 2019 alone, Pueblo Cooperative Care Center has experienced an exponential increase in the number of clients served. Considering that we serve over 36,000 people each year, listed below are the facts of what we are undergoing:

• We are up 28% in the number of households served,
• We are up 28% in the number of individuals served,
• We are up 35% in the number of new clients enrolled into services, and
• We are up over 80% in the number of homeless served.

We have concerns about keeping our shelves stocked should the Federal government shutdown continue, and we are preparing now to brace for the potential future impact. While Pueblo Cooperative Care Center is in a good position to meet the current increase in food requests, we are witnessing greater numbers of senior citizens, veterans and low-income individuals and families being affected who are a part of the SNAP or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps). We have walk-in clients every day and we fully expect to see more clients coming through our doors as each day passes.

Every food donation helps, and we need your support now!  Given the large number of government workers, contractors and vendors situated in Pueblo County, we expect this situation to worsen before it gets better.  Colorado and local agencies are warning SNAP recipients to carefully budget their grocery purchases because of the government shutdown, and unless the shutdown is resolved swiftly, food benefits for March just might not be available to the people who need help the most. Just like countless agencies and organizations all across the nation, we are waiting for Federal, state and local guidance as each day passes. We will keep the Pueblo County community informed as we are best able to do.

Pueblo Cooperative Care Center will accept food donations at our facility located at 326 W. 8th Street in downtown Pueblo, Monday’s through Friday’s from 7:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.  For larger quantity food donations (over 500 pounds) we will schedule a driver for food items to be picked up. If you need additional information on donating to our organization, or if you need food assistance please refer to our website at www.cooperativecare.org or call (719) 543-7484.

Corry Higbee, Executive Director

Pueblo Cooperative Care Center

The Justice Department is hiring Veterans and transitioning service members for 50 Corrections Officer positions today/Jan 16 at a Mt. Carmel Hiring Event, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The Correctional Officer positions are at the Florence, Colo., Federal Correctional Complex with salary and benefits starting at more than $43,000. 

Job seekers should attend the Mt. Carmel event with a current résumé, DD214, any VA Disability Letters, a government-issued ID, and proof of wartime service, if applicable.

Priority consideration will be given to veterans with disabilities, those with wartime deployment service, and those who have left the service within the last three years. Some veterans may be eligible for an age waiver up to 56. Employment open to honorably discharged veterans (including honorable under general conditions).