Representives from the community and Veterans Administration participate in ground breaking Friday for a 40-bed drug abuse treatment facility at the local VA Medical Center. (HERALD photo/Steve Reagan)

By STEVE REAGAN     
Staff Writer
Five years after the Big Spring VA Medical Center was in danger of closure, officials celebrated ground-breaking on a facility that will expand the hospital's services.

A crowd of about 100 people gathered at the north end of the VA grounds Friday morning to mark ground-breaking on a 40-bed in-patient facility that will provide treatment and other services to veterans suffering from drug addiction.

Construction on the 40-bed, 24,000 square-foot building is expected to begin immediately, with completion estimated for December 2010. It will replace a 12-bed temporary unit that was opened in December 2008.

“This building will represent commitment, it will represent caring, it will represent kindness, it will represent responsibility and it will represent repaying the debt we owe to veterans,” said Ken Eigen, project engineer for the VA southwest regional office. “What we are doing here means so much more than just putting up a building; building this will have an effect on people for years to come.”

Eigen said Friday's ground-breaking culminates more than five years of effort on the part of officials to bring the facility to fruition.

“There were a lot of people along that path who helped make this a reality,” he said. “This project is not only a blessing for Big Spring; it is also a blessing for veterans we haven't been able to reach before.”

For local officials such as Big Spring Mayor Russ McEwen, who fought long and hard to keep the VAMC open after federal officials first announced intentions to close it in 2005, Friday's ceremony represented a vindication of their efforts.

“You work very diligently to tell your story and you hope it falls on ears that will listen to you,” said McEwen, recalling the countless meetings local leaders had with federal officials in their fight to keep the Big Spring VAMC open. “Fortunately, it happened.”

VAMC Director Daniel Marsh said the construction project will employ up to 70 people and the facility will provide between 10 and 15 jobs once completed, but McEwen said its impact will go beyond that.

“It means the same thing we said five years ago — that we will take care of veterans in West Texas in a very meaningful way,” he said.

Contact Staff Writer Steve Reagan at 263-7331 ext. 234 or by e-mail at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it