Community volunteers honored at town hall

by Ignacio “Iggy” Rubalcava
U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder Public Affairs

The open forum at the Baumholder Community Town Hall Feb. 26 saw only a few concerns or issues raised — a break from tradition at this normally lively event.

The town hall was streamed live on Facebook, and viewers posted questions such as, “What’s the word on more troops coming?” “Any word on special forces?” “Would it be possible to install a speed bump by Bldg. 8017?”

Those in the audience also asked about getting a dog park at Smith Barracks, how the consolidation of command at the clinic will impact Baumholder, and why the pedestrian gate does not work and how it can be fixed. For the answers to these questions, visit the Baumholder Facebook page at USAG Baumholder.

Baumholder’s Community Town Hall is more than an open forum between Lt. Col. Mike Sullivan, U.S. Army Garrison Baumholder commander, and the community. Sullivan takes this opportunity to recognize those who make Baumholder a better place to live, work and play, and at this town hall, Sullivan and the garrison staff honored more than 30 individuals for their contributions to the community.

The recent creation of the Java Cafe Family Lounge, where Java Cafe customers can relax over a cup of coffee while their children enjoy numerous recreational activities, is one of these community projects deserving of recognition. Sullivan recognized the following individuals for volunteering to create the lounge: Alyssa Aledia, Debbi Burgett,
Amy Danzeiser, Cristle Ibanez, Jennifer Jusino, Kristi Kennel, Mikayla Kennel, Kathleen Lee, Kris Martinez, Taylor Moore, Gavino Schreiber, Christine Smith, Karin Steffen, Maddie Stevenson and Sylvia Valdez

Members of the Baumholder Bears community basketball team, winners of the Stuttgart Tournament of Champions Feb. 14 to 17, were also on the agenda for recognition.

The 15 players recognized were: Darreus Kemp, Kenneth Stewart, Warren Guidry, Ladavain Sanders, Jamal Johnson, Robert Jacques, Justin Jordan, Terrence Mathis, Woody Calloway, Justin Hollins, Ghe-Hori Echols, Justin First, Tracy Murray, Shawn Boyd and Thomas Hughes. Leading the team to victory was head coach Theodus Green.

Anais Mendietia, who does volunteer work at Army Community Service, was next up to be recognized for her contributions to the community.

Baumholder’s community chaplain, Lt. Col. Kevin Leideritz, then called Sgt. Wes Tucker, Ayla Tucker, Raeni Russell and Elijah Kimbrough to the stage and recognized them for their volunteer work with the community’s religious services program.

The medical clinic, Family and MWR, veterinarian, schools and commissary each provided updates before Sullivan outlined a “three months out” calendar of events and activities for Baumholder.

Harald Weber from the Directorate of Public Works detailed six ongoing and upcoming renovation projects that reflect an extensive makeover of Baumholder’s infrastructure. Voltage feeder cables, solar panels, waterlines and street repairs are some of the projects lined up to improve Baumholder from the ground up.

The next town hall is scheduled for May 8. It will be Sullivan’s last one before relinquishing command of the garrison
May 22, when USAG Baumholder will cease to exist and start falling under U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz, headquartered in Kaiserslautern.