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RES NO 09-01-2013 CITY OF VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS RESOLUTION NO. I 2013 BE IT ENACTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, FOR THE CITY OF VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS, A RESOLUTION TO BE ENTITLED: A RESOLUTION TO ACCEPT FROM THE RAUSCH- COLEMAN FAMILIES A DONATION OF REAL PROPERTY OF APPROXIMATELY FIFTY -FIVE (55) ACRES IN ANTICIPATION OF USING IT FOR PARK PURPOSES WITHIN THE CITY OF VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS. WHEREAS, the Rausch Coleman families desire to donate to the City of Van Buren in early September 2013 approximately Fifty -five (55) acres of real property adjacent to the Forest Oaks Subdivision provided no unanticipated issues preclude them from the closing of the property and provided they have assurances from the City Council that the City will accept the donation; and WHEREAS, the Rausch Coleman families desire that the only request for the property be that it be used as a park and be named after Mr. Chad and Betty Ann Colley; and WHEREAS, the City is willing to honor such request and intends to use the property for park purposes only; and WHEREAS, the owners have asked to be informed of the City Councils willingness to accept the property prior to the closing and the City desires to accommodate that request subject to the property having a clear title. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF VAN BUREN, ARKANSAS, THAT: SECTION 1: The City Council agrees to accept the donation from the Rausch- Coleman families of approximately 55 acres of real property adjacent to the Forest Oaks Subdivision and the Council expresses gratitude to the families for the donation. SECTION 2: The acceptance of the property is subject to the issuance of an acceptable, clear title for the City. SECTION 3: The City is further willing to name the property the "Mr. Chad and Betty Ann Colley Wilderness Park." SECTION 4: The Mayor and City Clerk shall be authorized to execute any agreements and other documents on behalf of the City to include IRS Form 8283, to effectuate the acceptance, to pay applicable closing costs and upon the request of the donor to make minor adjustments to the provisions derived from this Resolution so long as the essential purposes of the Resolution remain unchanged. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the City of Van Buren, Arkansas, by its City Council, did pass, approve, and adopt, by a vote of for and 0 a:ainst the foregoing Resolution at its regular meeting held on the 16 day of September 2013. —.2■11t.A Robert D Free an Mayor ATTESTED: RO ED A T,1 FORM: Barbie Curtis Candi +nettle City Clerk/Treasurer City Attorney Honorable Bob Freeman Mayor City of Van Buren 1003 Broadway Van Buren, Arkansas 72956 Reference: 55.35 acre Park Van Buren, Arkansas Dear Mayor Freeman, The City of Van Buren has been a partner with us in providing affordable housing to the citizens of Van Buren over the past 50 and for that we are appreciative. The Coleman and Rausch families wish to express their gratitude and thank the city by providing to the City of Van Buren 55.35 acres to be used as a wilderness park. We would also like to use this occasion and contribution to recognize a great patriot and his wife, Mr. Chad and B.A. Colley by naming this park after them. We would request the City of Van Buren provide an appraisal, proper IRS documents, closing cost for the transfer and we will be providing the land debt free to the City. Our goal is for the closing and transfer of the property to be held September 3 2013 at the Western Arkansas Title Company in Van Buren. 0110 Rob Coleman The Coleman Family �C� hn Rausch o h The Rausch Family Dedication for the Chad and Betty Ann Colley Wilderness Park: Ralph C "Chad" Colley, Jr. was born May 13, 1944, to Ralph and Cathy Colley. He was raised in a military family by a father who retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel. Chad spent part of his childhood stationed in Germany and Japan. Deciding to join the military seemed a natural step, but was solidified by an encounter with Medal of Honor recipient Robert B. Nett when Chad was 8. As Mr. Nett graciously put the Medal of Honor around Chad's neck, he spoke of the privilege of being part of the greatest military in the world. After that, Chad knew he was destined to serve in the United States armed forces. Chad graduated from high school in Columbus, Georgia, in 1961 and went on to pursue a B.S. degree at North Georgia College, a military school. He enlisted in the Army in 1966. During his junior year, he met Betty Ann Putnam, a native of Georgia. They were married Oct. 7, 1967. Chad was deployed to Vietnam Thanksgiving Day, 1967, as a first lieutenant and a platoon leader and Ranger in the 101 Airborne Division. Once in Vietnam, Chad was living his goal of military life. Though the conditions were perilous, he was doing a job he felt born to do and took great satisfaction in keeping the men under his command safe. After six months, he was made company commander. On July 21, 1968, while moving his company in position to cordon off an area under fire, Chad was injured by an explosive and lost both legs in the blast. Later his left arm was amputated. Although, his dream of a military career was over, Chad was determined not to live with regret. In a telegram to his bride three days after being injured, he said, "Even though I am banged up pretty bad, but I'm still me. I can convert my loss of limbs into an asset. I have a big challenge to undertake now and I'll need your help, not your sympathy. You too are a strong person and I'm sure this dependence on each other will make us grow closer." In the months and years following his injury, Chad saw the realization of other dreams. He and Betty Ann settled in Barling, Arkansas. Eleven months after his injury, he embarked on a new career as a real estate broker. He became a licensed pilot and owned his own plane. He also became a father. Son Ryan was born in 1971, and his daughter Emily was born in 1973. And later, Chad became an advocate for veterans at a national level. He served as National Commander of the Disabled American Veterans in 1984 -85 which lead to the family relocating to Washington, D. C. while Chad served his term. In 1986, Chad was awarded the distinction of Handicapped Person of the Year by the President's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped. A natural athlete, Chad tried his hand at a new sport snow skiing. At first, this was done in a sled -like contraption, but he developed his own much more efficient ski by fashioning a body mold that would allow him to sit atop a ski instead of on the ground. Chad excelled at skiing to the point that he became a member of the US Disabled Ski Team winning two Olympic Gold Medals at the age of 47 in the Para- Olympic Games in Albertville, France in 1992. Chad continues to use his love of skiing to encourage other disabled veterans to try the sport. The National Disabled Sports Winter ports Clinic celebrated its 27th year in Snowmass, Colorado. Nearly 400 disabled Veterans from across the country gathered for the premier adaptive winter sports instruction for Veterans and active duty servicemen and women with disabilities. This annual activity is a joint collaboration between the Veterans Administration and the Disabled American Veterans. Chad has served as the DAV Chairman of this event for the last twenty -two years. In an interview for the Arkansas Democrat Gazette several years ago, Roxanne Fischetti of the Department of Veteran Affairs said of Chad: "He spends the entire week of the winter festival every year alleviating people's fears. He really cares about trying to help people change their lives. And he's such a tremendous athlete! He's probably one of the best skiers I've ever seen and that includes the ones most people call able- bodied." Chad was awarded the first annual Unsung Heroes Award in 1997. This is given by the Lois Pope LIFE foundation in cooperation with the DAV to honor outstanding accomplishment of disabled veterans. The experience gained from being closely involved with disabled veterans and persons with disabilities, has Chad given opportunities to be of further service to his Country. He received two Presidential Appointments to that end. President Reagan appointed Chad to The President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disability as the Vice Chairman. The PCEPD was the independent federal agency that produced the most sweeping legislation for disabled people known as the Americans with Disability Act. President George W. Bush appointed him the Vice Chairman of The National Council on Disability. This independent federal agency has authority to study any issue of disability in both the Governmental and private sectors. Further NCD advises the President and Executive Branch on such findings and proposes legislation to the Congress. Two Secretary of Veterans Affairs have used Chad's experience specific to veteran's issues to assist him in providing appropriate care. He served eight years on the Veterans Advisory Committee on Employment and Rehabilitation. The latter four years he was the Chairman. As a commissioner of the VA's Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services, or CARES he and his fellow commissioners developed a demographic model which showed, by State Counties, the projections for veteran populations in the near, medium and long term. From these data, the Commission held Public Hearings across the United States to determine the proper Capitol Assets based on the veteran demographics. The end result was a comprehensive report indicating where excess medical facilities existed and where new medical facilities would be required in the out years. This provided the Executive and Legislative Branches a thorough report of where excess VA structures were not needed and areas that would be areas underserved in future years. This study, and subsequent recommendations, was done absent any political considerations whatsoever. Chad remains active in speaking to Assisted Living Facilities and is still a sought after speaker at Patriotic events and churches as well. He team- teaches Bible Studies at his local church. As Private Pilot for 43 years he has owned two airplanes, the last a Complex High Performance Retractable Cessna. He said of his experience, "You've heard people say, any landing you can walk away from is a good one. I held myself to a higher standard. I never made a landing that I couldn't taxi away from!" Betty Ann Putnam Colley was born on December 31, 1945, to Edward and Frances Putnam in Elijah, Georgia. She grew up in the Atlanta area and graduated from St. Pious X in 1963. She continued her education at North Georgia College in the beautiful mountains of Dahlonega, Georgia. There she met Chad and they enjoyed taking picnics and going to the rapids where the Chestity River poured over huge boulders in the woods several miles from the college. They would swim in the freezing water in the early Spring and, also enjoyed hiking and exploring the old mining caves. Betty Ann was pursuing a degree in Physical Therapy, so she attended The University of Florida her junior and senior year and graduated in April 1967. She and Chad were married Oct. 7,1967. Six weeks later, Chad deployed to Vietnam on Thanksgiving day. After spending the holidays in Atlanta with her parents and brother, she went to work at Warm Springs Rehabilitation Center in Warm Springs, Georgia. It was while working at Warm Springs as a therapist, that this 22- year -old bride received the following telegram: "The secretary of the army has asked me to express his deep regret that your husband, lieutenant Ralph C Colley, Jr. was placed on the very seriously ill list in Vietnam on 21 July 1968 as a result of traumatic amputation of the left leg at the hip, right leg above the knee and left arm below the elbow. He was hit by fragments from a hostile booby trap while on combat operation. In the judgment of the attending physician his condition is of such severity that there is cause for concern." Because of her background in physical therapy, Betty Ann had worked with all types of patients. She counted among her favorites amputees because they can and do achieve improvement. She knew the task ahead of them was daunting, but it never occurred to her to be anywhere else than beside her husband. She finally was reunited with him a month later. When Chad was stable enough, he was sent to Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, for rehabilitation, then to the Fayetteville VA in Arkansas. Betty Ann wanted the best care for Chad and lobbied for him to spend additional time at Warms Spring, Georgia, where she worked with other patients while Chad would spend as long as 8 hours a day on his own rehabilitation. When he was discharged, they settled in Barling, Arkansas. In 1969, she went to work for Sparks Hospital and later with Infant Development Program at Bost School. She also was the first therapist for The Gregory Kistler Treatment Center. She went to work for Holt Krock Clinic in the 1980's and worked part time until 1993. Betty Ann also raised her own children during this time. Ryan was born in 1971 and Emily was born in 1973. She was a member of the Young Women's Community Guild and served as president in 1973. She has been an active member of Eastside Baptist since 1975. Since retirement she has enjoyed tennis and volunteer work. She and Chad divide their time between their home in Barling and a condo in New Symrna Beach, Florida. Betty Ann maintains close friendships and ministers to others in both places. And, when she is not traveling back and forth to Florida, she enjoys outdoor activities with her three grandsons when possible. Betty Ann has been an encouragement to Chad and a literal support to him, backing off to let him exert his independence at times, but also physically helping him with his ski equipment or his plane at others. She and Chad celebrated 45 years of marriage in October 2012, with a three week trip to Italy.