ORANGE — When Burt Stigen bought the old Shady Rest Motel property and established the City of Refuge, he knew that he was undertaking a new mission. Stigen was a former Nazarene minister who had served five tours in Vietnam as a civilian training troops. He was in tune with the problems that some veterans faced that caused them to become homeless and he wanted to try to ease their burdens. Stigen would turn the former motel into a home for the veteran who had no other place to live. In addition to filling their physical needs, he was also equipped to care for their spiritual needs as well. More than creating a shelter for the homeless, it would also be a ministry.

Since the first veterans moved into the old motel cabins, there have been new cabins built, in a log cabin style. The old motel cabins have been removed. Each new cabin can house up to four men and contains a handicapped bathroom, an air conditioner and a small TV.

The men are fed three meals each day. They share in the chores, and attend chapel services and Sunday school and church on Sunday.

“We do not have many rules to get in here, but we have a lot to stay here,” said Stigen. “There is a regular time to rise in the morning and go to bed at night. The men have to check out and log back in when they return."

Stigen and Douglas Stanley, his on site manager monitor the residents. Residency is an earned privilege.

The next thing that needs desperately to be done at the COR is to replace the old motel office building. That building serves as the office, kitchen, dining hall, and chapel at the present time. The building is over 50 years old and in very bad repair. The roof leaks and the plumbing and electrical systems are old and needing to be replaced.

Plans have been drawn up for the new administration building. All is in place to begin construction as soon as enough money is raised. So far about one third isin the bank.  Raising money is always the hardest part of any project. In this case, even though raising money is a challenge, there is help available. Veterans organizations are answering the call giving valuable aid to the project.

The most recent effort was the sale of raffle tickets for a Brinkman Roadmaster grill/smoker. The grill was purchased and donated by Gary Alford and Clyde Gabriel, members of American Legion Post 49 of Orange.

To make the drawing of the winning raffle ticket special the COR invited some of the key people in the fundraising effort to a barbeque, complete with all the trimmings, cake, and watermelon. There were members of the board of directors, several members of veteran’s organizations, and of course the residents of the COR.

One of the new groups to become involved in fundraising for the COR is the local chapter of the Combat Veterans Motorcycle Association. The CMVA has adopted the COR as their official charity. They wholeheartedly believe in “Veterans helping Veterans.” The group sold over 1000 tickets for the raffle.

They have plans for another raffle to aid the COR. The CVMA has ordered a commerative Colt .45 caliber M1911 pistol to be raffled in September. The M1911 was the official service pistol for the U.S. Military for decades. There will also be a handmade custom holster for the pistol.

In addition to the ticket sales by the CVMA, American Legion Post 49, Total Chemicals, and the VFW Post of DeRidder were large group buyers. Several individuals bought over $100 worth of tickets. There were a total of $4195 in ticket sales.

The winning ticket was drawn by Trey Allen, the son of “Volume” Allen, a member of the CVMA. The winner of the grill was John Schlittenhart, of DeRidder.