By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES - Tommy Stokes wasted little time jumping at the opportunity to work on a Friday.
Stokes and a fellow Army vet Perry Davis were loading a van full of the plastic tubes that are placed in people's lawns for the weekly pubication of The Leader.
Both Stokes and Perry are part of the Transitional Living Program in Niles, which houses 16 veterans of U.S. military service.
Program supervisor Mary Bryan said the local Residential Services agency contracts with the Veterans Administration to provide the two-year program.
Davis, who served in the Army from 1985 to 1987, said the program has presented him with an important opportunity.
The sentiment was echoed by Stokes, who also served in the Army from 1977 to 1980. Stokes praised the residence at 323 N. Lincoln in Niles where the vets stay for their staff and accommodations.
One job that has been available to the veterans while they are in the Transitional Living Program is placing Leader tubes at residences in the area. Bryan said various vets have been ‘tubing' for The Leader for more than two years now.
Stokes, Davis and a driver, Allan Poage, headed out Friday morning to Berrien Springs to hopefully place around 120 tubes.
The crew was equipped with the tubes and a 20-pound metal ‘pounder' to force the steaks into the ground, and, some metal brackets to attach the tubes, Davis said.
Stokes said he has been ‘tubing' for around a year, while Davis is going on his third week, he said.
Bryan said the veterans jump at the chance to spend a day outside placing the tubes.