Volunteer, write letters to help save Cannon

The past week has shown again that the communities of Portales and Clovis, and Roosevelt and Curry counties, can respond quickly and fully in a time of crisis. After all, in rural areas neighbors are used to being called upon and helping out wherever they are needed.

We’ve done this many times, of course, for many reasons throughout the last century. The crisis this time, of course, is different. Black Friday, May 13, brought word that the Defense Department had placed Cannon Air Force Base on the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) list, to shut down in a few years. Most people here were shocked, stunned even. A few perhaps were glad, but not many of them surfaced.

No, after the shock wore off, later the same day Operation KEEP CANNON was born. Since then, the words heard repeatedly have been: “What can I do to help?”

As a man named Sydney Smith once wrote: “It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do a little. Do what you can.” Don’t wait for someone to call and tell you what to do.

Do what feels right to you, first, but if you want a few ideas, here are five to pick from:

• SHOW YOUR SUPPORT: Put an Operation KEEP CANNON banner or sign up at your business or on a window at home or wear a T-shirt or place a sticker on your vehicle bumper or window. For details on where to get those items, either drop by or call:

• Clovis/Curry Chamber of Commerce

215 N. Main St., Clovis

763-3435

• Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce

100 South Avenue A

Portales

356-8541

• WRITE A LETTER: Tell the BRAC Commission why you think Cannon Air Force Base should stay open. Keep your message personal and brief. Short letters are read more than an endless tome. Be respectful. The nine commissioners are our appellate court and five of their votes will take Cannon off the list. For specifics, visit a Web page, set up by Rooney-Moon Broadcasting: http://www.keepcannon.com. Send your letter today to: BRAC Commission, 2521 S. Clark St., Arlington, VA 22202. Also, on Monday at either the Roosevelt County Chamber of Commerce in the town square, or at the Bank of Clovis branch at 2211 Prince St., you can drop your letter off to be mailed.

• VOLUNTEER TO HELP: Phone calls and information requests are coming in fast and furious at the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce. People are needed to help staff phones, prepare information for mailings, help out at future public events, or to hand out or deliver posters and buttons. Call them and tell them when you are available. See if the Roosevelt chamber needs a volunteer, too.

• STAY POSITIVE: Winning requires focus, and a belief that the goal, however difficult — and this one is a major challenge — can be overcome. The impossible just takes longer to achieve, as the Marines say. We have undergone many challenges with mission changes and large deployments over the years at Cannon, so we have experienced challenges like this repeatedly before. Survival requires focus and commitment.

• ATTEND PUBLIC EVENTS. A packed house shows everyone that “support” for our airmen and women and their mission isn’t a newly mouthed buzzword. All local media will publicize dates of such events widely, so please try to attend at least one. In particular, we want every seat filled on June 24 in Clovis when it hosts one of just 15 regional BRAC Commission hearings.