Jacklins plant seed for successful bid

If the drive to build a home for veterans in Post Falls needed that one last, big push in the right direction, it came from a familiar quarter: the Jacklin family.

Duane, Doyle and Don Jacklin - veterans, businessmen and prodigious community supporters themselves - are donating nearly 10 acres on the east side of their Riverbend Commerce Park for a 95-bed home that would serve aging and disabled local veterans. The property is valued at $1.1 million, providing further momentum to the area's bid to be home to Idaho's fourth such facility. Even with 18,000 veterans in Kootenai County, though, that doesn't mean it's a done deal.

To land this much-needed resource - and the estimated 50 jobs it will create - the region's legislative delegation will need to be united and ardent in their advocacy. The Veterans Administration would pick up 65 percent of the cost, with the state paying the rest. Similar facilities have cost about $20 million, meaning Idaho's portion of the tab could be in the neighborhood of $7 million.

But those who already have worked for several years on this project believe the land donation provides tangible proof, not just verbal, of strong local support that's essential to project approval. Further, a study scheduled to be presented to the Legislature's financial arm tomorrow will show the Panhandle has the greatest need in Idaho for such a facility. With strong legislative support, Post Falls' application would then likely stand out as it competes nationally, with the VA ultimately prioritizing all the projects.

Even optimists believe it could be another five years before the Post Falls veterans home would become a reality, but this much is certain: Without the tireless efforts of so many and now, the generous gift from the Jacklin family, a Post Falls veterans home would not happen.

For the sake of so many who have given so much, let's get this done.