Air Force rejects nuns' donations

Sara Burnett, Rocky Mountain News

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Three nuns at odds with the government over a restitution order delivered three truckloads of food to the Denver Rescue Mission and a Colorado Springs food bank today after being turned away from Buckley and Peterson Air Force bases.

The sisters were hoping the food would fulfill a court-ordered requirement that they pay $3,052 for damaging a fence during a 2002 protest at a Weld County missile silo. They say paying cash would violate their beliefs in non-violence because it would go to the military. So instead they came up with an idea to donate food to military families.

But a Buckley spokeswoman said the base could not accept donations without "appropriate prior coordination" because of security concerns. Peterson officials gave a similar explanation.

Carol Gilbert, Ardeth Platte and Jackie Hudson, all members of the Dominican Sisters order who served between 30 and 41 months in prison for destroying government property, insisted they were not disappointed by the Air Force decision.

"The food will go to hungry people, and we know the shelters are filled with veterans," Gilbert said.

But the nuns' supporters were less gracious.

"I think the whole deal stunk," said Bill Strabala of Arvada, who was among about a dozen people who joined the sisters in delivering the food to Buckley.

Vrnda Noel, whose son is on active duty with the 10th Mountain Division, called the action "unconscionable."

"They're taking food out of (military families') mouths," Noel said.

Two veterans working with the nuns said they had discussed donating the food with sergeants at the two bases, and that they were led to believe the food was needed and would be accepted.

But Mike Collins, a disabled Army veteran, didn't get past the main gate at Buckley. And Bill Sulzman, who had coordinated the delivery to Peterson Air Force base, said a sergeant there contacted him about 20 minutes before he was scheduled to arrive and told him the base couldn't accept the food.

"Overall, we appreciate donations and the public's concern for the families of our Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen," Buckley officials said in a statement. But they also noted there is still a question of whether the food would satisfy the restitution order.

That decision will be left to U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Blackburn.

Meantime, the house manager at the Denver Rescue Mission said the organization was thrilled with the donations, which included cases of baby formula, soup, peanut butter and baby food.

The mission will distribute the food through its Christmas food boxes. It expects to hand out more than 1,500 boxes this year, Jim Coelho said.

"They're going to bless a lot of people."