Vets help fix home

Brandon Doeden had recently purchased a fixer-upper home outside of Monmouth on Airlie Road when his life screeched to a halt.

Three months ago, he was in the middle of do-it-yourself renovations when he was in a motorcycle accident in Fossil.

“It was pretty surreal,” Doeden said of the accident that left several other people injured, as well.

The crash put him in the hospital and left him facing months of recovery. Finishing the renovations — or even getting things to the point where he could make do — wasn’t possible.

“I’ve spent a lot of time here, looking at what I need to get done,” said Doeden, who still walks with a significant limp.

He had help getting one of his bathrooms repaired so he could use it during his recovery, but the long list of other necessary repairs has been left unfinished.

Until Aug. 19, when a group of veterans descended on the house for a morning work party, arranged by the Polk County Veterans Service Office.