A Lone Tree church is leading a community effort to refurbish a local veteran’s home that had fallen into disrepair.

A group from the Lone Tree Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has organized a “Helping Hands Project” to fix up the home of Wes “Doc” Kouns, a former Green Beret combat medic who served in Vietnam.

Kouns, 77, lives at 8227 Sweetwater Road, and his home no longer meets the standards of his local homeowners association.

Kouns has suffered debilitating effects from his wartime exposure to Agent Orange, a tactical chemical used by the U.S. military in the Vietnam conflict. Thousands of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians and American soldiers have suffered illness from exposure to the chemical.

One neighbor of Kouns’, Brady Martin, offered to have his company, TSV Construction, replace the roof for free, an otherwise $20,000 cost.

The group started work on June 20 and will work a few hours for the next four Saturdays repairing the trim and exterior walls and repainting the house.

To get involved with the project, contact Mike Pedersen at 720-280-5943.