FREDONIA, N.Y. — Efrain Ruiz has served as a highway maintenance worker for the state Department of Transportation in Chautauqua County since June, and will spend most of his time plowing the roads.
He says service to his community mirrors his service to his country. After being in the Army for six years out in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where he was deployed twice to Afghanistan under operation Enduring Freedom, injured after his military vehicle hit an improvised explosive device, was discharged in 2012 and had a tough time adjusting to civilian life.
“You have a structure and life that’s built for you and you become accustomed to it,” said Ruiz. “You know what to expect, everything is explained to you, your job is given to you, so you have a purpose. And then when you leave, you don’t have that purpose anymore.”…