Wallowa County Chieftain
Veterans Day
wallowa.com
November 9, 2016
Veteran transport program renewed
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
Last year Wallowa County
veterans made more than 500
trips for medical care. Given
the remoteness of the county
and the vast distances they
must travel, receiving assis-
tance to afford those trips is
essential.
Thanks to the Highly Rural
Transportation Grant provid-
ed by the federal government,
veterans in Wallowa County
and nine other rural Oregon
counties have received as-
sistance that includes door-
to-door pick-up and drop-off
in ADA-compliant vehicles,
along with assistance in load-
ing or unloading at no cost to
the veteran.
That grant provision,
which has been renewed three
years in the past, will contin-
ue, according to the Oregon
Department of Veterans’ Af-
fairs.
The federal grant provides
half a million dollars toward
the transportation needs of
veterans in rural Oregon.
Oregon has 10 counties that
are considered “highly ru-
ral”: Baker, Gilliam, Grant,
Lake, Harney, Malheur,
Morrow, Sherman, Wallowa
and Wheeler. Each county
receives $50,000, which the
state VA, in partnership with
each county or transporta-
tion district, leverages with
existing programs in order to
get the maximum value from
each grant.
Chieftain Archives
A Wallowa County veteran enjoys a special position of honor
at Wallowa’s Fourth of July Parade. Veterans in Wallowa
County are able to rely upon a transportation program
through Community Connection that delivers veterans door
to door for medical appointments.
“The success of this pro-
gram really boils down to the
creativity of these counties
and transportation districts,”
said Mitch Sparks, director of
statewide veterans’ services
for ODVA. “We didn’t dic-
tate to them how the money
should be spent. That allowed
them to be very innovative in
using these grants however
they worked best within their
individual transportation sys-
tems.”
Last year, veterans in the
10 participating counties
made 5,453 trips spanning
more than 274,600 miles as
part of this program. Wallowa
County veterans accounted
for slightly less than 10 per-
cent of those trips.
Jim Hicks of Joseph, cur-
rent post commander for
VFW Post 4307 in Enterprise,
praised the veteran’s transport
program offered in Wallowa
County through Community
Connection.
“The program has been
very good and we’ve had no
problems with it,” he said.
“They’ve been there to take
care of everyone who needed
the program. I made one trip
to American Lakes in Tacoma,
a seven-and-a-half-hour drive
one way. They picked me up,
got me up there and picked me
up at the hotel and got me to
the doctor’s appointment and
stayed and waited until I was
ready to go and picked me up
and took me home. There are
so many veterans that can’t
afford such a trip — it saves
them a lot of money.”
“Our need is actually high-
er than can be covered by the
$50,000 grant,” said Connie
Guentert, manager of Com-
munity Connection. “There
were a couple of months last
year we couldn’t provide trips
through this program because
of the limit of the grant. We
gave veterans a ride under a
different program.”
Oregon vets in rural areas
account for nearly half of the
total trips provided nationally
under the program, according
Divide Camp open house Friday
Veterans Day
moment of
silence will be
observed
Wallowa County Chieftain
On Oct. 7, President
Barack Obama signed into
law the Veterans Day Moment
of Silence Act. It states “The
President shall issue each
year a proclamation calling
on the people of the United
States to observe two minutes
of silence on Veterans Day in
honor of the service and sac-
rifice of veterans throughout
the history of the Nation. ...”
Divide Camp Headquar-
ters will be hosting an open
house from 10:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11.
The Veterans Day moment
of silence will be observed at
11:11 a.m.
Divide Camp is a local
nonprofit devoted to healing
the physical and psychologi-
cal injuries of post-9/11 veter-
ans through outdoor pursuits.
“Military servicemen of
all eras, active and retired, as
well as their families are in-
vited to enjoy refreshments,”
said HQ building manager
Katherine Stickroth. “The
public is also welcome to vis-
it throughout the day.”
During the open house,
veterans will be invited to
enter a drawing for free Di-
vide Camp caps that will be
awarded each hour.
While the camp located on
The Divide serves as a base
for outdoor activities during
the summer, the Divide Camp
Headquarters in Joseph, next
to Community Bank, now has
regular hours to serve veter-
ans in the off-season:
• 1-3 p.m. Monday through
Wednesday
• 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thurs-
day through Saturday
Free coffee and snacks
will be on hand, and a relaxed
atmosphere for conversation,
reading and games.
“We keep a current copy
of The Chieftain and even
have a cribbage table we hope
veterans will use,” Stickroth
said.
“Members from the Amer-
ican Legion, Veterans of For-
eign Wars, Disabled Amer-
ican Veterans, other veteran
organizations and the ladies
auxiliaries of these groups
— these are especially en-
couraged to attend the open
house. This time, it’s our turn
to serve.”
World War II
letter home
to ODVA, because not all
Veteran’s Affairs offices in
other states have taken ad-
vantage of the program. Only
25 states have any counties
that qualify as “highly rural”
and only 11 have applied for
the program.
As a result, Oregon coun-
ties may be leading the way in
demonstrating how best to use
the grant.
“Representatives of the 10
Oregon counties meet twice
a year to discuss what has
worked and what veterans
need,” said Guentert. “We’re
creating a good path for other
states to use and be successful
with.”
Mitch Sparks, director of
statewide veterans services
for ODVA, has high praise
for the Wallowa County part-
nership.
“Community Connection
in Wallowa County is very
active and very creative in the
ways they work to help veter-
ans,” Sparks said. “I am very
impressed. We got them an-
other $10,000 through anoth-
er program to help them with
those extra trips not covered
in the Highly Rural Trans-
portation program last year.
We’re really proud to have
Community Connection as a
partner.”
If you are a veteran and
would like more information
about the Highly Rural Trans-
portation program, please
contact Danielle Salmon at
Community Connection at
541-426-3840.
The following letter, dated
Nov. 2, 1943, was submitted by
Karen Mason of Joseph. It was
written by her Father, Floyd
Wilson, Jr. while he was recov-
ering from shrapnel wounds
and malaria in New Guinea.
He was a machine gunner. The
letter was reduced in size to fit
in a 3½ x 4½ envelope.
Dear Daddy
I guess you will have to be
satisfied this time with this
kind of letter, but I suppose
you will be glad to get it as
has been some time since I
last wrote. I just wrote Aunt
Lucille and forgot to tell her
how I was so will tell you
before I forget this time. My
leg is better, still hasn’t com-
pletely healed, but is coming
along in good shape, my first
malaria treatment has been
over quite some time so will
probably get it again before
too long so won’t worry about
it till it comes along.
I guess you know that
Don sent a couple of dollar
bills over to me when I really
didn’t need it, I have five hun-
dred and eight dollars in five
dollar bills so have a quite a
pocket full of paper. I don’t
know where Don is at so guess
won’t write to him this time,
sure have a hard time trying
to keep up with him. Well
Daddy will close for this time
saying please don’t worry so
much. Hope to see you soon.
Your Son Floyd
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