News
Blue Mountain Eagle
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
A11
7he role of the veteran service of¿cer
By Erin Osgood
For the Blue Mountain Eagle
Did you serve during
World War II or the Korean
War and suffer an injury?
You may have been treated
at the time, but many years
later, health-related prob-
lems can surface.
In Vietnam, you could
have been exposed to Agent
Orange and are now suffer-
ing from prostate cancer,
or possibly diabetes mel-
litus type II. Or, you are a
returning Iraq or Afghani-
stan veteran who suffered a
traumatic brain injury in a
roadside bombing, or may-
be a returning veteran who,
fortunately, did not endure
any trauma, but needs di-
rection in obtaining educa-
tional benefits under the GI
bill.
Is there any help avail-
able to you through the
Veterans Administration?
Where do you begin to seek
assistance and obtain guid-
ance in pursuing benefits
from the Department of
Veterans Affairs?
The answer: Your local
County Vet-
erans
Ser-
vice Office.
If
you
haven’t met
with
your
county vet-
erans service
Erin
officer, the
Osgood
first step is
to call Erin
Osgood, your local offi-
cer, at 541-575-1631 for
an appointment, and bring
in your military discharge
(DD214 or Report of Mili-
tary Separation) as this doc-
ument is required in order
to receive VA benefits. If
you have lost or misplaced
it, Osgood can assist you
with obtaining a new dis-
charge record from the Na-
tional Personnel Records
Center.
Under Oregon state law,
every county is required
to have a County Veterans
Service Office. In Oregon’s
larger counties, the agency
consists of a service officer
and support staff. In small-
er counties, such as Grant
County, you may find just
one or two people to assist
you. The veterans service
officer has a compassionate
understanding of the prob-
lems which confront veter-
ans, widows and dependent
children. Through meetings
and annual training, your
veterans service officer is
aware of laws passed by
the U.S. Congress in the
interests of veterans and
their dependents, and they
are familiar with the rules
and regulations adopted by
the Department of Veterans
Affairs to clarify and im-
plement those laws. Your
veterans service officer is
well-versed in state laws
as well, from veterans’ real
property tax exemptions to
the Oregon state parks pass.
County veterans service
officers act as a liaison be-
tween veterans and their
families, and the Depart-
ment of Veterans Affairs.
Service officers assist vet-
erans in filing service-con-
nected disability claims
with the VA. They also
assist veterans in obtain-
ing benefits relative to
vocational rehabilitation,
VA home loans, education,
burial benefits and non-ser-
vice connected pension
benefits.
Are you a veteran of a
wartime period, or the wid-
ow of a veteran of a war-
time period about to enter
a nursing home? Osgood
may be able to assist you
in obtaining a non-service
connected pension from
the Department of Veterans
Affairs. Basically, she can
take care of veterans’ needs
from their date of discharge
until their date of death, and
in many instances, she pro-
vides assistance to eligible
dependents long after the
veteran passes.
Your veterans service of-
ficer can also assist you in
obtaining VA Healthcare.
Whether you are a military
retiree or the spouse of a
military retiree, a family
member of an active duty
reservist, a widow of a
veteran who died of a ser-
vice-connected disability
or a dependent of a veteran
who was 100 percent ser-
vice-connected at the time
of his or her death, medical
benefits may be available to
you, and your service offi-
cer will assist you in filling
out the paperwork.
Finally, the ultimate job
of a veterans service officer
is to simplify what can be a
very complex undertaking;
that of obtaining eligible
benefits from the Veterans
Administration. As a veter-
an, you served your country
honorably, and your local
veterans service officer
wants to say “thank you”
by ensuring you obtain all
of the benefits to which you
or your family members are
entitled.
The Grant County Veter-
ans Service Office is locat-
ed in the southwest corner
of the County Courthouse
in Canyon City. Office
hours are from 10 a.m.-
4p.m. Monday and Wednes-
day, with appointments
available at other times.
If the flag’s flying, Os-
good is there to assist you.
Serving
those
who
served,
Erin Osgood is the Grant
County Veterans Service
Officer
New wheels
for veterans
State Elks Assoc. donates vans
for Grant, Harney counties
Blue Mountain Eagle
Contributed photo
Grant County high-school students meet with Dr. Jane Goodall, center, Oct. 15 in Portland. From left,
Sophia Pettit, Monument; Kade Blood, Grant Union (back); Aubrey Werner, Monument; Cody Baker, Long
Creek; Ryan Cook, Monument; Goodall; Tyler Blood, Grant Union; Jayne Davis, Long Creek; and Curtis
Perry, Long Creek.
Local youth meet with Jane Goodall
Blue Mountain Eagle
PORTLAND – Several
local high schoolers had the
rare opportunity to meet Dr.
Jane Goodall at an Oct. 15
Oregon Youth Summit host-
ed by David Douglas High
School in Portland.
Cody Baker, Jayne Davis
and Curtis Perry from Long
Creek; Ryan Cook, Sophia
Pettit and Aubrey Werner
from Monument; and Kade
and Tyler Blood from Grant
Union, were among hun-
dreds of youth from through-
out Oregon who presented
field studies projects at the
Summit.
The Grant County stu-
dents – the only partici-
pants from Eastern Oregon
– shared a Grant Coun-
ty-themed presentation on
restoration with statewide
representatives and Good-
all. Tyler Blood introduced
the project to Goodall and
Sophia Pettit offered an ex-
planation on how important
rivers are to people in East-
ern Oregon.
Goodall, British anthro-
pologist and primatologist,
is widely considered to be
the world’s foremost expert
on chimpanzees. She is the
founder of the Jane Goodall
Institute and the nonprof-
it Roots & Shoots program
that encourages young peo-
ple to take on projects that
can help local communities,
landscapes and wildlife.
Gail Beverlin, education
coordinator for the North
Fork John Day Watershed
Council in Long Creek, or-
ganized the opportunity for
the Grant County students.
The Watershed Council will
now be a local member of
Roots & Shoots, and contin-
ue working with local youth
who are enthusiastic about
improving their world.
Monument School sci-
ence teacher Darren Dailey,
Tracy Blood and Linda Wat-
son chaperoned the three-
day trip.
Elaine Eisenbraun, ex-
ecutive director of the Wa-
tershed Council, knew at-
tending the Summit was a
golden opportunity for local
students.
“When a long-time con-
tact from the Diack Founda-
tion called and asked if we
could bring some students
to meet Goodall, I knew
without hesitation that Grant
County would participate,”
Eisenbraun said.
“I think these students
have a very special memory
to carry through life,” she
said.
The eight students attend-
ing the Summit had to earn
the opportunity by working
at a restoration site on the
Middle Fork John Day River
and documenting their work
for the presentation. Sever-
al had worked with the Wa-
tershed Council through the
summer on restoration activ-
ities. Each was required to
attend three Friday sessions
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from resource specialists and
preparing for the presenta-
tion.
Field work was done
on private lands under the
leadership of the Watershed
Council, along with David
Evans and Allan Gillette of
the Warm Springs Tribes,
Jerry Ebeltoft of the Na-
ture Conservancy, and Mark
Croghan of the Bureau of
Reclamation. The work in-
cluded creating river habitat
and complexity by weaving
woody debris into new wood
structures, and in the fall,
preventing silt from entering
the river by spreading grass
seed and mulch.
Both Beverlin and Eisen-
braun expressed gratitude for
those who assisted in the edu-
cational opportunity, and not-
ed the value of the experience
for the students.
According to Beverlin, the
Watershed Council’s efforts
offer a “fresh, hands-on com-
ponent to the experience of
young people, exposing them
to processes, actions and the
many efforts that make Grant
County tick.”
“Our Watershed Coun-
cil runs a very special youth
program dedicated to help-
ing kids kindle a personal,
lifelong spark of enthusiasm
for the outdoors,” Eisenbraun
added.
JOHN DAY – Veter-
ans in Grant and Harney
counties who need to get
to medical appointments
can ride in style thanks to
two new vans donated by
the Oregon State Elks As-
sociation.
According to Bob Van
Voorhis, who heads up
the local van program, the
vans were donated to Vet-
erans Affairs to provide
transportation for veterans
enrolled in the VA Health
Care System and the Boise
VA Medical Center, which
includes all clinics and
contract medical facilities
in the Boise VAMC sys-
tem.
Two Elks officials who
were behind making the
new vans a reality were
Elks Association SE Dis-
trict Trustee Gary Miller
from John Day Elks Lodge
1824 and Boise VAMC/
Oregon Elks Coordina-
tor Ron Estep from Burns
Lodge 1680. Both Mill-
er and Estep are also van
drivers in their respective
areas.
More volunteer drivers
are needed to help provide
the service. For ride res-
ervations or information
on becoming a driver, call
Jim Jerome at 541-620-
4486.
Van Voorhis said they
also coordinate with The
People Mover transporta-
tion service in John Day
to offer free, wheelchair
accessible rides for veter-
ans to the VAMC in Wal-
la Walla, Wash., and the
Bend VA clinic.
To schedule rides on
The People Mover, call
541-575-2370.
For more information
about the services, call
Van Voorhis at 206-399-
7291 or leave a message
for him at the John Day
Elks Lodge, 541-575-
1824.
B REAKING N EWS A LERTS
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