Veterans Services helping more new clients after office move

ALBANY — A July move by Linn County Veterans Services into a building at 505 SW Ellsworth has resulted in greatly improved visibility and walk-in clientele, director Dee Baley-Hyder told the Board of Commissioners Tuesday morning.

Commissioners Will Tucker and Sherrie Sprenger were present and Commissioner Roger Nyquist participated by telephone.

For many years, the Veterans Services office had shared space in the same building as Linn County General Services and Printing and Supplies at 300 SW 4^th.

Baley-Hyder said that 77 new veterans were assisted in the last six months of 2023 and 138 were assisted in the same time period of 2024 — the first six months Veterans Services was in the new leased building. Baley-Hyder said it was evident that much of that increase was due to people seeing the large signage on the building that is on a main traffic route in the community.

She added that overall assistance is also up, from an average of 9,453 veterans to more than 9,700 veterans.

Staff have helped local veterans, surviving spouses and family members, access $474,799 in monies owed them by the government from October 1 to December 30, 2024 compared to $467,706 in the same quarter of 2023. She said there is a two-week delay in balancing numbers and the actual total is more than $519,000.

Baley-Hyder said some $94,000 in grants provided by the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs and the Oregon Department of Transportation have paid for 404 trips by veterans to medical providers. There is about $27,000 remaining with funding running out at the end of June.

Baley-Hyder plans to re-apply for funding, but new funds may not be useable until January of 2026.

Commissioner Will Tucker asked her to put together a budget to “bridge” the program until such time new funds are available.

Baley-Hyder said she and her staff were honored to help carry a huge American flag at the Oregon State Beavers football team’s Military Appreciation Game and to ride in the annual Veterans Day Parade.

Staff also completed the first half of online accreditation training from the Oregon Department of Veterans Affairs. The second half of the program will be in May.

In other business, the commissioners:

• Were introduced to Matt Lehman, the new Transportation and Economic Development Planning Manager for the Cascades West Council of Governments. Lehman is a former Philomath City Council member.
• Were updated on by Council of Governments Executive Director Ryan Vogt on how the process of melding programs/services with the Community Services Consortium is going.
• Designated the Albany Democrat-Herald and The New Era newspaper of Sweet Home as official legal notice publications.
• Appointed John E. Kennedy III and Danielle Myers as Justice of the Peace Pro Tempore for the Linn County Justice of the Peace District 4. They will serve in the absence of Justice of the Peace Jessica K. Meyer.
• Approved the purchase of a new concave dump truck body from Columbia Body Manufacturing for $119,022.79.
• Approved a contract for engineering services with David Evans and Associates not to exceed $99,727 with David Evans and Associates for the Muddy Creek Bridge Project.
• Announced that a management staff meeting will be held at 11:330 a.m. on Wednesday, January 9, in the Courthouse basement meeting room.
• Approved the use of the Linn County Fair & Expo Center for the 2025 Linn County Fair in July.

Media contact: Alex Paul, Linn County Communications Officer, 541-967-3825 or email apaul@co.linn.or.us.