New veterans service office provides comfort and privacy

“If a veteran was in a wheelchair, many times his spouse would have to wait out in the lobby,” Bob Johnson, the county veterans service officer said.

Not anymore; after months of lobbying by Johnson, the county commissioners approved moving the Veterans Service Office to a larger office in the county annex building. The new location has an entrance from Sixth Street with handicap parking readily accessible.

A new sign has been added to the exterior of the tinted glass windows making the location more apparent. Previously, the office was pocketed near the courthouse-facing entrance to the annex immediately on the right as visitors entered the annex. The location afforded little to no privacy for veterans and their families and was not readily apparent for visitors.

“People would walk right by the office into some of the other offices to ask for directions,” Johnson said.

If more than one veteran was meeting with Johnson, they would have to wait out in the public lobby for their appointment. “Sometime folks would be waiting for small claims and I didn’t know if they were waiting on me,” he said. 

Space was such an issue that Johnson would even schedule meetings outside of the office at the VFW.

Johnson has plans for the new office’s versatility. The waiting room can easily accommodate four vets and their spouses. Having just moved in to the new space, some amenities are missing, but Johnson plans on adding a TV and magazines through donations and his own resources. “It will be like a doctor’s office,” he said.

Everyone that has visited the office since it opened on Monday, Jan. 13, has been impressed, according to Johnson.

“This is important for the vets because it is more comfortable,” Johnson said. “When they are talking about some of their medical histories, it is very important that nobody else knows. Up there you had a chance of someone hearing it.”

The office formerly held the county’s weights and measures department, that employee, Pete Heichelbech, will move into Johnson’s old office.

The office is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Now, vets have a respectful place to go to for services,” Johnson said.