Logan County approves shared veterans service office with two counties

Logan County commissioners approved a shared veterans service arrangement that puts Christopher Kelley at the center of a three-county system for Logan, Phillips and Sedgwick counties. For local veterans, the change means one point of contact for benefits questions, claims help and appeals, instead of trying to sort out separate county offices on their own.

The board moved to formalize the intergovernmental agreement during its June 9 business meeting. The practical impact is closest to home in Sterling, where the county’s directory places the Veterans Service Officer office in the Logan County Courthouse at 315 Main Street, Room 221. Logan County says appointments are preferred, but walk-ins are accepted, giving veterans and dependents a local place to start when they need help with education, housing, compensation, pension, medical disability, insurance or death benefits.

The arrangement matters most in a rural county where distance can turn a simple paperwork issue into a major barrier. Logan County’s veterans page also notes that residents can add a veteran military identifier to a driver’s license or ID card, another sign that the office is meant to handle both benefit claims and day-to-day service needs. The Colorado Division of Veterans Affairs says county veterans service offices provide free assistance to veterans and family members with claims, applications and appeals to the VA, and that service officers are there to help people stay on track through the process.

Kelley’s schedule shows how the shared model is expected to work on the ground. Logan County’s listing shows Tuesday walk-in hours from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., with appointment-based service on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Phillips County’s veterans page adds that Kelley is also the veterans service officer there, recommends contacting him Monday or Tuesday to set up a Wednesday appointment, and says his goal is to return phone calls and emails within 48 hours. In Phillips County, Wednesday office hours run from noon to 4:30 p.m. at the Phillips County Courthouse in Holyoke.

Phillips County’s Oct. 31, 2024 resolution, which appointed Christopher S. Kelley effective Nov. 1, 2024, says counties are required under state law to establish a veterans service office and pay the service officer from general-fund money. It also says the officer is responsible for outreach at senior centers, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and resource fairs. For Logan County veterans, the test now is whether the three-county setup keeps help close, response times short and rural residents from getting lost between offices.