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Area veterans eye additional resources

Oskaloosa Herald, The (IA) - 10/6/2015

Oct. 06--OSKALOOSA -- Eight veterans representing nearly every branch of the armed forces met at the VFW on Friday morning.

The topic of discussion concerned the desire for a full-time veteran's administrator for Mahaska County, something that the Board of Supervisors would approve during a regular meeting Monday morning.

Administrator Karie Foster has been part-time employee trying to balance serving countless veterans with just 20 hours a week. Nearby Monroe County, which is smaller in size than Mahaska, has a full-time employee in that position.

"According to property tax records, there are over 2,000 veterans who get a property tax exemption," said Dave Polkowske. That number doesn't include all veterans in Mahaska County. National Guard veterans, unless they served 90 days of active duty not including training, don't qualify for exemption.

"There are 11 100 percent disabled vets in Mahaska County. In 2005, the payments to veterans in Mahaska County was $2.1 million a year, and since [Karie] has been hired, it's up to $4.3 million a year. I think somebody handling that kind of funds should be a full-time employee instead of a part-time employee," said Polkowske. "She was instrumental in getting a lot of people those payments."

Veterans whose service is ending and who are returning to the area will need the support provided by Foster. Since she is a part-time employee, often times veterans must wait several days in order to catch her in the office.

"People are starting to come in and want somebody to take care of their problems, and they have to go through our office [Mahaska County Veteran's Affairs] to get help to go to Des Moines to get a first interview or whatever," said Durian. "Karie, or whoever is in that office, is very instrumental in getting these people help and sent to the right place. That's why it's so important, we feel, that we have someone there full time.

"When they release most of the veterans today, they get them the typical screening of their health problems and they're asked to sign off or not, and that's where the VA office comes into effect," said Durian. "If you don't agree with the ruling of the Veteran's Administration, you have to appeal to get someplace. A lot of veterans who have appealed have got five or six years of appealing trying to get something done."

According to Polkowske, the job held by Foster is instrumental to the lives of local veterans. Foster prepares paperwork and completes appeals all while creating a trusting relationship with area veterans.

The Veteran's Affairs Committee met with the county supervisers two months ago. Durian explained that during this meeting, Mahaska County Board of Supervisors denied Foster's transformation into a full-time employee. Since then the group has sent a revised budget stating that the Veterans Affairs office would support full-time wages.

"Our point that we went to the supervisors with our budget, which is $78,218 a year, and of that $78,218, we've returned about half that, probably. What we told the supervisors we thought we could take that money, make it into her wages and revise our budget on the other items and make up for her wages, so it wouldn't really cost them much money," sad Durian.

County supervisors approved Foster's position to move from part time to full time,with her wages staying frozen at $17.28 an hour with an annual salary of $35,942. In addition, supervisors must include full-time benefits, costing the county around $14,000.

"[We've been] trying to do this for the veterans to have a full-time representative in Mahaska County, and that's what it comes down to," said Durian. "It's something we're fighting for for our fellow veterans to make sure that they get their deserved payments or whatever they're asking for." -- Herald staff writer Angie Holland can be reached at aholland@oskyherald.com and followed on Twitter @HeraldDanielle.

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