Several Benton County offices will shift from one space to another in the next week as the county tries to makes its Veteran Services office more accessible.
“There’s a certain percentage of our population, especially Vietnam veterans, who have significant health issues,” Stele James, Veteran Services officer, said Thursday, adding health issues range from physical disabilities to emphysema to cancer and vary in severity from one veteran to the next.
The Veterans Services office is in a third-floor office in the southwest corner of the County Administration Building downtown. Visitors get off the elevator, turn left, then turn left again to walk down a hallway to the corridor paralleling the east side of the building. A right turn takes them to the south end of the building where they turn right again and walk back to James’ office, which looks out over the parking lot on the west side of the building.
At A Glance
Veterans Services
The Benton County Veterans Services Office assists veterans, their spouses and dependents in obtaining benefits from the U. S. Veterans Administration. Services provided include:
w Answering questions and providing resources.
w Providing applicable forms and assisting in completion.
w Assisting with legal representation of the formal claim process and appeals.
w Referrals are made to other social service agencies as needed.
w In-home service is available for those who are unable to leave their homes or are without transportation to the office.
Office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments can be scheduled by calling 479-464-6123.
Source: Benton County
“It’s not that they can’t get here,” James said from his office. “It’s just the amount of energy it takes. I have two men who carry those little tri-fold stools. They get off the elevator, come down one hallway and have to stop and sit down. They get up, come down the second hallway and have to sit down again. It takes them three stops to get from there to here.”
James’ new location will be directly across the third floor lobby from the elevator, in the offices now occupied by County Comptroller Sarah Daniels and Kay Strickland, who heads up the county work program that finds jobs for people referred by the courts.
Daniels will move to James’ old office, while Strickland will move to a space on the second floor that has been used part-time by state auditors when they check the county’s books. County Fire Marshal Marc Trollinger has also left an office adjacent to James’ old offices for a space in the basement of the building and the county’s grants administrator will move into Trollinger’s old space.
John Sudduth, director of facilities and construction, said most of the work involved is simple, replacing some doors and cutting through walls to add a few new doors, painting, running data cables and moving office furniture and files around. The work is being done in-house, he said, and the moves should be done by the end of next week.
Daniels and Strickland both said moving shouldn’t cause any significant problems for them.
“It’ll be much more convenient for the veterans,” Daniels said. “I’m happy to move to make it easier for them. Not many people come to my office. The county judge and other elected officials pop in and some of the justices of the peace come by when they have questions. That’s not enough to merit me keeping this office and not letting the Veterans Services have this space.”
Strickland said most of her clients make appointments in advance, so once she has moved she will let them know and notify the different court offices of her new location. She said she’s just been waiting for the process to begin.
“It’s like the domino effect. You start at one end and everything goes from there,” she said.