Veterans service officer reports retro payments, survey finds split on memorial type and preferred Hayward location

Gary, the county’s veterans service officer (first name given in the record), told the committee his office processed 589 phone calls, 892 letters/emails/faxes and 203 office visits in February. He said the office submitted 34 disability claims to the VA and received retroactive payments totaling $43,158.37 for claims decided in veterans’ favor.

Gary reported the La Crosse Vet Center co-managed counseling sessions and that the office continues regular outreach such as monthly "coffee and conversation" events. He said social-media reach increased modestly and staff training is up to date.

The veterans office conducted a short, two-question survey to gather preferences on a possible veterans memorial. Gary said 89 responses were received (about a 20% return from roughly 440 deliverable emails). The first question asked whether respondents preferred (1) a simple, low-maintenance, highly visible memorial or (2) a park-like, less-visible memorial. Responses were nearly even: 39 favored the simple, visible memorial and 41 favored a park-like setting; six were unsure and three selected neither option.

The second question asked whether a memorial should be located in or near Hayward (closer to the county seat) or in a more centralized location within Sawyer County, with respondents showing a clear preference for Hayward—71 selected Hayward, 12 selected centralized, and five were unsure.

Gary also discussed recent remarks by the VA secretary and state-level budget proposals affecting veterans programs, including a referenced proposal to increase CVSO grants by 5% and a $100,000 proposed increase to county transportation services grants; he said he has seen no direct negative impacts to local veteran services to date.

Gary offered to continue the survey if the committee wants more input; committee members thanked him for the outreach and data.