HURON – Four Huron veterans on Tuesday offered their help in getting the word out on the role of the Beadle County veteran’s service officer after county commissioners decided to consolidate that position with the office of the emergency management director.
Commissioners are seizing on the opportunity to convert two full-time county jobs into one with the recent resignations of Veteran’s Service Officer Michael Lueck and Emergency Management Director Zach Nelson.
The county has begun advertising for applicants for the position. State law mandates that the veteran’s service officer must be an armed forces veteran.
The fact that members of the 153rd Engineer Battalion have returned home from a nearly one-year deployment to the Middle East doesn’t necessarily mean a major increase in a veteran’ service officer’s workload, said Commissioner Denny Drake.
Instead, he said the young soldiers are computer savvy and will turn to the Internet to learn about filing claims for service-related benefits or seek advice from others in the National Guard.
Commissioners believe the county can not only save money through the consolidation, but that there is not enough work for two individuals in those offices.
Veteran Steve Oetken said a full-time veteran’s service officer is needed to help veterans learn what services are available and what they need to do to apply for benefits.

A part-time veteran’s service officer doesn’t mean office hours from 8 a.m. to noon and then the door is shut, but the individual would divide the duties among the two responsibilities depending on need, commissioners said.
Commis-sioner Rick Benson asked what a veteran’s service officer would do all day when no one comes to the office. Oetken said the officer would call on other veterans in the county.
Drake said there simply isn’t enough traffic for a full-time officer and the county needs to start saving money where it can.
An emergency management director, for example, is probably not needed until there is a threat of severe weather, he said.
“What can we do to change your mind?” Oetken asked.
Benson suggested the commission be given the chance to see if the plan works. If it doesn’t, commissioners will be happy to revisit the issue, he said.
“You’ve got to prove to us we need a full-time person,” said Drake.
“We can handle it,” Oetken replied.
Meanwhile, commissioners, as the county board of adjustment, approved a variance request from Robbie Blue to have a shelter belt around his property 70 feet from the center of the road where the law requires 100 feet. The property is north of Cavour.
They also approved plats for Moeding Outlot 3 at the northeast corner of Redfield Avenue and First Street Northeast in Morningside for a concrete construction business shop and for Graff Outlots 1-4 in the area of 27th Street Northeast and Highway 37 which are being sold for future home construction.