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State: Davidson County doing right by veterans

The Dispatch - 3/13/2019

March 13-- Mar. 13--On Tuesday, the Davidson County Board of Commissioners heard from a representative from the N.C. Department of Military and Veteran Affairs who shared that Davidson County is doing well with helping local veterans receive the proper amount of benefits.

Col. Martin Falls, currently serving as the assistant secretary for military and veteran affairs for the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs, gave the presentation.

Falls said the Department of Military and Veteran Affairs is the newest department in the state. The department is responsible for advocating for veterans.

The colonel told the commissioners that Davidson County's veteran population has decreased by about 3,000 from 2008 to 2017.

However, in that same time frame, the amount of federal dollars coming into the county for veterans has increased from $38.25 million to $82.38 million. That number includes compensation and pension, education and vocational rehabilitation, insurance and indemnities and medical care.

The amount of money coming to Davidson County veterans for medical care alone has increased from $19.03 million to $46.84 million from 2008 to 2017. Compensation and pension has increased from $17.64 million to $32.96 million.

"That's a testament to what your services are doing in the county," Falls said. "This gives you a picture of what your county service officers are doing for your veterans, which is doing their job advocating for the veterans and getting them to the right place doing the right things for those veterans."

Other items on the agenda included:

--Joe Hayworth was appointed to the Planning Board. The vote was 4-3, with commissioners Steve Shell, Todd Yates and Chris Elliott voting against the measure. The three commissioners voted against Hayworth because they felt Rayne Brown, who is currently serving as an alternate for the Planning Board, should fill the vacancy since she's sat in on meetings for about a year. Commissioner Fred McClure, who voted in favor, made it clear to the other commissioners that alternates were not created to automatically fill vacancies and that the board is not passing over Brown with its vote.

--Approved of OnBoard portal software, a module that will help the county consolidate information on its boards and committees.

--Approved submission of a grant application for the Davidson County Transportation System.

--Approved a request by Grady and Luanne Hedrick to rezone 2.51 acres of property on the south side of Becks Nursery Road from a rural agricultural district to a rural commercial district.

Ben Coley can be reached at (336) 249-3981, ext. 227 or at ben.coley@the-dispatch.com. Follow Ben on Twitter: @LexDispatchBC

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