Keith County Veterans Service Office (also serving Arthur and Garden Counties)

The office. The Keith County Veterans Service Office is at 511 N. Spruce Street, Room 205, Ogallala, NE 69153, phone (308) 284-7776, fax (308) 284-3922, [email protected], open Monday to Thursday 8:00 a.m. to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and Friday 8:00 a.m. to noon. The county's page describes it as "a county agency that assists veterans with federal, state, and county benefits", completing "the application process for veterans and their dependents"; the officer is appointed by the County Veterans Service Committee and confirmed by the Board, and his duties include "Emergency Financial Assistance" (see the county aid entry) and veteran's advocacy. Three counties. The State's directory (updated October 26, 2026) lists Daniel Nichols as the officer for Arthur County, at the Ogallala office, and for Garden County, at the Garden County Annex, 619 Main Street, Oshkosh, on the first and third Tuesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Keith County's budget lists a standing agreement with "Arthur & Garden County" for veterans services "until terminated"; Garden County paid $7,500.00 for the office in 2024-2025, and $7,500.00 from Garden and $400.00 from Arthur are budgeted for 2025-2026. Garden County's side. Garden County's own filed 2025-2026 budget lists the agreement with Keith County for the Veteran Service Officer "until terminated" and pays it as "Contract Services" in its own Veterans Service line (803): $7,500.00 in 2024-2025 against $6,000.00 budgeted, and $6,000.00 budgeted again for 2025-2026, less than the $7,500.00 Keith County expects. The same line pays the officer's Garden County mileage and travel, the office's $449.00 software subscription and grave markers ($791.65 in 2023-2024, $1,200.00 budgeted for 2025-2026), $11,720.00 in all for 2025-2026. Garden County's Board approved its own Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs memorandum of understanding on November 10, 2025. Its Veterans Services page lists Mr. Nichols at the Ogallala number and gives his location as "511 N Spruce Street, Oshkosh", the Ogallala street; use the Annex on Main Street (see the Garden County aid entry for Garden County's own fund). Arthur County's side. Arthur County's Veterans Services Officer page lists Dan Nichols at 511 N. Spruce St, Room 205, Ogallala, 308-284-7776, and Arthur County keeps no office of its own. Its filed 2025-2026 budget lists the "Arthur County, Keith County" agreement for veteran's services "until terminated" and pays $600.00 a year from its own Veterans Service budget (0100-803), booked as the official's salary in 2023-2024 and as contractual service in 2024-2025 and 2025-2026, against the $400.00 Keith County's budget expects from Arthur County. Arthur County posts no Board minutes (see the Arthur County aid entry for its own fund). The Board's year. On October 29, 2025 the Board approved Mr. Nichols's memorandum of understanding putting the county on the Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs' licence for the VetraSpec database for January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2028. It approved his travel to State and regional service officer training in August and September 2025 and September 2026, and set the officer's wage at $25.99 an hour in July 2026. On August 12, 2026 it voted to place permanently at the courthouse the sculpture from Ogallala's Western Trails Creative District Veterans Art Project, in place of the rotating sculpture there. The money. The filed 2025-2026 budget gives the office (803 Veterans Service) $80,913.97, against $71,112.45 spent in 2024-2025, including $2,500.00 for grave markers and flags ($2,689.77 spent in 2024-2025). The Clerk files a veteran's discharge for safekeeping and releases it only to the veteran with identification (see the Nebraska entry on the Discharge Record).