Logan County (Nebraska) Veterans Service Office (also serving Thomas and McPherson Counties)

The office. The State's directory (updated October 26, 2026) puts the Logan County Veterans Service Office in the courthouse, 317 Main Street, Stapleton (mail PO Box 8, Stapleton, NE 69163), phone (308) 636-6157, [email protected], open Wednesdays 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. The Veterans Service Officer is Richard C. Cook, whom the Board also appoints highway superintendent and noxious weed superintendent; the county's page says the office "helps veterans and their dependents identify and access a wide range of county, state and federal benefits and programs". On January 21, 2026, at the request of Dan Kramer and Bryan Higgins of the Veterans Service Board, the Board raised Mr. Cook's pay to $18.00 an hour. The County Clerk records a DD 214 brought to the office (see the Nebraska entry on the Discharge Record). Homestead certification. The Assessor's homestead FAQ, under "How do I qualify as a Disabled Veteran or their Widow?", lists the exemptions for a veteran totally disabled by a non-service-connected illness or accident, each "(annual certification required)", and sends the veteran to the Veterans Service Office first for a physician's form and the office's certification. The application under section 77-3508 is annual, but 77-3508(1)(c) says the medical certification need not be repeated when the condition has not changed, though the assessor may ask for it again (see the Nebraska entries). Thomas County. Logan County's 2026-2027 budget lists an agreement among "Logan, McPherson & Thomas Counties" for Veterans Service Officer services from July 1, 2024 "until terminated", and books the other counties' payments as general fund revenue, "Interlocal Government Payments (VSO)": $7,649.00 in 2024-2025, $8,700.00 in 2025-2026 and $8,700.00 for 2026-2027. On June 18, 2025 the Board accepted Mr. Cook's agreements for 2025-2026 with Thomas County, at $7,000, and McPherson County, at $1,700. Thomas County's side: its Veterans Services page lists Mr. Cook at the Thomas County Courthouse, 503 Main St, Thedford, open Tuesdays 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. and on call any time, and says he is accredited through the National Association of County Veterans Service Officers with the Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Thomas County's Board appoints him its Veterans Service Officer each year (January 7, 2025 and January 6, 2026), approved the agreement with Logan County on June 17, 2025, and paid the Logan County Treasurer $7,000.00 for veterans service on August 5, 2025; its budget books the payment as the office's salary line (0100-803), $6,000.00 in 2024-2025 and $7,000.00 in 2025-2026 and 2026-2027, and lists the same three-county agreement. Mr. Cook is Thomas County's weed superintendent too. See the Thomas County aid entry for Thomas County's own fund. McPherson County's side. The State's directory lists Mr. Cook as McPherson County's officer at the courthouse, 200 Anderson Street, Tryon, on Tuesdays from 8:00 a.m. to noon; McPherson County's own Veterans Services page lists him at 308-636-2734 and [email protected], and the county keeps no office of its own. Its filed 2025-2026 budget lists the agreement among "McPherson, Logan & Thomas Counties" for Veterans Service Officer services from July 1, 2024 "until terminated" and pays it as contractual service in its own Veterans Service budget (0100-803): $1,649.00 in 2024-2025 and $1,700.00 for 2025-2026, where 2023-2024 had shown a $1,200.00 salary. On June 11, 2025 McPherson County's Board renewed the interlocal agreement with Logan County "with a consideration amount of $1700.00 for F/Y 2025-2026" and reappointed Wiley Fisher to its Veteran's Service Board to 2030; it paid the Logan County Treasurer $1,700.00 for the "Veteran's Service Contract" on August 13, 2025 and July 8, 2026, and on November 12, 2025 signed the Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs' memorandum of understanding Mr. Cook brought. Mr. Cook is McPherson County's weed superintendent too ($15.00 an hour from January 14, 2026). See the McPherson County aid entry for McPherson County's own fund. Lincoln County. On February 18, 2026 Mr. Cook told the Board he was helping 47 veterans from Lincoln County to ease that office's load, and the Board had its attorney draft an interlocal agreement; on March 18, 2026 it approved and signed the draft for presentation to Lincoln County (see the Lincoln County office entry for that county's discussion of it). The Board's year. The Board re-appointed Justin Rahn (June 18, 2025, to May 31, 2030) and Adelbert Farmer (June 17, 2026, to May 31, 2031) to the Veteran Service Board, signed the Nebraska Department of Veterans' Affairs' memorandum of understanding for VetraSpec (November 19, 2025), and proclaimed Logan County a Green Light for Veterans County for November 4 to 11 in 2025 and 2026 (Resolutions 25-13 and 26-11). On January 21, 2026, at the Veterans Service Board's request, it agreed to send a letter protesting Governor Pillen's proposed transfer of $2.5 million from the Nebraska Veterans' Aid Fund to balance the State budget, and the Clerk later shared Senator Jacobson's and the Governor's replies. On July 15, 2026 the Veterans Service Board recommended Bryan Higgins as a part-time Veterans Service Officer to assist Mr. Cook; the Clerk advised that the post must be advertised first. On July 23, 2026 the Board of Equalization denied a veteran's appeal for the disabled veteran's motor vehicle tax and fee exemption on a second vehicle, because he already held it on a vehicle he had not sold and had not asked within 30 days of the purchase (see the Nebraska entry on the exemption). The money. Logan County's 2026-2027 budget gives the office (803 Veterans Service) $35,400.00, against $32,976.07 spent in 2024-2025 and $28,172.37 in 2025-2026: $17,000.00 for the officer's salary, $7,000.00 for part-time pay, $4,500.00 of overtime, $500.00 for grave markers and flags, and travel, telephone and dues.