Thurston County (Nebraska) Veterans Service Office

The office. The Thurston County Veterans Service Office is in Pender (mailing address PO Box 516, Pender, NE 68047), phone 402-385-3119, [email protected]. The county's page gives the location as 106 S 5th Street and the hours as Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; the State's directory (updated October 26, 2026) gives the courthouse at 106 S. 6th Street and Tuesdays only, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., so call before going. The Veterans Services Officer is Penny Warren, who per the same directory is also Burt County's part-time officer in Tekamah on Wednesday to Friday (see that county's entry); Thurston County pays her itself. The office helps veterans and dependents with VA benefit applications and supporting documents and with VA medical centre eligibility. What the county lists. The County Benefits page names county veterans aid (see that entry); a bronze grave flag holder reflecting the veteran's wartime era, inventoried each year and replaced when damaged; registration of DD-214s, after which the veteran "may call us from any where in the world" for a certified copy; the yearly VA letter naming the veterans and widows eligible for the homestead exemption, which the office gives the Assessor; and grave registration, with a card sent to the State and a Presidential Memorial Certificate ordered for the family of every deceased county veteran. The committee. The Board's 2025 minutes appoint Gordon Rave, Gregg Phillips and Gene Case to the Veterans Service Committee beside LaVern Kubik and Lyle Jasa. In June 2026 the committee pressed the Board over the aid fund and in September over its budget (see the aid entry). 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). The money. The office (0100-803) spent $16,133.24 in 2023-2024 and $18,268.53 in 2024-2025, and the 2025-2026 budget adopts $19,666.37: the officer's $16,001.37 and $750.00 for grave markers among it.