What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
What can we reason but from what we know? -Alexander Pope
THE KELLEY FAMILY, front row (l-r), Camden and Carson; back row (l-r), Holly, Chris and Kallin.
Chris Kelley is Phillips County's new Veteran's Service Officer. Kelley took over his new role with the County on Nov. 1 as an appointment made by the Phillips County Commissioners.
Kelley grew up in Central, Nebraska and moved to Haxtun with his family when his wife, Holly, took a position with Haxtun Schools as the Family Consumer Science Teacher.
After high school, Kelley served active duty with the United States Marine Corps from 1996-1998. He served as a Lance Corporal before he was involuntarily discharged under honorable conditions due to a service-connected injury. Kelley received the National Defense Service Medal.
Kelley takes the reigns as the local Veterans' Service Officer following a vacancy left by Jeremy Kilpatrick in late August. Kilpatrick served as VSO in Phillips County for three years. Prior to his service, Haxtun's Steve Firme assisted local Veterans for a numbers of years.
"As I am just starting out as a Veteran Service Officer, I am just learning about services and duties," Kelley said. "I have already reached out to several resources and hope to get all of those resources working for our Veterans here in Phillips County."
Each county in Colorado has a Veterans' Service Office that offers free assistance to Veterans. Veterans' Service Officers specialize in assisting Veterans, and their family members, with claims, applications and appeals to the Veterans Affairs.
"As a Veteran myself, my priorities are to make sure that our Veterans, their dependents and survivors here in Phillips County have a point of contact if they find themselves needing help with a variety of topics, questions or concerns," said Kelley.
To reach Kelley for resources, benefits or other information, local Veterans can call (970) 520-6310 or email [email protected].
"Some Veterans are going to need some basic information or help with documents. I believe many Veterans are going to be in unique situations and I will do everything I can in these situations," Kelley said.
Reader Comments(0)