PHOTO PROVIDED Clinton County Board of Commissioners, back row from left, Angela Harding, Jim Russo and Jeff Snyder, are pictured with Veterans Affairs Director Todd Warner, left, and Service Officer Jeff Croak, after approving a Veteran’s Day Proclamation.

LOCK HAVEN — The Clinton County Board of Commissioners commended the work its Veterans Affairs office for the work it has done for those who have served and their families both in the county and region.

After officially proclaiming Nov. 11 at Veteran’s Day in Clinton County, the board heard from county VA Director Todd Warner about the work he and Service Officer Jeff Croak have done for veterans.

Warner noted the figures he presented were relatively accurate for the year in 2024 due to the fiscal and calendar year nearing its close.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, there are 2,569 veterans that reside in Clinton County.

Warner explained that number is expected to decrease in the next two years or so due to the age of the veteran population and a decrease in the number of people entering the military according to the PADMVA.

The main focus for the county’s VA is to offer support to veterans.

“What we focus on in our office is customer service,” he said. “We’re blessed to have very supportive elected officials in every level we deal with — from county, state and federal.”

Warner said his office, much like the commissioners, expects excellence in the services provided to veterans.

“The biggest metric that we use for customer service is how many claims we process and how many we ‘win’ and how active we are in pursuing those to support not only veterans but, in many cases, the surviving family members after a veteran passes away,” he said.

According to the state’s numbers, Clinton County ranks number one in all 67 counties for the percentage of VA claims filed and processed.

“There’s 67 counties in Pennsylvania and Clinton County has 40 percent, or 1,027, of our veterans have a disability rating with the Veterans Administration,” Warner said. “That’s the highest rating of any county.”

According to figures presented to the board border counties of Clinton don’t quite meet the same level. They are: Potter (35%); Clearfield (32%); Lycoming (32%); Centre (30%); Cameron (29%) and Union (24%).

Warner said this percentage is very telling of the residents in Clinton County.

“That tells me that our county, our veterans, have sacrificed a lot. Their family members have sacrificed a lot. And they’ve been through a lot,” he said. “When you have 4 out of 10 in a room that have been rated by the VA with some level of disability that’s very high.”

“Our people have bled a lot, they’ve sacrificed a lot and they’ve served with great honor and distinction,” he continued.

Warner said his office is proud of that number and works to provide the care necessary for these veterans.

He attributes their ability to handle applications well with the ability to offer walk-in appointments and other quick processes.

This also includes, if a walk-in appointment isn’t available, scheduling a day or two later.

“I think that the reception we give people helps a lot. The expediency that we try to handle claims with is an expectation of us and an expectation of our leadership,” he said.

Warner said the county’s office has handled roughly 257 claims in 2024, with over 50 in the federal VA’s queue for decision.

“The federal government isn’t too fast,” he noted.

In the meantime, the county VA office monitors these claims and keeps in contact with the veteran and their families.

“The VA has their priorities. It’s our job to just continue to monitor them, track them and manage them,” Warner said.

Community outreach and ensuring veterans know what benefits they offer is a key part of their work.

Warner said he and Croak have spoken at various correctional facilities — where veterans often find employment — to understand their opportunities.

This includes correctional facilities at Rockview, Houtzdale and Benner. Warner noted these facilities often have a large number of Clinton County residents in their employment.

The economic impact of the department’s work is also significant.

In 2023, the department was able to bring $10.25 million in claims to assist area disabled veterans. Warner said he expects the 2024 number to increase to just over $11 million.

“You can see we’re averaging $923,000 a month coming in. That’s a lot of money and that ranges from somebody who is 10 percent (disability) and gets $171 per month for 12 months to a 100 percent disabled veteran with a spouse and three children who get upward of $4,500 a month tax free,” he said.

The economic impact doesn’t just reach Clinton County residents. Warner said the department also works with out-of-county veterans.

“We have $4.5 million that we track manually that our office generated for non-Clinton County residents who came to us,” he said.

The office also offers assistance in tax exemptions. Warner said 7 percent of county veterans have a real estate tax exemption.

“They fall under the $108,000 income threshold and they’re 100 percent disabled by the VA and have wartime boots on the ground service,” he said.

Warner and Croak are also working toward potentially bringing more medical services into the area through a contract study being completed by the federal VA.

The study tracks the percentage of veterans both county and statewide that are enrolled in the national VA’s healthcare.

Warner said 83 percent — or 2,125 — veterans in Clinton County are currently enrolled. Statewide, 48 percent of veterans are enrolled.

“That’s a good number for Jeff and I to have in our pocket right now. The federal veterans administration is about 7 months into a 12 month contract study with the Altoona VA Hospital that services this area,” Warner said. “(The study) is to figure out how they want to allocate, direct or relocate different services and facilities.”

Warner said with that number, the potential of newer services coming closer to Clinton County looks good.

“Everything is falling into place as far as we can see to have more medical services come this way,” he said. “Right now the closest we have is State College.”

Warner touched on a few other ways the local VA office assists and honors veterans.

This includes the Military Share food program. The monthly program currently feeds about 675 people.

The department also orders and coordinates the placement of American flags on veterans graves in the county.

“We have plenty of them, so we ordered more. But the number of those will continue to sadly grow every year as we’re approaching 9,200 veterans in Clinton County cemeteries,” Warner said. “It’s all about taking care of the people who served and sacrificed and that’s what we try to do. We have great support here in the county for our mission.”

Following his presentation, the commissioners praised Warner and Croak for their service.

“These gentlemen have taken the bar extremely high and they’re doing a phenomenal job,” Board Chair Jim Russo said.

Commissioner Angela Harding highlighted how the work the pair do impacts not only Clinton County veterans, but those in other parts of the region.

“I think it’s really important to accentuate the fact that the Clinton County VA office under Todd and Jeff’s leadership are able to help not just Clinton County veterans but we have veterans that come to this county from the region and other counties around us,” Harding said. “Because they know the service they’ll get is top notch, one on one and genuinely caring about the outcomes of the veterans.”