Wednesday, September 17, 2008
(315) 798-5800
Picente:
Applications for Cold War Vets’ Exemption
Will Be Available Starting in January
Oneida
County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr., today announced that
“We are very gratified by the tremendous interest that has been shown by
our veterans in taking advantage of this exemption,” Picente said. “The
county’s intent has been to provide our veterans with a small, tangible
expression of our thanks and support for their service during one of the
defining times of our nation’s history, and one that impacted our region
so greatly during the time when Griffiss Air Force Base was operational.
Formal Board of Legislators’ approval last week now allows us to begin the
internal process of getting everything in place so that we can start working
with our veterans to help them take advantage of this exemption once the
local law is filed with the Secretary of State’s office.”
Picente said that the Oneida County Veterans Services Agency will be working with local communities to set up outreach times and to distribute information about the documentation needed to receive the exemption. “We will be working with local municipalities, with our veterans organizations and with all of our community partners to ensure that the application process is convenient for the veterans in Oneida County who could be eligible for this exemption,” Picente said, asking veterans and eligible surviving spouses to wait for the public announcements about the outreach sessions before contacting the Veterans Services Offices in Utica and Rome. “We will do everything we can to serve every veteran. That is why we adopted this exemption. Once we have the application process in place, we will be there to help everyone who is eligible get through the paperwork that needs to be filed.”