Geezer Forum focuses on veterans, veteran services

I was surprised earlier this week to discover that are currently 4,600-6,000 military veterans in Bonner County.

Put another way, almost 10% of the county’s population is made up of military veterans. This estimate came from Bryan Hult, Veterans’ Service Office for Bonner County.

Next Tuesday, Nov. 8, Bryan will be leading our next Geezer Forum. The focus is on veterans and veteran services. This is the Geezer Forum’s way to recognize that next Friday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day in our country.

Though I’m not a veteran, I am eager to learn more about the new Bonner County VA Clinic. It has been moved to a new location, 130 McGhee Road, Suite 101, in Kootenai. It is housed in a section of the former Coldwater Creek complex. You can contact the clinic at 208-263-0450.

According to a September 29 front-page article on the new clinic in the Daily Bee, the new location has roughly three times more space than the previous clinic had. That certainly promises more services for veterans. The new clinic “is poised to offer a full-time physician, an advanced nurse practitioner, and 2 full primary care teams, in addition to mental health, telehealth, limited laboratory, and other health services.”

I hope more clinic details for interested veterans might be available at next Tuesday’s Geezer Forum. The forum, by the way, is held in the Community Room at Columbia Bank. We meet 2:30-4 p.m. (Or 1430 to 1600 hours for those who prefer military time.)

Along with Bryan sharing information about the new Veterans Clinic and other veteran services, we will hear brief stories from other veterans about their own service and how that has helped shape their lives. These men (and one woman) have served service tours from Korea and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The stories will come from Barney Ballard (Air Force), Rick Langlois (Air Force), Mike Andrade (Navy), Bill Stevens (Marines) and Gerri Stevens (Army WAC). Additionally, military historian Ken Conger will share a brief look at the history of the Farragut naval training base near Bayview during World War II. That training base has had a significant impact on Bonner County in a variety of ways.

If you would like to know more about this particular Geezer Forum, please contact Jim Ramsey at badgerbuff@gmail.com or 208-610-3250.

We hope that if you plan to join us at this Geezer Forum, you will invite one or more of your veteran friends to join you. We also hope the information and shared stories will add to your experience leading up to Veterans’ Day on Nov. 11.

Also, please remember that next Tuesday, Nov. 8, is Election Day. If you are waiting until that day to vote, please take time before, or after, the Geezer Forum, to go to your precinct and vote. Thank you.

Paul Graves, M.Div., is lead geezer-in-training for Elder Advocates, a consulting ministry that deals with issues of aging. Paul can be contacted at 208-610-4971 or elderadvocates@nctv.com.