New Veteran Services van arrives in Faribault County
Faribault County veterans will be riding in high style, now that a new Veterans Services van has arrived.
The 12-passenger Dodge 2500 van was delivered to the county last Wednesday afternoon.
“We are pretty excited to finally have it here,” says LeAnn Eastman, administrative assistant for the Veterans Services office.
The van is being paid for by a $50,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs, Eastman said. The van will be used to transport county veterans, mainly to the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Minneapolis.
“We make a run to the cities on even numbered days,” Eastman said. “We have between two and 12 passengers each time.”
She said they make stops not only in Blue Earth at the courthouse, but also in Winnebago and Wells.
Two of the van drivers, Don Amundson and Roger Fletcher, were on hand when the van was delivered by Paul Nelson of Chrysler of Forest City. The two drivers got an extensive hands-on training session for the van, which had 74 miles on the odometer when it arrived in Blue Earth.
Eastman said they still need to get it licensed, and then they want to put lettering on the sides, to identify it as the Faribault County Veterans Services van.
“I am sure the drivers and our clients can hardly wait for that first trip,” Eastman said with a smile.