Dillon County Has Gained Ground
In Federal Dollars Set Here

To The Editor:
The US Department of Veterans Affairs has recently released the annual report of Federal dollars disbursed to Veterans/Widows/Dependents by State and County for Fiscal Year 2009.
Again, Dillon County has gained ground in federal (immediately disposable) dollars being sent into Dillon County.  The breakdown is as follows:
Total Expenditures:  Ten Million Fifty One Thousand Dollars
Veteran Population: Approx. 2,000 plus
Compensation & Pension: Six Million Sixty Two Thousand Dollars (directly into local economy).
Education & Voc. Rehab:  Two Hundred Ninety Two Thousand Dollars
Insurance & Indemnities:  Forty Thousand Dollars
Medical Care:   Received from VA Healthcare Providers (Dillon County Veterans)
Unique Patients: (Those who received treatment at a VA health care facility) 585 from Dillon County.
Intangible Benefits:  We now have a DAV 9 passenger van to transport Veterans to their out of town VA medical appointments.  Savings in personal out of pocket expenses (if they had to pay their own way to the VA Doctors’ in Florence, Columbia, Charleston, Fayetteville, NC and/or Durham, NC) are incalculable.  All transportation, fuel, maintenance etc. expenses are borne by the VA.
Our drivers are volunteers and receive no pay or benefits.  Through our office, the federal monies generated through adjudicated claims have become a “small cottage industry” and an integral part of our Dillon County economy.
Sincerely,
Jerry L. Huggins,
Dillon County, SC Veterans Service Officer
Dillon, S.C.