Alachua County Veteran Services is informing Veterans in Alachua County about the PACT Act signed by President Joe Biden on August 10, 2022. The PACT Act opens many new conditions and diseases they may suffer from to be considered service-connected. Veterans serving between 1990 to present, and those who served in the Vietnam War, may now qualify for VA health care and/or service-connected compensation where they did not before the Pact Act was signed. Veterans should contact Alachua County Veterans Services at 352-264-6740 to find out about filing a PACT Act claim. Due to the probable high call volume, please allow time for their office to schedule you to provide the services earned. 

Following the Veterans Administration Regional Office guidelines, Alachua County Veteran Services staff have filed PACT Act claims for the last several weeks. The Veterans Administration will begin to work on these claims in October 2022.

The PACT Act is the largest expansion of VA health care benefits for Veterans exposed to toxins in more than 30 years. It should extend eligibility for medical care to roughly 3.5 million Veterans who have potentially been impacted by toxic exposure. The County estimates that approximately 7,000 Veterans in Alachua County may be in this eligibility window.

“This is a wonderful opportunity for our Veteran community as it opens many conditions/diseases that they may be suffering from to be considered service-connected,” said Alachua County Veteran Services Director Kim Davis. “We are pleased to finally be able to serve our Veterans with this opportunity that has become available to them.”

FACT SHEET: President Biden Signs the PACT Act and Delivers on His Promise to America’s Veterans

For more information, contact Alachua County Veteran Services at 352-264-6740.

On July 14, the Army Reserve broke ground on their newest Equipment Concentration Site (ECS), located at the old Alachua County Fairgrounds. This new complex will help spur development along the Waldo Road corridor.

Watch a short video of the groundbreaking.

The Alachua County Office of Land Conservation and Management (Alachua County Forever Program) will host a public meeting on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. The meeting is to discuss the proposed Management Plan and Master Recreation for Black Lake Preserve, located west of Melrose. The meeting is from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Trinity Episcopal Church (204 S.R. 26, Melrose).

This meeting provides citizens the opportunity to learn about the proposed Management Plans for the Preserve, including the maintenance and restoration of the natural communities, invasive exotic plant management strategies, use of prescribed fire, forest resource management strategies, future public access opportunities, and more.

Learn more about the meeting.

Alachua County Public Works would like to remind everyone of proper school bus safety and also warn that as of January 1, 2021, the penalties for failure to stop for a school bus double. The penalty for failure to stop for a school bus goes from a minimum $100 to $200, and if a second offense is committed within five years, the person’s license will be suspended for up to one year. The penalty for passing a school bus on the side where children enter and exit when the school bus displays a stop signal goes from a minimum of $200 to $400, and if a second offense is committed in five years, the person’s license can be suspended up to two years.

School bus safety tips for motorists:

• Motorists are required to stop when approaching a school bus that is stopped with its red lights flashing and stop arms extended. (See the different situations in the diagram)
• All drivers moving in either direction on a two-way street must stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal and must remain stopped until the road is clear of children and the school bus stop arm is withdrawn. (see diagram, two-lane)
• On a highway divided by a paved median, all drivers moving in either direction must stop for a school bus displaying a stop signal and must remain stopped until the road is clear of children and the school bus stop arm is withdrawn. (see diagram, multi-lane)
• The only time traffic approaching an oncoming school bus does not need to stop is if there is a raised barrier such as a concrete divider or at least five feet of unpaved space separating the lanes of traffic. (see diagram, divided highway)
• On a highway divided by a raised barrier or an unpaved median at least five feet wide, drivers moving in the opposite direction do not have to stop for the bus (painted lines or pavement markings are not considered barriers). However, these motorists should slow down and watch for students loading or unloading from the bus. (see diagram, divided highway)