MYRTLE POINT - Evaluating current veteran's policies and programs and seeing what works and what doesn't work, a group of people appointed by the Governor head to Myrtle Point to meet with local vets as part of a series of town hall meetings being held across the state.

Members of the Governor's Task Force on Veterans' Services met vets on Monday night to hear what the main concerns are facing them in this area and what seems to be working.

"The main issue and huge burden is transportation, for folks getting to and from medical care is a huge issue in rural areas. Second thing we learned in rural areas as compared to urban areas is that when folks coming off active duty, making sure the transition back into civilian life is as smooth as possible," says Task Force Chairman Paul Evans.

The Task Force, made up of 27 vets and non-vets, was formed at the end of March, and is now in the second phase of a three phase project, to develop recommendations for improvements to ensure that Oregon veterans have access to the services they need.

"There are so many things going on in vets policy that we, number one, wanted to have a systematic approach to look at what's going on out there, look at what's working, recognize duplication. So we're hoping to have five or six priorities for state action, and five or six that we'll ask the Legislature to pass as a memorial to ask for federal action."

Currently there are 360,000 vets living in the state, roughly 12 percent of the population.