Hansen retiring after eight years as state veterinarian

By MITCH LIES

Capital Press

SALEM -- Brad LeaMaster will be the next Oregon state veterinarian.

LeaMaster will replace Don Hansen, who is retiring this spring. Hansen has been the state veterinarian since 2004.

LeaMaster formerly served as Oregon state veterinarian from March 2003 to March 2004.

"I'm going home," he said of his move to ODA. "It's good to be home."

Since he left ODA, he has continued to work in Salem, serving as area emergency coordinator with USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. In that position, LeaMaster helped implement the APHIS national incident management system in Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii.

LeaMaster's USDA position in Salem is being phased out as part of the agency's budget cutting process. The Oregon APHIS office is one of four veterinary services offices closing this month. Offices in Arizona, Louisiana and Maryland also are closing.

LeaMaster, 59, is a 1982 graduate of the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

He previously served as an extension veterinarian at the University of Hawaii for eight years and he worked as a field veterinarian for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, before taking over as state veterinarian when former state vet Andrew Clark retired in 2003.

The state veterinarian is appointed by the ODA Director Katy Coba.