Published: September 04, 2008 10:33 am      

Sides make points; nothing really settled

District 2 U.S. Rep. Dan Boren’s closed mediation meeting with members of the United Spanish War Veterans Colony did not resolve the dispute between some of the colony’s members.

Allegations are still being lobbed back and forth by several of the colony’s board members — and at least one critic, who is facing eviction.

However, some of those on both sides of the dispute who attended the meeting felt they got to make their points.

Boren, D-Muskogee, met with members of the Veterans Colony on Wednesday behind closed doors at the Kiamichi Technology Center in McAlester. The colony, which is open to qualifying veterans, is in Latimer County.

The group met for about 90 minutes Wednesday before opening the doors and stepping outside.

Also attending the meeting were LeFlore and Latimer County District 16 District Attorney Jeff Smith, District 7 state Sen. Richard Lerblance, D-Hartshorne; and District 17 state Rep. Brian Renegar, D-Blanco.

Boren said he wasn’t there to judge who was right or wrong, but to make sure that everyone is safe and no one’s rights are violated.

“For us, it was an informative meeting,” Boren said. “We had members of the governing board and one of the residents being evicted.”

Paul Skaggs, the member who’s being evicted, says he’s being retaliated against for questioning the colony’s finances, while several board members said it’s because some of the papers which were screened in accepting his application to move into the colony were altered.

Boren said the board had already decided to take action to resolve some of the financial questions.

“I think the governing board is going to an outside audit,” Boren said.

“As far as evictions, we’re talking about one individual.”

Smith, the District 16 district attorney, said no colony member had accused another of committing any crimes during the portion of the meeting he attended.

He said if that happens in the future, he will look at it “if and when something comes up.”

The prosecutor said he had learned several things during the meeting.

“I learned the colony is a private corporation, if you will —governed by their own set of by-laws,” Smith said.

He said if a colony member goes to the board over an issue and the board decision is not to his liking “You have the option of going through a civil lawsuit.”

He said if a criminal allegation occurs in the future, he will look at it “if and when something comes up.”

Renegar said he attended the meeting to listen.

“It was more of an information meeting for the congressman,” Renegar said.

Skaggs, one of the last to emerge from the meeting, said “I think it went good. It was a fact-finding thing.”

One thing that hasn’t changed for Skaggs is that he’s still facing a deadline for being evicted from the veterans colony.

“I have until Sept. 8,” he said. If Skaggs still refuses to leave, the colony’s board could ask the sheriff to remove him or try to get a court order from a judge.

Skaggs is considering the court option himself.

“I’m trying to find a lawyer who wants to file an injunction,” he said, referring to a request for a court injunction barring his eviction.

Skaggs also addressed the passages in question on his papers.

The passages in question have been “whited out,” according to those who have seen them.

Skaggs doesn’t dispute that they’ve been altered — but he says that he didn’t do it. He said if he would have done it, he could have done a much better job by using a computer.

“The whole thing is trumped up,” he said of the complaints against him.

James Baldwin, the current board chairman, said the colony has an audit conducted every year.

“Normally we do it with a committee of five,” he said.

“This year we’re having Hill’s Tax Service in Red Oak perform the audit.”

Baldwin said the current board had been elected during a special election in June and another election is set for October.

He said the board had looked at Skaggs’ case several times and had examined his application papers.

“We met as a board and looked at it and it had been altered,” he said.

Chuck White, another colony board member, said the board had received “10 or 12 complaints” against Skaggs.

White said Skaggs had told the board he didn’t have the money to go anywhere else if he is evicted.

“We addressed the issue. We’re going to refund him money for his share and for the lot,” White said.

Baldwin and White said if Skaggs doesn’t leave by the eviction deadline, “we will take it to the judge.”

As far as jurisdiction goes, Boren said he has determined that the Veterans Colony is not a Veterans Administration facility or a Department of Defense facility.

“But these are my constituents,” Boren said.

Another colony member, Jim Stowe, said he has lived there since 2000 and has not had problems with any other colony members.

“I love it,” he said.

Stowe appeared hopeful the dispute would be resolved.

“I’m one of the happy campers,” he said.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.