COLDWATER, MI (WTVB) – Branch County Veterans Board chair Rod Olney unloaded on the County Board of Commissioners and County Administrator Bud Norman during their work session on Monday over recent controversies involving the local V.A. Office.
Controversy erupted in October after a recommendation from the Commissioners that Whitney Lewis be the next Branch County Department of Veterans Affairs Director was turned down by the local V.A. Board who instead chose Jacqueline Yap.
Long time V.A. Director Charles Scott intended to retire at the end of the year but rescinded his retirement due to the controversy surrounding the search for his successor.
Yap is Scott’s daughter and the news of her hiring led to social media cries of nepotism. Yap was scheduled to take over in early November but the criticism over her selection led her to turn down the position, “due to the harassment my family is receiving online and in the office.”
Olney said the local V.A. office is being audited by the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency and he blamed Norman for giving Commissioners wrong information about who could appoint Scott’s successor.
Olney added they have lost a state grant for a transportation van.
The $50,000 grant from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency that according to Commission Chair Tim Stoll was suspended would have been used to purchase a van to transport veterans to and from V.A. appointments on a daily basis.
Stoll said the letter they got from the State V.A. did not give a clear reason why the action was taken other than there was possibly something to do with the application they submitted.
The local VA board was corrupted and the County Board of Commissioners should not have caved to pressure from the local VA board on the appointment. This was local politics at its worst and always causes far reaching implications.