Published: August 22, 2008 11:51 am      

Vets asking lawmaker to intervene in dispute

Tulsa — (AP) — Residents of a little-known veterans colony in the rural southeastern Oklahoma town of Wilburton are asking U.S. Rep. Dan Boren to intervene in a simmering dispute that threatens to disrupt the peaceful way of life there.

Nearly two dozen residents of the United Spanish War Veterans Colony have accused its leaders of mismanagement, and say those who question the improprieties are harassed and threatened with eviction.

On Thursday, Boren said he takes the veterans’ concerns “very seriously” and added that his office is looking into the matter.

“We certainly don’t want to see them hurt in any way,” the Democratic congressman said. “If there are proper authorities to turn this over to, we’ll certainly do that.

“We would never dismiss a concern of a veteran.”

Meanwhile, one colony resident, Vietnam veteran Paul Skaggs, says he’ll be evicted unless someone steps in to help.

“I have a legal right to be here,” Skaggs said. “I’m almost at a loss for words that this could happen in the United States of America.

“They have more rights in Russia than they have here.”

But colony leaders say Skaggs must go because he falsified his military discharge paperwork — which he denies — and say the other vets have not formally brought their accusations of mismanagement to the board. Skaggs is due a hearing before the board this weekend to determine if he stays or goes.

James Baldwin, chairman of the colony’s board, said Skaggs has tried to “stir up trouble” ever since he arrived there.

“He started this about six months after he came to the colony,” Baldwin said. “We used to be pretty good friends, but he allied himself with what I consider to be a group of dissidents.

“I really feel sorry for Paul.”

The dispute is the biggest news to come out of this enclave of 110 residents in decades.

For 75 years, the place has operated largely unnoticed in the foothills of the Winding Stair Mountains, about 125 miles south of Tulsa.

It’s so off the beaten path that soldiers from across the country typically learn about the colony from online chat rooms or friends of friends.

Its major selling point: vets can buy an acre of tax-free land for only a couple hundred dollars and are allowed to build whatever they wish on it and live out their days in peace.

To be admitted, honorably discharged wartime vets must be members of a service organization such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars or American Legion. They pay a $200 deposit and $50 more for a background check.

The fees, along with interest from long-term certificates of deposit, provide the bulk of income to operate the colony, which also gets revenue from timber and mineral rights on the land.

The vets say the trouble here started after some of them, including Skaggs, questioned the finances of the colony, which reported having more than $450,000 in the bank in 2006.

Among their allegations: money unaccounted for on annual financial reports, monthly beginning and ending balances that didn’t match up and some questionable purchases.

Colony leaders called the alleged discrepancies minor and welcomed an outside review of their books — one of the veterans’ requests. Baldwin said Thursday the allegations “were things that occurred four or five years ago and have been resolved.”

Now, colony leaders and the disgruntled veterans are at stalemate. Things have gotten so bad, some vets are threatening to take up arms to defend themselves.

If Skaggs is voted out at his hearing, he says he’s prepared to make a final stand on his property.

“We’re going to get this place fixed,” he said. “If I get killed or shot, that’s the way it is.”