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Poteau Daily News

Candidate rips
VA over center
OKLAHOMA CITY na, Edmondson expressed
— Drew Edmondson, gu- his concern in a letter to
bernatorial candidate and Col. Doug Elliott, ODVA
Vietnam veteran, is urging deputy director.
the Oklahoma Department “The facility is home to
of Veterans Affairs to pro- the men and women who
tect the Talihina Veterans live there, and at a time
Center. when the center could
After learning the benefit from stability and
ODVA is supporting a leg- leadership, it seems the
islative effort to close the
veterans center in Talihi- (See CENTER, page 2)
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
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Poteau Daily News
CENTER
leadership at our legislature has
chosen to leave these veterans
behind. This is a dereliction of
duty. Oklahomans will not stand
for it,” the Democrat’s letter
said.
Edmondson, who toured the
Talihina Veterans’ Center in No-
vember, said the legislature has
cut ODVA’s budget by about 25
percent in recent years.
“During that time, the direc-
tors of our state’s seven veterans
centers have struggled to keep up
with staffing, facilities mainte-
nance and a growing number of
patients requiring their services,”
Edmondson said. “While our leg-
islature struggles with partisan
gamesmanship and near constant
bickering, our veterans suffer
from this failure of leadership.”
Edmondson said he recently
learned ODVA is supportive
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
of House Bill 3042, a bill that
would authorize the agency to
relocate the center in Talihina.
“We should not be uprooting
the men and women who live in
this facility,” Edmondson said.
“We should be investing in their
care and their comfort — not
looking for ways to burden or
inconvenience them, and that’s
what a forced move would be.”
Edmondson, a U.S. Navy vet-
eran who served a tour of duty
in Vietnam, also offered strong
words for ODVA administrators,
should the bill become law.
“If this legislation, HB 3042,
passes, I urge you to take no ac-
tion that would close or ‘move’
the Talihina Veterans Center un-
til a new governor takes office
next January. That governor may
well have a position contrary to
this proposal.
“I can assure you that if I am
that governor and I find that the
Talihina Veterans Center has
been closed, I will seek to re-
open it. And the first place I will
look for funding would be the
salaries of those responsible for
its closure.
“Our veterans have given
their best. They have defended
us, and now we must stand up
for them,” the letter said.
 Spiro Graphic

Vietnam Veteran Edmondson

Feb Decries Legislative Plan
15
to Close Talihina Veterans’ Center
2018 A Navy Veteran, Edmondson Says He Will Hold Administrators
Page Accountable as Governor if Facility is Closed
03
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Feb. 8, 2018 — Concerned about a
resized decade of drastic funding cuts and declining services for military
65%
veterans, Drew Edmondson, gubernatorial candidate and Vietnam
veteran, is urging the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs
(ODVA) to protect the Talihina Veterans’ Center.
Dismayed to learn that the ODVA is supporting a legislative
effort to close the Veterans’ Center in Talihina, Edmondson
expressed his concern in a letter to Col. Doug Elliott, ODVA
deputy director.
“The facility is home to the men and women who live there, and
at a time when the center could benefit from stability and
leadership, it seems the leadership at our legislature has chosen
to leave these veterans behind. This is a dereliction of duty.
Oklahomans will not stand for it,” Edmondson’s letter states.
Edmondson, who toured the Talihina Veterans’ Center in
November, said the legislature has cut ODVA’s budget by about
25 percent in recent years.
“During that time, the directors of our state’s seven veterans’
centers have struggled to keep up with staffing, facilities
maintenance and a growing number of patients requiring their
services,” Edmondson said. “While our legislature struggles with
partisan gamesmanship and near constant bickering, our veterans
suffer from this failure of leadership.”
Edmondson said he recently learned ODVA is supportive of
HB 3042, a bill that would authorize the agency to relocate the
center in Talihina.
We should not be uprooting the men and women who live in
this facility,” Edmondson said. “We should be investing in their
care and their comfort – not looking for ways to burden or
inconvenience them, and that’s what a forced move would be.”
Edmondson, a United States Navy veteran who served a tour
of duty in Vietnam, also offered strong words for ODVA
administrators, should the bill become law.
“If this legislation, HB 3042, passes, I urge you to take no
action that would close or ‘move’ the Talihina Veterans’ Center
until a new governor takes office next January. That governor
may well have a position contrary to this proposal.
“I can assure you that if I am that governor and I find that the
Talihina Veterans’ Center has been closed, I will seek to reopen
it. And the first place I will look for funding would be the salaries
of those responsible for its closure.
“Our veterans have given their best. They have defended us,
and now we must stand up for them,” the letter concludes.

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.