Each month, Jim Alton, Emmet County’s VA Director, writes a column regarding Veterans Affairs issues in Emmet County and the U.S. It is published in the Petoskey News-Review mid-month. Below is his Oct. 2015 column. To read past columns, click here.
Our Local Heroes
As most of my news is about our military and veterans, this month I would also like to honor our local firefighters, police and EMS crews as well. We are very fortunate to have the caliber of men and woman serving our community that we do. When emergencies arise, we can be thankful that the responders are well-trained and ready to assist regardless of the circumstances!
Honoring our deceased veterans in Petoskey
Again this year, Greenwood Cemetery in Petoskey will be honoring our deceased veterans with the “Wreaths across America” program. Wreaths are placed on all the graves of servicemen and women. You can help in two ways. First you can help by purchasing a wreath for $15; or buy two and get the third one free, all tax-deductible. Another way to help is show up at the cemetery on Dec. 12th at 11:45 a.m. to assist in putting the wreaths at the veterans’ grave sites. Last year, they laid 1,382 wreaths and expect more this year, so you can see the need for a lot of volunteers. If you have any questions, Karl Crawford will be glad to answer them; reach him at (231) 347-6531. You can always contact our office as well, (231) 348-1780.
Two more VA execs behaving badly
Two stories on the same topic, but I will start with the one from the Federal Times:
Two Department of Veterans Affairs executives inappropriately used their positions to benefit from the VA’s relocation and benefits policies, according to an inspector general’s report released on Sept. 28.
The report alleges that Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves each used their positions to create lower-level vacancies that they then applied for, retaining higher salaries and gaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in relocation benefits.
“We made criminal referrals to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Columbia, regarding official actions orchestrated by Ms. Rubens and Ms. Graves. Formal decisions regarding prosecutorial merit are pending,” the report said.
Here is basically how the scam worked:
Rubens, then Deputy Under-Secretary for Field Operations, volunteered to become director of the VA regional offices in Philadelphia and Wilmington, Va. in 2014, a job that she previously oversaw.
In her new position, Rubens had “a significant decrease in job responsibilities”, but retained her previous salary of more than $181,000. As part of her relocation benefits, Rubens was also paid more than $274,000.
Investigators determined that Rubens used her previous position to create the vacancy by working with Ms. Graves to help transfer the then Philadelphia director to fill a vacancy in Los Angeles. Rubens then stepped down to take the Philadelphia position, which she admitted was because she had family in the area.
Graves, a former Veterans Benefits Administration Eastern Area director, likewise left her position to become director of the St. Paul VA regional office, retaining her nearly $174,000 salary for a position with less responsibility and billed the VA for more than $129,000 in relocation costs.
I’m sure we’ll all sleep better knowing that the VA will investigate. Talk about greed.
VETERANS DAY and Holiday Care Packages
As my articles do not get to the News-Review till the middle of the month, I would like to remind everyone that Veterans Day is Nov. 11 and there will again be a number of activities for our veterans. I will be letting area media know so the events can be well-publicized. The big one this year, of course, is the 240th birthday of the Marine Corps, Semper Fi.
And with the holiday season once again approaching quickly, if you have a friend or family member in the service, please let our office know, as Christmas packages must go out early to those who are out of country. We have a list on our web site of what to send and what is not appropriate to send: www.emmetcounty.org/VA/
Jim Alton is the Director of the Veterans Affairs Department within Emmet County. Alton served in the United States Marine Corps (1955-62) and is retired from the Michigan State Police. Reach him or his assistant, Rick Wiertalla, at (231) 348-1780 or jalton@emmetcounty.org
