Bonus for veterans awaits staffing

[Rose Siding]

Three boxes of applications for a veteran’s bonus remain untouched at the state Capitol because no one has been hired to process them.

The state Division of Veterans Affairs has received dozens of bonus applications so far. But the bonus office has not been set up to deal with the applications, said Connie Hodapp, the division’s chief financial officer.
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Veterans from conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo are eligible for up to a $600 bonus. Families of soldiers killed in the line of duty can receive $2,000.
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One soldier complained about his bonus application to John W. Fry of the West Virginia National Guard.

Fry forwarded the e-mail Tuesday to several reporters. He said the soldier asked to remain anonymous.

“I submitted my application back in March and have not received anything back from them so I called to see if they had received my application,” the e-mail says. “The lady I talked to (I didn’t get her name) said they probably have my application in one of three big boxes but they don’t have anyone to do the job.

http://wvgazette.com/section/News/Other%20News/2005060711