Vets allege mismanagement of retirement colony

[babsbunny]

http://portal.wowway.net/news/read.php?ps=1011&rip_id=%3CD9251LVO0%40news.ap.org%3E&_LT=HOME_LARSDCCLM_UNEWS

Friday, July 25, 2008 2:23 PM EDT
The Associated Press
By JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS Associated Press Writer


WILBURTON, Okla. (AP) — Nestled among the lush forests and mountain foothills of rural southeastern Oklahoma is a soldier's utopia, a sleepy enclave where U.S. military veterans can claim their share of the American dream for pennies on the dollar.

For 75 years, the little-known United Spanish War Veterans Colony has offered vets an acre of tax-free land for only a couple hundred dollars, allowing them to build whatever they wish and live out their days in quiet retirement. No homeowners associations, no nursing homes, no red tape.

Here, the pecan trees are the tallest things around, and wild turkeys and deer outnumber residents. Most of the roads are barely wide enough for a single car.

But a dispute brewing in the colony could threaten the peaceful, communal way of life of the 110 veterans who live here. The opening salvo: Nearly two-dozen vets have accused colony leaders of financial mismanagement, and they say residents who question the improprieties are harassed and threatened with eviction.