Chairman resigns from Missouri veterans agency citing Governor Parsons remarks

Chairman resigns from Missouri veterans agency citing Governor Parsons remarks

Governor needs to hire a new chair for missouri's veteran agency in 2021.

But before you throw your hat in the ring -- you should know it doesn't pay, it has limited power, and the last guy just quit.

Here's kq2's madeline mcclain with why the last chair says he walked.

<<kq2 madeline mcclain reportingmissouri's veteran agency is in need of a new commission chairman.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: "i would've run this thing as long and as hard as it took but what a fundamental value gets crossed it's a straightforward decision and one of my fundamental values was crossed so i wish the team the governor everybody the best to get it fixed."and with that -- commission chairman tim noonan -- of missouri's veterans commission is out.the latest blow after 9 months of a bungled covid-19 response that lead to the death of about 160 veterans living in state-run nursing homes.he says the line was crossed when the governor said this wednesday.governor mike parson, r-missouri: "the veterans will be a priority.

I'm not going to worry about everybody's personal lives that sit on the commission, or the chairman.

I'm just going to absolutely worry about the veterans and that's my whole focus."at the heart of this -- a report detailing failures from top to bottom of the veterans agency and state officials to plan, see and respond to the coronavirus outbreak that tore through the 7-state run homes.noonan had denied a st.

Louis-post dispatch's request for the full 415-page document.the summary of it -- was already public.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: i do not believe that having that information publicly available does anything to drive a different outcome relative to what we are trying to do in the commission.a state lawmaker called on noonan to release it -- and urged the attorney general to order noonan to do it too.

He agreed and sent an order to noonan on december 30th.what irked noonan most was that he had asked the attorney general and governor's office about all of this a month ago.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: "i couldn't get an answer from the governor's office i'd ask a question of and written form on 23 november and it took a spectacle to get an answer."

The contract -- he says -- was written to keep the 415-page document out of the public eye because it names state employees big and small.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: "in addition, it is also prudent not to create a roadmap for a frivolous plaintive lawsuit."

For example, two months ago - investigators found some staff at cameron veterans home not following ppe protocols.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: "what is the impact of releasing the names of frontline caregivers workers and workers when they been working 80, 90 to 100 hours a week?

What's the purpose of that?

How does that help solve the problem?"the failures in the report can be traced all the way up to top state officials.the fusion cell -- the governor's handpicked team for dealing with the health crisis -- were told about the deaths and positive cases in september.

Something noonan noted in his resignation letter.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: "it's not factually correct that the fusion cell did not have the same data that the veterans commissions had."he says he had hoped up and down the chain of command -- everyone would have taken responsibilities for the lives lost.but wednesday it became clear that wasn't going to happen.tim noonan, former chairman of mvc's commission: "i was completely prepared to drive it forward.

But i simply can't win when one of my fundamental values gets crossed which is that i'm working for a guy that's not worried about me or that he's not worried about the personal life of me or my commissioners."reporting madeline mcclain kq2 news.

The entire 415-page report can be found up on our website at kq2-dot-com.

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