Board President Demands Disqualification of retired military Officer and Vietnam Veteran for not Proving Military Service

An Opinion By Arthur Grimes

Published January 16, 2016

     

Oak Hollow Property Owners’ is back in the news!  Several years back, property manager Julie Marr was fired after months of intolerable behavior, including fals information and refusing to give out employee wages. Board Attorney Ernest Sturges was taken into mediation for encouraging her not to divulge employee wages.   

 

Last Thursday, at a regular board meeting, board president Richard Champion publicly took a bold move. He ordered the property manager Judy Long to remove the board application of Retired Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Arthur Grimes, a Vietnam and Gulf War veteran and sitting board member who has served on Oak Hollow’s Board several times. Champion announced to the board and owners present that Grimes’ application was “fiction” and demanded its removal from the election package for not proving his military service.

 

That was the second blitz attack. About a week earlier, Champion arranged the first blitz attack. An email Grimes had sent requesting information for a board vote was somehow intercepted, found its way into Champion’s hands, with the demand of Grimes:

 

“What is the meaning of this!”

 

Grimes told Champion it was a simple email request for information.

 

Champion then verbally attacked Grimes for “taking action” without board approval.

 

“No action by any director without board approval! That means no phone calls, no emails, to anyone without board approval!”

 

That was the beginning. Champion, two other officers, and another director continued with a barrage of accusations and demands, escalating to demands that Grimes reveal any charges of sexual harassment or other immoral acts. Pouring through Grimes previous board applications, Champion continued his heated display with accusations of inappropriate information and comments in his board applications.  Champion then threatened to disqualify Grimes for the board if his DD-214 was not immediately produced.  

 

Grimes hired an attorney.

 

Another blitz attack followed at the regular board meeting. This time Champion escalated to an accusation of a felony, under the Stolen Valor Act, for Grimes not producing his military records. That escalated to accusations that Grimes entire board application was a fake. Anticipating this possibility, Grimes produced his DD-214, which Champion promptly denounced as “forged”. Champion then ordered the property manager to remove Grimes’ application, while he held the application in front of the owners, declaring   

 

Spread the word.  This application is fiction! “  

 

Grimes is now looking into filing a lawsuit.

 

Over the years ago, Oak Hollow owners have endured months of secret board meetings, committee members parading around their properties taking pictures, calling owners out of their homes with public reprimands, hundreds of violation letters, and threats of stricter enforcement. A community of 452 homes, Oak Hollow has often been saturated with well over 100 violation letters, for overgrown trees, unsightly objects and other creative rule violations.  


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