Vets, families to receive war bonuses

By MARC KOVAC

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS — State officials are moving forward with plans to distribute voter-approved bonus payments to veterans of recent and ongoing military conflicts in the Middle East.

The Ohio Department of Veterans Services has filed rules with the Ohio Joint Committee on Agency Rule Review, outlining how the program would be administered. Officials also have asked the state Controlling Board for more than $4 million in spending authority to cover startup costs.

Director Bill Hartnett said applications could be available to veterans in late summer or early fall, depending on how quickly the rules and startup costs are approved and the bonds are issued to cover the bonuses.

Hartnett said, if the process goes as planned, families of veterans who were killed or missing in action could begin receiving checks in September, with others starting in November.

“We’ll be sending checks out for two or three years,” he said.

For details, read Sunday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.