American Legion Post 95 Shuttered by State Commander

The William E. Blair Post 95 of the American Legion was shuttered last week by an order of the State Commander over allegations of illegal gambling and other complaints.

An e-mail to post members from the State Commander Todd McKinley, lists a litany of allegations of wrongdoing against the post, including illegal gambling, allowing non-members to remain at the establishment after members leave, allowing the bar at the post to remain open during meetings of post officials, cashing checks and lending lounge funds, and tolerating intoxicated members in the lounge.

The e-mail ordered the post to cease operations and surrender its charter. Members of Post 95 can transfer their memberships to other posts.

Although the lounge will be closed, Post 95 will be allowed to have monthly business meetings. It’s Honor Guard will be allowed to continue its activities.

The e-mail states that Post 95 officials will have until July 24 to request a hearing before state officials to appeal the suspension. The e-mail also outlines steps that Post 95 officials may take to return to good standing.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.