Jackson Jambalaya

That’s pretty generous. If a nurse or a house keeper did what they did they would have been fired immediately. White privilege, affluenza, good ole boy network? Governor should have dropped the hammer

Website scrubbed

“Retire from state government service” means the public trough is closed. Call it retirement, but it is a few years short

What did they do @4.44? Inquiring minds want to know.

Somebody write it in crayon for me. What did they do? Was it an interpersonal situation? It couldn’t have been anything like embezzlement if they’re being allowed to stay until July 11. Somebody help. 🙈

They are retiring from doing “nothing”. Why are we and I mean we paying them for two more months of “doing nothing” before they officially leave.

The forthcoming lawsuits will expose the truth.

Regardless of who caught who doing what on a desk, it’s a good day for MSVA. Hopefully they can now focus on servicing veterans and not egos, or bosses

I'm told Pickering couldn't be bothered to attend the Board meeting. I know it's state government and it's Stacey Pickering, but come on, you can't be a no show at your own dismissal.

Someone should have told him a camera would be there.

There are at least two readers to this board that would like to know what inspired these departures. It is apparent no one knows anything.

Hey Shad, isn't not showing up for work for a state job a form of embezzlement? Asking for a friend. Or is this too high profile for that?

It took them a week to get their lie together. The board and the whole crew should be fired. They weren't serving veterans, they were lining their pockets and playing house on the state's dime. So these two crooks get two more undeserved paychecks? And we wonder why Mississippi is called the Dirty South.

The Board is a joke! Do nothing friends of the Governors friends that care nothing about veterans. A bunch of policy makers! Look at the pay of the front line workers in the nursing homes.Sad!

Is he related to Chip?

To all the commentators above - I dont give a damn about Stacy, I'm not in any way defending him or her

But there is this little thing called state law that applies to him just like the other 300,000 state employees. He accrued state annual leave that he is entitled to. It is much easier for any agency to let him get paid for that leave in dismissing him tban spending thousands of dollars denying him hundreds of dollars of leave time. He would get his earned time - as do all employees when they leave state government

Stacey gets that leave time, like it or not. Want to bitch about it, do so for every (probably 1000 every year) not just him

He's gone. Thats it. He should be gone. They did it as state law allows. Get over this shit about him getting paid for two or three weeks of leave.

Yes he’s related to Chip, former state auditor and currently an officer in the National Guard. Guess he’s not as patriotic as he falsely claims. Shad White followed his steps and joins the Guard as well. We’ll see if Shad turns out to be an empty suit as well. Right now with Feel Bryant’s situation, Shad is falling right in as expected.

11:28

Per state law, he is entitled to cash out 30 days and the rest goes towards PERS.

Hey Shad White wonder why the Best Western in Collins Ms located right by the Collins Veterans Home is now named Pickering Inn and Suites? No joke. I guarantee you there's a lot of bogus state travel encouraged as well as submitted to throw business that way. Sure he does just enough for the cameras to fool the public but this loser has exploited veterans from day one. As a REAL veteran I'm pissed

I’m still in disbelief that anyone thought Stacey Pickering had the work ethic, smarts, ethics, morals, and leadership abilities to run a lemonade stand.

Why a press release at all? And paying homage to people who are obviously being fired?

If Mississippi's laws allow any State employee or those who received State funds and who are fired for embezzlement or violating any State law regarding exceeding their authority or in failing to do due diligence, they should forfiet any and all due pay or benefits from the date of the violation. And, The State should not pay until any civil or criminal legal proceedings are adjudicated.

Stacey will continue to drive his nice state ride using his state credit card for gas until the last minute of his employment.

The emptiest of all empty suits

Can somebody just come on here and say why/ what happened? Does this ever stop in Mississippi? Can we ever get this right, even for the veterans. The board is dominated by a bunch of retired National Guard officers, McDaniel..currently serving and is exec. dir of officers assn. Deb Coleman, Billy Pierce, George Irvin and Jim Garner as the chair…this all gets really deep. Why would any veteran want to come back home or retire in Mississippi with this kind of muck….

the ms st dept of veterans affairs. another administrative agency created by the legislature so politicians can hand out high paying , do nothing jobs with full state benefits to their political cronies.
this ''veterans affairs dept'' is just one more of the hundreds of board, commissions, and agencies , many of which the average taxpayer has never even heard of.
and thats just the way the politicians want it.
all brought to you by your precious mississippi republican party........the party of ''limited '' government.

3:34 so gets it right.
the only ''business'' you will ever see grow in mississippi is the growth of government.
its the only growth industry this third world backwater cesspool will ever have.
i would love to see the feds turn off the money pipeline from washington dc to mississippi and watch the beautiful people of the SEC and the ''disadvantaged underclasses'' , get a real dose of reality.
this country hasn't been in a real war since ww2 & korea.
most all these so called ''disabled vets '' everyone so worries about , are a bunch of junkies looking for a free ride.
had one living right down the street from me.
got 8,000$ a month tax free and blew it all on herion by the 3nd week of the month.
at that point he would wander around the neighborhood begging , telling people he was a war hero and when that didn't work he would take to trying to extort or intimidate senior citizens out of money.

Wow! It is very interesting to see the comments on the treads pertaining to the MSVAB. Seems like many of those posting here have a deep view into both the MSVA agency and the actions of the Board.

First of all, the majority of State Boards do not provide a salary for board members (as a response to high-paying Board appointments), board members volunteer to serve in areas of their interest and hopefully expertise. They are typically good citizens trying to give back to their State.

Second, seems Stacey has become a lightning rod for comments, while I have no idea what is or is not deserved, I hope he and the agency do well in the future.

Third, I am sure the actions taken by the MSVA Board were believed to be in the best interest of the agency. From having served on Boards, it is a real balance for any board to provide oversight and not micromanage.

Fourth, in response to why would veterans move to Mississippi, well many are from here and have returned home, as has been in my case (but I was convinced by our LT Governor and those in our state legislature once the State flag was changed and according to some, monuments were relocated, millions of people and jobs would be rushing to relocate intro the "New and inclusive (Woke) Mississippi" or did I miss something).

Finally, while I am not an advocate of a "free-ride" for veterans just because they served, some do need real assistance. Many in the State Veterans' Homes find themselves with limited life choice and care options as they approch end of life, these homes provide that safety net. I hope this agency will, as it resets itself under new leadership, continue to play a role in providing the needed assistance to those who served and the State.

5:45 and others - what is the third word of the agency’s name?

For 3:34 and your "real war comment," you are just as dead if you get it in Iraq, Afghanistan or Africa (yes we have military engaged there today) as if you were hit in WWII or Korea (did you forget Vietnam). Wars are large, but combat is personal (I am a Vet of Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan, USMC (Infantry)). It has been a tough two decades with the military service provided by volunteers, sons and daughters, maybe not you or yours but young, great Americans. Some have lost limbs, and many have lost parts of their souls. Some have become junkies, most have not. Most are and have been productive citizens. Wars are created by politicians but fought too often by the young.

@ 3:54 - maybe you need to go back and revisit your history. Just when do you think the Dept of Veterans Affairs was created in MS? And, after you get that date, check and see which party was in power during that period. While you are at it, look at all the structure of this fine government that has been created - and look at those dates as well.

Going to be hard to say that this bloated government was brought to you by the MS Republican Party.

As to 4:38 - I tend to agree with you. I honored vets all through my working life, because those were vets of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. But now the 'vets' that we are required to honor are oftentimes folks who served a couple of years of active duty stateside, joined the reserves if they could, then moved to the guard, and back to the reserves when the proper "slot" was not open - eventually retiring with a nice pension. Add to that those that claim a 'disability' or get a ruling for a 'partial disability' from some event that took place while they were serving their summer 'duty'. Maybe lifted too heavy a box from the floor to the desk, or bumped into the wall while doing their PT and 'injured' an extremity, whatever. Its not just the junkies that are sucking off the system based on their 'service'.

@6:45

Dude you should apply for the job. It’s been a while since the top spot was held by someone who’s been deployed

to 6;45.....im a student of history i dont forget nothing. vietnam was an intervention by the USA into a small piss-ant ,southeast asian country, that was involved in a civil war.
apparently during all you time in the military , no-one ever taught you the truth about that so-called war. GI's were given a 13 month
tour and then they went home.
when my father left for north africa in 1942, and then on to sicily, anzio,monte cassino, and rome , no soldier was ever told ''hey fellas. relax , you will be home in 13 months.
when my fathers generation came home they didn't have all the whiney, pissy little problems that todays so-called vets have. they just went to work.
all that PTSD is a bunch of crap all cooked up in order to live off the government for the rest of their lives.

Interesting 806, there is a great difference in reading history and being part of it as it unfolds.

@ 8:06

Hate to break it to you, but your father’s generation birthed the modern VA benefits system. Ever heard of the Montgomery GI Bill?

As for Mississippi Veterans Affairs Board, the agency is actually a holdover of the first Veterans benefits, when states (both North and south) operating veterans homes for veterans after the Civil War (not to dive too deep into history but it had a lot to do with medicine at the time, i.e. first time morphine was used in field hospitals).

So to recap: civil war, first veterans benefits. WWII, birth of the modern VA benefits.

PS we’ve always had PTSD, it was just referred to by different era-specific terms. Your father’s generation called it “Fog of war” and in Vietnam it was “shell shock.”

to 7;24.....well, if you know so much history mr piss ant republican, why dont you supply an answer for all those questions you pose in your first paragraph?

to 7;24...........you dont know much about mississippi political history do you sugar britches?
you wanna talk dates?...no problem......
strap this one on........apparantly you want to blame the ms democratic party for all the bloated bureaucracy .
fine.. but understand this .......in november 1980 , after the election of regan, the old line ms democratic party merely switched too calling themselves republicans and its been that way ever since.
you the one that needs to go read a little history.

@912, I was actually around when in 1980 REAGAN (yes, I know how to spell his name also) was elected. Those folks that you said 'switched' and became republicans sure didn't do so in the Mississippi legislature - where there were fewer than a dozen republicans in either chamber. Nor did they switch as to who they voted for Governor, or Lt Gov, or SOS, or any other state office. Or most county offices.

Yes, that's a good tale you spin, and it was true to an extent as to how Mississippians voted for President, but the question was who created all the bureaucracy in the state. And that my friend was done by those in the legislature and in the Governor's mansion - and that (except for Fordice in the 90's) didn't change until this century

But, thanks for playing. Singing the verses you were taught doesn't always win the prize.

Wade's salary increased like poke salat in a ditch. Reckon there's any resemblance?

to 12:18.....i dont sing verses. you may have been around, but i was there.

759, if you were there, you weren't paying any attention. I was there and in the midst of it.

So, since you were there as well, tell me what's wrong with my statement, other than you don't sing.

11:18 - Somebody like you always shows up to harp and bitch recommending taking away contracted, earned, owned benefits (retirement in this case) for State employees who are found guilty of engaging in certain activities.

Like it or not, the State does not have legal authority to seize the income or future benefits (retirement if applicable) of these two or any other state employee.

Can't imagine they would not retire effective 11 days earlier in order to get in line for a quicker 'cost of living' increase.

She's quite an, ah, accomplished young lady judging by her Linkedin profile.

He will now be able to spend more time with his family, as they say. I wonder if he still golfs in Canton when Rudy Warnock comes back home. Some say that's the reason Rudy got an audit/investigation pass for years.

What goes around comes around Stacey

11;38 must have one of those highly paid , do nothing jobs at an administrative agency of the state. just like 3;54 spoke about.

to 9pm...recap this one mr histrorian..........when congress created the VA after the civil war, it was there to assist UNION SOLDIERS ONLY, not confederate.

Someone has mentioned what desk they were on but not many comments how just how crooked Stacey Pickering is. I hate it for the Veterans who benefit from this agency.

He was our state auditor. One of those duties was monitoring elected officials and the misuse of funds. He constantly misused his campaign funds. You might as well call the Campaign Finance Law passed years ago "the Stacey Pickering" law. He put garage doors on at his personal house, bought a campaign vehicle that just happened to be a BMW parked mainly at Ole Miss that is daughter drove and then his wife used his campaign motorhome that stayed parked at Disney World for her business adventures. Now folks, if these activities are this blatant, imagine what was not uncovered. And to think you could by law at the time do these things. Thank goodness some tightening up in the code was done. Not against the law but highly unethical, wouldn't you say? And mercy, all the folks who were giving to his campaign that thought it was going to signs and push cards.

After trying to find many opportunities that would pay him bigger bucks than a state auditors' salary, he finally landed one. Better yet it would add to his state retirement - things were great. But to someone like this, they just cannot stop! They just keep on and once again, it catches up.

He came into the state Senate with his family name wanting to set the world on fire. The astute members knew what an "empty suit" was then the opportunity with auditor seemed better. Wondered now if he would have stayed the course knowing that next election, the auditor will get paid more. We will never know.

This guy does not need to resurface in state government. Never! Not even after staying in time out like many of his bad colleagues who have served before. They get out of the position, serve in time out and then later placed on political do nothing or minimally working boards and commissions.

10:06, on behalf of many in MS, et al., thank you for your post. Certainly on point and accurate re: stacey and his tax payer funded paramour. God bless our veterans and their service. Thank you. Trust me, more to come very soon. Obviously, NO pun intended.