Applications to be on the Pahrump Veteran's Memorial advisory board will be accepted for a little longer, now that the town board has approved making a correction on the original advertisement that ran.

The original stated that membership on the board was open to veterans only and gave a Sept. 16 deadline.

However, after Town Manager Dave Richards reviewed the minutes of the meeting when the board decided to form the advisory board, he realized the board's actual intention was to allow anyone in the community to apply, regardless of their status as a veteran or non-veteran.

The new deadline for applications is Oct. 8. They must be received in the town office by 5 p.m.

Chairman Laurayne Murray introduced the idea of an advisory board for the memorial last month, arguing that since it was located on town property it should be managed by a public entity.

The board has since been receiving applications from many representatives of the town's various veteran organizations.

For legal reasons, however, a new advertisement that accurately reflects the motion passed at the meeting must be placed.

This information did not go over very well with many of the veterans in the community, who formed a long line to address the board on the issue.

Many of those who addressed the board were under the impression the advisory board would be made up exclusively of veterans.

"I really believe that all veterans projects, especially those of us who have actually fought in combat ... we are the ones that paid the price, and we are the ones who need to be on the advisory board," Janice Kelso, a self-described Vietnam-era Army veteran told the board.

Jose Telles, of the Marine Corps Auxiliary League, added, "All this ordeal has accomplished is to turn veteran against veteran.

"This memorial has been a positive project for the town of Pahrump," Telles said. "Let's get going on the memorial again."

A corollary issue of a building located on memorial property was also brought up during public comment.

The building was allegedly paid for by the non-profit corporation Support Your Soldiers in Need (SSI), an organization run but Commissioner Peter Liakopoulos.

SSI's request last month to lease the building from the town in July caused an uproar from various veterans and veteran organizations in town, leading the town board to table the item pending a meeting or agreement between the feuding veterans.

Harley Kulkin addressed the board and reminded them that the issue of the museum remained unresolved, telling the board they were very "unprofessional" for not having made a decision on that.

Board member Don Rust reminded those assembled that the museum issue was meant to be decided by the advisory board, and that was one of the reasons it was even being formed.

Murray added that there was a selection process involved in forming the board, and that an applicant's veteran status would certainly be a weighing factor.

"My personal feeling would be that we would be looking for people who were qualified for the board," Murray said. "And since the board is to establish policies, procedures, guidelines for usage, and control and oversight for a veteran's memorial ... the qualification for that would be to be a veteran."

Board Member Dan Sprouse added that the process was opened to all residents in an effort to expedite work on the memorial.

Sprouse pointed out that if the committee was only open to veterans' organizations, further coordination would be needed between those organizations to even apply.

As such, work on the memorial would only be further delayed.

"I agree that if you're going to be on a veteran's committee, you should probably be a veteran," Sprouse said. "In my opinion, I feel that we should open this up to all residents."