POST FALLS — Post Falls American Legion Post 143 is operating with a new commander and lounge manager after the previous people in those positions were removed by the nonprofit's state office late last week.

Korean War veteran Del DeMeritt, who was previously the first vice commander and has been a member at Post Falls for the past six years, has been named the new commander.

Linda Shaver, who has been a bartender at the Legion, has been named the new lounge manager. The commander position is volunteer, while the lounge manager is paid.

Department of Idaho Adjutant Abe Abrahamson said former Commander Dennis Wheeler and former Lounge Manager Tresa Wheeler, a couple, were removed from their positions late last week.

Abrahamson said an investigation is underway.

"We're having an audit done, ensuring everything that's been done is above the board and by procedure," he said.

Abrahamson said there have been some allegations but nothing concrete at this point.

"It's all a work in progress right now," he said.

The Wheelers, who have 30 days to appeal the decision, couldn't be reached for comment on Monday. Some Legion members praised the Wheelers for the jobs they did and said they were the targets of gossip, while others stated Dennis failed to resolve complaints and instead blamed those who made them.

Abrahamson said the allegations came in the past two months. He has been in contact with Post Falls Legion leaders and said the nonprofit is moving ahead with its mission of serving veterans.

"There's been a loss of membership the past few years, but they now appear to be on the right track," he said.

DeMeritt said there has been turmoil at the Legion the past four years, but declined to comment on the state's decision about the Wheelers.

"We can't change history," he said. "We can learn from it and move forward. What is history is history and we want to move forward on a positive note, keeping this place a respectable and honorable organization in the community."

DeMeritt said the Legion has about 300 members. At one point, he said, it was the largest in the state.

"We've gone down a bit, but we'll work on improving recruitment," he said. "We have a lot of older veterans and we'd like to get more younger veterans involved."