Published: November 13, 2007 11:04 pm      

Bradley-Prosperity VFD ‘broke’

Chief Bruce James arrested after altercation at another bingo parlor

Chief Bruce James says the Bradley-Prosperity Volunteer Fire Department’s bingo operations have been halted because the department is broke — and that could result in less fire protection in that area if conditions do not improve.

James also says he plans to fight criminal charges from an alleged melee at another bingo location over the weekend.

James said bingo operations at the Bradley-Prosperity VFD were halted Sunday.

“I stand before you as a broken and battered man,” he said at a news conference Tuesday. “Why did we do this? It is quite simple. We are broke.”

James said the department had worked to keep bingo operations profitable following the legalization of video lottery in West Virginia. It transferred raffle funds to bingo and tried measures others were doing that worked for them, such as “winner take all” prizes.

“We have tried everything, and we have failed. So I decided we would shut down.”

The department used to have a large bank account, but all it has left is interest gained from an endowment at the Beckley Area Foundation, James said. He noted the department is “not rich” from leasing Beckley Motor Speedway. It lost $35,000, and all revenues were used to pay racers and make improvements.

The department owes multiple creditors, James said. It intends to pay the creditors, but it is struggling to do so, even after selling some property.

He does not believe his area’s fire protection will take a hit, at least for now. Creditors are presently working with the department, but if they begin demanding immediate payment, he may have to close one of the department’s stations. It could even result in the department filing bankruptcy and shutting down altogether, he warned.

Last Saturday, the department began having indoor flea markets, and it plans to continue through the winter, James said. Next summer, it plans to have the flea markets at the speedway.

The department is now undertaking a program called WC, or “We Care,” James said. It would appreciate donations from citizens which can be sent to the Beckley Area Foundation or directly to the fire department.

“We are going to be doing our part,” he said in a statement. “Please help us to survive and provide the services that the citizens of our area have come to expect and need.”

James said he also plans to fight the criminal charges filed against him Saturday night.

Beckley Police Chief Tim Deems said officers were dispatched to a bingo hall at Raleigh Mall on a disturbance call. Officers were told security personnel had removed a man who was later identified as James.

Officers obtained statements from witnesses and James was charged with verbal assault, Deems said. According to the statements, James began cursing a 65-year-old Princeton woman managing the hall and also drew back his fists.

James was taken into custody but released on $5,000 bond later that night, Deems said.

Deems said James was free on bond for a similar incident in January when he was charged with disorderly conduct, obstructing a police officer and verbal assault following an incident at the Beckley Plaza Kmart. That case is still pending.

James said he went to the bingo hall because he wanted to ask management to announce the department’s bingo closure, which would have been effective the next day. Four hundred former Bradley-Prosperity VFD bingo players were there.

James claimed a bingo hall security officer grabbed him and they began scuffling. Another male employee twisted James’ arm, and once outside, a man kicked him in the groin. The third man told a security guard to handcuff James until Beckley police arrived. He disputed their legal authority to do that and claimed the men “tore up” his hands and bruised his wrist while handcuffing him.

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