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White City kids club faces $75,000 hit Photo by Bob Pennell Natasha Boston, 8, right, and a group of impromptu dancers move to the sounds of the Backstreet Boys at the White City Boys and Girls Club Friday. The club's after-school and summer programs may be jeopardized because bingo organizers are not renewing a contract that provided $75,000 annually. Bingo group ends fund-raisers By JoNel Aleccia WHITE CITY -- After-school and summer programs for some 400 White City children could be jeopardized after area bingo organizers declined to renew a fund-raising contract with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Jackson County. Cascade Bingo in White City will not renew an agreement that allowed the Boys and Girls Clubs to run bingo games two nights a week, raising more than $75,000 annually. The move, which trims a significant portion of the agency's $400,000 annual budget, has forced staffing changes and closure of a Medford administrative office, said Greg Wicklem, executive director. "Our first interest is to minimize damage to the kids," Wicklem said. "But there will be an impact on programs and possibly on facilities." Staff director at the White City site will move to another Boys and Girls Club location. An administrator will take over duties in White City, where some 60 kids a day participate in after-school activities. Members of the board of directors of the White City Community Improvement Association, which runs the bingo concession, refused to comment about the issue. President Ron Wilson was unavailable for comment. Neither Wilson nor other board members will discuss reasons they did not renew a three-year bingo contract with the Boys and Girls Club with Wicklem or other agency officials, Wicklem said. The renewal was set to take effect April 1. "It came out of the blue," Wicklem said. "I didn't get an explanation. We sent a letter requesting an opportunity to contact the board. Ron Wilson left a message saying basically that there was no point." WCCIA board member Judy Burns denied that the move reflected criticism of Boys and Girls Club programs. "That's not the reason at all," she said before refusing further comment. Cascade Bingo has allowed several agencies to host bingo nights as fund-raisers. They have included ACCESS Inc., Club West Wrestling, Eagle Point Youth Baseball and, until recently, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Jackson County. It is a profitable venue for the agencies. ACCESS, for instance, raises more than $100,000 annually by hosting several bingo sessions. The move is a blow for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Jackson County, which last year served some 1,700 children in programs at sites in Talent, Central Point, Gold Hill and White City. The group received a charter from the national organization in 1998; the White City branch has just received its charter, Wicklem said. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA