PARKERSBURG - Is the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department blowing smoke when it comes to enforcing its clean indoor air regulations in bingo halls?
Some local fraternal organizations are wondering.
Initially, many of the fraternal organizations that ran weekly bingo games thought they would be exempt from the smoking ban when regulations went into effect in October.
The six-page clean air indoor regulation from the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department lists seven areas where smoking is not regulated, including bingo halls.
While the other six exemptions, such as bars and "free-standing video lottery rooms" are defined, "bingo hall" is not. The ambiguity left many in the Mid-Ohio Valley -including some health department enforcement officials - wondering if bingo halls in the area would be exempt from the smoking regulations.
Debbie Schreckengost, manager of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1212, said she was initially told by officials smoking would be permitted in the VFW's bingo hall.
"The regulation is not very clear," she said.
But a few weeks later health department officials reversed course and told the VFW, as well several other fraternal organizations, the bingo halls would have to comply with the smoking ban.
"Initially, we thought we were exempt because of our bingo," said Sonya Rumer, facility manager of the Fraternal Order of Eagles. "They came a few weeks later and basically retracted it."
Tim Miller, environmental health director for the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department, said officials concluded for business to be exempt from the regulations, bingo halls must be bingo halls. Miller said claims by fraternal organizations that run twice-weekly bingo games don't stand up.
"What we are going by is if they are in business to be a bingo hall," he said. "In six counties we don't have any of those. Joe's bar can have bingo. That doesn't make it a bingo hall."
However, Miller can cite no legal definition of a bingo hall.
"We don't have one," he said. "I couldn't tell you why. I didn't write the regulation. I am just the guy that has to enforce it."
Miller said officials sought to apply the regulations fairly and uniformly.
"We didn't have one person allowed to do bingo and telling eight others they are not allowed," he said. "It is enforced across the board. We try to be fair about it. We want to be fair."
Rumer thinks the smoking regulations have hindered the Eagles' bingo business.
"A lot of our players do smoke," she said.
But Larry Hamilton, the bingo committee co-chairman, along with Paul Borrelli for the Knights of Columbus, said their bingo crowd has increased.
"It has actually been a bit of a plus for us," Hamilton said. "We lost a couple of players, but we are also getting players we hadn't seen before."
Hamilton said revenue is up, thanks to the concentration of the Knights' bingo crowd. Rather than have the crowd spread over two rooms (one for smokers and another for non-smokers) Hamilton said the group is concentrated into one room.
Hamilton admitted the Knights have had only two non-smoking sessions - one that included a free spaghetti dinner -but he thinks the regulation will be a positive down the road.
Hamilton also said he's had an easier time getting fellow Knights to work bingo.
"They didn't want to work in the (smoke-filled) atmosphere,' he said.
Hamilton said there were some initial reservations about the new regulations, but if all the other bingo games in the area are on equal footing with no smoking, things will even out.
"I think in the end this is going to be a blessing for us."
Schreckengost also said the VFW's bingo business is up, but not enough to compensate for the Post 1212's loss of bar business.
"The bar business has taken a nose dive, but the bingo hasn't made that much of a difference."
