Revenue crunch threatens W.Va. veterans facility - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

Revenue crunch threatens W.Va. veterans facility

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -

By LAWRENCE MESSINA
Associated Press

Officials say West Virginia needs a new nursing home for veterans, but may have trouble paying for the one it already has.

Proceeds from a lottery scratch-off ticket repay the bonds that financed the Clarksburg home. Veterans' Assistance Secretary Keith Gwinn warned lawmakers on Monday that its revenues are dropping.

The scratch-off needs to bring in $774,000 a year to pay off the 30-year bonds. Gwinn said it barely covered that in 2012. Lottery officials forecast it will start falling short in three years.

But Gwinn also believes West Virginia needs another nursing home. He said the Clarksburg facility is full with 114 veterans. Veterans are waiting more than a year for a bed to open up.

Gwinn proposed a 120-bed home in Beckley. He estimates a $44 million price-tag.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.