Vance AFB declares Enid’s Chicaro Club off limits

Editor's Note: An article about the Chicaro Club appeared in the March print edition of The Gayly.

The Vance Air Force Base Disciplinary Control Board has declared four businesses — including one in Enid — off limits to military members at the base.

The Enid business is Chicaro Club, 3030 N. Grand, owned by Gary James.

“I have placed these four establishments off limits due to activity that has endangered the good order, health, morale, safety and welfare of military personnel. This order is made pursuant to a base instruction titled Vance AFB Disciplinary Control Boards and Off-Installation Liaison and Operations,” said Col. Darren James, commander of the 71st Flying Training Wing at Vance.

When Gary James was a Ward 4 Enid City Commission candidate in 2009, stories circulated about how he refused service to some customers. At that time, he defended himself against accusations he was racist.

Gary James, who could not be reached for comment at press time, reportedly has asked black people and people he believes are gay to leave his establishment.

In 2009, Gary James said he had asked people to leave the bar, but it was not based on race or sexual orientation. However, he did have some strong words to describe those he wouldn’t allow in his establishment, calling them “trash” and “f------s.”

Earlier this year, Gary James made similar headlines. KFOR reported James said he’d been in business 44 years and “can spot a freak or a f----t.” Matt Gard, a club regular for years, told the Oklahoma City TV station that Gary James “tried to find a weak excuse not to let me in with my wheelchair or the weak excuse of having loud people with me.”

Two of the businesses listed are out of state and one is in Oklahoma City.

“Effective immediately, the following businesses are placed off limits to all local military personnel, whether permanently, temporarily or administratively assigned to Vance Air Force Base and/or surrounding installations,” a news release from Vance public affairs office reads.

The other businesses off limits are:

• Price Properties, or any company conducting business at the same address, 9808 Sun Mountain Trail SW, Albuquerque, N.M.

• Drew’s Tobacco World, or any company conducting business at the same address, 1514 SE 44th, Oklahoma City.

• Vegas Video, or any company conducting business at the same address, 8323 W. Kellogg, Wichita, Kan.

“This off-limits order prohibits military personnel from entering the ... establishments to include the adjoining parking lots until further notice,” according to the news release. “Any military member who violates this order may be subject to disciplinary action under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.”

Staff reports, Enid News and Eagle

The Gayly – March 11, 2014 @ 12:15pm