Kyle Green | The Roanoke Times

Dale Wheeler has served as a Bedford County supervisor since 1990.

BEDFORD -- Bedford County Supervisor Dale Wheeler, who said his house furniture is so sparse he has to kick his clothes into "an old television box," is down and out in a down-and-out economy.

In truth, Wheeler's beyond down and out: a longtime leader in Bedford, he's bankrupt. A bank had planned to auction off Wheeler's Vinton home this past Monday on the East Main Street steps of the Bedford Courthouse, but Wheeler thwarted the effort Thursday by filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

Wheeler's blocking move in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Lynchburg forced the bank to cancel the auction, which could have been humiliating for a man who's been on the board of supervisors since 1990 -- making him the senior member of the board.

"I'm as poor as you can get," said Wheeler, standing on his front porch at 302 Glendale Drive and wearing house slippers and a button-down shirt open nearly to his bellybutton. "This is the most destitute I've ever been."

Wheeler, who said he had missed several mortgage payments, said he called the other members of the seven-member board and asked if they thought he should resign because of his money woes. They said there was no compelling reason why he should resign, he said, so he's not.

"I offered sympathy," said Supervisor Chuck Neudorfer about the Friday conversation he had with Wheeler. "As far as I was concerned, I did not see a relation between his duties on the board and his financial situation."

Wheeler, 56, was re-elected to a four-year term in 2007.

The owner of a medical supplies business and an interment business, Wheeler said he is the victim of a wretched economy: Hospitals have been forced to stop buying equipment, and more families are spending less on funerals. His only income, he said, is the $550 he draws monthly for his service on the board of supervisors. Business is that bad.

"I'm in the health care industry, which is one of the worst to be in right now," Wheeler said. "My income is zero."

The bankruptcy filing tells a story of a man for whom business has hurriedly gone from good to ghastly. His income dropped from $40,775 in 2007 to $25,240 in 2008 to $6,550 this year, according to the documents he filed with the court.

His debts top $343,000, while his real and personal property -- including his home, appraised at more than $263,000 -- total $277,499.

Wheeler said the roots of his financial distress lie in his 2000 divorce, which forced him to take a second mortgage on his house. Now, he said, he is paying off two 15-year mortgages at 8.9 percent interest and he still has nine years of payments to make on each mortgage.

Meanwhile, the economy tanked and Wheeler's businesses bottomed out. Since November, he said, he has tried to get a lower interest rate from his bank. But to no avail.

However, at 10:10 a.m. Monday, 40 minutes after his house was supposed to have been auctioned off beneath his feet, he received a FedEx package from his bank. He said the package contained an offer from his bank to lower the interest rate on his loans.

"I'm going to re-organize," Wheeler said.