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 Photo provided: Terrance Cole, 37, of Van Wert, in the white shirt, is helped to shore after being pulled from Grand Lake St. Marys Friday afternoon. By MIKE BURKHOLDER
Managing Editor
CELINA — Two area men were pulled from the cold waters of Grand Lake St. Marys Friday afternoon. |
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Senior program to change |
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Tuesday, 17 June 2008 |
By MARY BARGDILL
Staff Writer
NEW BREMEN — Senior citizens in one local community will say goodbye to a long standing tradition of food and fellowship by the end of the summer.
The New Bremen Senior Center, which has been a gathering place for elderly residents from New Bremen, Minster and Fort Loramie, for several years, will serve as a meal site until the end of August. A new senior dining program, which will provide seniors with certificates to dine in local restaurants, is expected to begin by the first of September.
Meal facilitator Norma Sautman has been providing meals at the senior center located at 700 E. Monroe St. for 11 years, and said the upcoming change in meal service is not a popular one. Senior citizens who participate in the lunch program are concerned where to go for the noonday meal — especially the men, she said.
“They are not in favor,” Sautman said.
Senior citizens would have the option to dine at local restaurants which participate in the diners’ choice program, or to eat their lunch at the Auglaize County Council on Aging in St. Marys. That option was not popular either, Sautman said.
“The ones I talked to do not want to go to St. Marys because of the drive and cost of gas,” she said.
While transportation would be provided by ACCA, getting picked up early in the morning and dropped off in the afternoon was not appealing, Sautman noted.
Sautman said they would continue with their current meal site on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays until Aug. 29 — when the site will close.
Sautman said she was not familiar with the new diners’ choice program that was being introduced by the PSA Agency in Aging, Inc., and that Community Services Director Rhonda Davisson was expected to visit the center later this summer to explain how it worked to the senior citizens.
“We distribute certificates to the seniors. (They) take those to any participating restaurant,” Davisson said, adding the seniors also may take them to participating restaurants in nearby counties.
Their office has started contacting restaurants in New Bremen to see if any would be willing to participate.
“We have to look over the menu to make sure it meets the guidelines,” Davisson said.
PSA3 Agency on Aging, Inc., based out of Lima, began Diner’s Choice, a restaurant voucher program, in January after they received the go ahead through Ohio’s Department of Aging. The meals are funded through donations as well as federal funds through the Older Americans Act. Each month, when the seniors receive the meal certificates, they will be asked to give a donation, but they are not required to give any money, Davisson said.
The first regional counties to participate in the program were Allen, Putnam, Hancock and Hardin counties. Auglaize, Mercer and Van Wert counties will soon follow.
Davisson said that while looking for a new program that would better fit the needs of senior citizens in the seven county area, she discovered the senior dining program that had been in operation in the state of Washington.
“What we’re finding with seniors is they want more choices,” she said. “Over the past four years we have seen a 33 percent decrease in the senior luncheon cafe — formerly known as meal sites.”
So far, the new dining program has gone over quite well, Davisson noted.
“It has been overwhelming,” she said. “Last year with just the cafe, we had 729 people we served. As of May, we were up to almost 1,300 people with just the senior dining program.”
Davisson said their office receives nearly 20 applications each day from senior citizens of the four participating counties.
“They love being able to go when they want to,” she said. “They can go (out to eat) with family members, go in the evening or with a neighbor or with a group.”
During a recent survey, 93 percent of participants reported they were eating more fruits and vegetables with the new senior dining program, she said.
Seniors participating in the pilot program are divided into three categories based on financial, social and nutrition risks. Those considered at high risk will receive 12 certificates per month.
Individuals at medium risk will receive eight per month, and those considered at low risk will receive four per month.
The PSA3 Agency on Aging sent out 21 letters to restaurants in Auglaize, Mercer and Van Wert counties, to see if they would be interested in providing meals for the pilot program.
“New Bremen averages around 15 people a day,” Davisson said. “It’s been that way for a while. We hesitated to close them.”
A meal site will remain open in each of the counties at the local ACCA, Davisson said.
In Auglaize County, senior citizens will continue to participate in the luncheon program at the ACCA facility located at 610 Indianan Ave., St. Marys.
“They’re numbers were so low it was not financially feasible for them to go there,” ACCA Director Christina Roby said. “Anyone who wants to come here can, and we do provide transportation.”
Staff members from ACCA recently visited the New Bremen Senior Center to review the services offered, including the luncheon program.
“Our meal site is not going anywhere,” Roby said. “This site is open for the area.”
Today, the meal site at the ACCA in St. Marys will provide meals for nearly 50 senior citizens. Some days, they feed as many as 60 Roby said.
“We encourage other people interested in the meal site to come in and take a look,” Roby said.
Roby said ACCA will also support the new senior dining program.
“We’re going to provide transportation for that as well, that way they have a choice,” she said.
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Last Updated ( Friday, 20 June 2008 )
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