As we celebrate Older Americans Month nationally this month, let's look at one thing we can do to aid our seniors locally.
The Cole County Senior Nutrition Council, which provides valuable services for seniors, could use a helping hand.
Right now, the Clarke Senior Nutrition Center at 1310 Linden Drive is the only senior center in town. Until recently, the council ran a popular west-end location inside Capital Mall. The mall's owners charged them no rent, so the agency was only required to pay utilities.
But a 48,000-square-foot sporting good store is moving into the mall, and displacing the senior center. Discussions between mall operators and the Senior Nutrition Council failed to yield a suitable alternative location at the mall.
The closure of the council's second senior center comes in the wake of the Cole County Commission's previous decision to not continue funding the council and other agencies. In recent years, the county has given the center $10,000 annually.
We editorialized in support of the county's decision to eliminate the funding. It was going to a good cause, but it's not the role of government to fund such private agencies.
We do, however, support the work they do.
In a Tuesday story, Sharon Kirchoff, a volunteer on the Senior Nutrition Center board, said: "We need the community; we can't do this by ourselves."
Kirchoff hopes local agencies/community stakeholders will pull together to organize one or two fundraiser each year for the agency.
Meanwhile the board is seeking property that has adequate parking, is ADA-accessible, meets city and health department regulations and is at least 3,o00 square feet.
"This is the community's senior center," said Bill Deeken, a longtime Senior Nutrition Council member. "We need a second senior nutrition center for them to call their home away from home."
Deeken has previously questioned whether fundraisers for the center would raise enough. But we live in a caring community, and fundraisers that are well-organized and support a good cause tend to do well.
We urge anyone interested in supporting the Senior Nutrition Center - through donations, volunteer time or even ideas - to call Deeken at 573-619-0974.
CORRECTION: In the original version of this editorial, we provided an incorrect number for Bill Deeken. The correct phone number is 573-619-0974, as amended above.