Mayor wants to bring senior programs back to commuity center
Mayor wants to bring senior programs back to commuity center
news@theeveningtimes.com
Senior citizens in Earle are asking the city to bring back meals and activities to the community center instead of having to travel to Wynne.
The issue was brought up at the August City Council meeting during the public comment period.
Mayor Sherman Smith said he would like to get the program back in Earle but so far hasn’t been able to get officials from the Area Council on Aging to return his phone calls.
“So far I can’t get them to communicate with me,” Smith said. “I guess they feel that will interfere with what they are doing.”
Smith said the city’s senior citizens have expressed their desire to stay in Earle and not have to ride a van to Wynne.
“They are servicing Earle presently,” Smith said. “But what they are doing is commuting them to Wynne.
They want to be in Earle.
And we want them to be in Earle.”
Funding for meals and senior activities comes through the Area Council on Aging. The money is actually administered through St. Bernard’s community action program.
Smith said they used to serve meals and host activities at the community center when he was mayor the last time, but for some reason stopped.
The community center has a kitchen and has been newly renovated.
“When I was in office before I convinced them to bring it back,” Smith said.
“When I left office, the next thing I know it was gone again. So they were in the community center. We spent about $20,000 to remodel it just so the seniors could come back to Earle.”
Smith said he has no idea how many seniors from Earle are currently riding the van to Wynne, but he’s positive there are many more who would participate if they served meals in Earle.
“I know there are a lot who are not participating because they don’t want to make the trip to Wynne,” Smith said.
Smith said he is not looking to take over the program. But he would like to collaborate to offer programs for seniors so they can stay in Earle.
“We don’t want a program,” Smith said. “We’ll let them keep doing it. But if funding is available for these communities, we want it to come back to Earle. We’ll be able to do more here.”
Smith said he would like to meet with a delegation of senior citizens and reach out to the Council on Aging to see how many seniors would participate and brainstorm ideas so that they can hold activities at the community center.
“I’d like to meet with them and see what kinds of things they expect and how we can work it out,” Smith said. “ There are some things we can do right now. I know they used to serve 50 to 80 meals every Tuesday and Thursday. And it’s good food.”
The community center is located on Hwy. 64 and has been newly renovated. The city and school district recently signed an agreement to rent space for a parent center. The city is also applying for a $50,000 park grant to build a walking trail and playground behind the building.
Smith said he will continue to try and get the Council on Aging to cooperate.
“I’m on board,” Smith told the seniors who attended the council meeting. “I’m with you. If they’re going to be allocated money for Earle, they need to play ball. The building is there and we’re committed.
We’re ready to go ahead.”
By Mark Randall
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