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Senior center to increase hours
(by Megan Edwards, Staff Writer - March 12, 2009)
Senior citizens in search of activities can now attend the Prairie Township Senior Center three hours longer twice a week.
The Prairie Township board of trustees voted March 11, to extend the senior center’s hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays to 8 p.m. Previously, the center stayed open until 5 p.m.
According to Township Administrator Tracy Hatmaker, volunteers will staff the center during the three extra hours it will remain open.
During the meeting, resident Pam Williams inquired as to the purpose of opening the center a total of six hours extra a week, when warmer weather was approaching.
“It was requested,” Hatmaker said. “A lot of the members are still working and can’t make earlier hours.”
He also suggested seniors did not want to drive at night during the winter, a suggestion one senior citizen in the audience confirmed.
The senior center is open to people ages 50 years and older. Each member is charged a yearly fee. Members enjoy various activities at the senior center, including lunches and educational programs, athletic events and arts and crafts.
Trustees also approved the fee increase of renting a common room at the senior center. Previously, interested groups and parties paid a $100 deposit with a $20 per hour use fee for use of a space at the senior center. However, at the March 11 meeting, trustees voted unanimously to raise the fees to $120 for a deposit and $30 an hour. The fee increase, according to Hatmaker, relates to recent increase of expenses in operating the senior center.
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