Overton County will be adding another position at the Senior Center to help accommodate the recent growth the center has seen since reopening.
County Executive Steven Barlow said the position would be a part-time assistant and cook. Barlow said the Senior Center Director will need some help moving forward.
“We have 60 people signed up within the last couple of months, and it’s got to where you know one person can’t handle all those people, and we have not even started serving food yet,” Barlow said.
The position will be official if the county can get approval to use grant funding for the position. Barlow said once the position is established, the senior center will slowly regain control of its food program.
‘We had another facility that was already using that food program,” Barlow said. “They stepped up and took on the others. So we will be getting that a little at a time back. So we will be training the new person. We can’t do it all at once cause we don’t want to overwhelm them, so the state’s gonna be looking in and trying to help us out and giving us pointers and things like that to show them how to grow and show them how to grow into it.”
Barlow said the food program not only cooks food for seniors who visit the senior center each day, but also for seniors out in the community. Barlow said he is not sure exactly when that transition will begin, but it will be a big step for the Senior Center.
“Hopefully, we can grow that part as well because you know as well as I do, we don’t want any senior or anybody, as far as that goes go hungry,” Barlow said. “Because if you are on a fixed income, if you splurged $20, then you are not paying your bills, and you are not eating.”
Barlow said it is great to see the success of the Senior Center since it reopened. Barlow said even though more help is needed for the Senior Center, it’s a good problem to have.
“It’s growing pains, it’s good pains to have,” Barlow said. “And the seniors have a place to go and meet new people. There are a lot of new people in the area that’s joined up, and they are having a good time.”