Senior Center: Time for a Homecoming

Florence Kamminga and Sally Pankey are looking forward to seeing each other while they play bingo.

While the two have seen each other once a week at the to play the game, which is held for seniors on Thursdays, they sit next to each other—rather than at a round table they once shared at the city’s senior center.

That will change within the next two weeks. Senior services and programs are being transferred back to the Newark Senior Center, 7401 Enterprise Dr., after a months-long process of renovations at the facility. The official transfer date is July 5.

"You get used to it. We like it, but my preference is over there," Kamming said. "It's more of a family feel there." She and Pankey will, hopefully, have their favorite seats back, adding to the homey feel.

 The center’s re-opening is made possible through funds raised through a voter-approved utility users tax.

The 6,511-square-foot center includes a game area, dining room, computer lab and two dedicated classrooms. It also houses an area where seniors can sit and chat or play card games.

Longtime volunteer Carol Hewitt is excited to head back to the center and hopes that the number of seniors who use the center increases with the homecoming.

“I think we lost some of the people with the move … because it was different. It wasn’t where they were used to,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt has been participating in senior services for more than 10 years and said she and her husband have “made friends we’ve never had before.”

“I can’t wait. It’s really our home there. We’ve become accustomed (to the Silliman center), but we want to go to our real house,” Hewitt said.

When the seniors do come back home, they will see a few improvements.

A number of general maintenance improvements — including the replacement of tiles and carpet and general cleaning — have been completed, according to David Zehnder, recreation and community services director for the City of Newark.

The seniors will also come home to their full-sized kitchen, which includes an oven and stove, sinks and large counterspace and cabinets.

The decision to transfer senior programs back into the senior center was finalized on May 26, when the city’s five-member city council approved a budget amendment that included $2.1 million worth of restored services, programs and savings funds.

Approximately $334,000 of that $2.1 million was allocated for re-opening of the senior center. Among other things, it will pay for two full-time staff positions and restore funding for the Ash Street Summer Program for youth.

The center will be open for senior services Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting on July 5. A will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on July 19.

For more information about senior services, click here.