| The WSOS Press February / March 2002 |
Senior Programs seek additional levy funds on May ballot
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| Seniors at a meeting: The Fremont Senior Center. |
In February, Sandusky County commissioners granted a request from Senior Levy Committee and WSOS President/CEO Don Stricker to place a levy on the May ballot.
The levy is for a 0.1-millevy renewal with a 0.l-mil increase for five years. The levy is expected to generate $170,000 per year for senior services in Sandusky County.
"We need this just to maintain current services at current levels," said Don Stricker, president/CEO of WSOS.
The 0.1-millevy was originally approved in 1987 and renewed every five years with the last renewal in 1997. Since then, the demand for services has grown. For example, from 1997-01, the number of meals served to senior citizens has increased by 64 percent. Services such as socialization activities have increased by 13 percent, health assessments by 23 percent and education activities by 3 percent. Senior Programs are funded also by the Area Office on Aging, which is administered by the U.S. Dept. of Aging. Funding from this office has been stagnant in the last 10 years even though service demands have increased each year.
The new levy will cost the owner of a $75,000 home $3.64 per year and the owner of a $100,000 home $4.86 per year, an increase of $1.80 per year.
WSOS operates four senior centers in Sandusky County Woodville, Clyde, Gibsonburg and Fremont.
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WSOS partners with local NAACP for Black History Month event
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| State Rep. Ray Miller chats with Tory Lewis, a student at Ross High, and Ross Asst. Principal Maria Garza after his presentation to Ross High social studies students on Feb. 21 in Fremont. |
WSOS and the Fremont Branch of the NAACP collaborated in February to bring State Rep. Ray Miller, D-Columbus, to speak to WSOS staff and Fremont NAACP leaders in recognition of Black History Month.
The NAACP used the opportunity to conduct a scholarship fundraiser with Rep. Miller as the featured speaker.
"He is a great speaker," said CED Director Ben Kenny. "It was enjoyable and informative."
Miller also met with social studies students at Ross High School as well as with students in the Fremont Public School After School Program and middle school students from St. Joseph Elementary and students in the Genesis' Program.
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Board Profile
Hoffman wants to look out for the low-income and senior citizens
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| Hoffman |
Name: Donald William Hoffman
Address: South Street, Fremont.
Family: Wife Betty of 39 years; daughters Barbara, Linda and Bonnie; four grandsons and two grand daughters.
Employment: Retired from the former Eckrich & Sons meat packing plant after 20 years. Don is also a professional chef.
Goal as a board member: Don says he wants to help improve the lives of senior citizens and low-income families.
Board status: Began a new two-year term January 1. First joined the board in 1994 but was off for one year before rejoining in 2000.
Hobbies/Interests: Don just enjoys working on his computer, but he also loves old movies as well as participating in the Annual Golf tourna ment for the blind put on by the Veteran's Administration.
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Old Fort Banking Company makes expansion possible at Family Dev. centers
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| Bob Fuchs, left, of Old Fort Banking Company hands over the loan check to WSOS President/CEO Don Stricker. |
WSOS Child Development programs recently received a $1.8 million loan from the Old Fort Banking Company to finance expansions at both the Jordan and Fremont Family Development centers.
"Our partners have been great. Their patience and recognition of our need to combine our community's resources have been fantastic," said WSOS President! CEO, Don Stricker. "We couldn't have accomplished this very difficult deal without them. Bob Fuchs, commercial lending officer at the Old Fort Bank's Fremont branch as well as the other bank officers of the Old Fort Banking Company, were great to work with."
The expansion will add four new classrooms at each of the buildings in Fremont and Bowling Green. With the additional children and their families who will be served, it brings the total number of families served at the two sites to 478.
In Dialogue on Poverty meetings in 2000, the community listed childcare was one of the top three issues in each of the WSOS counties. The additional classrooms will help WSOS to address that need.
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BGSU awards grant for music programs at WSOS Family Development centers
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Bowling Green State University's Partnerships for Community Action awarded a $3,500 grant to the Jordan and Fremont Family Development Centers to incorporate music into the classrooms at the two centers.
Titled "Embracing the Universal Language of Musical Expression" the program will collaborate with area musicians to come to the classrooms at the two centers to enhance the learning opportunities of the children by exposing them to the various musical expressions available to them.
"We are really excited about this opportunity, and we appreciate BGSU's generosity in this effort," said Kathy Morrison, assistant director at the Fremont Family Development Center and one of the authors of the grant request. |
Director's Corner
Community & Economic Development - Program variety
Director: Ben Kenny
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| Ben Kenny |
No two days are the same in the CED department! Recently, we shipped 10 migrant labor camp improvement funding proposals to Columbus on behalf of local growers planning to improve camp conditions. The week before, Consultant Glenn Grisdale provided helpful maps to illustrate the planned growth of the area surrounding the Sandusky County Airport, while I presented information about the main street approach to a village just initiating a downtown revitalization effort. Also, in mid-January, we helped our friends at the Great Lakes Consortium complete a proposal to link Ukrainian tourism officials with their counterparts in Ohio's North Coast.
Assistant Director Joyce Clemens is in the thick of conducting environmental reveiws for this year's Formula CDBG projects. Also, she scheduled a meeting for the network of five county level rural transit providers, which included officials from OFOT and the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA) in Washington, D.C. Under a special "JobLinks" grant, CED is working to help link employees needing a ride to work with available transit systems.
Other efforts include exploring incentive programs to help industries in a nearby city carry out their expansion plans, and a progress report to the task force overseeing our writing of a Sandusky County Comprehensive Land Use Plan. All the while, Administrative Assistant Angie McConnell is reviewing applications for the Microenterprise Loan Fund and preparing for the next loan board meeting. We look forward to the variety of ways, and places where we can fulfill the WSOS mission.
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WSOS earns Best Practices award
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WSOS board members, above, show off two Best Practices award plaques with Family Services Director Cheryl Moreno-Denny at OACAA conference in January. From left, Bev Meade, Don Hoffman, Jack Ridley, Mike Hemmerly, Ralph Chisholm, and Moreno-Denny.
The awards were presented to those outstanding Ohio Community Action agencies programs that serve low income residents. WSOS earned two honorable mention awards.
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Computers now available at senior centers
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Ottawa County Commissioner Carl Koebel, above left, shows Genoa resident Richard Lemke how to use the mouse of the computer donated to the Genoa Senior Center. Computers were donated to all the WSOS Senior centers in Sandusky and Ottawa counties by the OttawaSandusky-Seneca (OSS) Solid Waste District. Three were donated to the Genoa center.
OSS donated the refurbished computers to the senior centers where seniors will be able to use them and where they will have lessons once per month. The computers are available to all senior citizens who participate in activities at the senior centers.
"We do appreciate the Solid Waste District and Commissioner Carl Koebel thinking of us," said Steve Peterson, assistant director of WSOS Senior Programs. "Our community partners are who make it possible for us to serve our residents better."
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A familiar face
Celebrating successes with participants adds the joy to Kiser's job
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| Kathy Kiser |
Name: Kathy D. Kiser
Address: Fremont
Family: Son John, 22, who is a minister with the Jehovah Witness church; and two cats, Cinderella and Fidget.
Occupation: Kathy is currently a Family Advocate in the Family Services Department. She originally joined WSOS in 1992 as a Family Services Coordinator in the Child Development department. Later she was the Family Development Specialist before becoming a Family Advocate. Kathy is also one of WSOS certified Family Development Specialists and a certi fied chemical dependency counselor (CCDC I).
Favorite part of job: She enjoys celebrating and sharing successes with participants as well as training the AmeriCorps volunteers who work with her.
Goals: She says she aims to continually improve her training and partnering skills. To do this she seeks to continue her education whenever possible.
Interests/Hobbies: Kathy loves to garden; she is also involved in many of her church's activities.
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