Welcome New Member Vic Lagneaux

Cambridge Lions are pleased to induct their latest member, Victor Lagneaux.  Vic is shown pictured with his sponsor Bill Pattison (left).  Vice District Governer Tom Cahoon performed the induction ceremony.  Congratulation and welcome Vic!

Shon Gress Discusses Senior Citizens Center Levy

“To provide services to our senior citizens we rely on every one of you,” said Shon Gress to the Cambridge Lions Club. “We are putting a senior citizen services replacement levy on the ballot. We are not asking for a millage increase.” Gress is the executive director of the Guernsey County Senior Citizens Center.

“The levy provides about forty-three percent of our budget. We need to pass it to be able to maintain our services. It will provide funds to both the Robert T. Secrest Senior Citizens Center in Senecaville and the one here in Cambridge. We cooperate to try to find ways to stretch every dollar and not duplicate services.”

“The levy will cost about five dollars per year for a homeowner whose house has a valuation of fifty thousand dollars,” Gress said. “That’s about forty-eight cents a month. We need the levy just to maintain the level of service we offer now.”

“We are constantly applying for grants,” Gress said. “We recently got a grant for ten thousand dollars. The email announcing the grant was forty-six pages. The actual grant was one hundred eighty-six pages. We got the grant. It will help with the increased cost of gas and food. This is important with our growing older-adult population.”

“I lived in Pleasant City when I was little, then we moved to the New Concord area,” Gress said. “I never forgot where I came from. In Pleasant City they had a grocery store, a local school, a post office and a restaurant. Someone was always checking on the older people.”

“Gradually all the little local businesses closed in the outlying areas of the county. The businesses are now located here in town. Senior citizens now have to focus on how to get into town. Transportation becomes an issue.”

“With a growing senior population there is a growing need for transportation services” Gress said. “In the last three years we have been able to provide six vans that are handicapped accessible. We paid twenty percent of the cost and ODOT paid eighty percent.”

“We reach all four corners of the county. We go out and talk to people. We are really focused on those who built our buildings, led our local governments, worked in local businesses and taught in our local schools.”

“We want to help our senior citizens live independent lives,” Gress said. “We want them to continue to be involved in all aspects of community life. We want to prevent the kind of social isolation that can come from life’s changes.”

“Social isolation is especially common among men. They often worked outside of the home. Their work was part of their identity. When they are no longer working they are often no longer socially engaged. So they may sit at home and lead a sedentary life style. That can lead to increased health issues.”

“We provide meals on wheels, but we also provide transportation so people can eat a meal at the center in a social setting,” Gress said. “When you think of how many meals the levy helps provide, you really appreciate it.”

“We also talk to people. We have many people who have outlived their relatives. Some have even outlived their children. Sometimes there is no one else to care for them. It’s nice to know that there is someone available at the senior citizens center.”