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ZEBULON - The Pike County Senior Center is growing and going great places! Pike County Times visited today to get a snapshot of the day and see the changes that have been made of late.

There were many people at the Senior Center today. It is a gathering place for adults who are 60 years of age and older.

Daily Activities

Daily activities are listed on their monthly calendar on Facebook and include activities like basketball, word search, puzzles, bingo, painting, and birthday celebrations as well as visits from Pastor Odom, Douglas the DJ, and Larry Kelley.

Exercise in encouraged. There is a work out room with all kinds of equipment and chair exercises are part of the regular schedule.

And 3 laps around the inside of the facility are highly encouraged for every visit to the facility except for days that they go on field trips.

They just got back from a visit to Plains, Georgia riding the SAM Shortline Excursion train. They will have another day trip to Rose in Barnesville with lunch at Gordon College later on this month.

Keeping Sharp

Pike County Times talked to friends at the Senior Center who were doing their laps inside of the facility. There is also a great walking track outside where they can walk under trees and sit on benches that are strategically located around the track when they get tired.

Motor skills are retained by coloring, painting, and playing basketball. Putting together puzzles, and playing games like Bingo, Solitaire, and Rummikub all help keep the mind sharp for daily living.

Next month, members will be painting ornaments.

Southern Rivers Energy Operation Round Up Grant

Director Lavetrece Walker, affectionately known as “L” and “Ms. L,” gave a tour today to show daily activities and talk about how the Southern Rivers Operation Round Up Grant helped the Pike County Senior Center.

She applied for the grant that would provide up to $10,000 to pay for a large freezer and a convection oven that is needed for meals and meal preparation as they grow.

Ms. L said that goal is to be able to cook their own meals at the center at some point in the future because they are growing every year!

Operation Round Up is a program that allows members of Southern Rivers Energy to round up their bills to the nearest dollar so they can provide assistance financially to charitable and educational needs in its member communities of Bibb, Coweta, Crawford, Lamar, Meriwether, Monroe, Pike, Spalding, and Upson Counties.

The Pike County Senior Center is very appreciative of its new stove and large freezer!

Meals for Members

The Pike County Commission authorized other kitchen changes in the near past to also make it possible for the Pike County Senior Center to plan for the future with an oven vent as well. Plans for the future are going well!

Hot meals are available at the Allie B. Edwards Senior Center at 11 a.m. Monday through Friday. The cost is a $3 donation for members which are people who are 60+ that live in Pike County.

Non-members have $7.25 daily lunch fee.

Please note that meals and programs are for all seniors in Pike County and are not income based.

Pike County also participates in Meals on Wheels. Anyone wanting to become a part of this program will have to get an assessment done through Three Rivers. Once the assessment done Three Rivers reaches out to Ms. L to update the delivery list and make sure that the meal deliveries occur.

“We do have a waiting list,” she said, “but I am trying to add more people to our delivery.”

Closing

If you are age 60 or older and interested in hanging out at the Senior Center, it is open from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Call Ms. L at 770-567-3857 for more information including riding the bus to and from the Senior Center. The Allie B. Edwards Senior Center is located at 9716 US Hwy 19 North in Zebulon.

Click here to read about the walking trail: www.pikecountytimes.com/secondary/seniorcenter4.26.23.html.