Commentary: Time is now for new senior center

Dear Editor:

Emotions are running high concerning the purchase of the K of C property for a future senior center. Alice Brown and Mary Ann Kinnealey are strongly questioning the condition of the building as well as why the townspeople were not told the full story about its condition and what the final cost to taxpayers might be. COA Chairman John Friel and Selectmen Chairman Bob Burr dispute certain assertions that have been made, and so on …

Granted, property inspectors are not infallible, but I would rely on what Friel has told us in his letter published on February 21 in this paper. He toured the property along with others and got a firsthand look at its condition, and I believe him when he says it is a solid and good choice for the senior center. I do worry, however, if there is mold growing in the building now, after the water pipes burst (has mold been verified?) it would be an awful health hazard for future occupants if not treated and thoroughly eliminated — that is, if it’s true.

Certainly, if there was “chicanery” (using Brown’s word), the citizens of Canton need to know about it, but I don’t think it has been proven that “wiggle words” (again, quoting Brown) were really used by our politicians. I say bravo to Friel for his wise remarks, for telling us what the truth of the matter is, and I agree that to try to hold up or prevent funding for this future senior center would be, in his words, “short-sighted.”

The time is now for the seniors to have a better place than the cellar they now use. I was present at a meeting of the CCOA Women’s Club on February 19 where Beth Erickson, publisher of the Citizen, was our speaker. She found out just how annoying and distracting it can be to have an event in the dining area disrupted by talking in the kitchen next to us, as well as noisy outbursts from the front “sitting area!” She would certainly vouch for the fact that our current senior center is really awful and needs replacing!

I join with Friel in urging Brown and all citizens of Canton to come together and work now for a new senior center in the K of C building, or if conditions there are truly unsuitable, then to find an alternative — but not five to ten years down the road! The library and schools have benefited from an infusion of tax monies during recent years, and now the seniors must not be told “someday we will treat you well,” because “someday” never comes. Those who built this town up are deserving of a place of their own at last! Let’s stick together to reach that goal.

Sincerely,

Karen Hawkins

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=19184

Posted by Canton Citizen on Feb 28 2013. Filed under Featured Content, From One Citizen to Another, Opinion. Both comments and pings are currently closed.