Senior Center reopens after yearlong closure
Apr. 13—The Kokomo Senior Center has reopened after being used as a COVID-19 testing site for the better part of a year.
The center, located at 721 W. Superior St., is "back to normal," Mendi Snow, the center's administrative assistance manager, said.
Well, as normal as can be as the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.
Visitors to the senior center are required to wear masks, Snow said, but other than that, most of the center's usual activities — bingo, euchre, line dancing, pool, daily lunches and bridge — have returned, though the latter has opted not to return just yet, Snow said.
"Other than bridge, it has returned to normal," Snow said. "There's just not as many people."
The senior center was closed in March 2020 after the COVID lockdowns. It was then used as one of the county's COVID testing sites for much of 2020.
City officials said throughout 2020 that they were receiving calls from senior citizens wondering when the center would reopen, but the virus' worst surge in the winter of 2020-21 kept the center closed except for COVID testing.
Now, with testing demand down and the vaccine rollout ongoing, the city said it felt good about reopening the center to the public.
"With the age group, we wanted to do everything we could to make sure it was going to be healthy for them," Torrey Roe, parks and recreation superintendent, said.
The center is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Membership is $3 for those living within the city limits and $4 for those living outside city limits. Lunch is provided by the Area Five Agency on a donation basis for those 60 years and older and at a cost of $4.50 for those between ages 50 to 59.
For more information, call the center during business hours at 765-456-7557. A full activities calendar for April and May can be seen by visiting the center's website at https://bit.ly/3g6uBdT.
Tyler Juranovich can be reached at 765-454-8577, by email at tyler.juranovich@kokomotribune.com or on Twitter at @tylerjuranovich
