T-L Photo/GAGE VOTA Belmont County Commissioner J.P.Dutton, left, Executive Director of Senior Services of Belmont County Lisa Kazmirski, and Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann pose with the proclamation declaring May to be Older Americans Month.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Board of Commissioners declared May to be Older Americans Month during its meeting Wednesday.

Executive Director of Senior Services of Belmont County Lisa Kazmirski addressed the commissioners, talking about how area seniors visited Cambridge to attend an adult extravaganza,

“It was very well attended and facilitated, I attended for a little bit and it was a very nice event,” she said.

Kazmirski added that the vendors at the event provided many free items that she said weren’t just trinkets, but meaningful and nice.

Senior Services of Belmont County hosted a fiesta last week with about 180 people present.

A taco bar was provided and everyone in attendance left the event with a pot of flowers from Senior Services of Belmont County. The seniors were able to win prizes that were provided by the sponsors of the events.

“They are places like nursing homes, in-home care providers, and attorneys, who want seniors to know about them in case they need their resources in the future,” Kazmirski said when discussing the prize sponsors.

The seniors are planning a few trips for the month of June. They will return to Cambridge to attend the “Price is Right,” as well as attending Rodeo Days at the Belmont County Fairgrounds.

According to Kazmirski, the seniors are very excited for the upcoming activities during the month of June.

The Senior Services of Belmont County provides approximately 1,200 meals per day in its senior centers and home delivery. It also transports an average of 25 people a day for various medical appointments.

“A lot of people may not think that’s a big deal but keep in mind that in the Ohio Valley since providers are limited, if someone lives in Barnesville, taking them to Wheeling and then taking them home takes a lot of time. Logistically it’s more of an issue than it sounds,” Kazmirski said.

Senior Services of Belmont County received American Rescue Plan Act funding as well as the Healthy Aging Grant this year. The money from both of those went towards purchasing iPads for the seniors, as well as to cover the costs of the flower pots given to the seniors at last week’s fiesta.

Commissioner J.P. Dutton asked Kazmirski if the farmer’s market program will happen again for the seniors this summer.

“It is, but we need to note that it isn’t the old way,” Kazmirski said. “Seniors will either need an app on their phone or wait four to six weeks for their voucher to come in the form of a card this year. So it’s a little bit more complicated for our seniors, not so much for the younger generation who’s obviously coordinating it.”

“Just to be clear, it’s not changes that we are making?” Dutton asked.

“No, the Ohio Department of Aging has made these changes,” Kazmirski replied. “It’s all across our region.”

Kazmirski added that the amount given to the seniors to be given to the seniors did not change. They will still receive up to $50 to spend at the farmer’s market.

Dutton mentioned Belmont County used to have three levies and it had to go down to having two levies and he said people were asking what that meant for Senior Services programs, but thanks to Kazmirski the Senior Services of Belmont County has been able to operate just as smoothly as it would have with the three levies.

“I just want to commend Lisa for all the work that she’s doing,” Dutton said. “We’ve done it in the past and continue to do that.

“You really delved into transportation routes, logistics, and even medical appointments and what routes for certain meals,” he added. “You’re always looking at ways to make sure we’re running as lean as possible and not losing programs for seniors but we’ve been even adding programs for the seniors.”

Belmont County Board of Commissioners President Jerry Echemann completed the meeting by reading the proclamation declaring May Older Americans Month.

“We urge every resident to take time during this month to recognize older adults and people who serve and support them as vital members of our communities,” the proclamation states.