A?new set of wheels

FOLLANSBEE - Efforts to deliver meals to senior citizens in Brooke and Hancock counties have received a boost from West Virginia's racetrack.

The Brooke County Committee on Aging is one of 17 senior programs in the state that will receive a truck to transport meals to homebound senior citizens and seniors who gather at senior centers and other public places.

The trucks are being funded by grants from the West Virginia Bureau of Senior Services that were funded by licensing fees paid by Mountaineer Casino, Racetrack and Resort and Wheeling Island Hotel, Casino and Racetrack and a donation by the Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Center, according to the office of Gov. Joe Manchin.

"Many seniors throughout the state rely on our county service providers for daily necessities, such as food. Being able to put these new vehicles on the road is essential to our collective effort to meet the needs of seniors in a timely and efficient manner," said Manchin, who presented the vehicles to several of the senior program heads in Charleston this week.

Laura Beckelhimer, deputy director for the Brooke County Committee on Aging, said there are plans to award additional vehicles to other programs in the future, and this year's recipients were selected through a grant application process.

Joy Crawford, executive director of the committee - which also operates the Brooke County and Greater Weirton senior centers and provides in-home services to seniors in the two counties - said the new truck is a big improvement from the vans the committee has used in the past because it's outfitted with racks for storing up to 200 meals and refrigeration and heating equipment to keep the food cool or hot.

The committee had relied on insulated containers for that purpose when transporting the meals in the committee's vans to homes and nutrition sites as far north as Chester and as far south as Windsor Heights, she said.

The meals are delivered five days a week. Frozen meals are provided to homebound seniors for use on weekends and holidays and when inclement weather is expected that could prevent the program's drivers from reaching their homes.

Crawford said last year about 64,000 meals were delivered over more than 25,000 miles in Hancock County and more than 18,000 miles in Brooke County. The difference is because the drivers travel more rural roads in Hancock County, she said.

"We cover a lot of ground, believe me, but that's what Gov. Manchin expects from the dollars we get," Crawford said.

She said the governor has been a strong supporter of the state's nutrition programs and approved an increase of about $18,000 for each senior center in the state to offset an increase in transportation costs caused by the rising cost of gasoline.

The food delivered by the Brooke County Committee on Aging has been prepared for many years by the Anchor Room in Follansbee and since that restaurant closed, Staffileno's on the River, a Wellsburg restaurant.

But Crawford said that will soon change with the establishment by the committee of its own kitchen at the former site of the Sugar and Spice Bakery on state Route 2 at the north end of Wellsburg.

She said the move is expected to cut costs for the program because the committee will be using food provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture at no cost.

Crawford estimated it will cost about $15,000 per year to run the program after the kitchen is established.

She said a full-time cook and three part-time staff members, including a driver who also may assist in the kitchen, will be hired.

Crawford said the committee was very fortunate to secure the former bakery, which is close to state Route 2 and equipped with a walk-in freezer and other kitchen accommodations.

(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)