Terms ending for several members of COA board

The terms of several members of St. Joseph County Commission on Aging's advisory board soon will end. 

The terms of the following board members will expire June 30: Sarah Apwisch, Steve Boland, Brittney Buscher, George Letts, Ed Stemen and Jon Withers. 

At a meeting of the board Wednesday, those members were invited to reapply if interested. Citizen interest forms for anyone who would like to apply are available on the county’s website and at COA’s Sturgis and Three Rivers centers. Deadline is June 24. 

All terms are 2-year terms, except for one that is a 1-year term. The board has a total of 11 seats. Half of those seats are reserved for those 60-years-old and older. 

Also on Wednesday, board members heard from executive director Pam Riley about several upcoming improvements at the centers. Work on a pickleball/shuffleboard court soon will start in Three Rivers. Two ramps are being added at the Three Rivers apartments for handicapped accessibility and atrium windows are being repaired there. At the Sturgis center, parking lots are being repaired and parking lot lights are being replaced. Riley said ladybug-like insects had nested in the lights and burnt out the wiring. They’re being replaced with lights that won’t put out as much heat. 

Board members also heard from Katie Hughes on nutrition, residential and life enrichment programs. As for nutrition, hot meals continue to grow, she said. Congregate and to-go meals both are growing. In May, COA began self-production of cold meals. As for residential services, requests for chore work are growing. A wait list for in-home services is at 40 as COA continues to look for workers.

For life enrichment, several activities and trips are being planned: 

• A Honey Creek concert.
• Trips to Saugatuck. 
• Outdoor yoga and walking classes at area parks. 
• More exercise classes at both centers to accommodate demand. 
• A teddy bear picnic. 
• Dinner night out. 
• The annual picnic.