By Hawley Roddick
The Orcas Island Senior Center has a handsome new van to transport members. This $60,085 Chevrolet Aerolite mini-bus, which is ADA certified, carries eight passengers, and has a lift for wheelchairs as well as two wheelchair stations. Decals on the white exterior identify the van as a Senior Center vehicle. The interior is gray and mauve.
The Center acquired the van with a Washington State Department of Transportation grant and a generous 20% matching contribution from the estate of Karin Hart-Fuhring and John Fuhring.
Van service for seniors who have no other way to get to the Center’s twice-weekly lunches is free. Off-island van trips for recreational activities sponsored by the Senior Center and for doctor appointments in Anacortes, Mount Vernon, Bellingham, and Seattle involve a small fee. Members make van reservations by calling the Senior Center in advance: 376-2677.
On May 30th, Marla Y. Johns, M.S., BSW, the Center’s Services Coordinator, sent this email to the Center’s Advisory Committee members:
“I just returned to the office after picking up our new van! I was welcomed by a group of seniors who promptly loaded up and took it for a spin. It is a beautiful rig and will fit our islands needs wonderfully. I urge you all to come take a look at it.”
The new van is one more of many reasons that membership in the Senior Center is valuable for Island seniors and their families.
