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Seniors break ground on center
AK Steel, AK Foundation gives $1 million contribution, its largest ever, said AK spokesman.
Thursday, September 14, 2006
MIDDLETOWN — With construction dirt as the backdrop, community leaders overturned ceremonial dirt Wednesday as they broke ground for the new Middletown Area Senior Citizens building.
The leaders and area residents praised the project at the site of the former John XXIII Elementary School on 3907 Central Ave., which is in a wooded area.
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"We love the land and the trees. It's gorgeous out here. We'll finally have a safe place to walk," said resident Joyce Hinkle.
"And to park," added resident Emma Mehl,
Alan McCoy, an AK Steel vice president, attended as the executive director of the AK Foundation, the steelmaker's charitable arm.
"On behalf of AK and the AK Foundation, we've never made a larger contribution than the $1 million it pledged for the senior center," he said.
Tom Blake, the president of the fundraising campaign for the project, joked, "We'll be willing to hold another ceremony if you bring another million."
As McCoy spoke, a group of about five seniors stood off to the side, holding up a sign that read "What about AK retirees?"
John Stugmyer, finance director for Middletown Area Senior Citizens Inc. spoke briefly to the men, who left quickly and quietly.
Several people in the audience murmured the display was in "bad taste." McCoy had no comment on the men's appearance.
Charlene Himes, the president of the board of the seniors' organization, spoke to an audience with several local leaders, including Middletown Mayor Bob Wells, City Manager Bill Becker and Butler County Commissioner Michael Fox.
"I've shared a lot of hope, a lot of joy and a lot of frustration in seeing the project come to fruition," she said.
Himes advised the board to not only serve the current seniors well, but to be ready for the influx of new members.
"An organization that fails to look for its future tends to be a relic of the past very quickly," she said.
The new building replaces cramped quarters at 140 N. Verity Parkway.
Construction on the $4.4 million project will begin at the end of the month, Stugmyer said, and the building should be open in September 2007.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2836 or erobinette@coxohio.com.
