Lillian Simmons, Long County’s representative on the Coastal Regional Commission for Aging, recently asked the Long County Commission for help spreading the word about available programs that help the elderly.
Simmons said there are many programs designed to assist the area’s elderly residents, but most people are unaware of them. The programs include house-cleaning assistance, the administration of legal advice and home-meal delivery, she said.
“Whose responsibility is it to go out into the community and let people know about these services?” Simmons asked. Long County Commission Chairman Bobby Walker said there’s not a designated person, but added that most of the information is disseminated through the Long County Senior Citizen’s Center.
“I think we all are in agreement that we want to do all that we can do to help our seniors,” Walker said.
He assured Simmons that the commission will help in any way it can to spread information about the senior programs. Anyone who is interested also can check with the Senior Citizen’s Center and the Long County Head-Start Center for more information, he said.
Simmons, who is a member of the Long County Development Authority, also questioned the commission about the LCDA’s inactivity. The group, which, Simmons said, is required to meet monthly, hasn’t met in several months.
Commissioner Wallace Shaw, who also serves as chairman of the LCDA, said the lapse is due to a lack of a quorum of members at the meetings. Long County Clerk Mary Ann Odum said the current LCDA board members are Shaw, Lila Bell, Michelle Poppell, Lillian Simmons, Anthony Smith and Roger Houston. Shaw said an LCDA meeting is scheduled for February.
Long/Liberty County Emergency Medical Services Director Robin Todd reported to the commission that in January, EMS units responded to 108 calls in the county with an average response time of 11.71 minutes. The average response time for emergency calls was 11.15 minutes. Todd said she created a form that responding units fill out and return to her when they have difficulty locating a home for a dispatched call. The information then will be disseminated to the commission and the Ludowici/Long County Fire Department so corrections can be made to improve response times in certain areas.
Long County Board of Elections member Nancy McNew also went before the commission and expressed concern regarding the manner in which the commission is handling issues concerning LCBoE Chairwoman Vanessa Cunningham.
McNew said she feels commissioners are not providing all of the information she has requested regarding the matter. She said she doesn’t think the commission should allow Cunningham to continue to serve on the board.
Walker said the city of Ludowici has turned over all the information it has on the incident to the district attorney’s office. The county will not take action or additional information on the matter until the DA’s office completes its investigation.
In other business commissioners:
• approved by a 4-0 vote the final plat for Palmer Place subdivision. Commissioners Andy Fuller, David Richardson, Shaw and Walker voted in favor; Clifton DeLoach abstained.
• re-appointed Cecil Stafford to the Long County Forestry Board for five years.