Published: October 20, 2009 10:49 pm      

Department of Aging secretary visiting Willow Valley Apartments

CUMBERLAND — Maryland’s top senior citizen officials are using a furlough day on Wednesday to help prepare and serve lunch at Willow Valley Apartments.

Department of Aging Secretary Gloria Gary Lawlah and Deputy Secretary Ilene W. Rosenthal will visit the Furnace Street complex in the morning. Deborah Kesner, congregate housing services manager for Willow Valley Apartments, said the two officials will prepare the lunchtime meal for residents and serve it to them. The housing complex has approximately three dozen residents and is under the supervision of the Housing Authority of Allegany County.

Kesner said Lawlah and Rosenthal then will meet with residents and discuss any issues that might be on their minds. Kesner said there doesn’t appear to be a particular agenda for such a meeting.

It’s possible that the subject of meals could come up. In March, the state Department of Aging announced cutbacks that eliminated serving lunch. Beverly Lancaster, housing authority executive director, said the state agency had wanted all facilities to stop serving lunch for a couple of years. Flat funding from the agency made it difficult to challenge the request.

As of July 1, the facility stopped serving residents a noontime meal. Lancaster said in March that residents still had the option of eating a midday meal. Some were enrolled in a day care program while others fixed their own meals in their apartments, which feature full-service kitchens.

Lancaster said the decision to eliminate lunch was “not made in haste” and argued there were “other portions of the Congregate Housing Services Program that could have been eliminated.”

Lancaster said the housing authority opted to maintain bus service to transport residents to local doctor appointments during the week and scheduled shopping trips. Residents, fees for whom are based on income, also retained housekeeping and laundry services.

Contact Kevin Spradlin at kspradlin@times-news.com.