Seniors Met In Anticipation of DICSA Action

In an effort to present a unified position, the
site counsels from three (3) Iron County Senior
Citizen sites met Friday, July 22, 2100, at the
Iron River Senior Center. Present were repre-
sentatives of the Iron River, Crystal Falls, and
Alpha Senior Centers.

The meeting was requested by the Iron River
Senior Center, to discuss how to deal with an
effort by the Dickinson Iron Community
Services Agency to reduce the amount of
staffing and financial assistance provided
to the centers. It was the opinion of the
members present that representatives from
each site should attend the special meeting
of DICSA next Friday the 29th of July to ask
if any decisions had been reached about
sharing the reduction in funding among the
three centers.

Given the atmosphere in Washington and
Lansing, the attendees of Friday's meeting felt
that some fair method of allocating the
anticipated reductions in funding should be
agreed to by interested parties. There will be
more coming on this subject as soon as
information is available.

The events precipitating the meeting came
from an anticipated reduction in the number
of days on which meals will be served in Iron
River and Crystal Falls Senior centers and
the shutting down of the Senior Site in Alpha.


This reporter sensed a willingness of the
representatives to present a united front to
the DICSA board of governors next Friday,
July 29, 2011. That meeting is open to the
public and will be held at the Crystal Lake
Senior center in Iron Mountain at 10:00 AM.

Ben Smith

Editor's note: With federal and state budgets
on the decline, and a reduction in Iron
County's population, ongoing cuts to
essential social programs are a reality that
must be faced even though costs for providing
those services continue to increase.