Latest news with #DavidTucker
Yahoo
03-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
First rendering of new Owensboro senior center revealed
OWENSBORO, Ky. (WEHT) — After several years of planning, the Senior Center of Owensboro-Daviess County is giving a first look at the design for the new center. Officials also reveal when they hope to break ground. The Center's Executive Director David Tucker says Hayden Construction and Axiom Architecture have been chosen to bring the new center location to life. Tucker gave a first look at the overall design rendering for the 23,000 square foot facility. 'We think within the month of May…hopefully we will have shovels in the ground for a groundbreaking and be able to reveal the actual floor plans of that building,' says Tucker. It will sit on 8 acres of land at the corner of Carter Road and West Second Street, near western botanical gardens. The center and the Daviess County Fiscal Court have designated a little over $6 million for the project. 'I've had seniors tell me 'we never believed it was going to happen, but we believe now we're finally going to see it'. The older ones say 'we've waited so long, we just hope we live to see it'…but there's a lot of excitement,' says Tucker. The current building is 90 years old and sits on 4 acres. 'It's really something just for us to be together…we can eat, we can communicate, we can do crafts, and come here to socialize and have friends,' says Zanea Ashley, a member of the senior center. The new center will feature an updated air conditioning system, more parking space and a walking trail around the property. '…a craft room and game room. We'll also have a larger group exercise room, which is very popular. The back of the building will also feature an outdoor patio space. We're kind of brainstorming maybe some some 'donuts with the director' mornings,' says Tucler. The center's Meals on Wheels program will have its own designated space. If construction can begin in the next few weeks, the predicted completion date is fall of 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Senior center seeing increase in clients
A new Senior Community Center of Owensboro-Daviess County facility is more than a year from opening, but the excitement around the direction the center is headed is already having an impact on the number of clients it's seeing. The senior center had 316 new members in 2024, which pushed its active membership to more than 1,000. 'That's a real good year,' said David Tucker, executive director of the facility, about the influx of members. 'We have a lot of seniors that have come in and joined us and said they're trying to get into a routine so that when we get in the new building they will be set and ready. And we've seen an increase in January, more so this year than any year since I've been here, with people coming to exercise. 'We had really not seen that the last few years that I've been here, but this year it seems to be a big thing for January.' Tucker said attendance at the senior center has climbed steadily since it reopened in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic. 'We were blown out of the water when we reopened in 2021 by how many seniors came back to us and how many brand new seniors joined us,' he said. 'Then it's been just a steady climb ever since then.' The senior center served just under 100,000 meals in 2024 between congregate meals, Meals on Wheels and frozen meals. 'The meal provider is Five Star, and they do a fantastic job cooking the meals for the seven-county (Green River Area Development District),' Tucker said. 'I think they're somewhere around 900 to 1,000 meals a day that they're cooking out of the kitchen, and then we get the opportunity to serve it and deliver it.' The senior center serves congregate meals at five locations: the senior center, Park Regency, the Roosevelt House, Adams Village and the Whitesville Senior Citizens Center. More than 28,000 total meals were distributed among the sites. It also has about 250 Meals on Wheels clients, with just under 65,000 meals served. 'That program fluctuates slightly,' said Tucker about Meals on Wheels. 'But not so much in the last year. Before COVID, we had 120 Meals on Wheels clients, and during COVID it went to 500, and then we've settled back down to around 250 is our average over the last year.' Meals on Wheels also served nearly 6,500 frozen meals through a partnership started in 2017 with Morrison food service and Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. 'We have a group of volunteers that come in three days a week and they go out to the hospital and pick up food that Morrisons has to donate, bring it back here, and they make the frozen meal trays,' Tucker said. 'Then we've identified those seniors that receive Meals on Wheels who have the food insecurities. 'They're offered to those folks as an opportunity to have meals for Saturday and Sunday.' Meals aren't the only growth area. The senior center saw more than 11,500 visits by 550 seniors in 2024 for recreation activities. The senior center's average attendance was 160 people in November, with it dipping to 140 people in December, which Tucker attributes to more holiday activities for seniors to attend. Tucker said he's very pleased with how his transition has gone, as he was named executive director in late November. 'Things are going well,' he said. 'It's exciting right now to be here.' Tucker received some great news last week when Daviess Fiscal Court announced a $500K match of all private donations toward the building fund. 'Their announcement that they've placed more money on the table, we will definitely use that to our advantage,' he said. '(Design/build) bids are due by Friday, and we'll start looking at those next week to see where we stand on that aspect. 'We're looking for someone that may be able to design the space we need, with the rooms we need, and give us a good estimate on it.'
