P&G GIVES $20,000 TO NEW CENTER

The Cape Girardeau Senior Center got a $20,000 check toward construction of a building Thursday, the same day bids for construction of the facility were opened.

Procter and Gamble Paper Products Co. presented the center with the check from The Procter and Gamble Fund.

P&G representative Joyce Streiler said the fund makes donations to capital campaigns and building funds like this one.

"The trustees in Cincinnati ultimately make the decision," she said. "We just send the proposal. The decision is based on information the Senior Center provides including the services they provide and the number of people to be served."

The Cape Girardeau Senior Center hopes to build a facility at 921 N. Clark Street.

Russel Faust, president of the Senior Center, said progress is being made.

The Clark street site, which cost about $47,500, is now paid for. Columbia Construction Co. has agreed to level the lot as an in-kind donation.

The building fund now totals about $40,000 in cash. Additional money and services have been pledged, many to be paid when the building is under construction.

"A few people have said, when we see the building going up, they will give us a donation," Faust said.

After some decisions have been made regarding the bids, Senior Center officials plan to approach local bankers about borrowing the money needed to construct the building.

The nutrition center opened 18 years ago at what formerly was Sunny Hill and operated there for a short time before moving to 23 N. Middle. In 1978, the center moved to Cape County Park, and to its present site, 232 Broadway, in 1987.

The facility is too small and has inadequate parking, said Administrator Jo Nelle Lingo. The nutrition center rents the facility and shares it with the Cape Civic Center for teens. The seniors must pack up their projects each day to make room for the youths each afternoon and evening. "It's just not ours," Lingo said.

The cornerstone of the seniors' program has always been the meal. An average of 160 people eat lunch at the center each day. When roast beef or fried chicken is served, the number is much higher.

"The main idea has always been to get seniors out of their homes and out with other people," Lingo said. "They will come in for a meal. When they get here, they know the people."

The center also provides home-delivered meals to about 40 homes in Cape Girardeau.

The new facility has been designed to specifically meet the needs of seniors, with 8,040 square feet of floor space and 105 parking spaces.

The facility will seat 50 to 75 percent more people for meals, and includes two areas where meetings and classes can be held.