Members of the Independence Township Board, Parks and Recreations, Senior Center and the community joined at 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 19 to watch the demolition of the old senior center.
‘This is a great day,? said Dave Wagner Independence Township Supervisor. ‘It’s been a long awaited day and it’s good to see all the people that are out here.?
A raffle was held to see who would get the first hit on the building, the winner was Joe Wauldron.
‘Its interesting taking down an old structure that’s been here for 30 years to make room for the new,? said Wauldron.
Waludron said he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Independence Township’s senior center, after moving here from Royal Oak where an up to date senior center had been built.
‘I thought I was walking into history,? he said. ‘I didn’t know how anyone could survive on the inside. There was no room to move.?
Trustee Dan Kelly said the township had made quite an achievement.
‘It’s a big accomplishment for the township with the help of (Dave) Belcher and some of the people of the township. It’s a vast improvement over what we’ve had over the years,? said Trustee Dan Kelly.
Brad Bender and his company ‘Accurate Sitework, Inc.? was the demolition crew for the senior center.
‘Mr. Bender is a dedicated individual in our community. Born and raised here, went to school here and he believes in supporting the community even in these rough times for him. He’s here helping us out which we need and he stepped forward and was able to provide the demolition for us,? said Wagner.
‘I have ambivalent feelings today; I hate to see the old building (destroyed.) We have a lot of good memories at the same time it’s been six years of work on trying to get a new senior center,? said Margaret Bartos, senior center coordinator.
Bartos was wearing a badge that read ‘where there is vision there is progress.? She said her and other senior center members wore the badges to almost every township board meeting in 2001 to express their opinion; they needed a new senior center.
‘What we are getting today is a very small building to replace the one we have. But it’s not moldy, it has handicap accessible hallways and bathrooms and small activity area and small offices, but it’s a start and it’s a first step. We’re very proud of the township board and Dave Belcher and the community for supporting this,? said Bartos.
Trustee Charles Dunn said the project was an example of community cohesiveness.
‘I think this is a great day, it shows that the community can come together and get something done efficiently, quickly, and when people recognize that it’s something good for the community, good things happen,? said Trustee Charles Dunn.
Independence Township resident John Thomas recalls the 1977 newspaper story that said a senior center was going to be built.
‘I’ve been working one way or another for 27 years out of there (the old building.) I started when I was 56-years-old, I’m 83 now and I’ve been working on this ever since, so if you see a tear shed here you’ll understand why, because it is something in a way to be sad about because I have all these memories of it. But on the other hand we are going to move into something that is much better for the seniors and they have been working a long, long time,? said Thomas.
Dave Belcher would like to thank Dave Santia for donating both labor and materials to put on whole waterlines of city/township water for the new senior center. Santia is celebrating a 30 year anniversary of serving Independence water.
Santia is appreciative of the efforts of Dave Belcher to bring the community together.
‘It’s left open for other people to come and donate. It’s not just one person or company. This is something we’ve been looking forward to and are glad to be apart of this,? he said.
The seniors should be in the new center by mid October.