By Richard Zowie
Leader Staff Writer

Differing sides aired their versions of an Oxford Senior Citizen Board dispute at the August 13 Oxford Township board of trustees meeting.
Barbara Kozma, an OSCB trustee, told the township trustees that she felt ‘trashed? by a June 24 letter submitted to the council by Oxford Township Parks and Recreation Senior Citizen Coordinator Becky Paquin, in which Paquin alleged that the senior citizen board treated former senior center worker Donna Martin as a ‘personal maid service.?
That remark, Kozma said in a letter to the board, was one that she and others at the senior center were ‘highly offended? by.
Kozma said that she and her organization were upset over the way the situation was handled, alleging that the OTPRS didn’t notify them ahead of time of what they were going to do when they announced Martin would no longer be working for them. ‘It left us flat-footed,? she said.
Paquin responded to the trustees that a lot of the problems could be blamed on miscommunication. Martin, she said, ended up spending 20-25 hours a week grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, making popcorn, coffee and helping with bingo. ‘I had absolutely not time for her whatsoever for programming,? she said.
The coordinator said she was also upset when Martin told her how she felt ‘disrespected? by the seniors and how she grew to not like going into their building.
Paquin also alleged the Senior Center, besides receiving money through bingo and fundraisers, also received donations from a local Alcoholics Anonymous group for its usage of their building.
?[The Senior Center] doesn’t give the money to the township, and I don’t think that’s right,? she said.
The tangled dispute aside regarding this and the types of additional programs that OTPR had wanted to offer to the seniors (besides bingo, cards and meals), that leaves one central issue: getting a coordinator for the Oxford Seniors.
Among the possibilities are acquiring Community Development Block Grant funds to hire a coordinator for the seniors. Township treasurer Joe Ferrari said that it’s something they’ll be looking into, particularly for the 2009 CDBG funds since most of the older funds are already earmarked elsewhere.