‘I pray people vote yes.?
That’s Addison Township resident Linda List’s hope concerning the North Oakland Transportation Authority (NOTA) millage proposal on the May 5 ballot.
?(NOTA) gave me independence,? explained the 69-year-old retired licensed practical nurse. ‘I don’t feel quite so independent now.?
List doesn’t own a vehicle due to her limited financial means and she can’t walk very far because of the severe asthma that forced her into retirement six years ago. Without NOTA to take her places, she must rely on the kindness and availability of a neighbor and a daughter who lives in Westland.
‘It was devastating (when NOTA stopped serving Addison),? List said. ‘I couldn’t believe it. I thought, it can’t be.?
Addison received its final ride from NOTA on Dec. 30 following two failed millage proposals in the August and November elections last year. This same millage proposal passed in Oxford and Orion townships, so those residents continue to receive NOTA’s services.
There are plenty of other Addison folks in the same boat as List. Folks like Richard and Kathleen Schrack, who live in the Hidden Lake Estates mobile home park.
Richard, 72, hasn’t better able to visit Crittenton Hospital in Rochester Hills for the medical treatment he requires for his wet macular degeneration, a chronic eye disease that causes vision loss.
‘I’ve missed four appointments because I have no way to get there and nobody to take me,? he said. ‘My doctor is so upset with me. But I can’t drive. I can’t pass the eye test.?
The lack of transportation has left Kathleen, 67, feeling anxious and scared all the time. She has breathing problems, which require trips to the doctor so it doesn’t develop into pneumonia, which she’s had three times before.
‘I’m afraid to get sick,? she said.
Kathleen, who never learned to drive because she’s from Chicago where she always used public transportation, noted when she learned Addison was going to lose NOTA she ‘went into a complete panic.?
‘I’m a very nervous person to begin with and that just put me right over the edge because I knew we were stuck,? she said. ‘I’ve been literally crying at times because we just don’t know what to do. This has been very hard on us.?
The Schracks and lots of former NOTA riders in Addison are urging their fellow residents to approve the five-year, 0.25-mill tax increase, which would allow the rural township, including the Village of Leonard, to rejoin the entity and once again receive transportation services.
If approved, the new millage would generate an additional $70,000 annually for NOTA and the agency has agreed to expand the eastern boundary of its 223-square-mile service area from Dequindre Rd. to Van Dyke Rd. This would allow NOTA buses to travel to Romeo, Utica, Shelby Twp. and Washington Twp.
‘It’s just miserable not being able to go anywhere or do anything,? Richard said. ‘The seniors are suffering over this. It’s just a plain and simple nightmare for us without NOTA.?
‘We all just counted on (NOTA) so much,? Kathleen said. ‘It was our lifesaver.?
Formed in 2001, NOTA provides low-cost publicly-subsidized transportation for senior citizens (age 60 and older), permanently or temporarily disabled individuals and low-income folks. The agency charges its users the nominal fee of $1 or $2 per ride (one way).
Destinations for typical NOTA riders include medical appointments, grocery stores, senior centers, church services, therapy and counseling appointments, hair salons and barber shops, jobs and employment training, community events, local libraries and the Oxford-Orion FISH food pantry.
For many, NOTA rides provide access to basic necessities and care, but they also provide social interaction for those who could easily feel isolated and alone.
‘I live alone,? List said. ‘I see my daughter and that’s about it. I say hi to my neighbors. NOTA gave me people to talk to.?
NOTA gave a total of 34,184 rides last year, of which 2,071 were for Addison and Leonard residents.
‘I know it’s only a handful of people who use it (in Addison), but for the people who use it, it literally is a lifeline in a lot of cases,? said Bev Seddon, whose grandmother, Leonard resident Pauline Constable, was a NOTA rider for eight years.
‘I can’t get any place without NOTA,? said Constable, who will celebrate her 99th birthday in July. ‘Now, I have to stay at home. We were just cut off completely.?
Constable relied on NOTA to take her to exercise classes twice a week in Lake Orion.
These classes provide her a way to keep her strength up and an opportunity to interact with people. Seddon said they keep her grandmother ‘nimble, active? and help her maintain a ‘vigor for life.?
‘It gives her purpose,? explained Seddon, who lives near downtown Lapeer. ‘It helps her keep her days straight.?
When NOTA service ended in Addison, so did Constable’s visits to the exercise class. It definitely took an appreciable toll on her.
‘Her physical and mental abilities deteriorated tremendously because she couldn’t do the exercises anymore,? Seddon said. ‘That’s a big deal at that age.?
Filled with a sincere desire to help her grandmother stay healthy and independent, Seddon has managed to get Constable to a couple exercise classes over the last few weeks.
‘I’m trying to respect my grandma’s wishes and keep her in her house as long as possible,? she said. ‘There’s no question in my mind she does as well as she does because she goes to exercise class.?
Seddon looked into having a taxi service take Constable to the classes, but she was quoted a price of $60 for a round-trip ride because of the distance involved.
‘Addison’s sort of in the middle of nowhere,? said Seddon, who grew up in Leonard and graduated from Oxford High School in 1987. ‘You really are sort of isolated from everything. You’re off in the boonies.?
That’s why having a service like NOTA is so vital, in her opinion.
‘There isn’t any other option for these people,? Seddon said. ‘A lot of older people don’t have anybody (to look after them and take them places).?
Many senior citizens live on fixed incomes and can’t afford $60 taxi rides, she noted.
‘That’s a lot of money when you figure a lot of people are literally in the position where they have to make choices each week (such as) pay their electric bill or take their medicine,? Seddon said.
The Schracks don’t have the income to keep paying people to drive them places.
‘It costs me $10 (to) $15 a trip just to go shopping at Kroger,? Richard said. ‘We can’t afford that. We’re both on disability and Social Security.?
Not only is NOTA a very economical transportation option, its former Addison riders agree the service was impeccable.
‘It’s a wonderful service,? List said. ‘It was great.?
‘Excellent,? Richard Schrack said. ‘Ten out of 10.?
The former riders this reporter talked to said NOTA drivers are always on time, walk people to and from their front door, perform welfare checks, return lost items, and behave in a patient and kind manner.
‘They were wonderful,? Constable said. ‘They would do anything for you. They were just very helpful with everything.?
‘All the drivers were very good friends of ours,? Richard noted. ‘They would stop and visit us after work hours.?
‘They’re very, very nice people,? Kathleen Schrack said. ‘No complaints.?
List stressed the importance of voting in the May 5 election and not relying on others to pass the NOTA millage proposal.
She admitted to not voting in the August 2014 election, the first time it failed. It lost by just 26 votes.
‘I felt awful that I didn’t make the effort to vote,? List said.
She made sure to vote in the November election and even though the NOTA millage failed again (it lost by 41 votes), List feels better that at least she participated.
In the end, List believes people should vote in favor of NOTA because ‘you never know when you’re going to need it.?