SPECIAL GUEST — During her visit Monday to the Brooke County Senior Center, Dianna Graves, West Virginia commissioner of senior services, center, chatted with Janice McFadden, seated, chair of the Brooke County Committee on Aging; while Sandy Kemp, the committee’s director; and Katie Hudak, back, director of the Northwestern Area Agency on Aging, listened. -- Warren Scott

FOLLANSBEE — The leader of senior services in West Virginia said her visits on Monday to the Brooke County and Hancock County senior centers were the first of many she plans to make throughout the state.

Dianna Graves said following her appointment as state commissioner of senior services by Governor Patrick Morrisey, “I made a pledge I’d set foot in every senior center in the state and get to know their operations and needs.”

“This is really a learning experience,” said Graves, who previously served five years in the state House of Delegates, representing the 38th District, and served as director of the Bob Burdette Center, a nonprofit after-school program in Charleston; and on the Kanawha Valley senior services board.

The two senior centers also were visited by Katie Hudak, director of the Northwestern Area Agency on Aging, one of four regional agencies that oversee the state’s senior service programs.

Hudak said in the weeks ahead, Graves will be visiting senior centers serving the region’s 16 counties.

Graves said as a former accountant, she wants to determine how local senior centers are using the resources available to them.

She added she hopes leaders of local senior service programs will feel comfortable reaching out to her with challenges they are facing.

Sandy Kemp, director of the Brooke County Committee on Aging — which oversees the Brooke County Senior Center — noted it relies on multiple funding sources, including the state, a county excess levy, a portion of donations to the United Way of the Upper Ohio Valley and a grant from the Helping Hand Foundation, a nonprofit organization.

Graves said senior centers that draw upon multiple resources appear to be the most successful.

Kemp said through its food pantry, the center has provided, on a weekly basis, nonperishable food for people and pets and personal hygiene products to Brooke County residents 60 and older with limited resources.

She added the center also accepts donations of such food and products from the public.

Feeding local seniors has been a big part of the Brooke County Committee on Aging’s operations for many years.

Through the Brooke-Hancock Senior Nutrition Program, it has provided free lunches to seniors 60 and older at the center, Freedom Place Apartments and the locally run Greater Weirton Senior Center at 11:30 a.m. Monday through Friday.

Hundreds of meals also are delivered through it to homebound seniors in Brooke and Hancock counties.

Kemp said the Brooke County center also offers seniors a place to meet and participate in a variety of activities, from card games and bingo to dancing and drum sessions in which an online instructor guides them in pounding large rubber balls with drumsticks.

Local residents 55 and older also have been matched with various volunteer opportunities through the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program based at the center.

Kemp noted the center also serves as base for programs providing exterior services to seniors.

They include transportation to Veterans Affairs medical facilities in Pittsburgh and St. Clairsville, other medical appointments and shopping; and in-home care services.

Through the latter, workers help seniors remain in their homes by doing light housekeeping, aiding them with personal care and performing other tasks.

People served by the program include residents eligible for Medicaid, a Medicaid waiver or veterans benefits and others who pay on a sliding scale based on their income.

Kemp encouraged those interested in learning more about the various programs to call (304) 527-1410 or visit www.bccoawv.com.