The Big Sandy Mountaineer -

The Big Sandy Senior Center Board seriously considering closing the Big Sandy Senior Center. They are currently in the process of visiting with local and state authorities about options. However, the future is challenging. Big Sandy Senior Center has been struggling for years to be financially viable.

The Big Sandy Senior Center had its first organizational meeting on May 14, 1974 and was established in 1976 with annual revenue of $121,758. It had six employees.

The first time I wrote about the center's financials was on January 16, 2019. At the time, I reported: "The Big Sandy Senior Center announced they would be closed on Fridays. Linda Schwarzbach, president of the board, said, "We are trying to get it open again, but when the participation falls, and you can't pencil it out and keep it even, it gets a little scary. It's starting to pick up on the four days. When we start getting a few more people, we will open it up again." It hasn't been carrying its own since then. They received some COVID funding, allowing it to stay open for these last three years. They haven't been able to meet their financial responsibilities for over a year now.

They understand that closing the Senior Center would be a terrible loss and will continue to look at options.