St. Mary donation benefits Smith-Moore parking lot

St. Mary's Church of Harrisburg made a generous donation to the Saline County Senior Citizens Center Monday.

The Church donated $5,000 to the center for enlargement and resurfacing the parking lot of the senior citizens center in Harrisburg.

The donation was made from the funds that the church had accrued from their Tornado Relief Fund, following the disastrous leap year tornado of 2012.

"The church is a house of God and we are all, all of us, God's children," said the Rev. Abraham Adejoh. "We (The Church) are always ready to help people or charitable organizations in need."

The Smith-Moore Building on Veterans Drive is owned by the Saline County Senior Citizens Council. The local Golden Circle facility is run out of the building and provides meals - either eat in or delivered by volunteers - to senior citizens in our area. This is an invaluable service, particularly in the times of drastic state and federal cutbacks on social services. Many of the senior citizens in our local area would not get a good, nutritious meal every day if it were not for the services that the center provides.

Members of the Saline County Senior Citizens Center Council, the Coordinator of Senior Citizens Services, Darlene Goolsby and Father Abraham Adejoh and church trustee Bob Dick were on hand as Adejoh gave the donation to Jim Rector, chairman of the Council.

"We are very grateful for this donation from the church," Council Treasurer Otis Reynolds said. "We are proud of and thankful for the services our center provides for the community."

Present at the ceremony were Father Adejoh, Bob Dick, (representing the church) and council members, Jim Rector, Otis Reynolds, Marie Reynolds, Carol Schneider, Joann Dalton, Lewis Dalton, Dale Fowler, Doris Lane, Frank McDaniel, Becky Milligan, Ken Howton, Jack and Lou Ann Yates.