Senior Center adds to quality of life
By DARYL K. TABOR
MANAGING EDITOR
A great number of Mona Manley’s good friends are over 78 years old, so it’s no surprise to her the life expectancy of Americans is at an all-time high.
New 2005 government figures released last week show the U.S. life expectancy at birth inched up to 77.9 from the previous record, 77.8, recorded for 2004. The increase was more dramatic in contrast with 1995, when life expectancy was 75.8, and 1955, when it was 69.6.
“I think there’s more awareness that we need to exercise and know how to eat right,” Manley said. “We didn’t have that awareness in the 50s.”
Manley is the Pennyrile Allied Community Services Aging Coordinator for Crittenden County and can be found weekdays at the Senior Citizens Center on North Walker Street in Marion. The center, and others like it, she believes, adds to the quality of life for those in their golden years, if not helping to tack on a few years.
“There are a lot of seniors who would otherwise be at home by themselves,” she said.
For the last 11 years, Manley has watched local seniors gather for lunch, a game of cards or an afternoon chat. And, she has seen many acquaintances develop over that time.
“We’ve had a lot of friendships and a couple of marriages,” she said.
On Saturday, the center dedicated an addition to the facility that more than doubles its square footage. Not only does the new wing add more floor space for group activities such as dining, but it includes new administrative offices, a computer room, an equipped exercise room, a pool table and private room for meetings with healthcare providers, insurers or tax preparers.
“Before, we didn’t have a private area for things like that,” said Charles Sisco, chairman of the senior center board and frequent user of the facility.
“We’re more than double the size of before,” Manley said.
Sisco said the addition was built with a $400,000 state grant and portions, including exercise equipment, outfitted with a $75,000 grant acquired by Congressman Ed Whitfield. The day-to-day expenses are state and federally funded through PACS, while upkeep and maintenance is paid for by the center’s board.
Transportation to and from the facility is also provided through PACS, though donations are requested as vehicle fuel and maintenance costs rise.
Sisco said the facility can also be rented for $75, though approval by the board must be received.
For a service that began in the 1980s providing catered meals to seniors from the old Mattoon School, the senior center has come a long way. Today, the facility that replaced an aging building on Bellville Street in 1993, offers daily activities and an 11:30 a.m., meal prepared onsite especially for seniors . Catering to residents who prefer to remain at home still takes place.
But with all it has to offer, Manley thinks the senior center is an unfound treasure.
“There are a lot of people that don’t take advantage of this,” she said. “Though we are starting to get some younger seniors... those who just turned 60.”
Some however, are as regular as the sunrise.
“We have some that come here everyday and play cards all day long,” she said.
Manley said the eldest regular is Lois Edwards, who is 98.
And, it’s people like Edwards who have helped increase the life expectancy in America.
The improvement in that area reported last week was led by a drop in deaths from heart disease and stroke – two of the nation's leading killers, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, which released the new life expectancy report last Wednesday.
“If death rates from certain leading causes of death continue to decline, we should continue to see improvements in life expectancy,” said Hsiang-Ching Kung, in a prepared statement. Kung is a survey statistician who co-authored the report.
Researchers noted continued differences by race and sex. Life expectancy for whites in 2005 was 78.3, the same as it was in 2004. Black life expectancy rose from 73.1 in 2004 to 73.2 in 2005, but it was still nearly five years lower than the white figure.
Life expectancy for women continues to be five years longer than for men, the report also found.
The age-adjusted death rate for heart disease dropped from 217 deaths per 100,000 in 2004 to about 210 in 2005, and actual deaths dropped from about 652,500 to about 649,000. The stroke rate dropped from 50 per 100,000 to about 46.5, and the number of stroke deaths dropped from about 150,000 to 143,500.
But the count of cancer deaths rose from about 554,000 to about 559,000, according to the report.
And there were 5 percent increases in the rates for Alzheimer's disease, the No. 7 leading cause of death, and for Parkinson's disease, which was No. 14.
The United States continues to lag behind at least 40 other nations. Andorra, a tiny country in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain, has the longest life expectancy, at 83.5 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Japan, Macau, San Marino and Singapore ranked second, third, fourth and fifth.
(Editor’s note: The Associated Press contributed to this story.)

Upcoming calander
at the Senior Center
• Bible Study with Dee Ann Thompson, 10:45 a.m., Oct. 4.
• Closed Oct. 8 for Columbus Day.
• Hershel Belt and friends will play music at 10:30 a.m., Oct. 10
• PACS nutrition workshop, Oct. 11.
• Bingo, 10:30 a.m., Oct. 19.
• Mona’s nutrition workshop, 10:30 a.m., Oct. 24.
• Bingo, 10:30 a.m., Oct. 26.
• Halloween party and chair volleyball, 10:30 a.m., Oct. 31.
The Senior Center is located at 210 N. Walker Street in Marion and is open weekdays from 8 a.m., to 4 p.m., with lunch served at 11:30 a.m., each day. Lunch is $2 for anyone 60 and older or $4 for others. If you need a ride or have questions, call 965-5229.