By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Peabody seniors who frequent Peabody Senior Center are enjoying a renovated facility for socializing and eating noon meals.

The renovation was required after a big thunderstorm early on the morning of July 22 caused flooding in Peabody.

At least 14 inches covered the back entrance of the building, and water came up from the basement in the front.

Dozens of volunteers showed up to move furniture aside or out of the building, and the kitchen was cleaned and sanitized.

A carpet-cleaning professional used his equipment at no charge to remove water from the floor and suck moisture out of the carpet in the dining room so meals could continue to be served.

“We only missed one day of meals,” manager LouAnn Bowlin was happy to say.

The wood flooring under the carpet in the parlor had buckled from the floodwater. It was removed and replaced along with the carpet.

The flooring in the dining room is concrete, so just the carpet had to be replaced. Some spots required removal of mold, and some trim was replaced.

Senior center treasurer Pat Henderson said she has saved all the receipts from the work that was contracted, and about $11,000 has been spent so far, with more to come. The money was donated, and some came from savings.

“Our savings are about gone,” she said.

The center is trying to get a grant to replenish its funds, but it first had to go through the process of applying for a bank loan. It was rejected because the center is not a moneymaking enterprise and couldn’t pay the money back.

She was hoping to get federal emergency money but was told that can only go to government entities.

She has applied for a grant from the North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging Foundation.

“I was depressed for a while,” Henderson said, “but then I saw those donations and I could see that people care.”

Bowlin is thankful for all the work board members Dan Martel, Dinah Richmond, Judy Mellott, Jim Cox, Ross Van Curen, Graeme Glaser, and Carolyn Rowland did to get the center in shape again.

Bowlin said one good thing that came out of the flooding was that they did some housecleaning. They went through a lot of stuff and threw out the things that were old and no longer needed.

“I guess some good comes out of everything,” she said.