Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Senior Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Golden Wheel says Meals on Wheels halted for four weeks as county seeks cook
Summary
Golden Wheel representatives told the Ottawa County commission that Meals on Wheels deliveries stopped for four weeks because the contracted cook (an FHAAA employee) is unavailable; commissioners called the Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging during the meeting and were told FHAAA will investigate.
Doug Plummer and Sheila Reed, representatives of Golden Wheel, told the Ottawa County Board of County Commissioners Feb. 9 that the county’s Meals on Wheels program has been unable to deliver meals because the program’s cook — an employee of the Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging (FHAAA) — has been unavailable. "Meals have not been available for four weeks," Commissioner Carla Grund said during the public‑service report.
Sheila Reed said Golden Wheel has posted the position on KansasWorks and learned one application came from Indeed, but that applicant lacked cooking experience. The group told commissioners they had reached out to FHAAA and had not received timely responses from the person who hires employees. Commissioners called FHAAA during the meeting and spoke with Linda Semple, who said she would look into what FHAAA could do and contact the commissioners back.
The group discussed interim options such as contracting with the Saline County senior center to provide meals temporarily; Golden Wheel said such arrangements would be stopgap until a qualified cook is hired. Commissioners asked staff to continue outreach and coordination with FHAAA, and Golden Wheel requested county help in encouraging a timely response from the provider.
