- Doors closed for seniors -
04.04.2003 10:48:11
`Closed until further notice` is the message greeting Dubbo`s seniors wanting to use
the Walter T Grant Memorial Centre in Carrington Avenue.
The building is a gathering place for many local organisations and a venue for the centre`s Senior Citizens Incorporated group to come together for cards, bingo and crafts.
But the organisation isn`t immune to what has become the bane of many community groups - public liability insurance.
Just weeks before the group`s cover ran out on April 1, they received a letter from the insurer saying their public liability and personal accident policies would not be renewed.
"It is a statewide decision by the insurer, it`s not just us," Walter T Grant Memorial Centre for Senior Citizens Incorporated president Reg Ferguson said.
"But now we have to find another insurer, and it`s not easy.
"Until then we thought it would be in everyone`s best interests not to use the centre.
"We haven`t had a single accident or claim since we began 1968, but it`s just the way that
if we weren`t covered, someone would fall down and hurt themselves."
The group`s biggest concern at the moment is getting back into the hall
to make their ANZAC Day tribute.
"Every year the seniors lay down a wreath at the ANZAC Day memorial celebrations,
and we really want to be able to make a start on it," Mr Ferguson said.
"It`s just one of the many activities we offer to the senior citizens, involving companionship and friendship more than anything."
The group has approached an insurance broker to help secure them a policy so they can continue using the centre, but they haven`t been successful so far.
"The first insurance company the broker approached said no, but they are dealing with another
one and I`m confident we`ll get some cover soon," Mr Ferguson said.
"It will hopefully be in the next couple of days, but we just don`t know."
Click here to read the news from 09.04.2003:
Senior citizens centre reopens
acknowledge:
by Daily Liberal
http://dubbo.yourguide.com.au
>>> Click Here To See All Archives 2003 Headlines <<<
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