Liberty plans senior watch

By John W. Goodwin Jr.

The program will officially begin in September.

LIBERTY — Township officials hope to kick off a new senior watch program in conjunction with a Senior Day Program in September.

Officials have been discussing the implementation of a senior watch program since the death of 87-year-old Mary Rush in May. Police and fire officials have held several meetings with community leaders from other areas where similar programs already exist.

Rush, of Mansell Drive, was found dead on her front porch, unconscious with severe cuts, just after 7 a.m. on a Monday morning in April. The porch area was covered in blood, and a large rock was found by a nearby broken window.

Officials said Rush’s leg was broken and caught in the railing leading to the porch.

Police have determined that Rush, who suffered from a form of dementia, locked herself out and was cut trying to gain entry to the house.

Police checked the area by car twice in the morning when Rush would have likely been outside after a neighbor complained of someone crying out outside, but they did not find the woman. Some have questioned why officers did not search the area on foot.

An independent team of investigators are studying the department’s response to that situation.

Trustee Jodi Stoyak said the township senior watch program is not up and running yet, but the applications have been developed and the program will be in full swing in September. She said the township is planning a Senior Day Program where various vendors dealing with senior issues will be available.

The senior watch applications will be available beginning the day of the senior program. No official date for the Senior Day Program has been set.

Stoyak said the applications will also be available at the government center and included in the upcoming issue of the “The Bridge,” a newsletter the township produces for its residents.

The application requests general information about the senior to be enrolled in the program, a preferred method of contact, name of a family physician and names of emergency contacts. There is a place to include additional information.

Stoyak said the information supplied on the application will be entered into a database where police and volunteers can touch base with the individual on a regular basis. She said police will also expand the database as they come into contact with residents who could use more contact from those in public services.

“If police go out and see there is a problem, they can contact social services in Trumbull County to meet that person’s need. Police and firefighters can then also fill out a form so in the future we have that information at the government building,” she said.

Stoyak said she is hopeful that volunteers step up to help make phone calls to and visit elderly individuals in the area. She said the program could easily become a community effort.

jgoodwin@vindy.com