Struthers senior citizens van back in service today

STRUTHERS

It’s back.

After a prolonged hiatus, the city’s senior-citizen transportation service is once again available, taking residents to and from doctors’ offices and banks, grocery stores and shopping centers, three or four days a week.

“It’s had so many ups and downs,” said Struthers Mayor Terry Stocker.

Stocker recalled that troubles began in mid-March, when the 1997 Dodge van the city had been using to transport its senior citizens was pulled out of service. With a door hanging from two hinges instead of three and a lift so badly rusted it could no longer transport passengers in wheelchairs, among other issues, it was deemed not roadworthy — and the city was without a van.

Luckily, Struthers officials had been planning to apply for a brand-new 12-passenger van, complete with a wheelchair lift and two wheelchair positions, through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Specialized Transportation Program. With a situation more dire than expected on their hands, they did so shortly afterward.

In late August, the city learned it had been approved. Tuesday was the van’s first day of operation.

Read more about the service and changes this time around, read Thursday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.