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Area resident Cathy Shupe was struggling to live at home. She had recently suffered a stroke with right-sided weakness and was finding it difficult to regain her strength to stay safe and independent at home. Cathy was at risk for nursing home placement, though she was hesitant to give up on her dream of remaining at home with her beloved cat, Marmalade. Cathy eventually enrolled in Mountain Empire Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Unfortunately, within two weeks of enrolling, she had several falls and no longer felt safe living at home alone.

As MEOC’s kitchen services manager, the late Ron Maddox helped serve hundreds of thousands of meals to the elderly in need in Lee, Scott and Wise counties and the City of Norton. Maddox was kind and generous. He was also funny, quick witted and had a smile for everyone he encountered. “If you knew Ron, he made you laugh. He was a friend to all,” said MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler, who knew Maddox since Ron began working at MEOC in 2009 as a transit driver. Maddox passed away on July 26 after battling cancer. When it came time to […]

MEOC Executive Director Michael Wampler (second from right) accepts a $10,000 check for the Mountain Laurel Cancer Support & Resource Center from The Slemp Foundation trustee Nancey Edmonds Smith. Accompanying Smith to present the check on June 21 were son and daughter Jim Smith and Melissa Jensen (far right), also foundation trustees. MEOC Director of Wellness and Insurance Counseling Tiffany Jacobs, who coordinates Mountain Laurel services, is also pictured. The money will buy liquid nutrition supplements for cancer patients and gas gift cards for cancer-related travel. Visit The Slemp Foundation website here to learn more about it.

METGo!, Mountain Empire Transit’s free on-demand bus service in the Wise-Norton area, has received the 2023 First Place Best Practices Award from the Virginia Commonwealth Council on Aging. The 24-member CCOA advises the governor and General Assembly on aging-related issues. The award, which includes a $5,500 cash prize, was judged on criteria including community impact, potential for replication, innovation, outcomes and promotion of aging in the community.

Mountain Empire Transit earned the top team award for the third consecutive year at the annual Community Transportation Association of Virginia’s Paratransit Roadeo. The team has won the competition’s top honor for eight of the past 10 years.

Mountain Empire Older Citizens is accepting applications for the 2023 Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program from those at least age 60 in Wise County and the City of Norton. Recipients must be at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level. For a one-person household, the monthly income limit is $2,248; for a two-person household, it is $3,040.

Mountain Empire Older Citizens is asking area churches and individuals to participate in Hearthwarming Sunday to provide a midwinter boost for the agency’s program that annually assists about 1,000 older adults with emergency heating expenses. The annual fundraiser, held on the Sunday closest to Valentine’s Day, benefits MEOC’s Emergency Fuel Fund for the Elderly. This year’s Hearthwarming Sunday is Feb. 12. It comes at a critical time for the fuel fund, which assists older adults in Wise, Lee and Scott counties and the City of Norton.

The 2022 Leigh Ann Bolinskey Memorial 5K Run/Walk will be on Saturday, Oct. 15, in Big Stone Gap. Mountain Empire Older Citizens hosts the event to raise money for the agency’s Mountain Laurel Cancer Support and Resource Center. Bolinskey was the center’s director from 2004 until 2014 when she died of leiomyosarcoma, a rare cancer. The 5K will begin at the Big Stone Gap Visitor Center and follow the Greenbelt Trail. Registration will open at 8 a.m. The race will start at 9 a.m.

The 11th Annual Harold Lester Memorial Golf Tournament raised $12,500 to assist local cancer patients and their families. Nineteen teams participated in the June 17 tournament. The event, held at Lonesome Pine Country Club in Big Stone Gap, benefits the Harold Lester Memorial Fund of the Mountain Laurel Cancer Support and Resource Center. The center is operated by Mountain Empire Older Citizens, Inc., the local Area Agency on Aging serving Lee, Scott, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.