"We are trying to raise $20,000 to purchase a permanent building, which would be used as a community center for the residents of Omar," Larry Rogers said Thursday evening at the February meeting of the Omar Area Crimewatch.
Rogers said there is a church building which is vacant that is available at a bargain price and that the building has been examined and is in good condition, requiring only some wiring and insulation work.
Rogers said the OACW believes the building would be of great benefit to the Route 44 community, especially during floods and other disasters, when it could be utilized as a shelter.
"When the water gets up, we are cut off from the rest of the county," Rogers explained. "And we have so many elderly people in our area who require oxygen and have other health issues. The power outage we had recently was pretty rough on many of them."
Rogers said the purchase could be financed over a seven year period which would bring monthly payments under $300.
To that end, the OACW is seeking help from the county in the form of a grant as well as will be distributing envelopes where the public can make small donations.
"Even five dollars will help, if that's all you can afford to give," he said. "The more money we can raise for a down payment, the lower our monthly payments will be. This is something we feel we can do."
Rogers said the structure would be used as a shelter and to teach basic computer classes to the community and would have exercise classes as well. To help pay for itself, it would be available to be rented out for reunions and wedding receptions.
"We are also looking at having soup bean dinners monthly as fundraisers," Rogers said. "We have had a lot of success with those over the years and that can help us a lot."
Rogers said Logan County Commission President Art Kirkendoll and members of the county commission had scheduled a meeting for Friday morning at 11:30 a.m. to discuss the possibility of the county assisting the residents of Omar on the project through grant applications.
"This will be for the entire community," Rogers said of the proposed community center. "It's not just for the crimewatch. We want to have computer classes, exercise classes, gospel sings, karaoke nights and such for the public. We already have a good PA system and we would house it there. I feel it would benefit us all."
Volunteers have already started cleaning the old church to get it prepared for the community’s use.
Rogers said that, over the years, work done by volunteers in the Omar community and along Route 44 area have made a huge difference and that the community center would be great for everyone.
"We were told recently that crime was down dramatically in our community," he said."And we are primarily concerned with crime and patrolling but that is not all we do. In November, we fed over 200 people with our Thanksgiving Dinner."
Rogers said there is $300 in the startup fund for the project and the OACW will be asking the community for donations as well. One person present at the meeting suggested that other crimewatch organizations across the county who got help starting up to look into donating towards the project as well as a way of giving thanks for assistance.
"We need to go house to house and let people know what we are doing and to ask them for their help and support, even if all they can give is $5 or less," Rogers said. "Every dollar we can raise will lower our monthly payment if we finance this purchase. And this is something that can come in handy the next time we have a fire or flood and need a shelter in this area, which is prone to getting cut off when the water rises."
Longtime member and supporter Margaret Diamond said she was very familiar with the building, which used to be a church and she felt the idea was a good one with much merit.
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