EVANSTON — The Uinta County Senior Citizens Center is being led out of clouds of controversy by its newly appointed director, Amy Kelly. 

Having fought to keep the Uinta County Senior Center’s doors open since day one, Amy Kelly is forging forward with grit and determination.

Kelly began serving as the center’s interim director almost 18 months ago when the former director, Sarah Blakeman, was removed from her position and placed under investigation for allegedly misappropriating senior center funding. 

“It was like one day she was here, and then the next she was gone,” said Community Outreach Coordinator Debbie Terech of Blakeman’s abrupt departure. 

Although the center is known for contributing good to the community, the controversial investigation has cast looming shadows of doubt on it, causing federal, state and local funders to, at times, withdraw support. 

Terech pleads with community members to remember, “You wouldn’t throw out a whole bushel of apples just because of one bad one.” 

Stepping into the role of director during a firestorm of struggle with no guidance or instruction manual left Kelly figuring out policies and procedures from the ground up. 

“It’s been a really hard year,” Kelly said. 

She has faced an uphill battle trying to simultaneously restore the community’s confidence in and rebuild from the damage that had been done. 

“In the beginning our grants were frozen, our funding was frozen. We had to prove that we were capable of running the center and capable of getting those grants on their feet and to prove that we were spending the money appropriately,” Kelly remembers of her early days as interim director. 

For four months following Blakeman’s departure, all funding was cut off. The center was required to keep meticulous records of expenses over that period. After months of proving, back-funding for the months of nonsupport was finally received. 

Coming to the senior center first as a frequent volunteer, Kelly has loved her experience serving the patrons. She transferred from volunteering her time at story time to working as a meals-on-wheels volunteer. 

Fascinated by the individuals she serves, Kelly said, “Some of them have had amazing lives, and I hope their stories are out there.”

Kelly was officially appointed to the position in late June. Terech sang Kelly’s praises, saying, “She was a volunteer here, and she just has this flair of engaging people and being fun but a worker bee — she works really hard. When she started volunteering here, it was amazing; she came up with new activities and new games ... and added so many good things to what we already do, even back then.”

Things have begun to look up since Kelly took over as director. “The atmosphere is much better now,” Barb Bauer commented about Kelly’s open door policy.

Exhausted by the perils of the last year, the staff remains fervent in their pursuit of better days through better ways. On the tail end of major procedural reconstruction, the center is moving forward confidently. 

“We have all new board members except for one person, and everybody has come on and they have had great ideas and they’ve helped us tremendously in getting all the policies and procedures back together,” said Kelly. 

The senior center strives to provide the elderly populations of Uinta County with resources that benefit them emotionally, intellectually and physically. The senior center facilitates activities such as trivia, ceramic classes and bingo games. 

The ‘Birthday Friday’ activity is particularly popular among the seniors, sometimes seeing more than 100 people in attendance. The Evanston resource center is full of amenities such as an exercise room, a saloon, a library and, of course, the community cafeteria. 

Each day the meals-on-wheels program delivers to 83 program participants in Evanston and 50 more in the Bridger Valley. With the senior center always looking for volunteers, community members are encouraged to get involved at the center. 

After 18 months of turmoil, the staff at the center has finally begun to find a routine. 

On moving forward and potential changes, Kelly said, “I don’t think we need a whole lot of change. Change is good — which we’ve done ... the last 18 months. We’ve retouched every policy, every procedure, everything pretty much in this building.”

Keeping the doors open continues to be a concern to this day. 

“We apply for every grant we can find,” Kelly said. 

Because all funding from the state and federal government requires a community match, the center requires support from the community for success. 

Kelly hopes for expansion in the home services programs, including hospice in the future. 

“This is a huge thing we have to deal with, but we’re moving forward. We’re going to let the investigators do their job and help them all we can but our focus remains on our clients and moving forward,” Kelly said.