A lot is happening during the holidays to interrupt the schedule for Henry County Senior Services, but officials report that very little of what the agency provides to its clients will be impacted.

  The biggest adjustment is at Heritage Senior Center, which is closed the entire two weeks around the Christmas and New Year’s holidays due to floor resurfacing. According to Senior Services director Diane Reed, this is the best time to get this kind of work done without inconveniencing too many people.

  Those who drive to Heritage for meals or to participate in one of its many programs can visit any of the county’s other three senior centers during the break. As for those who do not have their own transportation and are already dependent on Henry County Transit to get them to Heritage every week, arrangements have been made to transport them to the Locust Grove Senior Center during this time.

  “I feel like the impact on our clients is really minimal,” said Reed.

  Most of the classes available at the four senior centers are suspended for the holidays as a rule because of low attendance. “A lot of the instructors opt to use this as vacation time,” said Reed. “They are canceling classes until the first of the year.”

  The Bear Creek Senior Center in Hampton, Hidden Valley Senior Center in Fairview, and Locust Grove Senior Center will be in normal operation except for the four county holidays: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New year’s Day.

  Of course, much of what Senior Services provides for the community is for the benefit of homebound elderly clients. Those services will not likely be affected, according to Reed.

  A few hundred Meals on Wheels clients get food delivered to their homes each week, and they have been given advance notice about the holidays and how the schedule will be altered. Most of those residents either have family members coming in to visit or will be traveling out of town to visit family during this time, Reed said.

  An extensive poll was conducted by case managers in an attempt to identify any clients who are truly isolated and would be home alone with no friends or family during the holidays. Anyone identified that way would be referred to another agency for assistance. But none were found, according to Reed.