The Coeur d'Alene Rambling Rovers, a senior travel club, has been evicted from the Lake City Senior Center after more than 20 years of renting office space. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Monday through Friday, a volunteer from the Rovers staffed the office to assist members with booking club trips, taking payment for upcoming travel, and providing information to current and future senior travelers.

All travel is arranged by the travel director, who is a member of the Rovers and employed by a local travel agency. Trips include local, regional, national, and international outings. From attending local plays to "kissing the Blarney Stone" in Ireland, the 160 active, youthful seniors enjoy safe, guided travel as members of this unique travel club.Each month, the members met at the former Lake City Senior Center to plan future travel, and enjoy entertainment and a lunch catered by the Center for a nominal fee of $8 per person. Possibly the largest group meeting at the Center, the Rovers have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Senior Center supporting their fundraisers by donating, attending and working at their senior events. When the Senior Center needed to purchase new sound and media equipment, the Rovers donated funds to help their cause. Further, many of our members are also members of the Lake City Senior Center.

Recently, we began to notice changes in the Lake City Senior Center's relationship with the Rovers. First, the meals that were available during the luncheon were not of the same high quality as offered to the senior citizens.Then, the word "Senior" on the Lake City Senior Center sign became almost non-existent. Next, the current director informed us that we were not considered part of the seniors served by the Lake City Senior Center, but were merely renters. The director gave us 60 days to vacate the premises as he informed us he wanted to use the office space for a computer room, and would turn the senior center into a public event center. It seems the word "senior" has become a liability and is detrimental to the success of this new business venture.

The Coeur d'Alene Rambling Rovers and the Lake City Senior Center complemented each other for years under previous Center administrations. The Rambling Rovers would like to thank those administrations for their cooperation and willingness to assist the Rovers over the years. It was a mutual relationship and the Rovers appreciated the opportunity to rent office space and have our monthly luncheon meetings at the Senior Center.