Thursday will be a long-awaited day for many in Lawrence County.

It will be the groundbreaking on the new Sybene-Chesapeake senior center, to be located at the Lawrence County Fairgrounds in Rome Township.

Funds were approved by the Ohio General Assembly a few years ago for construction of the new facility, which will replace the exiting one, a modular unit outside of the Chesapeake Community Center.

The COVID-19 pandemic hit the senior center hard, first with shutdown orders and then with tight spacing in the unit making social distancing difficult.

As a result, the center has been closed for much of the pandemic or had limited events.

A new facility will help to meet these needs and will allow for the seniors to have more events at a larger scale in their home base.

The center, under direction of Darlene Green, has been an asset to the county.

We are glad to see movement on this project and hope the building will be enjoyed for generations to come.