The Chesapeake Community Center continues to be a strong asset for citizens, but that same community it supports has to stand up to return the favor.

The center, located in a nearly 100-year-old former school building along State Route 7, has done much to repurpose itself in recent years to be a hub of activity including community classes, exercise center and much more. But its age is certainly catching up to it.

Even after putting on some costly Band-Aids, the boiler has failed and could cost as much as $20,000 to repair.

This means some of the money that has been raised in the past to restore the gym floor will have to go toward this project.

Volunteers and generous individuals have risen to the challenge before and will likely have to do so again if the center is going to continue to serve.

Director Ruth Damron does a tremendous job of keeping it going and organizing fundraisers such as the April 13 small business fair. These will continue to be important and we hope to see more businesses and citizens take advantage.

Damron is also continuing to seek grant funding for projects at the community center.

But, ultimately, the Chesapeake business community and maybe even the village government will have to get involved if the center is going to be able to sustain itself long term.

This facility and all that it offers is a tremendous resource for the eastern part of Lawrence County. It is time for community leaders to get together and begin to think outside the box about solutions to ensure this facility ages gracefully.