Open house held at Gravette Senior Housing safe room

GRAVETTE -- A good crowd turned out Thursday afternoon for an open house at the safe room at North Arkansas Senior Housing of Gravette complex.

Vickie Watts, director of housing for the Area Agency on Aging at Harrison, welcomed the visitors and introduced several persons from the Area Agency on Aging and the North Arkansas Senior Housing complex who were present.

Brad Bailey, chief operating officer for the Area Agency on Aging, spoke briefly and said that the safe room project had been four years in the making. A grant from the Arkansas Department of Emergency Management provided 75 percent of the funds for the room and made it possible to bring the project to completion. The Area Agency on Aging of Northwest Arkansas covered the remaining 25 percent of the cost.

Bailey explained that the room was designed to hold up to 90 people, not for an extended period of time but just until a storm passes over. The 503-square-foot building is made of reinforced concrete and sets on a reinforced concrete slab. It is designed to withstand winds up to 250 miles an hour or up to an F4 magnitude tornado. The room has 10-inch-thick walls and five inches of poured concrete in the ceiling. Restrooms are available, and a hatch can be opened to admit air in case the door is blocked immediately after a storm.

"We hope we never have to use it," Bailey said, "but knowing it is here will help provide some peace of mind."

A plan is in place for opening the safe room when storm warnings are issued, and all residents of the senior housing complex and the nearby Garden Walk Apartments have keys to get into the room. It is designed to provide shelter for residents of the property, Billy V. Hall Senior Complex, Garden Walk of Gravette, visitors to the property and staff and residents living within a 5-minute arrival time.

Refreshments were served in the adjoining community room, which was decorated in a St. Patrick's Day theme. Catering was by the Billy V. Hall Senior Activity and Wellness Center. The cake, provided by the Area Agency on Aging, was cut by Rita Clemans, wife of Ralph Clemans, apartment manager at the Gravette senior housing complex.