CARNATION — In less than a month, two directors resigned

from the Sno-Valley Senior Center in Carnation. One said he was asked to

step down, while the other said she transferred to another branch of

Senior Services.

Director Jim Wolf and Assistant Director Dixie Neumann

announced last month that they will no longer be working at the center in Carnation.

Wolf's wife Barbara said that Terri Kimball, the deputy director and

chief operating officer of Senior Services, told him that "the board wanted

him to resign, so he agreed to resign."

For now, Joe and Barbara Wolf will pursue a small business

venture on the Internet.

"He needs time to get over this and he needs rest. We thought we'd

pull back and lick our wounds," Barbara Wolf said.

"We hope to still be active at the center, and he didn't want to hurt

those people," she added.

Barbara Wolf said that she believes the board's decision stemmed from

a controversy over fund-raising choices made by Wolf, and his efforts to

scale back the size of the center's newsletter.

Kimball declined to comment on Wolf's resignation, and Chris

Loutsis, the president of the Board of Advisors, did not return a phone call from

the Valley Record before press time.

Kimball did say, however, that "in any center - and I've supervised

senior centers for four years - there's always strong supporters and

strong detractors. They just deal with so many people."

She added, however, that Neumann's Sept. 27 resignation

letter did come as a surprise to her.

"Both Joe and Dixie are wonderful people; they both worked hard

for the center and they gave it a lot," Kimball said. "They are both

welcome to apply for any position at Senior Services."

Neumann, who has worked at the Senior Center for eight and a

half months, said she decided to transfer to the Mount Si Senior Center as

an outreach and transportation specialist. Even though she won't be working

in Carnation, Neumann said that she still plans to be active in the Lower

Valley center.

"I have gained new friends — and I hope those are life-long friends

— and I hope to continue those friendships," she said.

Currently, Kimball is filling in the positions vacated by Wolf

and Neumann. Senior Services hopes to find a permanent director in the

next several months, and has already formed a hiring team to handle

the application process.

"We need good leaders, people who can articulate a vision for the

center and work with the Board of Advisors," she said of prospective

candidates. "Someone who really enjoys working with seniors and

understands the issues of aging … and really

knows how to motivate seniors."

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