Banning resident from senior center stirs political controversy

CAHOKIA The wife of a Cahokia village trustee says the new mayor has banned her from the senior citizens center, where she has volunteered for years and has many friends, in a move she called “political.”

Rhonda Nichols, 60, says since she was terminated by Mayor Curtis McCall, Jr. from her village job, she has been going to the senior citizen center because “I am a senior citizen like they are. I have a right to go there. I went up and signed up. Everything is legal. I used to work there for three and a half years. I know all of those seniors. They’re my friends. Now I don’t have a job. I go there to play bingo and chit-chat with all of the seniors. I took care of them. I have lived in Cahokia all of my life and I know just about everybody in Cahokia,” Nichols said.

McCall admitted that he has banned Nichols from coming to the center, saying he has received complaints of her harassing seniors there.

“It is very frustrating to me. Those people are my friends. Now, I can’t go up there with them,” she said.

Nichols said a Cahokia police officer to her house last Thursday and told her she could not go back to the nutrition center because they had numerous complaints about her harassing people there.

Nichols complained that a street department worker was being used to fill in as a Meals on Wheels driver because the position was vacant. She maintained that the driver is paid union rates and not doing the job he is being paid for. She also said parking a dump truck and a heavy-duty grass mower while the village employee drives a Meals on Wheels van to deliver food to seniors is a waste of taxpayers’ money.

The driver told police that Nichols was complaining about him.

“I went and got the police report and that’s what it says (that she was harassing people). But, only the driver of the Meals on Wheels van complained. And, he’s not suppose to be working there. He works for the street department.”

Nichols says McCall is upset because she posted some pictures on Facebook of a street department vehicle parked while the employee was driving the Meals on Wheels van.

McCall said Nichols’ version of the events is not true. He said some seniors complained to him that Nichols was harassing them — asking whether they thought McCall was doing a good job and was trying to get them to sign petitions.

“I simply want to maintain an atmosphere where the seniors will be happy and want to come to the center,” McCall said.

McCall said the current Meals on Wheels driver is doing the the job temporarily until he fills the vacancy. “We will have that vacancy filled on Monday.”

Rhonda Nichols is married to Trustee Jerry Nichols, who aligned with former Mayor Gary Cornwell, who lost to McCall in the last election.

Nichols admits she photographed some expired food that was being given to seniors. McCall says that also is not true.

McCall said a citizen asked if she could take the expired food for her ducks and the food was set aside for her.” It was food that we could not give out to our seniors, McCall said.

Nichols replied: “This is the same thing he accused Christina Walker of — giving out expired food.”

Walker is the former director of the Cahokia food pantry. She was fired by McCall last month in a move Walker labeled political.

This story was originally published July 14, 2015 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Banning resident from senior center stirs political controversy."