In the large recreation room on the bottom floor of the Wareham Multi-Service Center, the last holdovers of what was once the Council on Aging are trying to keep some services alive for Wareham's seniors.

Cheryl Johanneson works for Old Colony Elder Services, a privately funded senior service organization that provides activities and meals for seniors in a number of towns on the South Coast.

On Monday, Johanneson ran a luncheon for Wareham seniors that included a meal and entertainment by a magician. She says that with the Council on Aging's job cuts, numerous vital services have ceased to exist.

The Council on Aging received no funding in the town budget this year. The past two years, the COA received $82,000 in the town budget and there was $100,000 allotted for the COA in the Proposition 2 1/2 override budget, but that was voted down in June.

Other services and departments to face cuts include the town's two libraries, with Spinney Library in Onset closing, and the Wareham Free Library's services having been severely reduced. Wareham's schools, police, and municipal maintenance have also seen cuts, among others.

Despite the lack of town funding, the COA does receive a $43,000 grant in state aid from Elder Services.

"All the people got laid off," said Johanneson when asked about the former COA employees. "I need volunteers, yesterday. The only person left is Pam Dudley."

Dudley is the Council on Aging's office manager, who declined a request for comment, explaining she was not at liberty to speak on the issue.

Town Administrator Derek Sullivan said Dudley is there to steer seniors to services they are able to access. He also said that the supportive day program, which provides seniors with meals for a nominal fee, is still in operation and is unaffected by the COA budget cuts as it is a separately-funded program.

Johanneson's activities were only a small part of the suite of options that seniors had in the past at the COA. Now, the few events that Johanneson and Old Colony can do are seemingly all that is left.

"If seniors have a problem or need fuel assistance, they can't get it," she said. "We used to have a food pantry here for seniors, but they shut that down."

Additionally, Johanneson said the monthly Senior Beacon newsletter is gone, as well as dance classes, a Zumba program, and a card-playing group. Not only that, but the guests that came for special presentations for the seniors, such as a woman who would come bake for them, are now gone as well.

"I think it's terrible what's happened to these poor people," said Wareham Resident Mary Hull, who was at Monday's luncheon.