Grand jury

Sherron set Smith’s bond at $5,000, or 10% during his arraignment last month. Smith posted bond and was released from jail.

Smith’s wife, Diane Rodgers, was terminated on July 27 from her position at Central Connections and is the target of criminal investigations regarding finances at the center, according to police Chief David Birk. No criminal charges against Rodgers have been filed and the investigation is ongoing, he said.

Rodgers hasn’t been seen publicly since she was terminated by the Central Connections board of directors and escorted out of the building by Middletown police.

Three women affiliated with Central Connections attended Wednesday’s hearing. They plan to follow the case throughout, they said.

Sharon Collier, a Central Connections member, called the case “the most monumental thing I’ve ever seen, or witnessed or been any kind of part of. It affected so many people.

It’s amazing how things happened and what was allowed to happen by the people who were governing her.”

Collier believes as police continue to investigate the possible thefts at Central Connections, they will charge more people than just Smith. Collier called him “the little penny in the pot. More will come. More will come.”

Jeanne Terry, an instructor at Central Connections, said some members now attend her classes at other facilities.

Marilyn Easterly, another member, said the senior center “never will be the same.” She put most on the blame on the 13 board members who refused to listen to the concerns of the members after Rodgers was hired.

“We tried very hard to draw attention to what was going on,” Easterly said. “But they were more impressed with what she said she was doing than the actual effects.”