Senior services for Newtown seniors are available at the Multi-Purpose Building on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. The Senior Center is under the auspices of The Commission on Aging. The center is run by the Senior Services Director, Marilyn Place. For more information about programs offered at the Senior Center call 270-4310.

You may drop in at the Senior Center on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook weekdays between 10 am and 4 pm. A hot meal is served at noon for which you must reserve three days in advance.

Newtown has daily door-to-door mini-bus service Monday through Friday. Buses also run all day from the senior center to Sand Hill Plaza. On Fridays, the bus alternates between rides to Danbury Fair Mall and Berkshire Plaza in Danbury (to Wal*Mart Route 6). Cost is 65¢ each way for the Sand Hill Plaza trip, 75¢ each way for out of town. Call 748-2511 TWO DAYS IN ADVANCE to book a ride and get the out-of-town Friday schedule.

This Week’s Programs

*The next closing at the senior center will be on Monday, January 16. We will be CLOSED that day IN OBSERVANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY.

*LARRY AYCE will be at the senior center on Thursday, January 19. Please join us for an hour of heart-warming music.

News For Week of

 January 16-20

*The first three new trips for 2006 have been announced, the first of which will be MARDI GRAS MADNESS on Tuesday, February 28.

Departure will be at 8 am for The Wayne Manor in Wayne, N.J., for Mardi Gras and New Orleans-style food and entertainment. Open approval in New Jersey attendees can enjoy a one hour open bay, a mild lunch of smoked sausage and chicken creole complete with all the trimmings, and Mardi Gras, a show that will pay tribute to the indomitable spirit of a great city and the people who call her home. Internationally renowned cornetist Warren Vache will lead his all-star Bourbon Street Boys Band for a program of New Orleans’ greatest hits, vocalist Richard Lanham will take up back to the heyday of Big Easy jazz and blues, and comedian Marvin Bell will have you roaring with Fat Tuesday laughter.

Cost is $68 per person, which covers transportation, festivities and luncheon, and the bus driver’s trip.

* ‘Tis no blarney: St Patrick’s Day at HUNT’S LANDING is better than a pot of gold!

Newtown’s seniors are invited spend Wednesday, March 15, enjoying coffee and Danish, an all-you-can-eat family style lunch feast featuring corned beef, cabbage, herbed breast of chicken and more, a four-hour open bar, and entertainment led by John Patrick Curtin that will include performances, Irish sing-alongs, drinking songs, love ballads, patriotic songs and tales of woe. In addition, a professional Irish dance company will entertain you, keeping alive the ancient step dance traditions while dressed in beautifully crafted and festive costumes.

Cost is $70 per person, which includes deluxe motorcoach transportation, the food and entertainment at Hunt’s Landing, and the bus driver’s tip. Departure is 7:15 am. Stop by the senior center or call for a reservation or additional information.

*Lunch at Tavern on The Green and an afternoon at the theater? That’s what is in store for Newtown’s senior citizens on Wednesday, March 29. Cost for this trip is $136, which includes the deluxe motorcoach transportation, luncheon at one of Manhattan’s most famous restaurants, and then a performance of Menopause the Musical.

This musical is taking the stage by storm, playing to rave reviews and offering audiences the opportunity to laugh themselves silly. Menopause is a hilarious celebration of women and The Change, an original parody that chronicles the meeting of four women at a lingerie sale at Bloomingdale’s. The women have nothing in common but a black lace bra… and memory loss, hot flashes, night sweats, hormones, and more.

Call or stop by the senior center for full details and to make a reservation.

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REMINDERS: The senior center will host a STROKE PREVENTION SEMINAR on Thursday, February 16, beginning at 1 pm.

A Lifeline Screening representative will give an informational talk on stroke prevention, including many facts on how to take care of your heart.

Call the senior center or stop in to sign up.

*ENERGY ASSISTANCE: Applications are being accepted, until March 31, for help in heating oil, propane, kerosene and other deliverables.

Income limits are $19,140 for a single person and $25,660 for a couple.

Please call the senior center or come in for additional information.

*AARP INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE will return to the senior center beginning in February.

An AARP representative will be here each Monday from 9 am until noon, and you will need an appointment to sit down for help with them. You will also need to bring your 2005 tax return and all other pertinent information.

The income tax assistance will be offered February 6 until April 10, and appointments are being scheduled now. Call 270-4310 for details.

*ConnPace/MEDICARE PART D: If you do not understand the letters from Social Security pertaining to changes in Medicare Part D, call 270-4330 for help.

If you need help with your prescriptions and your income is less than $22,300 (single person) or $30,100 (couple), you should apply for ConnPace. You will still sign up for Medicare Part D and if you qualify for ConnPace, you will not pay the $37 monthly premium.

*If you do not understand the LETTERS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY pertaining to changes in Medicare Part D (ConnPace/Medicare Part D), call 270-4330 for some help.

*Also on Thursdays, Newtown’s seniors are invited to stop by between 2 and 3 pm to have their pictures taken and to fill out pertinent information that will be stored in the glovebox of your car, all of which is part of the new NEWTOWN YELLOW DOT PROGRAM.

This is a Triad Project that will help save lives. The project consists of an information card and a yellow dot sticker that is affixed to your car window. In the event of an emergency, first responders can identify the vehicle as being part of the Yellow Dot Program and will look for the information in an envelope inside your car, saving time and supplying life saving information.

*MUNICIPAL AGENT ANN PICCINI’s office is at 3 Main Street (below the police department). She is available to help with Conn Pace, medical information and Title 19 issues. She is someone who can help you figure your way through these sometimes confusing subjects.

Call her at 270-4330, Monday through Friday.

*DAY TRIP BOOKLETS should be available by the end of January.

Menu For Week of

January 16-20

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday, January 16: No lunch today – the senior center will be closed for Martin Luther King Day.

Tuesday, January 17: Beer battered fish, tartar sauce, French fries, ketchup, green beans, whole wheat bread, seasonal fresh fruit;

Wednesday: Homemade chicken stew, egg noodles, warm biscuit, cran-apple juice, rich chocolate brownie;

Thursday: Chicken marsala, brown rice pilaf, Italian vegetable medley, whole wheat bread, diet fruited Jell-O with whipped topping;

Friday: Vegetable barley soup, unsalted crackers, spinach quiche, diced carrots, soft breadstick, tapioca pudding with whipped topping.

Also, for planning ahead—

Monday, January 23: Veal parmesan, penne with marinara sauce, broccoli florettes, parmesan cheese, Italian bread, sugar cookie;

Tuesday, January 24: Hot open turkey sandwich on white bread with gravy, sweet potato pone, green beans, orange juice, cooked apples and raisins.

Activities Schedule,

January 16-20

Monday: AM hatha yoga, exercise; PM chorus group, computer class;

Tuesday: AM country-western line dancing; PM computer class, bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), computer class;

Wednesday: AM exercise; PM Bingo;

Thursday: AM hatha yoga class, Municipal Agent visits, mah jongg lessons; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), TRIAD/Yellow Dot photos taken, Bingo, performance by Larry Ayce;

Friday: AM advanced mah jongg, quilting; PM.

Remember, you must call at least one day in advance to book a meal or a ride, 270-4310; the Senior Bus, 748-2511.