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 9 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

*CARDS FOR THE TROOPS: Join Marilyn and Linda on Thursday, February 9, at 1 pm, to make Valentine’s Day cards for our troops.

Linda Casey is an artist from Brookfield who will be taking over the art class on Thursdays that meets at 1 pm. Come meet Linda on the 9th and make a card that will be sent to our troops.

*VALENTINE CRAFTS: Seniors have two opportunities to make Valentine’s Day crafts this month. Make a valentine for that special someone or a grandchild on Tuesday, February 7, and/or Thursday, February 9, from 1 to 3 pm each afternoon.

All of the supplies will be here – you just bring the creativity. Call the senior center to sign up, please.

*SHARE A VALENTINE: Join us on Wednesday, February 8, at 1 pm, to enjoy an hour with a special group of 5-year olds. Members of Daisy Girl Scout Troop 385 have made valentines to give out, and then we will also enjoy a sing-along, a story and some cookies.

News For Week of January 16-20

*The senior center will be closed on Monday, February 13, in observance of Lincoln’s Birthday. We will also be closed on Monday, February 21, for Presidents’ Day.

*The senior center will host a LifeLine 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, warning signs and ways to reduce stroke risk, and facts about osteoporosis. Each participant will receive their own hand-out and health risk assessment.

Call the senior center or stop in to sign up.

*The Newtown VNA will sponsor CHOLESTEROL SCREENINGS at the senior center on Thursday, March 2, from 9 am until noon.

Please remember to fast before your screening, and you must have an appointment. Call today to get one.

*The quilting workshop on Fridays (each week at 10:30 am) will focus on ABC QUILTS in March.

Join our new creative instructor, Donna Betts, to create a quilt for a baby or toddler quilt or become a wall hanging for a boy or girl. Fee for this month-long project is $20, which covers all materials; please call as soon as possible to reserve a kit. The first class for ABC Quilts will be on March 3.

A sample of the project is one display in the main room at the senior center.

*AARP’s SAFETY DRIVING COURSE returns to Newtown on Monday, March 13, from 1 to 5 pm, and Monday, March 20, also 1 to 5. Attendees must attend both classes.

We have a new instructor.

Class size is limited, so call soon to sign up.

*****************

REMINDERS: 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.

*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.

*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.

*The first three 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. The show Mardi Gras will pay tribute to the indomitable spirit of a great city and the people who call her home.

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

*St Patrick’s Day at HUNT’S LANDING will be Wednesday, March 15. 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.

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

Menu For Week of February 6-10

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday, January 30 (Chinese New Year): Stir fry beef and broccoli, vegetable fried rice, Oriental blend vegetables, oatmeal bread, mandarin oranges;

Tuesday, January 31: Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots, pumpernickel bread, pears;

Wednesday: Pork chop, apple stuffing, California blend vegetables, rye bread, applesauce;

Thursday (Groundhog Day Special): Porcupines with gravy, noodles, chopped spinach, oatmeal bread, dirt pudding;

Friday: Potato crunch fish OR ham sandwich on whole wheat with mustard, creamy macaroni and cheese, broccoli-cauliflower mix, whole wheat bread (with fish meal), coconut custard pie.

Also, for planning ahead—

Monday, February 6: Lemon-pepper chicken quarter, rice with gravy, vegetables, whole wheat bread, canned apricots;

Tuesday, February 7: Hungarian stuffed cabbage, buttered noodles, diced carrots, oatmeal bread, apple juice, seasonal fresh fruit.

Activities Schedule,

February 6-10

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

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

Wednesday: AM exercise; PM Bingo;

Thursday: AM hatha yoga; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), TRIAD/Yellow Dot photos taken, Bingo;

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.