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

*Join us on Tuesday, February 14, at 1 pm, for VALENTINE’S DAY BINGO.

*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.

 

News For Week of

February 13-17

*The senior center will be OPEN on Monday, February 13. The notice in last week’s Bee that said we would be closed was an error.

We will be closed on Monday, February 21, for Presidents’ Day.

The Bee apologizes for any confusion.

*Linda Casey will BEGIN ART LESSONS on Thursdays at 1 pm on February 23. Her first session will be on shadowing with charcoal.

Linda has had her work published in Connecticut magazine. Join her for some quality lessons!

*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.

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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.

*ETHEL KAUFMAN is at the senior center on Mondays at 1 pm to lead a CHORUS GROUP. Come enjoy some festive music with your friends.

*COMPUTER CLASSES are being offered on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3 to 4:30 pm. All levels of computer users are welcome.

This class deals with email, Word and the Internet. Stop in for details.

*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 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. 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 13-17

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday, February 13: Pizza, and other yummy stuff;

Tuesday, February 14 (Valentine’s Day Special): Chicken cordon bleu, mashed potatoes, broccoli florettes, Italian bread, Valentine’s Day cake;

Wednesday: Turkey with gravy, fresh sweet potato, fresh zucchini, homestype biscuit, apple crisp;

Thursday: Chicken noodle soup, unsalted crackers, butter-crumb fish, oven roasted potato, vegetable medley, whole wheat bread, seasoned fresh fruit;

Friday: Italian stuffed shells in marinara sauce, turkey sausage, Parmesan cheese, tossed salad with Italian dressing, Italian bread, cherry pie.

Also, for planning ahead—

Monday, February 20: No lunch today – the senior center will be closed for Washington’s Birthday.

Tuesday, February 21: Thinly sliced steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, French cut green beans, whole wheat bread, cinnamon apples.

Activities Schedule,

February 13-17

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

Tuesday: AM country-western line dancing; PM Valentine’s Day Bingo, computer class, bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), computer class;

Wednesday: AM exercise; PM;

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

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.