SENIOR NEWS

 Services for Newtown seniors are sponsored by the Commission on Aging and are available at the Multi-Purpose Building on Riverside Road in Sandy Hook. For more information about programs offered at the Senior Center call 270-4310.

For information on federal, state and community resources available to seniors, call 270-4330 or 270-4315.

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. Monday from 1 to 3 pm the mini-bus will go to Sand Hill Plaza. Fridays, the bus will alternate going to Danbury Fair Mall and to Berkshire Shopping Plaza. Cost is 60 cents each way for the Sand Hill Plaza trip, 75 cents 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 BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP usually meets the first Wednesday of the month from 2 to 3 pm. The April meeting, however, will be on April 11 and we will be discussing 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff. The book for May 2 will be No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt — The Home Front in WWII by Doris Kearns Goodwin.

New trip announcements this week include LULLABY OF BROADWAY at Villa Baglieri on Wednesday, May 2. Departure is 9:30 am and cost is $57. Enjoy the day at Hudson Valley’s only dinner theatre with a delicious lunch and a great show. Lunch is a choice of either chicken marsala or London broil, complete with all the trimmings. Lullaby of Broadway is a fun-filled revue with the best music Broadway has to offer.

Also new is CLUB GETAWAY in Kent on Wednesday, May 16. Departure is 8:45 am and cost is $46. This trip will include a breakfast buffet, sit-down lunch buffet and a dessert buffet, and many activities planned for the day including ping pong, horseshoes, cooking demonstrations and chocolate dipping. A guided nature walk and pontoon boat rides will also be available, as will arts and crafts and Bingo.

We’re already thinking Christmas already, too. Newtown Senior Center will take part in a trip to the RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR on Tuesday, November 20. Departure is 10 am and cost is $75 per person, which includes bus transportation, admission to the show and lunch at Rudy’s Beau Rivage.

News For Week of

April 9-13

Please note that the departure time for the April 25 trip to Fall River is 6:30 am. It had been previously listed as 9 am, which is incorrect.

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

REMINDERS: The AARP DRIVING COURSE for seniors is returning this spring. The first session, in April, has already filled up, but a second session will be offered the weekend of May 21-22. You must attend both days of the session, which runs from 9 am to 1 pm each day. The $10 fee is payable at the time of the class. Call the senior center to sign up.

HERE’S TO THE 21ST CENTURY! Write down your memories of all the changes you experienced during the 20th Century, and then submit them to Marilyn for the senior center’s scrapbook.

The American Legion Auxiliary of Newtown is looking for volunteers to knit or crochet slippers for the VA Hospital as well as for those in the armed forces. This worthwhile project is called “OPERATION TOASTY TOES,” and Marilyn Place has the directions for slippers whether knitted or crocheted. She also has plenty of donated yarn for anyone willing to undertake this project. Call if you are interested, 270-4310.

AN EXERCISE TEACHER IS NEEDED at the senior center. We need a teacher for a few hours on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, as soon as possible. If you are interested, call Marilyn at 270-4315. In the meantime, Marilyn and Bea will continue to lead the class.

A CONSUMER AWARENESS PROGRAM FOR SENIORS will be presented on Thursday, April 26, at 754 Main Street in Monroe, from 8 am to 12:30 pm. The keynote address, “Consumer Concerns in Connecticut,” will be given by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Subjects to be covered during the morning will also include Medicare fraud, the latest consumer scams, home repair frauds, identity theft, local scams, and legislative efforts to combat scams and frauds. There is no charge, and the program also includes a complimentary breakfast. Registration is limited; call the senior center as soon as possible to sign up.

THE ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM will run to April 30 and is geared to low income senior citizens. Income limits are $23,566 for a single person and $30,817 for a couple. There are also liquid asset limits. Necessary documentation includes income from Social Security, pension, wages, interest, etc. This information must be current (within 30 days of application). Utility customers must bring a current bill as proof of address. If you have need of energy assistance this year, please call Social Services at 270-4330 for an appointment and assistance.

AN OSTEOPOROSIS HEEL CHECK will be offered at the senior center on Friday, May 11. The $25 fee for these checks is no longer covered by Medicare. Call the center to sign up for an appointment.

HMO BAIL-OUT HELP is available at the senior center on Monday afternoons from 1 to 2 pm by appointment only. A HICAP/CHOICES volunteer will be here to help with problems and/or changes. Call the center to make an appointment. To talk to a CHOICES representative at any time, call 800/944-9422.

YOGA CLASSES HAVE BEEN EXPANDED at Newtown Senior Center. Join Helen Herbold on Monday afternoons at 1 pm as well as Thursday mornings at 10:15 am. Helen specializes in hatha yoga, an easy-does-it type of yoga where each student listens to his or her body, stretches within his or her capability without discomfort, and learns to use diaphramatic breathing, relaxation and meditation. This gentle type of yoga can be practiced by anyone at any age and state of health. Bring a mat or towel to lie on.

Join teacher Toni Ivey for CRAFT CLASSES each Tuesday at 1 pm.

Join us at BROOKFIELD LANES each Tuesday and Thursday for a great time bowling. We meet at noon and the cost is only $1.25 per game.

Glynnis Lanzetta, a representative from Social Services, is visiting the center each Wednesday from 10 am to noon to HELP WITH ENERGY ASSISTANCE. No appointment is necessary.

We have started our CHORUS GROUP again. Join us at the senior center each Thursday afternoon at 1 pm. Join us, too, if you play the piano.

The QUILTING CLASS meets every Friday at 10 am.

“THE BEST OF FALL RIVER” is a day trip on Wednesday, April 25, to Fall River, Mass. There will be a tour along the way at Lizzie Borden Bed & Breakfast Museum, a city landmark since the infamous ax murders of Andrew and his second wife Abby Borden in 1892. Lunch will be at The Abey Grill, which is part of the International Institute of Culinary Arts, and the afternoon will include a visit to The Marine Museum, which owns the world’s largest collection of Titanic memorabilia. Cost is $60 per person, departure from the senior center is 6:30 am, and payment is due.

A day trip to MOHONK MOUNTAIN will take place Wednesday, May 30. Departure is 9 am, and cost is $60. Spend the day strolling any part of the 2,000 acres of wooded and landscaped grounds; lunch will be at Grand Buffet.

A historically and culturally-rich trip, “THE BERKSHIRES & WILLIAMS INN” will take place Monday and Tuesday, June 25-26. Cost is $209 per person double, we leave the senior center at 7:30 am, and will be staying at Williams Inn in Williamstown, Mass. There will be opportunities to visit Chesterwood, Norman Rockwell Museum, Clark Art Institute and Hancock Shaker Village. Details at the senior center.

A trip to LAS VEGAS will be October 29 to November 1. Cost is $599 perperson double, with the first deposit of $50 due May 1. We will be staying at Balley’s Hotel, there will be a side trip to Laughlin, Nevada, and the price includes $50 in kmatch play chips. Details at the senior center.

Visit the senior center for details concerning additional trips, their dates, and costs. Trips are being scheduled to the Bahamas in May, Nova Scotia and New England in June, the Canadian Rockies in July, trips to Bermuda and Nashville in September, New Mexico in October, and France in November.

Menu For Week Of

April 9-13

Reservations must be made three days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Meals include low-fat milk and margarine.

Monday: Stuffed cabbage, corn, carrot coins, dinner roll, apricots;

Tuesday: Herb baked chicken, whipped potatoes, broccoli-cauliflower mix, rye bread, fruited diet Jell-O w/ topping;

Wednesday: Sliced steak w/ mushroom gravy, boiled & parslied potato, butternut squash, whole wheat bread, cranberry juice, oatmeal-raisin cookie;

Thursday: Fresh baked ham w/ applesauce garnish, scalloped potatoes, broccoli florets, Easter bread, pineapple juice, hot cross buns.

Friday: No lunch today, the senior center will be closed.

 

Activities Schedule,

April 9-13

Monday: AM Pinochle, Bridge, art class; PM yoga, HMO help (by appointment);

Tuesday: AM Pinochle, exercise; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), crafts;

Wednesday: AM line dancing, Pinochle, energy assistance (Social Services representative on-site); PM Bingo, book discussion group;

Thursday: AM exercise, Pinochle, yoga; PM crafts, bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), chorus group;

Friday: No activities today — the senior center will be closed for an early Easter observance.

 Remember, you must call three days in advance to book a meal or a ride, 270-4310; the Senior Bus, 748-2511.