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 annual Newtown Senior Center Picnic will be Thursday, June 23, from 10 am to 3 pm. Join us for a fun outing at Dickinson Park. We’ll be there rain or shine.

Cost is $5 per person, which includes hot-off-the-grill hot dogs and hamburgers, cole slaw, macaroni salad, baked beans and watermelon. Bring a dessert to share.

News For Week of

June 20-24

*The EXERCISE CLASS on Wednesday, JUNE 29, has been CANCELED.

*Meteorologist Art Horn, from WVIT-TV/Channel 30, will be at the Newtown senior center on Wednesday, July 6, at 1 pm, with “ART HORN’S WEATHER SHOW: SEASON OF THE SUN.”

The show is about the different kinds of weather we get here in Connecticut during the warmer months and why. In the show Mr Horn will talk about the sun and how it formed, how it affects our weather, and how the sun affects us individually.

A slide show will be presented that will provide insight into why the weather behaves so differently during the warm season.

The slide show will last approximately 40 minutes, and will be followed by a question and answer session.

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REMINDERS: Has it been a while since you’ve played BRIDGE? Would you like to learn how? Stop by the senior center any Monday at 10 am for a game or two.

*Back by popular demand: ETHEL KAUFMAN is at the senior center every Monday at 1 pm to lead a CHORUS GROUP. Come enjoy some festive music with your friends.

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

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

*Pat Babbage is teaching EXERCISE classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Classes begin at 10:30 am.

*HATHA YOGA classes are offered on Monday and Thursday mornings at 10. Try a class with Helen Herbold to get rid of stress and anxiety while learning to breathe correctly. Bring a mat or towel to lie on and wear loose clothing (no belts; sweats are perfect). Also learn how to use all the muscles in your body through relaxation.

*Lynn Flanders is teaching COUNTRY-WESTERN LINE DANCING each Tuesday morning from 10:30 until 11:30. Cost for each class is $1. Lynn has a unique style and she’s full of energy – come join the fun!

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

*Anyone interested in learning HOW TO PLAY MAH JONGG? Lessons will be given on Thursday mornings at 10 am.

*REGULAR MAH JONGG PLAYERS are reminded that the advanced group plays at 9 am on Fridays.

*QUILTING CLASS meets on Fridays at 10 am.

*Municipal Agent ANN PICCINI VISITS the senior center on Thursday mornings from 10 until noon to help with Conn Pace, medical information and Title 19 issues you may be having. Call ahead or just stop in to talk with someone who can help you figure your way through these sometimes confusing subjects.

If you can’t catch up with Ann during one of her visits at the senior center, try reaching her at her office at 3 Main Street (below the police department). Call her there at 270-4330.

*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, and it’s the first project of its kind in our state. 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 project is a partnership between the community’s senior citizens, People’s Bank and Newtown Police Department.

*Not doing anything in early August? Why not spend a few days on a SARATOGA RACING TRIP?

Newtown seniors are invited for an overnight trip to one of the Northeast’s premier destinations, Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Cost is $209 per person/twin, $199/triple or $269/single. Enjoy reserved seats at Saratoga Racetrack, an excusion to the summit of prospect Mountain, a narrated cruise of Lake George and an overnight stay at Queensbury Hotel.

Visit the senior center for full details or to make a reservation.

*UPCOMING TRIPS include a STATE OF LIBERTY AND ELLIS ISLAND outing on Wednesday, June 29 ($77, departure at 7:30 am); and ANYTHING GOES at Westchester Broadway Theatre on Friday, July 8 ($68 per person, departure at 9:30).

*In the fall a trip is also in the works for FALMOUTH AND MARTHA’S VINEYARD, September 7-9, including a cruise on the Cape Cod Canal and overnight accommodations at The Shoreline Acres Resort ($369/single, $469/double or $359/triple).

*Newtown seniors are invited to join a four-day ERIE CANAL ADVENTURE, October 7-10. Cost for the trip is $449 per person/triple room, $459/double or $579/single, and a $50 deposit must be dropped off at the senior center no later than Friday, June 24.

Accommodations will be at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Rochester, N.Y., and the cost of the trip includes three dinners and two breakfasts.

The trip also includes a tour of The George Eastman House, The Strong Museum, a narrated tour of the Erie Canal aboard The Colonial Belle, a visit to Genessee Country Village, and a visit to Finger Lakes country and a tour of one of its wineries.  Stop by the senior center for additional details.

Stop by the senior center for a full listing of this year’s trips, and details for any of the outings.

Menu For Week of

June 20-24

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday, June 20: Cheese baked ziti with turkey sausage, parmesan cheese, Italian bread, tossed salad with French dressing, diet fruited Jell-O with topping;

Tuesday, June 21: Chicken gumbo soup, unsalted crackers, seafood salad, lettuce-tomato-marinated beet salad, croissant, lemon cake;

Wednesday: Roasted pork loin with gravy, roasted rosemary potatoes, green beans, applesauce garnish, whole wheat bread, pistachio pudding with topping;

Thursday: Turkey with gravy, cut sweet potato, cranberry sauce, spinach, oatmeal bread, birthday cake;

Friday: Stir-fry beef with broccoli, brown rice, diced carrots, multi-grain dinner roll, pineapple juice, mandarin oranges.

Also, for planning ahead—

Monday, June 27: Boneless chicken picatta, buttered noodles, California blend, soft breadstick, peaches;

Tuesday, June 28: Virginia ham with pineapple glaze, scalloped potatoes, green beans, whole wheat bread, diet fruited Jell-O with topping.

Activities Schedule,

June 20-24

Monday: AM Bridge, yoga, exercise; PM chorus group;

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

Wednesday: AM Pinochle, exercise; PM Bingo;

Thursday: AM Pinochle, hatha yoga class, Municipal Agent visits, mah jongg lessons; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), TRIAD/Yellow Dot photos taken, Annual Picnic (at Dickinson Park);

Friday: AM advanced mah jongg, sewing, quilting; PM knitting.

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