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 Newtown Health Department has set Wednesday, October 18, as the first FLU SHOT CLINIC of the season. Contact the health department directly at 270-4291 for more information.

 

News For Week

of October 16-20

NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS: 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.

THE ENERGY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM will run November 1 to April 15 and is geared to low income senior citizens. Income limits are $16,700 for a single person and $22,500 for a couple. There are also asset limits. Call 270-4330 for an appointment and assistance.

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REMINDERS: “ELECTRIC RESTRUCTORING: What Connecticut Consumers Need To Know,” a special presentation, will take place at the senior center on Thursday, October 26, at 1 pm. Guest speakers Donna Devina and Joe Wood, consumer education developers with Connecticut’s Department of Public Utility Control, will be at the center to present information that is critical for consumers to know and understand before entering the competitive marketplace of electric choice. Topics to be covered will include standard offer, aggregations, brokers and marketers, and other restructuring topics all aimed at helping consumers deal with electric choice.

The Danbury area ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP now meets the fourth Thursday of every month at 7 pm at Almost Family, at 52 Federal Road. Meetings give caregivers an opportunity to exchange ideas, problems and feelings openly with other caregivers. It is open to all caregivers of loved ones with Alzheimer’s or other dementia diseases. Participants can lean on and learn from others who are facing the same challenges. There is no charge for the group. Call 743-6456 or 426-4547 for more information. Next meeting will be on October 26.

VISIT THE SENIOR CENTER NEWSLETTER ON THE INTERNET at www.wisecity.com. Select newsletters, then select Newtown, and get an updated issue whenever you need it.

We are updating the SENIOR CENTER BIRTHDAY LIST. Please call 270-4310 so that our records are correct and we may wish you well on your next birthday.

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

There is an URGENT NEED FOR MATERIAL. The offerings and availability of senior citizens’ projects have been expanding, so now we have an urgent need for all types of fabric. Please bring any fabric to the center so that we may continue with our very popular quilting, sewing and craft classes. All types of fabric is needed.

 NEW HORIZONS meets the first Tuesday of the month at 3 pm. The next meeting will be on November 2.

THE BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP meets the first Wednesday of the month from 2 to 3 pm. On November 1 we will be talking about Out To Canaan by Jan Karon. There will be no meetings in December or January. The February book will be Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier.

Mark your calendar! Our CHRISTMAS PARTY this year will be Wednesday, December 13, from 11 am to 3 pm, at The Fireside Inn. Cost is $20 per person and seating will be in tables of eight. We will have a gourmet buffet, live music from The Country Gentlemen, line dancing, a raffle, and great fun as always. Reservations and payment are due by December 1; call 270-4310 to sign up.

Please join us every Monday for BIBLE STUDY. We meet 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.

Please join us for CRAFT CLASSES each Tuesday and Thursday at 1 pm. The classes are working on special Halloween projects.

The QUILTING CLASS meets every Friday at 10 am, and we are in full swing. Quilts are individually made.

WE WILL HAVE A DAY TRIP to see Crazy For You at Westchester Theatre on Wednesday, October 18. Departure is 9:30 am from the senior center. Cost is $56 per person. Visit the center for details.

Join us for OCTOBERFEST AT WILLIAMS INN in Williamstown, Mass. Departure will be at 9 am on Wednesday, October 25. Enjoy authentic cusine, and entertainment including Bavarian music and a story teller. Our return trip will be along the Mohawk Trail, along which we can enjoy the fall foliage and a stop at Atkins Farm for baked goods and fresh apple cider.

The “FRENCH ELEGANCE” trip will take Newtown seniors to France for a nine-day visit beginning November 5. Stay in one hotel in Fontainbleau and then enjoy touring Chateau Fontainbleu, Paris, the Louvre, Reims and more. Cost is $1,499 per person twin, which includes seven breakfasts and six dinners.

Newtown seniors can take a day trip to MOHEGAN SUN CASINO in Uncasville on Thursday, November 9. Departure is 8 am, and cost is $17 per person which covers transportation and a bonus package of food and keno chips. Call the center to sign up as soon as possible.

On November 15 join us for a SALEM CROSS INN FEAST. Enjoy a 1700s-style prime rib feast prepared in a fieldstone fireplace, in the old Colonial style. The trip will also include a stop at Marlborough Barn, a country craft and outlet shopping area. Cost is $63 per person, and we will leave Newtown at 7:15 am.

A DAWN PRINCESS CARIBBEAN CRUISE is available for Newtown seniors to join, March 18-25, 2001, with stops in St Lucia, St Kitts, St Maarten, Barbados and St Thomas. Costs range from $1,319 to $1,999 per person.

A BEIJING CITY TOUR will be leaving Newtown on March 26, 2001, and will last eight days. Costs are $1,249 to $1,339 twin and we will be staying in one hotel the entire time.

DETAILS CONCERNING A NUMBER OF 2001 TRIPS are already available. Visit the senior center for a list of trips, their dates, and costs.

Menu For Week Of October 16-20

Reservations must be made three days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Meals include low-fat milk and margarine.

Monday: Sweet & sour boneless chicken, rice, Oriental vegetable mix, oatmeal bread, lemon pudding w/ topping;

Tuesday: Minestrone soup, unsalted crackers, broccoli quiche, carrots, dinner roll, chocolate cookie;

Wednesday: Lemon-pepper fish w/ tartar sauce, mashed potatoes, Italian vegetable medley, rye bread, diet fruited Jell-O w/ topping;

Thursday: Pot roast w/ gravy, red skin potato, spinach, grapefruit juice, whole wheat bread, vanilla yogurt w/ granola;

Friday: Spaghetti & meatballs w/ sauce & Parmesean cheese, tossed salad w/ French dressing, Italian bread, milek.

Activities Schedule, October 16-20

Monday: AM Pinochle, Bridge, art class; PM yoga, Bible study;

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

Wednesday: AM line dancing, Pinochle; PM Halloween Bingo;

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

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

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