SENIOR NEWS

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 the new Wal*Mart store on 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.

News For Week of

September 6-10

*After 20 years of teaching line dancing, JANE DWYER IS RETIRING at the age of 86. We will miss her, and we wish her a very happy retirement.

Lynn Flanders will be teaching country-western dancing beginning next month. Watch the October Senior Center newsletter and upcoming Newtown Bee senior columns for additional information.

*A TRUE VERMONT EXPERIENCE: Newtown’s senior citizens are invited to spend a day on Adam’s Farm, a working family farm in southern Vermont that has been featured on Good Morning America and CBS’ Early Morning Show. We will be heading north to visit the farm on Wednesday, September 29. Cost is $64 per person, and departure will be at 7:15 am.

There will be animal interaction – someone will get to milk a goat, someone else will bottle-feed the lambs, and others will cuddle bunnies. Participants will take a comfortable wagon ride through the 210-acre hillside farm, which will end with a tea luncheon.

Sample a selection of Vermont cheeses accompanied by a variety of tea sandwiches. Lunch will also include Adams Farm’s own lamb sausage, pumpkin bread, cucumber and farm fresh egg salad, and fresh scones with maple butter, and more. Later in the afternoon the group will even visit North River Winery for a tour and tasting.

Visit the senior center for more information or to sign up.

*Tracy from COLLETTE TOURS will be offering an OVERNIGHT TRIP PRESENTATION on Thursday, September 23. She will be here at 1 pm with a program about next year’s trips. Everyone attending will not only learn about upcoming trips, but will also be entered in a raffle. Call to sign up for what promises to be a very informative offering.

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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.

*EXERCISE CLASSES: The senior center has different forms of exercise classes available. Why not stop by and find a class that fits your needs?

YOGA classes are offered on Monday and Thursday mornings at 10. Try a class 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. Helen Herbold is our yoga instructor.

We also offer CHAIR EXERCISE for the senior citizens who haven’t exercised in a while, and an AEROBIC-RESISTANCE BAND class for those who are on the go and still exercise regularly. Instructor Debbie Kenyon leads the chair classes – a low-level class that’s perfect for those who haven’t exercised in a while and those who would like some additional upper body stretching – on Mondays at 1 pm and Wednesdays at 9:15 am, and the resistance band classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 am.

Call the senior center to find out more, or just stop in and be ready to move!

*Our SEWING CLASS is working on chemo caps, totes for cancer patients, and trach bibs. If you are interested join us on Mondays at 1 pm.

*ART CLASSES are Monday afternoons at 1.

* AFTERNOON CRAFTS are offered Tuesdays at 1:30.

*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.

* CHORUS GROUP is at the senior center each Thursday afternoon at 1 pm. Pianists are also invited.

*MAH JONGG players have two opportunities on Fridays. The advanced group plays at 9 am, and a beginner’s group plays at 1.

*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 you way through these sometimes confusing subjects.

*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.

*UPCOMING TRIPS include OKTOBERFEST AT HUNT’S LANDING on October 13. Cost is $63 per person, and departure is 9:15 am. Call early for a reservation, or stop by the senior center for more details.

Menu For Week of

September 13-17

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday: Veal parmesan, shells with sauce, parmesan cheese, fresh zucchini, Italian bread, mandarin oranges;

Tuesday: Oven friend chicken quarter, scalloped potatoes, peas, corn bread, ice cream bar, low sodium tomato juice;

Wednesday: Pot roast with gravy, roasted potato, green bean medley, challah, grape juice, honey cake;

Thursday: French dip sandwich (hot roast beef au jus on grinder roll), potato salad, marinated tomato-cucumber salad, brownie;

Friday: Fish Florentine, wild rice pilaf, tossed salad with French dressing, French bread, butterscotch pudding with topping.

ALSO, Monday, September 20: Rib-B-Q sandwich on grinder roll, roasted potato, cole slaw, apricots;

Tuesday, September 21: Italian wedding soup, unsalted crackers, stuffed salmon OR turkey and lettuce on rye with tomato, rice pilaf, broiled tomato, seedless dinner roll, blueberry pie.

Activities Schedule,

September 13-17

Monday: AM Bridge, hatha yoga class PM Bingo, chair exercise class, art class;

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

Wednesday: AM Pinochle, chair exercise, line dancing; PM;

Thursday: AM Pinochle, exercise, hatha yoga class, Municipal Agent visits; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), Yellow Dot program;

Friday: AM advanced mah jongg, sewing, quilting; PM beginner’s mah jongg, 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.