SENIOR NEWS

For week of February 14-18

 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. Newtown’s Municipal Agent for the Elderly is Alisa Awalt. She can be reached at 270-4330.

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.

News For Week of

 February 14-18

Two offerings of the two-day AARP 55/ALIVE DRIVING COURSE will be held this spring in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall. The first session will meet Monday and Tuesday, April 17-18, and the second will be Monday and Tuesday, May 15-16. Both sessions will meet from 9 am to 1 pm each day. You must attend both days of a session to receive credit. Classes are limited to 30 participants. Call 270-4310 to sign up.

The deadline to apply for PROPERTY TAX RELIEF at the Assessor’s Office at Edmond Town Hall is May 15. Mailed applications must be received by March 15; after that date, apply directly at the Assessor’s Office. Call Social Services at 270-4330 or the Assessor’s Office at 270-4241 for help.

A MOTHER’S DAY FASHION SHOW will be presented in Edmond Town Hall’s Alexandria Room on Wednesday, May 10, from 1:30 to 3:30 pm. The show will feature fashions from Northern Reflections. Reservations are required; call 270-4310. Make your bus arrangements now, also.

Please note the senior center will be closed Monday, February 21, in observance of Presidents’ Day.

We are going to have a WINTER ENERGY/MARDI GRAS BINGO on Wednesday, February 23, at 1 pm. This will be an innovative way for you to learn conservation and safety tops while you enjoy yourself playing Bengo for energy and safety prizes.

There is a NEW DAY & TIME for the BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP. We now meet on the first Wednesay of the month, from 3 to 4 pm. We will next be meeting on March 1, and we will be discussing The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.

There will be A PRESENTATION ON OUR NEW ORLEANS TRIP scheduled for late September. Melroy DeCosta of Collette Tours will be here on Wednesday, March 22, to discuss all aspects of this great trip. We have flyers with details at the center.

Please join us on Tuesday, April 18, for an ADULT EYE HEALTH SCREENING. Local volunteer doctors will perform tests for glaucoma, cataract and retinal disease, and answer questions about eye problems. This screening is being conducted by Prevent Blindness Connecticut, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting blindness and saving sight.

Come on down and 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.

We have started a NEW QUILTING CLASS that meets every Friday at 10 am. We are in full swing. The name of the quilt is “Sunrise to Sunset.” These quilts are individually made.

Please join us every Monday for BIBLE STUDY. We meet at 1 pm.

BOOK EXCHANGE: Put one in, take one out… Come browse our Book Exchange shelves and trade your good condition paperbacks or hardcovers.

TAP DANCING CLASS — Pat Babbage is starting a beginner’s tap dancing class. Call 270-4310 to sign up. Any hard-soled shoes are fine.

NEW HORIZONS meets the first Tuesday of the month. The next meeting is March 7.

Through Monday, March 27, AARP income tax representatives will be at the center to assist with INCOME TAX PREPARATION. The service is being offered by appointment only on Mondays only between 9 am and noon. You must bring last year’s tax return and any other pertinent information for this year. Please call 270-4310 for an appointment.

Over the next few months, the center will be assembling a Millennium Booklet. If you would care to share any reflections, thoughts or memories about your life or your time in our town, we would love to include them. Please mail them or drop them off here at the center.

THE BEREAVEMENT GROUP MEETS every Monday for the newly bereaved. It is totally private and there is no charge. Call 270-4310 to sign up.

TRIP BOOKLETS, describing our trips for the year, are now available at the center. One trip booklet per family, please, and you must come in to the center to pick up your booklet. Mark your calendars for the following trips:

ST PATRICK’S DAY FESTIVAL at Platzl Brauhaus in Pomona, N.Y. Come and enjoy music, excitement and great food on March 15.

A tribute to Frank, Dino and Sammy, “THE RAT PACK” will be performed at The Evergreen Dinner Theatre in Montain Lakes, N.J., on April 13. Enjoy a family style lunch of chicken and roast beef.

“GREASE,” at the Westchester Dinner Theatre. Come and see this classic again on May 31. Departure is 9:30 am, and the cost is $54 per person.

Strut Productions will preent THIS JOINT IS JUMPIN’ on Wednesday, May 10. Lunch is roast sirloin or baked scrod. Then spend time singing along to “Sweet Georgia Brown,” “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” “Me and My Shadow,” and more. Cost is $57 and departure time is 9:30 am.

An IRELAND GETAWAY is planned for June 6-15. Costs are $2,399 for double or triple accommodations or $2,699 for single, which includes round-trip transportation to Ireland, airfare from JFK to Shannon, roundtrip transfers, hotel, 16 meals, sightseeing, taxes and bagges. Full informational fliers are available at the center.

A NEW ORLEANS GETAWAY begins September 27. Costs are $939 double, $1,289 single, or $919 for triple accommodations. Explore the city from your temporary hoe in the French Quarter. See all the sights, shop, and browse the antiques shops. Come to our presentation on March 22 at 1 pm and learn more.

SHADES OF IRELAND, which departs September 29, is also available. Costs are $1,999 for twin or $2,399 for single accommodations. Full details are available at the senior center.

Menu For Week Of

February 14-18

Reservations must be made three days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Meals include milk

and margarine.

Monday: Roast turkey w/ gravy & stuffing, beets, pumpernickel roll, cherry pie;

Tuesday: Cream of spinach soup, unsalted crackers, fish & chips w/ ketchup & tartar sauce, cole slaw, fresh fruit;

Wednesday: Grape juice, fresh ham w/ gravy, cut sweet potatoes, peas, dinner roll, spice cake w/ icing;

Thursday: Pot roast w/ gravyu, boiled sliced potatoes, whole baby carrots, oatmeal bread, pistachio pudding w. topping;

Friday: Chicken & rice soup w/ unsalted crackers, French dip sandwich, carrot & raisin salad, fresh fruit.

Activities Schedule,

 February 14-18

Monday: AM Pinochle/Bridge, walking (meet at Dickinson Park pavilion), art class, AARP income tax help (appointments necessary); PM yoga, Bible study;

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

Wednesday: AM line dancing, Pinochle; PM Bingo;

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

Friday: AM 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.