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.

News For Week of June 5-9

THE TAX RELIEF FOR THE ELDERLY ORDINANCE WAS PASSED IN NEWTOWN on May 25. This act raises the income limits and changes the amounts of the benefit seniors are now eligible to receive. If your income is $35,000 or below, the benefit is $1,000. If your income falls between $35,000 and $55,000, the benefit is $600. The deadline for application is June 15, but the relief is only available on a first-come, first-served basis. Bring all sources of income statements to the Tax Collector’s Office at Edmond Town Hall when applying.

A PARKINSON’S DISEASE SUPPORT GROUP meets every third Monday from 2 to 3 pm at Southbury Town Hall/Senior Center, at 501 Main Street South (between Southbury Public Library and Center Firehouse). This is a relaxed, informal group for people with Parkinson’s and their caregivers, who meet to learn from each other’s experiences and the latest news about this neurological disorders from guest speakers. Call Margaret Clark at 426-5534 for more information.

There will be AN ALZHEIMER’S SUPPORT GROUP MEETING at SecondHome, 246 Federal Road in Brookfield, on Tuesday, 13. This group meets the second Tuesday of every month at 7 pm. These meetings give caregivers an oppoetunity 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 740-2522 for more information.

NEW HORIZONS meets the first Tuesday of the month. The next meeting is June 6.

THE BOOK DISCUSSION GROUP meets the first Wednesay of the month from 2 to 3 pm. Our next meeting will be June 7, and the book to be discussed is West With The Night by Beryl Markham. The book for July will be A Civil Action by Jonathan Harr.

AN OSTEOPOROSIS SCREENING will be held at the center on Friday, June 9. Hip and spine screenings will be done by MobileScan; these tests should be requested by your doctor. Come to the center to pick up a packet of information for your doctor. Call 270-4310 for an appointment.

OUR ANNUAL PICNIC this year will be Wednesday, June 21, from 11 am to 3 pm, at Dickinson Park. Joe Tenney & The Country Gentlemen will entertain. Bring a lawn chair, your sunglasses and a big smile, and be ready to enjoy a fun-filled day with friends. Call 270-4310 to sign up.

RENTAL REBATE — The Elderly & Totally Disabled Renter’s Tax Relief Program runs to September 15. Regulations include Connecticut residency, age 65 or older, disabled under Social Security guidelines or widowed between the ages of 50 to 65 from someone enrolled. Also, the maximum income from 1999 must be $23,900 if single, $29,300 if married. You will need to submit the following: Proof of all sources of income from 1999, copies of your 1999 tax return, and proof of rent including electric and heat, water and/or sewer payments.

WE HAVE 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.

A CAREGIVERS SUPPORT GROUP is forming at Danbury Senior Center, which will be facilitated by Diana Jones, a national certified and licensed professional counselor. The group will be meeting the second Thursday of the month. Call Ms Jones 778-5888 or Kathy Hull, at 203/312-5665, with questions or for a reservation if you plan to attend.

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.

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

The center is assembling a MILLENNIUM BOOKLET. Share your reflections, thoughts or memories about your life or time in our town. Please mail them or drop them off here at the center.

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

HUNT’S LANDING BROADWAY TRIBUTE — Tuesday, June 13, $54 per person, 9:30 am departure — payment is due now. Enjoy Broadway impersonators as you stroll down memory lane. The trip’s cost includes breakfast, a two-hour beer, wine and soda bar; one hour open bar; lunch, and a special departure memento.

AIR & SEA, OLD RHINEBECK & HUDSON: enjoy vintage cars and planes, lunch at Guido’s, and a two-hour cruise on the Hudson. The trip will be Tuesday, June 27; departure is 8:30 am; and cost is $56 per person — payment is due now.

On July 5, enjoy a day trip to WESTCHESTER DINNER THEATRE for The Sound of Music. Don’t miss out on this timeless classic, with its wonderful music. Cost is $54 per person, and departure is set for 9:30 am. Call now to sign up.

TALL SHIPS TRIP to Boston, on Wednesday, July 12, is $83 per person and departure is 8 am. Cruise the harbor on The Spirit of Boston while enjoying a tall ships celebration. Sail by the anchored ships while enjoying a hot and cold lunch beffet.

SCHOONER SAILING aboard the 81-foot Argia out of Mystic, for three hours on Wednesday, August 2. Lunch is a choice of steamed lobster, filet of fish or BBQ chicken, with all the trimmings. Cost is $58, and departure is 8:30 am. Call 270-4310 to sign up.

Only 22 seats are available for CAPE COD, September 10-12. Coasts are $319 double, $379 single. Enjoy the best of Falmouth and Martha’s Vineyard. See trip booklet for details.

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 home 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.

HEART OF EUROPE HOLIDAY will be October 16-23, at a cost of $1,999 per person double occupancy. We will stay in one hotel, and the cost of the trip covers 15 meals, eight escorted days in Holland, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. A presentation on this trip will be offered Wednesday, May 24, at the center; fliers are already available.

Menu For Week Of June 5-9

Reservations must be made three days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Meals include milk and margarine.

Monday: Meatloaf w/ gravy, scalloped potatoes, Italian green beans, garlic bread, fresh fruit;

Tuesday: Minestrone soup, unsalted crackers, chef salad w/ ham, turkey, egg wedge, lettuce & tomato w/ French dressing, Portugese roll, pineapple tidbits;

Wednesday: Baked potato skin w/ chili, shredded cheese & sour cream, garden salad, corn bread, canned peaches;

Thursday: Apple-glazed chicken breast w/ apple stuffing, peas and carrots, dinner roll, vanilla pudding w/ topping;

Friday: Oven-fried fish, tater tots, green beans, tartar sauce & ketchup (sides), whole wheat bread, pineapple juice, poundcake w/ berries & topping.

Activities Schedule, June 5-9

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

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

Wednesday: AM line dancing, Pinochle; PM Bingo, book discussion group;

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

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

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