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. 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 60¢ 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

August 29-September 3

*A reminder that the senior center will be CLOSED on Monday, September 6, in observance of LABOR DAY.

*Join ANN McGRATH for a special CRAFT CLASS on September 7. The class will have an autumn theme, and will begin at 1 pm. Call the senior center to sign up.

*Our POTLUCK SUPPERS are becoming so popular, we’ve added another one for next week! Join us on Tuesday, September 7, from 4 to 6 pm; call the senior center for more information including food coordination. The center will supply the cups, plates, utensils, coffee and tea. Diners will supply the “potluck” and conversation.

The next potluck supper will be on Tuesday, October 5, also from 4 to 6 pm.

*Please note the departure time from the senior center on September 8, the day area senior citizens are invited to spend the day in and around the waters of Mystic, is 9:45 am. Previous editions of The Bee had the time incorrect. Details about the trip are below.

*The next BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING session at the senior center will be on Thursday, September 9, from noon to 1 pm.

*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. 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.

This Week’s Programs

*FIT AT 60 AND BEYOND: Seniors need to know the score. Not just your blood pressure, and not only your cholesterol level.

Join us on Wednesday, September 1, at 1 pm, for a preview of the upcoming Senior Fitness Day. Meredith Spector, PT, MS, a network education coordinator from Carlson Therapy Network, will conduct a lecture on the upcoming fitness tests that will be given on November 10. Her seminar will explain in detail what seniors can expect during their fitness tests.

There are six parts to the fitness test, involving arms, legs and walking. The test will help assess current and potential mobility problems before they impact your lifestyle; assess developing problems with lifting, carrying, balance and gait, flexibility and stamina; point out issues that you may need to bring up with your doctor, and offer suggestions and advice on prevention and therapeutic treatment for the problems identified.

The September program will offer a full preview of the November tests. Please register if you plan to attend.

*We have a NEW ART TEACHER!

SUSAN WASHBURN has signed on to lead art classes, along with our current teacher, Terry Gunger, to bring art to more of Newtown’s senior citizens. Susan has been an art teacher of grades K-12 in various school systems within the area, and she holds a master’s degree in art.  Who knows, there may be another Grandma or Grandpa Moses within you. And remember, art is always a true form of therapy. It can be very relaxing.

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REMINDERS: A reminder that Newtown’s senior citizens are invited to SAIL ABOARD A SCHOONER on Wednesday, September 8. Seats are still available for this trip, which begins with lunch at Abbott’s in the Rough, a great restaurant in Noank. Entrée choices are lobster, filet of fish or BBQ chicken, complete with all the trimming (including clam chowder). Then enjoy a three-hour cruise out of Mystic aboard the 81-foot Argia, an authentic replica on a 19th Century gaff-rigged schooner.

Cost for this trip is $80 per person, and departure will be at 9:45 am. Stop in or call the senior center for details.

Menu For Week of

August 30-September 3

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday: Roast pork loin with gravy, mashed potatoes, peas and onions, rye bread, diet fruited Jell-O with topping;

Tuesday: Crab cake, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, whole wheat bread, cherry pie.

Wednesday: Split pea soup, unsalted crackers, Caesar salad with dressing, sliced grilled chicken, soft breadstick, seasonal fresh fruit;

Thursday: Spaghetti with meatballs, Parmesan cheese, tossed salad with ranch dressing, garlic dressing, blended juice, Italian ice;

Friday: Hamburger, roll, ketchup, pickle wedge, potato salad, three-bean salad, holiday cake.

PLANNING AHEAD:

Monday, September 6: No lunch today – the senior center will be closed for Labor Day;

Tuesday, September 7: Meatloaf with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, whole wheat bread, chocolate pudding with topping;

Wednesday, September 8: Tuna salad platter (tuna salad, bed of lettuce, tomato), pasta-vegetable salad, seedless hard roll, peaches.

Activities Schedule,

August 30-September 3

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 “Fit at 50 And Beyond” program;

Thursday: AM Pinochle, exercise, hatha yoga class; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes);

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

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