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 Wal*Mart 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

January 2-6

*The next closing at the senior center will be on Monday, January 16. We will be CLOSED that day IN OBSERVANCE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY.

*LARRY AYCE has RESCHEDULED his performance in January. Larry, who was going to entertain us on January  17, will now be at the senior center on Thursday, January 19 instead.

Please mark your calendars for the new date and plan to join us for an hour of heart-warming music.

*The senior center will host a STROKE PREVENTION SEMINAR on Thursday, February 16, beginning at 1 pm.

A Lifeline Screening representative will give an informational talk on stroke prevention, including many facts on how to take care of your heart.

Call the senior center or stop in to sign up.

*ENERGY ASSISTANCE: Applications are being accepted, until March 31, for help in heating oil, propane, kerosene and other deliverables.

Income limits are $19,140 for a single person and $25,660 for a couple.

Please call the senior center or come in for additional information.

*AARP INCOME TAX ASSISTANCE will return to the senior center beginning in February.

An AARP representative will be here each Monday from 9 am until noon, and you will need an appointment to sit down for help with them. You will also need to bring your 2005 tax return and all other pertinent information.

The income tax assistance will be offered February 6 until April 10, and appointments are being scheduled now. Call 270-4310 for details.

*DAY TRIP BOOKLETS for 2006 are available. Come in and pick up information on the trips that are already being planned for next year.

*If you do not understand the LETTERS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY pertaining to changes in Medicare Part D (ConnPace/Medicare Part D), call 270-4330 for some help.

The new limits in 2006 for ConnPace are $22,300 for singles, and $30,100 for couples.

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REMINDERS: IDENTITY THEFT AND THE DECEASED: The CT Cooperative Extension System and The Identity Resource Center, Inc., have produced a fact sheet about preventing the theft of a deceased one’s identity. Identity Theft and the Deceased: Prevention and Victim Tips, Fact Sheet #117, contains credit report request forms and identity theft affidavit forms.

To receive a copy visit www.IdtheftCenter.org or call 858-693-7935.

This is also a good way to check your own credit report and to see whether any new accounts have been activated in your name. To order a free report call 877-322-8228.

*ConnPace/MEDICARE PART D: If you do not understand the letters from Social Security pertaining to changes in Medicare Part D, call 270-4330 for help.

If you need help with your prescriptions and your income is less than $21,400 (single person) or $28,900 (couple), you should apply for ConnPace. You will still sign up for Medicare Part D and if you qualify for ConnPace, you will not pay the $37 monthly premium.

*The senior center is in NEED OF AN ART TEACHER AND/OR CRAFT TEACHER, who can volunteer their time twice a month. Teaching times and schedule are flexible. Please call the senior center for details, 270-4310.

*We are looking to RESUME THE QUILTING CLASS. Anyone interested in re-starting this activity is asked to call the senior center. You will need to bring your own sewing machine, and the class will meet on Fridays from 3 to 4 pm.

*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.

*ETHEL KAUFMAN is at the senior center every Monday at 1 pm to lead a CHORUS GROUP. Come enjoy some festive music with your friends.

*COMPUTER CLASSES are being offered on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3 to 4:30 pm. All levels of computer users are welcome.

This class deals with email, Word and the Internet. Stop in for details.

*Pat Babbage teaches EXERCISE classes on Monday and Wednesday mornings. Classes begin at 10:30 am.

*HATHA YOGA classes are Monday and Thursday mornings at 10. Try a class with Helen Herbold 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.

*Lynn Flanders is teaching COUNTRY-WESTERN LINE DANCING Tuesday mornings from 10:30 until 11:30. Cost for each class is $1.

Join Lynn for a fun hour of line dancing which includes the following steps: the slide, cha cha, vines, shuffles, kickball change, fan and waltz. Enjoy the music of Kenny Rogers, Patsy Cline, Tanya Tucker, Billy Ray Cyrus and Alan Jackson.

*Join us at BROOKFIELD LANES each Tuesday and Thursday for a great time bowling. We meet at noon; the cost is $1.25 per game.

*Anyone interested in learning HOW TO PLAY MAH JONGG? Lessons are Thursday mornings at 10.

*REGULAR MAH JONGG PLAYERS are reminded that the advanced group plays at 9 am on Fridays.

*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 your way through these sometimes confusing subjects.

If you can’t catch up with Ann during one of her visits at the senior center, try reaching her at her office at 3 Main Street (below the police department), Monday through Friday. Call her there at 270-4330.

*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. 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.

*Newtown’s seniors are invited to spend a day at MOHEGAN SUN CASINO on Wednesday, January 11.

Departure from Sandy Hook will be at 8 am, and cost is $26 which include transportation, a $10 food credit, two $5 pull tabs and the bus driver’s tip.

*Next month, the first overnight trip of the new year will take seniors to SANDS HOTEL AND CASINO. Departure will be Wednesday, January 18, at 8 am, and we will return later on Thursday, January 19. Cost is $124 for a single room, $94 for double occupancy, or $92 for a triple, and this fee includes motorcoach transportation, hotel accommodations at Sands, a $10 coin bonus, dinner buffet, baggage handling and taxes.

Menu For Week of

January 9-13

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday, January 9: Garlic herb chicken, boiled parsley potatoes, diced carrots, soft breadstick, chocolate pudding with whipped topping;

Tuesday, January 10: Sliced steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, French green beans, whole wheat bread, cinnamon apples;

Wednesday: Homemade garden vegetable soup, unsalted crackers, stuffed salmon with dill and dinner roll OR sliced turkey sandwich on rye with lettuce and tomato, broccoli florettes, oatmeal cookie;

Thursday: Spaghetti with meatball and marinara sauce, bean medley, warm garlic bread, Parmesan cheese, grape juice, seasonal fresh fruit;

Friday (Martin Luther King Jr Day): Southern fried chicken, creamy macaroni and cheese, French green beans, corn bread, pumpkin pie with whipped topping.

Activities Schedule,

January 9-13

Monday: AM Bridge, hatha yoga, exercise; PM chorus group, computer class;

Tuesday: AM country-western line dancing; PM computer class, bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), computer class;

Wednesday: AM exercise; PM Bingo;

Thursday: AM hatha yoga class, Municipal Agent visits, mah jongg lessons; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), TRIAD/Yellow Dot photos taken, Bingo;

Friday: AM advanced mah jongg, quilting; PM.

 

Remember, you must call at least one day in advance to book a meal or a ride, 270-4310; the Senior Bus, 748-2511.