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.

This Week’s Programs

Please note the senior center will be CLOSED IN OBSERVANCE OF VETERANS’ DAY on Monday, November 12. Later this month we will be closed November 22 and 23 — that’s Thanksgiving and the following day.

This month’s NEW HORIZONS group will be meeting on November 13. The listing last week was incorrect. The meeting has been bumped by one week for this month only, due to the elections on November 6. Sorry for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused anyone. (The December meeting will be on the normal date, the first Tuesday of the month, December 4.)

A representative from Collette Tours, which coordinates many of the senior center trips, will be visiting the senior center to offer a presentation on one of the tours being planned for next year. Marilyn Place will be joined by a Collette Tour employee on Tuesday, November 13, to talk about a trip to San Antonio, Texas, and then on February 21 for a program about “KINGDOM OF THAILAND” (departure is October 22, 2002).

Calling all gobblers to a fun-filled time on Bingo: join us on Wednesday, November 14, at 1 pm, for THANKSGIVING BINGO. Please note, to reserve lunch, you must call the senior center by November 7.

MEDICARE AND YOU: On Thursday, November 15, from 1 to 3 pm, at the senior center, a representative from the CHOICES program will present “Medicare And You 2002: Risks, Rights and Options.” The program will include information on the most recent changes in the Medicare delivery system that will impact beneficiaries next year. The CHOICES rep will discuss the Medicare HMO withdrawal situation in Connecticut and Medigap supplement insurance options, and how prescriptions are going to be affected. Participants will be provided, free, with the most up-to-date information materials and there will be ample time to ask questions. For more information or to make a reservation call Marilyn at the senior center.

 

News For Week of November 12-16

REMINDERS: The American Legion Auxiliary of Newtown is looking for volunteers to knit or crochet slippers for the VA Hospital as well as for those in the armed forces. This worthwhile project is called “OPERATION TOASTY TOES,” and Marilyn Place has the directions for slippers whether knitted or crocheted. She also has plenty of donated yarn for anyone willing to undertake this project. Call if you are interested, 270-4310.

We can always use DONATIONS OF MATERIAL AND YARN at the senior center.

We are always updating the SENIOR CENTER’S BIRTHDAY LIST, too. Call 270-4310 so that we may wish you well on your next trip.

Back by popular demand, THE WALKING GROUP is out and about with Marilyn on Mondays at 10 am. Meet at Newtown Hall on the campus of Fairfield Hills with your walking shoes on. Call the senior center for further information.

NEED HELP WITH MEDICARE? A HICAP/CHOICES volunteer is here on Monday afternoons from 1 to 2 pm by appointment only. There is no charge for this service. Come in and talk to someone who can give you good answers, to help with problems and/or changes. Call the center to make an appointment. To talk to a CHOICES representative at any time, call 800/944-9422.

Debbie Kenyon leads the EXERCISE CLASS on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 10 am. The classes are vigorous yet gentle, with lots of stretches. Participants will be encouraged to go at their own rate and will finish feeling refreshed, invigorated and with more energy.

Join Marilyn on Tuesdays at 1:30 for AFTERNOON CRAFTS.

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.

TONY IVEY’S CRAFTS CLASS meets each Wednesday at 10 am. New projects are started weekly.

Ann Piccini from Social Services is at the senior center each Wednesday to HELP WITH APPLICATIONS including CONNPACE, MEDICAL, TITLE 19, REDETERMINATIONS, etc. No appointment is necessary. Ann will be here each week from 10 am to noon.

YOGA CLASSES with Helen Herbold are conducted on Monday afternoons at 1 as well as Thursday mornings at 10 am. Helen specializes in hatha yoga, a gentle type of yoga can be practiced by anyone at any age and state of health. Bring a mat or towel to lie on and wear loose clothing (no belts; sweats are perfect).

Join us at the senior center each Thursday afternoon for CHORUS GROUP at 1 pm. Join us, too, if you play the piano.

QUILTING CLASS meets on Fridays at 10 am.

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

A REVERSE MORTGAGE SEMINAR will be presented on Wednesday, November 28, at 1 pm. Dana Fugliese, with the reverse mortgage lending department of Webster Bank, will detail the federal reverse mortgage programs and dispel the myths and options of this financing option. Call the senior center to sign up.

Mark your calendar for December 13, because that’s when we return to The Fireside Inn for OUR ANNUAL CHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY PARTY. The event will run from 1 to 3 pm. Call the senior center to reserve your spot. The Country Gentlemen will be providing the live music this year.

Details concerning TRIPS FOR NEWTOWN SENIORS are available at the senior center. The following is basic information for upcoming offerings. Visit the senior center for full itineraries and reservations. Also please remember that all trips must be paid for with ten working days of when you sign up for a trip.

CHRISTMAS IN “HAWAII” WITH BRIGHT LIGHTS will leave from the senior center at 9:45 am on Wednesday, December 5, to spend the day celebrating the holidays with a Hawaiian theme. We’ll visit Chicopee, Mass., for lunch at the Hu Ke Lau Restaurant & Dinner Theater, complete with a lei greeting by the Polynesian dancers. After lunch (choice of prime rib or chicken) and the “Christmas in Hawaii” show it’ll be off to Holyoke Mall for a visit to The Christmas Tree Shops, then to Springfield and Bright Lights at Forest Park, New England’s largest lighting display featuring more than 2½ miles of magnificent lighting displays.

Trips are also being planned for March 2002, a HAWAIIAN ESCAPE, which will include Oahu and Kanai Islands, for $18,69 per person double; May 2002, to SAN ANTONIO, TEX., $1,029 per person double; and THE KINGDOM OF THAILAND, October 2002, $1,847 per person double.

Menu For Week of November 12-16

Reservations must be made three days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Meals include low-fat milk and margarine.

Monday: No lunch today — the senior center will be closed in observance of Veterans’ Day.

Tuesday: Potato-crunch fish w/ tartar sauce, rice pilaf, carrot coins, Italian bread, apricots;

Wednesday: Boneless chunk chicken cacciatore, spaghetti w/ sauce, broccoli florettes, rye bread, fruit;

Thursday: Pot roast w/ gravy, red skinned potatoes, spinach, grapefruit juice, whole wheat bread, vanilla yogurt w/ granola;

Friday: Minestrone soup, unsalted crackers, quiche lorraine, green beans, dinner roll, chocolate chip cookie.

Activities Schedule, November 12-16

Monday: AM Pinochle, Bridge, art class, walking group; PM yoga, HMO help (by appointment);

Tuesday: AM Pinochle, exercise; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), holiday crafts, New Horizons meeting, program with representative from Collette Tours;

Wednesday: AM line dancing, Pinochle, craft classes, Social Services help with applications; PM Thanksgiving Bingo, book discussion group;

Thursday: AM exercise, Pinochle, yoga; PM crafts, bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), chorus group, blood pressure checks, “Medicare and You” special program;

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

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