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

By SHANNON HICKS

Published: Feb 17, 2006 12:00 am

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 9 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 65Â¢ each way for the Sand Hill Plaza trip, 75Â¢ 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 Weekâs Programs

News For Week of

February 20-24

*Linda Casey will BEGIN ART LESSONS on Thursdays at 1 pm on February 23. Her first session will be on shadowing with charcoal.

Linda has had her work published in Connecticut magazine. Join her for some quality lessons!

*The Newtown VNA will sponsor CHOLESTEROL SCREENINGS at the senior center on Thursday, March 2, from 9 am until noon.

Please remember to fast before your screening, and you must have an appointment. Call today to get one.

*The quilting workshop on Fridays (each week at 10:30 am) will focus on ABC QUILTS in March.

Join our new creative instructor, Donna Betts, to create a quilt for a baby or toddler quilt or become a wall hanging for a boy or girl. Fee for this month-long project is $20, which covers all materials; please call as soon as possible to reserve a kit. The first class for ABC Quilts will be on March 3.

A sample of the project is one display in the main room at the senior center.

*AARPâs SAFETY DRIVING COURSE returns to Newtown on Monday, March 13, from 1 to 5 pm, and Monday, March 20, also 1 to 5. Attendees must attend both classes.

We have a new instructor.

Class size is limited, so call soon to sign up.

*LIFELINE SCREENINGS will be conducted at the senior center on Friday, March 24.

Appointments are necessary. Call or visit the senior center for details about costs (generally $35 or $45 per test, or $109 for three screenings, or $129 for all four available screenings) and to make reservations.

*After a break for the holidays, MONTHLY POTLUCK DINNERS have returned.

Pot Luck dinners are held on the first Tuesday of each month. Enjoy some company, and bring a dish to share.

The theme on March 7 will be St Patrickâs Day. Call us to let us know youâre coming, and to let us know what kind of dish you will be bringing.

*****************

REMINDERS: 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 is being until April 10, and appointments are being scheduled now. Call 270-4310 for details.

*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 $22,300 (single person) or $30,100 (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.

*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.

*MUNICIPAL AGENT ANN PICCINIâs office is at 3 Main Street (below the police department). She is available to help with Conn Pace, medical information and Title 19 issues. She is someone who can help you figure your way through these sometimes confusing subjects.

Call her at 270-4330, Monday through Friday.

*On Thursdays, Newtownâs 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.

Menu For Week of

Â February 20-24

Reservations must be made one or two days in advance.

Meals are subject to change.

Monday, February 20: No lunch today â the senior center will be closed for Washingtonâs Birthday.

Tuesday, February 21: Thinly sliced steak with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes, French cut green beans, whole wheat bread, cinnamon apples;

Wednesday: Homemade vegetable soup, unsalted crackers, stuffed salmon with creamy dill sauce, broccoli florettes, wheat dinner roll, oatmeal-raisin cookie;

Thursday: Yankee pot roast with gravy, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, homestyle biscuit, birthday cake;

Friday: Mexican chicken, Mexican rice, peppers and onions, cornbread, canned pears.

Also, for planning aheadâ

Monday, February 27: Stuffed pepper in tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, mixed vegetables, rye bread, fruit cocktail;

Tuesday, February 28: Beer battered fish filet, tartar sauce, French fries, ketchup, green beans, whole wheat bread, seasonal fresh fruit.

Activities Schedule,

February 20-24

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

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

Wednesday: AM exercise; PM;

Thursday: AM hatha yoga; PM bowling (at Brookfield Lanes), TRIAD/Yellow Dot photos taken, art lessons;

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.

Patricia Anzellotti

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It seems a lot of the discussion around the flagpole focuses on vilifying drivers who pass on the right, but the real issue is being overlooked. If Chapter 248 Section 14-251 were enforced, we wouldn’t see this problem to begin with. That statute prohibits stopping in the middle of a roadway to yield to cross traffic—as so often happens with cars waiting to turn from Church Hill. When vehicles stop illegally in the travel lane, they effectively create a blockage. Other drivers then either sit through unnecessary delays or carefully pass around them on the right, which is fully permitted when the vehicle ahead is “illegally parked” in the roadway. Instead of punishing drivers reacting to the obstruction, enforcement should focus on the cause: vehicles unlawfully stopping and backing up traffic in the first place. If that behavior were addressed, the need to “go around” would largely disappear.

Borough Board of Burgesses Continues Traffic Safety Discussion

John, you raise an important point — these situations are tragic, complicated, and often far less clear-cut than the headlines make them seem. In the Fredericksburg case, the full facts still aren’t publicly known, and like so many of these stories, there’s conflicting information. It was apparently the back door at 3 a.m. — was it justified to use deadly force? We don’t know yet. What we do know is that the homeowner has been charged, and as you rightly noted, that is very serious. But this is also where perspective matters. These cases are quickly sensationalized in the news and on social media, yet when the dust settles, the outcomes are rarely publicized. People forget that in our system, you are innocent until proven guilty. Try to find much coverage of the convication in the case of the Fairfield Realtor vehicle homicide, or updates on the woman who shot her husband a couple of Christmases ago, or even the pedestrian death in Sandy Hook a year or so back. The follow-through simply isn’t there, and public opinion is often shaped only by the first round of headlines. At the end of the day, these situations remind us how split-second decisions in the middle of the night can change lives forever — which is exactly why the right to protect one’s property, home and family is so fiercely debated, and lucky constitutionally protected.

Late Night Prank Gone Wrong

First the low hanging fruit. Dave; it was a joke, please get over it. You are the only person in Newtown that thought I really wanted to build a stadium on 6 Commence Rd. Now on to Alex. You might not appreciate my writing style or my selection of words, but let's not loose sight of the fact that by responding to my letter in the manner that you did, you have removed any doubt whatsoever that you have no idea of the quantifiable benefits you are dismissing not only for the town, but also for protesters. Either you stopped listening at the word "ordinance" or you never started.. Your constitutional rights to assemble were never in question and would actually be strengthened and there would be literally no impediments. We could even title it "The Alex Villamil Ordinance" if you want. It could be your legacy and actually show Newtown your willingness to work in a bipartisan way for the betterment of the town. Businesses would be protected. Traffic wouldn't be interrupted. The town would save hundreds of thousands of dollars in police overtime. And maybe most importantly, the town could prevent another tragedy while mitigating legal risk in the event something terrible happens at a protest. Nothing bad could never happen in Newtown right? All that could be accomplished by a simple, non-intrusive ordinance unless all the detriments to our town are intentional in order to bring more attention to your cause. Alex, this was not me throwing a temper tantrum. Believe me, you will know it if that happens. I am just putting Newtown first. From that perspective, if you think critically, the regulation is necessary. It makes sense logically, rationally, and is reasonable. There is absolutely no down side. None. I would be willing to sit down with you to see if we could come to some type of compromise if you want. Let me know. You would be amazed how much you can accomplish when there is dialogue amongst neighbors.

It’s About Dialogue Amongst Neighbors — Not Regulation

A popular prank circulating on TikTok is “ding-dong-ditch” where a group of young people violently bang or kick someone’s door late at night and then “ditch” or run. On May 3 three high schoolers here in Fredericksburg Va. were participating in such a prank. One homeowner assumed, as in this case, an attempted break in and also took measures to defend his family and property. As the youths were running away he fired, striking an 18 year old graduating senior in the back killing him and seriously injuring a second youth. A wasted life, a family shattered, and the homeowner charged with murder.

You’re absolutely right — no one should ever feel unsafe in their own home. Being startled awake by violent banging at your door late at night is no joke, and it’s a stark reminder that danger can come without warning. That’s why I’m thankful for the right to protect ourselves, our families, and our property. In a moment like that, you don’t get a second chance to call for help before you act — you have to be prepared. Our homes should be a place of peace, not fear, and the ability to defend them is a right worth safeguarding.

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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

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