shirley council on aging

Shirley Council on Aging NEWSLETTER Volume: 4 Issue 7

Senior Center • 9 Parker Rd. • Shirley, MA 01464

Tel: 978-425-1390 • Fax 978-425-1392 • email: [email protected]

JULY 2012

July - Happy 4th

!!

Last month we had some tremendous events. First, Kate White won

the title of “Best Senior Scrabble Player in Shirley”. After 4 weeks

of difficult matches, she emerged victorious with a close win over Bob

Steiner, who is also her husband.

We also kicked off the start of barbeque (BBQ) season with a 95 de-

gree day for our special Senior Lunch BBQ. Sponsored by State Sena-

tor Jamie Eldridge and State Representative Jen Benson, it was a won-

derful time and a great menu. There will be NO Senior Lunch in July.

See you all in August.

Another special event in June was the “Is It a Senior Moment or Something More?” informational session. The

luncheon was for people who are taking care of seniors and/or for people who want more information on memory loss.

The speakers were from the Alzheimer’s Association and Montachusett Home Care. Over 25 people from five area

towns attended. We anticipate having a follow-up session in the Fall.

On July 9th we have another Shirley Senior Information Series event. Bryan Dumont from the Shirley Energy Committee

will be talking with seniors on the topic “Should Seniors Move to Solar?” This is an important topic for seniors and I

urge many of you to attend, ask questions and be aware of this opportunity for you

and the town.

The monthly Breakfast will be on the 23rd. Plan to stop by and enjoy the air condi-

tioning and the good food.

Note the article inside on the changes to the Thursday VAN Shopping schedule

effective August 1st. We will also be changing the pick-up time to 10:30, as well

as the destination. All seniors who find it difficult to get to a store because of

transportation issues are welcome.

A reminder that last month we announced the Bookmobile 4 Shirley Seniors pro-

gram. If you are housebound and love to read, we can help you.

A Reminder: The Angels-on-Wheels program is up and running. We are always

looking for new drivers. It can be very rewarding to help someone in need. If you want that good feeling, call us.

John

PS: A hint… if I were you, I would start practicing my scrabble now. Just in case.

Shirley COUNCIL ON AGING July 2012

Council on Aging Staff and Members

DIRECTOR

John Oelfke

OUTREACH COORDINATOR

Kathryn Becker

COUNCIL ON AGING

CHAIRMAN

Martin Pender VICE CHAIRMAN

Frank Esielionis SECRETARY

Barbara Nole

MEMBERS

Al Chevrette

Ron Deyo

Raymond Gagnon

Nancy Siedliski

Harold Smith

Marcia Sullivan

VAN DISPATCHERS

Olga Pender & Aida Dombrowski

CAFÉ

Nellie Poirier, Ruth Halloran,

Sally Hamel and Viola Burnley

Newsletter Editor

Doreen Quintiliani MEALS ON WHEELS

Craig Erban, Fran Gray,

James LeTourneau, Joe Mandarano,

and Bob Perry

THANK YOU . . .

For your contributions, donations and volunteerism.

We appreciate your support.

We would not have our Center without you!

Vendors: Panera for bread and bagels, Hannaford for goodies,

Pepsi for soda & water, Mitrano Removal, The DPW and

Turf-Logic

Our Bagel Team: Bill Dow, Jim Lanteigne, Bob McBrine, &

Marcia Sullivan

Program Support: Ron & Shirley Deyo, Elaine Quinty, Ellie

Hamilton, Kathy Cormier, Rhoda Dow, Don Parker, Olga & Jon

Pender, John & Kay Tohline, Charline Oelfke, The “Church

Ladies”, Sally Hamel, Joyce Patton, Kendra Dumont, Frank

Esielionis, Chip & Delores Guercio

Café: Nancy Siedliski, Vi Burnley, Ruth Halloran, Sally Hamel,

Nellie Poirier

Donations: Marion Wood, Dorothy Hatch, Leone Noddin,

Richard & Dot Hatch, Deb Towne, Joyce Patton and Bob McBrine

Newsletter: Cyndi Furman, Harold Smith, Ann Towne and

Doreen Quintiliani for helping with our monthly newsletter.

The Council meets the second Wednesday of each

month at 1:00 pm at the Senior Center, 9 Parker Road.

Meetings are open to the Public.

Mission Statement of the Shirley Council on Aging:

“To serve the Seniors of Shirley with services that enhance their lives and provide for their needs.”

DON’T FORGET….

NO Senior Lunch in July

Senior Breakfast - July 23rd

WII Bowling Leagues Mondays 1-4 PM

& Thursdays 11-1

Looking for new

teams & substitutes.

Or just be a fan…

come and cheer!

Café Wish List The Senior Center is a Green Operation

Heavy Duty Paper Plates Large & Small Size

Napkins

Coffee - Regular & Decaf

Thursday, July 19th

SHINE Representative

1 - On - 1 Counseling

NEEDED...VOLUNTEERS

Please call 978-425-1390

and leave your name and telephone number.

• Angels on Wheels drivers

• Program Manager for two new programs

including a “Medical Fair” in the Fall

• Cooks for Monthly Lunches (see Article)

July 2012 Shirley COUNCIL ON AGING

Outreach Corner

Kathryn Becker, Outreach Coordinator

Telephone: (978) 425-1390 Email: [email protected]

The mission of the Outreach Program is to make contact with senior citizens, determine their needs and inter-

ests, and to meet those needs and interests through appropriate referrals, program development and advocacy.

Kathryn can explain community programs and benefits, assist with applications to needed programs, aid

elders in their search for services and act as an advocate and support for elders in need. If you or someone you

know has questions or need help, please call Kathryn at the Council on Aging office at 978-425-1390. She is

available at the Senior Center at 9 Parker Rd., Tues. and Thurs. from 9 -3 . All information shared is confidential.

Alzheimer’s Caregivers Playbook ~

A Practical Tips Guide

Coach Broyles’ Playbook for Alzheimer’s

Caregivers is an easy to read, practical

guide for anyone who is caring for a loved

one with Alzheimer’s Disease. It is avail-

able at no cost at the Shirley Senior Center

thanks to a donation by the Friends of the Shirley Council on

Aging. Stop by or give us a call at 978-425-1390 if you

would like a copy. Bookmobile will deliver!

2012 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures Facts and Figures, an annual report released by the Alzheimer’s Association, details the burden of Alzheimer’s and dementia on individuals, caregivers, government and the nation’s health care system. Key figures from the Alzheimer’s Association 2012 report:

• Every 68 seconds someone develops Alzheimer’s disease

• Alzheimer’s is the sixth leading cause of death

• 5.4 million people have Alzheimer’s in the United States

• Alzheimer’s and other dementias cost the US more than $200 billion annually

• An estimated 800,000 people with Alzheimer’s live alone

• We expect 10 million Baby Boomers to develop Alzheimer’s

• There is no cure ~ yet.

Alzheimer’s Caregiver Support Group

Meets the last Wednesdays of the month from 5:30-

6:45 p.m. at Montachusett Home Care, 680 Me-

chanics St., Leominster. Facilitator: Joyce Ryan. Call

800-734-7312 for more information.

Applications/Information

Available at the COA Office

• Food Stamps

• Alzheimer’s handbook

• Circuit Breaker Tax Credit

• Prescription Advantage

• Fuel Assistance

• File of Life

• Lifeline

• Free Cell Phones

• Extra Help

• Home Modification

Loan Program

2nd Monday of the Month 10-11 AM

July 9th

Should Seniors Get Solar?

Bryan Dumont Shirley Energy Committee

Informed seniors are less likely to have problems.

Speaker Series


We Salute

ALL the COA Volunteers

as the COA VOLUNTEER OF THE MONTH

Summer Concert Series

Save the Dates

July 13th & 27th

August 10th & 24th

Again this year, seniors in Shirley

will be providing the hot dogs, ham-

burgers, and sausages for the Shirley

Charitable Foundation’s Summer concert series. All the

proceeds go to supporting the Senior Center. Where else

can you eat good comfort food and feel good about it (:>)?

The concerts will be held on Fridays at the Center Town

Hall Common beginning at 6pm.

Come and enjoy a good time and help the seniors in town

as well.

Since we started the Senior Center in 2010, we have had a tremendous number of volunteers step forward to help.

Some come for just one or two activities, but many have made an on-going commitment and are active every

week. All of these efforts have contributed to the success of the Senior Center. While we have not recognized all

of you individually over the last couple of years, we are aware of all your help and appreciate all that you do for

us.

It is impossible to gauge the impact that all the donated hours have had on the Senior Center and the lives of

Shirley Seniors. It is clear that the impact has been positive. Whether you were helping to build the Senior Center

in 2010, or to run one of the various programs and services we offer today, you made a difference. If you were

driving to deliver Meals-on-Wheels or to provide medical transportation, the seniors of Shirley benefitted. All of

the activities are critical to the seniors in town, even activities that seem small like picking up donations at Panera

or Pepsi. They make a difference.

I want to publically recognize the fact that without you, we would not be where we are today.

For all that you do for our seniors: WE THANK YOU

New Shopping Schedule for Thursdays

For many years now we

have had a fixed sched-

ule for shopping trips on

Thursdays. We would

take the seniors who

wanted to go to Wal-

mart and Hannaford’s in

Lunenburg. A while

back, many of the regu-

lars asked for something different so we started exploring

and trying new destinations. After trying them out, we

conducted a survey of the riders and based on that survey,

we are making a change.

Effective August 1st, we will be traveling to Water Tower

Plaza (Aka Barnes and Noble) on the 1st and 3rd Thurs-

days of the Month. On the 2nd and

4th Thursdays we will be going to

the Super Walmart on 117 in

Leominster and the new Aldi’s

supermarket next to it. The pickups

will begin at 10:30 and then the

van will travel to the Plaza. At

1PM, we will come back to bring

everyone home.

All seniors who find it difficult to

get to a store because of transporta-

tion issues are welcome.

July 2012 Shirley COUNCIL ON AGING

Pizza & a Movie @ Your Senior Center

NO MOVIE IN JULY

Next Movie

August 2 nd 11 AM

The Movie will be

The Descendants

Next Movie - September 5th

VETERANS’ CORNER

… from Mike Detillion Shirley Veterans’ Officer

The Veterans' Officer is available at any time to

aid your efforts to enter into the VA Health Care

system or pension system.

Call for an appointment.

Office hours are on Tuesday evening

from 5:00 PM to 7:00PM

at the Town Office Building.

Appointments anytime.

Call 978-425-2600 x280.

Benefits: All veterans, spouses and dependents

are eligible for Chapter 115 and VA benefits with

an honorable discharge. Benefits can include fi-

nancial assistance, food assistance, shelter assis-

tance, and burial assistance.

We want to thank State

Senator Jamie Eldridge

and State Representative

Jen Benson for co-

sponsoring the June

Senior BBQ lunch. It was a success both in atten-

dance and in culinary enjoyment.

We had over 75 people attend, despite the 95 degree

weather. They enjoyed the barbequed pork ribs, Po-

tato & macaroni salad and all the fixings. While the

Senator and Representative could not attend as they

were working in Boston that day, their presence was

felt and we thank them for thinking of the Shirley

Seniors and for contributing to such a fine BBQ.

A reminder, there will be NO Senior Lunch in July.

We will be back in August with another great BBQ.

In the meantime, enjoy the BBQs at the summer con-

cert series cooked by “the seniors”.

Successful

Senior BBQ

Is it a senior moment or something else?

A very informative session on Alzheimer’s was held on Tues-

day June 19th. The event was hosted by the Shirley COA and

sponsored by a grant from the Dept. of Elder Affairs.

Over 25 people from five towns attended and after enjoying a

fine lunch provided by the Bull Run, they listened to Joyce

Ryan from Montachusett Home Care talk about the stress

related to being a Caregiver and how to deal with it. Then the

featured speaker, Jill Sieler-Moon from the Alzheimer Assoc.

association spent time explaining both the nature of the dis-

ease and the warning signs. She also talked about dealing

with loved ones and friends who are starting to show signs of

having the disease.

Everyone felt that it was an enlightening afternoon and we

hope to have a follow-up event in the fall.

Taking Care of Myself:

A Guide for When I Leave the Hospital

“Taking Care of Myself: A Guide for When I Leave the

Hospital” provides information to help patients care for them-

selves when they leave the hospital. The easy-to-read guide

can be used by both hospital staff and patients during the dis-

charge process and provides a way for patients to keep track

their medication schedules, upcoming medical appointments,

and important phone numbers.

The guide is available at: www.ahrq.gov/qual/goinghomeguide.htm


And we have a Winner…

The best “Senior Scrabble Player in Shirley” is:

Kate White

After an exciting four week tournament, Kate White emerged victo-

rious by beating Bob Steiner (also her husband) by a combined two

game score of 651 to 624. After losing the first game, Bob made a

strong comeback to make the final score close. Each player won one

game but Kate’s margin of victory was larger than Bob’s, thus Kate

wins.

We started with 16 strong players and whittled our way down to the

two finalists. Week after week we had serious players who were fo-

cused on getting the words right and the points high. This resulted in

a lot of close matches. All of them were fun for the players and the

spectators.

The entire tournament was a huge success and plans are already un-

derway to have another one this Fall. We hope to have even more

entries and perhaps even open it up to seniors in nearby towns. This

could be an exciting fall so stay tuned. Is there a scrabble match in

YOUR future??

Our thanks to everyone who participated, they made the event. A special thanks to our Judges, Don Parker, Amy Peck

and Pat Beaushene. Our largest thank you goes to Francis Grey, who thought up the idea for the tournament, who man-

aged the action and made it all work.

THANK YOU to all and Congratulations to Kate.

Stop by the Café we have casual Scrabble players Monday - Thursdays.

Guest Chefs Needed!!

As you all know, we hold a monthly luncheon for sen-

iors. The lunch is “cooked from scratch” to avoid hav-

ing to serve pre packaged or pre-cooked food. While

this is beneficial to the seniors from a taste and nutri-

tion perspective, it is a lot more work for the COA. As

a result, we are always looking for Guest Chefs.

Can you help?

The role of Guest Chef is simple:

All you need to do is to design a menu and then to cook it for 75+ people.

We pay for all the food and we have assistant chefs and servers to help with

the meal. We even buy the food. You need to do some of the prep work and

cook at the luncheon.

So, if you would like to cook for 75 or seniors, especially if you have experience working in a restaurant or cafete-

ria, we would love to have you volunteer to put on ONE of our Monthly luncheons in the Fall. Can you Help???

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10-11 AM Blood Pressure

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9-10 AM Chair Yoga

9 AM– 12 PM SHINE

Rep 1-On-1 Counseling

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August 1

11 AM - 1 PM

Pizza & Movie

“The Descendants”

August 2

10-11 AM Blood Pressure

Screening

*FREE Hearing Test*

August 3

Closed

August 4

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