Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
- Brain Games Are Back – And There’s One Near You (4/27)
- Local Grief Expert Speaks in Poughkeepsie (4/21)
- Adult Mental Health Forum Coming Up in Poughkeepsie (5/1)
- Summer Classes For Seniors (and Grandkids) at DCC
- The Latest Scam: More Criminals Impersonating State Employees
- Eastern Dutchess Meets To Discuss Heroin/Opioid Problems For Seniors (4/20 & 4/23)
- Volunteer Firefighting: Ways To Help, No Matter Your Age (4/23-24)
- Hudson Valley History Reading Festival (4/23)
- Free Oral Cancer Screening (4/29)
- Get Back Your Back (5/9)
- Schneiderman Targets Retailers Over On-Call Scheduling
- OTHER AGING NEWS ONLINE
Golden Living . . . News for Senior Citizens
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
SPRING TRAINING FOR YOUR BRAIN
Brain Games are a fantastic way to keep your mind active by solving challenging puzzles, riddles, conundrums and more, all while laughing, socializing and meeting new friends. With 15 Brain Games locations in the county there’s sure to be one near you. If you’d like to start your own Brain Games class, or train to be a co-leader of a current class, you are invited to take part in a Brain Games workshop, taking place at the Pleasant Valley Town Hall, 1554 Main Street (Route 44), Wednesday, April 27 from 1- 3 p.m. Come to the workshop prepared with brain-teasing ideas and activities to share with the current class leaders. To register for the workshop, or the current class schedule, call the Office for the Aging at 486-2555. The class schedule is available atwww.co.dutchess.ny.us/CountyGov/Departments/Aging/braingame.pdf.
LOCAL GRIEF EXPERT AUTHOR TO SPEAK IN POUGHKEEPSIE
Office for the Aging Advisory Board member and local author Dr. Kenneth Doka will host a talk, Q&A session and book-signing for his new book, “Grief is a Journey: Finding Your Path Through Loss,” on Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m., at the Poughkeepsie Barnes & Noble, located at 2518 South Rd. Dr. Doka’s latest book aims to spread the message that our experiences with death are far more unique and much less predictable than conventional thinking indicates. Dr. Doka is a Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle and Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America. Call the store at 485-2224 to find out more, and check out www.drkendoka.com to learn more about his wide and varied writings on end-of-life issues.
ADULT MENTAL HEALTH FORUM
The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health (DBCH) invites you to share your thoughts and experiences at a public forum about mental health services for adults on Tuesday, May 3 from 4-6 p.m. at Mental Health America of Dutchess County, 253 Mansion St. in Poughkeepsie. Residents are invited to share their thoughts and ideas about service needs for the 2017 local governmental plan for adults facing mental health issues. Families are especially encouraged to participate and provide input about what services are needed in our community. For more information, call the Dutchess County Department of Behavioral & Community Health at (845) 486-2751. If you can’t make that date, or you don’t feel comfortable speaking in public, you can submit comments online at www.dutchessny.gov/forumcomments, fax them to (845) 486-2829, or mail them to: Adult Mental Health Public Forum, 230 North Rd., Poughkeepsie, NY 12601.
DCC CURES THE SUMMERTIME BLUES
The Music School at Dutchess Community College (DCC) is offering music classes and lessons of interest to seniors this summer, starting in May. Classes include an intergenerational women’s choir (ages 9 – 99+), harp for beginners, mandolin for beginners, introduction to guitar, and jazz ensemble. The Music School offers discounts for seniors 65 and older with photo ID. For grandparents and their grandkids up to age 7, Kindermusik classes take place Fridays or Saturdays from May through August. For more information on these programs, call 431-8916 or go to
www.sunydutchess.edu/continuingeducation/musicschool.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone 486-2555, email: agingservices@dutchessny.gov website: http://www.dutchessny.gov/CountyGov/Departments/Aging/AGIndex.htm
Again with the scams targeting the vulnerable: this time, crooks are impersonating New York state Department of Financial Services workers. As with other similar phone scams, the DFS does NOT contact people in this manner.
http://dfs.ny.gov/consumer/alert_dfs_name_scam.htm
The rate of heroin/opioid addiction among older Americans is rising, and the Harlem Valley Heroin/Opioid Coalition will meet to discuss addiction prevention at Dover High School this Wednesday, April 20, at 6:30 p.m. and at Amenia Town Hall this Saturday, April 23, at 11 a.m. Adults taking care of aging parents and seniors concerned about their pain medications are welcome to join the discussion.
https://www.theharlemvalleynews.net/?p=17115
This coming weekend (4/23-24), 15 volunteer fire departments across Dutchess County are joining their brothers and sisters statewide in the sixth annual “RecruitNY” initiative, aimed at growing the ranks of volunteer firefighters – along with rescue squad members, fire police volunteers and auxiliary support staff. New York state several years ago waived CDL driver’s license requirements so that more volunteers can be available to drive emergency vehicles, and a regular state class D driver’s license is now sufficient although training on larger vehicles is encouraged. For more information, including which days which department is holding its particular open house, use this link:
http://www.recruitny.org/participation-area/
The FDR Presidential Library and the Friends of the Poughkeepsie Public Library District will present the fourth annual Hudson Valley History Reading Festival on Saturday, April 23, beginning at 10:00 a.m. in the Henry A. Wallace Center at the FDR Presidential Library and Home. In four one-hour-long sessions, authors of books on Hudson Valley history will present author talks followed by book signings. More information here:
http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/publicprograms/calendar.html
The Redl Center for Cancer Care at MidHudson Regional Hospital is conducting free screenings for cancers of the mouth, nose and throat for those who are uninsured or underinsured on Friday, April 29, from 1 to 3 p.m. People with risk factors like a history of tobacco or alcohol use are particularly encouraged to use this opportunity. Appointments can be made at (845) 483-5997. More information at the following link:
http://www.midhudsonregional.org/free-oral-cancer-screening
Northern Dutchess Hospital physical therapy assistant Larry Flowers will present “Back School,” a back health education class, from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday, May 9 in the boardroom of the hospital, 6511 Springbrook Ave. in Rhinebeck. Participants will learn how to avoid common mistakes that lead to strains and other muscle aches. You’ll also learn proper lifting and bending techniques that can minimize the chance of future pain or injury. For information or to reserve a seat, visitwww.healthquest.com/wellness or call 845-871-3427 (TTY 800-421-1220).
OTHER AGING NEWS ONLINE:
People juggling retail jobs and elder care responsibilities may be interested to know that the state’s attorney general is looking for more agreements with major retailers to end the practice of “on-call scheduling” for workers.
Women in particular benefit when businesses offer training targeted to older workers.
A trip to the art museum might be just the thing to revive dormant memories. Here’s one example from Massachusetts.
http://www.fitchburgartmuseum.org/Hidden-Treasures.php
More people are studying for advanced degrees later in life – even doctorates.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/your-money/taking-on-the-phd-later-in-life.html
There may one day be a pill to stop your hair from going gray – but leaving it as-is has its advocates as well.
http://www.theguardian.com/fashion/shortcuts/2016/mar/02/great-to-go-grey-hair-scientists-pill
Millions of us with leg pain may have something called peripheral artery disease, but doctors say the best treatment for it is to put one foot in front of the other…and walk.
http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/millions-with-leg-pain-have-peripheral-artery-disease/
91 and happily putting in time at a McDonald’s in Wales, Bill Dudley is believed to be the oldest Golden Arches employee in all of Europe.
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/160756/it-s-91-not-out-for-mcdonald-s-worker-bill-from-connah-s-quay.aspx
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
27 High Street
Poughkeepsie NY 12601
Phone: (845) 486-2555 Fax: (845) 486-2571
Email: bjones@dutchessny.gov
