Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of January 8, 2018
Note: the Office for the Aging will be closed on Monday, January 15 for the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal and state holiday.
Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
WANTED: 2018 SENIORS OF THE YEAR
The search for the 2018 Dutchess County “Senior Citizens of the Year” is underway.
We are looking for your nominations in the categories of Senior Male, Senior Female and/or Senior Citizen Couple of the year. The awards are presented at the Celebration of Aging, held on Monday, May 21 at Villa Borghese in Wappingers Falls, in observance of Older Americans Month.
Do you know any seniors who deserve to be honored for their contributions to the Dutchess County community? Let us know about them by sending in a nomination form and any other pertinent materials. The form is available by calling our office at (845) 486-2555, or you can find a copy online in the winter edition of the “Spotlight on Seniors,“ which can be found on our website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging. You can also get a copy of the nomination form by picking up a “Spotlight” at any library in Dutchess County, or at Office for the Aging offices at 27 High St. in the City of Poughkeepsie.
If you know many people who fit the above description and you can’t choose just one, don’t worry: You may nominate people in multiple categories, or more than one person in the same category. If you’ve nominated somebody previously but they weren’t honored, feel free to nominate them again.
Nominations are due at the end of March and will be reviewed by a committee of the Advisory Board to the Office for the Aging, which selects the outstanding seniors who will receive the awards.
The Celebration of Aging also honors residents of Dutchess County who have achieved major feats of aging. If you know someone who lives in Dutchess and will turn 100 or older any time during 2018, or will celebrate a wedding anniversary of 70 years or more, please contact us at bjones@dutchessny.gov or by calling the Office for the Aging at (845) 486-2555. If the anniversary or birthday doesn’t happen until later in 2018, that’s okay – in those cases, we round the number upward.
2018 EVENT SPONSORSHIPS COMING SOON
Office for the Aging annual events are excellent ways for businesses which serve Dutchess County seniors to improve their visibility, while at the same time helping defray the costs of staging the events, which include our Celebration of Aging in May, the Senior Picnics that take place throughout the summer, and the Senior Prom in the fall.
Businesses interested in finding out more about Office for the Aging events can email bjones@dutchessny.gov or call (845) 486-2555 for more information.
Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 27 High Street, Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website:www.dutchessny.gov/aging
Office for the Aging calendar of events:
Wed 1/10/18, 11 a.m. – “New Year’s Resolutions – What Sticks, What Doesn’t”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
South Amenia Senior Friendship Center
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Thu 1/11/18, 11 a.m. – “Successful Aging”
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
Brookside Meadows, Pleasant Valley
(845) 486-2555 for details
Snow date: 1/18, same time
Thu 1/11/18, 11 a.m. – “Keeping Your New Year’s Resolutions”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
East Fishkill Senior Friendship Center
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Thu 1/18/18, 11 a.m. – “Going For The Goal”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Beacon Senior Friendship Center
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Mon 1/22/18, 11 a.m. – “Rules of Healthy Behaviors”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
King’s Apartments
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Tue 1/23/18, 11 a.m. – “A Guide to Good Health Resolutions”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Pawling Senior Friendship Center
(845) 486-2555 for more information
Wed 1/24/18, 2 p.m. – “Successful Aging”
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
The Fountains at Millbrook (79 Flint Rd., Millbrook)
(845) 486-2555 for details
Thu 1/25/18, 11 a.m. – “Setting Fitness Goals for the New Year”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Tri-Town Senior Friendship Center
55 Overlook Rd., Poughkeepsie (rear of American Legion building)
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Fri 1/26/18, 11 a.m. – “Conquering Your Good Health Resolutions”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
City of Poughkeepsie Senior Friendship Center
110 South Grand Avene
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Tue 1/30/18, 11 a.m. – “Will Your Resolutions Last Until February?”
With OFA nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava
Rhinebeck Senior Friendship Center
(845) 486-2555 to find out more
Wed 2/14/18, 10:30 a.m. – “Successful Aging”
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
Pine Plains Free Library, Second Floor Community Room
7775 South Main St. (Route 82)
(845) 486-2555 for details
Snow date: 3/14/18, same time
Wed 3/21/18, 11:30 a.m. – “Successful Aging”
With OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones
At “Lunch and Learn”, Temple Beth-El
118 South Grand Ave., Poughkeepsie
(845) 486-2555 for details
To request an Office for the Aging presentation for your senior, social and/or civic group, get in touch with outreach coordinator Brian Jones at (845) 486-2555 or bjones@dutchessny.gov. All your group needs to provide is a venue that’s wheelchair-accessible and open to the public, with space to set up a projector and screen. We have our own projector and screen – but if you have those, let us know. This time of year, we recommend you come up with an alternate presentation date you can make available in case of inclement winter weather.
We feature presentations on Successful Aging, Office for the Aging services, Medicare/Medicaid, senior housing, a wide range of topics related to nutrition, and more!
OFA volunteer opportunities for this week (and beyond):
Home Delivered Meals drivers – Delivering nutritious meals to homebound seniors is a great way to give of yourself in 2018. We have opportunities near your home community, wherever in Dutchess it may be. Contact nutrition coordinator Nimesh Bhargava at nbhargava@dutchessny.gov or (845) 486-2555.
Senior Friendship Center help – we have eight Friendship Centers around the county, in Beacon, East Fishkill, Millerton, Pawling, the City of Poughkeepsie, the Town of Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck (Rock City), and South Amenia. Contact OFA at (845) 486-2555 to find out more.
Many local communities and houses of worship also support senior centers independently of the Office for the Aging; contact them directly for more information, or ask us and we’ll see if there are any near you that you might not have thought of.
For more opportunities to help your senior friends and neighbors in conjunction with the OFA’s mission, contact Friends of Seniors at (845) 485-1277 and/or the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) at (845) 452-5104.
COLD WEATHER PRECAUTIONS
2018 has gotten off to an unusually cold start – so, residents seeking shelter, and those aware of an individual in need of shelter, should contact their local police department, or call or text Dutchess HELPLINE (845) 485-9700, 24 hours a day, seven days a week to make accommodations.
Those who are running out of heating fuel can call (845) 437-0050 to make arrangements through the Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP). If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please dial 911 and first responders will be dispatched.
For date-specific information, follow Dutchess County Government on social media.
NOROVIRUS COMES TO DUTCHESS
You might call it something like “stomach flu” but the norovirus family is different from the influenza virus family…and right now, not only is it regular influenza season but pockets of norovirus have now also been reported in Dutchess County, according to the Department of Behavior and Community Health (DBCH).
Details from DBCH here: https://www.theharlemvalleynews.net/?p=35771
SHERIFF’S OFFICE TELEPHONE SCAM WORKSHOP (Mon 1/22, 1-2 p.m.)
Join the Tivoli Library (86 Broadway, 845-757-3771) and Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office’s for an informative presentation about common and current telephone scams, taking place from 1 to 2 p.m. on Monday, January 22 at the library. Deputy Sheriff Michael Rahilly will show you how to avoid falling victim to these telephone scammers. Every year, thousands of people lose money to telephone scams, from a few dollars to their life savings – don’t be one of them! A Q&A session will follow.
Contact the library to sign up; space is limited.
CITIZENS PREPAREDNESS IN PAWLING (Tue 1/23, 7-9 p.m.)
This month’s foul winter weather is another reason Dutchess seniors need to be prepared for any type of disaster, and the Dutchess County Department of Emergency Response and Department of Behavioral & Community Health have been traveling the county for presentations on preparedness. You’ll acquire the tools and resources to better prepare for any type of disaster, learn how to respond accordingly in a disaster, and recover as quickly as possible to pre-disaster conditions.
The next presentation is coming up on Tuesday, January 23 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Pawling Library (11 Front St., (845) 855-3444). Doors open at 6:30. Attendees will receive a free Citizens Preparedness Response Kit.
Other aging news online:
A new cost/benefit analysis of the new shingles vaccine looks promising: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/well/live/new-shingles-vaccine-is-cost-effective.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FElderly
Qualifying veterans who live in the Poughkeepsie School District are about to get a tax break: http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/education/2018/01/04/city-poughkeepsie-veterans-get-school-tax-break/1000280001/
The older adult’s guide to cold weather. We’ve done columns on this ourselves, but in this case more info is good info: https://health.usnews.com/health-care/for-better/articles/2018-01-03/the-older-adults-guide-to-cold-weather
You took your car out after the snowstorm and it was shaking. Probably not a big deal, though. Don’t race to the mechanic just yet: http://www.northjersey.com/story/weather/2017/03/15/snow-ice-car-shaking-after-storm-driving-highway/99207098/
A look at the Virtual Dementia experience, which has been touring the country for 15 years: http://www.newsadvance.com/news/trending/my-eight-minutes-as-a-dementia-patient—loud/article_5c47601a-1cce-56ab-bc51-32f1f57f8b20.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share
Remember the old “fallout shelter” signs that were everywhere in the 50’s and 60’s? Since the signs rarely point to an operating shelter any more, New York City is removing theirs:https://www.wnyc.org/story/city-remove-outdated-fallout-shelter-signs/?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=social&utm_content=wnyc
And if you spot any old fallout-shelter signs around Dutchess, let us know by emailing bjones@dutchessny.gov.
This week in senior birthdays:
1/8: Singer Shirley Bassey (81)
1/9: Novelist Judith Krantz (89)
1/10: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Willie McCovey (79)
1/11: Singer/songwriter/actress Naomi Judd (72)
1/12: Magician the Amazing Kreskin (83)
1/13: Actor Richard Moll (75)
1/14: Race car driver “Big Daddy” Don Garlits (86)
Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator
Dutchess County Office For the Aging
Phone: (845) 486-2555 Fax: (845) 486-2571
Email: bjones@dutchessny.gov
Website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging