Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s AGING NEWS For the week of November 18th

Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s

AGING NEWS

For the week of November 18th

Note: the Office for the Aging will be closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday on Thursday, November 28th. There will be no OFA Home Delivered Meals service on the 28th and on Friday, November 29th. HDM clients will receive shelf-stable meals as needed in advance of the holiday weekend.

The Office for the Aging will be OPEN on Friday, November 29th, but all OFA Senior Friendship Centers will be closed on the 29th.

 

Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers

Todd N. Tancredi, Director

Dutchess County Office for the Aging

 

WINTER SPOTLIGHT IS COMING

        With winter soon to arrive in Dutchess County, it’s prudent to go over your home’s checklist of things to have on hand when you’re snowed in.

        Here’s a good starter list:

  • shovels;
  • windshield scrapers;
  • flashlights, a battery-powered radio and spare batteries;
  • a cell phone and portable charger;
  • contact information for neighbors, friends and family;
  • fresh water (at least one gallon per person per day);
  • canned goods, especially easy-to-prepare items like soups and stews;
  • a manual can opener to open canned goods if you lose power;
  • shelf-stable snacks like dried fruit and nuts;
  • coffee, tea, and maybe hot cocoa with a few marshmallows;
  • toilet paper and paper towels;
  • a first aid kit;
  • enough of your medications to last through the storm;
  • some good books; and
  • food and water for pets.

        Another essential will be the upcoming copy of the Winter 2019-20 Spotlight on Seniors. It’s only eight pages long, but it will be packed with useful information for the winter – and beyond.

        In the Spotlight, you’ll find out more about our continuing “A Matter of Balance” program, which will begin late this winter or in the early spring, depending on venue. Next week’s Golden Living column will include for more information about “A Matter of Balance.”

        We’ll also include a nomination form for the 2020 Senior Citizens of the Year awards, which will be given out at the 2020 “Celebration of Aging,” which takes place next May. There will also be plenty of health and safety information to help seniors and caregivers through the winter.

        If you aren’t yet on the Spotlight on Seniors mailing list, now is the time to sign up. You can call the Office for the Aging using the number at the end of this column, or you can email bjones@dutchessny.gov.

        If you prefer receiving OFA information via email, you can sign up via the county’s Dutchess Delivery service at www.dutchessny.gov/Dutchess-Delivery.htm. While you’re signing up for the Spotlight, you can also choose to receive information about county services, events and meetings, public safety issues and advisories from various county departments.

        We also post every copy of the Spotlight and all OFA newsletters and publications at www.dutchessny.gov/aging.

        Copies of the Spotlight are also distributed at municipal buildings throughout Dutchess County, along with every public library in the county. If you manage a medical office, house of worship, senior housing facility, or other organization serving seniors and caregivers, email bjones@dutchessny.gov and we’ll make some copies available for your facility, while supplies last.

 

Golden Living is prepared by the Dutchess County Office for the Aging, 114 Delafield St., Poughkeepsie, New York 12601, telephone (845) 486-2555, email: ofa@dutchessny.gov website: www.dutchessny.gov/aging

 

Office for the Aging events schedule

To find out more, see the events calendar at www.dutchessny.gov/aging

or call (845) 486-2555 (unless a different number is indicated)

(All events subject to change)

 

Wed 11/20, 11:00 a.m. – Senior Pedestrian Safety

                With Emily Dozier, Dutchess County Senior Planner

                and Aisha Phillips, Dutchess County Senior Public Health Educator

                OFA Poughkeepsie Friendship Center, 114 Delafield St.

                Seating is limited; (845) 486-2564 to RSVP

Thu 11/21, 8:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. – OFA at the Caregivers Conference

                The Grandview, 176 Rinaldi Blvd, Poughkeepsie

                FREE with reservation – call the Alzheimer’s Association at (800) 272-3900

Tue 11/26, 11:00 a.m. – Healthy Cooking for the Holidays

                With OFA Nutrition Services Coordinator Nimesh Bhargava

                Beacon Senior Friendship Center, 1 Forrestal Heights

Wed 11/27, 11:00 a.m. – Healthy Cooking for the Holidays

                With OFA Nutrition Services Coordinator Nimesh Bhargava

                South Amenia Friendship Center, 229 South Amenia Rd., Wassaic

 

NOMINATE A 2020 SENIOR CITIZEN OF THE YEAR

                Every May, the Office for the Aging honors Dutchess County seniors whose remarkable efforts on behalf of the community are worthy of public recognition.

                You can nominate a senior for a “Senior Citizen of the Year” honor, which will be awarded at the “Celebration of Aging,” tentatively scheduled for May 18th at Villa Borghese in Wappinger Falls.

                In early April, a subcommittee of the OFA Advisory Board will choose the honorees from all nominations received by the March 27, 2020 deadline.

                Qualifying is simple: a nominee must be at least 60 years old, a resident of Dutchess County, and not a previous “Senior Citizen of the Year” honoree. Previous nominees who were not selected for honors can be nominated again.

                We’ve attached a nomination form (PDF format) to this Aging News email. It will also be posted at the Office for the Aging website (www.dutchessny.gov/aging), and will be included in the Winter 2019/20 issue of our “Spotlight on Seniors” newsletter, due out in early December.

SENIOR PROM VIEWING ON “PANDA” PUBLIC ACCESS TV

                TV viewers with access to PANDA (Public Access Northern Dutchess Area), channel 23, will be able to see video of October’s OFA Senior Prom on the following dates at the following times:

November 30th, 9 a.m.

December 1st, 8 p.m.

                December 6th, 9 a.m.

December 7th, 12 noon

December 8th, 4 p.m.

December 11th, 2 p.m.

Additionally, Poughkeepsie public access TV will air the prom video this weekend (11/16-17) at 5 p.m. on Saturday and 12 noon on Sunday.

Other aging news online:

You may have seen news stories this month about a “simple blood test” that can supposedly detect breast cancer. As often happens with such news items, hype got ahead of reality: https://www.healthnewsreview.org/2019/11/theranos-redux-not-really-but-claim-of-a-simple-test-for-breast-cancer-warrants-scrutiny/

It’s great for seniors to have hobbies like model railroading, so here’s a look at a painstakingly detailed model railroad that took over a quarter-century to build. The proud architect? Would you believe…Rod Stewart: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-7678617/Rod-Stewarts-secret-hit-track-Veteran-rocker-finally-lets-world-legendary-model-railwa.html?ito=social-facebook&fbclid=IwAR2j065MLs7Ap1XyWtq8wdY2cdhYsX0W9dVkE1qnZJWOE2ncPbKckZuhTPY

If you’ve been to an OFA Scam Prevention presentation, you know that one of the very first rules in scam prevention is “If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.” Such is the case with the latest round of scam coupons making the rounds on social media, posing as legitimate retailers when in truth they’re scam operations from who knows where: https://abcnews.go.com/US/viral-costco-coupon-good-true/story?id=66970796

To book an OFA scam prevention presentation for your group, call (845) 486-2555 or email bjones@dutchessny.gov.

This is a great time of year to put together a family cookbook for posterity. Not that anybody could cook like you, right? https://www.nextavenue.org/food-traditions-family-cookbook/

This week in senior birthdays:

11/18: Author/poet Margaret Atwood (80)

11/19: Talk show host Larry King (86)

11/20: Actress/singer Estelle Parsons (92)

11/21: NBA Hall of Famer Earl “The Pearl” Monroe (75)

11/22: Director/actor Terry Gilliam (Monty Python) (79)

11/23: Composer/conductor Johnny Mandel (94)

11/24: Comedian/actor Billy Connolly (77)

As Thanksgiving gets closer, the Bad Jokes get…even worse:

 

Q: Who hides in a bakery during the holidays?

A: A mince spy.

Q: What’s the most popular Thanksgiving wine?

A: I don’t like Brussels sprouts!

Q: Why was the turkey in the band?

A: He was the only one with drumsticks.

I was speaking the other day to a farmer who owns a bunch of three-legged turkeys. I asked him how they tasted. He replied “I don’t know. I can’t catch one.”

Brian Jones
Outreach Coordinator

Dutchess County Office For the Aging

114 Delafield St.
Poughkeepsie NY 12601
Main office: (845) 486-2555
Direct line to my desk: (845) 486-2544

Author: Harlem Valley News