Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of June 14th
Golden Living . . . News for Seniors, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director • Dutchess County Office for the Aging
The Office for the Aging’s popular Drive-Thru Senior Picnic Program is well underway, with the fourth of 12 picnics taking place this week for residents of the towns of Clinton and Hyde Park. Picnics have already taken place for seniors living in Amenia, Dover, Fishkill, Milan, Pawling, Red Hook, Rhinebeck, and Union Vale.
We’re in the midst of mailing almost 50,000 picnic reminder cards to seniors’ households throughout Dutchess County. Your card should arrive between four and six weeks before the date of your community’s picnic, but if you don’t recall receiving a card, don’t worry. Card or no card, you can call us to make a reservation for a spot at the drive-through picnic that corresponds with your hometown.
Reservations are required. Picnics are free for seniors aged 60 and up; there is a $8/person charge for those under 60, or those going to a picnic outside the one for their community – but because space and supplies are limited, you must call OFA to reserve a place.
There are nine more picnics on the schedule, all of which take place on Wednesdays:
June 16 – Church of Regina Coeli
28 Harvey St., Hyde Park (picnic venue entrance)
(Clinton and Hyde Park, including Staatsburg)
June 23 – Memorial Park, Beacon
(City of Beacon)
June 30 – Bowdoin Park
85 Sheafe Rd., Poughkeepsie
(Town of Poughkeepsie)
July 7 – Stissing Mountain High School
2829 Church St (NY 199), Pine Plains
(Towns of North East, Pine Plains, Stanford and Washington; Villages of Millbrook and Millerton)
July 14 – Airport Park (New location for 2021)
61 Airport Drive, Wappinger
(Town of Wappinger and Village of Wappingers Falls)
July 21 – West Road School
181 West Road, Pleasant Valley
(Town of Pleasant Valley)
August 18 – East Fishkill Recreation Park, McGrath Field Parking Lot
890 NY 82, Hopewell Junction
(Town of East Fishkill)
August 25 – St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church
55 Wilbur Blvd., Poughkeepsie
(City of Poughkeepsie)
September 1 (new date) – Freedom Park
212 Skidmore Road, LaGrange
(Towns of LaGrange and Beekman)
The complete list of picnics, including links to directions to each picnic, is available at www.dutchessny.gov/ofapicnics
To attend a picnic, you must make a reservation in advance by calling the Office for the Aging, and bring proof of residency to the picnic. Schedule and venues are subject to change. Please note that the date of the picnic for LaGrange and Beekman residents has moved to September 1st.
No picnics are scheduled for July 28th, August 4th and August 11th.
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
WALK-IN COVID VACCINE CLINICS AT POUGHKEEPSIE PRIDE (Sat 6/12) AND JUNETEENTH (Sat 6/19)
Two COVID-19 walk-in vaccination clinics are taking place over the next two weekends:
- Saturday, June 12th from 12 noon to 2 pm at the Poughkeepsie Pride Parade, Waryas Park on the Poughkeepsie waterfront; and
- Saturday, June 19th from 1-6 pm at Juneteenth celebrations in the City of Poughkeepsie at Mansion Square Park (165 Mansion St.).
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is being administered at both sites.
You can preregister for the June 19th clinic at www.dutchessny.gov/COVIDvaccine or by calling 845-486-3555.
WEBINAR: BEST (OM)BUDS OF THE HUDSON VALLEY AND TRI-COUNTY (Thu 6/17)
If you have a loved one in a long term care facility, including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult care facilities or family-type homes, we hope you’re aware of the Hudson Valley’s Long Term Care Ombudsman program (LTCOP), which advocates for long term care residents in Dutchess, Columbia, Greene, Orange, Putnam and Ulster Counties.
Ombudsmen respond to concerns about long-term care: quality of care; abuse and/or neglect; rights violations; lost and stolen belongings; nutrition concerns; and discharge, eviction or termination of services.
In this program, Hudson Valley LTCOP director Gloria Murray and Tri County LTCOP director Judy Farrell discuss how to use free ombudsman resources to ensure that your loved ones are getting the care and services that they need. Other speakers include volunteers and family members who will share their experiences with the Hudson Valley and Tri County ombudsman programs. The program will conclude with an ombudsmen Q&A. Submit a question at http://nursinghome411.org/ask-ombudsman-form .
Who should attend? Residents, families, advocates, ombudsmen, and prospective ombudsmen from the Hudson Valley (Dutchess, Sullivan, Orange, Greene, Columbia, and Ulster) and Tri County (Westchester, Rockland, and Putnam), and New York state. Visit http://nursinghome411.org/volunteer for information on how you can help long term care residents in the region.
This program is sponsored by the Long Term Care Community Coalition.
STILL SPACE FOR IN-PERSON TAI CHI CLASSES STARTING MON 6/21
Seniors interested in signing up for an in-person Office for the Aging tai-chi class in Poughkeepsie on 6/21 can call OFA at 845-486-2555 to sign up and get more information. Class location and time will be provided upon registration. The classes last ten weeks.
Masks and social distancing are no longer required for fully-vaccinated seniors, but feel free to wear yours to tai chi if you’d like.
Other aging news online:
What medications -not- to prescribe can be as important for physicians as what to prescribe: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/health/elderly-drugs-deprescribing.html?action=click&module=Science%20%20Technology&pgtype=Homepage
Fans of local history will like this one: the archives of the Red Hook Advertiser, which published from 1923 to 1969, are now available online: https://www.historicredhook.org/blog/digitizing-the-red-hook-advertiser?fbclid=IwAR2WWFPzVKd40mTdAUlP65oMtRF-x8isx02gkeoLOb38GR_uiJwsbkUPMTY
Wedding bells for an Ulster County couple…both of them 95: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/07/style/wedding-bells-for-two-95-year-olds.html?action=click&module=Features&pgtype=Homepage
If you missed the partial solar eclipse a few days ago, here’s a few shots from the Stissing Mountain area in Pine Plains: https://www.facebook.com/groups/765048086878344/?multi_permalinks=3992849474098173&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen
This week in senior birthdays:
6/14: Actor/comedian Marla Gibbs (90)
6/15: MLB Hall-of-Famer Wade Boggs (63)
6/16: Singer/musician Eddie Levert (The O’Jays) (71)
6/17: MLB shortstop Dave Concepción (73)
6/18: Singer/songwriter Paul McCartney (79)
6/19: Author/academic Salman Rushdie (71)
6/20: Singer/songwriter Brian Wilson (79)
With Father’s Day coming up, it’s essential to have a stash of Dad Joke Bad Jokes. Here you go!
- A guy walked into a bar. He lost the limbo contest.
- 6:30 is my favorite time of day, hands down.
- Mom texted me at the grocery store to remind me to pick up some pasta, and we’d be penneless if I didn’t.
- My grandchildren are refusing to take their naps. They’re resisting a rest.
- I used to be able to play piano by ear, but for some reason people are insisting I used my hands.
- I have a joke about kites but it would just go over your head.
- Q: What’s “ET” short for? A: Because he has tiny legs!
