Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of January 31st
MORE DECLUTTERING TIPS FOR SENIORS
If you didn’t catch last week’s Golden Living column, introducing you to the joys of mid-winter decluttering, fear not. You’ve come to the second in our two-part series on improving your home’s safety and livability. You’ve looked around your cluttered home and you’re ready to start cleaning – but where to start?
We turned to Colleen Ashe of Red Hook-based Ashe Organizing Solutions (asheorganizing.com), for some tips on getting started:
- Set a timer for 15 minutes and select a drawer, countertop, or shelf to tackle;
- Sort the items (Keep, Toss/Recycle, Sell/Donate), putting similar items together if you’re keeping them;
- Decide what should stay in the space, and remove everything else that doesn’t belong; and
- When the timer rings, feel free to stop the process.
Small steps taken over time can lead to big changes. What can you sort in just 15 minutes?
If a task or project just seems too big, think about recruiting friends, family, or even a professional organizer to help jump start your project.
Organizing has an additional benefit: You could find things you thought you had lost but were only misplaced. It could even be something truly valuable like a long-lost wedding ring that migrated to the back corner of a junk drawer, but it’s more likely to be something you can easily dispose of. Say goodbye to that stack of utility bills from 1967.
START WITH THE EASIEST THINGS FIRST
If you’re stumped as to where to begin, start with anything that’s expired: food, makeup, and especially medications.
Dutchess County’s Prescription Medication Drop Box Program provides safe drop-off locations where you can anonymously dispose of expired, unwanted, and unused prescription medications and controlled substances, including inhalers, ointments, and over-the-counter medicines. Hazardous materials and sharps/needles are not accepted.
The following drop-off points are open 24/7:
- City of Beacon Police
1 Municipal Plaza - Dutchess County Law Enforcement Center
108 Parker Ave., Poughkeepsie - East Fishkill Police
2468 Route 52, Hopewell Junction - Hyde Park Police
3 Cardinal Rd. - New York State Police, Troop K Headquarters
2541 US 44, Salt Point - Town of Poughkeepsie Police
19 Tucker Dr. - Wappingers Falls Police
2628 South Ave., Wappingers Falls
Four other locations are open for limited hours:
- Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office, Pawling Substation
9 Memorial Dr.; call 845-486-3800 for assistance - Millerton Police
5933 North Elm Ave.
Mon-Fri 9 am-4 pm, Sat noon-midnight, Sun 4 pm-midnight, or call 518-789-3115 - Red Hook Police
7467 S. Broadway
8 am-midnight daily - Rhinebeck Police
76 E. Market St.
7 am-11 pm daily
In addition, there are National Prescription Drug Take Back Day events that take place in April and October, and the Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office and Dutchess County Stop-DWI will collect unwanted medications at all 12 OFA Senior Picnics this summer.
SPEAKING OF THE PICNICS
We’re working on the Summer 2022 picnic schedule already. By springtime we hope to know whether we can proceed with traditional sit-down picnics, or whether pandemic necessities will require drive-through picnics. Stay tuned!
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
“PANCAKES IN THE PARK” SAVE-THE-DATE UPDATE
OFA’s first outdoor event of 2022 is expected to be the free “Pancakes in the Park” event, presented with Dutchess County Parks which made its debut in March 2021.
The date for the event has been updated to Friday, March 25th, 2022.
We expect to begin accepting reservations for the event in mid-February.
OFA NUTRITION SEEKS ASSISTANCE IN BEACON, EAST FISHKILL, POUGHKEEPSIE
Looking for a volunteering opportunity? The Office for the Aging’s Division of Nutrition Services is looking for volunteer drivers and kitchen help at Senior Friendship Centers in Beacon, East Fishkill (Hopewell Junction) and the City of Poughkeepsie. See www.dutchessny.gov/OFANutrition for details and a printable volunteering form, which includes information on other OFA volunteering opportunities around the county.
PLEASANT VALLEY LIBRARY NEEDS MOVING ASSISTANCE
The Pleasant Valley Library is just about ready for their “move back home” to the original library site at 1584 Main St. (US 44), next to the Presbyterian Church which is the site of the OFA Tri-Town Senior Friendship Center.
Our new neighbors at the library would like volunteer help with moving and setting up tables, putting up signs, arranging books, moving furniture, helping customers and more…on any or all of these dates:
Thursday 1/27 through Sunday 1/30
Friday 2/4 through Monday 2/7
Contact the library (www.pleasantvalleylibrary.org, 845-635-8460) to find out more, including information about the library’s moving sale coming up at the temporary library location (3 Maggiacomo Ln., next to Dollar General), scheduled for the end of January and early in February.
HAPPY 100TH, LOUISE!
A happy 100th birthday to Louise Morgan of Poughkeepsie, who celebrates the milestone on Saturday.
If someone you know in Dutchess County is turning 100 or more in 2022, or celebrating a marriage of 70 years or more in 2022, we’d love to know about it. Email bjones@dutchessny.gov for more information.
Honorees may appear in an Aging News newsletter, and are also honored in the Summer 2022 issue of our “Spotlight on Seniors” newsletter, which publishes in late May.
ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION AND PAWLING, RED HOOK LIBRARIES SPONSOR LEGAL/FINANCIAL PLANNING VIRTUAL EVENT (Tue 3/15)
Join the Alzheimer’s Association in partnership with Pawling and Red Hook Public Libraries for a virtual event with guest speaker Rachel Flanagan Frost, Esq. It takes place from 3-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15th.
Register by emailing adult@pawlinglibrary.org or programcoordinator@redhooklibrary.org. Contact the Alzheimer’s Association at 800-272-3900 for more information.
MAKE WAY FOR…VULTURES?
We noticed this unusual item in the Village of Millbrook’s January 2022 newsletter:
“There was a recent complaint about swarms of these large birds [turkey vultures] landing throughout the Village and causing damage to asphalt rooftops. While they usually reside in some of the large evergreens in the Village, they do converge on roadkill and opened trash bins. Our Animal Control Officer, Tony DeBonis, reports that these birds are protected and migratory. He plans to contact both IES and the DEC to determine a possible action plan. In the meantime, please keep trash cans and dumpster lids closed between uses.”
Which is a good idea for garbage bins, regardless of what critters might wander by.
Other aging news online:
Consumption of olive oil is linked to lower risk of Alzheimer’s: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/01/11/olive-oil-may-lower-death-alzheimers-risks/9170375002/?WT.mc_id=enews2022_01_19&utm_source=enews-aff-118&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=enews-2022-01-19&utm_content=homeoffice&utm_term=Story1
A diagnosis of chronic illness is likely going to require a long-term financial strategy: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/14/business/chronic-illness-financial-planning.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkSVUaBybfQMMmqBCdnr_EwKY7gH71aSmRTTBP1P9QDYmG8kHGZKNnIsM31jKdRdlOdr8zQfg4hsluA3tQcSj66J2VhMZCZCwvtYO4Wm5xgczEA-gy-GCvYGTld6IizeHh-huLbGT1C_CO1X12cFthqZFhZkjqjSJTvtrNEuZy3tV12PgzVNstFXpbOn7877S_AA5-Od6Gchjf9gI0PuldUjjYltadgKkSJEQQURmVCSMivhtvrY9UK9gVP63gLhU_ecCYgboZC2xgLI3BFIT2chd1Zt_3Mif30aPvSEU8&smid=url-share
This week’s birthdays:
1/24: Singer-songwriter Neil Diamond and singer Aaron Neville (both 81)
1/25: Jazz composer/saxophonist Benny Golson (93)
1/26: Sportscaster/baseball player Bob Uecker (88)
1/27: Actor/activist James Cromwell (82)
1/28: Actor/director Alan Alda (86)
1/29: Oldest living Masters golf champion Jack Burke Jr. (99)
1/30: Singer/songwriter/drummer/actor Phil Collins (71)
And a Bad Joke!
Somebody told me that a cow has three stomachs. Sounds like a load of tripe to me.
