Dutchess County Office for the Aging’s
AGING NEWS
For the week of February 19th
Note: The Office for the Aging and all Friendship Centers are closed on Monday, February 19th for the Presidents Day national holiday.
Golden Living . . . News for Older Adults, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
“PANCAKES IN THE PARK” RETURNS MARCH 21ST
March means it’s time for the FREE annual OFA “Pancakes in the Park” event for older adults (60+), co-hosted by Dutchess County Parks, at the auditorium within the administration building at Bowdoin Park (85 Sheafe Rd., Wappingers Falls), starting at 10:30 am on Thursday, March 21st.
Seating is limited and advance registration with OFA is required. Registration opens on Friday, February 23rd; call us at 845-486-2555 during business hours to register. Guests must be Dutchess County residents age 60+.
Each participant gets a pancake breakfast accompanied by a splash of maple syrup tapped from Bowdoin’s own trees. A limited amount of syrup will be available for purchase.
“Pancakes in the Park” is part of Maple Weekend at Bowdoin, March 21-24. For more information on the weekend, call 845-296-4600 or visit dutchessny.gov/parks.
“FRIENDLY CALLS” ORIENTATIONS COMING TO NORTHEASTERN DUTCHESS
There’s been an upswing in interest in becoming an OFA “Friendly Calls” caller from prospective volunteers in northern and eastern Dutchess County. Rather than have prospective volunteers make the long winter drive to and from OFA headquarters in Poughkeepsie for an orientation session, we’re bringing the orientation out to northeastern Dutchess on the following schedule:
Wednesday, February 28th, 11 am – South Amenia OFA Friendship Center, 229 South Amenia Rd. (South Amenia Presbyterian Church), Wassaic
Thursday, February 29th, 11 am – NorthEast-Millerton Library Annex, 28 Century Blvd., Millerton
Orientations are scheduled regularly at OFA headquarters at 114 Delafield St. in Poughkeepsie. Here’s what’s on the schedule at present:
Tuesday, February 20th – 11 am
Thursday, February 22nd – 3 pm
Monday, March 4th – 10 am
Wednesday, March 6th – 1:30 pm
You can find Friendly Calls orientations at dutchessny.gov/calendar, and we add orientations to the calendar every week.
Let us know you’d like to come to an orientation by emailing ofa@dutchessny.gov, or call 845-486-2555 during business hours.
If you’re part of a civic organization or seniors’ group that’s interested in Friendly Calls or any other OFA presentation, contact OFA using the information above. We can travel to any suitable venue in Dutchess County.
SPRING “THRIVE60+” COMING SOON
We’re putting the finishing touches on the Spring 2024 issue of our quarterly THRIVE60+ newsletter for older adults and caregivers throughout Dutchess County. It’ll be published at dutchessny.gov/thrive60, where you can also read back issues of the newsletter.
Not online? Not a problem. We distribute THRIVE60+ newsletters to every public library in the county, along with many senior housing facilities and all eight OFA Friendship Centers. If you’re a client of the OFA Home Delivered Meals program, you’ll get a copy sent to you.
If you’d like to volunteer to come to OFA offices in Poughkeepsie to help prepare THRIVE60+ newsletters for mailing, contact OFA outreach coordinator Brian Jones at bjones@dutchessny.gov for more information. We expect to be working on them in late February and possibly early March.
Contact OFA at 845-486-2555 during business hours if you’d like to be added to or removed from our mailing list, or if your mailing address has changed.
OFA MEDICARE CLASSES COMING UP IN POUGHKEEPSIE, RHINEBECK, PAWLING
Starting this month, OFA’s “Medicare 101” class that takes place at 4 pm on the fourth Monday of every month in Rhinebeck moves to the Starr Library at 68 West Market St. The next Rhinebeck class takes place on Monday, February 26th.
Medicare 101 classes also take place on the third Wednesday of every month at 10 am the Poughkeepsie Galleria Community Room. There’s also a Medicare class taking place at Adriance Memorial Library in Poughkeepsie on Wednesday, March 6th at 9:30 am.
We’ve added a class on Thursday, March 21st at 6:30 pm at the Pawling Free Library.
For more information and to reserve a seat at OFA Medicare classes at the Galleria or in Rhinebeck, call OFA during business hours at 845-486-2555.
Booking a spot at a class at Adriance can be done at www.poklib.org or by calling 845-485-3445.
For the special class in Pawling, visit www.pawlingfreelibrary.org or call 845-855-3444.
A full schedule of all OFA events is available at dutchessny.gov/calendar.
“WATCH OUT FOR ME” SAFETY CAMPAIGN RETURNS
Dutchess County’s Watch Out For Me traffic safety campaign has 12 new short videos! We’ll introduce them over the next few months, but for a sneak peak, see the full playlist—and please share! Don’t forget about our 5 original videos too.
Help us spread the word about how to get around safely, whether you’re walking, biking, driving, or taking the bus.
CARDIOVASCULAR HEALTH DISCUSSION AT THE PINES (Wed 2/21)
Join keynote speaker Karen Turvey, NP, of Nuvance Health, at the Pines at Poughkeepsie (100 Franklin St.) on Wednesday, November 21st, from 5:30-6:30 pm, for a FREE in-person discussion about preventing cardiovascular disease.
Karen will be discussing the American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8’, which are the key measures for improving and maintaining cardiovascular health.
Better cardiovascular health helps lower the risk for heart disease, stroke, and other major health problems.
Other news:
Scammers often target Medicare and Medicaid with fraudulent claims – is it happening again?
(with audio) From 2022 – How do some people live to 100 and beyond?
Happy 116th birthday to America’s oldest living person, Edith Ceccarelli of California. She’s also the world’s second oldest living person. As of this week, 111-year-old Louise Signore of the Bronx is the oldest living New York State resident.
This week’s birthdays:
2/17: NBA Hall Of Famer Michael Jordan (61)
2/18: Actor/singer John Travolta (70)
2/19: Singer/songwriter Smokey Robinson (84)
2/20: NBA Hall-of-Famer/sportscaster Charles Barkley (61)
2/21: King Harald V of Norway (87)
2/22: NBA Hall of Famer Julius Erving (74)
2/23: Singer/songwriter Howard Jones (69)
Our Bad Joke:
I don’t like French chefs. They give me the crêpes.
