Dutchess County Office for the Aging
AGING NEWS
For the week of April 1
Golden Living . . . News for Older Adults, Their Families and Caregivers
Todd N. Tancredi, Director
Dutchess County Office for the Aging
JOIN OFA AT THE COUNTY HEALTH FAIR, SATURDAY 4/13
The Dutchess County Department of Behavioral and Community Health (DBCH) will host its third annual Y.O.U.R. (Young, Old, Urban, Rural) Health Dutchess County Health Fair on Saturday, April 13th from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Falcon Hall at Dutchess Community College, 53 Pendell Road in Poughkeepsie. The Office for the Aging will join DBCH and dozens of other agencies and service providers at the health fair for resources and fun activities for all ages; fire and police safety; mental health and substance use services; a sensory friendly area; and indoor/outdoor exhibitors, raffles, giveaways and more.
There’ll be a free shuttle bus between the Dutchess County Transit Hub (11-13 Market St., Poughkeepsie) and Falcon Hall which will operate 10:30am – 2:30pm.
For more information, visit www.dutchessny.gov/healthfair.
SEEKING DUTCHESS COUNTY CENTENARIANS
2022 and 2023 were both record years for the number of Dutchess County centenarians and couples married 70 years honored in the “Celebration of Aging” section of OFA’s summer THRIVE60+ newsletter. Will 2024 be a third straight record-setting year?
By our estimates there are between 50 and 80 centenarians who make Dutchess County their home, and we’ve been able to locate and honor about half of them in recent years; likewise, we’ve been able to honor as many as eight couples who were married 70 years or more, and we suspect there are more to be found.
If you’re lucky enough to know someone who fits either or both of those categories, please reach out to OFA by May 10th at 845-486-2555 or ofa@dutchessny.gov. Anybody who’ll be 100+ at any time this year, or celebrating a 70th anniversary, can be honored.
And if you are the person who fits the description…we’d like to ask you what your secrets to longevity are. We’ve been asking centenarians this question for decades and the answers have ranged from “a strong faith and loving family” to “daily exercise” to “nine golden raisins soaked in gin.”
SPRING THRIVE60+
The Spring 2024 issue of OFA’s THRIVE60+ is now available. It’s been distributed to the OFA email list and is viewable at www.dutchessny.gov/THRIVE60, where you can also get caught up on back issues of THRIVE60+.
For the internet-averse, paper copies of THRIVE60+ are available while supplies last at public libraries throughout Dutchess County. THRIVE60+ has also been distributed to OFA Home Delivered Meals clients. For those of you who get THRIVE60+ through postal mail, your copy should have arrived recently. To be added to or removed from OFA’s email or print newsletter mailing list, or to update your contact information, email ofa@dutchessny.gov or call 845-486-2555.
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” ENCORE (THURSDAY 4/4) – A FEW SEATS LEFT
The March 21st “Pancakes in the Park” event presented by the Office for the Aging with Dutchess County Parks was so popular with Dutchess County older adults that a second “Pancakes” event has been added to the calendar, on Thursday, April 4th at 10:30 am at Bowdoin Park in Poughkeepsie.
Only a few seats are left, though. Dutchess County residents over age 60 can call OFA during business hours at 845-486-2555 to make reservations.
UPCOMING “FRIENDLY CALLS” ORIENTATIONS IN APRIL
If this is your first time reading about the OFA “Friendly Calls” program…welcome! You can find details at www.dutchessny.gov/friendlycalls.
Most orientations for prospective “Friendly Calls” volunteers take place at OFA unless otherwise indicated below. Orientations typically last 40-60 minutes. Pick one, and contact OFA at 845-486-2555 to set up your orientation:
- Tuesday, April 2nd, 10 am
- Thursday, April 4th, 10 am
- Monday, April 8th, 1:30 pm
- Tuesday, April 9th, 10 am
- Thursday, April 11th, 10 am
More orientations will be added later in April.
If none of the dates above work with your schedule, contact Friendly Calls Program Manager Linda Edgar at 845-486-2548 or ledgar@dutchessny.gov, and we may be able to work out something that fits your schedule.
If you’re part of a workplace or civic organization that would like an onsite Friendly Calls orientation, contact Linda Edgar as noted in the previous paragraph. If there’s a meeting room with a TV that has an HDMI connection, that’s all we need to bring the orientation to you.
OFA SENIOR LEGAL SERVICES
When’s the right time for an older adult and their family and caregivers to plan for the legal issues that could face them in later life?
The right time is…yesterday, in many cases. Which means there’s no time like the present to get your ducks in a row, legally speaking, to better ensure peace of mind for yourself as well as family. OFA can help.
While OFA Legal Services has no financial/asset eligibility requirement and operates on a suggested-donation basis, it’s targeted at Dutchess County older adults (age 60+) who would otherwise be unable to afford many elder law services. OFA contracts with local private attorney Paul Weinberger for this service. He’s available at OFA by appointment only, on Fridays. Prospective clients should call OFA at 845-486-2555 to make the necessary appointments.
For a closer look at OFA Legal Services, visit www.dutchessny.gov/ofalegal.
CAREGIVER CONFERENCE – REGISTRATION OPENS MONDAY, APRIL 8TH
Watch next week’s issue of “Aging News” for information on how to register for the free, annual Caregiver Conference, which takes place on Wednesday, May 8th at the Wallace Center on the grounds of the FDR historic site in Hyde Park.
Registration (via the Alzheimer’s Association) will open one month before the conference, on Monday, April 8th.
The Caregiver Conference is presented by OFA with the Alzheimer’s Association, Hudson Valley Hospice, Parkinson’s Disease Support Group of the Mid-Hudson Valley, and community members Falisia Cotten-Swain and Cathy Regan.
WILCOX PARK DISC GOLF LEAGUE
The 27-hole disc golf course at Wilcox Memorial Park (entrance on Route 199 in Milan, just east of the Taconic Parkway – to program the location in your GPS, use 1737 NY 199, Stanfordville) has been ranked among the top 100 courses in the world by UDisc, a popular disc golf app!
The new Wilcox Disc Golf League will be hosting weekly meet-ups to play at 10:30am on Sundays from April 21st through May 19th and all skill levels are welcome. This league is not directly affiliated with Dutchess County Parks, so for more information and to join the spring league, email Savanna Burke at burkesavanna@gmail.com.
Other news:
Tips on making plans after a dementia diagnosis.
Anybody who was around for the last total eclipse to pass over New York is at least 100 years old.
This week’s birthdays:
3/30: Actor John Astin (94)
3/31: Actress/singer Shirley Jones (90)
4/1: Model/actress Ali MacGraw (85)
4/2: Radio host “Dr. Demento” (83)
4/3: Anthropologist Jane Goodall (90)
4/4: Actor/producer Hugo Weaving (64)
4/5: Singer/songwriter Agnetha Fältskog (Abba) (74)
And it’s April Fool’s week so of course the Bad Jokes must be unusually horrible.
What month has 28 days? All of them.
How do pirates celebrate April Fool’s Day? They walk the prank.
What did the mama cow say to her calf after he stayed up too late on April Fools’ Day? “It’s pasture bedtime.”
