HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present:
Rev. Dr. Jerry Heslinga; Richard Mansfield; Susan Sullivan; Al Ferron; Jacqueline Kelly; Jim Robinson; Louise Charbonneau; Maureen Buffone; Cheryl Owoc.
The minutes from the June 2, 2011 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT ~ Barbara Anger
Barbara was not in attendance, but submitted the following balances as of September 1, 2011:
Commerce Bank $16,434.82
Leominster Credit Union $4,623.75
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $23,418.38
HELP AT HOME REPORT ~ Jim Robinson
Jim gave the following update of the Help at Home activity since the end of April:
Donations $1,000.00
Transfer to Welcome Aldrich $6,000.00
Assistance $8,400.00
The only activity on the Welcome Aldrich account was for bank interest and the $6,000.00 transfer from the Help at Home account.
Overall, $60,000.00 had been collected and all but $1,800.00 was disbursed from the two (2) accounts. There was concern early on that the funds were not going out fast enough. Jim is in the process of putting together the year end statistics and will advise the committee. There were 41 households that received assistance.
BOARD OF ELDER SERVICES REPORT ~ Richard Mansfield
Rick reported that Elder Services has not yet met this season. They outgrew the building on Chandler Street and have contracted with Kelleher & Sadowsky to search for a better location.
Louise reported that the Formula Grant budget was cut to $6.25 per elder. It was up as high as $7.00 per elder.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
JULY EVENTS
Mon., July 4 Closed for Independence Day
Thurs., July 7 Movie “Arlington: Field of Honor”
Wed., July 13 Ice Cream Social
Thurs., July 14 Movie “Away from Her”
Wed., July 20 Victorian Tea
Thurs., July 21 Movie “The King’s Speech”
Wed., July 27 Senior Center’s 10th Birthday Party w/Two Old Friends and Bring a Friend to Lunch Day
JULY EVENTS (continued)
Thurs., July 28 Movie “It’s Complicated”
Fri., July 29 Boston Duck Tour Trip
AUGUST EVENTS
Wed., Aug. 3 Tools for a Successful Future w/Elder Law Atty. Nick Kaltsas
Thurs., Aug. 4 Movie “How Do You Know?”
Mon., Aug. 9 Meet the Artist w/Emily Owoc
Thurs., Aug. 11 Movie “The Adirondacks”
Fri., Aug. 19 Trout Brook Picnic
Thurs., Aug. 18 Movie “The Bounty Hunter”
Thurs., Aug. 25 Movie “Conviction”
Mon., Aug. 29 Free Legal Advice w/Attorney Arthur Bergeron
Tues., Aug. 30 Rhode Island Bay & Lighthouse Cruise
SEPTEMBER EVENTS
Thurs., Sept. 1 Movie “Secretariat”
Thurs., Sept. 8 Line Dancing Returns
Movie “The Brain Fitness Program”
Mon., Sept. 12 Harmonica Lessons w/Chet Williamson begin
Tues., Sept. 13 Grief Support Groups Begin
Chair Yoga Class Begins
Wed., Sept. 14 What is Hospice?
Thurs., Sept. 15 Maine Lobster Bake Trip
Movie “Love Happens”
Mon., Sept. 19 Country & Western Music w/ Marti Sawyer and Cookout
Thurs., Sept. 22 Movie “Temple Grandin”
Fri., Sept. 23 Veterans Meetings resume
Mon., Sept. 26 Legal Presentation “Wills 101” w/Atty Arthur Bergeron
Wed., Sept. 28 Holden’s Earthquake of 1755
Thurs., Sept. 29 Movie “Invictus”
GRIEF SUPPORT
The senior center is partnering with Beacon Hospice to offer “Hope, Healing, Helping: healing after a loss of a loved one, an on-going journey. It will begin on Tuesday, September 13 and go for 8 weeks until Tuesday November 1st. We are hoping to hold sessions in the morning from 10:00-11:30 and again in the early evening from 5:30-7:00 p.m. To register, you call Beth Selinger at Beacon Hospice at 508-752-6444. The group is open to everyone of any age.
CHAIR YOGA
Our Chair Yoga class will begin again on Tuesday, September 13. The cost of the class has been partially underwritten through the Formula Grant which enables us to charge $2.00/class rather than $5.00.
MCOA CONFERENCE
This year’s MCOA conference will be held at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 5, 6 and 7. If you would like to read about the conference and the workshops being held, you can go to www.mcoaonline.com and click on “Preliminary Conference Bulletin – August 29 Edition Update.” If you would like to attend, please let either Maureen or me know and we will register you for day or days you’d like to attend. There is grant money allocated for those who’d like to attend.
TROUT BROOK PICNIC
A big thank you to the staff and those who volunteered to help. We were delighted to have Pastor Heslinga; Rick Mansfield’s son, Rick; Gabriella and Amanda Niford; Rep. Ferguson’s Aid, Alex and his girlfriend, Madison; Maureen’s daughter, Erikka; my daughter-in-law, Kristen; Town Manager Nancy Galkowski and Assistant Town Manager Jacquie Kelly out there lending a hand. Also, a very big thank you to Louise’s husband, Scott, who volunteered his EMT skills. Unfortunately, we did need his services for two people – also a big thank you to Lt. David Chapin and the members of HFD Group 3 for their assistance in transporting these people to the hospital.
Louise will discuss this further with the staff as time goes on, but it looks as if this was our last year at Trout Brook. It’s getting more difficult to do, as we seem to get less cooperation from the DPW both that day and the day or two leading up to the event. We will probably hold the event here and put tables on the porches out front and on the bandstand, etc.
SOME STATISTICS FROM OVER THE SUMMER
Ice Cream Social – 40
Victorian Tea – 35
10th Birthday Party – 130
Duck Tour Trip – 38
Trout Brook Picnic - 75
FUTURE DATES
Flu Shots – Monday, October 3
Public Power Week Lunch – Tuesday, October 4
Best of Friends Fair – Saturday, November 5
Home cooked lunch – Thursday, November 10
Senior Center Christmas Party – Monday, December 12
OLD BUSINESS
Pastor Heslinga asked if the committee should start planning now for a new van. It was decided to delay discussion until a future meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
Jim Robinson explained “Code Red,” which is the enhanced 911 feature that was put into place just before Hurricane Irene. It is an application for residents of the town to put in alternate ways to be notified in case of emergencies. Businesses are also welcome to log on. There is no cost for this feature. Jim will get paper forms to the senior center to distribute and will give Louise information for the newsletter.
CITIZENS’ ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:10 a.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holden Senior Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone
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