Council on Aging, February 7, 2019
Town Of Holden
MASSACHUSETTS
____________
COUNCIL ON AGINGLouise Charbonneau
Director
HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, February 7, 2019
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Susan Sullivan, Wayne Howard, Maureen Locke, Faye Ellis, Eric Johansen,
Stephanie Bacon, Maureen Buffone.
The Meeting was called to order by Sue Sullivan at 8:00 a.m.
The minutes from the meeting of December 6, 2018 were unanimously approved.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
Faye Ellis reported the account balances from February 4th as follows:
Leominster Credit Union $20,017.55
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $1,857.63
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $26,105.78
LCU Trip Account $7,873.15
The Friends met on January 7th and February 4th.
Jim McCorkle had made a request to have the pool tables resurfaced, which will cost approximately $500.00.
Kathy Hannigan has stepped down as the Friends trip coordinator. Eileen Gedraitis and Dale Hayden will take over as the new trip coordinators.
Wayne Howard is looking into other databases to coordinate the Friends’ mailing list and the Friends’ membership list.
According to Suzanne Kasparson, the number of hits on the Friends’ website is down.
Big Y has approached 12 organizations in town and has asked them to support their new reusable bag program. Each organization will have a specific month. The bags will sell for $2.50, and $1.00 from each sale will go to the non-profit organization for that particular month.
A new slate of officers has been proposed for next year and will be voted on at their annual meeting.
Sue Donaldson has asked the Friends to sponsor her Serve Safe certification.
The Oriol Foundation has approached the senior center about having a health fair. The fair will be held on April 25.
Scott Olson has done a great job photographing most of the programs here and sending the photos to Suzanne for posting to the website.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT
No representation.
BOARD OF ELDER SERVICES REPORT ~ Richard Mansfield
No representation.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
JANUARY EVENTS
Tuesday, January 1 … Senior Center Closed in observance of New Year’s Day
Thursday, January 3 … New Year’s Party … 1:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 16 … Getting Organized in 2019 … 1:00 p.m.
Monday, January 21 … Senior Center Closed in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Wednesday, January 23 … My Homestead … 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, January 24 … Book Discussion Group … 10:00 … This month the group discussed the book The Diplomat’s Wife by Pam Jenoff
Wednesday, January 30 … Greendale Men’s Chorus … 12:30 p.m.
FEBRUARY EVENTS
Monday, February 11 … Free Legal Clinic … 10:30-12:30 … Attorney Arthur Bergeron from the law firm of Mirick O’Connell will offer free 15 minute legal consultations. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 508-210-5570. Sorry, no walk-ins.
Wednesday, February 13 … Home Cooked Lunch in Honor of Valentine’s Day … 12:00 … Join us for a home-cooked lunch in honor of Valentine’s Day. Our menu will be a chicken and rice dish, broccoli, rolls and butter, a decadent dessert and beverage. Cost for this meal will be $4.00 per person payable that day. Reservations are a must and can be made by calling 508-210-5570. Reservations will be accepted through the close of business (4:00 p.m.) Monday, February 11 or until we reach capacity.
Wednesday, February 20 … Diet, Dragons, Death … 1:00 p.m. We invite you to hear local storyteller, Joyce Sabato. Joyce, in addition to being an accomplished storyteller, is also a musician and an educator and has performed at many festivals, libraries and senior centers. She performed at the Limelight Theater in St. Augustine. To reserve your seat, please call 508-210-5570. The program is free and open to all.
Monday, February 25 … Everything You Need to Know about SNAP … 1:00 p.m. … Seniors can face many barriers to SNAP participation. The Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) created the Senior Assistance Office to help decrease these access barriers. Sara Craven from the Department of Transitional Assistance will present a program on SNAP benefits for folks age 60 and older. SNAP stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Details on access to this program will be presented. There will be time for questions following the presentation. Elders from any town are more than welcome to attend this presentation. Please call 508-210-5570 to reserve a seat.
Thursday, February 28 … Book Discussion Group … 10:00 a.m. … The Book Club will be discussing Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate
VAN DRIVERS NEEDED
We have advertised and received no interest for 2 part-time van drivers. Bob Giannotti is scheduled to leave mid-March, and George Warden is retiring at the end of March. Sadly, we received no applications. If you know anyone who might be interested, they can find the posting on the town’s website, as well as the application which can be downloaded and submitted to the Town Manager’s Office.
AARP TAX ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Unfortunately, again this year, there are not enough tax volunteers to fill the need. Therefore, we will NOT have tax volunteers here in Holden. The closest sites to Holden are West Boylston, Worcester, Shrewsbury, Leominster and Gardner.
The February newsletter has the locations and phone numbers to the places in the above communities where tax volunteers will be located, as well as the instructions as to how to make your appointment utilizing their new system in Worcester, should you choose to go there.
When getting your taxes prepared, please remember to bring: A Social Security card for everyone reflected on the tax return; Personal Identification (driver’s license/passport); Evidence of Health Coverage; All tax documents that you have received: Your prior year’s tax return; A voided personal check, if you would like to use direct deposit to receive a tax refund (suggested).
FOLLOW-UP WITH ORIOL FOUNDATION
After our last meeting, Paula, Dale, Clare and Louise had a follow-up meeting with Debbie Osipov from Oriol Healthcare. It was a very productive meeting, talking about different ways that the Oriol Foundation and Holden Senior Center could work together. Our first large undertaking will be a Health and Wellness Fair scheduled for Thursday, April 25th.
NUMBERS FROM DECEMBER
Boxwood Tree Workshop - 17
Rusty Guertin Concert - 24
Wachusett Community Band Concert – 33
Mountview Breakfast – 97
Rotary Breakfast – 109 (Holden)
Senior Center Christmas Party - 47
OLD BUSINESS
Stephanie Bacon reported that Gary Kaczmarek will be finishing the roof repair in the spring.
Stephanie will let Louise know when the budget hearing has been scheduled for the senior center, and Louise will inform the board.
NEW BUSINESS
None.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 8:30 a.m.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at 8:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone