Council on Aging, January 8, 2015
HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Susan Sullivan, Faye Ellis, Maureen Locke, Marilyn Burnham, Wayne Howard,
Peter Lukes, Jim Robinson, Louise Charbonneau, Maureen Buffone.
The Minutes from the December 4, 2014 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
Faye reported the account balances as of December 30, 2014 as follows:
Commerce Bank $16,531.07
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $2,036.25
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $23,945.53
LCU Trip Account $5,019.73
Faye reported that the Friends donated $1,000.00 to the Help at H.O.M.E. Fund and $1,000.00 to the Wachusett Food Pantry.
The new Friends sub-committee will be meeting on Monday, January 12 at 10:00 a.m. to discuss their 35th anniversary milestone; Friends dues; and ways to involve the newly retired population of seniors.
The Friends annual Valentine’s Day Cookie Sale will take place on Friday, February 13 from 9:00 a.m. till gone.
The knit table at the Winter Festival took in $124.00. The weather was bad for the second year of its two (2) year history. Paula Grady may not want to participate next year.
In response to the question of whether the Friends are a town committee, the Friends are not a municipal organization. They are a 501(c)3.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT ~ Jim Robinson
Jim reported that the books for December were not yet closed. Since his last report, there was $9,067.00 in donations, not including the $1,000.00 donation from the Friends.
Faye reported that in 2014, donations totaled $17,989.65 and distributions totaled $13,132.00 to 22 households.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
JANUARY PROGRAMS
Thurs., Jan. 8 Movie “Some Like It Hot” ~ 12:30
Mon., Jan. 12 City of Four Jazz Concert ~ 1:00
Thurs., Jan. 15 Book Discussion Group ~ 10:00 ~The Whip by Karen Kondazian
Movie “The Sunshine Boys” ~ 12:30
Wed., Jan. 21 Home Cooked Lunch ~ 12:00
Thurs., Jan. 22 Movie “Mrs. Doubtfire” ~ 12:30
Thurs., Jan. 29 Movie “As Good As It Gets” ~ 12:30
MOVIES
In that January is when the Golden Globe Awards will be presented; our movies this month are all Golden Globe winners from various decades.
HOME COOKED MEAL
We have guest chefs for our Home Cooked Meal on January 21st. Members of Holden Grange will be here to offer a meal of home-made chicken and rice soup, assorted sandwiches with a brownie sundae for dessert. Moneys they collect for the lunch are being donated back to the Senior Center.
KIDS IN THE KOMMUNITY
Last week Marilyn Burnham and Louise had the opportunity to sit with two members of Kids in the Kommunity and one of their faculty advisors. Kids in the Kommunity is a community service group comprised of 300 middle school students from Mountview Middle School (11-14 years of age). They came to talk to us about a new program they wish to offer. They also interviewed us on video which they will be sending to President Obama in the hope that he will support Kids in the Kommunity and encourage other cities and town to establish their own group.
These civic-minded students have organized themselves to form the “Shovel Brigade,” pledging to help Holden citizens who are physically unable to shovel their own sidewalks and stairs this winter. The Shovel Brigade will be an elite team of more than 50 individuals, ready to show up after each snow storm to shovel and salt stairs and sidewalks to create safe walkways this winter. The citizen would contact the group by calling Marilyn Burnham or one of the faculty advisors. The advisor will find a student in that neighborhood and put them in contact with the recipient.
Over the years they have helped out with the clean-up at the Red Barn, contributed to the success of the town’s Memorial Day Parade and Winter Festival and instituted the town’s Pay It Forward Day, where they perform random acts of kindness and encourage others to pass them on. They also work at the Josh Thibodeau Classic 4x4 Soccer Tournament each year, host a scarecrow contest and recycle electronics. During this past holiday season, they could be seen visiting local nursing homes and food pantries and caroling throughout neighborhoods in town.
NEW NEIGHBORS
The owner of two restaurants in Worcester plans to open a third restaurant on Main Street in Holden. Selectmen voted Monday, January 5 to issue an all-alcoholic beverage license for blueFish Restaurant planned for 1134 Main St. The restaurant will be owned and operated by Wei Dong “Wilson” Wang of Southboro, owner of Wangs Corp. which also owns Chuan Shabu and Baba Sushi, both on Park Avenue in Worcester.
Before the license can go into effect, Wangs Corp. must receive approval for the restaurant from all other applicable town boards. The blueFish Restaurant will have 60 seats, including a 10-seat bar, a six-seat sushi bar, as well as the main restaurant. It will serve sushi, steak and American cuisine.
To build the restaurant, Wangs Corp. plans to purchase the home of Mario Scardamaglia, demolish it and building the restaurant, which will also have an office and three rooms upstairs for employees to live in and the owner to use sometimes when he is working late. The cost of the project, including purchasing the property and building the restaurant is expected to be $1.15 million
NUMBERS FROM DECEMBER
Music is Love Concert ~ 36
Senior Center Christmas Party ~ 62
Mountview Breakfast ~ 121
Rotary Breakfast ~ 323 of which 131 were Holden Elders
New Year’s Party ~ 55
Senior Center · 1130 Main Street · Holden, MA 01520 · Phone 508.210.5570 · Fax 508.829.0214
SOCIAL SERVICE STATISTICS
Seeing as how we are halfway through the year, Louise provided the board with statistics from the social services area. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact, Paula, Cindy or Louise.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
Peter announced that an urgent care office will be opening in Holden, next door to Rite Aid, sometime in March. It will be staffed by four (4) doctors with extensive emergency room experience and will be open 7 days a week. They opened a similar facility in Western Massachusetts, which has been quite successful. They will have x-ray machines and will be able to serve anyone who can walk in. They will call an ambulance, if critical care is needed.
Assistant Fire Chief Hall is looking for a home for three (3) more recliners and is working on getting them here.
Louise notified the board that the budget process has started. The regular operating budget is done and some of the capital budget items are being shuffled around.
Panic buttons are currently being installed at each of the employees’ desks.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 a.m.
The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 5, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. at the Holden Senior Center.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone