Council on Aging, November 5, 2015
HOLDEN COUNCIL ON AGING
Thursday, November 5, 2015
Conference Room – Senior Center
Present: Susan Sullivan, Faye Ellis, Wayne Howard, Maureen Locke, Jim Robinson, Louise Charbonneau, Maureen Buffone, Peter Lukes.
Non-Members: From the Friends Board: Rita Brennan Olson, Susan Enman, Jim McCorkle.
The Meeting was called to order by Chairman Susan Sullivan at 8:00 a.m.
The Minutes from the October 1, 2015 meeting were approved and accepted.
F.H.C.O.A. REPORT
Faye reported the account balances as of September 14, 2015 as follows:
Commerce Bank $11,976.61
Leominster Credit Union (furnishings acct.) $2,139.85
Leominster Credit Union C.D. $24,061.53
LCU Trip Account $5,045.36
The annual Friends’ Fall Fair will take place on Saturday, November 7th from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. There will be 24 vendor tables, as well as face painting and cookie decorating to try and draw a younger crowd. The raffle table has over 40 items with a value of over $900.00.
The Morning Glory Café has been running every Friday for the last three (3) weeks, averaging between 30 and 35 people each week. They may try games in the future.
HELP AT H.O.M.E. REPORT ~ Jim Robinson
Jim did not have an updated financial report. He handed out the information that will be in the light bills letting people know the funds are available and giving a summary of last year’s activity, along with a history of the fund. The Help at H.O.M.E. Committee will continue to work on visibility.
DIRECTOR’S REPORT ~ Louise Charbonneau
Louise shared the sad news of the passing of Beulah Kronoff on October 31st. There will be no obituary and everything will be private. Beulah’s coworkers in the kitchen are accepting donations in her name for a plaque to hang in the dining room. They will be having a turkey dinner in January and have asked Pastor Rob Wood to hold a memorial service the following week. Beulah was a senior center volunteer for over 20 years, was very well known in town, and was a great supporter of the boy scouts, allowing them to camp on her front lawn on many occasions.
NOVEMBER PROGRAMS
Every Friday….The Morning Glory Café ~ 8:30-10:30
The Café will be open from 8:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m. every Friday.
Sat., Nov. 7……Best of Friends Fair ~ 9:00-2:00
Mon., Nov. 9 …Veterans Day Concert ~ 1:00 p.m. A patriotic concert featuring Music is Love with
Dawn Kelly, followed by refreshments. Free and open to all.
Wed., Nov. 11…Senior Center Closed in observance of Veterans Day.
Mon., Nov 16 …Legal Clinic ~ 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Attorney Arthur Bergeron will offer fifteen minute
appointments for individuals seeking legal advice. Reservations are required.
Wed., Nov. 18…Home Cooked Lunch - 12:00 p.m. This year we will be serving home-made vegetarian chili, bread, dessert and beverage. Cost for this meal is $4.00 for Holden elders and Holden Senior Center volunteers and $6.00 for out of town elders. We will accept reservations through Friday, November 13 OR until we reach capacity.
Thurs., Nov. 19..Book Discussion Group - 10:00 a.m. The book discussion group will meet at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 19 to discuss the book, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.
DECEMBER EVENTS
The Annual Wachusett Area Rotary Club Breakfast will be held on Saturday, December 12 at 8:30 a.m. at The Manor Restaurant, 42 West Boylston Street in West Boylston. The Wachusett Singers will be on hand to entertain. The breakfast is for elders from the towns of Holden, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, Sterling, Boylston and West Boylston. ALL reservations are to be made by calling the Holden Senior Center at 508-210-5570 or by email to mbuffone@holdenma.gov.
Louise has contacted the other Senior Center Directors from eligible towns and given them the information such that they can place it in their newsletters as well as make flyers for their centers.
The Annual Mountview Christmas Breakfast for HOLDEN ELDERS ONLY will be held on Thursday, December 10 at 9:00 a.m. at the Mountview School, 270 Shrewsbury Street. Reservations are required and should be made by Monday, December 7th by calling 508-210-5570 or by email to mbuffone@holdenma.gov.
Save the date, Wednesday, December 16 for the Annual Senior Center Christmas Party. This year we will hold the party at Val’s Restaurant, 75 Reservoir Street. As of now we do not have a menu or price as Val encouraged us to wait because of a new menu that will be coming out shortly. Further details will appear in the December newsletter.
SAYING GOOD-BYE
Last month Louise told the board we would be saying good-bye to our custodian, Adam. For reasons well beyond her control it’s apparently going to be a long good-bye, as he is still with us and a new person has not been put in place. However, we will also be saying good-bye to Naomi. She has decided that the time has come for her to retire such that she can spend more time with her granddaughter and travel with her husband. In November she has completed 16 years of service to the Town and the Senior Center. As of now, we are not certain of her exact last day, but she will be retired as of January 2nd. Louise asked if you see her or if you’d like to call or e-mail her and wish her well, she certainly encourages you to do so.
NUMBERS FROM OCTOBER
Fall Prevention – 32
Public Power Luncheon – 123 plus staff
Ron Rosenstock – 44
Gothic Victorian Tales - 31
OLD BUSINESS
Marilyn Burnham could not attend this morning’s meeting, but dropped off a synopsis of her workshops from the MCOA Conference in October, which was distributed at today’s meeting.
Rita distributed her report from the meeting held of October 13th with Julia Martiros and Susan Denesha from Elder Services of Worcester Area. Julia was surprised that there was a concern with the quality of the congregate and home delivered meals based upon their survey responses and communication to their office. The caterer is working on improving the meals and will be looking for feedback. The board took a consensus and it was decided to support the improvements that Elder Services has made, and we will continue to get our meals from Elder Services.
Rita questioned the take out policy of the senior center. Sue Sullivan said we should not decide the liability issues of the town. Peter was asked if he could look into this.
Rita asked if the senior center is in line to get a vehicle, as other departments get vehicles. She suggested using a town vehicle for delivering meals on wheels.
NEW BUSINESS
Jim McCorkle has set up a Facebook page for the Friends. We will be able to upload pictures and advertise events. Jim suggested having institutions in town join the Friends Facebook page for a $25.00 contribution. Peter Lukes will review the town’s social media policy. Sue told Jim that any social media is good and that she was glad he volunteered to do this.
CITIZENS ADDRESS
None.
ADJOURNMENT
It was unanimously voted to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 a.m.
Our next meeting will be held on Thursday, December 3 at 8:00 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Maureen Buffone