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1997 1997 ANNUAL REPORT TOWN OF WAPPINGER SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER The Town of Wappinger Senior Center is open five days a week Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. As of December, 1997 there were 196 members registered at the Center with 236 on the waiting list. DAILY ACTIVITIES: 1. Arts and crafts activities are held daily. 2. Oil painting classes are held Tuesday from 10:a.m. to Noon under the direction of Kathi DeLisa. An average of 6 Seniors participated in this program weekly. (Total of 284 for 48 weeks.) 3, Aerobics/Exercise Classes are held Wednesday from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. under the direction of Sue Borchardt. An average of 19 Seniors participated in this program weekly. (Total of 763 for approx. 40 weeks.) 4. Aerobics/Exercise Classes are held on Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. under the direction of Sue Borchardt. An average of 18 Seniors participated in this program weekly. (Total of 755 for approx. 42 weeks.) 5. Line Dancing Classes are held on Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. under the direction of Sue Borchardt. An average of 11 Seniors participated in this program weekly. (Total of 396 for approx. 36 weeks.) The Line Dancing Class performed at the 9th Anniversary Party and a picnic on the grounds at Town Hall. 6. Videos are shown on request on Tuesdays and Fridays from 12:30-3:00 p.m. Video Treats donates the Videos for this activity. 7. Cards and Pokeno are played from 12:30 to 3:00 p.m. daily. 8. Bingo is now played weekly on alternating Wednesday and Thursdays. When possible, Bingo is played twice a week as this is so popular. An average of 77 seniors play Bingo each week. 9. The photo club meets at Schlathaus on Monday (Thursday in the summer) and is under the direction of Bob English, a senior. Bob volunteers to head the Photo Club. An average of 5 seniors participate in this program weekly. 10. Creative Writing Classes were cancelled in July due to lack of interest. 1 11. Basic Bridge Lessons began in February under the direction of Henrietta MacDonald, a senior who volunteers her time to teach this popular card game. The Bridge class meets in the large meeting room due to lack of space in the Center room An average of 8 seniors participate in this class weekly.. 12. A Bridge Group (not for lessons) meets at Schlathaus on Tuesdays. An average of 8 seniors participate in this group. 13. Spanish classes began in September, taught by Elena Garrido, a senior originally from Panama. She speaks fluent Spanish and has taught for Adult Education. Elena volunteers her time and knowledge. An average of 9 seniors participate in this class. 14. Jig Saw puzzles are set up to work on. Several seniors work on these periodically. MONTHLY ACTIVITIES: 1. There is a monthly birthday party to celebrate birthdays of that month. A special party is given to any senior turning 80, 85, 90 or 100. (4 seniors turned 80; 7 turned 85; 3 turned 90.) 2. The Heart Association provides a monthly blood pressure screening on the second Wednesday of each month from 10:00 a.m. to Noon. An average of 57 people participate in this program monthly. GUEST SPEAKERS/PRESENTATIONS/HEALTH CLINICS: 1. Bea Seagul conducted a Mind Your Mind Workshop in March. 2. Shari Hubner, attorney spoke on health proxy and power of attorneys in May. 3. Cathy Godwin from CHP Senior Advantage spoke about HMO/Medigap coverage for seniors in July. 4. Shirley Stilgenbauer from Physicians Health Services spoke about this HMO/Medicare program for seniors in August. 5. Fire Prevention program sponsored by the Hughsonville Fire Dept in Oct. 7. The Dutchess Co. Dept. ~f Health provided a Flu Clinic in Nov. 2 SPECIAL EVENTS: Funded by the Seniors from their dues fund and craft sales. i January: Hat Day: Seniors wore a funny, pretty, silly or unusual hat for the day. There were prizes for the best hats and pizza for all.(68 Seniors attended. T-Shirt Day: Seniors wore their Wapp. Senior Center T-shirts. Had pizza, soda, cake and played bingo. (75 seniors attended) February: VALENTINE'S DAY: Seniors enjoyed a Valentine's Ball at Christo's. Valentines for all, prizes, music by Johnny Dell. Children from James Evans School gave seniors handmade valentines that were handed out at the Ball.(90 seniors attended) George Washington Day Party: A birthday party for "George" was celebrated with cherry pie and ice cream. (36 Seniors present). March: St. Patrick's Day Party: Had green bagels and cream cheese and green cake. Each senior received a green carnation. (35 Seniors present) Easter Luncheon: at Mamma Marissa. Music by Larry Hazzard on keyboard. (92 Seniors attended) EASTER SURPRISE: Three Easter bunnies (Regina, Linda and Kathi) surprised the seniors with special eggs filled with candy, and prizes. Seniors enjoyed the treat, those with a prize ticket in their egg won Easter baskets, bunnies an other prizes. (75 seniors present) April: Bowling Party: at Holiday Hoe Bowl. Coffee and danish served. pizza served for lunch. The Fishkill Senior Center and the Zion Church Center joined us for the first ever combined Center activity. (100 Seniors (50 of ours) attended.) WHEELESS FORTUNE: Cindy Starke from the Fishkill Senior Center brought their "Wheeless Fortune" game to Wappinger and led the seniors in this fun game. Prizes were lottery tickets for all, wine for game winners. The "big winner" received wine and ticket. (43 seniors participated.) T-SHIRT DAY: All wore their Center T-shirts. Had pizza and soda for lunch followed by bingo. (58 seniors attended) May: Mother's Day Luncheon: Seniors celebrated Mother's Day at the Dynasty Restaurant. Each lady 3 June: July: August: received a carnation. (83 Seniors present.) Senior Citizen Appreciation Day Celebration: This year Ruth Speedling was awarded the 3rd Annual Wappinger Senior Center Senior Award of the Year! An Honorable Mention was awarded to Anne Orefice. The Seniors previously voted and selected these seniors to receive the awards for their outstanding service to the Center. Sandwiches, cake and coffee were served. The Town Supervisor, Connie Smith presented the awards. Cable News Center 6 and Southern Dutchess News covered this story. (60 Seniors attended) GIANT BINGO BANGO!: Three Centers, the Wappinger Fishkill and the Zion Church Centers combined to enjoy a day of Bingo together. This Giant Bingo was held at the Zion Church. Over 125 Seniors attended this event. We had pizza, McDonald's orange drink and a good time. HEALTH & FITNESS DAY: Led by Sue Borchardt, a day devoted to health & fitness. Did scavenger hunt, poker walk, mind games. Had light snacks and fruit. (49 seniors attended.) Breakfast at Fishkill Plains School: sponsored by the PTA, bagels, muffins, juice, coffee and tea were served by the students. The chorus entertained the seniors. Seniors gave each child a pencil with a topper on it. (60 seniors attended) 9th Anniversary of Senior Center: Block party with music, dancing, barbeque, hot dogs, hamburgers, salads, soda, dessert, bocce contest, prizes. Line Dancing class performed. (over 100 seniors present.) Office of the Aging Picnic: Provided by the OFA. at Schlathaus Park. Music by Bill Paroli. Food included B-B-Que chicken, potato salad, baked beans and fruit. T-SHIRT DAY: All wore their Center T-shirts. Had pizza and soda followed by bingo.(60 seniors present) DRESS A BANANA CONTEST: Seniors brought a banana. Nuts, marshmallows, cherries, syrups, etc. were supplied to dress up that banana. When complete and prizes awarded, seniors used their "dressed" banana to make a banana split. Ice cream was 4 donated by Ben & Jerry's. A fun day and delicious treat! (58 seniors attended) DEDICATION OF SHUFFLE BOARD: Shuffle board court donated in honor of Mr. & Mrs. Clark was dedicated. Snacks were served after dedication. September: GIANT BINGO BANGO!: Three Centers, the Wappinger Fishkill and the Zion Church Centers combined to enjoy a day of Bingo together. This Giant Bingo was held at the Fishkill Center. Over 130 Seniors attended this event. We had pizza, McDonald's orange drink and a good time. Walking Club Luncheon: Lunch at Gino's Restaurant for those who participated in the Walking Club. Awards presented to those who walked the most miles. All receive a certificate of achievement.(35 seniors attended.) October: Craft Fair: Raffle prizes, coffee/donuts served. Crafts, bake sale, Granny's Attic, Book sale and much more. (opened to public.) Halloween Party: all came in costume; donuts, cider, and Pizza for lunch; prizes for costumes. Treats for all. (68 Seniors present.) November: GIANT BINGO BANGO!: Three Centers, the Wappinger Fishkill and the Zion Church Centers combined to enjoy a day of Bingo together. This Giant Bingo was held at the Fishkill Center. Over 133 Seniors attended this event. We had pizza, McDonald's orange drink and a good time. .Thanksgiving luncheon: Best Western (109 Seniors attended.) December: Christmas luncheon at Villa Borghese: Music by Johnny Dell, Santa arrived with gifts for all. (124 Seniors attended). Christmas Breakfast/Brunch: Served bagels, cream cheese, fruit cake, muffins, cheese and crackers, cake. Instead of a Christmas grab bag, the seniors donated food items and gifts to be given to 2 needy families. Played a special Christmas Bingo. (89 seniors present) 5 EXTRA EVENTS: The Town of Wappinger Recreation Commission in cooperation with the Wappinger Elks Lodge held a Christmas dinner for 192 seniors. The dinner was open to all town seniors. Donations from local community businesses and professionals helped to make this possible. Each senior received a gift of a small box of candy, an ornament and small bottle of wine handed out by Santa. The dinner consisted of fruit cup, salad, turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy, green beans and pumpkin pie and coffee. There were several raffle prizes awarded. Music was provided by Johnny Dell band. The dinner was a great success. This holiday event has become very popular. It is our hope to provide two such parties in 1998 to accommodate more Town seniors. SENIOR CITIZEN TRIPS: Westchester Dinner Theater Alantic City Platzel Brau Haus Woodloch Pines Botanical Gardens/Triplets Aqua Turf Waterfront at Ehrheardt Mohonk Mr./Winery Tour MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION: 1. Eight seniors in the oil painting class won prizes at the Dutchess Co. Fair this year. One senior was awarded Chairman's Choice and Excellence award for his 3-D diorama. A total of 23 awards to our oil painters and Diorama maker. 2. Basic Bridge lessons began in February and is quite popular. This is played in the large meeting room because of lack of space in the Center room. 3. A Bridge group plays at Schlathaus on Tuesdays. This too is very popular. The group is very grateful for this opportunity. 4. A Beginner Spanish class began in September. Attendance is very consistent for this class. 5. The photo club has moved to Schlathaus on Mondays. This space enables the group to do more versatile work such as developing and printing. The photo club is delighted to have this opportunity to expand. FUTURE NEEDS: 6 1. We have outgrown the designated space for a Senior Center.. Many special events must be limited to 80 people leaving many on "another waiting list." Many events must be held at restaurants allowing more seniors to attend. The growing senior population has us "bursting at the seams." It may be necessary to look for other sites and/or additional space. There are 236 Seniors waiting to be members at the Center. All efforts are made to accommodate as many town seniors as is possible in this limited space. Activities such as exercise held in different space allows those on the waiting list to participate. The bridge groups bring more town seniors as does the oil painting and photo club. The Senior Center at Town Hall permits the occupancy of 80 people. The Center has doubled its occupancy from the original space, however, the number of staff remains the same. The Director is full time. The Craft teacher positions are both part time, one working 2 days, the other 3 days. With the potential of 80 people in most days, the current staff is not sufficient. Additional staff would allow additional programs possibly in other locations as well as assisting at the Center on very busy days. The Center programs are and have been expanding including more diversity. To enable continued growth I recommend d full time craft/activity person and more hours for apart time person. Kathi DeLisa Director Senior Citizen Center 7