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1996-08-06 "" ------------- RECREATION COMMITTEE MEETING AGENDA - AUGUST 6, 1996 CALL MEETIN G TO ORDER PRESENT: RJH, K.D., B.R., lC., lE., R.F., B.G., E.K., S.M. APPROVE MINUTES: July 9, 1996 Corrections: Approved: Seconded: CORRESPONDENCE I. Letter from Maryhattie Amundson re: Refund on Basketball Clinic 2. Letter from Wappinger United Soccer Club: Re: request for permission to make improvements to the soccer building. 3. Letter from Hughsonville Fire District Re: Playground 4. Letter from Friends of Parks with a $300.00 grant for purchase of grill. REPORTS K.D. B.G. B.R. E.K. lC. S.M. lE. RJ.H. R.F. NEW BUSINESS OLD BUSINESS Opening of Gate at Castle Point - Ed Keller MEETING ADJOURNED NEXT MEETING -f .... RECREATION COMMITTEE MINUTES AUGUST 6, 1996 NEXT MEETING SEPTEMBER 10, 1996 The regular meeting of the Town of Wappinger Recreation Committee was held August 6, 1996 at Schlathaus Park, All Angels Hill Road, Town of Wappinger, Dutchess County, New York The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Ralph J. Holt. Others present were Kathi DeLisa, Senior Citizen Director, James Chappas, Ronald Friedman, Barbara Gutzler, and Ellen Korz. The minutes of the July 9, 1996 meeting were approved on a motion by Mr. Chappas seconded by Mrs. Korz. CORRESPONDENCE A letter was received from Maryhattie Amundson stating that she registered her two children for the Basketball camp. She stated that she didn't realize that she had to look in the paper for the starting date but thought that the Camp which the children were attending would notify her when basketball would take place. She therefore missed the camp and would like a refund of her $25.00. After a discussion regarding the problems with the lack of advertising etc. it was decided that she should receive this refund. We seem to be having a problem with advertising, and since many of the residents do not receive the Southern Dutchess News, it was suggested that next year maybe a reminder notice should be sent or a notice with dates, rules and information be available when they sign up. Mrs. Roe noted that when anyone comes into the office to sign up all the information is written on their receipt. That is not the case when we have the large sign up during April and May. A letter was received from Mark Laman President of the Wappingers United Soccer Club requesting permission to make improvements to the building at Airport Park. They would like permission to add both telephone and electrical services to the site. We had no problem with them installing a telephone. They would be responsible for that monthly bill. We also agreed with the installation of the electric but Mr. Friedman mentioned that when they put it in that they must have all the safety inspections that are required. 1 ,., -. c:- A letter was received from the Hughsonville Fire District (letter dated 7/18/96) to advise us that the Summer Playgroup has not been keeping the grounds at the Firehouse clean. They stated that the firefighters have had to clean up the bottles, cans, papers and other materials on a daily basis. Mrs. Roe noted that the Summer Director and the Playground Director were notified immediately to correct the situation. Supervisor Smith also mentioned that the Fire Company officials have been in to her office complaining that the children are using the phone. Mr. Holt went to the playground to speak to the Playground personnel to correct the situation. He noted that the playground did not look bad. Mr. Ennesser was also requested to make some spot checks and he felt that the grounds were not in terrible condition when he was there. Mr. Holt mentioned that because of the rain we have had to close and a couple of times there were probably quite a few children calling parents. Supervisor Smith asked us to look into getting a phone for that site. Mr. Holt told her that to get a second phone it would cost the Town an exorbitant fee and that we only have two weeks left. Supervisor Smith was notified by someone from the Fire Company that they would send the Town the bill. We have been told that we should start to move forward with the Rymer Property. Rymer property is 11 acres and will have to be cleared. A letter and check for $300. Was received from E. J. Connelly, Treasurer of Friends of Parks. This check represents approval of a grant for the purchase of a gas grill and any additional accessories needed for the use in our Town's parks. They requested that we send a snapshot of the grill in use at an event. We also need to send a thank you note for this grant. SENIOR CITIZEN REPORT Mrs. DeLisa handed out a report on the Seniors activities for the month of July. This report is attached to these minutes. She also noted that the Elks Christmas Party will be held December 12th. ROCKmGHAMlSOCCEWAIRPORTPARK Mr. Chappas mentioned that the road into the Rockingham fields have many good size holes. It was suggested that we ask Mr. Foster to see if he could fill them. He also mentioned that opening day will be September 7, 1996. We will check to see if the keys to the building at Airport Park have been straightened out and if we have the proper keys. Mrs. Roe will check on this. ROBINSON LANE/LITTLE LEAGUE Mr. Friedman mentioned that we still have to level out the road which goes to R-4. Mr. Tompkins will be reminded of this. Miss Gutzler mentioned that there was a problem with the Hudson Valley Rookie League one weekend when she was out at Robinson Lane. Some of the players were digging up 2 the infield grass and when she told them to stop they were "very rude" to her. Mr. Holt asked that Miss GutzIer give him some notes regarding the incident and a letter would be sent to Mr. Norris. It was suggested again that the Committee Members, and employees have some type ofI.D. Cards so when this type of situation arises we have some proof that we are representing the Town. Mr. Friedman mentioned that we could get a laminating machine and use a Polaroid and have I.D.'s for the employees especially the camp staff. Mr. Ennesser wanted to make note that if Little League is finished with using the store that someone from the Committee inspect it so we won't repeat last years problems with the food being left. There is still some talk about fall ball but so far there has been nothing definite. Usually as soon as the season is over we have the large dumpster removed and just use the barrels for the trash. If they have cleaned out the store we can have it removed. We don't want them to come back and say that they had no where to get rid of the garbage. Mr. Friedman will check on whether they are finished with the dumpster. HALLOWEEN Miss Gutzler mentioned that she has started working on plans for the Haunted House. There was a discussion on whether we would hold it extra days such as two weekends or Fri, Sat, and Sunday. Because so much work goes into setting it up, it seems a shame to only have it only the day of the party. Mrs. Korz mentioned that she has started getting donations. Mrs. Korz mentioned that a lot of places would like a request on our letterhead. She will give Mrs. Roe the names and addresses and letters will be sent. She has been in touch with "Let Us Entertain You" and received a figure of$135. An hour for a performance. The date set for the party is October 27th. Miss Gutzler suggested that we contact the Renegades for a donation. DIRECTOR'S REPORT Mr. Reimer was unable to attend the meeting but sent in the following report: Transportation continues to be the one major headache for our Summer Program. Despite talking to the supervisors and trying to resolve problems, solutions/improvements did not come about. He believes the root of the problem was transportation tried to do too much with too little--not enough drivers and not enough buses. For the picnic today, he received a call from Peter Carson, Supervisor and was told to expect some late buses for pick up after the picnic due to a busy afternoon of bus runs. They have been aware of our discontent all summer so we now have to resolve the problem for 1997. Overall, the summer program went well with no major problems. With the improvements in the swim program, he said that he thought that we took the overall picture up a notch from the '95 program. 3 '. i. . First priority should be given to improving the telephone situation at both Castle Point and Hughsonville and also the Castle Point facilities for 1997. useful. A new grill from "Friends of Parks" was a nice addition and will prove to be very The basketball clinic at Van Wyck went very well under the Direction of Tom Fisher and Rebecca Faulds. At the last meeting we talked about a problem with getting Roy C. Ketcham as a rain site for one of our summer activities. Through the help of Steve Miller and Joe Corrigan, that was resolved when Frank Carlone, Principal of Myers School allowed us to use Myers. As expected, even during a rainy summer, we did not have to use the building. All requests for fall/winter programs are in but as of this date, no decision on whether to continue Adult Basketball at Wappinger Falls Jr. High has been made. With a tough act to follow in Amy Russell, Jen Fisher was more than adequate in handling the Summer Program Director job. OUTGOING LETTERS 1. Letter to Pastor Dan Salveson regarding their request to use Schlathaus Park on Sundays in August. We said that we would be willing to let them use the Park for one Sunday date. We have been requested to make up a policy to be approved by the Town Board regarding such usage.. 12th 2. Letter to Tom Blasetti confinning the date of the Elks Christmas Party on December 3. The completed Program Budget Form 3107 for the year 1997 for the Youth Development and Delinquency Prevention Program was sent to Dutchess Co. Youth Bureau. 4. Thank you letters to Frank Carlone and Steve Miller for their help in acquiring a rain site for our playground activity on July 22nd. 5. Letter to Ms. Beth Doyle regarding the Community Development grant for the installation of the electric at Castle Point. The letter requested permission to use the $10,000. Grant for the installation of electric toward the construction of the foundation for the new building since we have not received approval from all parties involved to place the poles along River Road. Time is running out for the use of the $10,000. Electric grant. 6. Letter to Lori Johnson enclosing a copy of the proposed building at Castle Point. 4 CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Mr. Holt mentioned the following: The water at Schlathaus is terrible. Today when we were there for the picnic the smell was sickening. In order to be able to make the lemonade, and drinks we had to transport the water from the New Hackensack Fire House. He has spoken to Mr. Tompkins about the situation and was told that it might be possible to install a filter on the system for around $2,000. We have shut off the water fountains and outside water. It was suggested that a letter be sent to SuperVisor Smith regarding the situation and get some estimates to have the situation corrected before Community Day is held. We realize that the people who operate the rides hook into this water. It was suggested that we get the water tested. Now that the summer playgrounds are finished we will be working on doing the pea gravel work. A P.O. is in to the Town Board for the excavation work. They will act on this at their August 26th meeting. Supervisor Smith has requested the use of the speakers for the Community Day parade. Mr. Friedman will take care of this. Mr. Reimer will put the Community Day notice on the Bulletin board at Schlathaus Park. Mr. Ennesser will act as liaison for the Hall of Fame booth at Community Day. The new slide has been ordered for Quiet Acres but is not in yet. The old slide at Quiet Acres will removed and taken to the barn to see if it can be repaired and then will be placed at Angelbrook with the pea gravel base. Mr. Holt requested that we find out who owns the property behind Memorial Field. He would like to put up a couple of poles with netting to catch the balls. It was suggested that maybe we could just get a brush hog in there to keep it cut. Mr. Friedman said that in a normal season it is dry back there but that the grass grows very thick and it would have to be brush hogged all the time. Mr. Tompkins went in there and came out covered with ticks. We need a map for Rymer property. Mrs. Roe will check with Mr. Close about this so we can see what we have to deal with.. A suggestion was made by Mr. Miller that we would put up portable backboards for basketball at the Hughsonville and Castle Point sites. It would have to be something that could be stored in the truck bodies and they would give the children one more outlet. Over the past weekend the cage that protects with porta john at Quiet Acres was broken and the porta john was tipped over. The maintenance guys were able to fix the fencing and 5 . . . . we had to call EnviroClean to clean the porta john. month. The tractor which was ordered in the Spring should be delivered some time this The lean to building on the barn property which houses some of the equipment should have doors on it. Mr. Tompkins has gotten one estimate for this work. If we have the equipment it should be protected during the winter months as much as possible. Mr. Holt met with Supervisor Smith regarding the proposed 1997 budget. The following are the adjustments which were made to the budget during that meeting. 1. When we fonnulated the budget we went in with 4% raises for all employees since there were no previous directions given. Therefore all salary amounts were decreased to 3%. 2. We had put in a nominal clothing allowance for the full time maintenance men of $400. ($200. Each). This is similar to the what the highway men get but not as much. This was removed. 3. We asked for 3 pieces of equipment. 1. A chipper for $11,000.. This is needed for the many cleaning up jobs we have in all the area playground sites. It is also a needed piece of equipment to clear new areas such as Rymer Subdivision which we want to make work on to move our Hughsonville Playground to. 2. A finishing mower for $6,000. It is one that is much wider than what we have and can be pulled behind a tractor. Where it is flat you can mow a lot quicker. 3. A backhoe attachment for $6,000. We know we will not be able to purchase a backhoe but there is an attachment which would go on the back of a tractor which we could use for little j~bs such as the pea gravel work etc. We were told that this is a tight year. But we feel that there is a lot of work that we can't do without this equipment. Supervisor Smith mentioned to Mr. Holt that she would check further with the surrounding towns and see if their recreation has this equipment and maybe we will talk further. We hope to hear from the Supervisor either way regarding the equipment. The rest of the budget she concurred with. He also gave the Supervisor an addendum which we don't consider to be part of the budget but which is a program that we would like to do. The addendum read as follows: "There are times when certain improvements to our parks require a significant 6 . . amount of resource to complete and probably should come from another source other than the operating budget. This we believe is such a case. Robinson Lane park attracts over 500 cars every night and on weekends the number can reach 700. We feel that primarily for safety reasons but also to remove some frustrations from the people trying to park and finally to help us maintain the Park, we request that we be able to complete two significant jobs. I. Build a parking lot opposite field # 1 for 50 cars (Est. $1 Ok). Build a parking lot between fields #2 and #3 for 40 cars (Est $8k) 2. Pave road from the intersection at field #6 and field #9 (see enclosed map). We should extend road toward the creek by 100 yards. We should also pave the sections of road leading toward fields #7 and #8. This road has never been paved and requires constant maintenan,ce. We would also add parking along this road. (Est $15k) These are jobs that should be done in order that the park can safely be maintained and that we keep up with the continued requirements of a 13 field athletic complex. We believe that parkland funds should be used to make these improvements." Even if we are given approval to do this work and take in consideration that $15,000. of the parkland funds have already been earmarked for the Castle Point building, we will still have a balance of over $100, 000. in the parkland fund. Supervisor Smith mentioned that she would take the request to the Board. DUTCHESS DEBS/ROBINSON LANE The Debs were out at Robinson Lane a few weeks ago and parking was terrible. The second day they rearranged the parking and it was much better. If they request to use the fields again next year we will have to have more garbage barrels available. They are going to have to clean up better if they want to use the facilities next year. Lucy was quite upset with the mess that was left. Mr. Chappas mentioned that everyone that uses the parks should get a list of requirements or standards. ROAD RUNNERS RACE Mr. Ennesser was unable to attend but wanted to note that he has been in contact 7 . . '. with the Chairman of the race and he will be meeting with them regarding the electric and getting Little League involved with opening the building, CORPORATE DONATIONS Mrs. DeLisa mentioned that she had read in the paper about Saturn building a playground at Bowdoin Park and recently Home Depot did some repair work at another playground site. Maybe we should look into how to get Corporations to help with different projects. Miss Gutzler will see if she can find out how they went about this. Chappas. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 on a motion by Miss Gutzler seconded by Mr. Peggy Roe Secretary 8 BILLS PAID DURING AUGUST 1996 A-1620.40 CENTRAL HUDSON GAS AND ELECTRIC Montfort Road 7964-1460-00-5 136.96 Rockingham Park 7902-1435-00-7 45.39 Quiet Acres 7895-1220-06-6 7.90 Gazebo/fown Hall 7512-0470-00-2 13.52 Long Court 7851-1550-01-0 18.01 Robinson Lane 7690-0760-00-0 341.24 Tennis Courts/Pye Lane 7690-0425-00-0 189.56 Myers Comers! All Angels 7802-1962-00-2 28.30 Stage 7802-1960-00-6 13.61 Spook Hill Road 7810-1572-04-4 81.36 A-1620.41 FRONTIER COMMUNICATIONS Robinson Lane 227-9434 20.84 NYNEX Martz Field 297-9928 53.61 BarnlMontfort Road 297-3692 43.95 Schlathaus Park 297-4752 24.93 Quiet Acres 297-7780. 41.49 Spook Hill 297-9861 56.21 A.T&T Castle Point Playground 325-9630 91.50 A-7110.4 Milton Alley Agway 33.40 Brighton Ventures, Ltd. 44.45 Keil Equipment-Inc. 439.23 EnviroClean Porta Potty 58.00 EnviroClean Porta Potty 116.00 EnviroClean Porta Potty 58.00 EnviroClean Porta Potty 58.00 Hutchinson's Equipment 11.00 Dan Zag - Royal Auto Parts 30.31 Milton Alley Agway 20.50 Milton Alley Agway 35.00 Milton Alley Agway 49.80 Bottini Fuel 211.13 A-711O.4 Cont Royal Carting A-I Fence Company Sunny Garden Greenhouses, Inc. Morie Company, Inc. Brighton Ventures, Ltd. Brighton Ventures, Ltd. Hutchinsons Equipment Corp Hutchinsons Equipment Corp. Dan Zag - Royal Auto Parts 866.10 4.00 12.00 688.20 38.40 27.79 15.37 16.19 6.18 A-7140.4 Little Creek Band, Inc. Aristocrat Tours, Inc. Joe Veillette/Wild East Caldor 900.00 575.00 900.00 59.70 A-7620.4 The Rag Shop 49.61 Hobby Hut 48.71 Coffee System 52.00 Petty Cash 39.32 B-73 10.4 EnviroClean Porta Potty 19.50 EnviroClean Porta Potty 19.50 . Hutchinsons Equipment Corp. 7.45 Home Depot 298.58 K-Mart 46.99 Caldor 47.95 Landscapers Supply Corp. 33.28 K-Mart 30.69 Petty Cash 41.90 B-2070 Kor:een Flynn 15.00 AUGUST 1996 REPORT TO THE RECREATION COMMISSION FOR THE MONTH OF JULY 1996 SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER July activities at the Senior Citizen Center included the regular schedule of arts/crafts, oil painting, exercise, line dancing, photo club, videos, bingo, puzzles, creative writing, cards and games. The center was closed July 4th and 5th for Independence Day. The Center was also closed the 17th, 18th & 19th due to paving of the parking lot. On July 15th over 120 seniors participated in a Giant Bingo game held at the Fishkill Senior Center. This included seniors from Fishkill, our Wappinger Center and the Zion Church Center. There was coffee and donuts and pizza and orange drink for lunch. Each Center donated a raffle prize to be raffled throughout the day. The seniors are thrilled to have an entire day of Bingo and to meet new friends from different Centers. This is the second Giarrt Bingo we've held. Cindy Starke from Fishkill, Marie Weber from Zion and I hope to continue providing these combined Center games. The Wappinger Center can not host this event due to our limited space. On the 24th, Susan Colchamiro from Wellcare was at the Center to discuss Comprehensive Medical Coverage that includes Medicare and Medigap insurance. Blood pressure screening was provided by the Heart Assoc. on the 10th. The monthly birthday party was held on the 26th. Two separate birthday parties were held, one for a senior who turned 80 and one for a senior who turned 85. (This has become quite popular, and those turning these special ages look forward to the special attention of receiving flowers and a special party.> The Office of the Aging in conjunction with the Town of Wappinger sponsored a picnic held at Schlathaus Park on July 31st. Considering the very wet, rainy conditions, the seniors who ventured out in the inclement weather did enjoy themselves. The trip to Gillette Castle/Griswold Inn was successful even though it was a long day for the seniors. The next trip is scheduled for Aug. 8th to the Saratoga Races. There are 199 members registered at the Center and 179 on the waiting list. ITEMS TO BE NOTED: 1. Aug. events include Blood pressure screening and stress management techniques, and an Hawaiian Luau at the Holiday Inn. 2. The Christmas party for Town Seniors to be held at the Elks Lodge is scheduled for Thurs., Dec. 12th. Requests for donations will be going out shortly. 3. A 3-Center Bowling Party is scheduled for September. AUGUST 1996 TOWN OF WAPPINGER SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER: OPEN 10:00A.M.-3:00P.M. 20 Middlebush Rd., Wappingers Falls, NY. 12590 Phone: 297-3670 Director: Kathi DeLisa MON. FRI. TUES. WED. THURS. UGUST BIRTHDAYS: I 23 Gil Bardy 1 110: CREATIVE 1 Carmela Vrendenburg* 26 Angelo Ianuale I I WRITING!!!!! 3 Florence Bidwell* I 27 Millie Grosso 110-11: EXERCISE 3 Fortuna Iazzetti I 29 Annette Teevan 110-Noon: arts/crafts 9 Ida Repke I 30 Anna Gaglione INOON: LUNCH o Jim Orefice I 26 Mary Bendetto 112:45-2: BINGO! BINGO! 2 Lucy VanVoorhis I 19 Tom McEniff I 2 Tina Tesan I HAPPY BIRTHDAY! ! ! ! ! ! I 5 I I 6 I 7 110-Noon: BLOOD I 8 ITRIP TO SARATOGA I I I I PRESSURE & STRESS 1 I RACES! ! ! ! O:PHOTO CLUB!!! 110-Noon:OIL PAINTING MANAGEMENT 10: CREATIVE WRITING O-Noon: arts/crafts 110-Noon:arts/crafts 10-11: EXERCISE 10-11: EXERCISE OON: LUNCH INOON: LUNCH 10-11: arts/crafts 10-Noon: arts/crafts 2:30-3:cards/games 112:30-3:cards/games INOON: LUNCH NOON: LUNCH I 112:30-3: cards/games 12:45-2: BINGO!BINGO! 113 I 114 I 1/11 15 I I I 1 I 6r'1l,u1-~ I 110-Noon: OIL PAINTINGI10-11:.BXERCISE HAWAIIAN LUAU!!!! 110-Noon: arts/crafts 110-Noon: arts/crafts AT THE INOON: LUNCH INOON: LUNCH HOLIDAY INN 112:30-3: cards/games 112:45-2: BINGO!BINGO! THE CENTER IS CLOSED! I I SIGN UP WITH KATHI!! 120 I 121 I 22110: CREATIVE I I I I I WRITING! ! 110-Noon:OIL PAINTING 10-11: EXERCISE 10-11: EXERCISE 110-Noon: arts/crafts 10-Noon: arts/crafts 10-Noon: arts/crafts INOON: LUNCH NOON: LUNCH NOON: LUNCH 112:30-3: cards/games 12:45-2:BINGO!BINGO! 12:45-2: BINGO! BANGO ! I 127 I I I 110-Noon: OIL PAINTING 110-Noon: arts/crafts INOON: LUNCH 112:30-3: cards/games I I 2 I I 0: PHOTO CLUB!!!!! O-Noon: arts/crafts OON: LUNCH 2:30-3: cards/games 9 I I J: PHOTO CLUB J-Noon: arts/crafts JON: LUNCH 2:30-3: cards/games ~ I I ): PHOTO CLUB )-Noon: arts/crafts JON: LUNCH 2:30-3 cards/games 28 I I 10-11: EXERCISE 10-Noon: arts/crafts! NOON: EXERCISE 12:45-2: BINGO! BINGO! 29/10: CREATIVE I WRITING 10-11: EXERCISE 10-Noon: arts/crafts NOON: LUNCH/BIRTHDAY PARTY! 12:30-3: cards/games I 2 I I I 110-11: LINE DANCING I 110-Noon: arts/craftsl NOON: LUNCH I 12:30-3: cards/games I 12:30-3: VIDEO I I 9 I I I I 10-11: LINE DANCING I 10-Noon: arts/crafts I NOON: LUNCH I 12:30-3: cards/games I I 161 I I (!~1<,<L..e~/ I 10-11 :., L TNR DJ\NCING I 10-Noon: arts/craftsl NOON: LUNCH 12:30-3: cards/games I I 23 I I I 10-11:LINE DANCING I 10-Noon:arts/craftsl I NOON: LUNCH 12:30-3: VIDEO 12:30-3:cards/games 30 I I 10-11: LINE DANCING 10-Noon: arts/crafts NOON: LUNCH 12:30-3: cards/games tv ..A.l? l? I l'l G<E R. SEl'fIOR. NEtvs By Kathi DeLisa, Director AUGUST 1996 It's hard to believe that it is August already. Where has the summer gone. It's going! Going! Almost gone!! Does this mean we should have a party? Many of you have met our new craft instructor, Linda Soto. Linda will be working on Tuesday and Fridays and _ when needed. Welcome aboard Linda! We are happy to have you as part of our Center!!!!! Does this call for a party? Also, Anna Orefice has agreed to be our new Sunshine Lady. She has already been around with cards to sign etc. Thank you Anna for taking on this awesome responsibility! So if you know of someone who is ill or needs cheering up, let Anna or me know. Does this warrant a party too?!! !???? Well, speaking of parties, on August 15th we will have an Hawaiian Luau at the Holiday Inn in Fishkill at noon. Get out your grass skirts! (Everyone has one somewhere in their closet, don't they?) Hawaiian outfits? Practice the hula! Learn to make your own lei! There will be Hawaiian music by Johnny Dell. Hula contests, prizes and much more. Well, it promises to be a great day of fun. Menu for the day includes a pineapple wedge, mandarin salad, choice of chicken terriayki, marinated london broil or broiled stuffed fish, rainbow sherbert for desert, coffee or tea. Lemonade and or iced tea will be served with dinner. The cost to dues paying members is $8.50. Full price for the Luau is $18.00. You must sign up for the luau by August 9th. What is a luau without flowers? Well, Regina and Linda will show you how to make your own flower lei and bracelet that you can wear to the luau. If you would like to make a grass skirt, you can use a large green trash bag. Use the tie end for your waist, then cut strips in the trash bag to make the "grass" skirt. Have fun! If you need help, bring your trash bag in and we will try to help you. Then practice that hula! hula! hula!!!!! 1 . . On Aug. 7th, Sue Murphy (Sue does our blood pressure) and Cheryl Balumas will provide blood pressure from 10-11a.m. They will then conduct a Stress Management seminar from lla.m. to noon. The stress management will include relaxation exercise, breathing and imagery. Learning to recognize and control stress can help all of us to cope with depression, anxiety and stress. Don't miss this! The Creative Writing Class began in June. It is now held on Thursdays at 10:00a.m. Don't be shy! There is no pressure, no grades, just interesting and fun. Try it! Ronnie Badowski has offered to lead this Creative Writing Class. It will include short stories, or poetry or even "Writing Your Memoirs." Ronnie has been writing for several years as a hobby as well as semi-professionally. Creative writing can be fun. Ronnie can help you organize your thoughts for writing. Remember when you told your children a story at bedtime? We all have a story to tell. It can be a true story or fictitious. So think about it. Ronnie will help you put your thoughts on paper. If you are interested in this let me know or come in on a Thursday morn and try it! GO FOR IT! Now for other August news.. .Blood pressure screening is the 7th. Birthdays will be celebrated on Thurs. Aug. 29th. Remember, those with birthdays are asked to bring a cake for the party. We will all help you celebrate. Bingo days are Wed. the 14th, 21st, 28th and Thurs. the 1st, 8th, and 22nd. If anyone would like to order a T-Shirt let me know. I will be placing another order soon. Don't hesitate! This will be the last chance to order. The cost of the T-shirts is only $6.00. We'll a special T-shirt party in the near future! Last chance! order now! The WALKING CLUB continues especially now that the weather is better for us fair weather walkers. We have a few new walkers. Welcome to our Club!! If you haven't started walking and would like to join our walking club, let me know and I'll put your name on the chart and explain the rules. It's also time for our annual Walking Club Award Luncheon. So Walkers! Where would you like to have your luncheon this year. Please let me know soon. I will be scheduling this for sometime in September. The Wappinger Lions Club needs old eyeglasses or hearing aids. If you have any you no longer want or need, bring them to the Center. I will see to it that they are given to the Lions Club. 2 . , . Starting very, very soon, Regina and Linda will be asking you to do special craft projects for the Craft Fair. Yes, it's that time again. Craft Fair is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 25th. We'll need some new Christmas and holiday crafts as well as other items. Once again, you will be asked to take raffle tickets to sell/buy for the Fair. More on this next month. Enjoy the poem by Sue Bush. The Creative Corner was started so you all have the opportunity to share your creative writing, thoughts, drawing or cartoon. Come on Seniors, let's see what your thoughts are! Come on Writing Class! Don't be shy! Share your thoughts and creativity with us!!!!I will include these in the newsletter. We have many talented seniors at the Center. Some do crafts, some paint or draw, some write poetry and/or stories, some have wonderful and creative ideas. You may submit your "writ-i-ng" or even a drawing or cartoon to me at any time. Please do not submit preprinted articles etc. from other sources. I am sure we will all enjoy reading or seeing the creativity of our fellow seniors. In regard to paying dues. Many of you are now paying your dues on a yearly basis and for that your Treasurers I thank you. This has made bookkeeping much easier and efficient. Many have chosen to do this as they cannot be at the Center every week and want to participate in our special events. Yearly dues is $25.00. Many of you pay on a monthly basis and that too makes it easier to keep track of. However, there are still few who insist on paying on a weekly basis. Those paying on a weekly basis will be asked to pay $1.00 a week instead of the previous 500 a week. The reason for this is fairness. There are many who pay monthly or yearly and do not come every week, but still pay their dues. Your Treasurer says that for those paying dues by the month, August dues is $2.00. Those on the waiting list are welcome to pay dues. This entitles you to join our "out of Center" activities at a reduced cost. A big hug to you all! Smile!!! 3 . . . CREATIVE CORNER WILL YOU PLESE BE MY FRIEND? by SUE BUSH I saw a little bird sitting in the tree I looked at him and he looked at me. I asked him please, would you be by friend And sing a song for me... I'll sing a song for you my friend As he cocked his head, out came a beautiful tune But it ended all too soon, as he flapped his wings And flew out of sight. I saw a cute little dog, and I said to him Would you be my friend: Indeed, I would, I will also watch over you He wagged his tail, and licked my hand As if to say, that he was happy Knowing he found a friend too But he left with his master. I met a little child and asked her Would you be my friend and she answered with a smile. I will be your friend, if you will be my friend. Waving back to me as she ran to be with her mother. As you can see I am still looking for a friend, One that will spend a little time with me. Please someone out there Save a little time for me. But most of all, please just be my friend. 4