There is plenty going on at the Watertown Senior Center this month, including a Valentine’s Party, info on health issues, and other activities.
Our Senior Center has Heart!
It may be cold outside but our hearts are warm at the Senior Center. Our February offerings include a special Valentine Lunch, our “Caregiving is Love” workshop, a surprise floral arranging event, a lecture about “Managing Your Risk for Diabetes” by the American Diabetes Association, a presentation about “Controlling your Blood Pressure Numbers” by Mount Auburn Hospital and opportunities to strengthen your heart in our exercise, tai chi, line dancing and yoga classes. We hope you will join us! We continue to grow our programs with the help of our many volunteers and friends. We extend a special heartfelt thank you to all of them who help us every day. See you at the Center,
Anne-Marie Gagnon
Email: agagnon@watertown-ma.gov Facebook: www.facebook.com/
Caseworker Corner: Please call the Senior Center at (617) 972-6490 or email me at mkirsanova@watertown-ma.gov Marina Kirsanova, LSW
Manage Your Risk!
Rev. Albert Whitaker, Director of Mission Delivery New England for the American Diabetes Association, is coming to discuss and raise awareness of Diabetes. The risk of people age 45 and older developing type 2 diabetes is significant, but it is a condition that is manageable if diagnosed soon enough.
WHEN: Wednesday February 8th TIME: 10:00 AM
Pre-registration is requested. Please call the Senior Center at 617-972-6490 to sign up. Healthy refreshments provided.
Make Your Day Bouquet
Looking for a way to treat yourself or a special Valentine? Join us as Ernie Berardinelli shows us how to make a beautiful flower arrangement.
The choice of flowers is a surprise!
WHEN: Friday, February 10 TIME: 1 – 3 PM COST: $22.00
WHERE: Watertown Senior Center 31 Marshall St.
Pre-Registration Required! Sign up early as there are only 22 spaces available.
CAREGIVING IS LOVE
Join us for coffee and conversation about the important topic of Caregiving.
Molly Saldo, Caregiver Specialist at Springwell, the local Aging Services Access Point, and professionals from UCP and Beaver Brook Step who support the Watertown Memory Café, a place for people with memory challenges and their care partners, will be here to share advice and resources for caregivers, spouses, family and friends about caring for those we love.
WHEN: Wednesday February 15 10:00 AM, Pre-Registration Required.
WHERE: Watertown Senior Center Coffee and Light Refreshments
VALENTINE PARTY
Enjoy an afternoon with us as we celebrate Valentine’s Day with a light Italian luncheon. Enjoy music and friendship during lunch.
WHEN: Thursday February 16 TIME: 11:30 – 2:00 PM COST: $ 7.00
Pre-registration is required and seating is limited to 28. Stop by the Center to pick up and pay for your ticket.
TICKETS GO ON SALE THURSDAY FEBRUARY 2
(We will be unable to hold a ticket without payment. Thank you for your understanding).
Income Tax Preparation at the Senior Center
Income tax preparation will be available at the Senior Center for seniors 60 and older. Volunteers, trained at an IRS certified program sponsored by AARP, will provide tax assistance by appointment.
The volunteers are not able to prepare returns that include income from rental property, trusts, partnerships, or businesses. These returns should be handled by a professional tax preparer.
Complex returns will be referred to private tax preparers.
While there is no fee for this service, donations to the Senior Center are gratefully accepted.
Call the Senior Center at 617-972-6490 AFTER February 1st to make an appointment.
LEAVE THE DRIVING TO US! CATCH A RIDE ON OUR SENIOR SHUTTLE!
USE THE WATERTOWN SENIOR SHUTTLE FOR YOUR SHOPPING NEEDS – The Watertown Senior Shuttle travels a fixed route throughout Watertown to take seniors grocery shopping. We continually adjust the route to accommodate new riders. The bus goes to the Stop & Shop on Watertown St. on Tuesdays, and the Super Stop and Shop on Pleasant St. on Fridays. We also go to the Watertown and Arsenal malls on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. Take the bus, and leave the driving (and parking) to us! Starting January 1st you must give 2 days’ notice if you are new or want to change from your scheduled day. The suggested donation is $1.00 round trip and there is a 3 bag limit.
MEDICAL TRANSPORTATION FOR WATERTOWN SENIORS – Watertown seniors needing transportation to medical appointments may contact Busy Bee Transportation at 1-800-427-0230 for a ride. Medical transportation is available Monday through Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and reservations must be made at least three days in advance. A donation of $3.00 each way for local stops and $4.00 each way for stops outside Watertown is requested.
TRANSPORTATION HELP FOR WATERTOWN SENIORS
Supplemental transportation services are available to Watertown seniors thanks to a grant awarded to the Watertown COA/Senior Center by the Marshall Home Fund, a non-profit community-based charitable fund dedicated to serving Watertown’s seniors. This program is designed to provide readily accessible transportation assistance for seniors in need of last minute or emergency transportation to locations within the community. Transportation by cab is arranged through the Council on Aging/Senior Center by calling the office at 617-972-6490 during business hours.
Can I Still Change My Medicare Plan?
The annual Medicare Open Enrollment period ended on December 7, but you may still be able to change plans during 2017.
Medicare’s 5-Star Special Enrollment Period
You have an opportunity to enroll in a top-rated (5-Star) plan, once during the year. This can be done at any time through November 30, with the enrollment effective the first of the following month. The Blue Cross Blue Shield Medicare HMO plans, their two Blue Medicare Rx drug plans, and the Tufts Medicare Preferred HMO plans have achieved the 5-Star rating for 2017. You can enroll in one of these plans, as long as you meet the plan’s eligibility requirements. If you are currently in a Medicare Advantage or Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, this new enrollment will automatically disenroll you from your previous plan.
For those with a Medicare Advantage Plan (HMO or PPO):
Between January 1 and February 14 anyone with a Medicare Advantage plan may drop it and switch to Original Medicare. If you drop your Medicare Advantage plan during this period, you will be able to join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan to add drug coverage. Your Original Medicare coverage and your prescription drug coverage will begin the first day of the month after your enrollment. You may also add a supplement (Medigap) at this time.
For those with Prescription Advantage need “Extra Help” paying for prescription drugs:
You can change your Medicare Advantage plan or drug plan anytime during the year. Those with Prescription Advantage can do this only once each year. Those with “Extra Help” can change every month.
Call the Senior Center for More Information.
THE SENIOR CENTER BOOK CLUB
WHEN: Wednesday, February 15 at 9:30.
WHERE: Senior Center, 31 Marshall Street
Join us to discuss Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky. Copies of the book are available at the Watertown Free Public Library. Cod is the biography of a single species of fish, but it may as well be a world history, with this humble fish as its recurring main character. Cod, it turns out, is the reason Europeans set sail across the Atlantic and it is the only reason they could. What did the Vikings eat in icy Greenland and on the five expeditions to America recorded in the Icelandic sagas and also the staple of the medieval diet? Cod. As we make our way through the centuries of cod history, we also find a delicious legacy of recipes, and the tragic story of environmental failure, of depleted fishing stocks where once their numbers were legendary. In this lovely, history, Mark Kurlansky ponders the question: Is the fish that changed the world forever changed by the world’s folly?
New members are always welcome!
HEALTH SCREENINGS are held on Thursday mornings
February 9 – Podiatry Clinic – 11:00 a.m. Toenails, corns, callus care only. The cost for this service is $25.00 payable to Dr. Alper. Insurance is not accepted.
February 23 – Blood Pressure at 9:30 a.m. by Linda Micklay, R.N. from CareGroup Home Care. Free
FEBRUARY MOVIE MATINEE Come on over and enjoy in our comfortable lounge Thursdays at 1:00 p.m. at the Watertown Senior Center, 31 Marshall St.
2/2 The Little Colonel – When a Southern belle married a Yankee, her father, a former Confederate colonel, promptly disowned her. Years later their daughter visits the family plantation to meet her grandfather and heal old wounds, but will her spunk be enough to win the crusty old man’s heart. Cast: Lionel Barrymore, Shirley Temple, Evelyn Venable 1935 PG 80 mins.
2/9 Glory – Loosely based on the letters of Union commander Col. Robert G. Shaw, this Academy Award-winning drama follows the first group of African-Americans to serve in combat during the Civil War – and shows how they helped turn the tide of the war. Cast: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman. 1989 R 122 mins.
2/16 NO MOVIE
2/23 Sully – Viewers around the world were astonished in 2009 when airline pilot Chesley Sullenberger safely landed an Airbus 320 on the Hudson River after both engines were disabled. This fact-based drama illuminates Sullenberger’s life & heroic achievement. Cast: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney 2016 PG-13 96 mins.
3/2 The Dressmaker – Driven away when she was young, Tilly Dunnage returns to rural Australia after years of working as a dressmaker in Paris — and she’s ready to make waves in her conservative hometown not only with her haute couture but a hidden agenda. Cast: Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth 2016 R 119 mins.
MELLOWTONES! Like to sing? Consider joining our Mellowtones choral group on Fridays at 12:30.
MONDAY EXERCISE – Exercise class with Shannon Lee Jones at the Senior Center! The classes focus on the particular needs of seniors in a fun, safe environment. Exercises include muscle strengthening, light-stretching, balance and posture improvement, and low-impact aerobics; all done to your favorite tunes! Regular exercise can improve circulation, help to strengthen bones, Increase muscle mass, reduce joint stiffness, and improve general health. Whether it’s to get stronger, loosen up, or just get moving, give it a try! TIME: 11:00 AM COST: $4.00 TUESDAY CHAIR EXERCISE
TUESDAY EXERCISE – Exercise class with Joanna Grubel at the Senior Center! The classes focus on the particular needs of seniors in a fun, safe environment. Exercises include muscle strengthening, light-stretching, balance and posture improvement, and low-impact aerobics; all done to your favorite tunes! Regular exercise can improve circulation, help to strengthen bones, Increase muscle mass, reduce joint stiffness, and improve general health. Whether it’s to get stronger, loosen up, or just get moving, give it a try! TIME: 11:00 AM COST: $4.00
WEDNESDAY EXERCISE – Exercise class with Henry Oliveras, at the Senior Center! The classes focus on the particular needs of seniors in a fun, safe environment. Exercises include muscle strengthening, light-stretching, balance and posture improvement, and low-impact aerobics; all done to your favorite tunes! Regular exercise can improve circulation, help to strengthen bones, Increase muscle mass, reduce joint stiffness, and improve general health. Whether it’s to get stronger, loosen up, or just get moving, give it a try! TIME: 11:00 AM COST: $4.00 or pay in advance 10 sessions for $35.00.
THURSDAY YOGA – Led by experienced yoga teacher, Henry Oliveras, LMT, this class is done using a chair (or you can bring your own mat) and provides a gentle stretch and limbering for the body, improving balance, and a restorative exercise for the mind. TIME: 10:00 AM COST: $4.00 or pay in advance 10 sessions for $35.00.
FRIDAY EXERCISE – Exercise class with Henry Oliveras, at the Senior Center! The classes focus on the particular needs of seniors in a fun, safe environment. Exercises include muscle strengthening, light-stretching, balance and posture improvement, and low-impact aerobics; all done to your favorite tunes! Regular exercise can improve circulation, help to strengthen bones, Increase muscle mass, reduce joint stiffness, and improve general health. Whether it’s to get stronger, loosen up, or just get moving, give it a try! TIME: 11:00 AM COST: $4.00 or pay in advance 10 sessions for $35.00
FRIDAY TAI CHI – Tai Chi, with Marie Favorito, is a great exercise for all ages. Daily Tai Chi practice promotes better energy flow in the body for health, wellness, and to assist in healing. The “Tai Chi for Seniors” exercise is special because it is easy to learn and easy to practice since it doesn’t use much space. Practice of this Tai Chi form provides great health benefits such as: improved posture, balance, prevention of falls, improved circulation, metabolism, strengthened immune system, strengthened heart energy, improved neuromuscular function, and improve brain function. TIME: 12:30 pm. COST: Drop-in $5.00
BE THE FIRST TO KNOW!
Have the Watertown Senior News emailed to your home computer every month by going to the Town website: www.watertown-ma.gov and signing up on the ‘Notify Me’ list. Follow the link on the left side of the home page, scroll down to Watertown Senior News and check it off! Or, call the Senior Center at 617-972-6490 with your email address & we’ll add it for you!
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The Watertown Senior News is published monthly. Click here to download the February 2017 issue: http://www.watertown-ma.gov/