There are many organizations in the Mid-Columbia supporting older adults, but there are very few whose only mission is the health and wellbeing of older adults. One of those organizations is the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) operated under the Mid-Columbia Council of Governments serving a five county region: Wheeler, Gilliam, Sherman, Wasco and Hood River counties.
Through the Older Americans Act (OAA), the AAA receives funds for food and nutrition programs, support services, and planning and coordination of local services. The AAA also receives funds from the state of Oregon to operate the Oregon Project Independence program which pays for in-home services so older adults can stay in their homes and live as independently as possible.
But the AAA also recruits and trains many volunteers to provide several other important services for older adults including the Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance program (SHIBA) that offers free counseling to people eligible for Medicare; Friendly Visitor program that helps older adults stay socially connected, and the AARP Money Management program that provides help with simple financial tasks such as paying bills and balancing a check book.
If you would like to learn more for yourself or someone you know, at the Center on Tuesday, February 4th at 11:00, Melissa Howtopat will explain the many important services offered by local Area Agency on Aging.
Hopefully you have received your Passport to Happiness Calendar in the mail. (If not you can still pick one up at the Center.) To encourage a healthy and active lifestyle, there is a Passport, in addition to the Calendar, that you can pick up to be stamped each month at various community activities promoting healthy aging including the quarterly events held at the Center. Then in December at the last event, you can turn in your passport for prizes and gifts donated by local businesses and individuals.
The first community event where you can have your Passport stamped is the Go Red for Women’s Heart Expo at The Dalles Civic Auditorium on Friday February 7th from 11:00 am – 2:00 pm. Pick up your Passport at the StrongWomen table and have it stamped by Fern Wilcox the volunteer coordinator for the StrongWomen program. And each month another community event will be announced where your “Passport” can be stamped.
Two quick reminders: The first Creative Drawing class at the Center (led by Debra Jones and based on the Art of Silliness Drawing Workshop created by Carla Sonheim) is next Tuesday from 1:00 – 2:30. Call the Center for the supply list and the cost is only $2.00 per session. And if for Christmas, you bought a new iPad or iPhone for yourself or your children bought one for you, there will be a iPad/iPhone class on Wednesday February 5th from 1:00 – 2:30 pm.
I hope you have stayed up with me regarding the proposed changes to English spelling called “Euro-English”. For this week’s music announcement, I am adding the last three changes: replacing “th” with a “z”, the “w” with “v”; and dropping the “o” from words containing “ou”.
Nxt vek starts a vhol new monz and on ze first Tuesday night in February (4th) if yu want to “kut a rug!”, kom on down to ze Cnter and njoy the sunds of ze Stravbery Mountain Band. Ze dors open at 6:00, and althugh it von’t be all night, yu kan dans from 7:00 – 9:00 PM. Everyon is velkom and donations are apresiated.
The answer to last week’s “Remember When” question is Wingtips – a style of leather shoe decorated on the toe cap with perforations in the shape of a “W”. (And the winner of a free March 21st Saturday Breakfast is Ted Mahoney.)
This week’s question was inspired by the funny YouTube video “Smart Dog Drives Smart Car” emailed to me by Diana Weston. It is one of hundreds of pranks found on the “Just for Laugh Gags” channel on YouTube. But the videos reminded me of the popular television show “Candid Camera” which ran on NBC from 1960-1967 hosted by what television personality. E-mail your answer to mcseniorcenter@gmail.com, call 541-296-4788 or send it with a picture of Durward Kirby, the co-host of the show for several years.
Well, it has been another week wondering for how long will I have to drive out of town to see the sun? Until we meet again, in conversations when you start digging yourself into a hole, know when to put down the shovel.
“The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.” Joseph Addison
