Cummington Council on Aging
January 2010
P.O. Box 95 413-634-2262
Cummington,MA 01026 COA@cummington-MA.gov
Office hours: Thursday 9AM- 12PM
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The new year opens like a Dickens novel: It’s the best of times for Mars and the worst for Venus, which hides behind the Sun, crossing from the morning to the evening sky on the 11th. Mars makes its closest approach this year on the 27th and is exactly opposite the Sun two nights later. Highest at midnight at magnitude –1.2, orange Mars outshines every star except blue Sirius. It’s a transition time: Mars starts the month in Leo but retrogrades into Cancer. Brilliant Jupiter, low in the southwest at nightfall, starts in Capricornus but crosses into Aquarius. Uranus, in Aquarius, ambles into Pisces. Earth comes closest to the Sun on the 2nd. The year’s nearest Moon—a full Moon, to boot—is on the 30th.
JANUARY 2010: temperature 29° (4° below avg.); precipitation 2.5" (1" below avg.); Jan 1-7: Rain to snow, then sunny, cold; Jan 8-12: Snowstorm, then sunny, cold; Jan 13-20: Sunny, then rain and snow, seasonable; Jan 21-24: Snow, then sunny, cold; Jan 25-29: Snow showers, then sunny, very cold; Jan 30-31: Heavy rain, warm.s on the 30th.
Red Hats will be meeting on January 13th at the Village Church at 12:30 for a potluck. We will be doing a food drive for the local food pantry, so bring a nonperishable item to donate to the pantry.
Triad has been fortunate to receive king sized blankets from the sheriffs office. If anyone is in need of a blanket to keep warm this winter as we lower our thermostats to conserve on energy, call Jim Martin or myself to access one.
I was requested to include the notice below in this newsletter. It is important. Please read.
Prescription Advantage Benefit Change for 2010
Due to cuts in the state budget, Prescription Advantage was forced to make a change to its benefits. Starting January 1, 2010, Prescription Advantage will no longer help members pay their Medicare prescription drug plan premium. This premium assistance was not available to all members, only those at a certain income level. Members affected by this change were notified by mail.
Important Note: Your Medicare drug plan will be sending you a premium bill each month. It is very important that you pay the bill or you could lose your Medicare prescription drug benefits!
The elimination of premium assistance is the only change to Prescription Advantage benefits.
Prescription Advantage is not going away and will continue to pay for prescription drugs when members reach that gap in the Part D coverage that is known as the “donut hole”. And for members in the S5 category, Prescription Advantage will still pay for covered prescription drugs once members reach their out-of-pocket spending limit of $3,250.
If you have any questions about your Prescription Advantage benefits, you can call Prescription Advantage at 1-800-AGE-INFO (1-800-243-4636) Press 3.
Once again I would remind recipients of the newsletter that you can now receive it via e-mail. Simply let me know what your e-mail address is and voila it will happen.
You may recall when Mandy Caputo came to our potluck luncheon there was a discussion about when the West Cummington post office closed. Through the sleuthing of Barbara Goldsmith, it was discovered that the post office had closed May 31, 1978. I have lived in the same house for 36½ years. My address changed at least five times!
Our next pot luck will be January 19, 2010. We will be fortunate to have Ron Woodland with us to talk about what is NEW in the skies or debunking the myths about the stars/sky, or maybe some of both. Plan to enjoy your dessert and coffee while listening to Ron. With a two week lead time, you might even come up with a question or two for him. His interest and enthusiasm for astronomy is huge.
If you are unsure whether a charity is deserving of your support, contact the AGO’s Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division at (617)727-2200, Ext 2101, to find out if the charity and its fundraiser are registered to operate in the Commonwealth. There are many charities looking for money at this time, but make sure that your donated money is well spent. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the solicitor, to request written information about who they are or to simply say ‘NO’. You’re not being stingy, you’re being smart.
There is yet another phishing scam revolving around H1N1 vaccine…to add to all the other phishing scams out there. Below are some guidelines about computer use and how to protect against problems.
And remember if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
We want to hear your ideas about housing needs in the Hilltowns. Our Housing Forum in December was snowed out. So we've scheduled an additional gathering on Wednesday, January 13, from 9 a.m.to 11 a.m. at the CDC offices, 387 Main Road in Chesterfield. Join us for light refreshments and a conversation about the CDC's housing rehabilitation, repair, senior housing, first-time homebuyer and other programs. Let us know what we're doing right and where the gaps are in improving life in the Hilltowns! RSVP to Barbara Solow at 413-296-4536 X23 or email, barbaras@hilltowncdc.org.
Are you at least 60 and have a problem with your in-home caregiving services?
Do you know someone who does?
If so, please call us!
1-800-243-4636
(1-800-AGE-INFO)
Press #5 to speak to an
Intake Specialist
For about a year now four ladies from town have been hand piecing and hand quilting a king sized quilt. Ellen DeGrave, Sue Forgea, Cynthia Lynes and myself meet Monday afternoons at 1:30 PM to quilt and chat. (This is not an exclusive group. We welcome anyone to come and help, learn, consider, kibbitz) We are planning to raffle it off when finished for the benefit of the COA and additional supplies for our next project. To that end we are planning a quilt show at the community house towards the end of March. To have a quilt show we need quilts to display, so we are requesting old and new quilts from any of you who have them, those made in years past and handed down or those made to be handed down to future generations. They will be carefully and lovingly handled. You’ll be hearing more about this with dates, etc. Keep it on your radar.
COA OFFICE: 413-634-2262 * COORDINATOR: Diane Anderson 634-5345* COA CHAIR: JAMES MARTIN, JR. 413-634-5520
COA EMAIL: coa@cummington-ma.gov * H.E.N: JANE NERI: 413-634-5703 * SHINE: LUCILLE TEMPLE - 413-586-1906
H IGH LAND VALLEY ELDER SERVICES: 800-322-0551 * HOPE NURSE: Mary Kane 413-238-5511 EXT. 131
Elder Abuse Hotline: 1-800-922-2275 * WILLIAMSBURG COA: 413-268-8407 * Eli Loomis-SENIOR VAN TRANSPORT: 413-268-7582
January Calendar
Monday:
Osteoporosis Exercise 9:30 – 10:15 AM
Board of Assessors office hours 9:30 – 11:30 AM
Board of Assessors meetings 6:30 – 8:30 PM
2nd and 4th Mondays
Bryant Library 6PM – 9PM
Building Inspector 7PM – 9PM
Tuesday Chair Yoga 3PM- 4PM
Wednesday: Administrative Assistant 9AM – 12Noon January COA Events
Food Pantry – Goshen 1:00PM-3PM Jan 7 – BOD meeting 9:30 AM
Bryant Library 6PM – 9PM Jan 19- potluck 12:30 PM
Compactor 6:00- 8:00PM
Thursday: COA office hours 9:00- 12:00 AM
Select board 7:00 PM
Town Clerk 6PM – 7:30PM
Friday: Town Administrative Asst. 9:00AM -11:00 AM Happy New Year Everyopne
!
Saturday Compactor 7:00AM – 11:00AM
Library 8:30AM -12:30AM
Sunday: Village Church 10: 00AM
W. Cummington Church 9:30AM
CUMMINGTON COA NEWSLETTER HAS BEEN FUNDED IN PART BY:
THE TOWN OF CUMMINGTON, THE EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF ELDER AFFAIRS AND HIGHLAND VALLEY ELDER SERVICES.
Cummington Council on Aging
33 Main St. P.O. Box 95
Cummington, MA 01026