Okay. Greetings and welcome to the Kushnet Council on Aging Board of Directors meeting. The Kushnet Council on Aging is located at 59 and 1.5 South Green Street. I love that address. in a Kushnet. This meeting is being video and
audio recorded for later broadcast on local channel 18 and the town of Aushnet's YouTube channel. All right. I would like a uh a motion to call the meeting to order, please. Okay, there's a motion. Second. Okay, this
meeting is now in order. The board of directors consists of Lauren Wa who is the director of the Aushrushna Council on Aging, myself, Daniel Smith who's the chairperson, Deborah Reposer who's the vice chair, Linda Gilbert who's the secretary Gilbo,
I'm sorry I I pronounced that wrong. Who's the secretary? Joan Jerry Holland, Pat Hudson, Patricia Murkski, and Pauline Tessera. It's not Pat Hudson. It's Plet Hudson. Plet.
Oh, I have Pauline. No, it's Paul. Did you change your name? No. No. Plet Hudson. Sarah. Okay. Yeah. Plet Hudson. Okay. And uh Pat Miski is excused because
she's still doing shine meetings and different meetings like that. So that's why that's why we're going to keep saying her name, but she'll be here shortly. You say I think next month. Okay. Great. She'll be back. Miss Boulder, did we get any mail? No ma'am. Please have an answer again. Please send us something. I hope we get
some Christmas cards this this December. Cool. So, I should maybe just say we do receive mail. We get bills. Um and then we get a lot of um advertisement for local um entertainment and things like that. So, we we are receiving mail, but nothing um I guess worth sharing in a
meeting as far as you know any letters of concern or anything like that. I think Okay. Um, we have the minutes from the July meeting. Uh, I for a motion to approve those minutes. Motion to approve. And second it. Okay.
I like this. Makes me feel like Thor. All right. Old business. We have a new delivery list from the Kushnet Council on Aging Lensing Newsletters delivered throughout businesses inner Kushnet. I can't name them all, but they're all great places. We have gently used
medical equipment and incontinent supplies available at the Kushna Council on Aging free of charge. And I want to remind you that the incontinent supplies are not used. Inclement weather, I want to touch on this for a second. If the schools are closed, we are closed. For all classes
and programs, director and custodial staff will be on site for emergencies. If the town hall is closed, we're closed. Now, I'd like to talk to you a little bit about the summer. This summer's been very hot and it's going to continue to be for a while. Make sure you stay hydrated, stay in the shade,
take care of yourself, can sneak up on you, and you can get heat exhaustion or heat stroke very quickly. The other thing is the National Weather Service is predicting about 16 storms this year, seven of which they expect to become hurricanes. So, just keep an eye on the weather just
to be sure because we just we just came into hurricane season and it does not end until the end of November. I didn't realize it. I thought it ended around uh the end of September. That that's not true. However, it's unlikely that we would get anything up here that late because it obviously cools off here
before it does down south. Okay. Just wanted to remind everybody about those things. Um the COA has new outreach specialists. Our two outreach specialists are Patricia Madurki and Samantha Ortiz. And they can be reached here at the Christian Council on
Aging at our telephone number which is 5089980280. Representative Mark Sylvia I think I said that right is here on the first Monday of every month at 10:00 a.m. until 11:00. Representative Steve Wlette the first Monday of every month
11 till noon. The veterans coffee social here at the official console on aging is the first Tuesday of every month and the veteran service officer is Brad Fish. He's here from 8:30 to 9:30 and you can
contact him at 508-998207 extension 4207. And may I interrupt for a minute? Yes, ma'am. I was at town hall and somewhere and I saw it written somewhere that you know if you have a veteran don't wait until you need help you know
go in and get registered let him know who you are let him know that you're in town and that way when you do need to go and speak with him you'll have an idea of who you are you'll have a I guess a file started or something like that so let people know ahead of time if you're a veteran
um I am a veteran and I have not met um Mr. Fish yet, but I hear I hear very good things about him. Yeah. Nice to talk to you. That's good. Our last veteran service officer was um Ron Cormier and and he helped me a lot. So, uh they
are they're worth their their weight and gold. Yeah. You know, don't wait. Y like Linda said, go on down there and meet him, register with them. You never know when you're going to want to, you know, get some education or you're going to have to apply for disability or or
medical or something. So, good idea. Okay. We're accepting applications from a Kushnet residents 65 years of age or older. I guess that's not me, huh? For the senior tax workoff program. That
sounds interesting. Telephone or stop in to learn more. Uh, let's see. Counseling and psychotherapy clinic. This is very interesting with Alexa Manise. She's an LICSSW which means she's a licensed social worker. Second
and fourth Tuesday of each month by appointment and you can contact Alexa directly at 508717439. Do I have a motion to approve the old business? Second. Approved. All right. So, I'm going to do
Pauline Pette Hudson down. Okay. Yeah. What's up, next? Next is new business. Okay. First, we have update directors. Updates from our director. It's going to be a
good meeting today. We have updates from our director, Lauren Gold. Thank you. Um, so nothing too crazy um, in this past month, but I did want to just follow up. Um, I know last meeting we talked about the AC replacement. Um, so I did uh, reach out to a few
companies in the area. They did come out. I'm just waiting for the coats to come in. Um, once we have the coats coming in, then we'll continue on with the procurement process. Um, and then hopefully getting the AC and heating system replaced and that'll be good obviously going into the um, the colder weather and the men's.
Yes. Um, and then I know you and I briefly had a conversation about the roof. Just looking at the the minutes from last meeting. Um, we still haven't had any Oh, knock on whatever I can. Um, we haven't had a significant amount of rain to prove that, you know, that one nail
was um, the culprit of what we have going on. I'm hoping that it, you know, that was just a quick fix. Um, with the AC units being replaced, they are housed in the attic. Um, and it's kind of come to light that it maybe isn't properly ventilated or, you know, as well
ventilated as it should be. Um, so that'll be something for us to explore, too. With the new systems coming in, we don't want them to go into overdrive and, you know, burn themselves out. Um, so that'll be a new thing for us to look into to in addition to the the AC units is uh making sure that they're properly
ventilated. So, I don't know if a bigger roof project will be in the works in addition to making sure that everything's ventilated. So that's more to come on that. Um probably not. Yeah. Um if it's just a quick fix of you know doing something on a smaller scale to make sure that they are ventilated
properly. But so we will be working on that. Um but again just waiting on the final quotes to come in and we'll um we'll move on with the the AC project. Um and then just some new programming that we have coming up um in the next coming months. I know in one of our past meetings, I don't remember what month it
was from, but Linda, you had mentioned about um interested in like a diabetes program. So, I did um get in touch with community nurse and it's actually going to be with Barbara Canuell. She does the nutrition program that we have uh bimonthly or every other month. Um she
is also going to to run the diabetes program. So, it seems like it'll be a threepiece program. Um so, there'll be more to come with that. Um, and I I think it would just be important for people to realize too when they're signing up for that program that there would be some sort of commitment with it. But I did want to follow up because
I know that that was something that you suggested um during one of our meetings. Um, and then um just to touch base too, I know that you had brought um some light on to Alexa's um counseling sessions. So those are one-on-one. We are also looking to open like some group
counseling um sessions as well. So, um, she's actually working on some details for me and I'm going to put that in the September newsletter. I'm working on that now. Um, so more to come with that, but I think mental health is a huge thing that, you know, we really need to be better advocating for for our seniors and the more opportunities that we have
for folks to come in and, you know, to talk with somebody. It's it's important. Um, and then we have a community car fit coming up that'll be in October. That's with the trauma center actually with South Coast Health. I thought that that was a really cool opportunity. Um it's a whole team that comes in with um I
believe either physical therapists or occupational therapists that come in um and like a trauma team that come in and they they evaluate you in your car and they'll look at your blind spots and give you recommendations of how to be safer in your car and they properly fit you to like your mirrors and things like that. Um so that'll be something special
coming up. But I think that's a great opportunity for seniors. Um I mean anybody really, but especially our seniors u making sure that they're safe while behind the wheel I think is really important. So that again that's in the pipeline that'll be um in October. But um we're heading in the right direction.
I've been really trying to focus on new programming and even if it's um you know one session every so often but just to you know bring some new um community um engagement too. So like I said working with South Coast Health was really exciting for me. So it's wonderful.
So I just have a question for you. It says that the coastline has now changed to frozen meals. Yes. Have you had any complaints about that or No. Um I mean we weren't really getting many phone calls any like even when they were stationed here we would refer
everything to Coastline. I haven't heard anything from you know our our perspective here. Um people do come in and they question you know why is it so quiet? And I kind of feel like sometimes it makes it look like we don't have anything going on but even on our quiet days coastline was always here. So there was always hustle and bustle. So, it is
a lot quieter here. Um, but I don't want anyone to think it's because we're lacking in any aspects. It's just because they used our space for Monday through Friday for half of the morning, you know. So, there was always just extra um bodies and and noise. So, if you come in, don't be scared. We're
still we're still doing the same things that we have been. So, uh what about the farmers market program? Yep. Um that was Thank you for bringing that up. We still do have farmers market coupons. Um, we are giving them out to a cushion at residence. There is a little
screening tool on the the um the brochure itself where you'll check off um your income. There is an income requirement for that, but it's $25 worth of coupons that can be used at any farmers market. So, we still have um a bunch left. So,
thank you for bringing that. Thank you, Lauren. My wife Debbie and I were talking about it on the way in today. We think that Lauren's doing a stellar job. Wonderful. She's right on top of everything. Thank you. You brought a lot of good new ideas that Yeah. Just to touch on a few things she talked
about, that nail may very well have been the problem because a small hole can pass an amazing amount of water. It did at my house. Yes. And you'll never know where it's going to end up because it follows the easiest path, the least resistance path, you know. And uh as far as Alexa goes, there's
some there's something I'd like to say about that. Um, as we especially as we get older, um, a lot of us have depression, anxiety, all kinds of different problems and some people are ashamed to say anything about it or do anything about it. Please do not be. Um,
I I myself suffer from depression. I waited for years to see my doctor and when I finally told him, he said, "Why did you wait so long?" I said, "I'm I'm embarrassed." He said, "It's it's like having a broken leg. It needs to be treated. Mhm. It's it's not you're crazy or anything.
It's it's it's an imbalance in your brain that needs to be treated. So, I'm I'm begging you if you're having anxiety or depression or any kind of mental issues. Do not be ashamed to come to her. And this is why she's here. It's it's a wonderful resource.
And I feel like a group session might be a good entryway. It's a less scary. It makes people feeling session. Yeah. Yeah. Free to talk. And by the way, my depression is being treated successfully. So that's another good reason to come in. Okay. Okay. Thank
you, Lauren. Uh, improve your hearing today. What was that? Improve your hearing today. Complimentary hearing screening. Hearing aid cleaning, video ear exam. I wonder how that would work. They put a camera.
This is going to be this was for So that will continue. We had our session on August 8th. So she'll be back in September. I have um in the September newsletter letter letter, it'll show all of the the fall dates. So starting in September all the way through, I think it's November. Um so she'll be here once
a month. Um we did have a good turnout actually. Um the folks that did end up going to her name is Lauren as well. Um the people that did end up going to see Lauren, they um found it beneficial. some of them already had hearing screenings prior and did have hearing aids, so she was able to make sure that
they were fitted properly and um clean them and answer any questions. Um she does work for like a private organization, so she um in some cases did offer, you know, how much it would cost to get hearing aids from her her company. So, some felt as though it it may have been a little bit of like a
sales pitch, but also if you're getting a hearing screening for free, you know, there there's still benefits to it. she just has her own, you know, things that she also has to be able to um I guess promote. But um overall, it was um a positive feedback from from that program. So that's something that I'd
like to continue with. Okay. If you'd like to schedule an appointment for that, you can call us here at 508-9980280. And her again, her name is Lauren. Share hip hop with Grande. Yes. Friday, August 8th. Is that going to be
back too? Um, so she has a grant. So, um, I guess years ago she did teach ongoing and then that kind of had stopped and she's been here uh twice since I've started. Um, and she, you know, had some grant funding. So, that allowed her to do that special class. So, um, she may be back
in the future. She had reached out to me with a few other um, ideas that she could do um, like line dancing and things like that. So, was that was that well attended? It was. Yes. Okay. Okay. I needed to know that for the Yeah. We have new breath work with Rosalyn.
Can you tell us about this a little bit? Yeah. So um the first session will be today. So Rosalyn, she is a 20 year um veteran of the Air Force. Um so she comes with a lot of experience. Um she just started teaching yoga classes which we have a chair yoga class. So I didn't
want to impede on our yoga instructor who you know is very well-loved in um on Fridays. But uh Rosland did when she had approached me um again she offered a yoga session by we kind of decided on like a meditation. So today will be the first um day. We had 14 people sign up
which she was really excited for cuz she wasn't even expecting that many especially with it being a new class. Um I did make some surveys so we can hand those out to the um folks that are coming in this afternoon and hopefully get some positive feedback or you know anything else that should be worked on. um if I'm I'm assuming that it'll you
know there'll be a a good um outcome but this is something that I would also like to add whether it be once a month or something. Our our schedule is pretty jam-packed which isn't a bad problem to have but it is when you're trying to um implement new things so it's hard to like move things around. So, I may not be able to get her on the schedule
weekly, but even once a month, I think is a good opportunity. And that kind of aligns too with the whole thing with Alexa. And I think just taking a moment for yourself and um even if you you can learn some um like fundamentals of grounding yourself in breath work. I think it's there's an overall benefit.
Is that what this is? Like breathing better like if you have COPD or something like that like a meditation. Yeah. That's a great Okay, that's Wednesday, August 13th, which is today. at noon. So hopefully I don't know if this will be shown by then, but uh probably not.
Anyway, you can catch the next one. Yes. Okay. Bingo. Thursday, August 28th. The doors open at noon. The games begin at 1:00. The cards are 50 cents each.
Coverall a dollar. You pick them four for a dollar. I don't play bingo, so I don't know what any of that means, but bingo. Blood pressure check and wellness visit will be Thursday, August 28th from 12 to 2. So if you want your blood pressure check or you just would like to have a
wellness visit, come on down then. Beginner watercolor classes, Wednesdays, August 20th and 27th. That's at 10:30. It's $10 per person and registration is required. How's that going? Very well. Okay, good. Everyone who says that they are not
artists, they leave with beautiful artworks. Nice. I think that's it by find the numbers. That's the only way I'll be able to. Okay, the travel program here at the Yushna Council on Aging. This is the big buzz
for everybody. They love this. We have some fall trips. You can sign up starting July 1st, which is past 30 already. So, you can sign up whenever you're ready. 5089980280. And we have the Cape Cod lunch and train and foliage tour. That's going to be
Wednesday, October 15th. We have the autumn mystery bus tour. Ooh, mystery. I guess that means we don't know where it's going to go. Correct. You don't know who the driver will be. That's going to be November 5th. Foxwood Casino. I know
that's Debbie's Thursday, November 13th. And Newport Playhouse will be Sunday, December 7th. Okay, we want to make you aware of the events that take place regularly here at the Kushner Council on Aging. Flyers are always available here and in the different places where we put them
throughout the town. Do I have a motion to approve the new business? Second. Approved. Second. Okay. Okay. Do we have any information that anyone would like to share or any questions
that anyone has? Everybody's good. Okay. Please visit the following websites. The Krishna Council on Aging, the Kushnet Library, the Arishna Cultural Council, which can be found on the town of Aushnet website. I love living on Krishna. I'm so happy to
be here. I was born here. Our next meeting will be Wednesday, September 10th, 2025, right here at the Krishna Council on Aging. Do I have a motion to adjourn the meeting? Jerry Howland. Okay. Second longer.
We are returned.