news0906

Lawrence County Senior
Citizens' Center

NEWS
September 2006

220 Centennial Blvd., Lawrenceburg, TN 38464
Telephone (931) 762-9259                                                                         Meal Site (931) 762-1578
E-Mail address: [email protected]                 Website: www.geocities.com/seniors38464
Corinne Perry, Director                                                                                                                      .

Greetings from the Director and Staff:

         As I begin this newsletter we are still in the grips of a heat wave, as is much of the country, but it won�t be long till the temperatures should be somewhat lower and more comfortable as we move from Summer into Fall. During the heat wave, I haven�t been as faithful to my walking as I need to be and as a result I began having some low back pain. I�ve got started back, even though it�s still pretty hot, but I�d rather get hot and sweaty than to have the back pain, so I�ll keep it up. I�m really looking forward to the cooler weather to get back to some long hill-climbing hikes. Several of those who completed the Survey of Interest forms have indicated they would like to participate in a walking / hiking group, so that will be one of the new activities we�ll be starting in September, with an organizational meeting on Monday, 9/11, after our Bingo Breakfast which we�re picking back up for the Fall and Winter months.

          We are finally past the sometimes heated campaigns of the County General Election. We have several new county officials, including County Executive, Sheriff, Circuit Court Clerk, and some new County Commissioners and School Board Members. These officials will be dealing with some difficult issues - growing financial needs in the area of education, building a new jail/workhouse, trying to stimulate the local job market, etc., all amidst budget constraints. I believe I heard that about 40% of the eligible voters cast votes in the election. Even though that is probably a higher percentage than in some past elections, it was not a very good turnout, considering that these officials will be making the decisions that affect all of us, and most of what they do involves spending our tax dollars. �WE THE PEOPLE� need to be more involved, not only by voting at election time, but throughout the year by attending meetings of governing bodies where the decisions are made. A lot of folks complain about what �they� do with our money, but how many people go to the trouble of finding out first hand what is being done?   We will have politics around a little longer for the Federal and State offices that will be on the November ballot. After that we�ll have a short reprieve from campaigning until time for the next presidential election to begin. I�m glad that we live in a country where the citizens elect the country�s leaders, but �politics� is just not my cup of tea. I did a little time in public service by serving three years on the School Board, and during those years, I saw that there is still too much apathy on the part of the citizens. Few people are interested in what is going on except when some controversial issue comes up that affects them in a personal way - then you hear from them. I would encourage everyone to get involved - go to meetings - let our elected officials know what you think about things. This is the only way we can have government �of the people, by the people, and for the people.� The freedom and the rights we enjoy are not guaranteed to the degree that they cannot be lost. It�s just like our physical strength -- if we don�t �use �em, we can lose �em�.

          We are still getting a few of the survey forms and calls regarding ideas for activities. A few members have stepped up and offered to do some volunteer work, so things are progressing. We hope to have a good number present for lunch on August 29 when we will unveil our �New Beginnings� and talk about the new activities we will be promoting in the coming months based on the survey response.

          The Middle Tennessee District Fair is coming up the last week of September. The Senior Center will share a booth with the Summit to display hand-crafted items made by seniors. Be sure to check out the booth to see what some of our talented seniors are doing, and talk with volunteers about the senior center activities.   My contribution to the booth will be a �Trip Around The World� quilt which I made several years ago. I pieced the top and the Senior Center quilters quilted it for me. Initially I thought I would display a Christmas quilt I made more recently, but I have decided to enter it in the regular exhibits. Those who want to display a hand-crafted item in the fair booth should bring it to the Senior Center by September 21. We will be contacting those who volunteered to serve a shift at the booth to talk to the public and promote the senior center to set up a schedule of dates and times.

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REMINDERS FOR TRAVELERS

Remember the following trips the Travelers will be taking this year.   Please sign up and pay at the Senior Center Office.

     <> Last call for the Mystery Trip, Oct. 6, 2006 - sign up and pay by Sept. 6.

     <> Chaffin�s Barn trip to see �Over the River and Through the Woods�, Oct. 19.
           Sign up and pay by Sept. 9.

     <> Biltmore Candle Light Tour & Pigeon Forge Winderfest, Nov. 13-15.
           Sign up and pay by Oct.13.

     <> Remember the Chaffin�s Barn trip to see �Glad Tidings #3�, Nov. 16.
           Sign up and pay by Oct. 6.

     <> Fall Foliage & Octoberfest Tour, Oct. 23-25

     <> Callaway Garden�s Fantasy In Lights and Lake Lanier�s Magical Nights of Lights
           Tour, Dec. 4-6

You can get details on any of these trips at the Senior Center or by calling the Center at 762-9259.

~ ~ ~ ~

FRUITCAKE ORDERS

          Last year around the Thanksgiving / Christmas holiday season, I took orders for Friendship Fruitcakes as a mini-fundraiser for the Center. We can do this again this year, but I would like to get orders further ahead to allow plenty of time to process the fruit (it takes 30 days), and get the cakes baked. This cake contains peaches, pineapple, maraschino cherries, coconut and pecans. The coconut and/or the nuts may be omitted (I have also added RAISINS, which I personally like in the cake.) It can also be made using applesauce instead of oil. You may call the Center or use the order coupon below if you would like to order one or more cakes.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
FRIENDSHIP FRUITCAKE ORDER   Price: $15.00 each

Name:________________________________________ Telephone # __________________

Number of cakes: ___________ Requested delivery date: ______________________

Special Instructions: Omit Coconut ___ Omit Nuts ___ Add raisins __
                                 Applesauce instead of oil ___

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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NEW VOLUNTEER OFFICE: We have set up an office for our volunteers to use. It is the room which was the Director�s office for several years. The Director�s office is back where it used to be, the inner office of the two front offices. The volunteer office is equipped with a desk, telephone, computer and printer and a storage cabinet. In the moving process, Georgia and I have been doing a lot of �house cleaning�, which is still in progress, but we will keep working on it as much as our other duties allow, and hopefully it will be completed soon.

~ ~ ~ ~

I�ve been thinking of taking a �mini-a-tour� to see the Egypt Exhibit at the Frist Center in Nashville. The tickets would be somewhere around $14 to $17, and there would be transportation and lunch in addition to the ticket cost. (We would probably take one or two small vans.) The exhibit runs through October 8, so we would need to do it the first week of October. Call the Center it you would be interested so we can see how many would go if we can work it out.

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