FY 2007 - Town of Uxbridge

needs with services and to promote wellness
programs that educate and empower senior citizens
to maintain their independence and quality
of life. We recognize that our senior citizens
are an important, active and contributing
resource to our community. Another fundamental
part of our mission is to raise community
consciousness concerning the many services,
programs, and activities we offer and to expose
our seniors to as many new opportunities as
possible.
The Council on Aging Board is comprised of
eleven members: Daniel Baker, Chairman,
Herve Gazaille, Vice Chairman, Elton Jones,
Treasurer, Karen Albright, Secretary, John
McQuade, Joan Remillard, Faye McCloskey, Ann
Lewis, Alan Keeler, Rita Labonte, and Marie
Potter.
We welcome, Karen Albright, Daniel Baker,
Rita Labonte, and Marie Potter as new members
to our Board and extend our thanks to Mary
Rice, Joanne Beaumier and Karen Pascucci for
their dedicated service as past members.
It is with sadness that we report the passing of
long-standing member, Mrs. Ella Smith. Mrs.
Smith was appointed to the COA in 1981 and
served faithfully for over 24 years. We thank
you, Mrs. Smith, for your many years of service
to our community.
At this time we send our heartfelt thanks to
Mr. John H. McQuade as he steps down from his
long-standing position as Chairman. Mr.
McQuade served as our Chairman for well over
a decade. We are truly indebted to him for his
fine leadership and look forward to his continuous
service as a board member this fiscal year.
Marsha Petrillo, is pleased to announce her
fifth year of service as your Senior Center
Director. Please contact Marsha at 508-278-
8622 if you have any questions, concerns or
ideas for our Center. Mary Rice is our Outreach
Coordinator and our certified SHINE representative.
She is available three days per week:
Tuesday and Wednesday from 11:00 am to 2:00
pm and Thursday from 8:30 am to 12:30 pm.
Mary can be reached on her direct line at 508-
278-8638. Joe Rondeau is our van driver. Joe
works part time from 10:30 am to 1:30 pm on
Monday, Thursday and Friday. On Tuesdays and
Wednesdays, Joe begins his day at 8:30 am for
grocery shopping. If you would like to use our
transportation services please call us at 508-
278-8622 to schedule a ride.
Town Meeting approved a new part-time
union clerk position this fiscal year. Ellen Mayo
was hired on July 5, 2006 to assist the director.
Ellen works Monday -Thursday from 9:00 am to
1:00 pm and on Fridays from 9:00 am to 12:00
noon. Unfortunately, Ellen’s time with us was
short lived. On June 29, after nearly a year of
dedicated service, we find ourselves wishing
Ellen the best of luck as she moves on to a new
full-time position in the Treasurer’s Office at
Town Hall.
Richard Moran, of C & D Cleaning Service,
came on as our vendor for all of our janitorial
needs.
The Senior Center was awarded a grant under
the Helping Hand Mini Grant Program, administered
for the Massachusetts Rural Transit
Assistance Program (MArtap) by the
Massachusetts Executive Office of
Transportation (EOT) and the Massachusetts
Association of Regional Transit Authorities
(MARTA). The amount of the grant award was
for $600.00 to be used for the purchase of a GPS
Navigation system. The Uxbridge Elderly
Connection, Inc., helped to cover the 10%
match for this grant.
The Uxbridge Senior Center is a certified
SMOC fuel assistance in-take site for local residents
in need of assistance with their heating
bills. Last year the Senior Center helped over
100 local residents apply for fuel assistance
beginning November 1st and running through
April. If you are in need this winter season,
please call Mary Rice at 508-278-8638 or
Marsha Petrillo at 278-8622 to set up an
appointment.
The Senior Center serves as a very important
link between the community and local governmental
departments. We work in partnership
with the Police Department, Fire Department,
the DPW, Board of Health, Veteran’s Agent, the
Assessors Office, Town Clerk and the
Treasurer/Collector’s Office. We have updated
and expanded our “RUOK?” program through
the efforts of our Police Chief, Scott Freitas, and
Officer Brian MacDonald. Officers Mike DiVitto
and Greg Bach have been assigned to the Senior
Center and we contact them for all pertinent
senior citizen issues including public safety, safe
driving, and identity theft. We have a unique
and special relationship with our Fire
Department. Chief Ostroskey helped out at our
flu shot clinic this year by updating senior citizens
file of life information. Several of our firemen
joined us at our monthly “Lunch n Learn”
seminars to discuss fire safety, fall prevention,
stroke prevention and many other topics of
interest. We also offered wellness classes in Tai
Chi, Line Dancing, Yoga, Pilates and Cardio
Exercise. We offered educational classes in
computers.
The Senior Center works in conjunction with
Tri-Valley, Inc., a private non-profit agency providing
information, referrals and care management
services in Central Massachusetts. Tri
Valley, Inc., is administered by an Executive
Director and a salaried staff and is assisted by
over 900 volunteers. I am proud to report our
partnership with Tri Valley Inc. marked its 22nd
year in October of 2006. We are thankful to Tri
Valley, Inc., for their important community
work and look forward to our continued partnership.
On Monday, August 14, 2006 we welcomed,
Carrie Walden, as our new Tri Valley
nutrition site manager. Carrie oversees our team
of Tri Valley volunteers. Together, they help prepare
and deliver approximately 100 meals per
day from our Center. Our volunteer team delivers
meals to homebound individuals in the
towns of Blackstone, Millville, Mendon and
Uxbridge.
The Senior Center Director oversees the Local
Senior Citizen Property Tax Work-Off Program.
The program assists senior citizens with their
property tax bills and helps to enhance local
government service by using the skills of senior
citizens. You must be 60 years of age or older,
the legal owner of your home, and a taxpayer
in the town of Uxbridge to qualify. A maximum
earned benefit of $500 shall be based upon the
minimum hourly wage of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts.
We are proud to report that the Senior Center
served 103 Uxbridge residents by way of our free
AARP Income Tax Help this tax season. The
total amount of savings earned from the Circuit
Breaker tax credit for Uxbridge residents for FY
07 is $28,093 and the telephone tax rebate from
the Federal Government amounted to $3,100
savings for our residents. We are pleased to help
return over $30,000 to our senior citizens this
year.
The following dates highlight some of our
special FY 07 events. On July 6th, Mr. John Root,
master storyteller and pianist, performed at a
special luncheon funded by a grant from the
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