Events at the Westminster Senior Center

The Westminster Council on Aging is located at 127 Main St., in the American Legion Hall. For more information on any program or service contact COA Director Sue Fisher at (978) 874-7402. The center is open weekdays from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and from 12:30 to 4 p.m.

The Senior Center will hold the monthly blood pressure clinic on Thursday, Jan. 4, from 11 a.m. to noon. The event is open to everybody.

The Westminster Council on Aging Board will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 17, at 9 a.m. at the Senior Center. All meetings are open to the public.

The COA is reminding residents that the Senior Center will be closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday on Monday, Feb. 15.

The CAPS Collaborative Program will be hosting a luncheon at the Senior Center at noon on Thursday, Feb. 25. The menu will consist of chicken piccata, rice, vegetables, salad, coffee and dessert. The cost will be $5 a person.

In March, the Ruth Harcovitz, who is known as Boston’s Julie Andrews, will sing a program entitled Great Day For The Irish. The event will be held on Thursday, March 18, at noon, and is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, March 17, at 4 p.m. the Bread of Life Church is hosting a St. Patrick’s Day Dinner at the Senior Center. The cost is $3.

In other information:

The Council on Aging is continuing to hold Bingo at the new time. The games will be held from 12:30 to 3 p.m. Everyone is invited to join the fun.

COA Director Sue Fisher wants to remind seniors that when the Ashburnham- Westminster Regional School District is closed due to bad weather there is no Meals-On-Wheels delivered, no on-site lunches served at the Senior Center, and no MART van service. If the Westminster Town Hall is closed due to bad weather, the Senior Center will also be closed.

A new Senior Food Pantry is opening through collaboration with the Gardner Senior Center and the Gardner CAC. The Pantry will be open on the third Friday of each month from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 294 Pleasant St., Gardner. Those who are 62 years old and older, live in Ashburnham, Gardner, Hubbardston or Westminster and who are not veterans qualify for food. Please call the Gardner CAC for more information at (978) 632-8700.

Fisher also wants seniors to be aware that due to the cuts in the state budget, Prescription Advantage will make changes to the benefits this year. The program will no longer help members pay their Medicare prescription drug plan premiums, which was part of a service offered to those with certain income levels and those residents will be notified by mail.