February, the month of hearts and flowers

The shortest month is here, and we are happy because Punxsutawney Phil is going to predict an early spring. As the arctic air blew through us in January and left us yearning for mild temps, please stay warm and remember where to find shelter in a power outage. Stock up on your candles, flashlights, batteries, medication, and bottled water. We provide a refuge from the cold at our senior centers every day of the week.
2019 is underway and this is our 30th year as Pike County Area Agency on Aging. We are excited to celebrate the many achievements of the Agency over the years. The Agency was a combined Area Agency on Aging with both Monroe and Wayne Counties until 1979 when Monroe went on its own. It was 1989 when then-director Linda Peifer took the county solo and Wayne County AAA went under the leadership of Andrea Whyte. We are hoping both ladies will be joining us this year during one of our events. Laura Guccini Engle is also returning to our Agency in an advisory council role. Laura was part of the three-county joinder before leaving in the '70s to raise her family. Laura recently told me that when she was here, the county had just one van for transporting!
It is on this theme that we are also able to celebrate Alma’s birthday in Lackawaxen. Alma, if you didn’t know, was our Lackawaxen site manager who “did it all” from transporting to cooking to finding healthy articles and information for the community. Alma was here before the State Department of Aging was involved. Great community leader.
Love Your Pet Day is February 20. Don’t forget to hug Fido this date.
Did you know having a pet can decrease your: blood pressure, cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, feelings of loneliness? Don’t wait, call the Pike County Humane Society today and make a furry friend happy: 570-296-7654.
It was “Shake the Blues Away” in January, and we thank all who hung in there and attended the centers last month for our limited time reduced donation ($1.50). For February we are doing a Senior Center challenge.
The AARP tax preparers will be here this month and in Matamoras. We are thankful to Monica and all of her volunteers. If you are working with one of our Care managers and coming in to get your taxes done, don’t forget to update your income statements while you are here. The 2019 cost share scales for our options and lottery funded home and community based services is not out yet, but we will be updating everyone throughout the coming months.
The Pennsylvania Department of Aging received a Music and Memory Grant. Our northeast region will be planning out the program regionally. This is an exciting endeavor that worked well in the adult day programs and now will be introduced in the community as well.
Pike County Area Agency on Aging
Hawley
570-775-5550