Portland... On the Move

Issue 70 ~ News from your Town Hall ~ November 1999

Happy Thanksgiving; Governor's Fitness Challenge; and lots more...

 

EditorialPortland On the Move is concerned with your well-being. Monthly we publish articles on safety and health. We advertise programs run by the Senior Center and Parks & Recreation to encourage you to participate. From body sculpting and aerobics to Tai Chi, there's a lot available. No matter what your taste or energy level, you should be able to find something. Good health can substantially improve the quality of your life. Since we are limited by the capabilities of our bodies, we should take the effort to treat them wisely. This is important at any time in life. As children we need to build strong bodies and healthy attitudes that lay the foundation for a lifetime. In young adulthood, when we are probably at our strongest, we need to maintain levels of fitness in order to work for a living, raise families of our own, and still enjoy ourselves. As we enter middle age, it's even more important to be health conscious. Aging bodies need careful maintenance in order to enjoy peak performance. It's easy to become complacent and let the ravages of time take their toll, "letting nature take its course." But we really can't blame nature for our sitting in front of the television, stuffing our faces. Nature never provided us with a sedentary lifestyle. We designed that ourselves. Nature gave us water to drink. Not coffee. Not soda. Not alcohol. Nature gave us fruits and vegetables to eat. Not super fattening buffets and chemically treated, processed foods. Nature gave us clean air to breathe, not tobacco smoke and pollution we can't escape from. Much of our physical degeneration is self-imposed. We embrace it through sheer laziness, and then mourn the loss. If we maintain a healthy lifestyle in middle age, we profit from it as we become older. Many of the scourges of old age are preventable. Eating well, exercising, taking supplements, regular medical check-ups, keeping the mind active - these all contribute significantly to our well-being. While bad habits might be difficult to break, it is important that we do our best to change them. The benefits can be tremendous. Not only will you be helping yourself and your family, but the Town also! The 1999 Governor's Fitness Challenge for the Millennium is offering cash prizes to the Parks & Recreation departments of Connecticut for boosting participation in their activities. This is a contest, awarding $10,000 to the Town that generates the highest number of participants, and two $5,000 awards to the runners-up. This will be based, of course, on population size, to even out the playing field. We need your support! Get your friends to join in as well. Businesses are also encouraged to help out.

Participants have to keep a log of their program activities over a two week period, due back at the Parks & Recreation office by November 19. Contact Sandy Darna at 342-6757. Applications will also be available at program events. What better way to appreciate life this Thanksgiving season, than by committing yourself to a healthy lifestyle? Attention all Seniors! from Beth Morrissette New ConnPACE Guidelines Each year the Department of Social Services increases the income guidelines based on the cost of living increase awarded each year. The new income limits will be single: $14,700 and $17,000 for a married couple. ConnPACE is a program that helps seniors and the disabled persons pay for certain prescription drugs, insulin, insulin syringes, and needles. Participants pay $12 for each prescription and ConnPACE pays the rest. Osteo/Arthritis Exercise Class A new exercise class is being sponsored by the Portland Rehabilitation Centre on Wednesday mornings at 10:00 a.m. starting on Nov. 10. Chris Olson, the rehabilitation program manager will be the instructor. During the first class he will discuss the benefits and how exercise combined with strength training can slow the onset, and help to prevent, bone loss. Please wear loose, comfortable clothing and sneakers. Portland Rehab will provide the necessary equipment for the class. Christmas Fair Our Christmas Fair will be held on Nov. 20, from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00. Our craft group will have a great selection for you. There will also be a tea cup raffle and bake sale. If you would like to donate an item for the bake sale please drop it off on Friday. Travel Portland Schools once again offer us the use of their vans for a weekend day trip. On Saturday, Nov. 13 at 2:15 we will depart to Westbrook to see a performance of Cabaret by the Valley Shore Chorus and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Singers. Tickets will be $16.00. You must call the Center or sign up in person to reserve a seat due to limited seating. This program is limited to Portland residents only. Tickets are on sale for the Vienna Boys Choirs on Sunday, Dec. 19. $60.00 will include transportation, an elegant Sunday brunch, show and all gratuities.

 

Something to think about... by: Dean Jacques, Social Services The Impulse to be Cruel All of us have heard of the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them to do unto you." It is a short, pithy statement, overflowing with practical wisdom. We all want to be treated with respect and courtesy. If each of us extended respect and courtesy toward others, our own needs would naturally be met. It is a simple social blueprint promising tremendous rewards. But life is never simple. We live in a society with lots of people, some who follow rules that are not so golden. Sad to say, there are people who instinctively trample on other people's lives. Like anyone else, they want to be respected and treated nicely, but try to secure these goals by invoking fear. They want power, because they need power. Without it, their principles leave them vulnerable. If they don't generate fear, they are at a loss. "I don't have to fear others as long as they fear me." The Golden Rule promotes the well-being of others in its beneficence. It generates friendship and trust. The Iron Rule, that of fear, power and cruelty, propagates a selfishness that excludes others. It spawns paranoia by disconnecting people, thus encouraging even more selfish behavior. Paranoia creates its own self-fulfilling prophecy. It expresses a perverted twist to the Golden Rule, far more sinister: "What goes around, comes around." In the constant struggle for power, everyone eventually loses. Cruelty breeds more cruelty. You see examples of this in the business world. Where the Golden Rule is applied, humanity is honored and people cooperate to get the job done. Work dynamics are easier to maintain, and safer too. Where the opposite is applied, people live in fear, stabbing each other in the back, their creativity and dedication stifled, creating an environment doomed to fail. It becomes a source of misery to those who are caught in it.

Why would anyone reject something as obvious and beneficial as the Golden Rule? For whatever reason, they surrender to their own personal instinct to be cruel. They believe cruelty is a prime factor in human relationships, a source of power. They hone their skills accordingly. This, of course, throws a monkey wrench into the Golden Rule philosophy of others. Those who treat others as they want to be treated, suddenly have to deal with someone else's cruelty. The reciprocity of the Golden Rule is shattered. Why be respectful and courteous to someone who is purposely cruel in return? You can hope that the cruel person will learn something through your example. If only it were that simple! The truth is, cruel people take advantage of those of who are more scrupulous. It helps them come out on top, even though, in the final episodes of life, they end up lonely, defeated and ill-remembered. Some of us admire their energy and efficiency, getting the job done no matter how many corpses litter the field. This admiration loses sight of the greater picture. The cruel person cannot accomplish anything without harming good people. The world they encourage has no room for compassion. Is that what we really want? It is therefore important that the rest of us continue to embrace the Golden Rule, even in the face of cruelty. How else can we keep hope alive? Without hope for a better world, our lives are relegated to darkness. Likewise, we should not admire cruel people, no matter how successful they become. They have made themselves enemies to the Golden Rule, and thereby contribute to the misery of others. They make it harder for the rest of us to make the world a better place to live in. Special Hours! The 1st Selectman's Office, along with the Planning Department, Building Department, Environmental Health Department, Finance Office and Public Works will stay open on Tuesday evenings until 7 PM. They will close on Fridays at noon. Other offices at the Town Hall will remain open at their usual time.

 

Youth Services By Bill Forman Portland Youth Services wants to remind parents about the Preschool Screening Clinic. Date: Friday, November 19, 1999. Who: Any Portland child ages 3 - 5 inclusive. Why: To answer concerns about your child's development and to become eligible for the preschool lottery. Sponsored by the Portland Public Schools. For more information, please call the Pupil Personnel Office by November 12, at 342-2778 to schedule an appointment for this date. There will be three more screenings conducted this school year. Please call to make an appointment. PYS November 1999 Programs, Activities & Meetings Time for Tots (Mondays/9:30 - 11:30 AM. Program for parents & Pre-Schoolers) with Mary Pont & Sarah Richards. Playground Plus Before/After School Program (K-Middle School students, Monday - Friday. 7:30 AM to 6 PM), with Ellen Williams, Mitch Foreman, Jan Jankowski, Tracy Wooley, Sylvia Turner, Anna & Bill Foreman.. Teenage Youth Commission Meetings (for high school age teens, announced Mondays 6:30 to 7:30 PM) TYC sponsors dances for 6th to 8th graders (date to be announced) with Lauren Jeffers, Stephanie Heizman, Ellen Williams and Anna & Bill Foreman. Chatham Court Activities Day (Tuesdays/3:00 PM - 5:00 PM) with Mary Pont & Sandy Darna. Chatham Court Thursday Bingo & Social Night (including occasional trips, 6 PM) with Bill Foreman. Girls' Teen Group (joint PYS/Mdsx. Hosp. Mondays, 4:00 - 5:30PM) with Cynthia Cordova, Coordinator (Family Advocacy/Middlesex Hospital). After School Job Bank with Bill Foreman. Advisory Board Meeting (Monday, November 29th, from 7 to 8 PM) with Anna Foreman, Chairperson.

Crisis Intervention/Prevention: Counseling & Resource Center (late afternoons & evenings on Mon., Tues. & Thurs./appointment only) w/Laurie Rhines & Chris Napolitano. Juvenile Diversion Board (for confidential hearings for Police & Juvenile Court referrals), with Robin Smith, Richard Murphy, Joe Piatti, Bonnie DeCarli, Lorraine Noone, and Anna & Bill Foreman. Joint PYS/School Programs (to be announced), with Carol Gilbert, John Sieller, Mary Pont, Ann Marie Candela & Bill Foreman. Out-of-School Suspension Plan (for youngsters referred by schools and/or parents) with tutor or school representative, & Bill Foreman. Home visitations with Anna & Bill Foreman, Ellen Williams & representative from CASSP. Provisions for Community Service Work Hours for Youth (as ordered by court or JDB) with Bill Foreman. For more information, call: 342-6758. Words of  Wisdom "Be thankful you live in a land where you can say what you think without thinking." Unknown "Those who complain most are those who most complain of." Matthew Henry "There is a great difference between worry and concern. A worried person sees a problem, and a concerned person solves a problem." Harold Stephens "Honest criticism is hard to take, particularly from a relative, a friend, an acquaintance, or a stranger." Franklin P. Jones

 

Parks & Recreation by Sandy Darna Men's Drop-In Volleyball Men's drop-in volleyball will meet on Tuesdays beginning October 12 - April 13 at Gildersleeve School 7 - 8:45 p.m. This program is open to all Portland residents. Sneakers reqiured. Co-Ed Drop-In Volleyball Co-ed drop-in volleyball will meet on Wednesdays beginning October 13 - April 14 from 7 - 8:45 p.m. at Gildersleeve School. This program is open to all Portland residents. Sneakers required. Over 30 Men's Drop- In Basketball This program will meet on Mondays beginning October 18 - April 15 from 7 - 8:45 p.m. at Gildersleeve School. This is open to all Portland residents. Sneakers required. Under 30 Men's Drop-In Basketball This program will meet on Tuesday s beginning October 19 - April 16 at Portland Middle School from 7 - 8:45 p.m. and is open to all Portland residents. Sneakers required. Women's Drop-In Basketball This program will meet on Wednesdays beginning October 27 - March 22 at Portland Middle School from 7 - 8:45 p.m. and is open to all Portland residents. Sneakers required. Creative Expressions Performing Arts Programs will provide this 7-week program is a workshop for children Kindergarten - 1st Grade. The workshop will focus on developing each child's creativity and self-assurance while building strong skills during group interaction. Activities will include imaginative play, win-win games, theater games, creative movement and pantomime. Its purposeis to provide fun learning experiences. The Performing Arts Program Staff will run this program. The workshop begins on September 27 - November 15, 4 - 4:45 p.m. at the Parks and Recreation Office. The cost is $70. Space is limited and advanced registration is required.

Acting Workshops Performing Arts Programs will also provide this 7-week program is a workshop for youth grades 2nd - 8th. The workshop will focus on theater skills, concentration exercises, improvisational games, sense memory, basic mime, basic speech and much more. Its purpose is to provide fun learning experiences. Performing Arts professional staff is dedicated to creating a very comfortable, fun and safe environment to cultivate and affirm each individual's unique creativity. The Performing Arts Program Staff will run this program. The workshop begins on September 27th - November 15th at the Parks and Recreation Office. Grades 2 - 3; 5 - 6:00 p.m., Grades 4 - 6; 6:15 - 7:15, Grades 6 - 8; 7:30 - 8:30. The cost is $70. Space is limited and advanced registration is required. Applications for the Governor's Fitness Challenge for the Millennium are available at the Parks & Recreation Office, the Town Clerk's office, Senior Center and the Portland Library. Help Portland win $10,000 while improving your health. You've gotta start sometime, why not now?

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