Local authorities are asking residents to be alert for the following suspicious activity.

Individuals posing as landscapers, have been canvassing and targeting residents in the Tri-community area (particularly seniors) for services - in some cases starting work without authorization - then expanding the project along with the costs and expecting payment. 

In some cases they have issued business cards identifying their services which also state that: Seniors [who] need a ride or help getting to the store/doctors just call!

A red colored Ford Ranger pickup truck, equipped with a trailer, has been associated with such activity. Residents however, should be alert for any similar activity, regardless of the vehicle involved. 

It is important to use caution when being approached by strangers seeking to provide services, and we should ensure the legitimacy of these individuals prior to engaging in any agreements with them. Additionally, please note, that Sturbridge by-laws Prohibit the peddling, soliciting, or the hawking of goods, wares, merchandise, or services within the Town borders “…without first obtaining a license [or permit] from the Town Administrator”.

When in doubt, one should always contact local authorities.

The REAS Foundation 10K Circle of Friends, is hoping to raise $10,000 of it $20,000 goal from residents via a small $10.00 donation from 1000 Sturbridge families. We believe, that our shared commitment to the well-being of our senior citizens will enable us to meet that milestone.

The ever growing challenges now being shouldered by all of us in light of escalating energy prices, are certainly more daunting for our seniors on fixed incomes. Increased energy prices along with food, medications, and medical expenses, are already jeopardizing the economic stability of some of our seniors.

Please partner with us in providing hope and relief to Sturbridge seniors in need, by joining the REAS Foundation 10K Circle of Friends. Your gift of $10.00, will help provide much needed assistance to those seniors within our community who may now be facing choices between heating or cooling comfort, food, or medicine.

As a member of the REAS 10K Circle of Friends, you can take great pride in knowing that your donation will be completely directed towards providing assistance to Sturbridge seniors; our neighbors, perhaps our friends, but certainly, all members of our community.

Thomas R. Creamer
Executive Director

Donations may be sent to:

REAS Foundation
P.O. Box 737
Fiskdale, MA 01518
   508-434-4614    

email: info@reasfoundation.org

The following information is provided courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy. It provides tips on maximizing heating and cooling efficiency within the home. More information can be obtained at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/heating_cooling.html.

Heating and Cooling Tips

U.S. Department of Energy

Heating and cooling your home uses more energy and drains more energy dollars than any other system in your home. Typically, 45% of your utility bill goes for heating and cooling. What’s more, heating and cooling systems in the United States together emit 150 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, adding to global climate change. They also generate about 12% of the nation’s sulfur dioxide and 4% of the nitrogen oxides, the chief ingredients in acid rain.

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Maximizing the energy efficiency of our homes, is one step that each of us can take in helping to offset staggering energy costs as the heating season approaches. Planning ahead, and acting now, may provide for some at least, a hedge against winter energy prices.

The following article is taken from the U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. D.O.E.) website - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/home_energy.html - and provides tips for evaluating and improving our energy usage.

Energy Efficiency in Your Home

U.S Department of Energy

The first step to taking a wholehouse energy efficiency approach is to find out which parts of your house use the most energy. A home energy audit will pinpoint those areas and suggest the most effective measures for cutting your energy costs. You can conduct a simple home energy audit yourself, you can contact your local utility, or you can call an independent energy auditor for a more comprehensive examination. For more information about home energy audits, including free tools and calculators, visit the Consumer’s Guide  or the Residential Energy Services Network consumer page (RESNET).

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The following post is an OpEd from today’s (July 5, 2008) Boston Globe and is for informational purposes only.

Healthcare lessons from the elderly
By John Baackes

July 5, 2008

IMAGINE A health plan that covers 100 percent of prescription drugs, includes dental, has no co-pays or deductibles, helps with issues like arranging transportation to medical appointments, and offers a personal touch that few see from the healthcare system.

This kind of plan already exists in Massachusetts for poor seniors - and it may offer lessons to everyone in healthcare as the industry seeks to stem rising costs and care for the growing elderly population.

Known as Senior Care Options, it combines all the benefits of Medicare and Medicaid into one comprehensive health services package. It was originally designed to help seniors stay at home and out of a nursing home by using local agencies that know a community and its residents.

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The Friends of Sturbridge Seniors (FoSS) will be holding their annual yard sale August 2, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., on the front lawn of the Sturbridge Senior Center. Booth space is $15:00 per space.

For those of you looking profit from the sale of some of your unused items, this is a great opportunity to secure a high visibility location right on Main Street.

Additional information can be obtained directly from the Sturbridge Senior Center or by calling  508-347-7575 . Please drop by, have a snack, browse for that special something, and make a purchase.

Please note: The FoSS no longer accepts items to sell, as they now market the booth locations as opposed to materials.

GAS PRICES THREATEN MEALS ON WHEELS PROGRAMS

Some elders may lose their daily meals

By P.J. Dickerscheid THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHARLESTON, W.Va.— Ruth M. Jones doesn’t know what she’d do without hot meals delivered daily to her home. The 81-year-old Charleston widow can’t walk or drive since a car wreck nine years ago left her stricken by arthritis.

“A lot of times I can’t even get into the kitchen,” said Jones, who relies on her Social Security check to cover the soaring costs of food and utilities.

Those same costs are squeezing the estimated 20,000 senior nutrition programs across the country that serve Jones and millions of elderly and frail Americans.

While most needs are still being met, advocates from California to New York worry that seniors will go hungry. They blame a nearly 20 percent increase in fuel and food prices over the past year, flat or reduced government funding, and an ailing economy that yields fewer donations. “All of that is generating a lot of anxiety,” said Bob Anderson, associate director of the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

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 CNN.com reported this morning that oil prices had crossed the $145.00 per barrel mark -  http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/03/markets/oil.ap/index.htm - signaling yet higher energy and fuel costs while increasing fears that the $150.00 per barrel mark may not be unrealistic after all. This increase comes at a time when “the European Central Bank (the U.S. Federal Reserve’s counterpart) is expected to boost a key rate in order to fight inflation; …a move hat could put even further pressure on the anemic [U.S.] dollar and send commodity prices even higher” as reported in a companion article by CNN.com -http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/01/markets/thebuzz/index.htm.

The news continues to indicate increasingly challenging times for us all relative to fuel and energy costs as well as all commodities dependent upon those resources. Clearly, these challenging times will be most difficult for our seniors on fixed incomes whose purchasing power is quickly deteriorating amidst the gathering storm.

As each of us make our own adjustments to deal with the increasing economic pressures now faced, be it diminished travel, reduced spending on non-essentials, purchases of alternative energy sources (i.e. pellet stoves, solar panels, geothermic energy systems, etc.), we are reminded that a percentage of our seniors on fixed incomes may have little in the way of choices to ease their burden other than prioritizing food or medications over heating or cooling.

Please join us in our efforts to bring relief to Sturbridge seniors in need by considering your tax deductible (501c status pending) donation to the REAS Foundation. A small $10.00 donation from 1000 families in Sturbridge will help us meet the challenge of our 10k Circle of Friends club, through which half of our overall $20,000 goal will be met by 1000 families or residents donating $10.00 each. It has been said that “it takes a village to raise a child”, and it is fast becoming a reality that it sometimes “takes a village” to help maintain the hope and dignity of our seniors.

Thomas R. Creamer
Executive Director

Donations may be sent to:

REAS Foundation
P.O. Box 737
Fiskdale, MA 01518