The Catskill Chronicle

FALLSBURG, NY — The Fallsburg Library is the recipient of a “Books For Children Grant” from The Libri Foundation in Eugene, Oregon.

The Libri Foundation is a nationwide non-profit organization which donates new, quality, hardcover children’s books to small, rural public libraries in the United States through this  program.

The Foundation supports the concept that children who learn to enjoy reading at an early age continue to read throughout their lives. In order to develop a love of reading, children must have access to books which stretch their imaginations, touch their emotions and expand their horizons.

For many children in rural areas, the local public library is often their primary source of reading material. At a time when more and more children and their parents and teachers are using the public library, these same libraries are facing increasing financial hardships and are unable to buy the books their young readers need.

The Fallsburg Library will soon be receiving 21 new children’s books thanks to this wonderful initiative.

For more information about the Fallsburg Library, contact Liam Rogers, Director, at 436-6067.

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LIBERTY, NY — Older adults live with at least one chronic condition, including arthritis, heart disease or diabetes, take multiple medicines and consult several health-care providers.

In addition, age-related changes that affect the way certain drugs work in the body, as well as noticeable communication gaps between patients and health-care providers, can set the stage for serious medicine-use related problems, resulting in additional illness, hospitalization and even death.

The Caregiver Resource Center (CRC) is joining the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) to provide important information about safe medicine use to older adults and caregivers.

The CRC has scheduled MUST for Seniors (Medication Use Safety Training) workshop for Tuesday, May 18 at 3:00 p.m. at Cornell Cooperative Extension, 64 Ferndale-Loomis Road, Liberty.

MUST for Seniors is an interactive initiative designed to promote safe and appropriate medicine use by giving older adults and caregivers the tools and know-how to avoid medication misuse. During the workshop they will learn to recognize and manage common side effects in consultation with their healthcare providers, and improve medicine-use knowledge, attitudes and skills to avoid medication errors.

When used properly, medicines can treat or delay the onset or progression of many chronic conditions, and enhance quality of life by limiting loss of function and alleviating troublesome symptoms.

“This is an important educational campaign, especially in light of the aging baby-boomer population, which is expected to reach 71 million strong by 2030,” said Deborah Allen, Executive Director of the Sullivan County Office for the Aging. “The use of multiple medicines — prescription and over-the-counter medicines in addition to supplements and herbal remedies — can result in potentially harmful drug interactions, so it’s critical to open a dialogue among older adults, caregivers and healthcare professionals about these issues.”

Seniors and caregivers may call 845-292-5250 or e-mail lds82@cornell.edu to register by May 17. The workshop requires a minimum of 5/maximum of 15 participants. Please RSVP to hold your seat.

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White Sulphur Springs, NY — On Friday, April 23, elementary students at the Sullivan County BOCES White Sulphur Springs School held a Can-Can Dance to create pet awareness.

A total of 346 pounds of dog and cat food, 10 bags of blankets, and stacks of newspapers were collected as a result of the event. All of the items were delivered to the Sullivan County ASPCA last Friday.

The event tied into the community awareness and responsibility concepts of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) Program being used by BOCES.

The PBIS Program is an application of a behaviorally-based systems approach to enhance the capacity of schools to design effective environments that improve the fit or link between research-validated practices and the environments in which teaching and learning occurs.

The outcome is to improve, school learning and the social and emotional environment for all children and youth by making problem behavior less effective, efficient, and relevant, and desired behavior more functional.

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MONTICELLO & SULLIVAN COUNTY – The Town of Fallsburg Lions Club is taking part in a state- wide Food Drive on Saturday, May 8. ShopRite of Monticello has generously offered space in their store to collect canned and packaged food items from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m.

The items collected will then be distributed to the two food pantries in the Town of Fallsburg. For further information contact Lion Ilene Wizwer at 434-2152.

The Lions food drive coincides with Stamp Out Hunger day, the nation’s largest single-day food drive. The event is coordinated by the U.S. Postal Service, and sponsored by the USPS, the Campbell Soup Company, and the National Association of Letter Carriers.

This year, the letters carriers in Sullivan County have partnered with the Sullivan County United Way to make a week-long event.

Letter carriers throughout Sullivan County will be collecting donated food items from customers along their routes May 3 through May 9. In addition, collection boxes will be placed in the lobby of each post office to allow people to drop off their donations. After the food is collected, each post office will be matched with a food pantry in their area, so items donated by their customers will help feed individuals in the same local area.

Partners in this national effort are the U. S. Postal Service, the AFL-CIO, Campbell’s Soup Company, Valpak, Feeding America (the nation’s food bank network), United Way of America and local United Way chapters across the country. Each year, this food drive collects thousands of pounds of non-perishable food items and serves as a major resource in helping to restock local food pantries. Last year 73.4 million pounds of food was collected nationwide.

To learn more, go to Help Stamp Out Hunger.

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