I am glad to announce that we will be providing Yellow Bus trips once again — it’s been a long time coming. Join us and bring a friend along. Meet new and old friends and enjoy something new. Anyone 55 and older in the town of New Scotland is welcome. The buses belong to you.

To sign up, call me, Deborah Engel, at 518-439-9038; leave a message and I will call back to confirm. We have 14 seats, to be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. A minimum of eight passengers are needed for local trips and a minimum of 10 for out-of-town trips.

Participants must prepay for all events with checks made out to the specified venue with the event name and date filled in on the memo line.

When trips become filled, they are no longer listed. Those who signed up will be called with time and place of pick-up a day or so before.

A rating system lists a number for some outings:

— 1 is easy with flatter ground and one of two steps, little walking;

— 2 is moderate, with a half-dozen steps required, on and off at several stops; and

— 3 is hard with a lot of steps, a lot of walking, uneven ground.

If you sign up, please note you are responsible for your own equipment; you are welcome to bring an aid or friend with you to assist. The committee tries to look into each venue to see what is required for mobility and safety, access to buildings, parking, bathrooms, etc. Please be advised of the number to better assess your ability to attend. We are a curb-to-curb service.

If you need to cancel the morning of a trip, please call Sheila Darling at 518-765-4725 or Kathy Concordia at 518-765-7962 in the event they are scheduled for the weekend.

Scheduled programs

The first and third Wednesday of every month, the New Scotland Seniors meet at the community center, including a business meeting and potluck lunch with games and refreshments afterwards.

Every Thursday, there’s a movie at the Voorheesville Public Library. The show starts at 1 p.m.

 Farmers’ markets will be opening soon. Some locations are serving meals: The Voorheesville Methodist Church parking lot, from 3 to 6 p.m. on Wednesdays, and the First United Methodist Church at 428 Kenwood Avenue in Delmar serves barbecued chicken on Tuesdays from from 2:30 to 6 p.m.

Congregate meals

Meals for seniors are offered in New Scotland every Wednesday at the Wyman Osterhout Community Center, formerly a schoolhouse, on Old Salem Road in New Salem, and are offered every Thursday at St. Matthew’s Social Center on Mountainview Street in Voorheesville.

Anyone 60 years old or older who lives in Albany County is welcome to enjoy lunch prepared and served by LifePath and funded by the Albany County Department of Aging.

If you want to eat on Wednesday or Thursday, call me by Monday of that week at 518-439-9038 to reserve a meal.

Lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m.; doors open at 11 a.m.  A $3 donation is suggested, but not required.

Each meal, in addition to the main course listed in the menu below includes the appropriate starch, vegetable, dessert, and milk.

Masks are required when not seated at a table and actively eating or drinking.

These meals will be served next week:

— On Wednesday, May 10, at the Wyman Center: Meatloaf with tomato gravy, baked fish, or a tuna-salad sandwich; and 

— On Thursday, May 11, at St. Matthew’s Social Center: Open-faced hot turkey sandwich with gravy or baked fish.

Transportation

The town of New Scotland has two cars to take seniors living in New Scotland only to medical appointments, Mondays through Fridays, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This program runs with volunteer drivers and money donations from riders. No fee is charged; a donation is suggested of $5 each way for out-of-town trips and a few dollars each way within town. If you don’t have the means, you will never be denied a ride. Amounts are only suggestions. 

Please give as much notice as possible so we can schedule and find a volunteer to drive you.  Dialysis and chemotherapy appointments take precedence over all other appointments. This is a curb-to-curb service. The program is run at the discretion of the senior outreach liaison and the program committee. 

Please call 518-439-9038 if you would like to volunteer to drive either or both vehicles.

If schools are closed because of inclement weather, all trips are canceled. Money for events will be refunded if possible. 

Up-to-date information on Yellow Bus trips can also be found at www.townofnewscotland.com.

May trips

Join us for these excursions:

— Thursday, May 4: Red’s Ice Cream Trip Leave Hannaford at 11 a.m.;

— Thursday, May 4: Movie at the Voorheesville library, for free, from 1 to 3 p.m.;

— Saturday, May 6: Voorheesville Historic Walk w with Dennis Ulion leaves St. Matthew’s parking lot at 11 a.m.  This is a 2.2 mile walk. Please pre-register at the library by calling 518-765-2791;

— Tuesday, May 9: Voorheesville Methodist Church Community Lunch is free. Call one day before to register at 518-765-4206. The sit-down lunch is served from noon to 1 p.m.;

— Thursday, May 11: Movie at the Voorheesville library, for free, from 1 to 3 p.m.;

Wednesday, May 17: Senior Citizen Potluck Luncheon at 1 p.m. at the community center.  Stay and play games afterward;

— Thursday, May 18:  Movie at the Voorheesville library, for free, from 1 to 3 p.m.;

— Friday, May 19: Bingo at the community center from 1 to 3 p.m., hotdogs before the game cost $150:

— Saturday, May 20: Annual craft-plant-bake sale at 24 Bridge St. in Selkirk, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.;

— Sunday, May 21: A reception for local artist Diane Wozniak, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the Voorheesville Public Library where her artwork is on display from May 1 to 31; opportunity to purchase;

— Monday, May 22: Grab-and-Go Kits for crafts are available at the Voorheesville library. Please register at 518-765-2791;

— Tuesday, May 23: Voorheesville Methodist Church holds a free community lunch. Call one day before to register at 518-765-4206. The sit-down lunch is served from noon to 1 p.m.;

— Thursday, May 25: Trip to the Grapevine/Carrot Barn, leaving Hannaford lot at 10:30 a.m. Order lunch from menu;

— Thursday, May 25: Movie at the Voorheesville library, for free, from 1 to 3 p.m.;

— Saturday, May 27: Voorheesville Memorial Day Parade with activities all day;

— Saturday, May 27: Berne Pancake Breakfast with plain or blueberry pancakes, French toast, Real maple syrup, eggs, sausage, bacon, juices, coffee, tea, and more, free-will donation;

— Sunday, May 28: Proctors Theater matinée, “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” at 2 p.m.; and

— Tuesday, May 30: Saratoga Casino, depart 9 a.m., leave casino at 3 p.m.; suggested donation $5 each way.