Thetford Elder Network Agenda
Meeting held via Zoom from the Thetford Town account
Monday, November 1, 2021
10:00 - 12:00
If you wish to join our Zoom TEN April meeting, please email Jody at
jodyatsea@yahoo.com and we will send you an invitation. Thank You.
Welcome our Guests Pat and Michael
10:00 Approve our October 4th TEN minutes
10:05 Treasurer Liaison’s Report
10:10 Committee Reports:
• Senior Luncheon
• Volunteers – Transportation
• Friday Walking Group
• Community Nurse
• Coffee Klatch
• Patchwork News
11:00 Old Business
• Treasure Island Update
• Common Themes of our Seniors
• TEN Committee Members and Member terms
• Tri-Valley Transit – Give a Lift – Get a Lift
11:40 New Business
• Current concerns of the Select Board
• Report about Those Guys in Lyme
• AARP Sessions
• Easing the Housing Crisis article in Side Notes
• Thetford Seniors
• Bugbee - Petition for Bugbee Meals on Wheels – Holiday Events
• Next meeting date, Monday, December 6th and we adjourn.
TEN Steering Committee Minutes October 4, 2021, 10:00 AM
Via Zoom
Present: Dale Gephart, Jody Biddle, Inge Trebitz, Susan Rump, Brian Campion, Cathy Newbury, Susan Gault, and Steve Tofel
We honored a senior who passed away in September and also heard about the service for another senior who died earlier this year.
The minutes of the September meeting (August 30) were approved as written.
Treasurer’s Report: Jody reported that we are financially sound.
Senior Luncheon Report: Cathy reported that the September luncheon went smoothly and was well received. We served or delivered 70 lunches and brought 13 to the Thetford Food Shelf. The 70 includes 44 drive-through diners plus volunteers.
The next luncheon is October 28th. That will be our last luncheon until spring. The Thetford Academy students will bake apple pies for the October luncheon.
Inge will prepare another Patchwork News to be ready by the luncheon. She asks that she receive input for the newsletter no later than October 21.
Transportation Report: Inge reported that there was no activity beyond the one person with a standard monthly request.
Walking: Susan Rump reported that an average of 8.5 people walked an average of 2 miles. Actual numbers of people and distances vary, for example, last Friday we had 11 people.
Community Nurse: Pril sent a written report and Brian reported in person. He is seeing a common thread of needs in his clients that extend beyond nursing, for example, the need for ramps and grab bars among other things. In Lyme, Those Guys help people with similar needs. Thetford has no group of volunteers to help. The town service officer helps when she can even though doing so is beyond the scope of her job.
Dale pointed out that when the community nurse job was first being defined that committee saw the job as potentially having two components: nursing (which Brian does) and community service coordinator (which is no one’s job but with which both Brian and Jessica help when they can).
Brian would be willing to start up an effort to match needs with volunteers with the idea that it would pass to someone else once established.
Brian is also interested in making presentations to local organizations about the services that the community nurse provides. Interested groups should contact him.
Coffee Klatch: Pril’s written report stated that the coffee klatches will stop for a while. They will resume later when, hopefully, there will be no COVID restrictions.
Patchwork News: Inge will work on the next issue. Treasure Island:: Dale reported.
American Rescue Plan: Jody had a conversation about this with the town manager and concluded that TEN’s issues will be addressed.
TEN Steering Committee Terms: The selectboard defines a committee’s mission (charge). Martie Betts think that our committee can set term limits for members. Jody thinks that we can have 10 members. She will check. We currently have 7.
Vaccine request: Steve thinks it’s on the agenda for tonight’s selectboard meeting.
Bugbee is currently providing 4 delivered meals in Thetford. They were providing more but some recipients died. If anyone knows of someone who should be receiving meals and isn’t, they should let a TEN member know. The Bugbee delivered meals are free.
Bugbee is also having sit-down meals in WRJ.
TriValley Transit: We discussed this organization’s Dial-a-Ride and Get a Lift/Give a Lift programs. Jody will call them for additional information.
AARP Meeting: Dale attended a 2-day meeting sponsored by AARP on community planning and organizing.
Our next meeting is on November 1 at 10:00 via Zoom. Jody adjourned the meeting at 11:47.
Respectfully submitted,
Susan Gault, Secretary
