Senior Center

The Phelps Senior Center, 701 Montgomery St., Laurel, will offer two free sessions this month. Gann Partnership will sponsor "Learn to Protect Your Life Savings" at 11 a.m. Tuesday. Topics will include Medicare and Medicaid laws and an analysis of using one's assets vs. long-term care insurance. Triad Salt, sponsored by Seniors and Law Enforcement and Sheriff Alonzo Black, will be offered at 11 a.m. Aug. 20. Black will speak about emergency (911) cellular telephone service, while the staff will demonstrate how the system works.

Dressed in a dark gray suit and a white construction helmet, Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary sat behind the controls of a crane, scooped up a mound of grass and dirt with the machine's mechanical arm, and dumped it to the side.With that, the Arnold Senior Center yesterday morning celebrated the official start of an almost $800,000 renovation and expansion."This is something that is greatly needed," said Sharon Poet, director of the Church Road center. "We have no room to do anything."

The O'Malley Senior Center, 1275 Odenton Road in Odenton, is sponsoring a program on fibromyalgia from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. today. Jan Thompson and Esther Lang of the Southern Maryland Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation will explain this arthritis-related disease and how it is often misdiagnosed and misunderstood.The cause of the disease is unknown, but help is available to ease the painful symptoms, which are chronic muscle pain, sleep problems and fatigue. For more information on the program or the senior center, call (410)

BARBARA DELPH will receive the first Bill Pindell Community Service Award from the Glenwood Lions Club on Tuesday.Named after the late Bill Pindell, known fondly for years as "the Mayor of Glenwood," the award recognizes someone who exemplifies Pindell's community spirit.Pindell gave freely of his time and energies to the community.Delph began working with low-income families in the community 26 years ago.She has helped countless families with food stamps, medical assistance and one-on-one nutrition education.

THE ANNAPOLIS Senior Center opens officially tomorrow with the sort of hubbub appropriate to the occasion. Even before the speechifying begins, there are signs that it is going to be a tremendously popular place.In line with national trends, the number of people ages 55 and older in Anne Arundel is expected to approach 30 percent of the population by the year 2020, according to the county's Department of Aging. South County Senior Center in Edgewater, not a decade old, is jammed with some 2,000 regular participants, said Shirley Miller, the assistant director.

ELKRIDGE SENIOR Center Director Elaine Flemion knows how to choose activities that appeal to the center's patrons. "Our seniors tend to be more patriotic than the younger generations," Flemion said. "The flag is sacred for most seniors." Not surprisingly, the flag history presentation by American Legion Post 109 of Halethorpe found a receptive audience in the overflow crowd at Elkridge Senior Center June 21. Members of Post 109 displayed all 27 versions of the U.S. flag during the presentation, which emphasized how the Stars and Stripes evolved with the admission of states to the union.

WESTERN HOWARD County Senior Center in Glenwood has plenty of interesting activities to offer local residents. On Tuesday, a group of seniors met for "Breakfast and Bingo," paying a suggested $2 contribution to enjoy the blueberry pancakes and syrup, sausage and coffee, with an hour of bingo for dessert. Betty Frey, director of the center, worked diligently cooking and serving the meals, with help from a volunteer. Aubrey Davis of West Friendship has attended the breakfast three times.

STOPPING BY THE Savage Senior Center these days is an experience in variety. There are seniors participating in traditional activities, such as knitting, and others signed on to the Internet.For those of us who remember watching ballgames and sitcoms in our imaginations while listening to the radio, the advent of the computer age didn't come as a surprise.Well, not much of one. With the demands of work and raising a family, and then retirement, being on the cutting edge of technological development was not the highest priority for us.It is embarrassing not to understand what the children and grandchildren are talking about.

The North Carroll Democratic Club will meet at 7 p.m. today at North Carroll Senior Center. Heather Mizeur, Maryland director of John Kerry's presidential campaign, will speak. Mizeur also is Kerry's domestic policy director in Washington and a veteran of many political campaigns. She has state and federal experience in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. She is director of state affairs for the National Association of Community Health Centers. A tailgate party, with food available, will be held at 6:30 p.m. The public is welcome.

An 80-year-old Catonsville woman was the victim of a robbery last week when her purse was snatched outside a Harper's Choice village senior center, Howard County police said.Eleanor Pirnat of the 300 block of Whitfield Road told police she was attacked in the parking lot of Florence Bain Senior Center in the 5400 block of Beaverkill Road about 1: 30 p.m. Thursday.A man approached from behind, she told police, grabbed her purse and ran away.Pirnat was not hurt, police said. Her purse was found behind the center but an undetermined amount of money was missing.