Flanders news: Lots happening at community center

Hello. I hope everyone is enjoying the weather. Please remember to watch out for the kids going to and from the bus and walking to school.

Happy birthday to Diana Metzger, who will celebrate Oct. 6, from her two sons, her daughter and all her friends.

The Flanders Senior Center, located at the David W. Crohan Community Center, has a lot of events going on in October. Every Monday there will be chair yoga at 10:30 a.m. and line dancing at 1 p.m. On Tuesdays there will be drawing classes at 10 a.m. (all levels welcome and materials are provided) and computer classes from 12:45 to 2 p.m. On Wednesdays chair exercise is held at 10:30 a.m. The center also has a host of daily offerings: pool table, library, computer access with Wi-Fi, pingpong and cards.

October will bring horse racing on the 14th, a birthday celebration featuring music by Tom Parris on the 21st and a Halloween party and costume contest on the 31st.

The center is looking to start a mah jongg group but has only a few people interested. To sign up for programs or register for lunch, call Ruth Simon at 631-702-2375. Weekdays, coffee is ready at 9 a.m. and lunch is served at noon. Suggested donation for lunch is $3.50.

The Waters Edge Civic Association will not meet in September. I’ll be sharing more information as I receive it for October.

The Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, at the David W. Crohan Community Center. “A Duck’s Tale,” a book about the Flanders Big Duck, is still available to purchase. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you can do so at the meeting or contact Ron Fisher at [email protected]. The cost is $26.95. Five dollars from each book is donated to FRNCA. The association is working on a grant to renovate Ludlum Avenue Park. If anyone has any ideas they would like to share they are asked to attend the Oct. 3 meeting.

Riverside Rediscovered will hold its next meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, at the 108 Peconic Ave. office in Riverside.

Congratulations to all the newly elected board members of the Bay View Pines Civic Association: Chrissy Prete, president; Nikki Sacco, vice president; and Patti Black, secretary/treasurer.

Thank you to everyone in the community who sent in and posted pictures of the trash being dumped at the rest stop on Route 24/Flanders Road. The cans have been removed. Hopefully trash will no longer be dumped there. FRNCA has been working with the community to have the rest area closed, which will eliminate the problem.

The Peconic Estuary Program awarded $500 grants to both FRNCA and the Bay View Pines Civic Association to install native plantings in our community. Those who would like to “get their hands dirty” and help in this endeavor can do so Thursday, Oct. 6, by the welcome signs at the corner of Route 105 and Flanders Road. Inmates from the Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program will also be helping.

On a personal note, my son was raised in Flanders and joined the Air Force just after he graduated. He left one week before the twin towers were hit and is presently on his ninth deployment. His squadron has had shirts made up for moral support. The shirts say “Safeside” on the front and the ones that support his squadron say “822nd Base Defense Squadron” in a circle with a scorpion on the back. I am encouraging anyone who would like to give some moral support to a soldier from our neighborhood to order one. They have T-shirts, tank tops and sweatshirts, and they’re not making one penny on them. You can order online at gruntstyle.com. Thank you to all of my friends and neighbors who have already ordered.

Contact Flanders, Riverside and Northampton columnist Kathy Kruel at 631-727-5530 or [email protected].