Its $8 million yearly budget "is certainly seeing a strain," said Mae Carpenter, director of the office.

Mae Carpenter, director of the county's Office for the Aging, said last week: "Our role as advocates for the elderly is to get the legislators to respond.

The options can be confusing, said Mae Carpenter, commissioner of Westchester's Department of Senior Programs and Services.

"It was a mob scene, with everyone hoping to sign up for alternative plans," recalled Mae Carpenter, director of the county's Office for the Aging.

That number is expected to increase by 63,000 by 2006, said Mae Carpenter, commissioner of the county's Department of Senior Programs and Services.

Mae Carpenter, commissioner of the county's Department of Senior Programs and Services, said: "This is a first.

"Westchester is different from other counties," said Mae Carpenter, the director.

And as Mae Carpenter, the director of the county's Office for the Aging, observed in a recent interview, there was little officials could do to influence the food corporation's business decisions.

Mae Carpenter, director of the county's Office for the Aging, said: "That's one of the concerns we have.

"All of us are concerned that our Medicare and Medicaid system remain viable," said Mae Carpenter, director of the Office for the Aging here.