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On Oct. 3, approximately 650,000 Alaskans will wake up with an extra $900, so Better Business Bureau is taking the opportunity to encourage Permanent Fund Dividend recipients to shop smart and donate thoughtfully. Scammers and schemers are sure to notice the $567 million addition to the local and national economy, and taking advantage of unsuspecting seniors will likely be a top priority. “Seniors and baby boomers are the fastest growing demographic, and they are relentlessly targeted by scammers,” says Robert W.G. Andrew, CEO of BBB ser...
For tech-savvy fraudsters, Alaskans’ Permanent Fund dividends are like beacons, said Scott Sterling of the state Office of Elder Fraud and Assistance. Sterling was one of several speakers at a Sept. 20 resource fair for vulnerable adults at the Anchorage Senior Activities Center, organized by the state Adult Protective Services. Sterling and investigators with the state Medicaid Fraud Control Unit gave tips on stopping scammers, and reported successes in apprehending them. “It’s faster and cheaper for crooks to use the Internet” than mail or...
A nationwide media contest has recognized Senior Voice for excellence. The 2013 National Mature Media Awards contest awarded Senior Voice for three entries: • a Silver award for regular contributor Stephanie Jaeger’s article, “Choosing Protective Sunscreens and Clothing” • a Merit award for writer Douglas Yates’ article, “Energy Costs Ignite Interior” • and a Silver award for the publication as a whole for its February 2012 issue. The National Mature Media Awards received a record number of entries for this year’s contest showcasing the nati...
While people in Alaska such as Navigators, Assistors and staff in many departments are preparing for people to enroll in the Affordable Care Act’s (Obamacare) Health Insurance Marketplace, scam artists and crooks are licking their chops, too. Fraudsters look for a period of transition where there is consumer confusion and prey on fear and misinformation. There will be con artists calling and sending literature that looks like the real deal and there will be scams of products offering what looks like a real insurance product but isn’t. And the...
“Mom? Hey, Mom? Watch me!” We three little girls implored her to pay attention. She distractedly glanced at us, as we pumped high on the backyard swing or pedaled madly on our trikes. “Mom? Hey, Mom?” as Mom multi-tasked frying bacon and vacuuming and talking on the phone with a friend (and did none of it well). Joanie at 35 had a full-blown case of ADHD, and had probably been suffering since her teens. She was the high schooler who got sun poisoning because she never kept track of the hours s...
Flocks of geese, noisy in their southern-bound departure, an unmistakable scent in the morning air, a light snow covering the mountain tops - fall has definitely arrived. It can be a time of excitement with the rush of back-to-school, new indoor projects and plans for holidays. But for many, especially seniors, fall also brings the concern of facing another cold and flu season. Throughout the world, the colder months are labeled “cold and flu” season. Lower humidity and cooler air temperatures make it easier for cold and influenza viruses to...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. continues its fall series of health fair events around the state this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. These tests can help you learn about your health and detect potential problems early, when treatment or changes in personal habits can be most effective. The test results give you and your health care provider important information about your physical condition and vital organ functions. A complete and comprehensive chemistry/hematology test is available for only...
This month, October, is going to be a busy month for seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries. October 15 through December 7, 2013, is the timeline to check out the Medicare Part D prescription drug program to see how the insurance companies are going to be treating us for the next year. By Sept. 30, you should hear from the company whose plan you are on with information about what changes they are planning in the cost of your monthly premium, deductible and formulary, as these may change from...
My name is Charles Bischoff but I prefer to be known as “Toney.” I am a senior at University of Alaska Anchorage in human services and have been an intern at Older Persons Action Group for seven months. I received my Medicare Certification in August of this year and will be working with Rita Hatch in the Medicare Counseling and Assistance program at OPAG for another 10 months. I will continue my education with UAA until I receive my Master’s Certificate and plan to work within the Medic...
The Medicare Information Office and its satellite offices around the state will be available for consultation during the annual enrollment period, October 15 through December 7. If your prescription insurance coverage is a Medicare Part D Plan, this is the ideal time to get out your red, white and blue Medicare card and a list of your prescriptions and have a counselor do a plan comparison to advise you of your choices for 2014. We’ll also check on whether you might qualify for the “extra help” program which greatly reduces your out of pocke...
Alzheimer’s Resource Agency of Alaska will offer free educational forums in Anchorage, Juneau and Palmer in November, covering the latest in Alzheimer’s disease research. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Maureen Nash, who will discuss Lewy Body Dementia: symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options and future research. The free public forums will be held at the following locations and times: Anchorage, Nov. 4 at the Loussac Library, 6 to 8 p.m. Palmer, Nov. 5 at Palmer Community Center, 6 to 8 p.m. Juneau, Nov. 6 at Centennial Hall, 6 to 8 p.m. For...
Seniors who attend religious services regularly tend to live longer and enjoy better health. The percentage of Americans who say they go to church is about the same as in 1940, even though you may believe that religion is on the wane in this country. Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, is author of a new book, God is Alive and Well. The book, he says, is grounded in more than one million Gallup interviews conducted over the years. “There is an increasing interest in the subject among researchers and the public,” according to Sus...
Healthy Alaskans 2020, a joint effort between the state of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, has released its “25 Leading Health Indicators” — a list of critical health priorities for Alaska. The indicators provide a science-based framework for identifying public health priorities and are designed to guide efforts in Alaska over the next decade to improve health and ensure health equity for all Alaskans. The selection process was a collaborative effort among a wide spectrum of partn...
All older adults are encouraged to get flu vaccine For the first time there will be a vaccine which protects against four strains of the flu virus. Until now, flu vaccines only have protected against three forms of the virus. Scientists each year choose what they believe will be the three most common forms of the flu to spread during the winter months and they incorporate them into the annual vaccine. This year’s new vaccine containing four varieties has those three flu forms and an additional v...
A special all-day “Savvy Caregiver Workshop” will be offered by the Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska this month for caregivers in Soldotna and Homer. The dates and locations are: Oct. 17, Soldotna Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 22, Homer Senior Center, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. To learn more about the workshops or to register, call 1-800-478-1080. Training and support meetings The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following meetings and trainings in October: Oct. 1, Caregiver training at Sterling Senior Center, 1 to 2...
We can judge a society by how it treats the weakest of its members. As the number of seniors with dementia rises rapidly, each of us should reflect on how we treat people disabled by Alzheimer’s or other types of dementia. After all, they are our friends, family members and neighbors. Even when they cannot function as they used to do, every one of them deserves to be treated with courtesy and respect for their dignity as human persons, whether or not they are able to return the favor. This t...
The Anchorage Veterans’ Memorial renovations at the Delaney Park Strip are substantially complete thanks to the volunteer committee, private donors and public agencies that have been working on the project since 2007. Although an exact date for the re-dedication ceremony has not been determined as of press time, it is hoped it will be ready by early November. It is not unusual for construction of this kind to experience unanticipated delays. The site involves both new elements and maintenance o...
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) has received a federal grant to fund a Tlingit language mentor-apprentice program in Southeast Alaska. The $454,828 grant from the Administration of Native Americans for Language Preservation and Maintenance will establish a Tlingit mentor-apprentice program that works toward perpetuating and revitalizing the Tlingit language. SHI will partner with fluent speakers, advanced Tlingit learners, and three Southeast communities to increase the number of fluent Tlingit speakers under the age of 60 by 300 percent...
Bunkering down for the winter does not have to mean closing down the mind. University of Alaska campuses in Fairbanks and Anchorage both host educational programs for older people who like learning in a fun environment with likeminded peers. In Fairbanks, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) offers a full catalog of courses, lectures and educational travel and social activities for members age 50 and older and their companions. Most classes are held at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Park Building – the old University Park S...
John Clum, the colorful editor of the widely known “Tombstone Epitaph,” made his mark on Alaska in the late 1890s. He was appointed post office inspector for the territory in March 1898. He and his son, Woodworth, traveled 8,000 miles around Alaska and the Yukon setting up new post offices and equipping others. It was no job for a weakling – one of his inspection trips was made on “foot and in a snowstorm” to Chilkat, and a second trip, according to his diary, was via reindeer and “lap” sle...
If ever an actor was recognized by one career role, it was Donna Douglas with her portrayal of ‘Elly May’ in the highly popular CBS 60s comedy, “The Beverly Hillbillies.” In the four decades since the series ended its nine season run in 1971, the drop-dead gorgeous blonde native of Pride, La., is still strongly identified with the show wherever she goes. Rather than distancing herself from the connection to Jed, Granny, Jethro and the Clampett clan, Donna has embraced her sitcom heritag...
Dear Jonathan: I am a widowed mother of four adult children and I am in the process of making out a new will, and I have a question. I want to treat my children equally, but I have financially supported two of my children to the tune of $200,000 or more over the past several years. Consequently, unless they pay that money back to me, which I really don’t see happening, I don’t think it is fair to my other two children if I were to divide my estate equally among them. Any suggestions as to how I might approach this? Jonathan says: This is a com...
Q. My grandson offered to “fine-tune” my Windows 7 computer to make it run better, though it wasn’t really having any problems. He installed several programs and now I’m having problems where none existed before. Could the programs he installed be causing this? A. I would like to cite a world-renowned, authoritative treatise in responding to your question, that being Mr. Modem’s Computing Rule 47-A: “With very few exceptions, never let a spouse, friend, neighbor or computing-genius child fine-tune your computer. The outcome will rarely be s...
Wellesley Island is the second largest island in the Thousand Islands. Actually, there are many more than 1,000 islands in the St. Lawrence River. The area was once the playground of the rich and famous but now everyone can play. It is a great destination of its own with a wide variety of things to see and do. The first stop should be the Thousand Island Welcome Center where there are a plethora of brochures plus staff to answer questions. Check Visit1000islands.com or call 800-847-5263 for...
With Alaska having the fastest growing senior population in the country, we must lay the foundation for an Alaskan retirement to be as attractive as an Alaskan career. As our population ages we will face new challenges in providing services and adapting our communities to be more responsive to the needs of our senior citizens. Lawmakers must stay ahead of the curve in providing the services and outreach Alaskans need. I was proud to be the Senate sponsor of the recently enacted Silver Alert legislation creating an early notification system for...
