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If you face heating bills that are burdensome, the State of Alaska’s Low-Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program could be your solution. LIHEAP is a federally-funded program that helps low-income households with their home energy bills. It can help you stay warm in the winter and reduce the risk of health and safety problems such as illness, fire or eviction. The program may be able to offer you one or more of the following types of assistance: bill payment assistance, energy crisis assistance, and weatherization and energy-related home r...
October is National Long-Term Care Residents’ Rights Month, a time to acknowledge the contributions and sacrifices many long-term care residents have made to better our community and to call attention to the rights of residents in long-term care facilities. Residents’ Rights Month is celebrated each year to highlight residents living in all long-term care settings. This year’s Residents’ Rights Month theme, "Amplify Our Voices," emphasizes a community of long-term care residents coming together to make their voices heard. Amplifying your vo...
Millions of Americans are in debt, but debt relief companies have their own issues. American consumers hold more than $16 trillion of debt in the form of mortgages, credit cards, personal lines of credit, home equity lines of credit, student loans and personal loans. When emergencies strike or monthly paychecks don’t always cover bills, countless credit repair and debt relief companies offer to help. However, our Better Business Bureau team has received over 11,000 complaints and almost 900 negative reports about debt and credit assistance. T...
For the last year, the Anchorage Age-Friendly Leadership Team has been gathering input from Anchorage residents on how to make Anchorage a better place to live for people of all ages, including seniors. After considering comments from the Anchorage Senior Citizens Advisory Commission, the Anchorage Senior Activity Center and several residents of Chugach View and Chugach Manor senior housing, the team decided to look at pedestrian safety near the senior center. On Aug. 23, the Team conducted a walk audit of the area around the Anchorage Senior A...
This is the third in a series of interviews with Alaskans who have continued to work beyond the usual age of retirement. In this article, Bill Weiss, Physician Assistant (a mid-level health care provider), talks about living and working in Alaska and in other parts of the world. It's complicated. When and why did you come to Alaska? I originally came to Alaska in 1986 or 1987 after I had worked in Saudi Arabia. I came to Alaska to visit my brother [the interviewer is the brother] who had been...
Q: My mother will soon be using a wheelchair in her home. What should we be considering as she makes this transition? A: This is a really great question because there are several adjustments to be made, not only by your mother, but for others who may be visiting her home. I will only address a few potential retrofits one may take into account when getting her home ready to accommodate a wheelchair. One broad option is to undergo a full assessment of her living environment to understand where...
Supplements are different than over-the-counter medicines because medicine is given to change the physiologic workings of the body-suppress cough, decrease mucus, dampen inflammation-whereas supplements are typically given to enhance the normal functioning of the body, or to promote the optimal expression of body and mind. Here are the four basic types of supplements, with information on how to take them. Food-like supplements, including vitamins, minerals and botanicals In general, it's best...
From Oct. 15 through Dec. 7, I encourage you to review and, if needed, change your Prescription Drug Plan under Part D coverage. Changes you elect will become effective on Jan. 1. Certified Medicare counselors across Alaska can help you as part of the Medicare Information Office’s network of program Ambassadors, including through your local Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC). Give us a call, we would be glad to answer your questions, guide you through the process, and even complete the...
Have you ever lost someone you love, or do you anticipate the death of someone you care about? Are you, yourself, facing the end of your life? I believe this is just about everyone reading this newspaper! Having been through the loss of two of my brothers, my husband, my friend, my mother, my step-dad, and my father, I found that the book “Understanding Your Grief: Ten Essential Touchstones for Finding Hope and Healing Your Heart (2nd Edition),” to be a wonderful resource. The author, Alan D. Wolfelt, Ph.D., writes with clarity and emp...
October marks Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a global campaign to increase awareness about this prevalent disease. Breast cancer affects millions of women worldwide. Early detection, often through screening, increases the chances of successful treatment and can save lives. Breast cancer is a malignant tumor that starts in the cells of the breast. It can affect both men and women, but it’s far more common in women. Regular self-examinations and routine screenings can help in the early detection of breast cancer. Mammography remains one of the m...
Discount cards with Amazon and GoodRx versus out of pocket payments A nationally representative study is suggesting that at least one out of five prescriptions for commonly prescribed generic medications are cheaper through Amazon Prime or GoodRx Gold discount cards compared to actual out-of-pocket payments made by patients. The authors also highlight the disproportionately higher frequency of out-of-pocket payments exceeding discount card pricing for various vulnerable subgroups like the...
There is nothing that sounds like winter more than crackling wood in a woodstove and the thuds and groans of children stacking firewood. But it's important to remember that a maintained stove is a safe stove. Get an annual inspection from a chimney sweep. They'll check for creosote buildup, damage and function in the chimney. To find one, contact local woodstove vendors and ask them for referrals. Ask friends with fireplaces to get referrals or remind them to clean their own. Add a second...
The Alaska Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired organizes monthly “Living Well With Vision Loss” educational and support meetings for people with low vision and their caregivers in Anchorage and the Mat-Su Valley. In Anchorage, meetings are at the center’s office, 3905 Taft Drive, every second and third Wednesday (Oct. 11 and 18) at 1 p.m. Call Pete McCall for information, 907-771-4306. The Mat-Su sessions take place at Wasilla Senior Center, Oct. 17, 12:30 p.m., and Palmer Senior Center, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m. Mid-Valley Senior Center in Ho...
Did you know I'm a mermaid? I'd like everyone to know that, first and foremost. My name is Thea Whitehead. You can call me Grandma Thea. I was born in upstate New York, but grew up in Florida. I never really liked it there-it's too hot and too humid. One of my kids and grandchild were living in Alaska, and I would come visit them. In December 1999, I made the move up and I have loved it ever since. I adore the mountains. When I'm out of the state, my stomach actually twitches and aches because...
Over 25 years ago, while at my sister's house in Glennallen, a gentleman dropped by to discuss some business. I found myself staring at his Carhartt vest and blue jean bib overalls, which featured multi colored patches upon patches. I had mended clothing for my family of four for over 20 years and had never seen anything like it. I couldn't help making a comment about the patches and learned he'd done all this repair work himself. I found this intriguing because many people viewed mending as...
AARP Alaska is sponsoring a webinar series, “Brain Health Across the Lifespan,” which will explore how the brain changes as we age, plus aspects of lifelong brain health including diet, exercise and sleep. Webinars will also discuss how to work through situations where brain changes may be non-modifiable. The University of Alaska Southeast will livestream and post the talks on the UAS YouTube page. The series runs through January, with one webinar per month except for October, when there will be two: Oct. 13 and Oct. 20. Both will be pre...
Family Caregiver Support Programs offer free support meetings to allow you to share your experiences as a caregiver, or support someone who is a caregiver. If you are helping a family member or friend by being a caregiver, learn what kind of help is available. There is no charge for these services and everyone is invited to attend. Alzheimer’s Resource of Alaska (ARA) organizes caregiver support meetings around the state, including Anchorage, Eagle River, Fairbanks, Homer, Juneau/Southeast, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Mat-Su Valley, Seward, Sitka, S...
Fire was the curse of many towns during the Klondike Gold Rush era, and Dawson was no exception. The extreme cold, coupled with dryness, meant fires burned in all buildings when occupied. Stovepipes thrust through flimsy walls or roofs of cabins and tents carried smoke from high-creosote spruce. Over time, the creosote built up on the pipes, which increased the draft, and soon that created enough heat to start the creosote burning. Eventually, a red-hot stovepipe could set a building on fire....
With Halloween coming up, there's no better time to satisfy your "Rocky Horror Picture Show" craving than by doing the Time Warp with Barry Bostwick, who will be traveling the country in October for various conventions, appearances, and screenings of the 1975 musical comedy horror classic (see www.barrybostwick.com for dates and locations). Bostwick, who starred as clean-cut Brad Majors in the original film, has attended dozens of screenings over the years but still looks forward the most to...
I recently spoke to a family who had an unpleasant surprise after the father died. Everything was going smoothly as far as transfers, until they contacted the life insurance company. That was when they were told that there was something called an ILIT which was the beneficiary of the life insurance policy. What, they asked me, is an ILIT? I was a bit taken by surprise, because I hadn’t seen an ILIT in quite a few years. It stands for Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust, and it is usually p...
Q. When someone tells me to "swipe right" on my phone, do they mean swipe to the right or swipe from the right? A. Technology changes so fast that the language is always trying to catch up. Early designs made gestures obvious with on-screen controls like switches. The original iPhone's "Swipe to Unlock" control became iconic. As complexity grew, and as people have become more familiar with smartphones, designers have pushed toward less explicit controls. In 2016 TikTok upended everything. Its...
The tourists have departed and the land is changing colors, and it's the time when Alaskans can see the state unhindered by tour buses and being asked pesky questions like, "when do the Northern Lights come out?" Best of all, the fish are running and the crowds are gone. Hook a fish Best Fishing Specials Of 2023 on The Kenai River: • Drifters Lodge,18404 Sterling Hwy., Cooper Landing, AK 99572 20 percent to 30 percent off guided fishing and rafting trips on the Kenai River. Call and book at 9...
