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Registration is underway for the 13th Annual Alaska International Senior Games, held Aug. 7-16 in Fairbanks. The annual event offers more than 20 sports and recreational events for participation, from distance running and tennis to horseshoes and pickle ball. Minimum age to compete is 50, with the exception of coed ice hockey, where women can be as young as 45. Registration ends July 25. For online registration and more information, including the events schedule, visit www.alaskaisg.org or call...
Unless you have been living in a cave in the Tri-border area of Pakistan, you realize the State of Alaska is facing a serious budget crisis. The Governor chaired a fiscal sustainability conference in Fairbanks earlier this year to address the state’s finanace and cost saving options. One of the many suggestions was to have the Department of Health and Social Services contract for a feasibility study to determine if out-sourcing or privatizing the management of the Pioneer Homes system was cost effective. DHSS is considering issuing a c...
Village to Village, the ever popular program for seniors throughout the Lower 48, will soon be making its way to Alaska. The planning committee along with North Star Council on Aging are planning to open a similar program in the Fairbanks area by 2016. “We’re still in the planning process,” says Barbara Lando, head of the planning committee. “We want it to be modeled after the Village to Village programs in the Lower 48, but we’re thinking about renaming it due to the popularity of the use of the word ‘village’ for the actual villages.” As...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in June. This month’s topic is “Firearms and Dementia.” July 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. July 28, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Please join and share your experiences as a caregiver, or support someone who is a caregiver. If you are helping a famil...
At 2 p.m. on June 30, 1958, teletypes and telephones all across Alaska began buzzing with exciting news. After six days of debate, the U.S. Senate had voted 64-20 to add Alaska as the 49th state. The House of Representatives already had approved its admission by a vote of 210-166 on May 28. The long battle for statehood was over. Sirens blared in towns across the territory. Crowds celebrated in the streets. Alaskans had won their 91-year struggle for self-government. Following the...
From rocks to socks and toxic foods to scissors, pets manage to get into anything and everything. But what happens when you rush your pet to the emergency room only to find out that Buster's surgery to remove all those socks is going to cost upwards of $2,000? Can this be real? For some pet owners, there is no question as to whether the pet is an animal or a family member, but for others that want some savings set aside for a rainy day, pet insurance might be the answer. How it works On...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in June. This month’s topic is Safety in Your Home’s Surroundings. June 2, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 9, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 11, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, Soldotna, 5 p.m. June 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. June 25, Caregiver support meeting at Forget-Me-Not Adu...
The infant town of Anchorage, only a few years old, had always been interested in America's favorite pastime when William F. Mulcahy, later known as "Mr. Baseball," blew into the lusty, young railroad town in 1922. Everyone turned out to watch the games played evenings after supper and weekends. As far back as 1916, Anchorage had a regulation baseball diamond, built by the Bridge Engineers, located in what was known as Recreation Park in the railroad yards north of Ship Creek. A press box, with...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (June 9 and 23), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (June 3 and 17), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (June 4, 11, 18 and 25), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Jun...
Summertime means road trips, and no Alaskan can call themselves a true Alaskan if they haven't done the Haul Road. Yes, you may have done the Alaska Highway to the Lower 48, but it's not so gnarly now as it once was, no longer gravel and mostly paved. But the Haul Road, also known as the Dalton Highway, is a gravel road - another animal entirely. Gravel roadways have a decidedly different impact on your vehicle, most notably rocks and huge, thick clouds of dust. So if your windshield sports a...
About 90 percent of long-term, informal health care in the United States is provided by unpaid caregivers, typically women, who spend more than $5,000 annually in out-of-pocket expenses. A survey from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Fairbanks Memorial Hospital seeks to better identify the strengths and needs of Alaska’s informal caregivers and to ultimately help them. “These unpaid caregivers are the backbone of our health-care system,” said Ellen Lopez, project leader and public health researcher at the University of Alaska Fairb...
In the past few years, more than one older Alaskan has been in the news for a driving accident while medicated — with tragic or near-tragic consequences. An 82-year-old man was driving his 6-year-old grandson to school when he went through a red light, swerved onto a curb and almost hit a patrol car, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported. He faced charges of endangering the welfare of a child, reckless driving, and driving under the influence of several drugs, including Oxycodone and muscle r...
Comparing services using the Medicare website This month, I am going to use the Medicare website (which you too can easily use at www.Medicare.gov/home health care). The three homes I picked out to compare are the Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, the Hospice & Homecare of Juneau and the Mat-Su Regional Home Care. The first two are privately owned and the third is proprietary. All three of these institutions compare favorably as to Nursing Care, Physical, Occupational and Speech therapy, Medical...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in May. This month’s theme is “Celebrate Your Age (It’s Older Americans Month”). May 5, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. May 12, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. May 14, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. May 19, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. May 19, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point Senior...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (May 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (May 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (May 7, 14, 21 and 28), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Juneau Soc...
Just in time for spring celebration menus, it looks like many of us can drop the worry about eating a few eggs – yolks and all. Although the new dietary guidelines won’t be published until much later in the year, the Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Committee suggests that the advice for heart healthy diets may shift from decreasing dietary cholesterol to decreasing saturated fat, sugar and refined carbohydrates. This isn’t really very new thinking – it is the painful, slow process of discovering that accepted scienti...
Alaska Health Fairs, Inc. continues its spring series of health fairs this month, featuring free health screenings and education, low cost blood tests and more. The 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. Unless another phone number is listed, for more information on the events below, call (907) 278-0234...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in April. This month’s theme is senior drivers and distracted driving. April 7, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 14, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 16, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. April 21, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point S...
The Fairbanks-North Star Borough Parks & Recreation Senior Recognition Day is being held at the Carlson Center on May 7. Call 459-1136 to RSVP. Nomination forms are still being accepted for Outstanding Senior Volunteer and Lifetime Fitness candidates. If you know a senior that has volunteered unselfishly for the good of the community or a senior that exemplifies healthy living and is leading a life of physical fitness, please fill out and submit a complete nomination form to honor this individual. Forms can be found at the Parks & Recreation...
Called the Spanish flu, only because the Spanish press wrote about it, a virus took more than 500,000 American lives between 1918-1919 (estimates worldwide range from 20 to 100 million). And it came north, even though Territorial Gov. Thomas Riggs did everything in his power to keep it away from Alaska's shores. When 75 citizens of Seattle died from the flu during the week of October 12, Riggs asked steamship companies to examine all passengers heading north on the final ships of the season and...
The National Sleep Foundation kicks off Sleep Awareness Week with the nationwide Sleep in America Poll and ends on Daylight Savings Time each year in early March. It's no coincidence that Sleep Awareness Week coincides with Daylight Savings Time, the annual spring forward that comes with a loss of an hour of sleep. The National Sleep Foundation chose to host the event in early March due to the increase in sleep deprived related accidents, says Kevin Asp, founder of Alaska Sleep Clinic. In 2003,...
Congratulations to the Alaska International Senior Games (AISG) for their award for "Excellence in Games Promotion" at the National Senior Games Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico in January. "We're very excited about receiving this award for the fourth year in a row," Darnall said. "Our 100-volunteer staff works hard throughout the year to make the games a success for seniors 50-plus." The 2015 Alaska International Senior Games will be held in Fairbanks, August 7-16. More information...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in March. This month’s theme is National Brain Awareness Month. March 2, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. March 10, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. March 12, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program in the Blazy Mall, 5 p.m. March 17, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. March 17, Caregiver support meeting at Anchor Point Senior C...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (March 10 and 24), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (March 4 and 18), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (March 5, 12, 19 and 26), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s southeast communities can call the Jun...
The Tax-Aide program is designed to prepare basic tax returns for most low and middle income taxpayers, with an emphasis on senior citizens and disabled taxpayers. Sites are staffed by volunteers who are trained and certified by Internal Revenue Service and AARP Foundation instructors to prepare basic tax returns. By using AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, these taxpayers also avoid tax preparation fees and pitches for high-interest tax credit or refund loans. And the service is free. Keep reading for the dates and hours for the sites throughout...
