Disaster Preparedness – Are Your Prepared to Shelter-In-Place? You may not be familiar with the term “shelter-in-place” but in order to be prepared for disasters, it’s essential to know the meaning of this term. In an emergency situation in which hazardous materials (biological, radiologicial, or chemical) have been released intentionally or unintentionally into the environment, you may be asked to “shelter in place”. This means selecting a small, interior room, with no or few windows, and taking refuge there. It does not mean sealing off your entire home. To “shelter-in-place” you will need to close and lock all windows and exterior door. If you are told there is a danger of explosion, close the windows shades or blinds. Turn off all fans, heating, and air conditioning. Get your disaster supply kit (instructions for this were in last month’s newsletter) and make sure your radio is working. Go to an interior room, remembering to take pets with you if you have them) bringing additional food and water items. Make sure you have your emergency contact information with you (instructions included in the November newsletter) and a phone. Cell phones may be overwhelmed during an emergency, so if you have a landline, bring that in with you also. Use duct tape and plastic sheeting (heavier than food wrap) to seal all cracks around the doors, windows, and vents into the room. Keep listening to our radio and television until you are told all is safe or to evacuate. Evacuations are usually called for areas in the community at greatest risk. Remember “sheltering-in-place” is usually called for the duration of only a few hours, not days or week. There is little danger that the room in which you are sheltering will run out of oxygen and you will suffocate. ACPM wants our resident’s to be prepared for disasters and emergencies, not scared. Knowing ahead of time what to do will help people to make rational, wise decisions when, and if, a disaster occurs.
AVOIDING SLIPS AND FALLS Due to the icy weather this winter, we are continuing to place ice melt in each stairwell on the property for resident’s use. Please feel free to use this on the walkways and parking areas that may be icy. While our maintenance staff will continue to place ice melt down as needed, this will allow you to have some available should you need it in the mornings or evenings as you walk to your vehicle or around the property.
COMING SOON – SUPERBOWL SUNDAY! February 1, 2015 at 6:30 pm ET the Seattle Seahawks will square off against the New England Patriots. Who’s your pick? While you’re trying to decide, here are a few Super Bowl facts to think about: On this day, over 8 million lbs. of guacamole along with 14, 500 tons of chips will be consumed. One 30 second commercial costs at least $2,800,000 during the Super Bowl. This game is the 2nd most watched sporting event in the world, with over 100 million viewers. Of the top 10 most watched TV shows of all time, nine of them are Super Bowls! The NFL has a policy against holding the Super Bowl games in stadiums that have a climate of less than 50 degrees, unless it’s an enclosed stadium.
Justin’s Corner With Valentine’s Day coming up, you might want to surprise your significant other. If you are anything like the majority of people you have to do it on a budget. I have a few tips to help you save money and WOW that special someone! Plan a night in: It can be as simple as a movie night. Pop some popcorn and cuddle up next to your partner and enjoy the evening. Make a heart-y meal: Use a heart shaped cookie cutter to make almost any food heart shaped. The food doesn’t have to be expensive to communicate that it’s from the heart. Give homemade candies: It can be as simple as dipping fruit or pretzels in chocolate. Make homemade cards: Get creative and put your feelings into a card that will not only mean more but save you some money.
Sweetheart Muddy Buddies Ingredients: 5 oz. white chocolate chips 5 oz red candy melts 1 tsp. shortening 5 cups rice Chex cereal 1 cup strawberry cake mix ½ cup powdered sugar ½ package Valentine’s M&M’s
Divide the Chex cereal into two bowls. In a microwave safe dish, melt the 5 oz. of white chocolate chips with ½ tsp. shortening so the chocolate will spread evenly. Microwave 30 seconds at a time and be careful not to burn the chocolate. Dump this in the first bowl of Chex and mix evenly to coat all of the cereal. Melt the red candy melts with ½ tsp. shortening checking and stirring at 30 second intervals. Once melted, pour this over the second bowl of cereal and mix until coated. Put ½ cup strawberry cake mix and ¼ cup powdered sugar (divided) into two gallon size baggies. Dump each bowl of the Chex mix into one of the bags and shake until pieces are entirely coated. Mix in M&Ms. It’s easy! Enjoy!
Gramercy Villas February Newsletter
FREE CPR CLASS – SIGN UP NOW!
KEEP FEELING SWEET THIS FEBRUARY
Gramercy Villas will be offering a free CPR class to residents of all ages. This class will be approximately 45 minutes to an hour long and will teach compression-only CPR. In order to start scheduling dates and times we need to have an idea of how many of our residents are interested in participating. We would love to see as many people as possible attend. Please keep in mind that 80% of all sudden cardiac arrests occur at home and 60% of them are witnessed. With compression-only CPR, you can double or even triple the victim’s chance of survival! Please come by the leasing office or call us to sign up to participate.
February is the peak of the cold and flu season, and over 20% of people in the U.S. will get the flu. With over 200+ types of the cold virus, it isn’t surprising that so many of us are feeling under the weather this time of year. The flu virus can travel through the air at 100 mph and over 12 ft in the average sneeze, living for over 48 hours on surfaces. There are some ways to avoid illness though. By following these six simple steps, you can significantly cut your chances of getting sick: 1. Wash your hands at least eight times a day. Use hand sanitizer between washes. 2. Clean or not, watch what you do with your hands – Especially keep them away from the face, which is the easiest way to get germs into your body. 3. Seems like a no-brainer, but stay away from sick people. 4. Sneeze and cough properly. Turn away from any people within 6 feet of you, bring your arm up to your face and sneeze into the back of your elbow. 5. If you have children, make sure they’re vaccinated. 6. If you do get sick, stay at home until you have been fever-free for a full 24 hours. Do yourself and everyone else a big favor and keep the nasty viruses at home. Remember, eating healthy, balanced meals and exercising are great ways to boost your immune system and boost recovery times.
OUT AND ABOUT IN IDAHO Looking for something fun to do this month? Here are a few ideas: McCall Winter Carnival Jan. 30 – Feb. 8th www.mccallcamber.org/winter-carnival Sun Valley Nordic Festival Jan. 30 – Feb. 8 www.nordictownusa.com/sun-valle-nordicfestival Alzheimer’s Idaho Battle of the Badges Chili Cook-off Feb. 7th from 11 am to 2 pm at Julius M. Kleiner Park. More information available at http://alzid.org/ Harlem Globe Trotters Feb. 23 @ 7 pm Century Link Arena. Ticket information available at http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com/ Monster Truck Jam Feb. 27 @ 7:30 Idaho Center. Ticket information at www.monsterjam.com
Keepin’ It Clean
Many thanks to all of our residents who have been making a point of ensuring that their garbage bags make it into the dumpsters. We love going over to find that there isn’t any stray trash or garbage bags on the ground around the dumpster. Just a reminder that the garbage service will not take bags that are left of the ground, so if the dumpster is full, please consider taking your bags to one of the other dumpsters. We also have a great recycling bin available in the dumpster enclosure in front of the 2545 building. We appreciate your taking the time to break down all of the boxes so there’s plenty of room for everyone to take advantage of this service.
America’s Got Talent Auditions Feb. 10 from 12
pm to 9 pm Taco Bell Arena. Pre-register at www.agtauditions.com
Manager Sue Dominiak Maintenance Nate McFain Eric Sallee Porter Chase Borchardt
Office Hours Monday – Friday 12 pm to 6 pm For after-hours emergencies, please call our office phone and follow the instructions below: Press 0 for an emergency Press 9 to repeat the menu