New Horizons by Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging

A publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging

March 2015 VOL. 40 • NO. 3

ENOA 4223 Center Street Omaha, NE 68105-2431 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA NE PERMIT NO. 389

New Horizons

Culinary artist

Trebbien photo courtesy of Metropolitan Community College.

Jim Trebbien is retiring as head of the Institute For the Culinary Arts at Metropolitan Community College. During his 52-year career in the food game, Trebbien was the chef at a variety of venues ranging from fancy restaurants to a military prison. In 1985, he began building MCC’s cooking program into what has become one of the nation’s top culinary education centers. Many of Omaha’s finest chefs were trained by Trebbien and his staff. Leo Adam Biga’s story about Trebbien begins on page 10.

Music for, by all ages

The Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha, a special project of ENOA, is celebrating its 30th season. The IGO’s annual Pops and Pie concert is scheduled for Sunday, April 19. See page 3.

Happy Valentine’s Day Betty Gillogly with two of the more than 700 red roses Baker’s Supermarkets donated to ENOA. The flowers were delivered to the agency’s Meals on Wheels recipients on Valentine’s Day. See page 20.

OPD, IRS warning consumers about telephone tax scams

ax time can be stressful for many people. Don’t add additional stress to your life by becoming the victim of a tax scam. This year, the Internal Revenue Service is warning people

about an ongoing tax scam they’re seeing across many communities, appropriately dubbed the “telephone scam.” According to IRS agent John Nunez, the scam involves someone calling

Omaha Computer Users Group You’re invited to join the Omaha Computer Users Group (OCUG), an organization dedicated to helping men and women age 50 and older learn more about computers. The organization meets the third Saturday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Abrahams Library, 5111 N. 90th St. Annual dues are $25. Members will have access to updated laptop computers with Microsoft Office 2010, the Microsoft 8 operating system, a Power Point projector, and a printer. For more information, please call Phil at 402-333-6529. ack

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and alleging you owe the IRS money for back taxes. By altering their caller ID number to make it look like they’re calling from an IRS office, these scammers often threaten vulnerable people like older adults and new immigrants with things like arrest, deportation, or the loss of their driver’s license if they don’t pay immediately the money purportedly owed. According to Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George, this fraudulent scheme has proven to be the largest scam of its kind Americans have ever seen. “The callers are aggressive, they are relentless, and they are ruthless,” he said. “Once they have your attention, they will say anything to con you out of your hardearned cash.” Once these callers make their threats, the scammers have also been known to call back and disguise their caller ID so it appears they’re calling from the police department or the Department of Motor Vehicles. The office of the Treasury

Inspector General for Tax Administration has received reports of roughly 290,000 of these fraudulent contacts since October 2013. It has become aware of nearly 3,000 victims who have collectively paid more than $14 million as a result of this

you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount it says you owe. It will never threaten to take away your driver’s license, bring in law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying, nor threaten to deport an individual.

scam in which individuals make unsolicited calls to taxpayers fraudulently claiming to be IRS officials and demanding the person called send the IRS cash via prepaid debit cards. Nunez said the IRS will never call you to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having sent you correspondence in the mail. The IRS will also never demand you pay taxes without giving

Nunez advises if you have any concerns or questions about money you may owe; contact the IRS directly at 1-800-829-1040 to discuss your concerns. Additionally, if you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to believe you do, report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1-800-366-4484 or online at www.tigta.gov. (Sgt. Payne is with OPD’s Crime Prevention Unit.)

Senior Moving Services

“Moving services personally tailored for seniors.”

We offer a full range of moving services that we believe can reduce the stress and anxiety related to your move. We specialize in both the physical and the emotional aspects of this type of move.

Examples of Services: • Provide a complimentary in-home assessment to determine your transitional needs. • Plan, schedule, and coordinate all aspects of the move. • Prepare a floor plan. • Organize, sort, pack, and unpack household contents. • Prepare change of address for mail delivery. • Coordinate transfer of utilities, phone, and cable service. • Disconnect and reconnect electronics. • Unpack and settle your new home including hang the shower curtain, make the beds, and hang the pictures; making your new home feel familiar. • Coordinate shipment of special heirlooms to family members. • Coordinate a profitable dispersal of remaining household items through estate sale, auction, consignment, and/or donation.

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New Horizons

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Senior Moving Services today at

We understand the anxiety and the challenges, and we will personally see you through the entire move process; from the first phone call until the last picture is hung. There is hard work to be done and well will be with you every step of the way.

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To learn more, contact

March 2015

402-445-0996

www.seniormovingservices.com

Blending the generations musically for 30 years

nder the direction of conductor Chuck Penington, the Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha is celebrating its 30th season of musical performances this year. A special project of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, the IGO consists of musicians under age 25 and over age 50.

Museum, 2200 Dodge St. Pie and ice cream will be served from 1 to 2 p.m. The concert will begin at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance. Concert only tickets (without the pie and ice cream) will be available at the door for $5. Additional information can be found in the April New Horizons. To learn more about the Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha, please call Gillette at 402-444-6536, ext. 221.

Make a donation to help support the

“Voice for Older Nebraskans!”

b u l C s n o z i r New Ho

Join the

today!

Membership includes a subscription to the New Horizons newspaper. New Horizons Club Send Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging 4223 Center Street to: Omaha, NE 68105-2431

The IGO is a nonprofit organization that’s sponsored by ENOA and funded through gifts from corporate and individual donors. “The Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha bridges two diverse age groups through the common language of music,” said the orchestra’s Project Director Chris Gillette. “The IGO blends the spirit and promise of youth with the experience and wisdom of the older generation. Together, they create lively, uplifting music that appeals to all ages,” Gillette said.

O A

n Sunday, April 19, the IGO will perform its annual Pops and Pie concert in the Witherspoon Concert Hall at the Joslyn Art

I get the New Horizons regularly and don’t need to be put on the mailing list. I would like to start receiving the New Horizons at home. My address is below. NAME ADDRESS

Chuck Penington conducts the IGO.

CITY/STATE/ZIP

Return homestead exemption applications by June 30

pplicants whose names are on file in the assessor’s office in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties should have a homestead exemption form mailed to them by early March. New applicants must contact their county assessor’s office to receive the application. The 2015 forms and a household income statement must be completed and returned to the county assessor’s office by June 30, 2015. A homestead exemption provides property tax relief by exempting all or part of the homestead’s valuation from taxation. The state of Nebraska reimburses the counties and other government subdivisions for the lost tax revenue. To qualify for a homestead exemption, a Nebraska homeowner must be age 65 by Jan. 1, 2015, the home’s owner/occupant through Aug. 15, 2015, and fall within the income guidelines shown below. Certain homeowners who have a disability and totally-disabled war veterans and their widow(er)s may also be eligible for this annual tax break. When determining household income, applicants must include Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits plus any

income for which they receive a Form 1099. The homestead exemption amount is based on the homeowner’s marital status and income level (see below). Maximum exemptions are based on the average assessed value for residential property in each Nebraska county. The Douglas County Assessor/Register of Deeds’ office (1819 Farnam St.) is sending volunteers into the community to help older adults complete the application form. The volunteers will be located at sites throughout the county. A list of these locations will be included with your application. Assistance is also available by calling the Volunteers Assisting Seniors at 402444-6617. Douglas County residents can also have their homestead exemption questions answered by calling 402-597-6659. Here are the telephone numbers for the assessor’s offices in the counties served by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging: Douglas: 402-444-7060; Sarpy: 402593-2122; Dodge: 402-727-3916; Cass: 402-296-9310; and Washington: 402426-6800.

Household income table Over age 65 married income

Over age 65 single income

Exemption %

0 - $32,000.99 $32,001 - $33,800.99 $33,801 - $35,500.99 $35,501 - $37,200.99 $37,201 - $39,000.99 $39,001 - $40,700.99 $40,701 - $42,400.99 $42,401 - $44,100.99 $44,101 - $45,900.99 $45,901 - $47,600.99 $47, 601 and over

0 to $27,300.99 $27,301 - $28,700.99 $28,701 - $30,100.99 $30,101 - $31,500.99 $31,501 - $33,000.99 $33,001 - $34,400.99 $34,401 - $35,800.99 $35,801 - $37,200.99 $37,201 - $38,700.99 $38,701 - $40,100.99 $40,101 and over

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

March 2015

$25

$10

$50

$15

Other _______

New Horizons New Horizons is the official publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. The paper is distributed free to people over age 60 in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Washington, and Cass counties. Those living outside the 5-county region may subscribe for $5 annually. Address all correspondence to: Jeff Reinhardt, Editor, 4223 Center Street, Omaha, NE 68105-2431. Phone 402-444-6654. FAX 402-444-3076. E-mail: jeff.reinhardt@nebraska.gov Advertisements appearing in New Horizons do not imply endorsement of the advertiser by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. However, complaints about advertisers will be reviewed and, if warranted, their advertising discontinued. Display and insert advertising rates available on request. Open rates are commissionable, with discounts for extended runs. Circulation is 20,000 through direct mail and freehand distribution.

Editor....................................................Jeff Reinhardt Ad Mgr................Mitch Laudenback, 402-444-4148 Contributing Writers......Nick Schinker, Leo Biga, & Lois Friedman ENOA Board of Governors: Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County, chairperson; Jim Peterson, Cass County, vice-chairperson; Gary Osborn, Dodge County secretary; Brenda Carlisle, Sarpy County; & Lisa Kramer, Washington County. The New Horizons and the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging provide services without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, marital status, disability, or age.

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Camelot Friendship Center

The impact of delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease

You’re invited to visit the Camelot Friendship Center inside the Camelot Community Center, 9270 Cady Ave. for the following: • March 5 & 23: Students from Nebraska Methodist Nursing College will visit @ 10:15 a.m. • March 11: Birthday bash @ 10:15 a.m. • March 12: Book club @ 10:15 a.m. • March 13 & 27: Movie @ 12:15 p.m. • March 18: Field trip to the Joslyn Art Museum. • March 19: Garden Club @ the Benson Library. • March 30: Chair volleyball @ 10:15 a.m. Other activities include Bingo, Tai Chi, pinochle, card games, other games, crafts, candy making, and scrapbooking. The Camelot Friendship Center is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 donation is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the lunch you wish to enjoy. For reservations or more information, please call Amy at 402-444-3091.

We want to hear from

you!

• Do you have questions about the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, its programs or services? • Do you have a comment about the agency and how it serves older adults in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties? • Maybe you have a story idea for the New Horizons?

Send your questions,comments, story ideas, etc. to

DHHS.ENOA@nebraska.gov We appreciate your interest in ENOA and the New Horizons.

he United States could save $220 billion within the first five years of a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease being introduced, according to a new report from the Alzheimer’s Association. The Alzheimer’s Association report, Changing the Trajectory of Alzheimer’s Disease: How a Treatment by 2025 Saves Lives and Dollars, takes an in-depth look at the potential lives saved and positive economic impact if a hypothetical treatment that effectively delays the onset of Alzheimer’s disease is discovered and made available to Americans by 2025. The report shows meeting the 2025 goal of the national Alzheimer’s plan would reduce the number of individuals affected by the disease by 2.5 million within the first five years of a treatment being available. “Alzheimer’s disease is a triple threat, with soaring prevalence, lack of treatment, and enormous costs that no one can afford,” said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. “If we’re going to change the current trajectory of the disease, thus saving lives and money, we need consistent and meaningful investments in research from the federal government.”

The report reinforces the value of reaching the 2025 goal set by the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease mandate by the National Alzheimer’s Project Act. If the federal government were to invest $2 billion per year as recommended by the scientific community, it would recoup its investment within the first three years after a treatment became available. “Promising research is ready for the pipeline, and leading scientists believe the national goal is attainable if we accelerate federal funding,” said Johns. “With millions of lives and trillions of dollars at stake, we need real progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s.” A treatment introduced in 2025 that delays the onset of Alzheimer’s would cut the number of people in 2050 who have the disease by 42 percent – from 13.5 million to 7.8 million.

hile delaying onset, finding a cure, and saving lives are the most important goals; bringing some financial relief to the health care system and those affected by the disease is also a top priority. Under the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act, Congress has required the National Institutes of Health to submit a professional judgment budget to Congress every fiscal year until 2025 to help guide them in allocating funding for Alzheimer’s research. The Alzheimer’s Association’s report shows the positive impact of adequate funding and the potential consequences of under-funding. • In 2015, the costs to all payers for the care of people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias will total an estimated $226 billion, with Medicare and Medicaid paying 68 percent of the costs. Without a treatment costs are projected to increase to more than $1.1 trillion in 2050. • Reaching the 2025 goal would save payers $220 billion over five years and $367 billion in the year 2050 alone. Savings to Medicare and Medicaid would account for nearly 60 percent of the savings. • People living with Alzheimer’s and other dementias and their families would save $54 billion over the first five years in their out-of-pocket costs if the 2025 goal were met. Visit www.alz.org or call 800-272-3900 for more information.

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, March 14, 2015 Noon to 3 p.m.

Featuring refreshments & tours

Woodbridge Senior Village

A 55+ Calamar Community

7205 North 73rd Plaza Circle • Omaha, Nebraska

One mile north of Sorensen Parkway on 72nd Street near Immanuel Hospital

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New Horizons

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Woodbridge Senior Village!

March 2015

Please RSVP to Stephanie by

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 to 402-575-9896

Lessmann seeking support for his project to light the UPRR bridge, feed the hungry

Photo courtesy of Brad Williams Photography

The Union Pacific’s bridge over the Missouri River was built in 1873.

tan Lessmann needs your vote. The 76-year-old real estate agent isn’t running for public office, but he wants your input as he continues his efforts to raise money to feed thousands of hungry area residents. Since 2006, Lessmann has been working with the Union Pacific Railroad and the three Council Bluffs casinos on a project to place blue lights on the UP’s bridge across the Missouri River between Omaha and Council Bluffs. Under Stan’s proposal Union Pacific would absorb the cost of adding LED lights to the bridge – built in 1873 and rebuilt twice, most recently in 1916 – and then maintain its daily operation. The casinos are being asked to donate a combined $200,000 annually which would allow area food banks to purchase an additional 600,000 meals for hungry men, women, boys, and girls locally. “That’s $182 a day from each of the casinos,” said Lessmann, who believes some kind of payback from the casino owners is due to the area residents that support the gaming operations.

taking a historically significant object (the bridge over the Missouri River) to its highest and best use,” Stan continued. “Also, a major key to lighting the bridge is the advent of LED lighting which delivers safety, beauty, and low maintenance and operating costs.” The Omaha-based railroad has rejected the proposal thus far. In a 2006 letter, Bob Turner, UP’s senior vice president for corporate relations, responded to Lessmann’s inquiries: “Our engineering and bridge maintenance departments have advised me there are many serious concerns associated with this project. The most important of these could impact the safety of our employees, train traffic, and marine navigation.” Among the safety issues Turner mentioned were the lights potentially impairing the ability of train and barge crews to see hazards on or near the track and river. “Routine access to light fixtures for bulb replacement and maintenance for any new conduit would require a railroad flagman to protect the workers and to control the flow of train traffic during maintenance activities,” Turner wrote. “As you know, this bridge is a vital artery for our railroad. Any delay or disruption of train traffic can impact customers across our rail system.”

espite UP’s rejection of his idea, Lessmann continues to work on the project daily. He’s produced more than 100 YouTube videos, written countless letters, and developed a website (www.lightthebridge.org). Stan – the father of one and grandfather of two – wants people to go to the website and vote for or against his plan. He believes thousands of “yes” votes would get the railroad’s attention. To date, nearly 2,400 votes have been cast in favor of lighting the bridge while 67 voters are opposed to the proposal. Lessmann remained optimistic his idea will be impletan, who has been mented some married to his wife, day, and beJude, for 53 years, lieves widefirst contacted UP in 2006 with his idea of lighting the spread public support will be bridge. “The lighting of a symbol- the key. “If you don’t ic structure could beautify an area and serve to remind get the UP on board, the train is Stan Lessmann needs your vote. residents that there are going to stay in people who face hunger on the station,” Stan said. “If the UP agrees, I think the casia daily basis,” he said. nos will fall into place.” “The Union Pacific For more information and/or to vote, log on the Internet Railroad has a ‘can do’ reputation that lends itself to to www.lightthebridge.org.

March 2015

Corrigan Senior Center You’re invited to visit the Corrigan Senior Center, 3819 X St., this month for: • Wednesday, March 4: Crafts (shamrock and rainbow door décor) with Anita @ 10 a.m. We’ll supply the materials. Stay for a noon BBQ chicken breast lunch. • Thursday, March 5: Violin music by Ivy @ 10 a.m. and chair volleyball @ 11a.m. Stay for Turkey A La King or ham and cheese wrap (deli choice) lunch and Bingo. • Tuesday, March 10: Violin music by Ivy @ 10 a.m. and chair volleyball @ 11 a.m. Enjoy an oven-fried chicken breast or a chef salad lunch. • Wednesday, March 11: Crafts (St. Patrick’s Day centerpiece) with Anita @ 10 a.m. A cheeseburger or gourmet chicken salad lunch will follow. • Thursday, March 12: Spa Day from 10:30 a.m. to noon featuring free chair massages. Learn about the relaxation benefits of the herb lavender and make a take home sample of lavender scrubbing salts. Lunch features a pork loin or tuna salad. Stay for Bingo after the meal. The reservation deadline is noon on Friday, March 6. • Monday, March 16: St. Patrick’s Day Party with music by Paul Siebert from the Merrymakers @ 11 a.m. Wear your favorite green and orange clothing. Lunch includes glazed ham and a baked sweet potato or a deli ham and cheese sandwich. Bingo will follow lunch. • Tuesday, March 17: St. Patrick’s Day Corrigan Friends and Family Lunch. A corned beef lunch with all the fixings will be served at noon. Invite a friend, a neighbor, or a family member to join you. Come early for violin music by Ivy @ 10 a.m. • Thursday, March 19: St. Paddy’s Day roast beef dinner and Mega Bingo. The lunch menu is roast beef, roasted red potatoes, cabbage with carrots, a tossed salad, rye bread, and emerald (or vanilla) pudding. Mega Bingo will follow lunch. The reservation deadline is noon on Friday, March 13. • Thursday, March 26: An educational program on home healthcare @ 11 a.m. Stay for a noon lunch and Bingo. • Monday, March 30: Coca-Cola Celebration. March is the month Coke was first bottled for sale. We’ll serve Coke floats today. Lunch is roast beef or a deli oriental chicken salad. Stay for Bingo following lunch. Join us for Tai Chi, a relaxing and fun activity that’s proven to improve your balance Tuesdays and Thursdays at 10 a.m. in our spacious gym. Bingo, ceramics, exercise, woodcarving, and loads of fun are also available. The Corrigan Senior Center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch is served at noon. A $3.50 contribution is normally suggested for the meal. Reservations are normally due by noon the business day prior to the meal you wish to enjoy. For meal reservations or more information, please call Lynnette at 402-731-7210.

WHITMORE LAW OFFICE Wills • Trusts • Probate

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New Horizons

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Millard Senior Center

Film will take viewers to China on March 5

You're invited to visit the Millard Senior Center at Montclair, 2304 S. 135th Ave., for the following: • March 11: We’ll be making dresses for the girls in Africa. We’ll supply the materials and sewing machines. • March 25: We’ll make Habotai silk scarves from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. The $15 cost includes the supplies. Volunteers from AARP’s Tax Aide program will be at the center Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through April 15. On quilting day (Thursdays @ 9 a.m.) we’ll be learning to make new blocks. The Millard Senior Center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30. A $3.50 donation (free on your birthday) is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the lunch you wish to enjoy. Center activities include a walking club @ 8 a.m. (join and get a free t-shirt), Mahjongg @ 1 p.m. the second and fourth Monday of each month and @ 1:30 p.m. the first and third Wednesday of each month, Tai Chi class (Mondays and Fridays from 10 to 10:45 a.m. for a $1 suggested donation), chair volleyball (Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 10 a.m.), card games, and Bingo (Tuesdays and Fridays @ noon). For meal reservations and more information, please call Susan at 402-546-1270.

Fontenelle Tours

Omaha/Council Bluffs

712-366-9596

Quoted prices are per person, double occupancy. For more information about our tours, please call Ward or Kathy Kinney at Fontenelle Tours at the number listed above.

Plan to attend our “TRAVEL SHOW” on Tuesday, March 3 @ 6 p.m. at Holiday Inn Express (10729 J St. in Omaha) for detailed information on all of our trips and for a chance to win travel certificates. MOTORCOACH “Hairspray” at the New Theater. June 28. $141. ($131 before 3/25/15.) Come along on a Sunday trip to Kansas City, and enjoy a wonderful lunch buffet, and the return engagement of this popular play. Set in the 1960s, it’s the story of a “pleasantly plump” mother and her teenage daughter, both full figured and ready to fight for what’s right! The play’s previous production at the New Theatre sold out before it opened. (Call by March 25.) “Godspell” at the Lofte. July 19. $99. ($89 before 4/19/15.) Composed of various musical parables from The Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus Christ recruits a group of followers and teaches them lessons through song and dance. The show will be followed by a delicious dinner at the Main Street Café in Louisville. (Call by April 19..) Kentucky – Bridles and Blue Grass. August 9 – 15. $1369. ($1299 before 5/1/15.) Explore Lexington, Bardstown, and Louisville, including Claiborne Thoroughbred Farm tour, Kentucky Horse Park, Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Facility, Breakfast at Churchill Downs watching the thoroughbreds workout, Kentucky Derby Museum, Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory tour, dinner cruise aboard the Spirit of Jefferson, Old Kentucky Chocolates tour, Bourbon Distillery tour, The Kentucky Show, Historic Bardstown tour, Mega Caverns tour, Prairie Fruit Farm and Creamery, Hardy’s Reindeer Ranch, and two nights at the beautiful Galt House Hotel in downtown Louisville. (Call by June 1.) Michigan Lakeshores & Resorts. September 19 – 25. $1449. ($1379 before 5/15/15.) Explore Michigan’s east lakeshores and resort towns including the Saugatuck Art and Craft Galleries, guided sand dune buggy ride, Holland Windmill Island Gardens, dinner cruise on Lake Michigan aboard the Holland Princess, Castle Farms in Charlevoix, Mushroom Houses guided tour, Music House Museum, private Tall Ship Sail in Grand Traverse Bay, Old Mission Peninsula guided tour, Grand Traverse Winery and wine tasting, Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, The Cherry Republic—largest cherry store in the world, Silver Beach Carousel & Amusement Park Museum, and two nights (and a full day to relax) at the Marina Grand Resort. (Call by June 15.) Branson Christmas. November 9 – 12. $729. ($689 before 8/9/15.) Enjoy SIX: The Knudsen Brothers, Dixie Stampede, Shoji Tabuchi, Pierce Arrow, Dublin’s Irish Tenors with the Celtic Ladies, Mickey Gilley, and the Trail of Lights, as well as Landry’s Seafood House. (Call by August 9.) “Dear Santa” at the Lofte. December 13. $99. ($89 before 9/13/15.) This play is composed of a number of short scenes that range from the hilarious to the touching. Many views of Santa are seen from the point of view of the child who alphabetizes her Christmas list and sends it out in August as well as that of children at various stages of belief and disbelief. The show is followed by another delicious dinner at the Main Street Café in Louisville. (Call by September 13.) Kansas City Christmas. Mid December. More details on this trip available after the New Theatre announces its schedule of shows for the next season. In Partnership with Collette Vacations Quoted prices are per person, double occupancy, and do not include airfare. More destinations available! Classic Danube. 11 days from $3349. Features a seven-night Danube River Cruise visiting Wurzburg, Rothenburg, Munich, and Passau in Germany, Wachau Valley, Emmersdorf, and Vienna in Austria, Bratislava in Slovakia, and Budapest in Hungary. Reflections of Italy. 10 days from $2449. Visit a land rich in history, culture, art, and romance including Rome, the Colosseum, Assisi, Perugia, Siena, Florence, Chianti Winery, Venice, Murano Island, and Milan. Extend your trip in Turin. Irish Splendor. Eight days from $1699. Return to times gone by as you experience fabulous accommodations, stunning scenery, and sumptuous food visiting Dublin, the Guiness Storehouse, Blarney Castle, Killarney, Dingle Peninsula, Cliffs of Moher, Dromoland Castle, and Tullamore Whiskey Distillery. Extend your trip in Dublin. Alaska Discovery Land & Cruise. 13 days from $3069. Featuring a seven-night Princess Cruise. You will visit Anchorage, Mt. McKinley, and Denali National Park, ride a luxury domed railcar to Whittier to board the Princess ship, cruise past the Hubbard Glacier, through Glacier Bay, to Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, through the Inside Passage, and into Vancouver, then fly home from Seattle.

Watch New Horizons and our website www.fontenelletours.com for our trip schedule. Our mailing address is: 2008 W. Broadway #329 Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501

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Back from China, documentary filmmaker Dale Johnson will present his latest production, China Rising on Thursday, March 5 as the latest offering in the 201415 Omaha World Adventurers film series. Show times are 2 and 7:30 p.m. at the Village Pointe Theaters, 304 N. 174th St. Johnson’s career with his Alaska-based company – which specialized in wildlife – earned him the Gold Medal at the New York International Film Festival. He recently edited a National Geographic film special, Wolf Pack, about wolves in Yellowstone National Park. China has more than a billion residents. The modern city of Shanghai has 24

million people living there. That’s four times bigger than New York City. The city has 3,000-plus buildings above 30 stories tall. More than 20 Chinese companies make autos. In 2013, more cars were purchased in China than the United States. The country has more millionaires than the U.S. and the world’s richest woman is Chinese. There’s a rising middle class in the nation that’s upending the traditional view of China as a poor country. Johnson expected China to be an untidy place with littered streets. At 5 a.m., however, street sweepers were working in the major cities. He traveled from the cities to the farms. In the Hei-

longjiang Province, Johnson found vast reaches of cornfields and soybeans like those in Nebraska. He visited many historical sites including the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Great Wall. His film will also take viewers to The Three Gorges Dam, the Yangtze River, Terracotta Warriors, the Dragon boat races, and Xi’an, the ancient city Marco Polo visited. The film also features the making of jade jewelry, silk worms and silk production, a place where millionaires shop, an upscale supermarket, and a Taoist ceremony. Tickets, which are available at the door, are $14. For more information, call 1-866-385-3824.

March 2015 events calendar 3 PIPPIN Through March 8 Orpheum Theater $28 and up 402-345-0606

18 Compagnie Kafig Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. 402-345-0606

6 Robert Irvine LIVE Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-0606

19 The Texas Tenors Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. $18 and up 402-345-0606

7 Cassandra Wilson Jazz Concert Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. 402-345-0606 8 Omaha Symphony Mendelssohn’s First Joslyn Art Museum @ 2 p.m. $36 402-345-0606

21 The Best of the ’70s Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-0606

10 National Geographic Ocean Soul Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. $9 and up 402-345-0606

22 Omaha Symphony Mermaid, Minions, and Dragons Holland Performing Arts Center 2 p.m. $15 402-345-0606

11 49th Annual Triumph of Ag Expo Also March 12 CenturyLink Center Omaha Wednesday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. 402-346-8003

25 Motown the Musical Through March 29 Orpheum Theater $28 and up 402-345-0606

Cherish the Ladies Holland Performing Arts Center @ 7 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-0606

27 Omaha Symphony Mozart & Schubert 7:30 p.m. $19 and up 402-345-0606

14 Omaha Symphony Symphonic Blockbusters Also March 15 Holland Performing Arts Center Saturday @ 7:30 p.m. Sunday @ 2 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-0606

March 2015

Tierney Sutton Holland Performing Arts Center 7 p.m. $30 and up 402-345-0606

Legal Aid of Nebraska offering Fraud hotline is open weekdays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. he recently elected chairman and the emerging fraud schemes. free Elder Access phone line ranking member of the Senate Spe“It is a high priority of the Aging Com-

egal Aid of Nebraska operates a free telephone access line for Nebraskans age 60 and older.

Information is offered to help the state’s older men and women with questions on topics like bankruptcy, homestead exemptions, col-

lections, powers of attorney, Medicare, Medicaid, grandparent rights, and Section 8 housing. The telephone number for the Elder Access Line is 402-827-5656 in Omaha and 1-800-527-7249 statewide. This service is available to Nebraskans age 60 and older regardless of income, race, or ethnicity. For more information, log on the Internet to http:// www.legalaidofnebraska. com/EAL.

cial Committee on Aging, Senators Susan Collins and Claire McCaskill, respectively, announced they have continued the fraud hotline for older adults that was launched by the committee in 2013. The committee created the hotline to provide a resource for older adults and their loved ones to report suspected fraud. The phone is staffed weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. (CST). Committee staff members include a team of investigators who examine complaints and, if appropriate, refer them to the proper authorities. Since its inception, the hotline has proven to be a valuable resource for older men and women, and has alerted committee members and staff investigators about new and

mittee to continue its focus on scams targeting seniors, such as the Jamaican lottery phone scam that we exposed in the last Congress,” Sen. Collins said. “Our hearing on this nefarious scheme resulted in the Jamaican government passing new laws targeting the scammers and several arrests were made.” “I learned as Missouri’s state auditor that the public can be a powerful ally in combating fraud. And our fraud hotline is a valuable tool for seniors,” Sen. McCaskill said. “Protecting seniors and all consumers against fraud is one of our most urgent priorities.” Anyone with information about suspected fraud can call (toll-free) 1-855-303-9470.

Programs will focus on end-of-life issues This spring, the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of Gerontology and UNO’s Aging and the Life Span Teaching Circle will present Begin With the End in Mind: The Next Chapter. The two-part series will focus on a pair of important aspects of end-of-life planning: writing an ethical will and the legal requirements of end-of-life planning. Both programs will feature a guest expert and a question and answer session. On Friday, March 20, Shane Kotok, former Director of Admissions and Outreach at the Rose Blumkin Jewish Home, will discuss the concept of the ethical will, a document that’s often used in estate planning with a history rooted in sharing cultural, social, and religious values that one wishes to be known and shared with family and friends. Kotok’s presentation will run from 1 to 2 p.m. in the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center’s OPPD Dialogue Room at UNO. On Friday, April 17, Margaret Schaefer, an elder rights attorney with Legal Aid of Nebraska, will discuss the necessary legal hurdles that older adults and their families may encounter in the lead up to and shortly after their death. Schaefer’s presentation will run from 1 to 2 p.m. in Room 132 at the UNO College of Public Affairs and Community Service Commons building. Space is limited for both events, so reservations are required to attend. For reservations or more information, please contact Maria Sorick at 402-554-2272 or email unogero@unomaha.edu.

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AARP offering driving course AARP is offering a new four-hour, research-based Smart Driver Course for older adults. By completing the course, participants will learn research-based driving safety strategies that can reduce the likelihood of having an accident; understand the links between the driver, the vehicle, and the road environment, and how this awareness encourages safer driving; learn how aging, medications, alcohol, and health-related issues affect driving ability and ways to allow for these changes; increase confidence; know how to share the road safely with other drivers, and learn the newest safety and advance features in vehicles. The fee is $15 for AARP members and $20 for nonAARP members. No tests or examinations are involved, course completion certificates are provided, and auto insurance discounts may apply. Here’s this month’s schedule: March 14 @ Noon AARP Information Center 1941 S. 42nd St To register, call 402-398-9568

March 20 @ Noon Metropolitan Community College South 27th and Q streets Class #: AUAV004N-71 To register, call 402-457-5231

VAS needs volunteers to review guardian, conservator documents

olunteers Assisting Seniors, a local nonprofit organization, is looking for volunteers to review the required annual reports submitted by guardians and conservators in eastern Nebraska. The volunteers will also be asked to report any discrepancies they discover to the court. This volunteer opportunity is ideal for anyone who likes to work with numbers and for individuals interested in helping the court determine if the finances of vulnerable men and women are being managed in their best interest. For more information, please contact Volunteers Assisting Seniors at 402-4446617.

A Caring Community Called HOME! Independent & Assisted Living

• No Entrance Fee • Medicaid Waiver Approved • All Utilities & Housekeeping Included • Spacious 1 & 2 Bedroom Apartments

49th & Q Street • 402-731-2118 www.southviewheightsomaha.com

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Tips when downsizing your home By Ben Souchek

buyers and creating an environment where you don’t feel comfortable living. re you Here are some more tips for basic home updating: considering • The one item that can be done to make the biggest selling your impact is interior (and possibly exterior) painting. house and • Floor coverings. One common thing I often see is downsizing into a smaller outdated carpeting. A seller will say the carpet is just fine, house, apartment, or or has years worth of life left. However, if carpet is more retirement community? than five to seven years old, most buyers are going to There are some items you consider it outdated. Hardwood floors are popular, but they must know to ensure a more need to be in excellent condition. stress and hassle free sale Here are some major home updates you may want to of your residence. In this consider making: article I’ll cover the initial • Kitchen: If you’re expecting to ask a top of the market preparations you’ll want to price or a price comparable to other houses that have sold consider when selling your that look new, you’d better have an updated kitchen. Some house. sellers will say, “The buyer isn’t buying a new house.” That Take a good look at your may be correct, but if the other houses potential buyers are house not as the homeowner looking at have nice, updated kitchens, your house needs but as the potential buyer. If to have an updated kitchen or be priced to reflect that an you’ve lived in your house update may be needed. for more than five to 10 • Bathrooms: years and haven’t performed The same any home improvements, information chances are buyers may see applies as some outdated aspects to with kitchens. your house. Potential buyers I’ve spoken with may expect big homeowners who may be discounts off the reluctant to make home house’s price improvements because they if they have to fear the buyer won’t like spend a lot of the changes. One thing I’ve money to update learned, however, is most the kitchen to buyers have no imagination. a “like new” If they walk into a house condition. and don’t like it the way it • Roof: is, they’ll go on to the next Not only will house. Even though we potential buyers know some new paint and look at a worn floor coverings can make a roof as requiring big difference, most buyers them to write a big check for a replacement, but most don’t have the vision to see lenders won’t provide a loan on a house that needs a new what can be done, or just roof or will need a new roof in the next several years. don’t want to worry about • HVAC: If heating and air conditioning systems are the home improvements. more than seven to 10 years old, most buyers will look at Most buyers want to buy a these as being outdated or at the very least not nearly as house, move in, unpack, and efficient as they’d want. Potential buyers will either expect live there. a reduction in the house’s price or realize they may have to A lot of buyers look at write a big check for updating these systems within years of new homes and when they buying the house. see the new paint, new floor • Foundations and basements can be expensive repairs coverings, new kitchens, for buyers if there are any issues. Most lenders won’t etc. they expect every house provide a loan on houses with foundation or basement they look at or will want to issues. buy needs to be new and • Cosmetic items like lighting, outlets, etc.: These updated. perceived minor items may not seem important to Here are some easy items update, but potential buyers will look at them and get the that can be done to your impression the house is outdated. Most of these items are home: not that expensive, but the costs do add up when updating • De-clutter the house. them throughout the house. If you have items such as As a general rule, if you expect to price your house at or furniture that aren’t needed, close to the top of the market, the house needs to be “nice.” consider removing them When discussing the above information with potential from the living areas of the sellers, one of the usual responses is, “Well, if I do all of house. Getting rid of the those things, I just as well stay in the house.” That would be stuff that clutters the house one option, but I’m assuming if you’re considering selling, will make the house seem a home sale is still your preference. larger. One other thought I often hear is, “I think I can just put • De-personalize the some new paint and carpet in and the house will look just house. Too many pictures like new.” To most potential buyers, this isn’t accurate. or other items you display When considering home updates, I usually tell a seller in your house may give to either do everything or nothing. If potential buyers walk the appearance to potential into a house with only some updates done, they’ll likely see buyers you really don’t want the items that haven’t been updated. to sell. Potential buyers may The price of the house needs to reflect its current also not be able to picture condition to give potential buyers a reason to be interested. themselves living in the If a house that needs updating is priced as if it were house. completely updated, most buyers are going to go look at the There’s a fine line next house on their list. between making the house (Ben Souchek is the author of the book Secrets to too neutral for potential Downsizing My House.)

March 2015

Patient-Centered Medical Home care

transformation is taking place in family medicine practices across the country. Many are switching to a team-based model of care called a patientcentered medical home (PCMH). “It’s the highest and best version of primary care, specifically designed to take care of people’s preventive needs as well as complex chronic conditions,” says Susan EdgmanLevitan, executive director of the John D. Stoeckle Center for Primary Care Innovation at Harvard University-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. The PCMH turns a doctor’s practice into a physician-led team that makes a point to get to know you, develop a long-term treatment plan for you, focus on prevention, educate you about your health goals, and coordinate care with other specialists if necessary to help you meet your goals. The team must be available to you, at least by telephone, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Holding the team accountable to these high standards are several national accreditation programs that provide certifications and keep track of a PCMH’s progress. The PCMH concept was introduced by the American Academy of Pediatrics in the 1960s and took off in the late 2000s among family practice and internal medicine doctors. Since then, thousands of doctor’s offices have made the switch. What’s driving it? “Employers, because they know this model provides high-quality and efficient care, and reduces care people don’t need,” says Edgman-Levitan. “Also doctors, who know it decreases burnout among physicians and staff. They’ve now got a team of people helping them do their job better.” Because of the potential to save medical costs through prevention, insurance companies and state and federal programs are providing financial incentives for practices to switch to a PCMH structure. According to the National Academy for State Health Policy, more than 43 states have adopted policies and programs to promote this approach to health care. As its name implies, the PCMH makes you the focus, with the goal of making you more comfortable with your team and more likely to stick to your treatment plan. If you’re taking a preventive approach to your care, you’ll stay healthier, which can save money and improve your quality of life. And you’ll receive better treatment as well, with team members following up to find out if you’ve stuck with your medication regimen, gotten a scheduled screening, or kept an appointment with a specialist. “Care improves over time because the PCMH must document what it’s doing to improve care,” says Edgman-Levitan. “For example, practices have to document how they track phone calls from patients and when they respond.” If your doctor’s office makes the switch to a PCMH, you’ll want to ask key questions such as: • Who’s on your care team? • What are their roles? • How will this change your access to care? • Will it mean longer office hours? • How often will you have regular appointments? • When will your team develop a care plan for you? • Does the PCMH use a patient portal? A patient portal enables you to look up your test results and medical records, ask for prescription refills, and send questions to the nurses and doctors. Because the PCMH includes you in creating a treatment plan, you should also find out how you can be a good team player. “Will the PCMH staff provide educational resources to help you do a better job of managing your health care? Find out how they’ll follow up with you,” says Edgman-Levitan. She also encourages you to speak up and take part. “Come with questions. Write them down in advance. Ask if your practice is looking for patient advisers to help work on quality improvements. You’re going to have a voice when it comes to what’s happening in the practice and whether it’s meeting your needs, and it will benefit you to take advantage of it.”

Making homes safer for persons with Alzheimer’s, their caregivers

ot every person struggling with dementia lives in a nursing home or an assisted-living facility. In fact, more than 15 million Americans – usually family members or friends – provide unpaid caregiving to people with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, according to a 2014 report by the Alzheimer’s Association. Although it’s wonderful so many men and women are willing to assume that responsibility, it’s also important they take steps to make sure their home is a safe place, says Kerry Mills, co-author with Jennifer Brush of the book I Care: A Handbook for Care Partners of People With Dementia. Part of those steps is to focus on potential hazards within and around the house. The concept is not unlike new parents making a house “childproof.” Many of the concerns are similar, such as stairs, electrical sockets, sharp objects, and swimming pools. At the same time, it’s easy to go too far, Mills said. Ideally, the environment for the person with dementia should be as unrestricted as possible. “For example, if your loved one enjoys cooking for a hobby and can safely cut and peel vegetables, then by all means, encourage it,” Mills says. She suggests several ways to make a home safer for someone with dementia. • For the front and back doors. Use bells on the doors, motion sensors that turn on lights or alerts, or other notifications that make the care partner aware when someone has gone outside. Add lamps or motionactivated lighting so people can see where they’re going when they’re entering or leaving the house.“

you

nother way to discourage someone from wanting to leave the house is to make sure he or she gets plenty of outside exercise whenever possible,” Mills says. • For stairways and hallways. Add reflective tape strips to stair edges to make stairs more visible. Remove obstacles such as mats and flowerpots, to minimize risks of falls on or by the stairs. Also, install handrails in hallways and stairways to provide stability, and install a gate on the stairway to prevent falls. Improve the lighting around hallways and stairs by installing more ceiling fixtures or wall sconces. • For the bathroom. Install grab bars and a raised toilet seat to help both the individual with dementia and the care partners so they don’t have to lift the person on and off the toilet. Add grab bars inside and outside the tub, and a non-skid surface in the tub to reduce risks of falls. You can also add colored tape on the edge of the tub or shower curb to increase contrast and make the tub edge more visible. Lower the water temperature or install an anti-scald valve to prevent burns. Remove drain plugs from sinks or tubs to avoid flooding. • For the possibility the person becomes lost. Provide your loved one with an identification or GPS bracelet in case he or she wanders. Label clothes with the person’s name, and place an identification card in his or her wallet with a description of the person’s condition. Notify police and neighbors of the person’s dementia and tendency to wander.

have questions

about aging

services

in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, or Washington counties? Log on to

enoa.org

The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging’s Web site includes information about: • • • • • • • • • • •

Bath aides Care management Chore services Community education Durable medical equipment Emergency food pantry Emergency responsesystems ENOA facts and figures ENOA Library ENOA senior centers

24 hours a day, • Homemakers 7 days a week!

• Information & assistance telephone lines • Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha • Legal services • Meals on Wheels • Medicaid Waiver • New Horizons Grandparent Resource Center • Nutrition counseling

March 2015

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• • • • • •

Ombudsman advocates Respite care Respite Resource Center Rural transportation Senior Care Options Support of adult day facilities • Volunteer opportunities

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Jim’s love affair with food led to distinguished culinary career

Jim Trebbien inside the Institute For the Culinary Arts building at Metropolitan Community College. By Leo Adam Biga Contributing Writer

s Jim Trebbien retires from heading Metropolitan Community College’s wellregarded Institute For the Culinary Arts – which he was instrumental in building – he leaves with the satisfaction that goes with a job well done. That job was 35 years in the making. Fiftytwo years if you count the 17 years he put in learning the culinary trade before joining Metro. Trebbien began teaching in the then-fledgling MCC program in 1980 and became its director in 1985. He brought years of expe-

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rience, working at iconic spots and training under demanding chefs. Jim also brought considerable food management experience from a variety of institutions. He gained some of his chops as a U.S. Army cook. At Metro, Trebbien transformed a struggling program, growing it from a few dozen students to 700 plus, boosting its reputation, and overseeing a major facilities upgrade. It was all capped by the construction of the $16 million Institute For the Culinary Arts building. As soon as the glassenclosed, state-of-the-art structure opened in 2009, it became the crown jewel and gateway of MCC’s Fort

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Omaha campus. Along the way, he and his staff put in prodigious time and effort to create a top-notch program that now owns the respect of prospective and current students as well as graduates and food service professionals. “I feel really good about what’s been accomplished here,” Trebbien says. “I feel real good this is a name brand school that people come to from many miles away and from many states to attend. I feel good that people get a fantastic education here.” For Trebbien, a 67-yearold father of three and grandfather of five, his passion for food has always been about making people happy. “Food is what gets people to talk around a table and to forget their troubles.” He says this idea of giving people a pleasurable experience over breaking bread is one he tried imparting to instructors and students. “It’s not just about what happens at the stove, although flavorful food is really memorable. It’s the expectation of having good food that fits the occasion and it’s people sitting at a table, getting involved in that food, and talking. It’s all the conversation that goes on that people remember.” Jim says it’s no accident many religions connote paradise with a banquet. He grew up in homes with the image of The Last Supper hanging on walls. For the cook who makes a banquet feast, he says, “It’s a high that gets repeated

March 2015

time after time after time.” The high comes just as surely for a home cook satisfying family and friends as it does for a chef pleasing paying customers. It’s all about doing a job well by serving people.

strong work ethic was instilled in Trebbien growing up on an Iowa farm in the 1950s and 1960s. He recalls his father as “a complete farmer” who raised livestock and row crops, supplying homegrown meat, dairy, and produce for family meals. The home cooking Trebbien’s mother and grandmother did with fresh, off-their-own-farm ingredients gave Jim an early appreciation for how good food is prepared and presented. The free-range chicken his mom pan-fried still can’t be beat. “Mom knew how to pan fry that chicken. Dad raised that chicken and just the last week or so of its life he would feed it corn, and that corn would put so much flavor in that chicken.” Thus, long before the farm-to-table movement became fashionable with today’s foodies and restaurateurs, Trebbien lived it. He grew up knowing there’s no substitute for fresh, local food made with love. It’s something he championed at Metro where the culinary and horticulture programs are closely aligned. The Sage Student Bistro, located on MCC’s Fort Omaha campus, serves seasonal-based menus utilizing the best local ingredients

grown by Metro and area small producers. “I always looked forward to Sunday dinner because that’s when we went to Grandma Winnie’s after church. She’d always had really good food – better food than you could get at your friend’s house,” Jim recalls. He’s practically rhapsodic about his mother’s potato salad. Her recipe, as with most of her dishes, isn’t written down anywhere. Trebbien, the formally trained chef, finally found the secret but still can’t duplicate it. “Nobody can make potato salad like my Mom,” whom he calls the consummate cook. “I’ve even stood next to her while she made it to try and do everything she did. When she saw me cooling down the potatoes before adding the dressing, she said, ‘You ought to mix in the mayonnaise while they’re warm yet – just don’t stir them too much or you’ll have mashed potatoes.’ Instead of high-priced mustard she put in prepared mustard, which I consider yucky, but if that wasn’t what gave it that kick that made it good. “Mom’s 89 years old and she still does a great job. She’s just got this understanding of flavors.”

mateur or professional, Trebbien says good cooks share a knack for developing pleasing flavor profiles. It comes from experience and instinct but it’s all about love for food and people. That kind of care will always translate into a good dish that makes a good meal. “I think anybody’s who has got a heart to do it can do it with enough practice and time.” Cooking requires skill that’s part art and craft and gets better the more it’s applied, according to Jim. Learning the right techniques is where culinary training comes in. Where technique leaves off, inspiration takes over. “I think it goes back to education,” says Trebbien, noting everybody in Metro’s culinary program is classically trained. “We’re trained on the cooking methods and on the ingredients. For example, everybody knows how to sauté, when to add the milk to something to make a --Please turn to page 11.

Driven by a desire to get people talking, coming back for more

Photo courtesy of makingmine.com

Trebbien with his wife, Patty, during a cooking demonstration at Chef Squared, the Midtown Crossing store the couple co-owns. Chef Squared specializes in the sale of oils, vinegars, and salts. Jim and Patty met while working at Bergan Mercy Medical Center. --Continued from page 10. hollandaise sauce. But most chefs in most kitchens don’t have recipes. The only time you have a recipe is if you’re working for a corporate kitchen and you want that goulash to taste the same every time because people come to expect it. The same holds true for every franchise restaurant and place like that. “But if you go to most fine dining restaurants you don’t necessarily expect it to taste exactly the same. It probably does because the chef’s back there anyway, but maybe the chef has some fresh ingredient that just came in that day and so he’s going to use it a little bit.” The addition of a new ingredient or the subtraction of an old one, the application of more or less seasoning, perhaps varying with the mood or whim of the chef that day, is bound to affect the flavor, Jim says. All these factors and many more

enter into the equation of what makes food stand out enough to get people talking and coming back. The pursuit of that happiness is what’s driven Trebbien his whole career. Though it took him a while to recognize it, Jim found his calling at age 15, when he first worked in a commercial kitchen. “I didn’t know it at the time, I really didn’t,” he says. “Even when you find your passion you don’t even know it’s your passion, you just show up for work every day and laugh hard.” For that first food service job Trebbien made onion rings and malts at Rick’s Drive-In in Milford, Iowa near Lake Okoboji, where much of his early food apprenticeship played out. Even way back then, he was “intrigued” by what made people happy or dissatisfied customers.

Jim went from that venue to the fancy Highpoint Hacienda, where he learned to make a good steak. He also worked at Boys Town’s summer camp at Okoboji. “That’s where I met the famous chef Pierre (Bossant).” Trebbien says he learned culinary basics from the classically trained French chef who taught Jim no matter who you cook for and what you make, you should make it the best tasting you can. After graduating from high school in the mid-1960s, Trebbien let himself be talked into becoming a college mathematics major, first at the University of Northern Iowa and then at Mankato (Minnesota) State. Jim wasn’t sure what else to study. He was in college as much to avoid the military draft as anything. But Uncle Sam caught up with him, and in 1969 this former anti-war protestor found himself in basic training.

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Trebbien’s kitchen background landed him cooking duty at the Army stockade in Fort Lewis, Washington. Hearing the stories of men who’d been in Vietnam but were now behind bars for violating Army rules, Jim says he began feeling like a sissy for not wanting to go over there. So he volunteered for Vietnam, twice, but was denied and assigned to Korea instead. When his two-year military commitment ended, Jim came back home. He returned to the only work he knew besides farming (though by his admission he never was much of a farmer): food service. Trebbien was the assistant school dining hall manager at Boys Town, where he soon realized he was stuck in a dead-end job. “I loved the people there and it was fascinating being around the boys, but I had to get out.” --Please turn to page 12.

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Page 11

Skills honed at stockyards, Brandeis, Boys Town, Bergan Mercy --Continued from page 11. Jim saw an ad in the newspaper for a night chef at the Holiday Inn Central in Omaha and applied despite warnings from colleagues that he didn’t have the temperament to last under its tough executive chef Paul Goebel. “I was a little scared when I went there, thinking, ‘What could this guy be like?’ The first night I report to his office he said, ‘I think you’re late.’ Well, he was late.” Goebel introduced Jim to the restaurant’s head sous chef Ed Butterfield as “your new night cook.” Some ensuing confusion in the kitchen led Trebbien to question his culinary skills. “Goebel yelled at me and after he left, Ed said, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’ll be a good chef around here in no time.’” Trebbien says the saving grace was knowing he could always work hard. “So I just worked hard and I got the system down.” Goebel never became easy to work for but his perfectionism helped raise Trebbien’s own standards. “Paul was always intimidating. There was one way of doing stuff and it was Paul’s way. But I kept in contact with that man over the years. Then I hired him to work for me out here (at Metro).” People that knew Trebbien asked if he hired Goebel to get a little revenge. “Not at all, I treated him like my Dad, I treated him with love and respect. Paul taught me an awful lot. He was so demanding that you figured out how to do it before he’d get there because you wanted to do it right and please him. I love the guy.” While at the Holiday Inn, Trebbien hired Danny Hunter, one of the first grads of the MCC culinary program which started in 1974. “He was pretty good and so I thought, ‘Well, maybe there’s something to it,’ so I came out here (Metro), met some people, and started taking classes. I thought if I’m going to be in the industry I should get some training.” Trebbien was soon asked to serve on the advisory committee at MCC. By the mid 1970s Jim had dedicated himself to a food service career. He boosted his credentials earning an associate degree in Culinary Arts and Management and later being named a Certified Culinary Educator by the American Culinary Foundation. Many awards followed. But when Trebbien broke the news to his family that he was going to cook for a living, not everyone rejoiced. “When I told my Grandma Winnie I was going to be a cook she cried. She was totally disappointed. The image of cooks then was shortorder cooks in greasy spoons.” Metro’s culinary program had a similarly negative reputation its first two decades. Trebbien didn’t know how poor it was until he tried attracting students and teachers. Before he took over at MCC, he worked at three Omaha institutions. The first was the Union Stockyards, where he ran the Livestock Exchange Building dining room. “That was a booming place, though I didn’t see the terribly booming years. I was right at the tail end of that.” The dining room specialized in short ribs, minute steaks, hamburgers, and an item featuring seasoned, battered, and deep-fried calves’ testicles. “I didn’t know about Rocky Mountain Oysters until one of the guys out in the pens brought this bucket in and said, ‘Make that.’” The acquired taste delicacy was washed down with copious alcohol, Trebbien recalls. “People used to have good times down there. These farmers and ranchers would come in and

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they’d work so hard to get their livestock in there. Either they were happy to get the price (they wanted) or not, and they’d have a drink or two or three and eat some good food. They’d have a great time. When they were through they’d maybe go to one of the restaurants or bars in south Omaha.” When the Stockyards’ dining room closed Trebbien went to work as food and beverage director at the gilded J.L. Brandeis & Sons flagship department store in downtown Omaha. Its wide dining choices included a buffet-style cafeteria, diner-like counter service, a hot dog stand, and the fancy Tea Room. “I loved working at the downtown department store and the coolness of all that. A year and a day after I started, my boss called me into his office and said, ‘Jim, we’re going to close this store. We can send you to Des Moines to work there.’ I didn’t want to move.” And so the intrepid Trebbien adjusted his chef’s hat once again and reluctantly took the job as executive chef and production manager at

Trebbien met with the patients at Bergan Mercy Medical Center to discover what they wanted to eat while hospitalized. Omaha’s Bergan Mercy Medical Center. The pay was much better than he’d been making but he didn’t like the bland, often subpar food that hospital staff settled for in appeasing dietary restrictions for its patients. “It was so boring. You could work so hard and we did making the food better but the cooks, who had all been there a long time, all had reasons for why you couldn’t do certain things to enhance flavor.” Jim pushed the staff. “It was really hard to do. I always looked at that as a challenge – to try to make it better.” Jim met his wife, Patty, a dietician, while working at Bergan Mercy. Trebbien had been married before but his first wife, Daise, died of complications from an infection. At Bergan Mercy, Patty prodded Jim to accommodate patients’ special requests. At her urging, he recalls, “I started meeting some of these patients and they were real people with families. I went back and told my cooks, ‘We can’t have these people upset about the food, it’s unacceptable. We’ve got to find a way to make them happy.’ I had them meet the patients, too.” Trebbien had mixed success changing that rigid culture. But the principle underlying that

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March 2015

experience applies to the entire food service field. “You’ve got to get in the mind of the customer,” he says. “No matter what you want to do you’ve got to find out what your customers really want. You’ve got to listen to them carefully.”

im was still at Bergan Mercy when he began teaching at Metro. The school’s culinary program was housed then in Building 5 on the Fort Omaha campus, but it originated at a 50th and Dodge streets storefront. The Dodge Street site, where CVS Pharmacy is now located, is where Omaha restaurateur Patricia Barron, aka Big Mama, attended. Culinary arts eventually moved into Building 10, and that’s where it stayed until Trebbien helped the program get its own building erected. He admits being “petrified” during the first class he taught. There were only four students and one lodged a complaint after Jim exhausted his flimsy notes in less than half the allotted fourhour time, whereupon he excused everyone to go home. A young woman complained she was being short-changed for her tuition. “She didn’t care I was new and didn’t have time to prepare, she was still paying good money for an education, and she was right. From then on I always looked at things from the student’s point of view.” More than one person warned Trebbien not to get too deeply involved with MCC or its culinary program. “I was told this place will never amount to anything. The program had a terrible reputation, too.” He says an “absolute sweetheart” of a woman, AdaMax Brookover, ran the program when he joined the adjunct faculty but she struggled getting herself and the program taken seriously. It was more of a home economics set-up than a professional kitchen, Trebbien says. “She had no backing in town whatsoever because she didn’t come up through the chef ranks, so she just wasn’t connected to those people she had to get connected with. She couldn’t get any money for what she needed and nobody understood what she needed.” Things changed under former Metro president Richard Gilliland after he toured a successful culinary program at an Illinois community college. Brookover was let go and Gilliland put out the word he was looking for someone with considerable restaurant industry experience. When Brookover’s first replacement didn’t work out Trebbien, tired of the hospital job, applied for the position at MCC. Once again, people told him he was making a mistake. After getting the job and discovering just how monumental the challenge was, Jim had second thoughts. Despite it all, he stayed. His willingness to stick it out, despite a 50 percent pay cut, had much to do with his rearing. “My Dad always had high expectations. When putting hay in the barn there might have been 100 bales and nobody expected you to do more than 50, but you got 70. Dad would say, ‘I think you could have got more of them, boys.’” Trebbien says he felt like he disappointed his Dad, so he learned to work harder. “Failure never was an option. I learned you’ve got to try things. If you can’t do it, that’s fine, but if you say you’re going to do something, do it, and don’t do it halfway. That was the way we were all raised.” Another factor that kept Jim from cutting and running, though tempted a few times, was his lifelong desire to please other people. At the start, Trebbien says he had no grand vision for what Metro’s culinary arts program could be and he didn’t necessarily see himself as --Please turn to page 13.

MCC’s culinary arts grads helping grow Omaha’s dining scene --Continued from page 12. its steward. “I wish I could say, ‘Yes,’ but no I didn’t start out thinking that. It was more like, I’ll prove that guy wrong and I’ll prove other people wrong. We will make a go of it. But I really didn’t count on staying here. It was kind of a year-to-year thing with me. Each year I’d say, ‘Yeah, I’ll sign up one more year.’ Each year it got to be a little feeling of ownership. I got that feeling from Richard Gilliland. He’d tell all of us, no matter what our area, ‘Just run that program like it’s yours.’ So I always thought if it’s mine I’m not going to answer to anybody, I’m just going to do it. So I would just start doing stuff.” One thing he did was check out the thriving Johnson County Community College Culinary Arts Program in Overland Park, Kan. Trebbien asked its director, Jerry Vincent, about his secret to success. Vincent said while Jim should take care of his college president, he wouldn’t be able to please everyone. “You’ve got to concentrate on who’s important. The same with the board of governors,” Vincent recommended. “He advised getting to know those people because they’re going to vote sometimes on funding for your program,” Jim says. Thus, Trebbien became a political animal. He made it his business to know the college’s decision-makers and members of the local restaurant community in order to build a broad support base. “So I joined the Omaha Restaurant Association (ORA) and did all that stuff I never thought I had time for or that I thought was stupid before.” In cultivating friends and advocates, Trebbien learned “what makes something good is when a lot of people say it’s good.” When Jim heard a radio report about a bowlers hall of fame it sparked an idea. “I thought, Why don’t we do that?” During the annual ORA dinner at the French Café, he and colleagues Linda Anania and Ron Samuelson formed the Omaha Hospitality Hall of Fame. The outreach and collegiality from that institution bolstered MCC’s culinary program’s profile. At the suggestion of colleague, Arlene Jordan, she and Trebbien paid early morning visits to local radio and television stations hoping to pitch Metro’s culinary arts program on the air. They came up empty until realizing the way to the media’s heart is through its stomachs. “Nobody would let us in the door, everyone turned us down, so finally Arlene said, ‘Why don’t we bake them some cinnamon rolls?’ We did and all of a sudden they all let us in. Once inside the door we’d usually talk ourselves into being on the air. Sometimes it’d be two minutes. We were on KQKQ one time all morning long, even after they changed

DJs. What I learned from that is that we have a story to tell.” Spreading the word little by little meant getting to know local food writers, speaking to community groups, recruiting students at high schools, and schmoozing at parties with potential donors. All the while Jim worked to raise the school’s standards. “The first thing I could ever identify that turned it around was rewriting the curriculum and making it tough. Expectations changed. And just like that the enrollment went down but the reputation started going up.” Then Trebbien started attracting better chef instructors. For years though he couldn’t get any local top chefs to even consider teaching at MCC. “They wouldn’t talk to me. This wasn’t a real culinary school to them and the trouble was we really weren’t. Tightening up the curriculum, being involved in national groups, and the exposure from my touring over 20 states to meet chefs and restaurant owners really helped. “The restaurant industry started to catch on that we placed good graduates and a lot of chefs began wanting to teach here where they didn’t want to be associated with us before.” New kitchens were added inside the MCC building that housed the culinary program in 1987. And where school counselors once used culinary arts as a dumping ground for students who didn’t test well or place anywhere else, the program began to have its pick of motivated students. For all the progress being made, one key element was still missing. “We needed a building. People wanted a name, like the School of Culinary Arts, that lent it credibility, and they wanted an impressive building on campus. Although the enrollment was increasing, it was so crazy, so crowded. Our kitchens were (located) behind the cafeteria.” Out of sight, out of mind. “It just didn’t say magic, it didn’t say this place is quality.” Trebbien and other MCC officials sold donors and the board on the dream. He campaigned for a new name commensurate with the new building. Former Metro president Jo Ann McDowell pushed for the project, which when built, greatly expanded and updated the teaching kitchens and added many other amenities. “The building made a big splash,” says Trebbien, who agreed with McDowell that the structure provided Metro with a gleaming front entrance and anchor symbolizing excellence. Enrollment went through the roof. It’s leveled off some since but interest remains high.

o Trebbien, the Institute For the Culinary Arts’ success is emblematic of how Metro has come into its own as an educational

engine that serves thousands of students. Ground has been broken on a major expansion of the Fort Omaha campus that will add three new buildings. Trebbien is a big believer in community colleges and specifically in Metro. He says MCC offers an outstanding education for a fraction of the cost of a four-year school and that it’s the area’s leader in educating students for certain careers. “If you’re studying culinary arts, here’s where you come. You can learn it here, just like plumbing, construction, and electrical.” Jim is proud MCC’s culinary arts program has produced scores of graduates doing great things here and from coast to coast, even overseas. He feels comfortable saying its students have helped grow Omaha’s culinary scene, which is far more than steakhouses these days. “Some graduates have opened their own chef-driven places, like Paul and Jessica Urban with Block 16 (1611 Farnam St). I would guess a lot of new restaurants wouldn’t have happened because where would they have found the kitchen staff who understood food enough to execute their concepts? Before the Institute For the Culinary Arts came into its own, a lot of people working in restaurants just weren’t trained.” rebbien twice flirted with being a restaurant owner before backing out of deals he just didn’t feel right about. But within the last two years he’s become a food entrepreneur with a pair of businesses he co-owns, Chef Squared, a gourmet oil, vinegar, and salt shop in Midtown Crossing, and Omaha Culinary Tours. With his Metro tenure ending Jim’s devoted more time to his booming business pursuits.

“Chef Squared had three profitable months last year and so we’re happy that we’ve turned the corner,” he says. “Omaha Culinary Tours ended with a very profitable year and we feel really good about that.” Being a business owner has been a learning experience for Trebbien. “Running a business is a little bit different than talking about it. You’ve got to apply all those principles you’ve taught. When you’re counting your dollars instead of somebody else’s, it’s a lot different.” Jim is planning to develop another new business, this time a Webbased one-stop shop for all things food. “I’m just waiting to get the right people together. It’s going to be a big deal.” Meanwhile, he walks away from MCC a departing patriarch anxious that the program he brought to maturation gets the tender loving care he feels it needs to sustain excellence. “I don’t know if everybody realizes the building blocks. It’s easy to see what sits here now but what caused it to be is less obvious.” He says to remain relevant and competitive the Institute For the Culinary Arts can’t sit pat or lose its edge but must maintain the energy and hunger that built it. “All those principles still need to happen,” he says. “It needs to be rejuvenated all the time.” Trebbien leaves on his own terms, content the media now goes to the Institute For the Culinary Arts for stories rather than the other way around. Since announcing his retirement, the media’s sought him out. That’s how he knows what he worked so hard to elevate has truly arrived. (Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.)

Jim says to remain relevant, MCC’s Institute For the Culinary Arts must maintain the energy it created during the early days.

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Fremont Friendship Center You’re invited to visit the Fremont Friendship Center, 1730 W. 16th St. (Christensen Field), this month for the following: • March 2: Four-weeks long computer class begins on Mondays from 1 to 2 p.m. Reservations are required. • March 4: News with Nye @10 a.m. and pianist Wally. • March 11: Presentation on Alzheimer’s @ 10 a.m. followed by music with Al Knoell @ 10:30 a.m. • March 16: Adaptive Recreation Group welcomes musician Wayne Miller @ 6:45 p.m. • March 18: Music by Rockin’ Woody @ 10:30 a.m. • March 19: NU law students will meet with those who have reservations from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. • March 24: Supper @ 5:30 pm. Please bring two dishes that serve eight to 10 people each. Music by The Links @ 6:30 p.m. The Wishing Well drawing ($1 per ticket is suggested) will be held this night. • March 25: Music by Joe Taylor at 10:30 a.m. • March 25: Toenail clinic. The $10 cost is paid to the nurse. Please call 402-727-2815 for reservations. • March 26: Registered dietician Rachel will do a presentation on changing nutrient needs with age. The Fremont Friendship Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 donation is suggested for lunch. Reservations must be made by noon the business day prior to the meal you wish to enjoy. Transportation to and from the center is available. For meal reservations and more information, please call Laurie at 402-727-2815.

OFD can install free smoke, carbon monoxide detectors

he Omaha Fire Department’s Public Education and Affairs Department is available to install free smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors inside the residences of area homeowners.

To have a free smoke and/ or carbon monoxide detector installed inside your home, send your name, address, and telephone number to: Omaha Fire Department Smoke/Carbon Monoxide Requests 10245 Weisman Dr. Omaha, NE 68134 For more information, please call 402-444-3560.

Read it & eat By Lois Friedman readitandeat@yahoo.com

Recipes for good food choices Plan the days ahead with recipes from these helpful cookbooks to start making good food choices. Modern Tea By Lisa Richardson (Chronicle, $19.95) Explore all the facets of tea in this easy-to-read guide. Discover the history, how to use tea in your everyday life, and ways to feature teatime all the time. For rookies and gurus alike. Eat Clean Live Well By Terry Walters (Sterling Epicure, $30) In this third of his cookbooks, Walters shares more than 175 seasonal recipes, lifestyle tips, tools, stories, and resources to help you make healthy food choices. Primal Cuisine: Cooking for the Paleo Diet By Pauli Halstead (Healing Arts Press, $19.95) Step-by-step advice to improve your health and save money on your grocery bills. One hundred and fifty budget-conscious recipes for choosing good nutrition as a way of life. Silk Road Vegetarian By Dahlia Abraham-Klein (Tuttle, $16.95) With roots in ancient cooking traditions of Central Asia. Discover a culinary adventure with more than 120 healthy vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free recipes emphasizing local foods. The Vegiterranean Diet By Julieanna Hever (DaCapo, $17.99) Strategies for incorporating the best of the Mediterranean and vegan diets by eating whole, healthy, plant-based foods using the 60 recipes with suggestions to mix and match for a 21-day meal plan from this registered dietitian. Raw Energy in a Glass By Stephanie Tourles (Storey, $16.95) Recipes for more than 125 smoothies, shots, shakes, elixirs, and mocktails. Fruits, vegetables, greens, nuts, and seeds to blend or juice from agave nectar to walnuts. Start your day with this energy booster!

Morning Power Shot Yield: 1 serving

1/2 cup purified water juice of 1 medium lemon (1/4-1/2 cup) 2 teaspoons gingerroot, peeled, very finely minced 2 teaspoons raw honey or agave nectar (more if you want it sweeter) pinch of cayenne pepper powder Heat the water to just shy of a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Put the lemon juice, gingerroot, honey, and cayenne in a medium mug and then pour in the hot water. Stir to blend and allow the mixture to steep for four to five minutes. The longer it steeps, the stronger and more potent the ginger becomes. Drink quickly, ginger bits and all, when the juice blend is comfortably warm. Feel the hot energy coursing through your veins!

Retired fed employees meet at Omaha eatery The National Association of Retired Federal Employees’ Chapter 144 meets the first Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Amazing Pizza Machine, 13955 S Plz. For more information, please call 402-333-6460. The National Association of Retired Federal Employees’ Aksarben Chapter 1370 meets the second Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Amazing Pizza Machine, 13955 S Plz. For more information, call 402-392-0624.

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RSVP

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is recruiting persons age 55 and older for a variety of opportunities. For more information in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties, please call 402-444-6536, ext. 224. In Dodge and Washington counties, please call 402721-7780. The following have volunteer opportunities in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties: • The Disabled Ameri-

can Veterans need volunteer drivers. • The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteers to assist walk in guests and for other duties. • The Douglas County Health Center wants volunteers for a variety of assignments. • Bergan Mercy Medical Center is looking for volunteers to help in several areas. • Rebuilding Together wants volunteers to work on home projects. • The Skyline Retirement Community is looking for volunteer for fitness classes and to visit with its residents. • Catholic Charities Christ Child Center North

wants volunteers to help older adults with crafts, outing, and other activities. • Mount View Elementary School is looking for a TeamMates mentor. The following have a volunteer opportunity in Dodge and/or Washington County: • The Blair and Fremont Car-Go Program needs volunteer drivers. • The Fremont Friendship Center wants volunteers to facilitate classes. • The Danish American Archive Library needs volunteers to help with its archives. • The American Red Cross (Dodge County chapter) is looking for volunteers for a variety of duties.

Widespread adoption of antibiotics has led to resistance, challenges treating infections

he development and widespread adoption of socalled antibiotics – drugs that kill bacteria and thereby reduce infection – has helped billions of people live longer, healthier lives. But all this tinkering with nature hasn’t come without a cost. The more we rely on antibiotics, the more bacteria develop resistance to them, which makes treating infections more challenging. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overuse of antibiotics by humans, such as for the mistreatment of viral infections, means these important drugs are less effective for all of us. Besides the toll on our health, researchers estimate antibiotic resistance causes Americans upwards of $20 billion in additional healthcare costs every year stemming from the treatment of otherwise preventable infections. A bigger issue, though, is our growing reliance on feeding antibiotics to livestock for growth promotion, weight gain, and to treat, control, and prevent disease. This increasingly common practice is a significant factor in the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledges can get passed onto humans who eat food from treated animals. The non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) reports the majority of the ground beef

and ground turkey sold in the typical American grocery store contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Last year, 26 animal pharmaceutical companies voluntarily complied with an FDA request to re-label medically important antibiotics used in food-producing animals to warn against using them for growth promotion and weight gain. The FDA also recommended that medically important antibiotics be prescribed by licensed veterinarians and only to treat, control, and prevent disease. “We need to be selective about the drugs we use in animals and when we use them,” says William Flynn of the FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine. “Antimicrobial resistance may not be completely preventable, but we need to do what we can to slow it down.”

till some worry the FDA’s action doesn’t go far enough, given that farmers will still be able to administer antibiotics to their livestock for disease prevention. The fact more and more livestock operations are switching over to Animal Feeding Operations (AFO) whereby animals are confined in crowded enclosures (instead of allowed to graze at pasture) means antibiotics will play an increasingly important role in disease prevention. For its part, the FDA argues that since veterinarians need to authorize antibiotic use for disease prevention, farmers and ranchers are less likely to overuse antibiotics for their livestock populations. The same can be said about doctors’ limiting the prescription of antibiotics for their human patients, but only time will tell whether such newfound restraint is enough in the fast evolving arms race between bacteria and antibiotics. Of course, consumers can do their part by avoiding antibiotic medications unless absolutely necessary and eating less meat (or giving it up entirely) to help reduce demand. (EarthTalk® is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine.)

Comedy at Blue Barn through March 14

escribed as a comedy about the holy and the holier than thou, Bad Jews is making its regional premiere on stage at Omaha’s Blue Barn Theatre, 614 S. 11th St., through March

14. Written by Joshua Elias Harmon, Bad Jews tells the story of a Jewish girl who has an Israeli boyfriend she met on a Birthright tour. Show times are Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sundays, March 1 and 8. Tickets – which are $25 for persons over age 65, and $30 for adults – are available by calling 402-345-1576.

March 2015

Author provides advice for choosing the best end-of-life healthcare provider

acing the difficult decision of hospice is something no family wants to think about. Choosing a for profit facility or a not for profit facility is one question that confuses a lot of people. Kurt Kazanowski, author of The 7 Pillars of Growth for Hospice and Home Care, says both for profit and not for profit hospice facilities have their pluses and minuses, but ultimately the focus should be on which facility offers the best care. Kazanowski says these are eight questions every family must ask to find the best end-of-life healthcare provider: • What is your employee turnover rate in your organization? The national average is 15 percent for hospice companies. If the company you are interviewing has a higher turnover rate you need to understand why. • What is the average caseload for a nurse working at your hospice facility? The national average is 13 patients per nurse. Obviously this number is going to fluctuate based on the hospice’s census. This is a key question to ask and understand. • Are your physicians board certified in hospice and palliative care medicine? Just like you wouldn’t go to a family physician for open heart surgery (you want a board certified cardiovascular surgeon), you want a physician who is board certified in hospice and palliative care medicine on the hospice company team you select. • Does the hospice have full time physicians on staff? You want to know if the hospice you select has a full time medical director. • Does the hospice offer all four levels of hospice care? There are four levels of hospice care: routine, respite, continuous care, and general inpatient care. Does the hospice you select offer all four levels of care? Ask for details in how they offer these four levels of care. • Does the hospice offer general inpatient hospice (GIP) care? The GIP level of care is the “ICU” of hospice care and is intended to care for patients who have breakthrough pain and symptom management issues. You need to know and understand how the hospice facility you select delivers this level of care should your loved one ever need this specialty type of hospice care. • Does the hospice offer music therapy? The basic hospice benefit does not require a hospice to offer music therapy. If the hospice you select offers music therapy they are going above and beyond the basic hospice benefit. • How many volunteers does the hospice facility have? The use of volunteers is part of the conditions of participation a licensed hospice must offer. Ask how many volunteers the hospice has and how many volunteer hours the hospice provides per month.

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Practical ideas for promoting healthcare

Alzheimer’s support groups available in Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy counties The Alzheimer’s Association Nebraska Chapter offers several caregiver support groups and specialty support groups each month in Dodge, Douglas, and Sarpy counties. These support groups offer valuable space and educational opportunities for families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia to engage and learn. Please call Elizabeth at 402-502-4301 for more information. Second Wednesday @ 5:30 p.m. Espirit Whispering Ridge 17555 Emmet St.

DODGE COUNTY • FREMONT Last Wednesday @ 2 p.m. Nye Square 655 W. 23rd St.

Third Saturday 10:30 a.m. to noon Younger Onset Support Group Methodist Hospital 8303 Dodge St. REGISTRATION REQUIRED

Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m. Shalimar Gardens 749 E. 29th St. DOUGLAS COUNTY • BENNINGTON Last Thursday @ 6 p.m. Ridgewood Active Retirement Community 12301 N. 149th Cr. • ELKHORN Third Monday @ 6 p.m. Elk Ridge Village Assisted Living 19400 Elk Ridge Dr. • OMAHA

Third Monday @ 9:30 a.m. Ralston Senior Center 7301 Q St. • Suite 100 SARPY COUNTY

Every other Monday @ 7 p.m. Brighton Gardens 9220 Western Ave.

• BELLEVUE Third Monday @ 7 p.m. Bellevue Senior Center 109 W. 22nd Ave.

Third Wednesday @ 3 p.m. Fountain View Senior Living 5710 S 108th St. First & third Monday @ 1:30 p.m. New Cassel/Franciscan Centre 900 N. 90th St. Adult day services are provided on-site.

Third Tuesday @ 5 p.m. Immanuel Fontenelle 6809 N 68th Plz. Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m. Heritage Pointe 16811 Burdette St.

Second or third Saturday @ 11 a.m. Caring for Your Parents Teri @ 402-393-0434 for location • RALSTON

Second Thursday @ 10 a.m. Country House 5030 S. 155th St. Adult day services provided.

• OMAHA

First Thursday @ 6:30 p.m. Early Stage Support Group Security National Bank 1120 S. 101st St. REGISTRATION REQUIRED

First Wednesday @ 1 p.m. Eastern Nebraska Vets Home 12505 S. 40th St. Fourth Thursday @ 6 p.m. Hillcrest Health Services 1804 Hillcrest Dr. Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m. Heritage Ridge 1502 Fort Crook Rd. South

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Introducing

espite decades of medical research and public campaigns to ease the problem, heart disease remains the No. 1 killer in the United States. One of the problems driving heart disease is the messaging, says Robert Thompson, M.D., an integrative medicine specialist deemed by his peers to be in the top 5 percent of American physicians. While there’s plenty of good research to indicate good advice the general public, and many of Thompson’s peers in the medical community are stuck with faulty conclusions, he says. “Perhaps the biggest misconception is that an overabundance of calcium, which may include supplements, is very good for people, especially women, but that’s simply not true,” says Thompson, author of The Calcium Lie II: What Your Doctor Still Doesn’t Know, a new book that details the roles minerals play in overall health and how to identify and correct deficiencies and imbalances. Calcium is one of 12 substances, as well as traces of 64 other minerals, that make up our bones. Excessive amounts of calcium hurt our bodies in many ways, especially the heart and the brain, he says. We cannot possibly replace minerals with just calcium, which hardens concrete and makes bones more brittle. One study, published in the British Medical Journal in 2008, was meant to assess the effect of calcium on bone density and fractures in postmenopausal women. Researchers found that participating women were significantly more likely to suffer heart attacks while taking calcium supplements. “This is far from an isolated study – there are others, including 15 studies combined into a meta-analysis yielding similar hearthealth results, which show an increased risk of heart disease by at least 30 percent,” says Thompson, who offers practical recommendations for what individuals can start doing for better overall health. • Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day. As a general rule, we need to drink half of our bodyweight in ounces of water daily. For a 150-pound individual, that’s 75 ounces of water. Those who are overweight, or are heavy exercisers or live in warm climates may need more. Take care to drink quality water. • Take ionic sea salt-derived minerals. We all need a diverse range of minerals and virtually none of us get enough. Ionic minerals are the only ones that are completely

• Companionship • Light housekeeping • Cooking • Grocery shopping/Errands • Personal hygiene/Care • Personalized transportation • And more… “Empowering the individuals we serve to live life to the fullest.”

Toll free: 844-44-EMPOWER or 844-443-6769 www.empowerhomecare.com

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March 2015

available for our bodies to use because they are water-soluble and they naturally carry an electrical charge that allows them to be carried through the cell membranes. All sea salt-derived trace mineral products are recommended – at least three grams per day. • Use only vitamin supplements made from 100 percent organic whole foods that have been vine ripened. Almost all of us need supplements because contemporary food supplies lack adequate amounts of vitamins and minerals thanks to soil depletion. Most store-bought vitamins include just one component of the many complex molecular elements contained in the naturally occurring vitamin source. You need all of the nutrient components to get the full benefits. • Get your fill of essential fatty acids. Raw nuts and/or seeds are a good source. In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration approved the following health claim for seven kinds of nuts: “Scientific evidence suggests but does not prove that eating 1.5 ounces per day of most raw nuts as part of a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of heart disease.” Omega-3 and Omega-6 are considered essential because humans can’t manufacture them within our bodies. Research has now shown that plant-derived Omega 6, and not fish oil is the best oil for humans. • Eat high-quality proteins. Seafood, eggs, beans, chicken, game meat, duck, and turkey are excellent sources of essential amino acids that are the building blocks of every protein molecule, hormone, neurotransmitter, cell membranes, and immune molecules. Proteins can also be obtained from grains, sprouted grains, raw nuts, and raw seeds. Vegetarians and vegans need to play close attention to combine protein sources to get the full complement of amino acids. • Walk at least 30 minutes every day. This activity has a huge effect on relieving the physiologic effects of stress on the human physiology. Exercise is good, but walking is amazing. No other single activity will more significantly or more rapidly affect the adrenal stress response in humans than walking, which probably works so well because it slows us down. And, it is an incredible way to build relationships. “Also, I recommend ingesting essential monosaccharides, which is new and unknown territory for most people,” Dr. Thompson says. “They are the simplest form of carbohydrate molecules found in the body, are essential for protein molecules and can be found in maple syrup, sweet potatoes, parsnips, beets, and onions.”

Workbook can guide you through end-of-life planning, transitioning

Get information via 211 network

t 4:33 a.m. on September 28, 2003, Charlotte Fox’s life changed forever. The man she loved and planned to retire with soon, died unexpectedly from a heart attack at age 54. The couple had no will, no life insurance, nor an estate plan, and Fox was perplexed by what her husband’s final wishes would have been. This created a dangerous cocktail of confusion that turned a period of grieving into one also driven by needless stress and mental trauma. In what can only be described as a passion fueled by experience, Fox is now holding the hands of others so they can plan their end-of-life affairs while there’s still time. Her 258-page workbook, And Then There Was One, is a definitive and complete practical planner for the end of life. It’s the volume Fox wishes she and her husband had sitting on their shelf in September 2003. And Then There Was One is a guided tour for end-of-life planning and transitioning after the loss of a loved one. It’s an all-in-one-place to map out wishes and list legal and financial affairs. The comprehensive step-by-step checklists and fill-in-the-blanks worksheets will help guide readers through making decisions, expressing their wishes, encouraging conversation, eliminating confusion, easing the transition, and protecting survivors from injustices and victimization that often occurs upon the death of a loved one. “Let’s be honest, who really knows what they are doing when it comes to end-of-life planning?” asks Fox. “Statistics show 80 percent of people don’t have a plan for their death which often leads to financial disaster, family feuds, and legal mazes that feel like they’ll never end. “I walk readers through each and every step of putting their plan into place – from a legal, financial, and personal wishes standpoint – so that, when their time comes, those they leave behind can more easily make the transition and grieve instead of becoming victimized.”

he 211 telephone network has been established in parts of Nebraska to give consumers a single source for information about community and human services.

ox says the workbook’s style contains all of the forms and checklists needed to map out a trust, a will, a power of attorney, POD accounts, beneficiary deeds, and everything in-between. “The biggest advice I can give people – and I know it’s ever so hard to understand it while (they are) still apparently alive and well – is to not wait until a sudden emergency or illness strikes,” she says. “Plan now, because death doesn’t discriminate.” And Then There Was One can be purchased from Barnes & Noble and other booksellers. For more information, visit the book’s official website at http://www.therewasone.com.

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By dialing 211, consumers can access information about human needs resources like food banks, shelters, rent and utility assistance, etc., physical and mental health resources, employment opportunities, support for older Americans and persons with a disability, support for children and families, volunteer opportunities, and donations. The 211 network is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

$5 Florence Craig Mary Riley Jean Granlund Peggy Dixson Marcia Pryor Reflects donations received through February 23, 2015.

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Traditional funding sources are making it more difficult for ENOA to fulfill its mission. Partnership opportunities are available to businesses and individuals wanting to help us. These opportunities include volunteering, memorials, honorariums, gift annuities, and other contributions.

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Many cellphone apps allow others Partnerships in Caregiving is new name for to know your location, behavior nonprofit provider of respite, aging services

ou just had a flat tire along a dark country road. Luckily, you downloaded a flashlight app into your cellphone and now can put it to use. But that flashlight, handy as it is, may be one of many doors you unwittingly opened to let spies take up residence

inside your phone. “Most free flashlight apps are creepware,” says Gary S. Miliefsky, CEO of SnoopWall, a company that specializes in cyber security. Creepware is malware that spies on you and your online behavior and could pass along information to others. For example, Goldenshores Technologies, the company behind the popular “Brightest Flashlight Free” app for Android phones, agreed in 2013 to settle the Federal Trade Commission’s charges the software secretly supplied cellphone locations to advertising networks and other third parties. The problem doesn’t begin and end with flashlight apps, though. Many seemingly innocuous apps that people carry around with them on their mobile devices have the capability to eavesdrop on their activities. “Consumers trust first and verify never,” Miliefsky says. “As a result, most of their smartphones are infected with malware they trust in the form of some kind of useful app or game.” Miliefsky offers these tips for ousting those spies inside the phone: • First, assume you’ve already been compromised. It’s nice to think all is probably well, but most likely it’s not. Somewhere in the phone the spies are at work and it’s time to take the privacy behaviors and privacy policies of these apps more seriously. • Verify the behavior and privacy risks for apps before installing them. Do some research and ask the question: “Why does this app need GPS, microphone, webcam, contacts, etc.?” Most apps don’t need these ports unless they want to invade your privacy, Miliefsky says. Find an alternative before installing risky apps. • Do a smartphone version of spring cleaning. Delete all the apps you don’t use that often. Replace the apps that take advantage of too many of your privacy settings, such as GPS, phone and text-message logs, with similar apps that don’t. • Turn off WiFi, Bluetooth, Near Field Communication, and GPS except when you need them. That way, Miliefsky says, if you are at a local coffee shop or in a shopping mall, no one can spy using nearby (proximity) hacking attack. They also can’t track where you were and where you’re going on GPS. • Check to see if your e-mail has put a tracer on you and your phone. “If you use a Google e-mail account and have an Android phone, you’d be surprised that even with your GPS off, it’s tracking your every move,” Miliefsky says. You need to go into the phone’s settings to turn off that tracking feature, he says. In your Android phone, go to “settings,” then “location.” Select “Google location reporting” and set “location history” to off. Law Offices of Charles E. Dorwart 33 years of legal experience • Wills • Living Trusts • Probate • Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney • In Home Consultations • Free Initial Consultation 6790 Grover Street • Suite 100 Omaha, NE 68106 Office: (402) 558-1404 • Fax: (402) 779-7498 cdorwartjd@dorwartlaw.com

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Janet Miller

Ellen Bennett

n January, the local nonprofit organization previously known as Partnerships in Aging went through a name change. The newly christened Partnerships in Caregiving now offers the same services in eastern Nebraska but under a different name. PIC’s services include: • Respite Resource Center: Helps caregivers of individuals with disabilities to locate respite providers, respite funding, and available training programs. • Grandparent Resource Center: Partnerships in Caregiving manages the Grandparent Resource Center in collaboration with the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. This program focuses on supporting grandparents who are raising their grandchildren through support groups, pantry services, transportation to support group meetings, and referrals to legal services.

Michelle Patterson

• Partnerships in Aging Network: Partnerships in Caregiving works with the Partnerships in Aging Network to bring together a variety of organizations specializing in elder care to inform local caregivers and older adults about resources and information that can assist them with successful aging. • Powerful Tools for Caregivers: Partnerships in Caregiving is part of a team that offers this educational program to help family and friends who are caring for children and/or adults with long-term health conditions. These six-week classes help guide men and women through the caregiving journey. For more information, please contact Partnerships in Caregiving’s Director Janet Miller or Respite Coordinator Ellen Bennett at 402-996-8444.

Series of monthly programs runs through November

he University of Nebraska Medical Center’s EngAge Wellness program and The Art of Aging are co-sponsoring a series of free programs the third Tuesday of each month through November. The 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. presentations will be held at the Home Instead Center for Successful Aging, 38th Avenue and Leavenworth Street. Here’s the schedule: • March 17: Safe Environment Training: Starting with Fall Prevention with Heather Shafer, M.S. from UNMC’s EngAge Wellness program and BevVan Phillips from Total Respiratory & Rehab. • April 21: Maximizing Independence: Vehicles & Motorized Transportation Needs with Mark Zach of Mobility Motoring. • May 19: Driving: When to Give Up the Keys with William Roccaforte, M.D., from UNMC’s Department of Psychiatry. • June 16: The Grace & Value of End of Life Planning with Julie Masters, Ph.D., from the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Department of Gerontology. • July 21: Memory

March 2015

Changes: What’s Normal and What’s Not with Barb Bayer, APRN, from UNMC. • Aug. 18: Swallowed by A Snake — Everyone Grieves with Joy Johnson, founder of Centering Corporation and Ted E. Bear Hollow. • Sept. 15: Age to Age: When Do We Need a Geriatrician? With Elizabeth Harlow, M.D., from UNMC.

• Oct. 20: On the Move! Successfully Getting from One Home to Another with Mike Fujan of True North. • Nov. 17: Home for the Holidays: A Recipe for Peace with Diane Hendricks from UNMC. To register or for more information, please call 402-552-7210 or log on the Internet to www.artofaginginc.com.

Course begins March 6

Writing your autobiography

en and women interested in writing their autobiography are invited to attend a series of weekly two-hour workshops at the Grand Reserve at Elkhorn, 3535 Piney Creek Dr. A workshop overview will be held on Friday, March 6 from 10 to 11 a.m. Participants will then select the day of the week and the times for the 10-week workshop. Each week, participants, under the guidance of an experienced leader, will explore a different theme that has influenced their lives. Participants will write two pages on each theme at home and then share their writing in a small group with other participants. A guided autobiography is useful to help people understand the meaning of their life or to find knowledge to help them live their lives in more meaningful ways. It can be particularly helpful for people facing any major life transition such a divorce, retirement, career change, family caregiving, or health problems. The cost of the 10-week course is $30. For further information and registration, please call Chris at 402-881-6140

Eclectic Book Review Club The 2015 season for the 65-year-old Eclectic Book Review Club continues in March. The monthly meetings – which are held at the Omaha Field Club, 3615 Woolworth Ave. – include a noon lunch followed by the book review at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $13 per person. Here’s the schedule: • March 17: University of Nebraska-Lincoln fine arts professor Karen Shoemaker will review her book The Meaning of Names. • April 21: Eclectic Book Review Club member Ann Van Hoff will review Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn. • May 19: University of Nebraska-Lincoln English professor Timothy Schaffert will review his book The Swan Gondola. For reservations, which are due by the Monday prior to the Tuesday reviews, or more information, please call Rita at 402-553-3147.

GRC offers support group for grandparents under age 55 The Grandparent Resource Center (GRC) – a collaborative program of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging and Partnerships in Caregiving – has started a new support group for grandparents raising their grandchildren. Extended family members are also welcome to attend. This new support group is specifically designed for grandparents under age 55 and for grandparents who are unable to attend the Grandparent Resource Center’s other weekday support group meetings. These recently developed support group meetings are facilitated by Michelle Patterson, who was raised by her grandparents and is very interested in giving back to her community. The meetings are held on Saturdays at First Covenant Church, 201 N. 90th Street (south of

An organization for widows, widowers meets each month

Hearing Loss Association

he Omaha Area Hearing Loss Association of America, a support group for hard of hearing adults, will meet next on Tuesday, March 10 at Dundee Presbyterian Church, 5312 Underwood Ave. Participants are asked to enter the church on the Happy Hollow Blvd. (east)

HEOS, a group for older widows and widowers, meets the second Monday of each side. month at the Presbyterian The 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. meetChurch of the Cross, 1517 ing will feature social time and S. 114th St. a speaker. The organization offers The Omaha Area Hearing Eastern Nebraska a Office on Aging • 4223ofCenter Street • Omaha, NE 68105 weekend activities, WednesLoss Association America day night dinners, and meets the second Tuesday of pinochle twice a month. the month from September For more information, through December and from please call Dorothy at 402March through August. 399-0759, Mary at 402-393For more information, con3052, or Joan at 402-393tact Beth at ellsworth.beth@cox.net or Verla Hamilton at 8931. 402-558-6449.

CLASSIFIEDS

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West Dodge Road on 90th February 13, 2015 POOL TABLES Lamplighter II Street) from 10 to 11:30 am. Moving, refelting, assemble, repair, Some of the nicest, newer 1 bedroom Here’s the spring schedtear down. Used slate tables. apartments. Elevator, w & d, heated ule: March 28, April 18, We pay CASH for slate pool tables. parking garage. Small complex. By bus and May 16. & shopping. No pets or smoking. Big Red Billiards If you’re interested in Doris, 93rd & Maple • 402-397-6921 402-598-5225 attending these meetingsHere’s your ad for the classified section for the March issue. Please let me or have questions, pleaseknow if this is okay. If you have any changes, give me a call @ 402-444-4148. HOUSE STUFF WANTED Grocery Delivery Once adOLD is approved mail your check for $32.00 to:CLEANING contact Janet Miller at 402(before 1975) Need help cleaning? 996-8444. Military, political,New toys, jewelry, No job too large. Vittles Run Horizons No job too small. fountain pens, pottery, kitchen ware, c/o Jeff Reinhardt, Editor postcards, photos, books, and Senior discount You deserve a clean house! Dance Wednesdays Center other old paper, old4223 clothes, garden Street $10 per delivery at Legion Post # 1 REFRESH stuff, tools, old household, Omaha,etc. NE 68105 Call anytime CLEANING SERVICES You’re invited to attend Call Georgiana 402-397-0254 or Ph. 402-250-9389 JUDY: 402-885-8731 402-444-6654 a dance each Wednesday @ 402-305-6826 afternoon from 1 to 4 at American Legion Post Thanks! Tree Trimming #1, 7811 Davenport St. Mitch Laudenback Admission is $2. @ New Horizons Haul-away,

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Nebraska Senior Medicare Patrol Nebraska Senior Medicare Patrol, a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services program that works to educate and empower older adults to help prevent health care fraud offers 10 tips to help you avoid Medicare scams. • Don’t provide your Medicare number to anyone except your trusted health care provider. • Ask friends and neighbors to pick up your mail while you’re away from home. • Shred important documents before throwing them away. • Read Medicare summary notices carefully looking for possible mistakes. • Use a calendar or health care journal to record information from doctor visits. • Compare your calendar or health care journal with your Medicare summary notices. • Count your prescription pills. If the total is less than expected, go back and tell the pharmacist. • Medicare Part D plans change annually. • Don’t speak to anyone claiming to be a Medicare representative about Medicare. • Medicare loses billions of dollars each year. It’s up to you to help fight fraud. If you believe you may be a victim of Medicare fraud, please call 800-942-7830.

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Roses donated by Baker’s Supermarkets brighten Valentine’s Day for meals recipients

ave Rivera and Paul Habib – members of First Data Resource’s Information Technology department and volunteers with the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program – pulled their van into the driveway at Betty Gillogly’s Westgate area home. Then carrying a hot meal and a pair of beautiful red roses, Rivera met Gillogly at her front door. These flowers were among the 25 dozen roses Baker’s Supermarkets donated to ENOA for the agency’s Meals on Wheels program recipients. “This is a wonderful thing for Baker’s to do,” Gillogly said. “I’d like to do something to thank them.” The roses were part of Baker’s Supermarkets Heart to Heart Program that donated 3,634 roses and balloons to Omaha area residents on

Valentine’s Day this year. “Thanks to our customers, we were able to share a little cheer and send a smile to some people,” said Sheila Lowrie, a Baker’s spokesperson. She said ENOA was among the organizations selected to benefit from the Heart to Heart Program in 2015 because the father of a Baker’s store manager receives Meals on Wheels.

illogly, 82, has five children, 12 grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Her daughter, Barb Kirshenbaum, delivers meals as a volunteer for ENOA each Tuesday. Betty, who worked at Western Electric for 20 years, said the Meals on Wheels deliveries make her life a lot easier and she appreciates the efforts of

everyone involved with the program. “I’d like to thank Baker’s for donating these gorgeous red roses to ENOA and our Meals on Wheels recipients,” said Arlis Smidt, who coordinates the home-delivered meals program for the agency. “The roses brought smiles to the faces of a lot of people that day.” “This is the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had,” Gillogly said. “I’m going to put the roses by my chair in the living room.”

These employees from Baker’s Supermarkets’ corporate office delivered more than 700 roses to the ENOA office for the Valentine’s Day delivery.

Dave Rivera (left) and Paul Habib, volunteers from FDR, delivered Valentine’s Day roses from Baker’s Supermarkets to Betty Gillogly.

Older adults should refire, not retire

errett-Koehler Publishers and Life Reimagined/AARP have recently released a book titled Refire! Don’t Retire. It’s written by Ken Blanchard of The One Minute Manager fame and noted psychologist Morton Shaevitz. The book presents a call to action for a growing population of mature adults. In the United States alone, there are approximately 10,000 people turning age 65 each day. “To refire is to approach life with gusto and see each day as an opportunity,” says Shaevitz, who has been studying new models of aging. “It’s the opposite of retiring. Retiring is going from; refiring is going toward. People who are only leaving something don’t do very well. People who are going toward something do much better.” “Refiring is about breaking out of the habitual ruts that begin to appear as we settle into middle age and beyond,” says Blanchard. Research on aging suggests many older adults are happier, healthier, and more productive than previously thought. “Our goal is to inspire these individuals and provide them with new tools for healthy living, rewarding relationships, continued learning, vitality, meaningful involvement, and the development of a personal sense of spirituality,” says Shaevitz. “Our book is a wake-up call,” says Blanchard. “It’s so easy to slip into autopilot as the years go along. Life is a very special occasion, and no one should miss it.” Refire! Don’t Retire is a guide to an ongoing process,” says Shaevitz. “Rather than having a bucket list mindset, we want people to have an ever-expanding list and to live full, joyful lives.”

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March 2015