New Horizons March2016

A publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging

March 2016 VOL. 41 • NO. 3

ENOA 4223 Center Street Omaha, NE 68105-2431

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

New Horizons Superior screenwriter

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Photo courtesy of the UCLA Daily Bruin

A favorite son of Superior, Nebraska, Lew Hunter is a screenwriter, author, and a professor emeritus in the UCLA Department of Theater, Film, and Television where he’s known as one of the nation’s top screenwriting instructors. Leo Adam Biga’s profile of Hunter begins on page 10.

Sharing, learning Eugenia Orlich Hartig with Josh Schmidt during a recent gathering of New Cassel residents who are military veterans and students from Skutt Catholic High School. Page 5.

National recognition Mary Ann Borgeson, chair of the Eastern Nebraska Human Services Agency’s governing board, was recently honored by the Governing Institute.

Page 20.

March 2016 events calendar

Film series will take its viewers to ‘Majestic Montana’ March 3

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he fifth entry in the 2015-16 Omaha World Adventurers (OWA) film series will bring producer Steve Gonser and his Majestic Montana to the Village Pointe Theaters – 304 N. 174th St. – on Thursday, March 3. Show times are 2 and 7:30 p.m.

While Montana is America’s fourth largest state land-wise, fewer than one million people live there. Cattle outnumber people three to one. Within its boundaries are two national parks, 10 national forests, seven Indian reservations, more than 40 state parks, nearly a dozen wilderness areas, and several national monuments and historic sites.

Indian hunting parties came to Steve Gonser Montana and returned to their villages with stories about a land full of buffalo and holy sites. Cattle drivers summered in Montana and found an area with abundant game, endless grasslands, and high adventure.

Majestic Montana will take viewers on a journey to explore the majestic qualities that make the state special. Find out why Montana is often referred to as dinosaur country.

Visit cities large and small. Learn about ranching at the Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site.

Trace the steps of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in Montana. Look for sapphires at the Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine. Hike trails to sample the scenic wonders of Montana’s wild areas. Observe a wide range of wildlife and look closely at the flora for which the state is famous. And of course, visit Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.

Tickets to the film, which are $15, are available at the door. For more information, please call 866-385-3824.

3 Blaze Orpheum Theater 7:30 p.m.

402-345-0606

12 Dee Dee Bridgewater & Irvin Mayfield with the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m.

402-345-0606

5 Crystal Aimee Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m.

402-345-0606

15 Rogers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella Through March 20 Orpheum Theater 402-345-0606

Celtic Journey Also March 6 Holland Performing Arts Center Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.

Sunday @ 2 p.m. $19 to $85 402-345-0606

18 Schubert & Bruckner Unfinished Symphonies Also March 19 Holland Performing Arts Center $19 to $85 402-345-0606 24 The Christians Through April 17 Blue Barn Theatre Thursday, Friday, & Saturday @ 7:30 p.m.

Sunday @ 6 p.m. $25 & $30 402-345-1576

8 th 11 Annual Omaha Film Festival Through March 13 Village Pointe Cinema $8, $60, & $90 402-203-8173

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 2016

402-445-0996

www.seniormovingservices.com

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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 2016 forms and a household income statement must be completed and returned to the county assessor’s office by June 30, 2016.

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, 2016, the home’s owner/occupant through Aug. 15, 2016, 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

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Be aware of asset recovery firm fraud

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fter reviewing complaints submitted by consumers, a financial scam targeting older consumers who had previously been victims of other fraudulent moneymaking schemes has been discovered.

So called asset recovery companies are contacting these past victims promising to get refunds for a substantial fee, failing to deliver promised services, and leaving consumers financially worse off than before.

The asset recovery company contacts the defrauded older consumer claiming they can get their money back for an upfront fee up to thousands of dollars. The company often claims it has expertise to help victims of fraud recover their funds.

Once the older consumer pays the upfront fee, the company fails to perform any service the consumers couldn’t have done themself. For example, if the consumer used a credit card to pay the original scammer, the asset recovery company

usually will do nothing beyond disputing the charge with the credit card company.

They often submit a complaint to an agency that doesn’t charge anything to process a complaint.

Moreover, they often don’t adequately follow through with the worthless services they offer; filing claims that are too old to be legally valid or without proper documentation to support the consumer’s claims.

Here are some tips: • Don’t pay for any service that hasn’t been performed. You have the right to refuse service and verify the legitimacy of any organization.

• Submitting complaints to federal agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission or state attorneys general offices are free to the public and easy to use.

Private companies don’t have special access to these free consumer complaint resources.

• Never allow anyone to discourage you from seek-

ing information, support, and advice from family members, friends, or trusted advisors before making a financial transaction.

Alert your bank or credit card company immediately if you believe you’ve been a victim of fraud. Be sure to ask the bank to prohibit future withdrawals, debits, or credit card payments made by or to the scammer.

If your bank account information, debit card, or credit card number was used without your permission, ask the bank to restore the funds taken from your account. If asset recovery services you paid for with your credit card aren’t provided as promised, you might be able to dispute the charges.

If scammed, report it promptly to your local law enforcement office and submit a complaint to the Federal Trade Commission at ftccomplaintassistant.gov.

If you have an issue with a financial product or service, you can submit a complaint to consumerfinance. gov/complaint.

March 2016

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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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New Horizons

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Late winter, early spring are great times to grow indoor produce

By Melinda Myers

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dd some homegrown flavor to your late winter and early spring meals. From microgreens to tomatoes, it’s possible to grow produce indoors.

Microgreens are a quick and easy way to add some flavor and crunch to your plate. Just plant seeds labeled for sprouting or microgreens in a shallow container filled with sterile potting or seed starting mix.

Within two weeks you’ll be harvesting nutritious mini vegetable and herb leaves for salads, sandwiches, or snacking.

Take it one step further and grow a few of your

favorite herbs on a warm sunny windowsill. Select a container with drainage holes and set on the appropriate size saucer to protect your woodwork. Fill the container with well-drained potting mix and plant seeds or transplants. Purchase basil, chives, parsley, oregano, and rosemary plants from your local garden center or your grocer’s produce department.

Greens like lettuce and spinach will also grow in a sunny window or better yet, under artificial lights. Grow them in a container filled with a well-drained potting mix similar to your window herb garden. Plant seeds according to the seed packet.

Continually harvest the

outer leaves when they’re four to six inches tall.

Those that like a bit of a challenge may want to try growing a compact tomato, pepper, or eggplant. You’ll get the best production with a combination of natural and artificial light or full spectrum lights.

Natural sunlight and full spectrum lights contain the variety of light plants need to grow, flower, and fruit.

Blue light promotes leaf and stem flowering. Consider investing in energy efficient and long-lasting high-intensity grow lights for the greatest yields when growing tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, and other fruiting plants indoors.

Leave lights on for 14,

but no more than 16 hours each day. Plants need a dark period as well as bright light each day to grow and thrive.

Use a timer to ensure the plants receive the right duration of light.

Most flowering and fruiting plants need a high intensity of light, so keep the lights six to 12 inches above your plants. Use reflective surfaces under and around the plants to bounce light back into larger plants.

Increase your indoor plant growing space by going vertical. Shelf units with built-in light fixtures provide multiple layers of growing space.

Once your tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants start flowering, you’ll need to shake things up a bit. Gently shake the plants daily or several times a week to move the pollen from the female to the male parts of the flower so fruit will develop. A gentle breeze from a fan or vibrations from a battery-operated toothbrush work well.

Indoor gardening won’t yield the same results as a sunny outdoor garden, but the flavor can’t be beat when gardening outdoors isn’t an option.

(Myers in a TV and radio host, author, and columnist.)

Call 1-877-531-TEAM for more information

TeamMates making a difference in their communities

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entoring can make a huge impact on a child, an adult, and the community. One Bellevue mentor is being remembered after changing the lives of many people in her town.

band, Dan, said Elaine had a passion for helping children.

“She knew she was helping somebody,” he explained. “She knew she was making a difference, and that kept her coming back.”

The TeamMates Mentor-

Elaine Bankey started volunteering with the TeamMates Mentoring Program about nine years ago when she was age 60. Her hus-

ing Program’s mission is to impact the world by inspiring youth to reach their full potential. Mentors are matched with mentees based

on personal experiences and interests. They meet once a week during school hours and work on projects together, eat lunch, play games, and talk about life.

Elaine had 35 mentees during her nine years in the program. One year, she met with 11 students. She also became president of Bellevue’s TeamMates board.

Maureen McNamara, program coordinator for the Bellevue Public Schools, said Elaine was an icon of its TeamMates chapter.

“As a mentor she had high integrity, strong values and morals, she was able to work with any kind of student and show compassion,” McNamara said.

Jaclyn Janssen was one of Bankey’s mentees.

“Elaine was a very persistent woman,” Janssen explained. “She was determined to crack my shell.”

Bankey and Janssen met once a week for about nine years. Jaclyn said Elaine was her first and only mentor. She remembers reading 7 Habits of Healthy Teens together.

“During many of our meetings, she would have me highlight words and tell VOTES WANTED PLEASE GO TO

www.lightthebridge.org 100% non-profit addressing hunger The Sierra Group, LLC FREE Book & CD Call Us: (800) 309-0753

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New Horizons

VOTES TO DATE • For: 3,002 • Against: 90 • Please vote today to address hunger.

•

March 2016

and the special people in their lives.”

Elaine passed away in January 2016. Jaclyn said her mentor has inspired her to make a difference in the community. She’s on the path to becoming a TeamMates mentor.

“She impacted me more than anyone in my entire life. I want to do that for somebody else,” Janssen said.

Several of Bankey’s mentees have applied to become TeamMates mentors. Dan Elaine Bankey said Elaine helped push him her what I thought,” Janssen to become a mentor about said. “There’s just so much six years ago. He plans I’ve learned from her.” to continue with the program—keeping his wife’s ankey was named spirit along with him.

Midlands Founda“You just can’t believe tion Volunteer of the the difference you can make Year for her efforts in 2012. on somebody’s life,” Dan Dan said his wife was said. “It can start just by becommitted to her girls. ing a friend.”

“She had a tremendous To learn more about gift for recalling stories,” becoming a TeamMates he said. “She could find out mentor, go to teammates.org their real needs, challenges, or call 1-877-531-TEAM.

B

Eclectic Book Review Club

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he Eclectic Book Review Club, which began its series of reviews in 1949, has announced its spring 2016 schedule.

Monthly meetings, which include lunch and a book review, are held at noon at the Omaha Field Club, 3615 Woolworth Ave. The cost is $13 per person each month.

• March 15: Omaha author Connie Spittler will review her latest novel The Erotica Book Club for Nice Ladies.

• April 19: Local author Rebecca Rotert will review her book Last Night at the Blue Angel.

• May 17: Holocaust survivor Milton Kleinberg will review his memoir as a teenager in WWII Bread or Death.

For reservations, call Rita at 402-553-3147.

New Cassel conference features military vets, Skutt High students

By Jeff Reinhardt New Horizons Editor

C

onversations filled the air as the excited students shared stories while boarding the bus heading back to finish the day at Skutt Catholic High School. The 27 teenagers and two faculty members spent part of a cool winter morning recently visiting with 19 military veterans who live at the New Cassel Retirement Center, 900 N. 90th St. The idea for the February conference came after New Cassel Foundation President Cindy Petrich met Skutt President John McMahon at an Omaha Archdiocese event.

“We wanted to involve the Skutt history teachers and some high-achieving students with these wise veterans before those historical memories are lost,” said Julie Sebastian, New Cassel’s president and CEO. The students were selected for the 90-minute session based on their academic achievements and interest in history.

“I hope the students understand the sacrifices these men and women made for their country defending the democratic principles we hold so dear,” said Marty Plum, an Advanced Placement History and Honors American Studies teacher at Skutt who accompanied the students to New Cassel.

“These are the people who did the heavy lifting,” he added.

Plum said the New Cassel-Skutt summit also gave the older adults a chance to meet some outstanding young people “who are ready to take the baton.”

Harvey Decker shares his collection of WWII photographs be brought back from France with Skutt Catholic High School students Hunter Warder (left) and Cameron Carney.

Among the Skutt students in attendance were three seniors who have applied for admission into a United States military academy.

“If these students can learn about the true cost of war through conversations and relationships with our WWII and Korean War veterans, then the world will be more educated and better equipped to avoid repeating negatives experiences,” Sebastian said.

She said sharing their wartime

memories with the high school students was beneficial for these 19 men and women who are among the 50 New Cassel residents that served in the United States military.

“To teach the next generation is what humanity and community are all about,” Sebastian said.

T

he older men and women sat at tables filled with their WWII and Korean War memorabilia as the

Eugenia Orlich Hartig with Skutt junior Josh Schmidt. While a vocalist in the US Navy band, Hartig sang with Frank Sinatra who was entertaing the troops in San Francisco.

March 2016

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students moved from one veteran to another.

Harvey Decker – who was in the Army during WWII – served in Germany, Belgium, and France. He told Skutt junior Hunter Warder and senior Cameron Carney about what it was like working on the Army’s railroad system.

“The railroad was often the only way to move supplies,” he said.

Decker’s ability to use an Army typewriter kept him “out of doing a lot of dirty jobs,” he added.

As Warder and Carney listened intently to the stories, they handled a silver ashtray and some of Decker’s medals before flipping through a collection of photos he brought home from France.

At an adjacent table, Eugenia Orlich Hartig spoke with Skutt junior Josh Schmidt. Hartig and her twin sister, Euphemia, joined the Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) together.

While stationed in San Francisco, Hartig was a vocalist in the U.S. Navy band. One night in 1943 she sang a duet with Frank Sinatra who was entertaining the sailors during a USO performance.

“He sang the melody and I sang the harmony on Now Is the Hour,” Eugenia said.

Schmidt said hearing Hartig’s stories made WWII come to life. “It really made things pop out for me.”

The dialogue between the New Cassel residents and the Skutt students provided a series of outstanding living history lessons.

“I don’t think we could have had a better experience,” Plum said before leading the students back to the yellow school bus.

New Horizons

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Fremont Friendship Center You’re invited to visit the Fremont Friendship Center, 1730 W. 16th St. (Christensen Field), for the following: • March 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29: Coloring with Paulette @ 10:15 a.m.

• March 2: News with Nye @ 10 a.m. followed by pianist Wally @10:30 a.m.

• March 3: New session of Tai Chi with Bev and Suzi begins @ 9:30 a.m. The suggested contribution is 50 cents per class held every Monday and Thursday.

• March 9: Line dancing @ 9:30 a.m. and music with the Links @10 a.m. March birthday party @ 11:30 a.m.

• March 10: Learn about the importance of volunteering with Cindy @ 10 a.m. Bingo follows.

• March 14: Blood pressure checks @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 16: Music by Christine Coulson @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 17: Wear green and play Bingo @10:30 a.m.

• March 23: Blood pressure checks @ 10 a.m. Music by Reuben Adkins @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 24: Presentation on blood pressure numbers.

• March 29: Movies with Larry @10:30 a.m.

• March 30: Music by The Old Rusty Minstrels @ 10:30 The Fremont Friendship Center is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 contribution is suggested for lunch.

For meal reservations and more information, please call Laurie at 402-727-2815.

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?

Life coach offers some advice for making the third chapter the best part of your life

By Nancy Hemesath

L

ife expectancy has increased significantly since we baby boomers were born. It’s now 78 years. But for those of us who make it to age 65, we will, on average, have another 20 years to live.

Through better healthcare and sanitation, we’ve added a whole segment to the life cycle, a phase that wasn’t expected in the 1940s when Social Security was instituted. Much is being written about how the baby-boomer bubble will affect the social order and financial realities.

Twenty years is a long time to sit on the couch in front of the TV or play golf every day. Consequently, many authors are exploring this additional life phase and naming it. It might be called the second half of life, the third chapter, the third act, adulthood II, encore of life, or just a long retirement.

Whatever we name it, I’m convinced this segment has the potential to be the BEST part of our lives if we approach it thoughtfully and intentionally.

In order for this phase

of life to be the best, we must first view it differently than the way most of society characterizes the elder years. We commonly view life this way: the first 20+ years are preparation— growing up, getting education, and getting ourselves established in our productive years. The next 40 years are our peak years as we raise our families to adulthood and develop professional success. Then comes retirement and the downward slope begins. Yes, it’s great to have less pressure and responsibility, but we all realize it’s the beginning of the end—and we know how it will end.

Let me offer an alternative view of the whole life cycle, which is different from the production cycle I just described. When we consider all aspects of life, we begin with the growing up years. We mature into adulthood just as described above. Then we become contributors to our society through family, work, involvement in causes, volunteerism, and social engagement.

At the point we give up full-time careers, instead of

VAS offering assistance filling out the Homestead Exemption application form

• 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.

A Caring Community Called HOME! Independent & Assisted Living

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

Are you aware you may be able to save money on your property taxes? The Nebraska Homestead Exemption program provides relief from property taxes to individuals age 65 and over with limited income, veterans, and individuals with certain disabilities. See page 3 for more information.

If you’re interested in filing for property tax relief and want help filling out the Homestead Exemption application forms, Volunteers Assisting Seniors will have trained volunteers at the LaVista Senior Center, 8116 Park View Blvd. on Wednesday, April 20 and Wednesday, May 4 from 1 to 3 p.m. both days to help with the application process.

If you filed a 2015 federal income tax return, bring it with you. If not, bring your Social Security Form SSA1099, information on pensions and annuities, interest and dividends, railroad retirement information, and records of any IRA distributions. You should also bring information on any out-of-pocket medical expenses you paid during 2015.

For more information, call VAS at 402-444-6617.

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

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New Horizons

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6790 Grover Street • Suite 100 Omaha, NE 68106 Office: (402) 558-1404 • Fax: (402) 779-7498 cdorwartjd@dorwartlaw.com

March 2016

winding down, we simply shift attention from earning money to contributing in other ways. Now is the time to develop other interests, volunteer more hours for causes we care about, and create beauty according to our talents and interests.

We have the “leisure” to read and reflect on life and its meaning. We have the opportunity to generously share time with those we love. Instead of rushing through our days, we have the pleasure of stopping to smell the roses.

The greatest shift is from doing tasks and acquiring material things in the external world to exploration of meaning in the interior life.

In other words, we focus our energy on the meaning and purpose of our lives. Life becomes richer when we attend to this inner voice of wisdom.

Of course, we know physical diminishments accompany the aging process.

These are realities but not the whole picture. We can make healthy choices. We need to take care of physical needs: sleep, nutritional food, and exercise. Doing this well can slow the aging process.

However, when physical maladies do occur, the journey inward isn’t thwarted.

Rather there is new depth when we learn lessons from pain and suffering. These are never the paths we would choose for ourselves, but when we are open, they are the paths that lead to true wisdom.

My image of life is one in which there will be constant advancement and increase in the wisdom and gratitude.

Rather than tapering off, I hope and pray my peak is on the day I die, having learned all the lessons my life has offered me. This is a Third Chapter worth embracing.

(Hemesath is a certified life and organizational coach. You can reach her at lifencorecoaching.com or nhemesath@cox.net.)

VOTES WANTED PLEASE GO TO

www.lightthebridge.org 100% non-profit addressing hunger VOTES TO DATE • For: 3,002 • Against: 90 • Please vote today to address hunger.

Please support New Horizons advertisers

Read it & eat

By Lois Friedman readitandeat@yahoo.com

Businessman Stan Lessmann wants your vote for his project to light UPRR bridge, feed the hungry

These recipes will zip things up Add adventure to your life. These cookbooks include fun ideas, suggestions, and some surprises that will add some zip to your life.

1000 Foods to Eat Before You Die

By Mimi Sheraton (Workman, $24.95) For every food lover, enjoy these 70 international cuisine recipes and information packed in the pages of this travel/ food guide that have all been eaten by the author. From Anzac biscuits to zwiebelwurst.

From Andrews McMeel: Cookies & Beer

By Johathan Bender ($19.99) This Kansas City journalist shares this unique combo and a collection of 40 recipes/pairings from pastry and savory chefs around the country. A go-to book for the plethora of beers and cookies on the market.

Field Guide to Bitters and Amari

By Mark Bitterman ($25) The very first bitters handbook by this award-winning author. Discover everything you need to know about using bitters and amari and 123 recipes for cocktails, food, and homemade bitters.

From Chronicle: Culinary Labels ($16.95) Make homemade baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickle gifts. Hundreds of decorative labels to show off your goodies.

The Good Fortune Cookie ($12.95) Mix-and-match ideas to make custom fortune cookies in this flipbook of ideas for every occasion. Step-by-step instructions for a couple of cookie recipes with variations.

Fortunes is what this book is all about.

Photo courtesy of Brad Williams Photography

Stan Lessmann would like to have blue lights placed on the Union Pacific Railroad’s bridge over the Missouri River to raise awareness of area hunger.

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he YES votes continue to come in to www.lightthebridge.org as Omaha businessman Stan Lessmann works to raise money and support to help feed the area’s hungry citizens.

Since 2006, Lessmann has worked 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.

Stan is asking UP to absorb the cost of adding LED lights to the bridge – built in 1873 – and maintaining its daily operation.

The casinos are being asked to donate a combined $200,000 annually to help area food banks purchase an additional 600,000

meals.

“That’s $182 per day from each of the casinos,” said Lessmann who believes some kind of payback is due to the men and women who support the gaming operations.

“Lighting a symbolic structure would also beautify the area and serve to remind Omaha-area residents that there are people who face hunger on a daily basis,” he added.

To this point, UP has rejected Lessmann’s idea based on its concerns about employee safety, train traffic, and marine navigation.

Lessmann encourages area residents to join the more than 3,000 men and women who support his plan and have already voted YES. For more information, log on the Internet to www.lightthebridge.com.

Raw Energy in a Glass

By Stephanie Tourles (Storey, $16.95) More than 125 recipes for green drinks, smoothies, mocktails, shots, shakes, and other beverages to fill your glass with raw energy. Energize and rejuvenate with this stick-to-your-ribs shake that tastes like banana bread:

Banana-Walnut Protein Shake Yield: 2 servings

1/2 raw walnut halves 1 1/2 cups purified water Three medium or four small frozen bananas, cut into 1-inch chunks Four Medjool dates, pitted (if hard, soak for one hour before blending) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Pinch sea salt Soak the walnuts in a small bowl covered by at least one inch of purified water for eight hours or overnight.

Drain and rinse. Place the nuts in a blender along with the water, bananas, dates, cinnamon, and salt, and blend on high until velvety and thick, about 60 seconds.

Pour into glasses or insulated mugs. This blend is high in natural sugars, fat, and fiber, so sip very slowly and “chew” each sip, mixing well with your saliva to that it digests with ease. Delight in the silky, nutty sweetness.

The New Horizons is brought to you each month by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging.

March 2016

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New Horizons

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Page 7

Camelot Friendship Center

Part of the proceeds will benefit ENOA

You’re invited to visit the Camelot Friendship Center inside the Camelot Community Center, 9270 Cady Ave., for the following: • March 9: Birthday Bash.

• March 10: Book Club @ 10:15 a.m.

• March 11 & 25: Movie Day @ 12:15 p.m.

• March 17: St. Patrick’s Day celebration with music by Pam Kragt from the Merrymakers @ 11:45 a.m. Bingo follows the entertainment.

• March 22: Lunch and Learn presentation on Eat This, Not That: Healthy Alternatives @ 11:45 a.m.

• March 23: Easter egg decorating @ 10:15 a.m.

• March 24: Visit by students from Methodist Nursing College.

• March 28: Chair volleyball @ 10:30 a.m.

Other activities include Tai Chi (Tuesday and Friday @ 10:15 a.m.), Bingo, 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 contribution 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.

Wine tasting fundraiser for RTBS scheduled for Sunday, March 20 How does taking away the sense of sight affect your sense of taste and smell?

That’s a question the supporters of Radio Talking Book Service (RTBS) may be able to answer during the Wining in The Dark fundraiser scheduled for Sunday, March 20 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Nosh Restaurant and Wine Lounge, 1006 Dodge St. Radio Talking Book Service provides human-voiced information choices to individuals who have disabilities that prevent them from reading. RTBS provides radio receivers and programming to the blind in Nebraska, and through Listening Link services, reads textbooks for students in Nebraska educational institutions. More information is available at www.rtbs.org.

Amberlyn Edson from Republic National Distributing will lead the tasting of wines from around the world. Nosh will serve a variety of food items to compliment the wines and test the taste buds of those in attendance.

Storyteller Rita Paskowitz will entertain the guests.

Tickets for the event are $60. Seating is limited.

For more information, please call Deb Trivitt at 402598-7804.

Color Vibe 5K returns to Omaha April 17

T

he Color Vibe, a “vibrantly colorful” 5k fun run company, is hosting the Omaha Color Vibe 5k featuring vibrant color, epic beats, and lots of fun on Sunday, April 17 at 9 a.m. in downtown Omaha.

Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging (ENOA). “We are excited to be able to work with such a great organization,” Color Vibe Race Director Daniel Pete says.

Throughout the Color Vibe 5K course, participants run, walk, or dance their way through color stations, where vibrant colors tie-dye white outfits and costumes.

The Color Vibe uses a cornstarch-based colored powder to tie-dye participants. Made in the USA, the food-grade quality cornstarch has been custom VOTES WANTED PLEASE GO TO

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

Q — Should I put my child’s name on my home title?

A — Let’s look at the pros and cons of this.

Pro — It will avoid the need for probate on your home.

Con — You would make a gift of a share of the property, and your child would become an owner (joint tenancy). Your child and his/her spouse would have to sign if you ever wished to borrow against your home or sell it. If you ever need Medicaid, you would be subject to a penalty period. Your child would also have to pay capital gain tax on the difference between your original cost and the value at the time of your death.

You can avoid these negative factors by use of Transfer on Death Deed or a by creating a trust, which may be the best way to avoid probate, while allowing you to pass your assets to your children.

Have a question about estate planning? Give us a call!

AARP Legal Service Network • No Charge For Initial Consultation

7602 Pacific Street, Ste 200 • (402) 391-2400 http://whitmorelaw.com

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New Horizons

aging services

Log on to

Wills • Trusts • Probate

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in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, or Washington counties?

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developed for The Color Vibe race series. It washes out easily from skin and hair, is non-toxic, 100 percent safe, and biodegradable.

When the 5K is over, everyone is invited to stick around for a large, colorful dance party hosted by a professional sound crew and a DJ at the Diamond Room, 605 N. 13th St. “The Color Vibe 5k is full of inspirational stories of runners and non-runners alike coming together to share a life experience, accomplish fitness goals, and become rainbow junkies,” Pete says. “We do not time our 5k fun runs so every participant can take their time getting colored.”

For more information on the Color Vibe event in Omaha, go to www.thecolorvibe.com or send an email to support@thecolorvibe.com.

The Color Vibe offers special discounts to businesses looking to tap into their health and wellness plans.

Children age 12 and under can register for and participate in the Color Vibe for free.

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• • • • • • • • • • •

Bath aides Care management Chore services Community education Durable medical equipment Emergency food pantry Emergency response systems 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 2016

• • • • • •

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

AARP Tax-Aide program runs through April 18 AARP Tax-Aide program volunteers will be available at several sites in Douglas and Sarpy counties to provide free income tax service to Nebraska residents.

A schedule below lists the sites, and the days and times volunteers will be at those sites.

The AARP Tax-Aide program is designed primarily for low to middle income older adults, but no one is denied services Walk in sites (Please arrive at the site at least an hour before its closing.)

AgeWell 6801 N. 67th Plz. Suite 100 Friday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bellevue Senior Center 109 W 22nd Ave. Monday & Wednesday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bellevue University Library 1100 Galvin Rd. Saturday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Crossroads Mall West corridor 7400 Dodge St. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, & Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

due to their age or income.

At a minimum, taxpayers will need to bring the documents needed to verify all income sources, proof of medical insurance, a photo ID, and Social Security cards for all persons named on the tax return.

More information is available online at www.nebraskataxaide.org or by calling 402-398-9582.

Montclair Community Center 2304 S. 135th Ave. Tuesday, Wednesday, & Thursday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

North Christ Child Center 2111 Emmet St. Monday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wednesday: 4 to 7:30 p.m.

Sons of Italy 1238 S. 10th St. Sunday: Noon to 4 p.m.

Closed March 20 & 27

By appointment only

Kids Can Community Center 4860 Q St. Thursday: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Friday: 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

AARP Information Center 1941 S. 42nd St. Suite 220 Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

402-398-9582 for an appointment

LaVista Community Center 8116 Park View Blvd.

Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wednesday: 3 to 7 p.m.

Thursday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Saturday: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Kids Can Community Center 4860 Q St. Thursday: 5 to 7 p.m.

402-731-6988 (Call 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for an appointment)

The impact of rising prescription drug costs Anxiety by older Americans over steep prescription drugs cost increases is at the highest level since the start of Medicare Part D a decade ago, according to The Senior Citizens League. Since last fall, TSCL has been collecting comments from older adults on how they’re coping with these costs.

“The implications are chilling, particularly for people with chronic health problems,” says TSCL chairman Ed Cates.

Terry, a diabetic who takes insulin – like other Social Security recipients – didn’t receive any increase in benefits for 2016. Terry’s drug plan deductible went up to $360 in 2016, and his copays increased.

According to a survey by DRX, a unit of Conecture Inc. which provides pricecomparison software, prices of the popular diabetes

drugs Lantus and Levemir have gone up 30 percent over one year. Nevertheless, the consumer price index dropped so low that a costof-living adjustment wasn’t payable this year.

“TSCL believes the lack of affordable drugs could jeopardize the health of older Americans,” Cates says. “Past TSCL surveys, during years in which there was no COLA, suggest as many as one-third of Medicare households postpone filling prescriptions or take less than the prescribed amount,” he notes.

Nationwide, spending on prescription drugs grew 13 percent, a rate that hasn’t occurred since 2001, according to IMS Health Holdings Inc. Average Part D plan premiums rose by 13 percent this year as well. The standard Part D deductible rose from $320

to $360 in 2016, the largest deductible increase since the start of the program.

To cut costs, TSCL recommends consumers: • Check to learn if their drug plan uses tiered pharmacy networks with lower cost sharing for using preferred pharmacies.

• Tell their doctor when they have trouble affording the prescribed drug, and ask if there are less costly options.

• Contact their local state health assistance program to learn if there are pharmacy assistance programs that provide bigger discounts for their prescriptions.

“We need to bring financial relief to millions of seniors,” says Cates.

TSCL is fighting high drug prices by working for legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs.

March 2016

Elder Access Line Legal 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, collections, 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, go to http://www.legalaidofnebraska.com/EAL.

Caregiver series offered in spring, fall

R

egistration is underway for a free educational series that will help caregivers understand how to provide the best possible care for their loved ones with dementia. Learning to Live with Dementia focuses on the various types of dementia and how to manage symptoms.

The spring series will be held April 2 and May 7 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church, 510 N. 93rd St. The series will be repeated in the fall, with sessions held Sept. 10 and Oct. 8 at the Servite Center of Compassion, 7400 Military Ave. To register for the spring series, contact Chris Lund at clund@st-timothys.com or 402-391-1144.

To register for the fall series, contact Sister Margaret Stratman at 402-951-3026 or scc@osms.org.

For more information, contact Nancy Flaherty at 402312-9324 or flahertyconsulting@cox.net.

Powerful Tools for Caregivers Powerful Tools for Caregivers – a six-week course based on a program developed at Stanford University – is being offered on Thursdays from March 3 through April 7 at the Walnut Grove Resort Lifestyle Community, 4901 S. 153rd St. During the series – which runs from 5:30 to 8 p.m. – caregivers for loved ones age 55 and older discover how to thrive as individuals while managing caregiving responsibilities.

Please register by contacting Ruth Hamlin at 402-650-7132 or online at RSHamlin@cox.net.

Volunteers are needed for a research study at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Participants must be

between 45 and 80 years old and may or may not have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

You’ll be asked to walk on a treadmill while your breathing and walking are measured. This is a one-time visit.

Please call 402-554-5892 for more information.

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•

New Horizons

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Page 9

Small town Nebraska boy makes it big in Tinseltown

Lew Hunter’s impressive resume includes careers as a TV and Hollywood studio executive, producer, and screenwriter, as well as a college professor.

By Leo Adam Biga Contributing Writer

N

estled in central Nebraska, about a three-hour drive from Omaha, the sleepy hamlet of Superior is home to one-time Hollywood player Lew Hunter. Pushing age 81 and nearing retirement now, he still exerts enough influence to bring Tinseltown types to this isolated spot. Growing up a Nebraska farm boy not far from Superior, Hunter dreamed of doing something in show business. He did so as a television network and Hollywood studio executive, producer, and screenwriter.

Hunter’s on the short list of Nebraskans with major Hollywood credits. He isn’t as well known as some on that list as his success came behind the camera, not in front of it. Not since Darryl Zanuck’s mogul days did a native reside so far within Hollywood’s inside circle as Hunter. Of past screen legends from Nebraska, Lew says: “These people were role models for me.”

Hunter’s a role model himself for having programmed popular network TV shows in the 1960s and 1970s that still draw viewers on the Nick at Nite cable channel. Some mini-series and TV movies he shepherded for the networks were sensations in their time. Three movies Hunter wrote, two of which he produced himself, earned huge audience shares and generated much discussion for their sensitive treatment of hard issues.

Hunter’s the first to tell you he’s led a wonderful life, one as big as his oversized personality.

Given where he came from, his career seems unlikely, but a desire to prove himself drove Lew to succeed.

Throughout the Great Depression and the Second World War, he was enamored by the movies and radio. Then, during the Cold War and the Baby Boom periods, he fell under TV’s spell.

Weaned on MGM, RKO, and Paramount musicals – the only motion pictures his mother allowed him to see – Hunter projected himself into the fantasies he saw in the lone theater in his hometown of Guide Rock, Neb. He imagined himself up there on the silver screen.

“I wanted to be Fred Astaire so bad. I danced with a pitchfork, and the pitchfork was Ginger Rogers.”

The barnyard filled in for a ballroom or nightclub for the dancers.

The fact Hunter went on to enjoy a storybook career rubbing shoulders with the likes of Astaire and other stars doesn’t escape him. He knows how fortunate he was to create top-rated movies of the week. He’s grateful to be emeritus chair-

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Photo courtesy of The Superior Express

Twice a year, Hunter hosts the Superior Screenwriting Colony in this beautiful home in Superior, Neb. The Victorian-style mansion was built by George Day in 1879. man and screenwriting professor at UCLA and to have written a book based on his class, Screenwriting 434, that’s the bible for cracking the scriptwriting code.

Some of Lew’s students have enjoyed major film-TV careers including Oscar-winner and Omaha native Alexander Payne, one of dozens of great screenwriters and directors Hunter’s had as guests for his class. Those sessions have featured everyone from the late Billy Wilder and Ernest Lehman to William Goldman and Oliver Stone.

Hunter’s the subject of a new documentary, Once in a Lew Moon. It portrays his love of the writing craft and writers and the reciprocal love writers feel for him. The feature-length film by fellow Nebraska native Lonnie Senstock premiered at UCLA, where Hunter’s retiring after this academic quarter. The documentary screens at the Omaha Film Festival on March 12.

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his once big wheel and still beloved figure in Hollywood gave up that lifestyle years ago when he and his wife, Pamela, settled near his boyhood origins to make their home in Superior. Twice a year there he convenes the Superior Screenwriting Colony, an immersive two-week workshop for aspiring and emerging film-TV writers. He leads it in an inimitable style that is equal parts Billy Graham, The Big Lebowski, and Aristotle on the Great Plains.

This prodigiously educated and well-read man once considered entering the ministry. He long served as the lay leader of a Methodist congregation. Hunter does treat screenplays with a reverence usually reserved for the scriptures. When he gets rolling about scene structure and character development, he might as well be a preacher.

Far from being a choirboy though, this letyour-hair-down free spirit uses coarse language the way some people use punctuation. There was a time when Lew drank to excess. A naturally verbose man and born raconteur, his preferred way of teaching is telling stories. Asides and anecdotes beget full-blown stories. He has a vast store of them.

The site of the Colony in Superior is a restored Victorian mansion across from another period house Lew and Pamela occupy. Hunter’s prone to lecture in shorts, T-shirt, and bare feet. While professing he keeps near him a file folder bulg-

New Horizons

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March 2016

ing with lecture materials. He fishes out writer quotes, excerpts, or tidbits to share, referencing Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, and Joseph Campbell.

He relates how as a Northwestern University grad student Lew asked guest lecturer John Steinbeck what he had to do to become a great writer. The legend’s response: “Write!”

Hunter’s appropriated a variation as his signoff in letters and emails: “Write on!”

Colony sessions are largely unscripted improvisations. Hunter doesn’t need notes, he says, “because the structure is exactly the structure I do in a 10-week class.”

At table readings he reads aloud students’ ideas or outlines and offers verbal notes, inviting group feedback. He proffers precise analysis that constitutes Lew’s Rules.

“Too little story. Too much story. What’s your story really about? Your imagination is the only restriction you have. Conflict. Story. Character.

All comedy and all drama is based on the threeact structure. My paradigm is situation, consequences, and conclusion. Don’t even think about writing down to the audience.”

Hunter’s rapid-fire yet relaxed, let-it-all-hangout approach is fun. But his sunny, cruise-shiprecreation-director manner is leavened by a semi-scholarly seriousness that makes clear this class is no joke. There’s work to be done and no time to waste; well, maybe a little.

Students pay thousands of dollars to attend, many traveling long distances to Superior to participate. Perks include drop-in visits by Hollywood friends like Kearney native Jon Bokenkamp, creator of NBC’s The Blacklist.

Colonists aim to please their guru, whose laidback Socratic Method has its charms. It suits this man who bent the ear of producers and executives when trying to sell a story idea or script.

Hunter knew how to play the game because he was on the other side as a producer-executive, listening to writers-directors pitch him ideas.

How it all happened for Hunter is, well, a story. One he’s only too glad to share. It aptly falls into three acts. But leave it to Hunter to digress.

Raised in an “extraordinarily conservative” environment full of narrow-minded views, “I felt like I had a pretty sheltered life,” Lew says.

--Please turn to page 11.

Lew Hunter entered show biz doing radio, TV in Lincoln --Continued from page 10.

Hunter had a lot of growing up to do postGuide Rock.

His classically trained mother exposed him to cultural things to round out the corn pone experience. For example, she had him take dance and music lessons. His father was “known as the most loved and strongest man in Webster County” before a massive stroke left him paralyzed and unable to speak.

“The first 12 years of my life I had him and then I lost him to a stroke and aphasia,” Hunter recalls.

As his father slipped further away, Lew’s overbearing “hell on wheels” mother became the dominant presence in his life.

She was the head of the Nebraska Republican Party, the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution), and the WCTU (Women’s Christian Temperance Union) in her lifetime. Someone asked Hunter if he loved his mother?

“Well, I think I loved her, but I didn’t much like her. I respected her,” he replied. “And my father, I adored.”

A bright boy who felt betrayed by life for taking away his father and bored with his surroundings, Hunter rebelled. He got caught doing petty vandalism. With his mother unable to handle him, a judge offered a choice – reform school or military school. Hunter chose the latter. A valuable takeaway from Wentworth Military Academy in Lexington, Mo. came playing football.

Back home Lew had no experience with African-Americans. He only heard disparaging, scornful things. Then one game while playing guard he went up against a black tackle whose extreme effort and high ability made a lie of what Hunter was told.

“I got the s--- beat out of me. That was a very good learning lesson,” Lew says. “I deserved it.”

Hunter’s racial education continued at Nebraska Wesleyan University in Lincoln, where his roommate was a black student-athlete.

“Meeting him was clearly one of the best things. He took me down to the jazz cellars in Lincoln.”

Hunter became enough of a jazz devotee that at age 17 he hitchhiked to Chicago to see Art Tatum at the Blue Note.

Lew studied theater at Wesleyan and made his first foray into show biz working at Lincoln radio and TV stations.

“I became so caught up in the idea of being a professional that it spurred me to go to Chicago.”

Intent on studying broadcasting at Northwestern University, Hunter applied to the college, but was rejected. Not taking “no” for an answer he garnered letters of support from Nebraska dignitaries and struck a bargain with school officials to enroll on a probation basis. If he got all A’s, he stayed. If he got even one B, he’d leave. Lew stayed and excelled, earning a master’s degree in 1956.

Lew Hunter with retired University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne.

“That rebellious aspect of me is still part of me,” Hunter says.

He worked in Chicago radio as a disc jockey and producer. But he wanted out of the Midwest in order to try his hand in Hollywood. Everyone he consulted told him to quit what he or she considered a cockeyed dream and to stay put.

Instead, Lew followed his heart and went west.

“I’ve been pretty much a guy that ‘no’ is just a word on the way to ‘yes.’ If I really want something bad enough, I keep on it.”

Hunter did not head out to California alone.

Though barely age 20, he was already married.

He and his young bride packed their Packard and hoped for the best.

He laid the groundwork for his eventual break into the big time by getting a second master’s degree at UCLA, this time studying film.

“I went to UCLA on a David Sarnoff Fellowship. I took a lot of pleasure and pride in that.”

Lew used that opportunity to get his foot in the door.

Future cinema legend Francis Ford Coppola was a classmate. Years after their graduate student days, Hunter had Coppola appear at the UCLA class Lew teaches to talk screenwriting with students.

A

t the Westwood campus, Hunter indulged in some serious hero worship of his favorite instructor Arthur Ripley.

“I had very specific mentoring with Arthur Ripley. I just adored him. He was the most charismatic, interesting man.”

Hunter says Ripley’s sarcastic humor was reflected in a famous one-liner attributed to him. When stoic former U.S. President Calvin Coolidge died, Ripley was said to have cracked, “How could they tell?”

A veteran from Hollywood’s early sound era, Ripley helped create the miserly, misanthropic W.C. Fields character the comedian parlayed to great success. Ripley worked for cinema giants Mack Sennett, Frank Capra, and Irving Thalberg.

“I admired Arthur Ripley and all these wonderful stories he told when he worked at MGM for Irving Thalberg.” Hunter says. “He told stories about running around with (novelist) Thomas Wolfe. I was like a sponge soaking up all that stuff. I have more show business stories because I loved the business and the people and the craziness of it all.”

Hunter got a job as a page at NBC and then Photo courtesy of The Superior Express worked in the mailroom where he rose up the Lew and Pamela Hunter’s home ranks to music licensing and promotion. in Superior, Neb. built in 1881.

“I could see there was a ladder I could climb at

March 2016

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NBC,” Lew recalls.

He later worked in promotion at ABC and served stints at CBS and Disney among other entertainment conglomerates, before eventually transforming himself into a producer-writer. Lew later rejoined NBC. Then-NBC president Grant Tinker gave Hunter some sage advice about the vagaries of Hollywood when Hunter was torn between staying at NBC or taking an offer from ABC. “For your benefit you need to know that in this business you’re not rewarded for loyalty,” Tinker said. “Quite to the contrary, we’ll probably be more interested in you if you go over to ABC.” Lew followed Tinker’s advice.

And just as Tinker predicted, after making the move, Hunter found himself more in demand than ever.

“In this business, if they want you, over hot coals and razor blades, they will come get you.

But if they don’t want you; nothing. I mean you’re either eating high on the hog or on the hoof of the hog.”

For one brief shining moment, as the song goes, Hunter had offices at four different studios, including Paramount.

He got schooled by Aaron Spelling and had run-ins with Irwin Allen; two big-name producers.

Seeing so many different sides of the business, Lew learned the ins and ours of how shows and movies get developed, packaged, and marketed.

“I was in promotions doing trailers for Bonanza, Dick Powell Theatre, Dinah Shore Chevy Show, and so forth. I was around it all the time.

A sound engineer and I went around to stars’ homes with a reel-to-reel tape machine to record them reading copy promoting their shows.

“Once, we went to the home of my idol, Fred Astaire. As he was reading into a microphone the copy I’d written for him, I glanced through another room’s open doorway and saw a pool table inside. “ Hunter challenged Astaire to a game of pool.

“He won and I let him win. I could not dream of beating my idol,” Lew says.

“I have lots of stories about John Wayne, Marilyn Monroe, and Cary Grant. It just goes on and on.”

Perhaps the star Hunter got closest to was Judy Garland.

“She and I were very close on an emotional level. We had such a wonderful relationship. We never went to bed with each other but we sure flirted with each other a lot. I’m still in sorrow --Please turn to page 12.

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Page 11

His ‘Nebraska decency’ opened career doors for Lew --Continued from page 11. over what happened to her over the last few years of her life and how she died.”

Lew says he enjoyed getting to know the real personalities behind the personas.

D

oing promos was fine but Hunter felt pulled to go where the action is – programming. He took endless meetings with writers, producers, and agents. He gleaned what he could from the people around him.

“I had doors open for me all the time I think because of my Nebraska decency. I was just eager to absorb everything I could. I learned so much in those story conferences, going to dailies, watching rough cuts, and observing artists working on the back lot.”

Hunter was at ABC and then Disney as a story executive when the urge or, more accurately, the obligation to become a writer got the better of him.

“I had been for like four or five years telling writers how to write and never having made a living as a writer myself. It bothered me a lot because I didn’t think I had the cachet. I mean, it’s very, very alarming to give notes to Paddy Chayefsky, who I idolized, or Neil Simon.

“I was having lunch with (author) Ray Bradbury at the Disney commissary and I said, ‘I’ve read 2.000 scripts in the last two years and 90 percent of them are s---. I think I can be in the top 10 percent.’ He encouraged me to read Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style and Dorthea Brande’s Becoming a Writer.

“I came home and told my then-wife I’ve gotten to the point where I want to try to be a writer myself. And she said fine.”

It was a leap of faith as the couple had young kids and a mortgage.

Hunter left his job to scratch this itch. He made a pact that if he didn’t make it in a year he’d find a job. Fifty-one weeks later none of the screenplays he wrote had sold. Tapped out and with a

Lew and Lonnie Senstock, who directed the documentary ‘Once in a Lew Moon’. family to support, Lew took a job as a body sitter at Forest Lawn Cemetery. The ghoulish work entails sitting up with corpses and laying them down if they rise up from rigor mortis. He’d done it at an uncle’s funeral home in Guide Rock and again later to pay his way through college.

The day before he was to start, Aaron Spelling called saying he wanted to buy Hunter’s script for what became If Tomorrow Comes. Even if it didn’t sell, at least Hunter knew he’d tried.

If Tomorrow Comes is the story of an ill-fated romance between a Caucasian girl and JapaneseAmerican boy in the days before and after the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. The couple gets separated when the boy and his family are ostracized after the attack on the U.S. and eventually imprisoned in an internment camp.

Even though Hunter grew up during the period when Japanese-Americans were interned, he was, like the general public, oblivious to what happened. He only thought about the internment as the premise for a script when a relative recalled this infamy in less than sympathetic terms.

That propelled Hunter to research the subject. He was appalled to discover that innocent

Hunter with his wife, Pamela.

Japanese-Americans were summarily stripped of property, businesses, and livelihoods. Their kids taken out of schools, and their lives disrupted.

They were treated as criminals and traitors. All without due process. He was dismayed to find they were interned in camps surrounded by barbed wire and armed guards.

“I was shocked we incarcerated more than 120,000 citizens,” Lew says.

Hunter was shocked this injustice wasn’t mentioned in textbooks. He was offended that many folks dismissed the incident as just part of the price of war. That it was merely a regrettable inconvenience when in fact it was a traumatic severing and breach of trust and civil rights.

In writing his script Lew found an emotional hook everyone could relate to by imagining a star-crossed Romeo and Juliet romance torn asunder by those harsh, unforgiving events. Patty Duke and Frank Michael Liu starred as the lovers whose lives are interrupted by history.

Anne Baxter, James Whitmore, Pat Hingle, and Mako co-starred in the film.

H

unter considers the resulting 1971 movie made from his script among “the stuff that I’ve done that I’m most pleased with.

That was the thing that got me going. We got a 39 share. My phone was ringing off the hook.

Then came another project and another one.”

Hunter resumed working for NBC and various studios in the 1970s and 1980s. As a general program executive at NBC he helped bring to the small screen two movies touching on socialpolitical-moral issues in The Execution of Private Slovak and The Red Badge of Courage (both in 1974). Later, as director of program development, he oversaw some major mini-series productions including Centennial.

His next venture as a writer confronting social issues was Fallen Angel (1981), in which he tackled pedophilia long before the Catholic Church scandal broke. The idea for taking on the sensitive topic seemingly popped into his head during a meeting.

CBS executive Peter Frankovich made a deal for the story rights with Lew over the telephone.

Only Hunter didn’t have a story, much less a script. He was due to meet Frankovich the next week.

“I said to myself, ‘I’ve got to get a story together.’ I went down to what was called the Abused Children’s Unit at LAPD. They told me everything they could tell me. I was in constant horror. They had me go down to the hall of records and look at the pedophile records.”

Hunter learned how perpetrators groom their victims It was only after Fallen Angel aired Lew remembered he had a childhood encounter with a pedophile.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Mittan “My mother thought she’d make a little bit Often dressed in shorts, a t-shirt, and bare feet, Lew Hunter lectures aspiring television of money by renting out a room to a Superior and film writers during his Superior Screenwriting Colony sessions.

--Please turn to page 13.

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March 2016

Newspaper editor: Hunters are a presence in Superior

Hunter attended grad school at UCLA with filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.

--Continued from page 12.

Knights semi-pro baseball player,” Hunter recalls.

The man tried to seduce Lew while the two were in a cornfield drinking beer.

“That man was back in his room that night and I spent every night for the next month with a .22 rifle next to me when I went to bed. I was going to shoot him if he came in and tried something.”

Hunter says the man attempted to molest some of his buddies, too. While Hunter was away at military school he heard the authorities finally caught the predator. Several boys filed complaints against him.

A personal tragedy informed Hunter’s next controversial and much viewed project, Desperate Lives (1982).

“My best friend at the time said we should so a story together about our boys. Our sons were both deep into drugs. One of the people I talked to in researching this was my son, who said, ‘I can get drugs at my high school quicker than I can get lunch at the cafeteria.’”

Hunter made a decision to give the protagonist played by Doug McKeon the same name as his son, Scott, who didn’t appreciate it.

“It was a stupid thing because it really estranged us, I’m sure for the rest of our lives. He basically doesn’t talk to me, just superficially.

That was a very negative thing in my life and something I deeply regret.”

About doing projects that meant something, even at a cost, Hunter says, “I just started poking round through life and coming up with things that really energized me. That was the key for me.”

“Lew and Pam have been active on many fronts. When they take on a project it is a joint effort. You don’t get one with out the other.

They have financially supported many community activities and encouraged programs.

“Last summer they brought in a painter to work on their homes and then kept finding work so he and his crew stayed the entire summer.

They provided a house for the men to stay in,” Blauvelt continues.

“Their homes are always open. If we have important people coming to town and they need a place to stay, you can count on the Hunters to provide lodging. The Colony program has brought lots of visitors to town, many of whom spend freely while here. And the Colony has brought me friends. Often I have been invited to attend their get acquainted picnics and late night parties.”

A

fter If Tomorrow Comes and before Fallen Angel. Hunter began teaching at UCLA in 1979. From the start, he’s taught graduate level students.

“I love that. Undergraduates know too much – they haven’t been knocked around as the graduate students.”

Lew says teaching screenwriting while penning scripts himself proved fruitful.

“It was great. I’d be working on a script and I’d realize. ‘I can’t do this,’ because I just told students they’re not supposed to have two people in a room agree with each other – one of my dictums.”

His classes became popular, especially Screenwriting 434. Each student starts with a synopsis and they’re guided step by step to create an outline and story points. By the end of the class they have a first draft of a screenplay.

Hunter says other screenwriting books are about screenwriting but they don’t tell you how to write a screenplay. “They don’t give you the caveats you get on a professional level. Not only do I tell you how to write a screenplay I tell you how 80 to 90 percent of professionals write a screenplay.”

As more than one person in the documentary Once in a Lew Moon states, Hunter demystified the screenwriting process and made it accessible to everyone. Like the evangelist he is for screenwriting, Lew even spread the gospel doing workshops around the world in his aw-shucks style.

“From me, you don’t get this academic B.S.

F

ast forward a couple decades, to soon after Lew and Pamela moved to Superior, when the scourge of methamphetamine hit the area hard.

Concerned by its devastating effects on residents’ lives, Lew and Pamela formed a nonprofit to raise awareness of the dangers of meth use and of the helping resources available.

“This bloody meth problem is a terrible problem,” he says. “It’s a rural holocaust.”

Hunter got retired University of Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne and other public figures, along with law enforcement officials, to appear at a town hall meeting.

The Hunters mentored in Osborne’s Teammates program.

“Boy, we really had a roll going. We certainly woke the town up to the fact we have a very serious problem and the reality is the problem still exists. I don’t think it’s going to subside,” Hunter says.

The nonprofit the Hunters launched has since been absorbed into a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services program.

Superior Express newspaper publisher Bill Blauvelt says the Hunters are a presence in that tiny community.

Photo courtesy of Kathy Mittan

Many of Lew’s former students have helped teach Hunter’s screenwriting class at UCLA.

March 2016

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you get from other people who have only learned from a book or they’re failed screenwriters. They give misinformation. I would not have gone into professing had I not been successful. If you go to IMDb (Internet Movie Database) you’ll see it’s a pretty long list of stuff I’ve done. Probably over 100 hours of actually writing stuff and producing it. I’m really quite proud of that.”

He’s also proud he and his colleagues helped “professionalize” the screenwriting program at UCLA. “We have more professionals professing.” Hunter says.

Since the UCLA program produces many grads who work in the industry, there’s a deep talent pool of writers who come back to teach.

Their experience gives students a taste for how things really work.

“We try to recreate what they’re going to face when they go out into the professional world with the meetings and note sessions before they actually write the screenplay and polish the screenplay.”

In Once in a Lew Moon, former students express gratitude for Hunter creating “a community” of writers.

he documentary Once in a Lew Moon is a passion project for director Lonnie Senstock, who regards the Hunters as surrogate parents.

“Well, he wanted to do something about me,” Lew recalls. “He came to the Colony and shot a lot of footage. That was a decade ago. He’s been working on this sucker for 10 years.

“Very shortly on into the relationship he said, ‘I’d like you and Pamela to be my parents.’ His parents died within a year of each other. We said sure and so he calls us Papa and Mama and we’re cool with that. He’s a really nice man.”

Senstock says the documentary could have gone a different direction when he and Lew experienced some difficulties in their lives. But, he adds, “I found myself celebrating something beautiful instead of something dark. I didn’t realize it was going to be that way until Lew and I talked about the celebration of writing. We realized it was bigger than him. We really wanted it to celebrate that life that so seldom is given kudos.”

Hunter appreciates that focus. “Everybody in it is talking about screenwriting. I like that.”

He likes, too, how the documentary overturns the idea that somehow actors and directors just make up the movies as they go along.

“There are men and women who write these things.”

Meanwhile, this old lion of cinema, now battling illness, is readying his next book, Lew Hunter’s Naked Screewriting: 25 Academy Award-winning Screenwriters Bare their Art, Craft, Soul, and Secrets.

Whatever’s happening with him, Lew still makes time for his past and present students.

He’s frequently sought out to consult on scripts and projects. He makes himself available 24-7.

“I’ve always thought being accessible was the right thing to do.”

Besides, he says, “I identify so much with people who are dreamers.”

Once in a Lew Moon screens Sunday, March 12 at 3:45 p.m. at Marcus Village Pointe Cinema in Omaha.

Follow Lew Hunter’s adventures at www.lewhunter.com.

Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.

T

(The New Horizons would like to thank filmmaker Lonnie Senstock, The UCLA Daily Bruin, Kathy Mittan – a former student of Hunter’s – and Bill Blauvelt of The Superior Express for providing the photos used with this story.)

New Horizons

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Heartland Generations Center

Hearing loss group to meet on March 8

You’re invited to visit the Heartland Generations Center – 4318 Fort St. – for the following: • March 3: Elder law talk on options you have when you need to go to a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

• March 14: Clay work with Richard Chung from WHY ARTS. • March 22: WHY ARTS Family Night from 6 to 7:30.

Macaroni and cheese for dinner, percussionist Michael Fitzsimmons, and art activities.

• March 25: Blood pressure and blood sugar checks by Methodist College nursing students from 10 a.m. to noon.

• March 29: Birthday party with music by Johnny Ray Gomez from the Merrymakers @ 1 p.m. Lunch is ham loaf, baked potato with sour cream, spinach, and sugar cookies.

• March 31: Outing to be decided. Call 402-553-5300 for more information.

The Heartland Generations Center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Lunch is normally served at noon. A $3.50 donation is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the lunch you wish to attend.

Transportation is available within select neighborhoods for 50 cents each way.

Regular activities include Bingo (Wednesday @ 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. and Friday @ 10:30 a.m.), crafts, and free Tai Chi classes (Tuesday and Thursday @ 10:45 a.m.)

For meal reservations and more information, please call 402-553-5300.

T

he Omaha Area Hearing Loss Association of America, a support group for hard of hearing adults, will next meet on Tuesday, March 8 at Dundee Presbyterian Church, 5312 Underwood Ave. Participants are asked to enter the church on the Happy Hollow Blvd. (east) side.

The 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. meeting will feature social time and a speaker.

The Omaha Area Hearing Loss Association of America meets the second Tuesday of the month from September through December and from March through August.

For more information, please contact Beth Ellsworth at ellsworth.beth@ cox.net or Verla Hamilton at 402-558-6449.

Nebraska ranks 40th

WalletHub lists the best, worst states to live in during retirement

R

etirement might be the end of the line, but it doesn’t have to be the end of financial security or life satisfaction. For many of us, our primary concern with retirement is timing, which often coincides with the age at which we become eligible to receive Social Security or pension benefits. Hopefully the choice will be ours and not dictated by our circumstances — the unfortunate case for nearly a third of non-retirees who haven’t put away a penny for retirement, though not necessarily through any fault of their own.

The data ranges from the adjusted cost of living to the number of entertainment options per capita to public hospital rankings.

In addition to when you want to retire, you might want to ask yourself where.

That can be an awfully difficult question to answer if you haven’t adequately planned – or been able to plan – for the rest of your life. Even in the most affordable areas of the United States, retirees often can’t rely on their Social Security or pension checks alone to cover all their living expenses.

Social Security benefits increase progressively with local inflation, but they replace only about 40 percent of the amount you earned if you were an average worker, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

If retirement is still a big question mark for you because of finances, you may want to consider relocating to a retirement-friendly state — one that will let you keep more money in your pocket without drastically modifying your lifestyle.

Analysts from the personVOTES WANTED PLEASE GO TO

www.lightthebridge.org 100% non-profit addressing hunger VOTES TO DATE • For: 3,002 • Against: 90 • Please vote today to address hunger.

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al finance website WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 24 key metrics to help you find that permanent, and affordable, place to call home when you’re ready to leave the workforce. Of course, affordability shouldn’t be your only priority in retirement, which is why the analysis also explores health-related factors and overall quality of life.

W

ith nearly a third of all non-retirees having no retirement savings or pension because many can’t afford to contribute to any type of plan, WalletHub conducted an in-depth analysis that identifies 2016’s Best and Worst States to Retire.

The data set ranges from the adjusted cost of living to the number of various entertainment options per capita to public-hospital rankings.

The best states to retire are Florida, Wyoming, South Dakota, Colorado, Idaho, Texas, Montana, Nevada, and Virginia.

The worst states to retire are Maryland, Alaska, New York, West Virginia, New Jersey, Vermont, Connecticut, Hawaii, District of Columbia, and Rhode Island.

Nebraska was ranked as the 40th best state to retire.

• The adjusted cost of living for retired persons is highest in Hawaii, which is two times greater than in Mississippi, the state with the lowest.

• The annual cost of inhome services is highest in North Dakota, which is two times greater than in Louisiana, the state with the lowest.

• The percentage of employed residents age 65 and older is highest in Alaska, which is two times greater than in West Virginia, the state with the lowest.

• The percentage of the population age 65 and older is highest in Florida, which is two times greater than in Alaska, the state with the lowest.

• The property-crime rate is highest in the District of Columbia, which is three times greater than in Vermont, the state with the lowest.

• The number of museums per capita is highest in New York, which is seven times greater than in Utah, the state with the lowest.

Free smoke, carbon monoxide detectors The 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.

Genealogical classes offered each month

T

he Greater Omaha Genealogical Society is offering a series of free classes each month through June. Each class will run from 9:15 a.m. to noon.

To register and for more information, please contact Merrily at 402-706-1453 or genclass@aol.com.

• March 19 Making Sense of the Census Mormon Trail Center 3215 State St. • April 16 Family Search & Family Tree Mormon Trail Center 3215 State St. • May 16 Research in Books, & Films W. Dale Clark Library 512 S 15th St. • June 28 Computer Research TBA

Corrigan Senior Center You’re invited to visit the Corrigan Senior Center, 3819 X St., this month for: • March 2, 9, 16, 23, & 30: Art & Social class featuring leprechauns, Pot O’ Gold, Go Fly A Kite, Easter surprise, and more @ 10 a.m. A $2 fee for materials per class is suggested. Stay for a delicious noon lunch.

• March 3, 10, 24, & 31: Color pencil art class @ 10:30 a.m. Coffee, tea, and a snack provided. Call for details on supplies and for lunch reservations. March 3: Beef stew.

March 10: Cheeseburger. March 24: Salisbury steak.

March 31: Macaroni & cheese.

• March 8: Pharmacy talk by Kelly @ 11am. Lunch is a pork cutlet or a chicken salad croissant.

• March 14: March Madness Monday. Come shoot some hoops for prizes in the Corrigan gym. Enjoy a basketballthemed movie, popcorn, and special snacks. Stay for a baked ham or chicken salad lunch and 1 p.m. Bingo.

• March 17: St. Patrick’s Day celebration with a corned beef dinner and Mega Bingo. Wear your favorite green outfit and play games @ 10 a.m. Irish music with Paul Siebert @ 11 a.m. The reservation deadline is 11 a.m. on Friday, March 11.

• March 22: St. Peter & Paul students will present a program of Disney songs following a noon chili and baked potato lunch.

• March 23: Easter roast pork lunch with a strawberry and vanilla pudding tart. Fall prevention talk at 11 a.m.

• March 24: Style show @ 11 a.m. Come see your friends “walk the red carpet” at Corrigan. Stay for a noon lunch and Bingo @ 1p.m.

• March 28: The Johnny Ray Gomez Show sponsored by the Merrymakers @ 11 a.m. Lunch features oven-fried chicken or tuna mac salad. Stay for Bingo @ 1 p.m.

Everyone, including new players, is welcome to play chair volleyball every Tuesday and Thursday @ 11 a.m. A noon lunch will follow.

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.

Magician, vocalist at Walnut Grove in March You’re invited to attend a pair of free entertainment programs this month in the theater at the Walnut Grove Resort Lifestyle Community, 4901 S. 153rd St. • March 1 @ 1 p.m.

Amazing Lindy Magic Show • March 22 @ 1 p.m.

Music by Michael Lyon For more information, please call 402-861-1611.

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: Thursday, March 10 Do Space 7205 Dodge St. 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

To register, call 402-457-5231

Thursday, March 10 Metro Comm. College 2709 Edward Babe Gomez Ave. 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

To register, call 402-457-5231

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.

MOTORCOACH “Beau Jest” at the New Theater. April 28. $139. Join us on a Thursday trip to Kansas City to see a live performance of “Beau Jest” while you enjoy a delicious buffet lunch.

This comedy, starring Cindy Williams and Eddie Mekka from “Laverne and Shirley”, is the story of Sarah, a nice Jewish girl with a problem: her Mother wants her married to a nice Jewish boy. Her boyfriend isn’t! And there the fun and confusion begins.

“Moses” in Branson. May 2 - 5. $729. Enjoy the new show “Moses” at the Sight and Sound, Showboat Branson Belle, Texas Tenors, New Jersey Nights, The Blackwoods, The Brett Family, and #1 Hits of the 60s & 50s, too. Includes six meals and lodging at the Barrington Hotel.

Hidden Gems in Cheeseland. June 13 - 17. $979 before 4/1. ($1,029 after 4/1.) A fun five-day adventure including US Mail Boat tour, Dancing Horses Dinner Theatre, Larsen’s Bakery, Jelly Belly Candy Factory, Mars Cheese Castle, Cristo Rey Ranch (200+ animals and run by nuns), Larsen’s Famous Clydesdales, Exotic Bird Show, a Baby Barn presentation, the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

“Beauty and the Beast” and “Chicago”. July 19 - 20. $315 before 4/19. ($335 after 4/19.) Join us for a trip to Kansas City to see “Beauty and the Beast” at the Starlight Theater, “Chicago” at the New Theater, lunch at a “farm-to-table” restaurant, tour of The Roasterie, IKEA, and the Strawberry Hill Povitica Bakery.

“The Music Man” at the Lofte. August 7. $95 before 4/30. ($105 after 4/30.) With his fast-talking style, “Professor” Harold Hill convinces the parents of River City to buy instruments and uniforms for their youngsters, but chaos ensues as Hill’s credentials are questioned and he is called upon to prove himself to the citizens of River City. Dinner afterwards at the Main Street Café in Louisville.

Mark Twain and the Amish. August 3 – 5. $459 before 5/3. ($489 after 5/3.) Explore Hannibal, Missouri, take a dinner cruise on the Mark Twain River Boat, RockCliffe Mansion Tour, wine-tasting at the Cave Hollow West Winery, Mark Twain’s Cave, “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” play, Amish Farm Tour, shopping, and home-cooked Amish meal in Jamesport.

Christ Our Life Catholic Regional Conference. September 24 - 25. Hear the teaching and witnessing of world-renowned Catholic speakers in Des Moines, Iowa, including Mark Hart, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, Jesse Romero, Alex Jones, Archbishop Charles Chaput, Bishop Richard Pates, Fr. Tom Hagan, Fr. Michael Schmitz, Jackie Fancois Angel, and Steve Angrisano.

Golf Branson. September 28 – October 2. $949 before 6/28. ($999 after 6/28.)

Experience Branson’s golf courses on this great five-day trip! Golfers enjoy three days of golfing on three different courses in Branson. Non-golfers come along and enjoy a Paint Party, Farm to Table Lunch Experience, the Titanic Museum, and shopping.

Gather back together in the evenings to enjoy dinner and three shows---Pierce Arrow, Million Dollar Quartet, and Showboat Branson Belle. (Non-golfer price is less.)

Fall in the Carolinas. October 16 - 23. $1,699 before 6/1. ($1,779 after 6/1.) Mississippi River cruise, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Biltmore Estate and Gardens, Antler Hill Village Winery, Blue Ridge Mountain Opry’s “Bluegrass and BBQ” Show, Magnolia Plantation, Charleston city tour, boat trip to Fort Sumter National Historic Park, North Carolina Chimney Rock State Park, “America’s Hit Parade!” Show at the Grand Majestic Theatre, Jim Beam Distillery, and much more.

Branson Christmas. November 7 - 10. $689 before 8/7. ($729 after 8/7.) Enjoy Daniel O’Donnell at the Welk Theater, Jim Stafford, Puttin’ On the Ritz (with Dino), Mel Tillis, “All Hands on Deck”, and either “Moses” at the Sight and Sound Theater or the Oak Ridge Boys, including dinner at Landry’s Seafood House. “’Twas The Night Before Christmas” at the Lofte. December 4. $95 before 9/4. ($105 after 9/4.). “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” But a mouse IS stirring……because Santa missed his house last year! Before you can say“Merry Christmas!”, we’re off on the wild adventures of a mouse, an elf, and a spunky little girl who just won’t take no for an answer. This journey is an exciting one for the whole family. Dinner afterwards at the Main Street Café in Louisville.

Kansas City Christmas. December 13 - 14. New Theater Restaurant, Webster House Luncheon, and more details coming.

Laughlin (There are currently no Laughlin trips available out of Omaha. Check with us for updates on these very reasonably priced charter flights to Laughlin, Nevada. They typically sell out fast.)

In Partnership with Collette Vacations Quoted prices are per person, double occupancy, and do not include airfare. More destinations available!

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. 8 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.

Watch New Horizons and our website www.fontenelletours.com for our trip schedule.

Our NEW mailing address is: 11808 Mason Plaza, Omaha, NE 68154

March 2016

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RSVP

Local study testing new blood circulation device

RSVP 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 402-721-7780.

The following have volunteer opportunities in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties: • The Disabled American Veterans/VA Medical Center needs volunteer drivers.

• The Office of Public Guardians is looking for volunteer court visitors.

The following have a volunteer opportunity in Dodge and/or Washington County: • The Blair and Fremont Car-Go Program needs volunteer drivers.

L

ast year, only one place in the nation implanted more HeartMate II® LVADs (left-ventricular assist devices) than Nebraska Medicine.

Now, Nebraska Medicine is taking part in the research trial for Thoratec’s latest LVAD, the HeartMate 3.

Nebraska Medicine is one of 60 centers nationwide, and the only facility in Nebraska, chosen to evaluate the Thoratec HeartMate 3™ Left Ventricular Assist Device, the next generation of mechanical circulatory

support (MCS) device under investigation by the FDA to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the device. The MOMENTUM 3 research trial is expected to enroll more than 1,000 patients nationwide.

The HeartMate 3 LVAD is an implantable mechanical device that helps circulate blood throughout the body. Sometimes called a “heart pump” or “VAD”, it’s designed to supplement the pumping function of the heart in patients whose hearts are too weak to pump blood adequately on their

own.

The HeartMate 3 is a smaller device that works in a completely different manner than the existing available VADs, by using magnetically levitated (Full MagLev™) flow technology. Magnets allow the pumps rotor to be suspended and constantly adjusted in the device.

T

his design is intended to provide better flow, along with a higher efficiency and fewer complications for the patient, all of which are being evaluated in this study.

Additionally, the HeartMate 3 uses less power to operate, so patients have to change batteries less often than those with the HeartMate II. “While the number of patients being diagnosed with advanced heart failure continues to rise, the number of donor hearts has remained stagnant. LVADs are an important treatment option to bridge patients to cardiac transplantation or as lifelong support.” said Timothy Ryan, APRN-NP, VAD program manager at Nebraska Medicine.

“Nebraska Medicine is proud to be one of the first to participate in the MOMENTUM 3 research trial and look forward to making it available to patients.”

The MOMENTUM 3 will follow patients with heart failure for up to two years. Physicians are trying to determine whether they can see the same or similar outcomes in patients implanted with a HeartMate 3 device as they have with those implanted with a HeartMate II. Nearly six million people in the U.S. are afflicted with congestive heart failure. Of these, more than 250,000 are advanced cases, with an annual mortality rate of 80 percent.

In 2014, Nebraska Medicine implanted 60 HeartMate II LVADs, ranking second in the country of centers implanting the Thoratec device.

VOTES WANTED PLEASE GO TO

www.lightthebridge.org 100% non-profit addressing hunger VOTES TO DATE • For: 3,002 • Against: 90 • Please vote today to address hunger.

Page 16

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March 2016

Protect yourself, your eyes against age-related macular degeneration

O

lder adults are at a heightened risk for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness among older Americans. The disease damages central vision, limiting a person’s ability to read and recognize faces.

Approximately 2.1 million Americans had AMD as of 2010. This number is expected to double to more than 5.4 million by 2050. Meanwhile, fewer people are aware of the disease compared to other eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma.

To help raise awareness of AMD, the American Academy of Ophthalmology is reminding older adults their eyes need their attention.

There are steps they can take to take better care of their eyes and protect themselves from AMDrelated blindness.

Here are five eye-loving tips from the Academy and the facts behind the advice: • Get regular comprehensive medical eye exams.

AMD often has no early warning signs, so getting regular comprehensive eye exams from an ophthalmologist – a physician that specializes in the medical and surgical treatment of eye diseases and conditions – is critical to diagnosing and treating AMD in its early stages. The Academy recommends people over age 65 get an exam every one to two years, even if they have no signs or symptoms of eye problems.

• Quit smoking. Numerous studies have shown smoking to increase risk of developing AMD and the speed at which it progresses. If you smoke, you’re twice as likely to develop macular degeneration compared with a nonsmoker.

• Know your family’s eye health history. If you have a close relative with AMD, you have a 50 percent chance of developing the condition. Before you go in for your next eye exam, speak with your family about their eye health history. Sharing this information with your ophthalmologist may prompt him or her to recommend more frequent eye exams. The earlier AMD is caught; the better chances you may have of saving your vision.

• Eat a diet rich in omega-3s and low in cholesterol and saturated fat. A number of studies have shown people who had a reduced risk of AMD had diets rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as fish. In one study of patients who were at moderate risk for AMD progression, those who reported the highest omega-3 intake (not in the form of a supplement) were 30 percent less likely to develop advanced AMD after 12 years. In another study, an increased risk of AMD was found in individuals who had a higher intake of saturated fats and cholesterol and in those with a higher body mass index.

• Exercise regularly. Many studies have shown getting regular exercise can benefit your eyes. One study found exercising three times a week reduced the risk of developing wet AMD over 15 years by 70 percent.

“There is still a worrying lack of awareness when it comes to AMD, despite it being the number one cause of blindness in seniors,” said Rahul N. Khurana, M.D., a clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

“Older Americans who are unaware of the disease may be putting themselves at risk by not taking early steps to care for their vision. The good news is that they protect their sight from AMD-related blindness by showing their eyes some TLC with regular eye exams and lifestyle changes.”

Older adults concerned about their risk of AMD may qualify for EyeCare America, a public service program of the American Academy of Ophthalmology that offers eye exams and care at no out-of-pocket cost for eligible seniors age 65 and older.

Thousands of Academy members nationwide volunteer their time to serve their communities through EyeCare America. Visit www.eyecareamerica.org to see if you are eligible.

Learn more about age-related macular degeneration on the Academy’s EyeSmart AMD pages.

THEOS

Retired fed employees meet monthly

T

he National Active and 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 402-292-1156.

The National Active and 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, please call 402-342-4351.

Bilingual information Bilingual information about hospice care, palliative care, helping loved ones with grief and loss, and caregiving is available through the Nebraska Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership.

The number for the Cuidando con Carino Compassionate Care HelpLine is (toll free) 1-877-658-8896.

We need your

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I would like to become a partner with the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, and help fulfill your mission with older adults.

ENOA

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HEOS, a group for older widows and widowers, meets at 6 p.m. the second Monday of each month at the Presbyterian Church of the Cross, 1517 S. 114th St. The organization offers weekend activities, Wednesday night dinners, and pinochle twice a month.

For more information, please call Dorothy at 402399-0759, Mary at 402-3933052, or Joan at 402-3938931.

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.

$30 = 7 meals or 1.75 hours of in-home homemaker services or 1 bath aide service for frail older adults. $75 = 17 meals or 4.75 hours of in-home homemaker services or 4 bath aide services for frail older adults. $150 = 35 meals or 9.5 hours of in-home homemaker services or 8 bath aide services for frail older adults. $300 = 70 meals or 19.25 hours of in-home homemaker services or 16 bath aide services for frail older adults.

Other amount (please designate)__________________________ Please contact me. I would like to learn more about how to include the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging in my estate planning.

Please ma il with thisyofour donation rm to: Eas

tern Office oNebraska n Aging Address:___________________________________ Attention : Jef Name:_____________________________________

City:______________State:_____ Zip: __________ Phone:____________________________________

March 2016

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Alzheimer’s support groups

Study: Many patients don’t manage gout well

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The Alzheimer’s Association Nebraska Chapter offers several caregiver support groups and specialty support groups each month in Cass, 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. Call Elizabeth at 402-502-4301 for more information.

CASS COUNTY

First & third Monday @ 1:30 p.m.

New Cassel/Franciscan Centre 900 N. 90th St. Adult day services are provided on-site.

• PLATTSMOUTH Second Tuesday @ 6 p.m.

First Lutheran Church 1025 Ave. D

• OMAHA

DODGE COUNTY

Third Tuesday @ 5 p.m.

Immanuel Fontenelle 6809 N 68th Plz. Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m.

Heritage Pointe 16811 Burdette St.

• FREMONT Last Wednesday @ 2 p.m.

Nye Square 655 W. 23rd St. Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m.

Shalimar Gardens 749 E. 29th St.

First Thursday @ 6:30 p.m.

Early Stage Support Group Security National Bank 1120 S. 101st St. REGISTRATION REQUIRED

DOUGLAS COUNTY • BENNINGTON Last Thursday @ 6 p.m.

Ridgewood Active Retirement Community 12301 N. 149th Cr.

Second or third Saturday @ 11 a.m.

Caring for Your Parents Call Teri @ 402-393-0434 for location

• ELKHORN Third Monday @ 6 p.m.

Elk Ridge Village Assisted Living 19400 Elk Ridge Dr.

SARPY COUNTY • BELLEVUE

• OMAHA

Third Monday @ 7 p.m.

Bellevue Senior Center 109 W. 22nd Ave.

Second Thursday @ 10 a.m.

Country House 5030 S. 155th St. Adult day services provided.

First Wednesday @ 1 p.m.

Eastern Nebraska Vets Home 12505 S. 40th St.

Every other Monday @ 7 p.m.

Brighton Gardens 9220 Western Ave.

Fourth Thursday @ 6 p.m.

Hillcrest Health Services 1804 Hillcrest Dr.

Third Wednesday @ 3 p.m.

Fountain View Senior Living 5710 S 108th St.

Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m.

Heritage Ridge 1502 Fort Crook Rd. South

Blue Barn Theatre Lucas Hnath’s The Christians will be on stage March 24 through April 17 at the Blue Barn Theatre, 1106 S. 10th St. The Christians has been described as a “big-little play about faith in America and the trouble with changing your mind.”

Show times are Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Sundays, April 3, 10, and 17.

Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for seniors and groups of 10 or more.

For tickets and more information, please call 402-3451576.

Maplewood Estates Lifestyle • Community • Convenience • Family Values

Papillion Senior Singers

Czech-Slovak Festival

Older men and women who love to sing and have Tuesdays free to practice and perform are being recruited to join the Papillion Senior Singers.

For more information, please contact Rajaena Appleby at rajaena@cox.net or 402-650-8770.

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M.D., Umbach Professor of Rheumatology in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine Division of Rheumatology, who also practices at the Omaha VA Medical Center.

“I think what was striking was most patients knew what causes gout, how it is treated, and what was going on with their disease, but they did not know what their level of uric acid should be. To us that’s compelling.

VOTES WANTED

Move-in Specials

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study published recently in the online journal Arthritis Care and Research is shedding light on why gout, a painful and common form of arthritis, isn’t well managed in many patients. The journal is published by the American College of Rheumatology.

Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and at the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System in Omaha found only 14 percent of gout patients know the numerical treatment goal for the medication they’re taking. Patients in the study were on allopurinol, which helps keep the disease under control by reducing painful flare-ups and maintaining a certain level of uric acid in the body.

The study evaluated 612 questionnaires from patients at the VA Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System in Omaha. Questions to patients sought to determine their knowledge about gout and if they knew what their numerical goal was.

Gout, which results from a build-up of uric acid in the body, causes an intense inflammation that affects the big toe, ankles, feet, knees, and many other joints. It’s estimated it affects about 4 percent of Americans and about 10 percent of men over age 60. Gout is more common in women after menopause.

“We found there’s a real gap in patients’ understanding of our treatment goal in gout,” said Ted Mikuls,

New Horizons

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VOTES TO DATE • For: 3,002 • Against: 90 • Please vote today to address hunger.

March 2016

“If patients don’t know the goal of therapy, it’s very hard for patients to be engaged in their care.”

“It’s very well understood there are targets for uric acid that should be reached to treat people effectively. I think physicians probably know the goal, but it’s not being clearly communicated at least in a fashion patients can recall. If patients don’t know the goal of therapy, it’s very hard for patients to be engaged in their care,” said Dr. Mikuls, the paper’s senior author.

When long-term treatment is needed to avoid future attacks, Dr. Mikuls said typical treatment starts with low doses of drugs such as allopurinol and checking uric acid levels before changing doses as needed to reach and maintain the target uric acid level.

“Along with the other best practices – talking about diet and weight management, using anti-inflammatories for acute flares and for preventing flares when they start these therapies – it’s a fairly straight forward condition to treat. I think increasingly we’re seeing health care providers doing this better, but we have a long way to go,” he said.

Researchers hope the study will stimulate conversation between physicians and patients to improve the quality of care for gout patients.

Brian Coburn, first author of the paper and a UNMC student enrolled in his fifth year of the UNMC M.D., Ph.D., program, said the study was insightful in his training as a future physician-scientist.

“I’ve not had a chance to get into clinic fully yet, but after completing this study, I have a broader perspective of how thinking about the care patient populations can help inform what we do in clinics to best improve patients’ health,” said Coburn, the article’s first author.

“Similarly, I’m looking forward to my clinical training which will help me learn about barriers patients face during care. There are many research opportunities going forward to help patients and providers get better outcomes.”

(UNMC’s Public Relations Department provided this information.)

T

he Omaha Czech Cultural Club is hosting its annual Czech-Slovak Festival on Sunday, April 17 from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Millard Social Hall, 10508 S. 144th St. (south of Interstate 80 at the Sapp Brothers exit).

Featured will be a delicious Czech meal including roast pork, sausage, sauerkraut, and dumplings served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hot dog plates will be available for the children. Czech beer will be offered at the cash bar.

A button accordion jamboree will open the day, followed by the coronation of the 2016-17 Omaha Czech Queen, princess, and prince.

The Southeast Nebraska Czech Bagpipe Band will entertain with folk music and singing.

Angie Kriz and the Polkatoons from Clarkson, Neb. will play for the polka dance from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m.

Other activities include a bake sale with delicious kolaces, home-baked rye bread, and gingerbread cookie decorating. Vendors featuring beautiful Czech and Slovak items and foods will also be available.

Visit www.omahaczechclub.com for more information.

Omaha Computer Users Group

Study: Older adults should get seven or more hours of sleep

Please see the ad on page 3

New Horizons Club membership roll rises

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You’re invited to join the Omaha Computer Users Group (OCUG), an organito helping Eastern Nebraska a Office on zation Aging dedicated • 4223 Center Street • Omaha, NE 68105 men and women age 50 and $10 older learn more about their computers.

May Morine Anyone can join OCUG regardless of his or her comMaurice Lambert puter skills.

The organization’s 50 Edna Franklin members meet the third Janice Dworak Saturday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon at the Abrahams Library, 5111 N. 90th St. $5 OCUG has a projector aking steps January to improve 25, your 2016mental and physical well connected to a Microsoft A.J. Braun Windows 7 computer and being may fall flat if you’re not spending enough Keith & Debbie Douglas a Windows 8 computer to time recharging your body. Sleep experts agree that show users how to solve adequate, regular sleep Judy, is essential for overall health and their computer problems. well being.

Here’s your ad for the classified section for the February issue. Please let me Reflects donations through 2/19/16.

For more information, According to a new recknow if this is okay.

If you have any changes, give me a call @ 402-444-4148. call 402-333-6529. ommendation from the Once ad is approved mail your check for $24.00 to: American Academy of Sleep Lamplighter II Medicine (AASM) and Sleep January 8, 2016 New Horizons N Some of the nicest, newer 1 bedroom Research Society (SRS), e b c/o Jeff Reinhardt, e Editor apartments. Elevator, w & d, heated rask Offic adults should get seven or Please call 402-444-4148 or 402-444-6654 to place your ad. parking garage. Small complex. By bus a 4223 Center Street more hours of sleep per night & shopping. No pets or smoking.

Omaha, NE 68105 93rd & Maple • 402-397-6921 to avoid the health risks asRick, sociated with prolonged periods of inadequate sleep.

Lonergan Lawns OLD STUFF WANTED Here’s adregular for the classified section for the February issue.

Please let me know if this For the millions of Americans who don’tyour make (before 1975) Mow, fertilize, aerate. is okay. healthier If you have any changes, give me a call @ 402-444-4148. adtoys, is approved sleep a priority, this guidance can motivate lifeThanks!

Military,Once political, jewelry, Trim trees & bushes. style habits. mail your check for $32.00, or call in your credit card payment to:pens, pottery, kitchen ware, fountain Mitch Laudenback Clean gutters. postcards, photos, books, and “Sleep is critical@toNew health, along with a healthy diet and Horizons Build walls. Haul junk. other old paper, old clothes, garden regular exercise,” said Dr. Nathaniel F. Watson, AASM New Horizons stuff, tools, old household, etc. president and moderator of the expert panel that develCall Tim c/o Jeff Reinhardt, Editor Call anytime oped the recommendation. “Our consensus panel of 15 of @ 402-612-3576 4223 Center Street 402-397-0254 or 402-250-9389 the nation’s top sleep experts found sleeping six or fewer Omaha, NE 68105 hours per night is inadequate to sustain health and safety in adults. We also agreed that seven or more hours of GET RID OF IT! Tree Trimming HOUSE CLEANING Ph. 402-444-6654 sleep per night is the recommended amount for all healthy Beat the adults.”

Haul away, Need help cleaning Recognizing some adults need more sleep than others, garage, basement, falling flakes!

Thanks! or organizing? the panel didn’t place a limit on howMitch muchLaudenback sleep people rental clean out…

Chipping & removal.

Call should get per night. For example, people who may need @ New Horizons Your prunings chipped.

REFRESH CLEANING nine or more hours of nightly sleep include young adults Johansen Brothers Experienced & insured.

SERVICES, LLC with growing bodies, individuals trying to make up for lost Senior discount.

Call Frank 402-885-8731 sleep, or those who are sick.

“More than a third of the population isn’t getting enough 402-894-9206 402-312-4000 sleep, so the focus needs to be on getting at least seven hours of nightly sleep,” added Watson. “In general we want HANDYMAN SERVICES TOP CASH PAID people to get more sleep, not less.” deFreese Best & honest prices What are some easy ways to ensure you get the sleep Manor Big jobs or small, paid for: you need for a productive and healthy life? Check out these Nice old vintage and costume five healthy sleep habits provided by the experts at AASM. I’ll do them all!

Subsidized housing for jewelry, old watches, vintage toys, those age 62 and over Following these tips can help you develop a healthy sleep [Bonded & Insured] Fenton glassware, old postcards, with incomes pattern: advertising items, military items, under $25,500 • Be consistent. Go to bed when you’re sleepy and try to pottery, and antique buttons.

(1 person) wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends. rickfitzlerhomeimprovement.com Also buying estates or $29,150 • Limit time in bed. Don’t use your bed for other non& partial estates. (two persons) sleep activities, such as watching television or checking Call Bev at 402-339-2856 REPUTABLE 2669 Dodge email.

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Accepting applications for • Safety Equipment HUD-subsidized apartments in Handrails • Limit the caffeine. Avoid coffee, tea, soda, and other & Bellevue. Rent determined E a s tand e r nevening N e b r ahours. s k a a O f f i c e o n Smoke A g i n gand • Fire 4 2 Alarms 2 3 C e n t e r S t r e e t • O m a h a , N E 6 8 1 0Papillion 5 caffeine sources in the afternoon by income and medical expenses.

• Painting • Get at least seven hours. Go to bed early enough to Golden Companion Interior & Exterior Monarch Villa West allow yourself to sleep seven hours or more each and every three-wheel 201 Cedar Dale Road night.

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Live life awake and refreshed with the proper amount of • Senior Discounts Bellewood Courts sleep. You’ll be putting your best foot forward every mornUsed only • Free Estimates 1002 Bellewood Court ing.

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• References • Fully Insured Visit www.projecthealthysleep.org to learn more about healthy sleep from the National Healthy Sleep Awareness CASH ONLY Managed by Quality Professional Service Kimball Management., Inc. Project, a collaboration between the AASM, SRS and the Better Business Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Call Charles at We do business in Bureau Member accordance with (Family Features provided this information. Photo courthe Fair Housing Law. 402-391-4746 402-4 5 5-7 0 0 0 tesy of Getty Images.) rask

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FOR SALE

March 2016

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Borgeson selected for government leadership program

D

ouglas County Board Chairwoman Mary Ann Borgeson has been selected for the Governing Institute’s 25-member Women in Government Leadership Program class of 2016.

Borgeson is also chair of the Eastern Nebraska Human Services Agency’s governing board which oversees the activities of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, ENCOR, the Alpha School, and Region VI Behavioral Healthcare in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties.

The Governing Institute honored these 25 women for giving voice to critical

Douglas County Commissioner and Eastern Nebraska Human Services Agency board chair Mary Ann Borgeson (top row, second from right) was chosen by the Governing Institute for its 25-member Women in Government Leadership Program Class for 2016.

issues, for their interest in doing what’s best for their constituents, and for adding a diversity of opinion that makes our democracy better.

Created in 2014, the Women in Government Leadership Program creates a bipartisan, national network of women leaders who build relationships across city and state boundaries.

Its goals are to acknowledge and celebrate the work of women public servants, to provide leadership training and job critical skills, and to pay it forward by mentoring the next generation of women running for public office.

B

orgeson has spent more than 20 years working on health issues in county government.

She chairs the National Association of Counties’ Health Steering Committee and is helping lead the organization’s efforts to address the large number of mentally ill inmates in local jails.

Borgeson attended the Immanuel School of Radiologic Technology and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has a BGS degree in public administration.

As a student, Borgeson saw a proposal by Douglas County to buy the Aksarben racetrack and coliseum.

While researching the plan, she became interested in county government and decided to run for the Douglas County board. After Mary Ann won the 1994 election, one of the board’s first actions was to sell the Aksarben property.

Borgeson, who in 1997, became the first female to chair the Douglas County Board, said many women are turned off by antigovernment attitudes in the public and the media.

“The response shouldn’t be to stay away from government, but to make it better,” she added.

Hibernian’s parade, celebration set for Saturday, March 12

Y Your home. Your care. Your pace.

Your home is best and Immanuel Pathways’ goal is to help you continue living in your home as long as possible.

Our program provides a complete system of health care. The service is called PACE, which stands for: Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly. We provide primary and hospital care as well as prescription drugs, transportation and so much more to our participants. Services are provided in the home, at the PACE Center and in the community.

For complete program details and benefits, please call 402-991-0330.

5755 Sorensen Parkway | Omaha, NE 68152

www.immanuelpathways.org

PACE participants may be fully and personally liable for the costs of unauthorized or out-of-PACE program services.

Emergency services are covered. Participants may disenroll at any time.

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ou’re invited to two events sponsored by the Ancient Order of Hibernians Omaha on Saturday, March 12.

A St. Patrick’s Day parade will begin at 10 a.m. near 16th and Harney streets.

Route and parking information is available online at www.aohomaha.org.

A post parade celebration will be held at the Old Mattress Factory, 501 N. 13th St. The doors open at 11 a.m. Food will be served beginning at noon.

The fun will include music by Donnybrook and the George Easton Experience, $2 corn beef sliders, a cash bar, parade awards, desserts, and souvenirs. Members of Dowds Academy of Irish Dance will perform.

Admission to the celebration is $10.

Proceeds will benefit the Madonna School.

For more information, log on to aohomaha.org.