New Horizons

A publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging

February 2015 VOL. 40 • NO. 2

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

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

New Horizons

Natural imagery

Photo by Sue E. Cedarholm

A Nebraska native, Thomas Mangelsen has photographed wildlife on all seven continents during the last 40 years. Among the awards Mangelsen has received for his work include Conservation Photographer of the Year, and one of The 100 Most Important People in Photography. Leo Adam Biga profiles Mangelsen.

See page 10.

Consumer advocate Mike McKnight has worked for Omaha’s WOWT since 1977.

He’s best known for his photography, investigative reporting, and helping scam victims. Learn more about this Lincoln native.

See page 5.

Scouts honor

Men and women like Pamela Bell (pictured) who are raising their grandchildren are encouraged to attend Lauren Krecek (left) and the Grandparents as Elaine Whetstine, ages 12 Parents Conference on Thursday, Sept. 18. and 13, respectively, See page 5. are members of Girl Scout

Cadette Troop 43895.

Lauren, Elaine, their troop leaders, and Elaine’s sister, Helen, delivered meals for ENOA recently.

See page 15.

Please see the ad on page 3

New Horizons Club gains new members $100 Melvin Balaban $30 Robert L. Whitehouse $25 Frank Markesi Eleanor Thorson Janice Otter Laura Jean O’Connor $20 R.M. Rehwinkle $15 Karen Nolan Richard Hyde Nancy Kreger Dale Freyer Carolyn Gier $10 Marion Drucker $5 Mary O’Neill Fagan Lucille Coufal Isabelle Klinkenbeard Shirley Vodicka Donna Nimerichter Edward Palczynski

Reflects donations received through January 23, 2015.

MovingOn Katie Wray

Owner-Operator

Whether moving to a new home, apartment, retirement community, or out of state like Bill and Mary; “MovingOn” will sort, pack, and arrange to move your belongings.

As a senior, or a child of a senior, life is busy and handling a household liquidation or estate sale can be overwhelming and confusing. “MovingOn” decreases stress as it acts as your on-site advocate by taking care of all the details.

Our services include: • Plan, schedule, and coordinate the move.

Bill & Mary

• Arrange for utilities, cable, and mail delivery changes.

Surgeon: Understanding your line of gratification is the foundation to sticking to self-improvement goals

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s we begin 2015, Dr. Robert J. Cerfolio, a world-renowned cardiothoracic surgeon, says it’s never a bad time to think about self-improvement.

“Habitual procrastination can really hurt you in the long run because waiting to take care of something that’s obviously important to you – health, money, (or) family matters – weighs on your subconscious,” says Dr. Cerfolio, known as “the Michael Jordan of lung surgery.”

Understanding one’s personal “line of gratification” is the foundation for sticking to self-improvement goals, he says.

“There are many kinds of lines of gratification,” he says. “For some, they’re the number of zeroes in their bank statement; for others, the curves of their muscles after they leave the gym. It’s good and healthy to look back on your hard work and admire what you have accomplished before moving on to the next task.”

Dr. Cerfolio, author of Super Performing at Work and at Home: The Athleticism of Surgery and Life, shares tips on how to make those lines of gratification more impressive.

• Be an early riser.

The main reason operating rooms hum into action at 7 a.m. is tied to human physiology; the bodies of patients are better able to handle the stress of surgery at that time.

“People are generally better off getting work done early in the day when we’re better prepared for stress and performance,” he says.

“And getting a job done early frees you up later in the day.”

• Love what you do.

Why wouldn’t you want to take ownership, responsibility, and pride in what you

• Pack and unpack household contents, making the new home feel comfortable.

• Make arrangements for an estate sale, auction, donation pickup, or even shipment.

• Arrange for temporary storage.

• Coordinate cleaning, staging, and preparing the home prior to listing or closing.

Call today for a free estimate!

402-651-2711

movingon@cox.net www.movingonomaha.com

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February 2015

do for a living? When you treat a job as only a means to a paycheck, you are missing the point. If your job isn’t the one you’d really love to have, don’t make it worse with a negative attitude. Instead, make it your own. Make it a point of personal integrity and principle to challenge yourself to achieve something every day. After all, 40 hours a week is a long time to stay anywhere.

• Ask yourself: Did I really try my best? “I tried my best” is a common refrain from those who haven’t reached their goals.

An honest response you can ask yourself is, “Am I sure?” This question is not about being overly critical.

It’s simply about realizing that, if you had practiced or studied an extra 10 minutes each day, you would’ve been that much closer to your goals.

• Set specific, measurable goals. Results define goals. Every individual should have clear goals that are objective and measur-

able. Goals such as “to be happy,” “to do well at work,” or “to get along” are too nebulous. To be successful, you have to be able to define your goals by measurable results.

• Find the high ground.

In anything you do, aspire to live up to the noblest, highest aspect of your job.

Certain jobs – such as police work, firefighting, teaching, or working in health care – are service oriented, so it’s easier to feel good about your contributions. Look for the contributions you’re making in your job or your life and take pride in what you’re doing to make the world a little better.

• Be the go-to guy or girl. This takes time, practice and the confidence necessary to want the ball in a critical situation. Being the go-to guy or girl means being willing to take responsibility and risk failing. A go-to person is also willing to speak up about problems or changes necessary in a business or organization, and suggest solutions.

Eclectic Book Review Club

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he 65-year-old Eclectic Book Review Club’s 2015 season begins on Tuesday, Feb. 17. The monthly meetings – which are held at the Omaha Field Club, 3615 Woolworth Ave. – include a noon lunch followed by the book review at 12:30 p.m. The cost is $13 per person.

Here’s the schedule: • Feb. 17: Omaha librarian Judy Shannon will review Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand.

• March 17: University of Nebraska-Lincoln fine arts professor Karen Shoemaker will review her book The Meaning of Names.

• April 21: Eclectic Book Review Club member Ann Van Hoff will review Mrs. Queen Takes the Train by William Kuhn.

• May 19: University of Nebraska-Lincoln English professor Timothy Schaffert will review his book The Swan Gondola.

For reservations, which are due by the Monday prior to the Tuesday reviews, or more information, please call Rita at 402-553-3147.

February 2015 events calendar 5 49th Annual Omaha Home & Garden Expo 16th Annual Flower & Patio Show Through Feb. 8 CenturyLink Center Omaha $4 and $8 402-341-1500

15 David Sanborn: Saxophone Concert Holland Performing Arts Center 7 p.m.

402-345-0606 19 Bad News

By Elias Harmon Through March 14 Blue Barn Theatre $25 and $30 402-345-1576

6 Sinbad Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-06

20 John Tartaglia’s ImaginOcean Orpheum Theater 7:30 p.m. $9 and up 402-345-0606

7 Andrew Borowiec Through May 17 Joslyn Art Museum FREE 402-342-3300

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. $18 and up 402-345-0606

7 Katherine Hepburn: Dressed for Stage and Screen Through April 26 Durham Museum $6, $7, & $9 402-444-5071

“Voice for Older Nebraskans!”

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

Join the

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Membership includes a subscription to the New Horizons newspaper.

New Horizons Club Send

Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging 4223 Center Street to: Omaha, NE 68105-2431 I get the New Horizons regularly and don’t need to be put on the mailing list.

I would like to start receiving the New Horizons at home. My address is below.

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22 Omaha Symphony Thomas’ Adventure in Music Holland Performing Arts Center 2 p.m. $15 402-345-0606

8 American Moderns 1910-1960: From O’Keefe to Rockwell Joslyn Art Museum Through May 17 $10 402-342-3300

23 Cody Heinert Exhibit Through April 3 Fred Simon Gallery 1004 Farnam St. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

FREE 402-595-2142

Haydn’s London Symphony Witherspoon Concert Hall @ Joslyn Art Museum 2 p.m. $36 402-345-0606 10 National Geographic LIVE’s Extreme Planet Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. $9 and up 402-345-0606 14 Pixar in Concert Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-06062/4/10 8:00 HorizonAD-2010:HorizonAD-08

Make a donation to help support the

27 Garrick Ohlsson Plays Rachmaninoff Also Feb. 28 Holland Performing Arts Center 7:30 p.m. $19 and up 402-345-0606

AM

Page

Randy Brecker Holland Performing Arts Center 8 p.m. $22 and up 402-345-0606 1

Attorneys at Law William E. Seidler Jr.

www.seidler-seidler-law.com 10050 Regency Circle, Suite 525 Omaha, NE 68114-5705

402-397-3801

Delivering quality legal services since 1957.

February 2015

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Other _______

New Horizons New Horizons is the official publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. The paper is distributed free to people over age 60 in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Washington, and Cass counties. Those living outside the 5-county region may subscribe for $5 annually.

Address all correspondence to: Jeff Reinhardt, Editor, 4223 Center Street, Omaha, NE 68105-2431.

Phone 402-444-6654. FAX 402-444-3076.

E-mail: jeff.reinhardt@nebraska.gov Advertisements appearing in New Horizons do not imply endorsement of the advertiser by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. However, complaints about advertisers will be reviewed and, if warranted, their advertising discontinued. Display and insert advertising rates available on request. Open rates are commissionable, with discounts for extended runs. Circulation is 20,000 through direct mail and freehand distribution.

Editor....................................................Jeff Reinhardt Ad Mgr................Mitch Laudenback, 402-444-4148 Contributing Writers......Nick Schinker, Leo Biga, & Lois Friedman ENOA Board of Governors: Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County, chairperson; Jim Warren, Sarpy County, vice-chairperson; Jerry Kruse, Washington County, secretary; Gary Osborn, Dodge County, & Jim Peterson, Cass 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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Fontenelle Tours

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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

“Godspell” at the Lofte. July 19. $XX. Composed of various musical parables from The Gospel According to Matthew. Jesus Christ recruits a group of followers and teaches them lessons through song and dance. The show is followed by a delicious dinner at the Main Street Café in Louisville.

Kansas Hwy 36 Treasure Hunt. September 18 - 19. $XXX. Like the Nebraska Junk Jaunt, but this one is in Kansas. Started in 2006, this hunt features 400 miles of garage sales, flea markets, bake sales, and other community events. Another garage sale extravaganza, but with a new route in another state. Always a fun adventure!

Branson Christmas. November 9 – 12. $XXX. Enjoy SIX: The Knudsen Brothers, Dixie Stampede, Shoji Tabuchi, Pierce Arrow, Hamner’s Unbelievable Variety Show, Mickey Gilley, and the Trail of Lights, as well as Landry’s Seafood House.

“Dear Santa” at the Lofte. Dec 13. $XX. Children share their views of jolly St. Nick and answer questions about his many mysteries. The magic of Santa can transcend the boundaries of race, gender, and religion........ followed by another delicious dinner at the Main Street Café in Louisville.

Pricing on these trips and more summer and fall trips available soon on our website and next month in New Horizons.

Laughlin

Laughlin in February or March. $???. As of January 19, there are no Laughlin trips available though they usually have a February or March trip.

Check with us if you find this of interest. Includes non-stop, round-trip airfare to Laughlin, Nevada, three or four nights lodging at the Riverside Resort and Casino on the banks of the Colorado River, and shuttle transportation to and from the airport. It is a very affordable way to get out of the cold winter for a few days!

In Partnership with Collette Vacations Quoted prices are per person, double occupancy, and do not include airfare. MORE DESTINATIONS AVAILABLE! Alaska Discovery Land & Cruise. 13 days from $3069. Anchorage, McKinley, Denali National Park, Music of Denali Dinner Theater, Denali Wilderness Tour, Luxury Domed Rail Excursion, Whittier, Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan, including a seven-night cruise of the Inside Passage.

Reflections of Italy ...................................................... 10 days from $2149 Shades of Ireland ........................................................ 10 days from $1799 Australia ....................................................................... 21 days from $4899 New York City ................................................................ 5 days from $1749 Hawaiian Adventure .................................................... 10 days from $2999 Discover Panama .......................................................... 9 days from $1699 Canadian Rockies by Train.......................................... .9 days from $3099 Discover Switzerland .................................................. 10 days from $2049 African Safari ............................................................... 14 days from $3849 The Galapagos Islands ............................................... 10 days from $4359 Rhine River Cruise ........................................................ 9 days from $2599 Tropical Costa Rica ....................................................... 9 days from $1349 Rose Bowl Parade......................................................... 5 days from $1449 San Antonio ................................................................... 5 days from $1149 Exploring Greece......................................................... 15 days from $2549 Complete South Pacific .............................................. 27 days from $6399 South Africa ................................................................. 13 days from $2499 British Landscapes ..................................................... 10 days from $2199 Flavors of Thailand...................................................... 14 days from $1549 Nova Scotia ................................................................. 11 days from $2949 Spain’s Classics .......................................................... 11 days from $2099 Beijing, China .................................................................. 9 days from $899 Colors of New England ................................................. 8 days from $2299 Heritage of America .................................................... 10 days from $2199 Watch New Horizons and our website www.fontenelletours.com for our trip schedule.

Our mailing address is: 2008 W. Broadway #329, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501

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Rules to follow when dating online

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s I pondered what I wanted to write about for this month’s article, I had to stop and think about what would be helpful information for February.

While we generally don’t see an increase or decrease in crime during February for any reason, there’s Valentine’s Day. That got me thinking about love and dating, which of course, also includes online dating. The more I researched the more I realized how valuable this article might be for the New Horizons readers.

According to Business Week magazine, more than 53 percent of men and women age 65 and older spend time online. Additionally, cell phone use has increased to 77 percent of all older adults. With statistics like these, I thought, many of these older men and women must also be using the Internet to meet prospective dates. As I continued to research, I not only learned that AARP facilitates an online dating site (dating.aarp.org), but there are many other online dating

sites geared to persons over age 55.

While dating online may be new for older adults, there are several DO’s and DON’T’s that everyone should follow when dating online, regardless of your age.

fun, it can also be unsafe if you’re not careful. Spend some time doing research on this person. Are they on other social networking sites? Many police departments will do a criminal history check for a small fee.

Generally a name and date

• Keep your personal information personal.

Choose a user name that doesn’t give out personal information about you. Don’t share your name, address, phone number, or e-mail address. If you feel comfortable enough to communicate via e-mail, you should think about creating a separate e-mail account using a free service such as Hotmail or Yahoo.

• Take your time and do some research. While the thought of meeting someone new may be exciting and

of birth are needed.

• Keep it public and tell a friend. If you’re comfortable enough that you decide to meet the person face to face, be sure to meet in public the first several times and be sure to tell a friend where you’re meeting and at what time. It’s also a good idea to send your date’s email username and contact information to your friend, just in case. Additionally, plan a time to contact your friend after your date, just to ensure you’re safe.

--Please turn to page 6.

Nebraska is one of the nation’s healthiest states Nebraska has moved into the top 10 among the healthiest states in the country.

In a report issued by the United Health Foundation recently, Nebraska moved up one notch after ranking No. 11 last year.

The five states surrounding Nebraska ranked between 18 and 36.

“We are heading in the right direction,” said Ali S. Khan, M.D., M.P.H., dean of the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Public Health. “With a real concerted effort, we can reach No. 1 by 2020.”

Since joining UNMC in July 2014, Dr. Khan has traveled across the state to talk about how to improve the Nebraska’s health indicators. He supports UNMC Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, M.D., and his strategic goal to work with all health systems and private and community partners to help make Nebraska the healthiest state in the union by 2020.

The report, America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for Individuals and their Communities, analyzed the health of the nation holistically with in-depth data and analysis. Its focus is on behaviors, community and environment, policy, and clinical care to provide a comprehensive picture of the nation’s health. Indicators are: low birth weight, smoking, obesity, drug deaths, physical inactivity, and adolescent immunizations.

First, the good news. Nebraska ranks: • First: High rate of high school graduation. In the past two years, high school graduation increased 12 percent from 82.9 percent to 93 percent for incoming ninth graders. Nebraska is tied with Vermont for the highest graduation rate in the nation.

February 2015

• Second: High immunization coverage among children. In the past year, immunization coverage among children increased by 9 percent from 72.6 percent to 79 percent for children ages 19 to 35 months.

• Third: Low rate of drug deaths.

• 10th: In the past year, the number of children in poverty decreased by 27 percent from 19.6 percent to 14.3 percent.

• 24th: In the past year, preventable hospitalizations decreased by 13 percent from 63.8 to 55.8 per 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries.

Still, it isn’t all good news. In areas that need work, Nebraska ranks: • 16th: In the past two years, the percentage of adults with diabetes increased 10 percent from 8.4 percent to 9.2 percent.

• 21st: Percentage of adults who are smokers (self-report smoking at least 100 cigarettes in their lifetime and currently smoke).

• 23rd: Public health funding.

• 27th: Percentage of adults who are obese.

• 44th: Percentage of adults who self-report drinking alcoholic beverages on at least one occasion in the last month. Women four or more drinks at one sitting; men - five or more drinks at one sitting.

America’s Health Rankings is the longest-running report of its kind. It provides analysis of national health on a state-bystate basis by evaluating a historical and comprehensive set of health, environmental, and socioeconomic data to determine national health benchmarks and state rankings.

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

McKnight has built an award-winning career helping viewers

By Jeff Reinhardt New Horizons Editor

F

or local scam artists, the following may be the seven words they’d least like to hear during the course of their day.

“Mike McKnight is here to see you.”

That’s because since 1991, McKnight has been an award-winning investigative reporter for Omaha’s WOWT working to help consumers who have been victimized by scammers ranging from fraudulent sweepstakes operators to unethical roofing contractors and almost everything in between.

McKnight is proud to have found a special niche on the local television news scene assisting viewers who have been ripped off. “Especially when I see tears in their eyes when they lose their life savings and I know it could have been prevented,” he said.

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1976 University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate, McKnight joined Channel 6 in January 1977 as a reporter. Today, in addition to his FactFinders consumer-oriented reports, the 62-year-old Lincoln native is also a photographer and a one-man “backpack journalist” writing, editing, and filming general news stories for NBC’s Omaha affiliate.

From 1980 through 1990, McKnight was WOWT’s state bureau chief in Lincoln covering state government, the Nebraska legislature, and other news stories in the capital city.

“One day I might have interviewed the governor in the morning and covered a grain elevator explosion in the afternoon,” he said. “I slept with a police scanner on and was ready to go 24 hours a day.”

Mike returned to Omaha in 1991 and soon found himself doing numerous stories about fraud and scam victims. Those features eventually grew into what became McKnight’s popular Six on Your Side reports. These segments were recently renamed FactFinders at Channel 6.

He sees his role as warning people about potential scams and protecting them from becoming “self-inflicted victims.”

In that capacity, Mike, his camera, pen, and notebook frequently come face to face with the scam artists who respond to McKnight’s inquiries in a variety of ways.

“Some try to blame the consumer, others threaten me with legal action,” he said. “Anything to try to throw me off the scent.”

Over the years, McKnight has been successful in helping to resolve hundreds of consumer issues in part because he’s gained a reputation for being fair to both sides during a dispute.

“If I can get someone’s money back or the work done for them, I feel like I’ve accomplished something,” he said.

D

uring his 38 years at WOWT, McKnight has covered hundreds of major stories.

That list includes the 1977 Platte River floods, tornadoes, the Franklin Credit Union scandal, and trips to Central America with the Nebraska National Guard and to Saudi Arabia with the United States Air Force’s 55th Reconnaissance Unit from Offutt Air Force Base.

Perhaps Mike’s most memorable story came in 1994 when he was selected as the electronic media’s representative at the Harold LaMont “Walkin’ Willie” Otey execution.

Otey – who had been convicted 17 years earlier of the rape and murder of Jane McManus in Omaha – was the first person executed in the electric chair by the state since Charles Starkweather in 1959.

“It was my job to tell people what happened, and then it was up to them to decide if the death penalty was a proper punishment,” McKnight

Mike has been able to help resolve hundreds of consumer issues over the years in part because of his reputation for being fair to both sides during a dispute. said.

More than 20 years later, he remembers the scene vividly – particularly making eye contact with Otey. Mike, however, said he’s never had any nightmares resulting from that day at the Nebraska State Penitentiary.

M

cKnight’s journalistic efforts have earned him several awards including the Radio Television News Director Regional award twice, Nebraska News Photographer of the Year, alumni recognition from UN-L and Lincoln Northeast High School, and the Omaha Press Club’s Excellence in Journalism

February 2015

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prize.

Most recently, he received the Associated Press’ Regional Award in 2013 for his work helping consumers who became fraud victims while having repairs made to their roofs following a major hailstorm.

While the awards are appreciated, Mike said he takes them with a grain of salt. “My real reward is if I get someone’s money back and they say ‘thank you.’”

When not working, McKnight enjoys playing tennis and softball and spending time with his family. Mike and Carla, his wife since 1987, have two sons, Eric, age 23, and Brent, age 17.

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Dora Bingel Senior Center events You’re invited to visit the Dora Bingel Senior Center, 923 N. 38th St., this month for the following: • Feb. 2, 9, 16, & 23: Al-Anon meeting @ 7 p.m.

• Feb. 3, 10, 17, & 24: Grief support group meeting @ 10 a.m.

• Feb. 4, 6, 11, 13, 18, 20, 25, & 27: Ceramics at 9 a.m.

• Feb. 4: Holy Communion.

• Feb. 18: Music by the Links sponsored by the Merrymakers @ 11:30 a.m. The cost is $3.

• Feb. 25: Birthday party luncheon @ noon. Eat free if you have a February birthday.

• Feb. 27: Hard of hearing support group meeting @ 10:30 a.m.

Lunch is served on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

A $1 donation is suggested for the meals other than $3 on Merrymakers Day. Round-trip transportation is available for $3.

Reservations are required 24 hours in advance for all meals.

Other activities offered at the facility include: Tuesday: Free matinee @ 12:30 p.m. Wednesday: Bridge @ 10 a.m., Devotions @ 10:30 a.m., and Bingo @ 12:30 p.m. Friday: Joy Club Devotions @ 9:30 a.m., Tai Chi @ 11 a.m., and Bingo @ 1 p.m.

For more information, please call 402-898-5854.

Millard Senior Center events You're invited to visit the Millard Senior Center at Montclair, 2304 S. 135th Ave., for the following: • Feb. 11: We’ll be making dresses for the girls in Africa.

We’ll supply the materials and the sewing machines.

• Feb. 26: Music by the Mission Belle Singers @ 11 a.m.

On quilting day (Thursdays @ 9 a.m.) we’ll be learning new blocks.

The Millard Senior Center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30. A $3.50 donation (free on your birthday) is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the lunch you wish to enjoy.

Center activities include a walking club @ 8 a.m. (join and get a free t-shirt), Tai Chi class (Mondays and Fridays from 10 to 10:45 a.m. for a $1 suggested donation), chair volleyball (Tuesdays and Thursdays @ 10 a.m.), quilting (Thursdays @ 9 a.m.), card games, and Bingo (Tuesdays and Fridays @ noon). During Bingo, we have baked goodies from Baker’s or Panera we give away as prizes.

For meal reservations and more information, please call Susan at 402-546-1270.

PARKSIDE

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Independent apartment living for persons age 55+ • Spacious 1 & 2 bedroom apartment homes • Elevator • Washer/dryer in every apartment • Garage included in rent • Beautifully landscaped grounds • Within walking distance of Ralston Park

PARKSIDE

An ounce of prevention...

--Continued from page 4.

• Walk or drive yourself home. Don’t let your date walk you or drive you home. While this may be seen as chivalrous, you’re also compromising your safety. Until you’ve met publicly and can trust this person, never reveal your home address. Once you provide your address, you can’t take it back.

• Keep alcohol to a minimum. Alcohol can lower your inhibitions. When going a date with a stranger, you need to keep your faculties about you. It’s OK to have a glass of wine or a small drink, but know your limits.

• Know the red flags.

Sadly, people aren’t always

Ways to avoid getting influenza, how to lessen the flu’s severity

By Mark Kresl The 2014-2015 flu season is well underway. Have you had your flu shot this season? Is it too late to get a flu shot? What can you do if you catch the flu virus?

These are just a few of the questions we ask this time of year. These questions are of greater importance if you are over age 65.

People over age 65 are particularly susceptible to complications from the flu virus and need to be much more vigilant in protecting themselves.

The best way to avoid the flu is to get a flu shot at the beginning of the influenza season. If you have not gotten your shot yet, there’s still time to get a vaccination. There are two different flu shots available for those over age 65. You can get the regular dose or get a stronger dose specifically designed for people over age 65.

A recent study in The Netherlands showed during regional or widespread seasonal flu activity, older adults who received flu shots were 28 to 58 percent less likely than others to test positive for a flu infection.

Additionally, a two-year study involving close to 32,000 volunteers at more than 100

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Call today to view your new home in the park!

7775 Park Drive • Ralston, Nebraska

402-339-9080

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what they seem. Many dating sites are also targeted by scammers and people trying to take advantage of you. Stay away from the following: • Anyone asking for money. Many scammers will tell a tale of being down on their luck or needing money to help support a child. Don’t fall prey to these scams.

• Anyone offering to give you money, including the get rich quick scheme or those that promise a portion of riches if you help them.

• Anyone pressuring you or those that seem threatening in nature. Report these people to the online dating service immediately. Most services can block user names or keep someone from communicating with you.

• Anyone vowing his or her undying love the first couple of times you communicate. While love at first site may have happened for some, it’s unlikely a person you’ve never met and hardly communicated with can be your soul mate right away.

While the dating process has changed and more people are meeting their Valentines online, safety should still be a priority.

For more information on this or any other crime prevention topic, contact the OPD’s Crime Prevention Unit at 402-444-5772 or Sgt. Payne at erin.payne@cityofomaha.org

February 2015

sites has showed a high-dose flu vaccine intended for older adults offers significantly more protection in that age group than the standard-dose vaccine, according to a New England Journal of Medicine.

It takes about two weeks for the full effects of the shot to take hold. The flu shot doesn’t guarantee you won’t catch the flu, but it will reduce your chances of getting influenza.

The second thing you should do to avoid the flu is to practice good health habits.

Cover your face when you cough. Wash your hands often and avoid people who are sick.

If you get the flu, there are things you can do to lessen the severity of the symptoms.

If you start to develop symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue, see your doctor right away. Your doctor may be able to prescribe an antiviral that can both shorten the duration of the flu and lessen the severity of the symptoms.

It’s flu season. Be responsible for your own well-being and take all precautions to insure you have a healthy and happy 2015.

(Kresl is with Midwest Geriatrics, Inc. in Omaha.)

Read it & eat

By Lois Friedman readitandeat@yahoo.com

Celebrate February with these recipes February is the month of holidays and celebrations. Be inspired to try a recipe or two from these cookbooks for one of your favorite events this month.

Pie School

By Kate Lebo (Sasquatch, $24.95) A featured speaker/author at the annual Omaha Library Read It and Eat Culinary Conference last November, Lebo taught and discussed her cookbook and the how-tos of homemade fruit pie making and techniques. This book features 50 sweet recipes including flaky crust.

The Big Book of Pies & Tarts Edited From Betty Crocker (Houghton Mifflin, $19.99) More than 200 sweet and savory recipes and tips including more than two dozen chocolate recipes for your sweetheart for pies and tarts for every occasion with Betty Crocker’s seal of approval.

Pretzel Making at Home

By Andrea Stonecker (Chronicle, $16.95) Everything you wanted to know about making sweet and savory artisan pretzels at home including the shape, fill, top and dip’em, too. Forty recipes to choose from.

Polish Classic Desserts

By Laura & Peter Zeranski (Pelican, $16.95) “Sweets that define the Polish palate.” Mazurkas, Babas, Tortes. and more. Enjoy the rich heritage of these desserts.

I Love Cinnamon Rolls!

By Judith Fertig (AndrewsMcMeel, $19.99) Mix and match eight easy, no knead, and bread machine dough recipes with fillings and glazes. Fifty recipes for ooey, gooey cinnamon rolls!

Spiked Desserts From Fox Chapel Publishing ($14.95) Seventy-five booze-infushed drink inspired dessert recipes for cakes and treats, shot-sicles, and other frozen treats.

Try this to celebrate February:

Cherry Vodka Granita Serves 4

1 (12 oz.) pckage frozen sweet cherries 3/4 cup of sugar 1 Tablespoon lemon juice 1 Tablespoon vodka 1/4 teaspoon cherry flavoring, or more to taste In medium saucepan over medium heat, bring cherries and 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, mashing occasionally to crush the cherries. Reduce heat to low, cover loosely, and simmer for 30 minutes or until cherries are soft and juice has reduced by a third.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over medium heat, mix sugar and 1 1/2 cups water. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes; cool. Strain cherry mixture into a bowl, discarding solids. Add sugar mixture to cherry juice and stir in lemon juice; pour into a shallow pan. Freeze several hours, scraping mixture occasionally with a fork. Stir in vodka and cherry flavoring. Refreeze until solid. Scrape with a fork and scoop into bowls. Serve immediately.

The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging has been serving older adults in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties for more than 40 years.

EWG working to educate consumers about the dangers of food additives

T

he Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit dedicated to protecting human health and the environment through research, education, and advocacy, launched its Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives in November 2014 to educate consumers about which food additives are associated with health concerns, which are restricted in other countries, and/ or which food additives shouldn’t be in our foods to begin with.

The EWG hopes the new guide will help consumers avoid unhealthy foods and also influence policymakers to develop more stringent rules for food producers moving forward.

According to the EWG, more than 10,000 food additives are approved for use in the U.S. despite potential health implications.

Some are “direct additives” deliberately formulated into processed food; others are “indirect,” that is, finding their way into food during processing, storage, or packaging. Either way, some have been linked to endocrine disruption, heart disease, cancer, and a wide range of other health issues.

Topping the EWG’s list are nitrates and nitrites, both typically added to cured meats (like bacon, salami, sausages, and hot dogs) to prolong shelf-life and prevent discoloration. “Nitrites, which can form from nitrates, react with naturally occurring components of protein called amines,” reads the EWG report. “This reaction can form nitrosamines, which are known cancer-causing compounds.” The group reports links between nitrite and nitrate consumption and cancers of the stomach, esophagus, brai, and thyroid.

The World Health Organization considers nitrites and nitrates to be probable human

Do

you

carcinogens. California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is considering a similar designation. Interestingly, some nutritious foods like spinach and other leafy vegetables contain nitrates naturally, but the EWG says “human studies on nitrate intake from vegetables have found either no association with stomach cancer or a decreased risk.”

Another troubling but nevertheless common food additive is potassium bromate, used to strengthen bread and cracker dough and help such items rise during baking.

But potassium bromate is listed as a known human carcinogen by the state of California and a possible human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Animal studies have shown regular exposure to potassium bromate can cause a variety of tumors, is toxic to the kidneys, and can even cause permanent DNA damage.

Most of the potassium bromate added to foods converts to non-carcinogenic potassium bromide during the process of baking, but small but still significant unconverted amounts can remain, putting eaters everywhere at risk. The EWG would like to see the U.S. government follow Canada’s and the European Union’s lead in banning the use of potassium bromate in foods altogether.

Many artificial colors can also cause health issues, reports the EWG, as can thousands of “secret flavor ingredients” that food makers add to foods without oversight in the name of protecting trade secrets.

(EarthTalk is written and edited by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss and is a registered trademark of E - The Environmental Magazine.)

?

have questions

about aging

services

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

Log on to

enoa.org

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

Bath aides Care management Chore services Community education Durable medical equipment Emergency food pantry Emergencyresponsesystems 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

February 2015

•

• • • • • •

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

New Horizons

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Page 7

Call 402-398-9568 for more information

AARP’s Tax Aide program needs volunteers

A

ARP Foundation Tax-Aide volunteers provide free income tax service, primarily for low to middle income taxpayers age 60 and older who are in need of tax help.

However, no one is turned away from the tax counseling program because of income or age. In fact, many young and middleaged clients and even some students receive Tax-Aide service.

The Tax-Aide program in the Omaha area has 10 sites, seven in Douglas County and three in Sarpy County. Representatives also make visits to assist clients in nine senior living facilities.

To maintain and hopefully improve service, the local program needs more volunteers; especially tax preparers who work directly with taxpayers to complete individual tax returns. Prior tax or accounting experience is preferred but not required. In fact, most volunteer preparers began with no more experience than completing their own tax forms. AARP membership is not required either.

Training for new and returning volunteers begins very soon and will include instruction in tax law, completion of tax forms, and the software needed to complete a return.

To volunteer with AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, go to aarp.org/taxaide.

You can e-mail questions to omaha.taxaide@gmail.com or call 402-398-9568.

Alzheimer’s class The Alzheimer’s Association is sponsoring a free Caregiver 101 education session in February.

The class will be held at the Visiting Nurse Association, 12565 W. Center Rd., Suite 100.

Here’s the schedule: • Thursday, Feb. 19 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.: Legal and Financial Planning for Alzheimer’s disease.

For more information, please call Elizabeth at 402-502-4301 or e-mail her at echentland@alz. org.

RSVP Retired and Senior Volunteer Program The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is recruiting persons age 55 and older for a variety of opportunities. For more information in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties, please call 402-444-6536, ext. 224.

In Dodge and Washington counties, please call 402721-7780.

The following have volunteer opportunities in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties: • The Disabled American Veterans need volunteer drivers.

• The American Cancer Society is looking for volunteers to assist walk in guests and for other duties.

• The Douglas County Health Center wants volunteers for a variety of assignments.

• Bergan Mercy Medical Center is looking for volunteers to help in several areas.

• Rebuilding Together wants volunteers to work on home projects.

• The Omaha Convention & Visitors Bureau is looking for volunteers for a variety of duties.

• Mount View Elementary School is looking for a TeamMates mentor.

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

• The Fremont Friendship Center wants volunteers to facilitate classes.

• The Danish American Archive Library needs volunteers to help with its archives.

• The American Red Cross (Dodge County chapter) is looking for volunteers for a variety of duties.

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New Horizons

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February 2015

Alzheimer’s support groups available in Dodge, Douglas, Sarpy counties The Alzheimer’s Association Nebraska Chapter offers several caregiver support groups and specialty support groups each month in Dodge, Douglas, and Sarpy counties. These support groups offer valuable space and educational opportunities for families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia to engage and learn. Please call Elizabeth at 402-502-4301 for more information.

DODGE COUNTY • FREMONT Last Wednesday @ 2 p.m.

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

Shalimar Gardens 749 E. 29th St. DOUGLAS COUNTY • BENNINGTON Last Thursday @ 6 p.m.

Ridgewood Active Retirement Community 12301 N. 149th Cr. • ELKHORN Third Monday @ 6 p.m.

Elk Ridge Village Assisted Living 19400 Elk Ridge Dr. • OMAHA Second Thursday @ 10 a.m.

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

Every other Monday @ 7 p.m.

Brighton Gardens 9220 Western Ave. Third Wednesday @ 3 p.m.

Fountain View Senior Living 5710 S 108th St. First & third Monday @ 1:30 p.m.

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

• OMAHA Third Tuesday @ 5 p.m.

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

Heritage Pointe 16811 Burdette St.

Second Wednesday @ 5:30 p.m.

Espirit Whispering Ridge 17555 Emmet St. Third Saturday 10:30 a.m. to noon Younger Onset Support Group Methodist Hospital 8303 Dodge St. REGISTRATION REQUIRED First Thursday @ 6:30 p.m.

Early Stage Support Group Security National Bank 1120 S. 101st St. REGISTRATION REQUIRED Second or third Saturday @ 11 a.m.

Caring for Your Parents Teri @ 402-393-0434 for location • RALSTON

Making Medicare make sense Q: I don’t have health insurance, and I missed the deadline to have coverage starting Jan. 1. Can I still enroll and will I be penalized for missing part of the year?

A: Yes, you can still enroll. Open Enrollment in the Health Insurance Marketplace runs until Feb. 15, 2015, so there’s still time to get covered. If you do that, and if you keep your policy in force for the rest of 2015, you won’t have to pay a shared responsibility fee, even though you had a month or two without coverage.

You can do this by going to www.healthcare.gov or calling the Marketplace at 1-800-318-2596 any time.

Phone lines are open 24 hours every day. You can also find local help by going

to localhelp.healthcare.gov and entering your city, state, or zip code. Local unbiased assistors, trained on the Health Insurance Marketplace are available to help you shop, compare, and enroll.

Q: I already have health insurance coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace which automatically renewed, but the premium went up. Can I still shop for a better deal?

A: You can still change plans before Feb. 15, and the change will be effective March 1. Many people will find shopping in the Health Insurance Marketplace can really pay off.

More than 70 percent of those already enrolled can find a lower premium plan at the same metal level before tax credits than they have now. Many consumers are finding plans after tax credits for $100 a month or less. In addition, going back into the marketplace will help assure you of getting all the tax credits for which you are eligible.

If your allowed tax credit went up on 2015, but you automatically renewed, you could be missing out on lower upfront costs for your policy. On the other hand, if your allowed credits went down, you need to know that now, so you won’t have to repay the excess when you file your taxes next year.

For more information, call 1-800-318-2596, 24 hours a day except for the major holidays.

Third Monday @ 9:30 a.m.

Ralston Senior Center 7301 Q St. • Suite 100 SARPY COUNTY • BELLEVUE Third Monday @ 7 p.m.

Bellevue Senior Center 109 W. 22nd Ave. First Wednesday @ 1 p.m.

Eastern Nebraska Vets Home 12505 S. 40th St. Fourth Thursday @ 6 p.m.

Hillcrest Health Services 1804 Hillcrest Dr. Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m.

Heritage Ridge 1502 Fort Crook Rd. South

Someday this button might save your life. For now, it sets you free.

With Lifeline by Immanuel, you can enjoy an independent lifestyle in your own home—knowing that you can get help if you ever need it. In a fall or emergency, every second counts. Lifeline by Immanuel with AutoAlert is a medical alert pendent that can automatically call for help, even if you can’t push your button. Getting you connected to someone with access to your medical history, someone who can evaluate your situation and immediately send help. To learn more about the security and peace of mind provided

by Lifeline, call (402) 829-3277 or toll-free at (800) 676-9449.

www.immanuellifeline.com

February 2015

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New Horizons

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Page 9

Mangelsen’s traveled far and wide, but always returns home

Photo by Thomas D. Mangelsen

‘Catch of the Day’ from Alaska’s Katmai National Park.

By Leo Adam Biga Contributing Writer

T

homas Mangelsen had no inkling his youthful forays along the Platte River’s sandbars and shores would be the foundation for a world-class nature photography and conservation career.

He didn’t even take pictures growing up in the 1950s and into the 1960s. That calling didn’t come until later. Without knowing it though his Huck Finn-like boyhood spent closely observing the natural world around him was the perfect preparation for what became his life’s work.

Thomas’ retailer father Harold Mangelsen, founder of the family crafts store now run by Tom’s brother, David, was an avid hunter who championed Platte River Basin conservation before environmental stands were popular. The Mangelsens made good use of a family cabin on the river. There, Tom gained a deep appreciation for the wild, an ardor imbued in the painterly images he makes of species and ecosystems.

All are available as framed prints at his nationwide Images of Nature galleries. Then there are his photo books, including his latest, The Last Great Wild Places. Tom’s work sometimes accompanies articles in leading magazines, too. Best known for his stills, he’s also shot nature films.

From his Jackson Hole, Wyo. residence Mangelsen travels widely, shooting on all seven continents.

He returns to Nebraska regularly to visit family and friends. Every March he’s back for the great crane migration, often in the company of star anthropologist Jane Goodall, a board member of the nonprofit Cougar Fund Tom co-founded to protect wild cougars.

He’s won national and international recognition for his work and brought wide attention to the annual crane migration, the importance of the Platte River, and endangered animal populations.

None of it may have happened were it not for an outdoorsy, rite-of-

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passage, coming-of-age that gave Mangelsen a reverence for nature.

That, in concert with an abiding curiosity, a restless spirit, and a good eye, are the requisite qualities for being a top wildlife photographer.

Tom’s earliest memories are of the meandering Platte’s well-worn life rhythms. Mangelsen largely grew up in Grand Island where he was born. The family moved to Ogallala, where his father opened his first store, before moving back to Grand Island, and finally to Omaha when Tom was 15. Wherever he lived, Tom spent most of every summer on the Platte. When not hunting waterfowl, there were decoys to be set and tangles of driftwood to be dislodged. Primarily, though, it was sitting still in anticipation of a good shot.

“That’s all we did all summer,” says Mangelsen, who received a .410 shotgun at age 6 or 7.

On hunts his father bemoaned the low river levels resulting from diversions of water to irrigate farms and to feed city water supplies.

“He felt there should be some water left over for the wildlife,” Tom says.

At times water management policies left the Platte River dry.

“It went in 50 years from a lot of water to like 15 percent of what it used to be. It’s probably still only 20 percent now from its historical flows,” Mangelsen says. “My dad was very much into that. He testified (and) he wrote letters. So in that sense he was the first conservationist I knew. He taught me all the ethics of hunting – don’t shoot stuff you can’t kill or don’t have a good chance of killing. He taught me how to call, too.”

Coached by his father, Mangelsen twice won the world’s goose calling championship.

Under their father’s tutelage Tom and his brothers learned to make their own decoys, painting them every year.

Tom wanted to know about sustainability before it had a name.

“When I wasn’t asking questions I saw what worked and what didn’t,” he says of dam releases and other efforts to regulate river flow

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Photo by Thomas D. Mangelsen

‘A Light in the Forest’ in India’s Bandhavgarh National Park. and to balance the ecosystem.

Watching and waiting became engrained virtues.

“Basically we’d sit there for a week without seeing a flock of geese. That’s just what you did.

The challenge was waiting and then when you had the opportunity maximize that by calls, (and) by setting decoys. We changed decoy sets five or six times a day depending on the wind and my dad’s moods or boredom. We’d see pheasants, hawks, eagles, and lots of other birds. I’d watch through my binoculars because I was curious. So I fell in love with birds, and not just a few.”

M

angelsen eventually discovered what skills make a good hunter also make a good photographer.

“In reality I traded in my guns for a camera. It’s all the same process, except I don’t have to pick ‘em and I don’t have to clean ’em and I can shoot ’em again. It’s like catch and release.”

Both disciplines depend upon patience.

“Well, that’s my biggest asset.

I didn’t know any better because that’s how we grew up. I don’t mind sitting in a blind for days.

I’m entertained just by watching things. People ask, ‘What do you do – read?’ Well, you can’t read if you’re in a blind. If you are, you’re not watching. If you’re not watching you don’t see something, and if you don’t see something you’re not going to photograph it. So you sit there and you wait and you look.

“But I’m also a very keen observer. From a photographic standpoint you have to anticipate where an animal might be (and) what it might do. Is it going to go here or there? Is it going to go by its mate? Is it going to sit on the eggs, and if so, how long will it be there? If it comes flying in will the best cottonwood be in the background.”

Tom might never have picked up a camera. Like his brothers he worked in the family’s Omaha store. To please his dad he majored in business administration at thenOmaha University. Preferring a smaller school, he transferred to

February 2015

Doane College in Crete after two years.

“It was probably the best thing I did,” Mangelsen says.

He changed majors from business to biology, with designs on a premed regimen, until finally settling on wildlife biology.

After graduating from Doane an important figure came into Tom’s life to encourage his new path.

“To continue my graduate studies in wildlife and zoology I went down to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to see Paul Johnsgard.

Even at that time at age 39 he was considered the world’s authority on waterfowl. I was intrigued by his background. He’s a duck carver, a sketcher, a photographer, a writer, and a teacher.”

But Mangelsen first had to convince Johnsgard to take him on, which required a leap of faith since this would-be protégé was no academic star. With the military draft hanging over his head, Mangelsen needed Johnsgard to overlook his deficiencies before Uncle Sam called.

“It was 1969 and the height of the Vietnam War. I asked Paul if he would be interested in being my advisor in graduate school. I showed him my transcripts and he said, ‘These are really not up to snuff.’

He always took straight A students and only took five students a year.

I said. ‘Well, I won the world’s goose calling championship twice and I have a cabin on the Platte, and could you maybe make an exception.’”

Johnsgard did, vouching for Tom to the dean of students. “I think he was mostly trying to stay out of the service,” Johnsgard quips about Mangelsen. The student didn’t let the teacher down.

“Paul told me, ‘you may have been one of my worst students but you probably did the best of all.’

So in the end it worked out,” Mangelsen says.

Johnsgard soon recognized familiar qualities in his student.

“What I saw in him was mostly myself. He was a hunter and although by then I had long since --Please turn to page 11.

Love of waterfowl heightened an interest in wildlife photography

Photo by Thomas D. Mangelsen

A broad-tailed hummingbird enjoys ‘A Summer Affair’ in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park. ing with Tom, especially in those early years when he was still lost in the woods, Photo by Thomas D. Mangelsen if you will,” says Johnsgard, who knows Mangelsen’s ‘Shades of Sapphire’ from Serengeti National Park in Tanzania. career has been no overnight --Continued from page 10. watching birds and he gave Johnsgard says Mansuccess story but rather a given up hunting, I went me a respect for the watergelsen’s talent was apparent slow steady climb. Once through a short period of fowl. The more I learned from the start. “Tom was opportunity knocked, Manloving duck hunting and that the more I got interested very good. He had very gelsen was prepared. got me to love ducks. And in being a photographer,” good eyesight and hand-eye By the time Tom heeded I think Tom already had Mangelsen says. coordination in terms of fo- a long-held desire to live in begun to stray well away “I didn’t have any plans cusing on birds moving very the high country of Colofrom hunting as a passion to other than doing it for a rapidly. When we compared rado he’d “found a differbe much more interested in hobby. Then I started a pictures his were usually ent calling” than the family photography. darkroom in the basement of better than mine. He had business though he concedes “I set him to work on a my family’s home in Westgreat ability and it might those retail roots taught him little duck counting project gate (the Omaha neighborhave been a carryover from how to sell his work. but it mostly became lessons hood near the family’s retail his hunting skills.”

The mountains had in photography and having a store). I processed my film beckoned from the time his grand time.” and I made prints. All black everal kindred spirits family took trips to Estes At Johnsgard’s direction and white. Then I switched shaped Mangelsen.

Park. Then as a young man Mangelsen bought his first to color because it’s more “There were all these amid the counterculture camera, a Pentax, and first conducive to shooting wood interesting people I kept movement, with peers joinlens, a 400-millimeter. ducks and mallards.” meeting along the way,” ing communes, Tom moved “Paul and I would meet Tom and his brother, says Tom who regards John- to Nederland, Colo. outside on weekends and we’d David, framed those early sgard as a second father. of Boulder to live in an old photograph ducks, geese, prints. 0They banged away These men bound by shared one-room schoolhouse. He and cranes, mostly birds in late at night in the garage of interests still get together on mastered photography and flight, and I got hooked on the family home until their the Platte almost every year. continued his education it,” Tom says. father banished them to a “There’s always been a there.

The bond between master spare warehouse. kind of parental sense deal“I was still taking some and pupil was forged during those times.

Johnsgard says the Mangelsen family’s hunting blinds “proved to be perfect photographic blinds,” adding, “I long wanted to spend time on the Platte photographing and this was a perfect chance, so we both got something out of the deal and we became very close friends.”

Photography was all manual focus, settings, and exposures then. Johnsgard helped teach Mangelsen the ropes.

“He told me, ‘you focus in the eye and you shoot at five-hundredths of a second.

That will stop the wings,” Mangelsen recalls.

That advice and a Nikon workshop were Tom’s only formal training. What Johnsgard provided was more valuable than any camera lessons.

“Paul turned me onto

S

February 2015

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courses – like arctic alpine ecology – from the University of Colorado. At one of the classes this educational filmmaker Bert Kempers, was doing a dog-and-pony slide show. The teacher knew I was interested in photography and introduced me to him after the class.

Bert invited me to come have a beer and a burger with him and asked me if I was interested in work. I said ‘sure.’

“I told him I’d never used a movie camera and he said, ‘If you can shoot stills, you can shoot movies,’ which isn’t necessarily true because they’re quite different mindsets. But I didn’t know any better, so he taught me how to use a movie camera.

“We had an old Bell & Howell with the three-turret lens. Then we moved up to a Bolex and then to an Arriflex. We were doing educational biology films for the University of Colo--Please turn to page 12.

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Page 11

Tom: Crane migration to Platte matches any natural phenomenon

Mangelsen – who opened his first gallery in Wyoming in 1978 – also has galleries in Colorado, Utah, Illinois, California, and at 1115 Harney St. in Omaha.

--Continued from page 11. rado. Our advisor there, Roy Gromme, had a famous father, the nature painter and conservationist Owen Gromme.”

Mangelsen later met and was befriended by the elder Gromme.

“Owen was one of the first men making limited edition prints of his paintings, so I thought, well, why couldn’t I make limited edition prints of photographs? I was stupid and naive at the time and thank God I was because that’s how I started selling the prints.”

Mangelsen opened his first gallery in Jackson Hole in 1978.

Not only did Gromme show Tom a way to market his work, he modeled a fierce commitment to bio-diversity reinforced by others he met, including Jane Goodall and Mardy Murie Didl, widely considered the grandmother of conservation.

Mangelsen also found inspiration in the work of such great photographers as Ansel Adams, Eliot Porter, Ernst Haas, Edward Weston, Minor White, Paul Strand, and Dorothea Lange. He and fellow Nebraskanative nature photographer Michael Forsberg are good friends. Nature painters like Robert Bateman are influences, too.

Learning filmmaking from Kempers paid huge dividends.

“I did most of the camerawork and Burt wrote, edited, and put the films together. That was a great experience. For five years I made films. Out of that grew other films down the road,” Tom says.

Among these later films was Cranes of the Grey Wind about the birds’ reliance on the Platte River

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habitat.

“My whole deal with that was to do something about the Platte River, which was running dry. I wanted to show people, mostly in Nebraska, that we have a resource here that’s vital to the whooping crane migration – a natural phenomenon so incredible that it matches any in the world.”

This was Mangelsen’s chance to combine his talent for photography, his passion for the river, and his interest in seeing its ecosystem valued and protected. The fact he could shed light on something so dear was irresistible. He didn’t want to see past mistakes repeated.

“The Platte literally went dry when I was a kid because they sucked so much water out of it for irrigation and for cities like Denver. They were putting more and more dams up. My brother, Billy, and I would go down to the river to see how deep the water was and sometimes couldn’t even find it.

Then when the water came in the fall when the irrigation season was over it would trickle down from (Lake) McConaughy and Johnson Reservoir. People would call us and say, ‘The water’s coming, the water’s coming,’ and we’d wait for it. That’s the truth.

“It was a shrinking river with shrinking channels. It was becoming woodland not that useful for ducks, geese, and cranes. That’s changed quite a bit now. There have been lawsuits over the dams and things.

They have to keep a certain amount of water in the river now. Thank God for the whooping cranes or it probably never would have hap-

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pened.”

Tom made Cranes of the Grey Wind for the Whooping Crane Trust. His mentor Johnsgard wrote the script and a companion book.

Johnsgard also turned Mangelsen onto Jackson Hole.

“We had spent time in greater Yellowstone,” Mangelsen says. “He introduced me to that area. I fell in love with Jackson Hole because of that trip I made with him when I was his assistant in the field.”

Johnsgard was doing field work in the Tetons when Mangelsen wheeled in via a jeep. After a week there Mangelsen was sold.

The two men long talked about doing a book together but it wasn’t until last year they finally released Yellowstone Wildlife. They’re now working on a new book about the cranes of the world.

Mangelsen’s interest in cranes led him on a kind of pilgrimage that helped generate more projects.

“I wanted to see where the cranes lived in the summer. I wanted to see where they nested in Alaska, where they wintered in Texas off the coasts, and all the migration stops along the way.”

National Geographic got wind of this intrepid photographer following the cranes’ migration patterns and they commissioned him for a project that led to a PBS Nature film among other projects. His reputation made, Tom’s books became best sellers and more people started collecting his prints. He opened more galleries to keep up with the demand.

Even though he’s gained fame few photographers ever attain, the values, principles, and rituals of Mangelsen’s work remain immutable.

“You photograph birds in the spring when they’re breeding because that’s when they’re most colorful. You photograph mammals in the fall when they have their antlers and their best color.”

Tom works in all kinds of weather and even prefers when it’s not a picture postcard day. “Blue skies and sunshine are boring to me,” he says.

Old Kodak film stock required “you put the sun at your back because the film was so slow it was sensitive to light. It’s all changed with higher speed films, and now of course with digital (cameras and photography).”

Catching the best light is a sport unto itself.

“They call it the golden hour, around sunrise and sunset. But you can also have wonderful light around storms and rain and fog, so there’s not one light I look for. But obviously the golden light, the early light or late light is classically the best light.”

Tom once made an image of a mountain lion during the last light of the day, the creature silhouetted against a black cave containing her den.

“That very direct light is really

February 2015

beautiful,” he says.

An elephant “against a black, windy, dusty African sky can be beautiful, too,” he says, as it was when he photographed one amid a rolling storm that shone “this golden light sideways across the plain.”

Another time Mangelsen captured a group of giraffes in the noon daylight but with a storm riding in to create a black sky.

“So there are millions of different kinds of light,” he says.

F

rom the start, Mangelsen’s viewed his hard work with an eye to education.

“I looked at all this as not collecting trophies as most photographers do early on, you know, shooting the biggest bucks, the biggest bull elk, the biggest rams, or whatever. Instead, I was trying to collect animals in their environment – showing how they live.”

His by now iconic image of a bear catching a sockeye salmon in its mouth – entitled Catch of the Day – has been so often reproduced he’s lost count. But that picture taken in 1988 at the head of Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park, Alaska and which adorned the cover of his first book, Images of Nature, would not have been possible if he didn’t intentionally look and wait for the right shot.

“It was a moment that hadn’t been recorded before,” he says.

“There’s thousands of pictures of bears at the falls. I’d seen them, (and) I’d gone there. I’d researched bear footage. I happened upon a book about the bears of Brook Falls and I saw a picture from a distance of fish jumping and I wondered if you could shoot that, just head and shoulders.”

To get this image Mangelsen’s now most identified with meant having a plan, then letting his instincts take over. It’s still his M.O. in the field today.

“Anticipation, pre-visualizing, (and) observation is a huge part of it,” he says.

For Catch of the Day Tom was 45 yards from the bear on a platform 10 feet off the river. From his homework he says he knew the bears positioned themselves at the top of the falls, “which is kind of the prime fishing spot,” where they practically call to the salmon, “come to me.”

He says the picture became a sensation because “it’s unique – nobody got that moment before.”

Some felt it was too good to be true – suggesting he’d manipulated or altered the image.

“It was shot in ’88, before (the computer program) Photoshop was invented,” says Mangelsen, who’s emphatic the picture was not enhanced in any way.

W

herever Tom is, no matter what he’s photographing, his interest is documenting animals as they actually behave --Please turn to page 13.

Photographer is critical of Nebraska’s cougar hunting season --Continued from page 12. in their natural habitats.

“That’s my goal,” says Mangelsen, who decries the short-cut method of shooting animals on game farms.

“These farms have everything from snow leopards to tigers to deer, bears, foxes, cougars; every animal imaginable. Well, snow leopards don’t live on this continent, but for a few hundred dollars in the morning and a hundred dollars more you can shoot a snow leopard and a raccoon in the morning, a cougar and a wolf in the afternoon, and a fox and a caribou the next day. By the time you’re done with the week and for a few thousand dollars you can have quite a collection.

“But baiting is used and the animals are half starved to death. There are electric fences around them so they don’t leave. They are released to perform for the camera and the rest of the time they live in cages the size of a coffee table, which is criminal.”

Mangelsen’s work in the wild has instilled in him a passion and activism.

“I’ve learned that all animals are really important, from the smallest to the largest, not just the bears, the wolves, and the cougars, but tiny animals. People may joke when certain things are put on the endangered species list – it might be a mouse or a small bird or a frog.

But we’ve learned that the disappearance of something as tiny and familiar as bees is a whole chain reaction.

“We need to recognize they’re all important and we shouldn’t take it for granted. We also need to recognize individuals within a species are important. We shouldn’t be killing wolves. There’s no good reason to shoot a wolf unless it’s threatening your livestock, your person, or your baby. Then you’re entitled to do something about it.”

Mangelsen says lawmakers tend to get their priorities mixed up.

“Nebraska’s a great example.

They started this stupid cougar season even though there are only 20 animals in the whole state.

The season’s based on a couple of legislators who think they saw a cougar moving across their pasture.

I dare say I’ve seen more cougars in downtown Boulder, where I lived, than anyone in Nebraska has in their entire life. They’re just part of the ecosystem there.”

In Colorado, Mangelsen says human encroachment on wilderness areas means foraging animals become part of the foothills experience. He says the answer’s not to kill displaced cougars but to coexist with them.

“Studies show it’s counterproductive to hunt things like cougars and wolves. Some people like to create fear of these hard carnivores.

Some Joe Blow who hasn’t done his homework thinks they’re going to save babies and create safe zones if they kill all the big guys that prey

on other animals. What they don’t realize is the big picture. They think they’re heroes somehow because they’re killing things with big teeth.

“It’s a Duck Dynasty kind of mentality.”

Mangelsen’s outraged by Nebraska’s recently enacted cougar hunting season.

“It’s unconscionable to basically have open season on this great animal that you have so few of in the whole state. There’s no reason to kill a cougar other than a real valid threat to humans and none of that’s occurred in Nebraska or in Wyoming. There’s no scientific reason.

It doesn’t create more deer, (and) it doesn’t make it safer. If you end up shooting the older, knowledgeable cougars which are still teaching

do it for meat.”

He disdains hunters who kill animals for trophies. “They’re totally insensitive to the fact these animals have a great place in the ecosystem.

Without them there are too many deer, they overgraze, then there are no rabbits and beavers. It’s a top down thing.”

Tom’s quick to criticize hunting and wildlife management abuses. “I took a picture that appeared in the Jackson Hole Daily of these hunters at Grand Teton National Park shooting elk off the road. There were no rangers on duty – they were all at a meeting that morning and the hunters knew it for some reason.

“National parks ought to be refuges for animals,” Mangelsen says.

The Cougar Fund tries to prevent

Mangelsen said humans are more likely to get hit by lightning than attacked by a cougar or a bear. their young how to hunt, then the young are the ones that go out there to become juvenile delinquents looking for food in people’s backyards.”

Tom says the public has largely unfounded fears of animals like cougars or bears attacking humans.

“You’d be much more likely to get hit by lightning. People don’t put that into perspective. They’re fearful of what they don’t know.”

Mangelsen supports well-informed hunting policies and practices. “I’m not against hunting if you do it ethically and cleanly and you

mishaps like this from happening.

“The biggest threat to cougars is sport hunting. About 3,500 cougars a year are killed. Seventy-five percent of those are females who are pregnant or have dependent young who will die without their mother.

That’s tragic.

“It’s criminal to be shooting an animal that has young dependents.

What our job to do is to educate people that cougars have a place and that killing cougars does not make it safer for people.”

Tom says the organization also monitors game and fish departments

February 2015

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“to hold their feet to the fire.”

or his book Spirit of the Rockies: The Mountain Lions of Jackson Hole, Mangelsen followed a mother cougar and her kittens for more than 40 days, detailing their precarious existence and overturning some myths along the way.

Tom’s travels around the world have put him on intimate terms with the challenges certain animals face on other continents.

F

“It’s unconscionable to basically have open season on this great animal that you have so few of in the whole state.”

“Africa’s in dire straits right now mostly because of the illegal trade in wildlife. Elephants are being slaughtered for their tusks and rhinos for their horns. They say one elephant is killed every 15 minutes.

“Rhino horn has absolutely no more value than your toenails or fingernails do. There’s absolutely nothing there for medicinal purposes or aphrodisiacs or any of that.

Ivory is just for ornamental purposes and as a status symbol.”

Tom’s appalled by this rampant destruction of species.

“It’s an amazing crime. People are trying to stop it. People need to stop buying the stuff. It’s not the poor villager who trades in it who’s the problem. I mean, he’s going to feed his family, that’s what comes first, and this is a lot easier than trying to eek out a living goat herding.

It’s the people buying it and then of course all the middlemen. Terrorist organizations are involved. Elephant ivory is considered valuable enough to be traded for guns, so not only are elephants being killed, so are people. I’m working potentially on a feature film on this issue.”

B

y now Mangelsen’s photographed just about everything that walks, runs, or flies – from elephants to elk and from penguins to peregrine falcons.

Two bucket list exceptions are wild snow leopards and pandas. He’s developed some favorites, especially polar bears, brown bears, and grizzly bears, and he hopes it isn’t too late for these creatures.

“They’re really intelligent, they’re beautiful to look at, and they’re at the top of the food chain.

They’re like wolves in that way.

Wolves are terribly persecuted for --Please turn to page 20.

New Horizons

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Page 13

Advice to help you avoid the vision problems winter weather can create

WHITMORE LAW OFFICE

W

Wills • Trusts • Probate

inter’s cold has settled in, and with it comes a wide range of vision problems – especially for individuals who wear glasses.

Having a prescription that addresses vision issues is critical, but equally important are the glasses you wear to correct those problems.

Without properly considering how certain lenses will perform as you go about your daily activities, you may encounter new vision challenges that are bothersome and sometimes even hazardous.

Activities as ordinary as entering warm to cold environments or simply experiencing the winter weather outside can fog up your lenses. Foggy glasses are more than a simple annoyance – they cause temporary blindness and can lead to truly dangerous situations.

Beyond the exposure to

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

cool winter temperatures, there are many other everyday situations during which fog can be annoying or even dangerous, such as: • Walking or running outdoors.

• Getting out of the shower or bath.

• Preparing food over the stove.

• Walking down the stairs.

• Playing sports or exercising.

You don’t have to avoid your daily activities to fend off fog from your lenses.

Here are three ways to minimize or avoid the fog this winter: • Dress less. While outdoors, be careful not to overdress unless temperatures are low. Wearing too many layers of clothing can cause your body to overheat and sweat more, creating fog on your lenses as your body heat rises.

• Talk to your eye doctor. Ask about lenses specially designed to protect

Phone network offers resource information

T

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

By dialing 211, consumers can access information about: • Human needs resources like food banks, shelters, rent and utility assistance, etc.

• Physical and mental health resources.

• Employment support.

• Support for older Americans and persons with a disability.

• Support for children and families.

• Volunteer opportunities and donations.

The 211 network is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

against fog, such as Optifog lenses, which have patented fog repellant properties on both the front and back side of the lens. Simply cleaning Optifog lenses with the Optifog Activator Cloth provides long-lasting protection against fog.

• Wear a headband.

When involved in physical activity, condensation can build up on your lenses.

Wear a headband to absorb any sweat produced by your body to potentially help reduce fog.

The problem of fog can be minimized or even eliminated by choosing lenses that are specially designed to correct common problems and can help your vision regardless of the season.

Learn more about how to protect your eyes and eyewear from fog and other annoyances at optifogusa. com.

(Family Features provided this information.)

Donate unwanted clothing to Sertoma Club project

M

embers of the Omaha Sertoma Club encourage area residents to collect used and unwanted clothing, shoes, hats, caps, belts, purses, bedding, and towels by cleaning out their closets and other places these items are stored.

These items can then be placed in bags and taken to and placed inside the donation bin at the Westside Community Center near 108th and Grover streets.

These tax-deductible donations will be recycled and sent to people overseas.

By helping with this effort, the Sertoma Club will receive funds for its programs that help people with hearing impairments.

For more information, please call 402218-1299 or log on the Internet to www. sertoma.org.

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New Horizons

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February 2015

Stan Lessmann 402-556-9079

slessmann1107@gmail.com

LED bulbs in Creighton blue

Scouts learn about older adults, aging services through Christmas gift donations, delivering meals for ENOA

Members of Girl Scout Cadette Troop 43895, their troop leaders, and the sister of one of the Girl Scout Cadettes, delivered meals for ENOA in December. They are (from left): Elaine Whetstine, Pam Krecek, Lauren Krecek, Carol Whetstine, and Helen Whetstine.

On a cold, windy New Year’s Eve morning, the two members of Girl Scout Cadette Troop 43895, their troop leaders, and a Senior Girl Scout gathered at the Valley Services kitchen – 6710 L St. – to observe the catering company’s operation.

After watching the Valley staff in action for a few minutes, Girl Scout Cadettes Elaine Whetstine, age 13, and Lauren Krecek, age 12, stepped up to the plate.

Elaine picked up a plastic cooler off the floor and placed it on a nearby table. Lauren then began reading aloud the information on a sheet of paper taped to the cooler to a Valley employee standing next to her.

“Seventeen regular (meals) and five diet (meals),” Lauren read as the Valley staffer filled the cooler with the right combination of hot meals.

Once that cooler was filled, Elaine closed the lid, and placed the cooler on a cart to her right. After the cart was stacked with red, white, and blue coolers, it was wheeled out into the Valley Services garage where the coolers were lifted and placed inside two Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging vans. The vans were then driven to two satellite locations where several Meals on Wheels drivers filled their vehicles with the meals they’d need to deliver their routes.

Meanwhile back at Valley Services, Elaine, Lauren, and the rest of their crew, placed three coolers and a brown paper bag filled with rolls and butter into a van parked on the south side of the brick building.

Once the meals were loaded into the van, Elaine and Lauren; their troop leaders (and mothers) Carol Whetstine and Pam Krecek; and Senior Girl Scout Helen Whetstine (Elaine’s sister and Carol’s daughter), age 16, headed out into the frigid conditions for

the second consecutive day to deliver meals for ENOA. The Meals on Wheels deliveries were the latest phase in a comprehensive effort to teach the Girl Scouts about older Nebraskans, ENOA, and the programs and services the agency offers.

“We also wanted the girls to learn about how they can serve older adults in their community,” Carol Whetstine said.

During the fall of 2014, working side by side with Active Older Adult members including the SilverSneakers® from the Southwest Omaha YMCA, the Girl Scout Cadettes adopted and purchased Christmas presents for 30 ENOA clients. Many of the older adults receiving gifts, live on a fixed income and/or were alone during the holiday season.

The Cadettes and eight members of the SilverSneakers® also wrapped the presents and delivered them to several of the recipients.

This is the second year for the collaborative Cadettes/SilverSneakers® Christmas gift project, according to Carol Whetstine, who is also a fitness instructor at the Y. As a result of all their hard work on behalf of ENOA and its clients, in May, Elaine and Lauren will receive the Girl Scout Silver Award, the highest service honor a Girl Scout Cadette can earn.

“I want to thank the Girl Scouts, their troop leaders, and the SilverSneakers® for everything they’ve done for the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging and our clients,” said Dennis Loose, ENOA’s executive director. “These types of intergenerational activities are vital as we strive to keep older adults living independently for as long as possible in their own homes.”

February 2015

Tips for staying warm

W

ith the arrival of dangerous winter weather, Home Instead Senior Care says now is the time for older adults and their loved ones to brush up on cold weather safety tips.

Men and women over age 65 account for nearly half of all hypothermia deaths. As the body ages, the ability to maintain a normal internal body temperature decreases, creating an insensitivity to moderately cold temperatures.

Older adults may not realize they are putting themselves at risk until symptoms appear.

Symptoms of hypothermia include shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, and drowsiness. If symptoms are present, immediate medical attention is necessary.

The leading reason for hypothermia among older adults is due to poorly heated homes, which may be preventable.

Follow these simple tips to ensure a warm household.

• Keep the thermostat at at least 65 degrees. Consistently check it to make sure your home is sufficiently warm. Even as heating costs rise, your safety should be a priority.

• Put a carbon monoxide detector near where you sleep.

• Ensure there is adequate insulation, and check and clean the fireplace and furnace. Furnace filters should be replaced monthly.

• Minimize drafts by filling old socks with sand and using them in drafty windowsills and door jams. Weatherstrip around windows and doors. Keep doors to unused rooms closed and close curtains at night.

• Add an extra blanket to the bed and warm the bed in advance with a hot water bottle. Never use an electric blanket – it may be difficult to operate the controls if the temperature needs to be adjusted.

• Dress in layers of loose fitting clothing. If you go outside, make sure your head is covered.

Every year, more than 1.6 million older adults end up in the emergency room because of a fall. Here are a few tips to help you avoid falls.

• Take a couple minutes per day and stretch your limbs in order to loosen muscles.

• Stay inside – make arrangements for someone to shovel and salt driveways and walkways.

• Wear shoes or boots with a non-skid sole.

• Have handrails installed on outside walls for frequently used walkways.

• If you use a cane or walker, check the rubber tips to make sure they are not worn smooth.

Winter weather can take a toll on everyone, especially older adults. Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) can occur in older men and women and impact their emotional health.

Some signs to watch for with SAD include a loss of energy, an increased appetite, and an enhanced feeling of lethargy and tiredness. If symptoms are present, talk to your medical provider about treatment options.

Additionally, winter storms can be unpredictable. It is important to be prepared in case of an emergency. Here are some guidelines to follow before, during, and after a winter storm.

• Stay in touch in with family, friends, and neighbors.

Schedule phone calls.

• Make arrangements for assistance in case of a blizzard or power outage. Keep important numbers in an emergency kit along with non-perishable foods, water, and medications.

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New Horizons

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Page 15

Thank you!

The men and women of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging want to thank the following churches, businesses, organizations, and individuals for their generosity during the 2014 Christmas season.

These community partners adopted hundreds of ENOA clients – many of who are on a limited income and/or were alone during the holidays – and purchased more than 1,000 gifts for them.

CHRISTMAS GIFT DONORS AGP Ag Processing

Home Instead Senior Care

Notre Dame Alumni Club of Omaha

Bill and Betsy Anderson

Hy-Vee

Outdoors Unlimited

Trudy Barber

Doug and Linda Ivory

Barb and Terry Parolek

Blue Barn Theatre

Cindy Jones

Scheels

Cadette Girl Scout Troop #43895

King of Kings Lutheran Church

St. Gerald’s Catholic Church

Camelot Friendship Center

Cindy Kirstine

Southgate Methodist Church

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

Kathy Kirstine

Southwest YMCA SilverSneakers

City of Omaha Finance Department

Lorey Kirstine

CORE Bank

Mainelli Mechanical Contractors

Covenant Presbyterian Church

Mutual of Omaha

Creighton University Department of Preventive Medicine

The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging would also like to thank the following SeniorHelp Program volunteers who delivered Christmas gifts to more than 400 ENOA clients in 48 zip codes.

Claire Anderson Kim Baird & family Park Blaine Becky Bonacci Mark Booker Shelly Broers Geoff Burt Mike Campie Rebekah Clausing Karen Costello Dominick DeLapia Delbert & Mary Cole Dwight Ellen, Ken, & family Bob Hautzinger Larry Heck Diane Heller Darien Henry Erik Henry Everett Henry Vikki Henry Jim Hubbard Sue Jones

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New Horizons

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Kari Jorth Debbie & Mike Kaipust Laura Kelly Mary Kelly Nancy Kelly & family Pam Krecek Jessica & Michael Krell Troy Lawrence Pam Lewis Arlene Logan Terry Meidlinger Page Moore Megan Nelson Tierra O’Neal Ashley Owens Keenan Page Dan Parish

February 2015

Carol Petersen John Phillips Margaret Ream Ned Schaeffer Marci Sesker Harnoor Singh Joe Siracusano Shannon Smithson Tiffany Spies John Thomas Katie Thompson Tom Welch Carol Whetstine Helen Whetstine Daniel Witt

Nebraska Senior Medicare Patrol can help consumers fight Medicare fraud

N

ebraska Senior Medicare Patrol, a Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services program that works to educate and empower older adults to help prevent health care fraud offers 10 tips to help you avoid Medicare scams.

• Don’t provide your Medicare number to anyone except your trusted health care provider.

• Ask friends and neighbors to pick up your mail while you’re away from home.

• Shred important documents before throwing them away.

• Read Medicare summary notices carefully looking for possible mistakes.

• Use a calendar or health care journal to record information from doctor visits.

• Compare your calendar or health care journal with your Medicare summary notices.

• Count your prescription pills. If the total is less than expected, go back and tell the pharmacist.

• Medicare Part D plans change annually.

• Don’t speak to anyone claiming to be a Medicare representative about Medicare.

• Medicare loses billions of dollars each year. It’s up to you to help fight fraud.

If you believe you may be a victim of Medicare fraud, please call the Nebraska Senior Medicare Patrol at 800-942-7830.

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: Saturday, February 28 1 to 5 p.m.

AARP Information Center 1941 S. 42nd St. To register, please call 402-398-9568

Volunteer opportunities

T

he Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging’s Foster Grandparent Program, Senior Companion Program, Ombudsman Advocate Program, and Senior Medicare Patrol Program are recruiting older adults to become volunteers.

Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions must be age 55 or older, meet income guidelines, have a government issued identification card or a driver’s license, able to volunteer at least 15 hours a week, and must complete several background and reference checks.

Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions receive a $2.65 an hour stipend, transportation and meal reimbursement, paid vacation, sick, and holiday leave, and supplemental accident insurance.

Foster Grandparents work

with children who have special needs while Senior Companions work to keep older adults living independently.

Ombudsman advocates work to ensure residents of nursing homes and assisted living facilities enjoy the best possible quality of life.

Ombudsman advocates, who must be age 18 or older, are enrolled through an application and screening process. These volunteers, who are not compensated monetarily for their time, must serve at least two hours a week.

The Senior Medicare Patrol program helps Medicaid beneficiaries avoid, detect, and prevent health care fraud. These volunteers, who are enrolled through an application and screening process, are not compensated monetarily for their time, For more information, please call 402-444-6536.

Law Offices of Charles E. Dorwart

We need your

! t r o p sup

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

ENOA

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

L

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

Information is offered to help the state’s older men and women with questions on topics like bankruptcy, homestead exemptions, 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, log on the Internet to http://www.legalaidofnebraska.com/EAL.

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.

33 years of legal experience • Wills • Living Trusts • Probate • Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney • In Home Consultations • Free Initial Consultation

Older adults have free access to legal information

AARP offering driving course

Please ma il with thisyofour donation rm to: Eas

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

City:______________State:_____ Zip: __________ Phone:____________________________________

February 2015

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f Reinha 4223 C rdt Omaha, enter Street NE 6810 5-2431 (402

New Horizons

) 444-665

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Page 17

Support group for widows, widowers

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HEOS, a group for older widows and widowers, meets 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.

Fremont Friendship Center events You’re invited to visit the Fremont Friendship Center, 1730 W. 16th St. (Christensen Field) this month for: • Feb. 2: Groundhog Day. Will we have six more weeks of winter?

• Feb. 4: Mary will be here with Nye News @ 10 a.m. followed by pianist Wally @ 10:30 a.m.

• Feb. 6: The traveling pitch tournament visits the North Bend Senior Center @ 9:30 a.m. If you sign up to play cards, you’re automatically signed up for lunch.

• Feb. 11: Great music with DaJaVue @ 10:30 a.m.

Bring your dancing shoes. Our February birthday lunch will follow the music.

• Feb. 13: We’ll crown the center’s new King and Queen @ 10 a.m. Ballots will be available the week of Feb. 9.

• Feb. 18: Enjoy music with Jim Rathbun @ 10:30 a.m.

• Feb. 25: Board meeting @ 9:30 a.m. Music by Wayne Miller @10:30 a.m.

• Feb 25: Monthly toenail clinic. The $10 cost is paid directly to the nurse. Call 402-727-2817 for reservations.

The Fremont Friendship Center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m.

A $3.50 donation is suggested for lunch.

Reservations must be made by noon the business day prior to the meal you wish to enjoy.

Other free activities include exercising, card games, Tai Chi, chair volleyball, billiards, and access to a computer lab.

Transportation to and from the center is available.

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

Camelot Friendship Center You’re invited to visit the Camelot Friendship Center inside the Camelot Community Center, 9270 Cady Ave. for the following: • Feb. 12: Valentine’s Day party and Book Club.

• Feb. 13: Movie day @ 12:15 p.m.

• Feb. 17: Mardi gras party.

• Feb. 23: Chair volleyball @ 10:15 a.m.

• Feb. 25: Music by Hillbilly Hal from the Merrymakers @ 11:45 a.m.

• Feb. 26: Garden club @ 10:15 a.m.

Other activities include Bingo, Tai Chi, pinochle, card games, other games, candy making, and scrapbooking.

The Camelot Friendship Center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 donation is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the lunch you wish to enjoy.

The facility will be closed on Feb. 16 due to Presidents Day. For reservations or more information, please call Amy at 402-444-3091.

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Page 18

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New Horizons

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Mizzou study: Drinking alcohol to aid sleep may disrupt the body’s regulating mechanism

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esearchers from the University of Missouri School of Medicine have found that drinking alcohol to fall asleep interferes with sleep homeostasis, the body’s sleep-regulating mechanism.

Alcohol is known to be a powerful somnogen, or sleep inducer, and approximately 20 percent of the U.S. adult population drinks alcohol to help fall asleep.

The researchers, led by Mahesh Thakkar, Ph.D., associate professor and director of research in the MU School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology, have studied alcohol’s effects on sleep for more than five years. They found alcohol interferes with the brain’s built-in system for regulating a person’s need for sleep.

“The prevailing thought was that alcohol promotes sleep by changing a person’s circadian rhythm — the body’s built-in 24hour clock,” Thakkar said. “However, we discovered alcohol actually promotes sleep by affecting a person’s sleep homeostasis — the brain’s built-in mechanism that regulates your sleepiness and wakefulness.”

Sleep homeostasis balances the body’s need for sleep in relation to how long a person has been awake. If an individual loses sleep, the body produces adenosine, a naturally occurring sleep-regulating substance that increases a person’s need for sleep. When a person goes to sleep early, sleep homeostasis is shifted and he or she may wake up in the middle of the night or early morning.

The researchers found alcohol alters the sleep homeostatic mechanism and puts pressure on an individual to sleep. When this happens, the sleep period is shifted, and a person may experience disrupted sleep.

“Based on our results, it’s clear alcohol should not be used as a sleep aid,” said Pradeep Sahota, M.D., chair of the MU School of Medicine’s Department of Neurology and an author of the study. “Alcohol disrupts sleep and the quality of sleep is diminished. Additionally, alcohol is a diuretic, which increases your need to go the bathroom and causes you to wake up earlier in the morning.”

In addition to studying alcohol’s impact on sleep homeostasis, the researchers explored how alcohol withdrawal affects sleep. The investigators found after extended periods of frequent drinking, subjects would fall asleep as expected, but would wake within a few hours and would be unable to fall back asleep. When the subjects weren’t given alcohol, the researchers found subjects showed symptomatic insomnia.

“During acute alcohol withdrawal, subjects displayed a significant increase in wakefulness with a reduction in rapid eye movement and non-rapid eye movement sleep,” Thakkar said. “This caused insomnia-like symptoms and suggests an impaired sleep homeostasis.”

The researchers hope to use these findings to explore other effects of alcohol consumption.

“Sleep is an immense area of study,” Thakkar said. “Approximately one-third of our life is spent sleeping. Coupled with statistics that show 20 percent of people drink alcohol to sleep, it’s vital that we understand how the two interact.

“If you are experiencing difficulty sleeping, don’t use alcohol. Talk to your doctor or a sleep medicine physician to determine what factors are keeping you from sleeping.

These factors can then be addressed with individualized treatments.”

Join former CBS news reporter Sandy Mortimer as she presents ‘Exploring Costa Rica’ on Feb. 12

F

ormer CBS television news reporter Sandy Mortimer will be on hand to kick off the winter and spring portion of the Omaha World Adventurers film series on Thursday, Feb. 12.

Mortimer will present her travel and adventure film, Exploring Costa Rica at 2 and 7 p.m. at the Village Pointe Theater, 304 N. 174th St. Sandy’s career has ranged from flight attendant to onair television personality to filmmaker.

On Feb. 12, Mortimer will take armchair travelers to Costa Rica and some of the most spectacular natural scenery on earth including emerald green rainforests, colorful wildlife, mountain ranges, volcanoes, and sandy tropical beaches.

The Central American nation is a tourist’s paradise because of its people and their hospitality.

Stops will also include Liberia, Rincon de la Vieja,

February 2015

San Jose, Braulio Carrillo National Park, and Isla Uvita, where Christopher Columbus landed on his last voyage to the New World.

Tickets to Exploring

Costa Rica, which are $14, are available by cash or check at the door.

For more information, please call RJ Enterprises at 1-866-385-3824.

Among the creatures featured in the film, ‘Exploring Costa Rica’ is the red-eyed tree frog.

Corrigan Senior Center events You’re invited to visit the Corrigan Senior Center, 3819 X St., this month for: • Monday, Feb. 2: Groundhog Day celebration featuring a cheeseburger (or chicken salad) lunch and Bingo.

• Thursday, Feb. 5: Create Valentine’s Day theme crafts with Anita at 10:30 a.m. Stay for a noon lunch and ceramics class after the meal.

• Monday, Feb. 9: Presentation by Denise from Fontenelle Forest’s Seniors Understanding Nature Program on Preparing a Winter Banquet for Backyard Birds @ 11a.m.

Stay for a tasty chicken pot pie or roast beef & Swiss sandwich lunch and Bingo.

• Wednesday, Feb. 11: Holiday program by St. Peter & Paul students @ 9:30 a.m. The noon lunch includes meatloaf.

• Thursday, Feb. 12: Valentine’s Day lunch and Bingo. Music by Joe Taylor from the Merrymakers @ 11 a.m. The fun will also include Valentine’s Day theme games and prizes. Wear your hearts and red clothing with accessories.

• Friday, Feb. 13: Valentine’s Day special lunch. Join us for a delicious noon baked chicken breast and Alfredo sauce or ham and cheese lunch with strawberry shortcake dessert. Valentine’s Day trivia and games, too.

• Thursday, Feb. 19: Sweetheart Dinner Dance. The noon lunch menu is pork roast, red skin potatoes, broccoli with cheese sauce, a tossed salad, a wheat roll, and strawberry cheesecake pudding. Dance to the music of Red Raven. A new Corrigan King and Queen will be drawn from all those attending. Bingo will follow lunch. The reservation deadline is noon on Friday, Feb. 13.

• Monday, Feb. 23: Mardi Gras theme birthday party.

Jazz great Tim Javorsky will entertain @ 11 a.m. Wear purple, green, and gold. Win door prizes and play games including Bingo.

The center will be closed on Monday, Feb. 16 for Presidents Day. New players are 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.

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

My book, “Secrets to Downsizing My House” will help with the complicated issues to give you the necessary information and tools you need to make your transition as stress and hassle free as possible.

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Enoa Aging February 2015

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New Horizons

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Page 19

Mangelsen eagerly awaiting the return of cranes, Jane Goodall

Photo by Sue E. Cedarholm

After capturing almost every type of wildlife on film, Tom is especially fond of photographing polar, brown, and grizzly bears.

--Continued from page 13. no good reason. With all these animals there’s a competition with man. It’s not only a competition, it’s a threat.”

There are consequences to Mangelsen for being so outspoken. “I’ve been threatened by people for speaking out,” he says.

I

f there’s one place in the world that has the greatest pull for Tom it’s the Serengeti in East Africa, which is where he was in January.

“I went to photograph elephants before they’re gone.

They really figure they’ll be extinct in 14 years.”

In March he’ll be back home on the Platte, where his journey in photography began, watching the cranes again. Jane Goodall will be at his side. He still can’t believe she’s a friend.

“She was always a hero,” Mangelsen says.

He’d briefly met her but it wasn’t until 2002, when he was asked to introduce her at a talk she made in Jackson Hole, that Mangelsen got to know Goodall.

“She happened to have the following day off and I took her to Yellowstone and we just had a great time.

Page 20

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We talked about cougars and Jane joined the Cougar Fund. She asked about the migration of cranes to Nebraska and I told her we just happen to have a cabin right in the heart of that crane migration and she said, ‘I’m coming to see you and the cranes.’ This (2015) will be her 13th year she’s come.

“Jane has been to thousands of more places than

I have been and yet she comes to Nebraska to see the cranes. That should tell you something – that these cranes and the river are very meaningful to her.”

Tom’s still in awe of Goodall.

“She’s an inspiration to me in that she can keep going through a lot of adversity. She sees a lot of poverty and animal abuse.

She’s working very hard on elephant-rhino preservation because it’s coming now to be such a big deal. She’s known for chimpanzees and yet she joined the Cougar Fund. She has more causes and energy than the man in the moon. She’s 80 now and yet she won’t let anything slow her down.

“She’s got so much energy, drive, (and) passion.

She’s unstoppable.”

As anyone who knows Mangelsen can attest, he could be describing his own indefatigable self. One that knows no bounds. But like the cranes he loves, no matter how far afield he travels, Tom always migrates home.

Follow Mangelsen at http://blog.mangelsen.com.

(Read more of Biga at leoadambiga.wordpresscom.)

Photo by Thomas D. Mangelsen

This photo of a grizzly bear crossing a river in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park can be found on the cover of Mangelsen’s newest book, The Last Great Wild Places: 40 Years of Wildlife Photography.

New Horizons

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February 2015