New Horizons March 2017

A publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging

March 2017 VOL. 42 • NO. 3

ENOA 4223 Center Street Omaha, NE 68105-2431

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

New Horizons ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

Afghanistan

In 2015, Tom Gouttierre retired after serving 41 years as director of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Afghanistan Studies and dean of International Studies & Programs. Prior to coming to UNO, Gouttierre – an Ohio native – lived in Afghanistan for 10 years where he was a Peace Corps volunteer, a Fulbright Fellow, and coach of Afghanistan’s national basketball team.

Leo Adam Biga chronicles Gouttierre’s amazing journey beginning on page 10.

Exemption Nebraska homeowners age 65 and older who meet income guidelines, may qualify for property tax relief through the Homestead Exemption program.

See page 3.

Pre-planning Tom Belford has seen several changes during his 37 years in the mortuary business including an increased emphasis on pre-planning funeral services.

See page 16.

Revised federal rules will allow more person-centered care for nursing home residents

By Susan Jaffe About 1.4 million residents of nursing homes across the country now can be more involved in their care under the most wide-ranging revision of federal rules for such facilities in 25 years.

The changes reflect a shift toward more “person-centered care,” including requirements for speedy care plans, more flexibility and variety in meals and snacks, greater review of a person’s drug regimen, better security, improved grievance procedures and scrutiny of involuntary discharges.

“With proper implementation and enforcement, this could really transform a resident’s experience of a nursing home,” said Robyn Grant, director of public policy and advocacy for the Consumer Voice, a national group that advocates for nursing home residents’ rights.

The federal Medicare and Medicaid programs pay for most of the nation’s nursing home care – roughly $75 billion in 2014 – and in return, facilities must comply with government rules.

The new regulations, proposed late last year by Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell, take effect in three phases.

The first began in November 2016.

They allow residents and their

families “to be much more engaged in the design of their care plan and the design of their discharge plans,” said David Gifford, a senior vice president at the American Health Care Association, which represents 12,000 long-term-care facilities.

Grant said the new approach puts “the consumer in the driver’s seat.”

Until now, she noted, a person’s care has too often been decided only by the nursing home staff. “And if the resident is lucky, he or she is informed about what that care will entail, what will specifically be done, and who will do it.”

Health and Human Services reviewed nearly 10,000 comments on its draft proposal before finalizing changes. One controversial measure in the department’s final rule would prohibit nursing homes from requiring residents to agree in advance to have any disputes settled through a privately run arbitration process instead of the court system.

The industry association objected, claiming Medicare officials have authority only to regulate matters related to residents’ health and safety and that an individual’s rights to use arbitration cannot be restricted. The ban is on hold until a lawsuit to force the government to drop the provision is decided.

Here are highlights of the requirements now in effect:

• Making the nursing home feel more like home: The regulations say that residents are entitled to “alternative meals and snacks at non-traditional times or outside of scheduled meal times.” Residents can also choose their roommates, which may lead to siblings or same-sex couples being together. A resident also has “a right to receive visitors of his or her choosing at the time of his or her choosing,” as long as it doesn’t impose on another resident’s rights.

• Bolstering grievance procedures: Nursing homes must now appoint an official who will handle complaints and follow a strengthened grievance process. Decisions must be in writing.

• Challenging discharges: Residents can no longer be discharged while appealing the discharge. They cannot be discharged for non-payment if they have applied for Medicaid or other insurance, are waiting for a payment decision, or they appeal a claim denial.

If a nursing home refuses to accept a resident who wants to return from a hospital stay, the resident can appeal the decision. Also, residents who enter the hospital have a right to return to their same room, if it’s available.

A state’s long-term care ombudsman must now get copies of any in-

Senior Moving Services

voluntary discharges so the situation can be reviewed as soon as possible.

• Expanding protection from abuse: The definition of abuse now includes financial exploitation.

Nursing homes are prohibited from hiring any licensed professional who has received a disciplinary action because of abuse, neglect, mistreatment, or financial exploitation of residents.

• Ensuring a qualified staff: Facilities must have enough skilled and competent staff to meet residents’ needs. There are also specific training requirements for caring for residents with dementia and for preventing elder abuse.

“Competency and staffing levels are not mutually exclusive,” said Toby Edelman, a senior policy attorney at the Center for Medicare Advocacy. Person-centered care and other improvements “don’t mean anything if you don’t have the staff who know the residents.”

Yet, requiring a certain number of nurses could backfire, said Gifford.

“It could actually result in places that are above those ratios lowering their staffing levels and other places that would increase staffing when they don’t need it and could be putting their resources into better care to meet the needs of the residents.”

(Kaiser Health News provided this information.)

“Moving services personally tailored for seniors.”

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

Examples of Services: • Provide a complimentary in-home assessment to determine your transitional needs.

• Plan, schedule, and coordinate all aspects of the move.

• Prepare a floor plan.

• Organize, sort, pack, and unpack household contents.

• Prepare change of address for mail delivery.

• Coordinate transfer of utilities, phone, and cable service.

• Disconnect and reconnect electronics.

• Unpack and settle your new home including hang the shower curtain, make the beds, and hang the pictures; making your new home feel familiar.

• Coordinate shipment of special heirlooms to family members.

• Coordinate a profitable dispersal of remaining household items through estate sale, auction, consignment, and/or donation.

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New Horizons

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

Page 2

To learn more, contact

March 2017

402-445-0996

www.seniormovingservices.com

A

Return Homestead Exemption applications by June 30

pplicants whose names are on file in the assessor’s office in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties should have a homestead exemption form mailed to them by early March.

New applicants must contact their county assessor’s office to receive the application.

The 2017 forms and a household income statement must be completed and returned to the county assessor’s office by June 30, 2017.

A homestead exemption provides property tax relief by exempting all or part of the homestead’s valuation from taxation. The state of Nebraska reimburses the counties and other government subdivisions for the lost tax revenue.

To qualify for a homestead exemption, a Nebraska homeowner must be age 65 by Jan. 1, 2017, the home’s owner/occupant through Aug. 15, 2017, and fall within the income guidelines shown below.

Certain homeowners who have a disability and totally-disabled war veterans and their widow(er)s may also be eligible for this annual tax break.

When determining household income, applicants must include Social Security and Railroad Retirement benefits plus any

income for which they receive a Form 1099.

The homestead exemption amount is based on the homeowner’s marital status and income level (see below). Maximum exemptions are based on the average assessed value for residential property in each Nebraska county.

The Douglas County Assessor/Register of Deeds’ office (1819 Farnam St.) is sending volunteers into the community to help older adults complete the application form. The volunteers will be located at sites throughout the county. A list of these locations will be included with your application.

Assistance is also available by calling the Volunteers Assisting Seniors at 402444-6617.

Douglas County residents can also have their homestead exemption questions answered by calling 402-597-6659.

Here are the telephone numbers for the assessor’s offices in the counties served by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging: Douglas: 402-444-7060; Sarpy: 402593-2122; Dodge: 402-727-3915; Cass: 402-296-9310; and Washington: 402426-6800.

Household income table Over age 65 married income

Over age 65 single income

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Call 402-559-5464 to learn more

UNMC recruiting breast cancer survivors from rural areas for feedback on a support program

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study launched at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is asking breast cancer survivors from rural areas for feedback on an Internet-based support program that provides early and easy access to psychological and social support.

The goals of the program – available to women seven days a week, 24 hours a day – are to reduce cancer-related distress to improve quality of life, which also will reduce health care costs.

Through the Breast Cancer Survivors’ Focus Group Study, researchers look to gain feedback and insight to improve the program.

The study is open to women diagnosed with early stage breast cancer from one month to 10 years ago and who live in rural Nebraska.

The program ultimately will be expanded to more rural, newly diagnosed women in

other states.

Women will be asked to explore an Internet-based program called CaringGuidance™ After Breast Cancer Diagnosis, on a computer or mobile device. They also will participate in a one-hour focus group with other women.

Several dates and times will be available.

“We know that 30 percent of women diagnosed with breast cancer experience significant cancer-related distress, and in the first year after diagnosis the incidence of depression doubles,” said Robin Lally, Ph.D., professor in the UNMC College of Nursing’s Omaha Division. She specializes in psychological and social issues of cancer and is a member of the Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center.

“The program provides support such as strategies for coping, validation of thoughts and concerns, problem-solving, and stress reduction.”

Dr. Lally said she thinks the program is ideal for women in rural areas.

“We know psychological care is not readily available in rural communities. It’s difficult to have a chance to talk to other women when you’re quite isolated. Women have said our program is like a support group in a box. They didn’t have to go anywhere for support,” she said.

Dr. Lally spent two years developing the program with input from a team of 20 survivors, oncology nurses, psychologists, physicians, and academics in upstate New York, where she previously conducted her research.

The study is funded through a health disparities grant by the UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research Office.

For more information, contact Dr. Lally at 402-559-5464 or online at robin.lally@unmc.edu.

March 2017

CITY/STATE/ZIP

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

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

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

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

Editor....................................................Jeff Reinhardt Ad Mgr................Mitch Laudenback, 402-444-4148 Contributing Writers......Nick Schinker, Leo Biga, & Lois Friedman ENOA Board of Governors: Mary Ann Borgeson, Douglas County, chairperson; Lisa Kramer, Washington County, vice-chairperson; Gary Osborn, Dodge County, secretary; Brian Zuger, Sarpy County; & Janet McCartney, 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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New Horizons

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Fremont Friendship Center You’re invited to visit the Fremont Friendship Center, 1730 W. 16th St. (Christensen Field), for the following: • March 1: Kathie Backlund from Fremont Health @ 9 a.m.

• March 1: Helpful hints @ 10 a.m. followed by pianist Wally @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 2: Keep Staying Healthy with Dr. Dalton @ 10 a.m.

• March 3: Talk by Vern Greunke on Three Chords and a Message @10:30 a.m.

• March 8: Music by Kim Eames @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 9: Talk by a Dodge County Veterans representative on pensions and compensations @ 10 a.m.

• March 15: Music by the Links @ 10 a.m.

• March 17: St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

• March 22: Music by Pam Kragt @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 23: Talk by Sister Rita on Spring Renewal @ 10 a.m.

• March 29: Music by George and the Juniors @ 10:30 a.m.

The Fremont Friendship Center is open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Friday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 contribution is suggested for lunch. Reservations must be made by noon the business day prior to the meal you wish to enjoy.

Regular center activitie include Tai Chi and Bingo.

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

Please see the ad on page 3

New Horizons Club membership roll rises $20 Ruth Kruse $15 Rita Barbra Linda Young Thomas Cody $10 M.M. Wilkins John Oltman Reflects donations received through 2/17/17.

We want to hear from

you!

• Do you have questions about the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, its programs or services?

Tips for proper medication usage

P

rescription medications are supposed to make us feel better, but many people are unintentionally becoming sicker and putting themselves at risk without even knowing it because of the way they are taking their medications.

With 40 percent of older adults taking five or more prescription medications, it’s easy to see why a National Institute of Health study also found 55 percent of them take their medications incorrectly.

Kurt Kazanowski, MS, RN, CHE, has more than three decades specializing in hospice care, home care, and senior care. He’s also the author of A Son’s Journey: Taking Care of Mom and Dad. Here are his 10 tips for taking medications safely and avoiding serious complications and interactions: • Storing medications: Make sure your medications are kept in a cool dry place and not on the window ledge. Keeping medications where sunlight will hit them will vastly weaken the drug’s potency.

• Taking too much: Overdoses are the numberone cause of medication fatalities and the most common medication error, according to an FDA study about drug errors. Watch out for loved ones who may be overusing prescription medications. Signs of prescription drug overdose include over-sedation, mood swings, and running out of a medication early.

• Confusing one medication with another: Prescription medications frequently have names that are easy to mx up. Zantac for heartburn and Zyrtec for allergies. Lamictal for epilepsy and Lamisil for

fungal infection. Celebrex for arthritis and Celexa for depression. It’s easy to mix up pills that look similar. A daily pill-minder can be a big help. Sorting daily medications in advance can prevent the wrong medication from being taken.

• Medicine interactions: Some medications were never meant to be mixed together. With 40 percent of older adults taking five or more prescriptions and many of them receiving these prescriptions from multiple specialists, sometimes patients are inadvertently prescribed medications or take medications that are dangerous when mixed. Consult with your primary care physician and/or pharmacist to be sure.

• Food and drug interactions: While it’s common knowledge certain medications shouldn’t be taken at the same time, the issue of foods interacting with drugs is less commonly discussed. For example, anticoagulants like Coumadin or blood-thinning statins can be rendered ineffective when a patient eats foods high in vitamin K. Grapefruit juice can cause potentially dangerous interactions with at least 85 medications because of the way the liver metabolizes it.

• Wrong route of administration: Sixteen percent of medication errors involve using the wrong route of administration. This could involve, for example, swallowing a tablet that was intended to be taken sublingually (absorbed on the tongue), or as an anal suppository. Swallowing a liquid intended for injection or use as a nasal spray is another example.

• Mixing alcohol with medications: There are plenty of drugs that come with a bright orange warning sticker attached, telling you not to drink alcohol when taking them. But maybe the sticker fell off, wasn’t attached in the first place, or the patient really wants a cocktail and figures it will be okay to enjoy an alcoholic beverage. Alcohol mixed with painkillers, sedatives, and other medications can quickly become a deadly combination.

• Double dosing by taking a brand name drug and the generic at the same time: With insurance companies mandating the use of generic drugs whenever possible, it’s all too common for patients to get confused and end up with bottles of a brand-name drug and the generic version at the same time without even realizing it.

• Taking prescription drugs and over-the-counter or alternative medications without knowing how they interact: It’s easy to think something you grab off the shelf at your local grocery story must be safe, but some of the most common OTC drugs can cause serious reactions. Always check with your physician or pharmacist.

• Old medications: Some people stop taking their medications for a period of time for many reasons and then start up again. Always check to make sure the medications haven’t expired.

Florence Home Rehabilitation

Rehab, renew, return home

• Do you have a comment about the agency and how it serves older adults in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties?

More than 350 individuals have safely transitioned to their home.

• Maybe you have a story idea for the New Horizons?

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

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

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New Horizons

Call 402-827-6000

www.omahaseniorcare.org

•

March 2017

Book review club to meet March 21

Omaha Fire Department

The Eclectic Book Review Club, founded in 1949, has announced its schedule of book reviews for the first part of 2017.

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

Reservations, which are due by the Monday prior to the review, can be made by calling Rita at 402-5533147.

Here’s the schedule: • March 21: Emily Getzchman from the Omaha Public Library system will review Nightingale by Kristin Hannah.

• April 18: UNL journalism professor Joe Starita will review his book A Warrior of the People: How Susan La Flesche Overcame Racial & Gender Inequality to Become America’s First Indian Doctor.

• May 16: Evelyn McKnight, a Hepatitis C survivor, will review her book A Never Event: Exposing the Largest Outbreak of Hepatitis C in American Healthcare History.

The Omaha Fire Department’s Public Education and Affairs Department can install free smoke and/or carbon monoxide detectors inside your home.

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

Call 402-444-6536, ext. 221 for tickets

IGO’s Pops and Pie concert scheduled for April 9

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he Intergeneration Orchestra of Omaha, a special project of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, will perform its annual Spring Pops & Pie concert on Sunday, April 9 in the Witherspoon Concert Hall inside the Joslyn Art Museum, 2200 Dodge St. The doors will open at 1 p.m. for the 2 p.m. performance that will feature special guest vocalist Scott Voorhees. A pie reception will follow the concert.

Celebrating its 32nd

season, IGO is made up musicians under age 25 and age 50 and older.

Tickets to the concert and reception – which are $20 – are available through Sunday, April 2 by calling Chris Gillette at 402-444-6536, ext. 221.

Concert only tickets are available at the door for $10.

Children under age 6 will be admitted for free.

For more information, please call Chris Gillette at 402444-6536, ext. 221.

Elder Access Line

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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.

March 2017

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Learn more at www.aohomaha.org

Hibernians’ St. Patrick’s Day parade, celebration scheduled for March 11

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he Ancient Order of Hibernians’ 2017 St. Patrick’s Day Parade is scheduled for Saturday, March 11. The fun will begin at 10 a.m. that morning near 15th and Harney streets in downtown Omaha.

For more information on the parade route and parking, visit www.aohomaha.org.

Following the parade, the Ancient Order of Hibernians will host a St. Patrick’s Day celebration upstairs at the Old Mattress Factory, 501 N. 13th St. The doors will open at 11 a.m. Food will be available at noon.

The festivities will include live Irish music, $2 corn beef sliders, $1 chips, and an open bar. There will be a $5 cover charge for persons age 21 and older.

For more information, visit www.aohomaha.org.

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Dahlias bloom midsummer through fall

By Melinda Myers

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lan now for a memorable grand finale in this year’s garden. Dahlias are spring-planted bulbs with big, colorful flowers that bloom continuously from midsummer to the first fall frost.

Early in the season, the foliage of these easy-care plants provides a lush green backdrop for nearby annuals and perennials. Then, as many other plants are waning from the summer heat, dahlias burst into bloom, filling the garden with their impressive flowers for months to come.

There are many types of dahlias and many ways to use them. Shorter border dahlias like the Gallery or Melody series are perfect for planting along walkways, in the front of a flower border, or in pots next to the patio. The compact plants support full size flowers for a dazzling display.

Plant taller varieties in the middle of the flower border, and boost their ornamental appeal by including varieties like Fascination and HS Flame with burgundy foliage.

The darker leaves combine nicely with the greens of their neighbors and are the perfect backdrop for the rose pink and bright red blossoms.

Dahlias dazzle with their many unique flower shapes and sizes. The brilliant color and rolled petals of the cactus dahlia Karma Red Corona are sure to make you stop and take a second look. Or consider the powder puff blooms of Myrtles Folly, with petals that capture the colors of a sunrise. Dinner plate dahlias, like deep purple Thomas Edison, grow four feet tall and have enormous eight-inch flowers.

Suppliers offer dozens of dahlia varieties as well as attractive mixes based on color themes and flower styles. A combination like the Soft Orange mix, works great in the garden and combines nicely in an arrangement.

Don’t be afraid to cut your dahlias. Picking encourages more blooms for you to enjoy. With as few as three to six plants you’ll have plenty of flowers to enjoy yourself and share with friends.

Since dahlias thrive in the same great soil as vegetables, consider adding a few plants to your food garden as well.

You’ll be able to cut fresh flowers for the dinner table when harvesting the vegetables for your next meal.

In northern areas where dahlias are not winter hardy, the tubers can be dug and stored indoors for the winter. Or make it easy and just treat your dahlias like other annuals.

With so many wonderful varieties to choose from, it’s fun to try different ones each year.

Review your garden plans to identify places that could benefit from a burst of late season color. Order your dahlias early for the best selection, plant them in the spring, and enjoy a spectacular show.

(Myers has written more than 20 gardening books.)

We need your

! t r o p p su I would like to become a partner with the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, and help fulfill your mission with older adults.

ENOA

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.

*Donations go to support ENOA services. You may designate your donation to go to the ENOA General Fund or to a specific service.

ENOA General Fund In Home Services (Bath Aide, Homemaker, Personal Emergency Response System, etc.)

Nutrition Services ( Senior Centers, etc.)

Meals on Wheels Volunteer Services ( Senior Companion, Foster Grandparent, RSVP, SeniorHelp, etc.)

CHOICES (Care Management, Caregiver Support, Medicaid Waiver) Other: __________________________________________________________________ Please contact me. I would like to learn more about including ENOA in my estate planning.

$30

$50

$75

$100

Other _____________

* Your gift may qualify as a charitable deduction for federal income tax purposes.

Name:_____________________________________ Address:___________________________________ City:______________State:_____ Zip: __________ Phone:____________________________________

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March 2017

Please ma il with thisyofour donation rm to: Eas

tern Office oNebraska n Aging Attentio n: Jef

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

) 444-665

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Notre Dame Housing You’re invited to visit the Notre Dame Housing, 3439 State St. for the following: • Tuesday & Thursday: Tai Chi @ 10:30 a.m. No class on March 21.

• Second, third, and fourth Friday: Saving Grace @ 1:30 p.m. Please use the east entrance.

• Third Thursday: Center for Holistic Development will provide counseling from 3 to 5 p.m.

• Wednesday, March 1: Pet Therapy @ 2:30 p.m.

• Thursday, March 9: Presentation from Immanuel Pathways @ 1:30 p.m.

• Tuesday, March 14: ENOA presentation on cooking for one or two @ 1:30 p.m.

• Wednesday, March 15: Food pantry from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Please bring a picture ID and a piece of mail from last 30 days showing proof of address. Please use the east entrance.

• Tuesday, March 21: Strings of Joy @ 2 p.m.

The center is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lunch is served at noon. A $3.50 contribution is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by 11 a.m. the business day prior to the lunch you wish to attend.

For reservations or more information, please call Brenda at 402-451-4477, ext. 126.

Omaha Computer Users Group

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ou’re invited to join the Omaha Computer Users Group (OCUG), an organization dedicated to helping men and women age 50 and older learn more about their computers.

Anyone can join OCUG regardless of his or her computer skills.

The organization meets the third Saturday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Abrahams Library, 5011 N. 90th St. Annual dues to OCUG are $25.

OCUG has a projector connected to a Microsoft Windows 7 computer and a Windows 8 computer to show users how to solve their computer problems.

Bring your questions concerning your computer problems to the meetings for answers.

For more information, please call OCUG’s president Phill Sherbon at 402333-6529.

EITC Coalition offering free income tax counseling, e-filing

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he EITC Coalition of Omaha is offering free federal and state income tax preparation and free e-filing of income tax returns at five sites in Omaha.

To file a tax return, participants must bring Social Security cards or ITINs for themself, their spouse, and their dependents; a photo identification; a copy of the previous year’s tax returns; all W-2 and 1099 forms; child care provider information (provider’s name, address, EIN/ SSN, and amount paid); bank account number and routing

number (for direct deposit); property tax receipts, mortgage interest statements, charitable contributions, prior year’s state refund information for itemizing; education expense receipts; gambling winnings; and verification of health insurance.

Where applicable, both spouses need to be present to sign the returns.

For more information, please call 2-1-1 or log on to www.OmahaEITC.org.

Here is the list of sites:

BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

WALK-IN SITES

• Through April 18 Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Latino Center of the Midlands 4821 S. 24th St. 402-733-2720

• Through April 9 Saturday and Sunday 1 to 4 p.m.

Metro Community College Fort Omaha campus Building 10 • Room 122 30th and Fort streets Call 2-1-1

WALK-IN SITES

LIMITED WALK-IN SITES

• Through April 18 Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Family Housing Advisory Services 3605 Q St. Call 2-1-1

• March 6 2:30 to 6 p.m.

Educare at Indian Hills 3110 W St. Call 2-1-1 • March 7 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Mercy Housing at Timber Creek 6816 S 137th Plz. Call 2-1-1

Millard Senior Center You’re invited to visit the Millard Senior Center at Montclair, 2304 S. 135th Ave., this month for the following: • March 1: African dressmaking @ 9 a.m.

• March 2: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss celebration.

• March 3: Treat Day and colon cancer awareness day.

Wear blue.

• March 9: Decorate Your Nametag Day. • March 10: International Awesomeness Day. • March 13: Brain and Body Balance workout @ 11 a.m.

• March 14: Sing-a-long with Fran & Bud Bunn @ 9:15 a.m.

• March 16: Blood pressure checks by Methodist College nursing students @ 9:30 a.m. A presentation by the students will follow the blood pressure checks.

• March 17: St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

• March 20: International Happiness Day.

• March 21: Memory Day. Keep your mind sharp with trivia and riddles.

• March 22: National Goof Off Day. • March 27: Quirky Country Music Song Title Day. • March 30: National Take a Walk in the Park Day. • March 31: National Tater Day. Bring your favorite form of potato to share.

The center is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Lunch is served @ 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 donation is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the meal the participant wishes to enjoy.

Other center activities include walking, card games, Tai Chi (new participants needed), dominoes, quilting, pickle ball (new participants needed) chair volleyball, and bingo.

For reservations or more information, please call 402546-1270.

Caregiver workshops

A Caring Community Called HOME!

You’re invited to attend two workshops designed to help family caregivers deal with the stress involved in caring for a loved one.

Caring for the Caregiver on Saturday, April 1 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will allow participants to focus on themselves instead of others. Activities include massages, relaxing music, a stroll in the gardens, reflection time, activities, and lunch.

Ambiguous Loss on Saturday, May 6 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. will help participants discover ways to deal with the feelings they experience when a loved one is physically present but there’s a psychological absence.

The session will explore topics like what family means, how to develop resiliency, and how to become more comfortable dealing with the uncertainty associated with ambiguous loss.

Nancy Flaherty, MS, president of Flaherty Senior Consulting and a certified dementia practitioner, will present the workshops.

Both workshops will take place at the Servite Center for Compassion; 7400 Military Ave. Registration is $25 for Caring for the Caregiver and $20 for Ambiguous Loss.

Scholarships are available.

To sign up, please contact Sister Margaret Stratman at 402-951-3026 or email her at scc@osms.org.

March 2017

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Alzheimer’s support groups

Dora Bingel Senior Center

The Alzheimer’s Association Nebraska Chapter offers several caregiver support groups and specialty support groups each month in Cass, Dodge, Douglas, and Sarpy counties. These support groups offer valuable space and educational opportunities for families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease or a related form of dementia to engage and learn. For more information about any of the groups listed below, please call (toll free) 800-272-3900.

You’re invited to visit the Dora Bingel Senior Center, 923 N. 38th St., this month for the following: • Wednesdays and Fridays: Ceramics @ 9 a.m.

• March 1: Holy Communion served @10 a.m.

• March 13: Book Club @ 10 a.m.

• March 15: Music by Pam Kragt from the Merrymakers @ 11:30 a.m. Lunch is $3.

• March 15: Foot care clinic from 9 a.m. to noon for $10. Call 402-392-1818 to make an appointment.

• March 29: Birthday party luncheon @ noon. Eat free if you have a March birthday.

A nutritious lunch is served on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. A $1 donation is suggested for the meals, other than $3 for the Merrymakers luncheon. Round-trip transportation is available for $3.

Meal reservations are required 24 hours in advance.

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

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

CASS COUNTY • PLATTSMOUTH Second Tuesday @ 6 p.m.

First Lutheran Church (chapel) 1025 Ave. D DODGE COUNTY • FREMONT Second Tuesday @ 5:30 p.m.

Shalimar Gardens (second floor community room) 749 E. 29th St. DOUGLAS COUNTY • OMAHA Second Thursday @ 10 a.m.

Country House Residences 5030 S. 155th St. FREE on site adult day services are provided.

Every other Monday @ 7 p.m.

Brighton Gardens 9220 Western Ave. First & third Monday @ 1:30 p.m.

New Cassel’s Franciscan Centre 900 N. 90th St. FREE on-site adult day services are provided.

Third Tuesday @ 6 p.m.

Temple Israel (media room) 13111 Sterling Ridge Dr. Caring for Your Parents Second or third Saturday @ 11 a.m.

Call Teri @ 402-393-0434 for locations Spanish Language Support Group Second Tuesday @ 4 p.m.

Intercultural Community Center 3010 R St.

AARP offering driving course

SARPY COUNTY • BELLEVUE Third Monday @ 7 p.m.

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

Eastern Nebraska Vets Home (Vets and non-vets welcome) 12505 S. 40th St. • PAPILLION Fourth Thursday @ 6 p.m.

Hillcrest Grand Lodge 6021 Grand Lodge Ave.

Third Tuesday @ 5 p.m.

Immanuel Fontenelle 6809 N 68th Plz.

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: Tuesday, March 14 Do Space 7205 Dodge St. 10 a.m.

To register, call 531-622-2620

The Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging has been providing programs and services for older adults in Douglas, Sarpy, Dodge, Cass, and Washington counties since 1975.

Friday, March 24 Metro Community College 2709 Edward Babe Gomez Ave. 11:30 a.m.

To register, call 531-622-2620

Saturday, March 25 AARP Information Center 1941 S. 42nd St. • Suite 220 Noon To register, call 402-398-9568

VAS hosting class on estate planning Volunteers Assisting Seniors, an organization that provides senior health insurance information and counseling as well as help filing homestead exemption forms, is offering a free class on basic estate planning.

The March 29 class – taught by attorney Tom Prohaska – will be held at the VAS office, 1941 S. 42nd St., Suite 312, at 1:30 p.m.

The class will cover financial and medical powers of attorney, living wills, wills, living or revocable trusts, alternatives and supplements to wills, taxes related to death, and mistakes to avoid.

For more information, please call VAS at 402444-6617.

Hearing loss group meets on March 14

T

he Omaha Area Hearing Loss Association of America, a support group for hard of hearing adults, will next meet on Tuesday, March 14 at Dundee Presbyterian Church, 5312 Underwood Ave. Participants are asked to enter the church on the Happy Hollow Blvd. (east) side.

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

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

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

NARFE

T

he National Active and Retired Federal Employees’ Chapter 144 meets the first Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Amazing Pizza Machine, 13955 S Plz. For more information, please call 402-292-1156.

The National Active and Retired Federal Employees’ Aksarben Chapter 1370 meets the second Wednesday of each month at 11:30 a.m. at the Amazing Pizza Machine, 13955 S Plz. For more information, please call 402-342-4351.

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Visually impaired patrons have access to audio description of shows

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utlook Nebraska has partnered with the Rose Theater, the Orpheum Theater, the BLUEBARN Theatre, and the Omaha Community Playhouse to offer audio descriptions for the visually impaired at some of the performances held at these venues.

Audio descriptions allow those who are visually impaired to more fully enjoy live performances through a verbal description of the stage production through a personal headset.

A trained audio describer provides live verbal descriptions of actions, costumes, scenery, and other visual elements of the live performance. The description is transmitted to the headsets so only those wearing the headsets hear the describer’s voice as well as the performance’s dialog.

Visually impaired persons wishing to use the audio description service must call the venue to request the service and to purchase tickets at least two weeks in advance to ensure availability. An audio description preshow will start 30 minutes before the performance time listed below.

The service is made available through the generous support of the Enrichment Foundation and the Gary and Mary West Foundation.

For a complete list of audio description events, please visit outlooknebraska.org/theater.

March 11 @ 2 p.m.

Huck Finn Rose Theater 2001 Farnam St. 402-345-4849

May 20 @ 2 p.m.

Something Rotten Orpheum Theater 409 S. 16th St. 402-661-8501

March 11 @ 2 p.m.

Jersey Boys Orpheum Theater 409 S 16th St. 402-661-8501

May 25 @ 7:30 p.m.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert BLUEBARN Theater 1106 S. 10th St. 402-345-1576

April 8 @ 5 p.m.

Harold and the Purple Crayon Rose Theater 2001 Farnam St. 402-345-4849 April 8 @ 2 p.m.

Beautiful Orpheum Theater 409 S. 16th St. 402-402-661-8501 May 6 @ 2 p.m.

Stellaluna Rose Theater 2001 Farnam St. 402-345-4849

Car-Go offers free rides in Blair, Fremont

T

he Retired and Senior Volunteer Program is recruiting volunteers age 55 and older to provide free transportation services for older adults in Fremont and Blair.

“We’re especially interested in providing transportation services for military veterans,” said Pat Tanner, who coordinates the RSVP for the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging.

Sponsored locally by ENOA, RSVP is a national program of the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Senior Service Corps.

RSVP staff members who serve in Dodge, Washington, Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties realize many older men and women live alone, are on fixed incomes, are no longer able to operate their own vehicle, and don’t

have family members available to drive them to their various appointments.

In response, RSVP’s Car-Go Project offers free transportation for men and women age 55 and older in Blair and Fremont through volunteers age 55 and older who use their own vehicles.

Free rides can be given to medical appointments, pharmacies, grocery stores, beauty parlors, barbershops, banks, and other personal business locations.

Rides for persons who use

wheelchairs (must be able to transfer themselves) will be considered on a case-bycase basis.

The Car-Go Project – which isn’t available to nursing home residents – operates in Fremont and Blair Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information on becoming a volunteer driver or to make a reservation (24 hours notice is required) for a ride, please call RSVP’s Fremont office at 402-7217780.

Instructors needed for driving program

A

ARP is recruiting men and women who have access to a computer to serve as volunteer instructors and coordinators for its Driver Safety Program.

To learn more about the AARP Driver Safety Program, log on to www.aarp.org/drive.

For more information about volunteering, log on to www.aarp.org/volunteernow or call 1-888-227-7669.

June 4 @ 2 p.m.

Rent Orpheum Theater 409 S. 16th St. 402-661-8501 June 17 @ 2 p.m.

Peter Pan Rose Theater 2001 Farnam St.

RSVP RSVP is recruiting persons age 55 and older for a variety of opportunities. For more information in Douglas, Sarpy, and Cass counties, please call 402-444-6536, ext. 224. In Dodge and Washington counties, please call 402-721-7780.

• The Corrigan Senior Center is looking for volunteers.

• The Lutheran Thrift Store needs volunteers.

• The VA Medical Center is looking for volunteers for a variety of assignments.

• The Low Income Ministry wants volunteers for its food pantry.

• The Blair and Fremont Car-Go Program needs volunteers to drive older adults to their appointments once or twice a week.

March 2017

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Page 9

From baker’s son to national authority on Afghanistan

By Leo Adam Biga

Gouttierre retired in 2015 after 41 years doing jobs he loved. His work brought him into contact with United States presidents, secretaries of state, ambassadors, generals, foreign leaders, geo-political intrigue, and momentous events. But what he most enjoyed was interacting with International Studies students. Some came from all corners of the globe and others right from his backyard.

“The thing driving me more than anything else was advising those International Studies majors – young Midwest kids very much like me wanting to learn and work in the world,” Gouttierre said. “I was so inspired regularly to be with these young dynamic students who wanted to do something. It was that more than any one thing that kept me working until age 75. That, and the fact I’d step outside my (office) door and be surrounded by students from all around the world.

“I had what I think most people who are interested in higher education and global affairs would have to describe as the dream job. I got to deal on a daily basis with hundreds of international students. They inform you even by their presence. They inform our students (and) they stimulate education. It’s really dynamic and so much fun.”

When Gouttierre came to UNO in 1974 after a decade of living and working in Afghanistan the Omaha school had fewer than two dozen international students and only one international program. When he left the college four decades later there were more than 2,000 international students and scores of programs on campus.

The center’s work during its first decade-anda-half revolved around a donated archive comprising the largest collection of Afghan cultural material and documents outside its borders. Its role broadened after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979.

With the country in tatters and millions of Afghans in refugee camps, the UNO center tasked itself with rebuilding that Central Asian nation’s educational infrastructure. Meanwhile, UNO’s Intensive Language (ILUNO) program gave the

Contributing Writer

O

n the surface, Tom Gouttierre led a parochial Midwestern life growing up in postWorld War II America. By the time he was at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, he expected a traditional, stateside education career awaited him. Little did he imagine the faroff places his work would eventually lead, first as a Peace Corps volunteer with wife, Marylu, then as a Fulbright Fellow, and finally as the longtime director of the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Center for Afghanistan Studies and its dean of International Studies and Programs.

When Gouttierre came to UNO in 1974, the college had less than two dozen international students enrolled.

Today it has more than 2,000.

During Tom’s 41 years as director of UNO’s Center for Afghanistan Studies, the program managed $120 million in federal contracts and grants. college a global presence as students from diverse nations came for intensive training. Gouttierre’s experience and expertise made him a go-to U.S. government advisor and media source. During his tenure, the center managed $120 million in federal contracts and grants.

Tom was part of high-level, secret negotiations for the Soviet Union to exit Afghanistan after its failed invasion. He oversaw programs that trained hundreds of Afghan residents and refugees in learning English, public administration, and advanced teaching skills. Some of those trained by UNO, either here or overseas, became key players in Afghanistan’s fledgling democracy.

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New Horizons

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March 2017

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Gouttierre: Afghans are the most hospitable people I’ve met their schools.

“They loved it. They were going through a democratic change at the time,” Tom said. “They had a constitutional parliamentary monarchy with a new constitution that took control out of the military state. It was a remarkable thing that roughly coincided with the time I was there.”

In more recent years, Afghans have sent teams of teachers and journalists to Omaha for intensive training. But progress is slow in this tortured era of terror attacks. Reconstruction needs are vast and corruption is Hamid Karzai was president of Afghanistan rampant. The nearly nonstop from 2004 to 2014. Karzai came to UNO where he fighting of these last 30-plus was awarded an honorary degree in 2005. years has left Afghanistan in tatters. The devastation --Continued from page 10. Chinese team, Gouttierre and loss is a far cry from the Long before Hamid got carried off the court by veritable paradise Gouttierre Karzai became president of jubilant players and fans once experienced there.

Afghanistan, he and Goutchanting, “Mr. Tom.” “When I lived there it tierre knew each other. Anwas a dream place,” he said other close personal friend outtierre’s immerwistfully. “It was the ideal is current Afghan president sion in Afghanistan place to serve as a Foreign Ashraf Ghani – a former was as deep and Service officer. I got to student of Gouttiere’s. complete as possible for an Tom and Marylu’s outsider. His interest in and know the Afghans and I got to know them intimately.

Dundee-area home is filled affection for the people has with artifacts from their never wavered and has been And I knew everybody because I was there 10 years time in Afghanistan, inreciprocated in kind. and I coached basketball. cluding collections of rugs, “They’re so warm and It’s a small town country. mortars, and pestles. Their receiving and supportive. home features arches remiAfghans are the most hospi- So it was ideal.

“Female Peace Corps niscent of Middle Eastern table people I’ve ever met in design and a solarium with a my life anywhere around the volunteers like my wife running fountain. world and I’ve met wonder- could bike anywhere all by themselves without any It’s ironic Gouttierre end- fully hospitable people in fear for security. In fact, the ed up being a citizen of the Japan and elsewhere. But world because he barely left Afghans, who have probhis native Ohio before age ably far fewer resources to 25. In 1965 he took his first extend in their hospitality, airplane trip anywhere – to are heads and shoulders Afghanistan’s capital city above everybody in their of Kabul. It was home to belief in their hospitality.

Tom and Marylu for many “Anybody who tries their years. Adam, the oldest of language or knows their the couple’s three sons, was history is embraced by them born there. The country, and the more one knows the culture, and its people these things the more one is fundamentally changed the drawn to learn more. I still course of Gouttierre’s life. enjoy that very much. It’s “I learned their language important to know what the and culture to an uncompeople are like.” mon degree and the reason He admires the fierce, I did is because I liked them proud nature of Afghans so much,” said Gouttierre, who have famously taken who’s fluent in Dari. “I up arms throughout history learned the language well to repel enemy invaders in enough to write poetry in defense of their homeland their tongue and to have it and autonomy. published there.”

“They’re one of the most He went first as a Peace independent-minded people Corps volunteer, then as in the history of mankind. a Fulbright Fellow. Tom They defeated the British eventually headed the FulEmpire three times; they bright Foundation there. He beat back the Soviet empire. also coached amateur basThey’re resilient,” Gouttiketball teams, even the Aferre said. ghan national men’s team.

They’re also grateful to Gouttierre once enlisted the anyone who assists their advice of the “Wizard of aspirational dreams.

Westwood”, UCLA coach“Afghans would demoning legend John Wooden, on strate and plead with the how to run his famous zone Ministry of Education to press. When the Afghan have Peace Corps volunnational squad upset the teers teach them English in

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March 2017

Gouttierre with King Zahir Shah – the Afghan monarch from 1933 to 1973 – in Zahir Shah’s Kabul home a few months before his 2007 death. country was charged with protecting these Americans.

There were messages on the radio saying, ‘These are our guests,’ all while radio Moscow from antennas in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) beamed in that we Peace Corps volunteers were handmaidens of the CIA,” Tom said.

None of this seemed a likely landing spot for this child of 1950s mid-America. But beneath the cookiecutter facade of muscle cars, rock ‘n’ roll lyrics, and school proms, Gouttierre pined for adventures far from home. He wasn’t sure how to make those yearn-

•

ings a reality until President John F. Kennedy laid out a vision for the Peace Corps during his 1960 campaign.

JFK’s vision sparked a sense of wanderlust in Gouttierre that dovetailed with America looking beyond its shores to win hearts and minds during the Cold War. Coming of age in Maumee, Ohio, Gouttierre followed his devoutly Catholic, hard-working BelgianAmerican family’s lead by going to church and cheering for their beloved Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team. His sports --Please turn to page 12.

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Page 11

JFK’s challenge led Tom to a life of international service --Continued from page 11. passion continues unabated today.

He also follows Indiana University hoops, Creighton University basketball, and UNO hockey. He’s a Mavs’ season ticket holder.

His father hailed from a long line of glass blowers but became a master baker. Tom worked in the family bakery and mastered the craft himself. Generations of Gouttierres immigrated to the States and Tom became enamored with his grandparents’ tales of the old country.

“I would constantly ask my grandparents and great grandparents about these things. I knew about Belgium. I was aware of the rest of the world. So I always had this interest.”

Gouttierre studied maps and globes. He devoured books.

“I loved to read from The Book of Knowledge (children’s encyclopedia).

“I was a curious kid. If I didn’t love sports I would have been a geek. We didn’t have geography bees but I would have loved to compete in them. I knew where the Zambezi River was and all these things.”

Tom loved foreign languages.

One of his grandmothers spoke only French. He went on to learn French, Latin, German, Russian, and Dari.

None of his international experiences may have happened though if not for JFK’s clarion call to serve.

“I was a 20-year-old college undergraduate when John Kennedy gave his address. It was THE momentous political moment in my life. Here was this rock star with a message drawing upon the angels of our nature, not the devils, that really appealed to the values Americans were feeling. It was revolutionary, too, because he was the new generation. He had just replaced one of the oldest presidents (Dwight D. Eisen-

hower) we ever had. He was calling for this new frontier.”

JFK’s challenge to Americans to “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” and to the world to – “ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man” – was a call to action Gouttierre couldn’t ignore.

“It was a tremendous opportunity.

Marylu and I were dating then. It really inspired us. I went into grad school, I graduated, and we went into the Peace Corps as a married couple. My passions were driven and still are by that particular message. It’s the greatest generational message any American leader has given other than FDR (Franklin Delano Roosevelt), who took us out of hell with ‘we have nothing to fear but fear itself’ and Lincoln who implored us to behave ‘with malice toward none, with charity for all.’

“I am forever indebted to the Peace Corps and the Fulbright program,” Gouttierre said.

G

outtierre said new U.S. President Donald Trump’s desire to build walls and ban immigrants is “so insular” by comparison.

He said Trump’s executive order travel ban has only inflamed immigration fears and frustrations.

“People are up in arms over immigration but Congress does nothing. What Trump has done through executive order is bring a tension. I don’t think his order was well advised and I don’t think the content of it was appropriate to the task. The other thing I’m concerned about is this kind of decision hurts our long-term trade and other political and cooperative relationships we have with numbers of these countries. We need the collaboration of

In 1965, Gouttierre (front row, far left) guided his first team to the Kabul high school basketball championship.

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many of them to help track down and vet individuals.

“What we need to have is improved vetting – there’s no question about that. I don’t think the vetting process now, though not totally unsuccessful, is as efficient and sufficient as it needs to be. It’s chronically underfunded, understaffed, and just not able to keep up with the demands,” Tom said.

Another unfortunate result of the ban will be the adverse effect it has on international student populations around the United States, according to Gouttierre who favors rigorous trade negotiations that benefit America, but fears too hard a line might touch off trade wars that prove harmful.

“There’s all kinds of things we do we’re not going to be able to do or afford if we have trade wars,” he said. “We’ve got to think what this is going to do to our personal economies and our relationships with colleague nations and trading partners. We’re able to have the good life in Nebraska as we call it because Nebraska markets abroad.”

Among the many challenges Trump faces, Gouttierre said is putting together an effective cabinet that can help him effectively govern.

“Frankly, his team isn’t all that bad. They may think differently than I do, but they’re all quality individuals.”

Regarding what Trump’s foreign policy, Gouttierre said, “He’s somewhat of a blank canvas. We don’t know yet. He appears to be an individual who doesn’t create policy based on policy study or things of that nature. He hasn’t yet shown that. But he has indicated he wants to keep the U.S. strong and there’s no way we can keep the U.S. strong and not continue to be concerned with how the events in Afghanistan have an impact on our interests in that region of the world.”

For going on two decades American lives and resources have poured into Afghanistan to fight terrorists who’ve used that country as a staging ground and a safe harbor.

Every day Afghans want the terrorists out. The average Afghani gladly accepts America’s help in restoring the country to normalcy. But they warily watch for any signs American commitment is wavering. It’s happened before.

“Ashraf Ghani and President Trump have had a conversation and they both pronounced it as having gone well,” Gouttierre said. “We’ll see. I think at this stage most Afghans are just hanging loose. Believe me, Afghans at the common citizen level have a keen knowledge and focus about what’s going on in the United States than a great number of Americans because they know what happens here has major impact on their lives and their future.”

Gouttierre said he feels America’s relationship with Afghanistan has mostly been positive and well re-

March 2017

ceived in each country.

“I think most Americans were very supportive of everything we were doing in Afghanistan after 9/11. They were also supportive before that when the Soviets invaded the country and we gave the Afghans weapons to resist them.”

UNO’s Afghanistan Center took a lead role in educating the Central Asian nation’s citizens.

“Our center had funds to teach Afghan refugees who number in the millions in Pakistan,” Gouttierre said. “After 9/11, the same thing – our center helped reopen the Ministry of Education and we printed books, supplied schools, and trained teachers. We had an intimate relationship.”

By UNO bringing Afghans to Nebraska over so many years, he said, a real understanding of that nation and its people developed.

“In Nebraska we probably have a higher percentage per capita knowledge of Afghanistan and the people of Afghanistan than any other part of our country,” Tom said.

Visiting Afghan teachers, for example, participated in programs in Omaha, Lincoln, and host cities across the state.

“Nebraskans knew about them because they were seeing them, meeting them, loving them, and developed intense relationships with them, so there were these good feelings,” Gouttierre said.

Relations between the nations changed once the war on terror began.

“Things started to kind of deteriorate after the invasion of Iraq and the subsequent war in Afghanistan,” Gouttierre said. “People say the war in Afghanistan is our longest war. I really resent that. It is not accurate historically. The longest by far and away was the Cold War. It required us to be intense and focused throughout in our competition with the Soviets and the Chinese. Nearly 50 years we had that.

“This is not a war against Afghanistan, it’s a war within Afghanistan that’s a part of the greater global war against terrorism. Like the Cold War, it’s ideologically driven, and it’s going to take a solid long-term commitment to deal with it and put it out. It’s not going to just go away,” Tom said.

“It’s going to require taxes. The biggest mistake George W. Bush made after going into Iraq was that he tried to run that war without taxing. You can’t have a war without taxes. It broke our national banks and we wound up with 2008 (recession).”

Afghanistan being a battleground in the war on terror, he said, unfortunately has infused a negative opinion about our experiences there.

“Quite frankly, most of the enemies we’re fighting are in Pakistan.

They go back and forth. It’s not the Afghan people. Well, some of them.

But that’s not the war – the war is against terrorism, Al Qaeda, (and) --Please turn to page 13.

As an advisor, Gouttierre built profiles on Bin Laden, Taliban

In 1971, Tom and Marylu Gouttierre’s oldest of three sons, Adam, was born in Kabul, Afghanistan.

--Continued from page 12.

Isis,” Gouttierre said.

Tom said the U.S. wouldn’t even be in Afghanistan militarily if Osama Bin Laden hadn’t sought refuge and established terror training camps there.

“Now we’re in this situation which is unfortunate,” he said.

“They’re our closest allies in that whole region. They really want us there. Think about it. How many of the other countries really want us?”

Gouttierre rues America abandoning Afghanistan after it’s remarkable defeat of the Soviets.

“What happened was in 1989 we dumped Afghanistan. The Soviets had left and then the USSR collapsed. Then every nefarious group in the world went into a country which had no governmental structure, so it became the dump for all the drugs. When Marylu and I lived there we never saw a field under cultivation with opium poppies.

That’s all post-Soviet invasion.”

Bin Laden was among those who exploited the vacuum of power.

“He went there to fight the Soviets like a great many else did, then he went home to Saudi Arabia, where he was a citizen, although his family was originally Yemeni.

They’re a very successful family worth billions of dollars.

“When Saddam (Hussein) invaded Kuwait, Bin Laden went to the Saudi government and said, ‘Let me bring my Afghan Arabs,’ meaning those who fought against the Soviets, ‘and we’ll drive the Iraqi forces out.’ On the other hand, there was the whole United Nations coalition and Saudi Arabia went with that,” Gouttierre said.

“A disgruntled Bin Laden went public about the corruption of the Saudi government and monarchy, calling them the handmaidens of the West. He was very vocal about this and got kicked out and his passport taken away. He fled to Sudan. The

Saudis put pressure on the Sudanese to kick him out, so he went where he knew – back to Pakistan and then Afghanistan. That was in 1996. He went to Afghanistan because there was no government there. He was allowed in and welcomed.”

Bin Laden arrived just a few weeks before Gouttierre did as a member of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan. “I was the senior political affairs advisor for that mission based in both Pakistan and Afghanistan to try to bring the Taliban and the Northern Alliance together. The Pakistanis were constantly trying to undermine it, so it didn’t happen. They were supporting the Taliban.”

In his advisor role Gouttierre was tasked with building profiles on Bin Laden and the Taliban.

“These were both things about which I didn’t know much because they were new dynamics,” Tom said.

He soon learned they posed a dangerous threat with clear intentions on attacking America.

Gouttierre never met Bin Laden but he did see his caravan pass through a bazaar.

“I was walking in Kandahar and all of a sudden the bazaar went silent and there was a small convoy of SUVs that went through. Everybody chanted, ‘Osama, Osama, Osama.’ Everybody knew who he was because he was putting money into Afghanistan. He had billions to do that. So I didn’t see him eye-toeye but I saw his presence. That’s as close as I got.”

G

outtierre said he feels the U.S. hung Afghanistan out to dry after the Afghans drove out the Soviets.

“We switched administrations – we went from Reagan to Bush I. He and his secretary of state, James Baker, saw great opportunity with the collapsing of the Soviet Union

Tom and Marylu Gouttierre with the Habeebiyah Lycee basketball squad that won the Afghanistan National Open title at the Kabul University gym during the winter of 1969-70. to ensure Russia would not come back as the Soviet Union again.

That’s what their focus was. What Afghanistan needed, which I think it deserved, was some type of Marshall Plan. They were our allies fighting against the Soviet Union.

We owed them. They’re the ones that died.”

Tom said America’s failure to have a cohesive policy concerning Afghanistan and its fate proved costly.

“We didn’t understand how this would come back and bite us. We owed the Afghans something. That country was left in total destruction.

“We talk about the tremendous refugee crisis now in Syria. Why? Because they’re going to Europe and they’re coming back to us.

“Afghanistan had seven million of its citizens outside of the country.

There were five million in Pakistan, another 2.5 million in Iran. They lost over a million people in the war with the Soviets. We’ve forgotten that. Our memories are very short.

We dumped them and 12 years later we had 9/11.”

Gouttierre suggests that much of the chaos could have been prevented.

“We didn’t help the Afghans reconstruct their infrastructure. There were a lot of refugees in Pakistan and Iran who could have come back and helped to put something together. When we did start to help after 9/11, we blew it. We spend a lot of money and want immediate results.

What does that bring? It brings mistakes, corruption, (and) lost money.

The U.S. had $20 billion unaccounted for. Nobody knows where it is.

“The whole Muslim world was watching how we did it and we really messed it up,” Gouttierre said.

“Now we’re trying to help the Afghans build out from under the mess our chaotic approach of throwing money and demanding quick results produced.”

March 2017

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G

outtierre made Nebraska a haven for Afghans but he nearly didn’t come here himself. He was running the Fulbright Foundation overseas when he and Center for Afghanistan Studies founder Chris Jung, whose father was part of an Indiana University team in Afghanistan, began doing exchange programs. When Jung died, UNO courted Gouttierre to take the open post. Tom told university officials no three times before he finally went to a trusted mentor, then-U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan Theodore Eliot.

Eliot laid it out for Tom. “You love Afghanistan, you love international education exchange, (and) this is your way to go back to the United States.”

“I thought about it, and on April 1, 1974 I sent a cable to the head of the search committee that read, ‘this is no April Fool’s joke. I accept. I’ll report 1st of August,’” Tom said.

Upon their arrival in Omaha, the Gouttierres were struck by the welcome extended them and by the support that helped the Afghan Center and the international studies programs grow rapidly.

“There was such an interest, such an enthusiasm in Omaha, more than we could have expected. It was really something we could have only dreamed for, hoped for,” Gouttierre said.

Under the leadership of chancellors Ronald Roskens and his successor Del Weber, UNO caught the nascent wave of globalization.

The university went from having a limited international presence to being a national leader in global engagement.

“Our whole experience here from the very beginning was overwhelmingly positive. It never ended and it still hasn’t. There was real receptivity and that’s what made it so wonderful,” Gouttierre said.

--Please turn to page 14.

New Horizons

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Page 13

Camelot Friendship Center

Tom Gouttierre...

You’re invited to visit the Camelot Friendship Center inside the Camelot Community Center, 9270 Cady Ave., for the following: • March 8: Birthday Bash.

• March 9: Book Club @ 10:15 a.m.

• March 16: Visit by Methodist College nursing students @ 10:15 a.m.

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

• March 24: Movie Day @ 12:15 p.m.

• March 27: Chair volleyball @ 10:30 a.m.

Other activities include Tai Chi (Tuesday and Friday @ 10:15 a.m.), Bingo, pinochle, card games, other games, crafts, candy making, and scrapbooking.

The Camelot Friendship Center is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Lunch is served at 11:30 a.m. A $3.50 contribution is suggested for the meal. Reservations are due by noon the business day prior to the lunch you wish to enjoy.

For reservations or more information, please call Amy at 402-444-3091.

Fontenelle Tours

Omaha/Council Bluffs

712-366-9596

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

Learn more about our upcoming trips at a special travel meeting on Thursday, March 2 at 6 p.m. at the Comfort Inn on 10729 ‘J’ Street, Omaha. Please give us a call at the above number or send an email to wardkinney@cox.net if you plan to attend.

Motorcoach “Boeing-Boeing” at the New Theater. April 22. $139 before 3/6/17. ($149 after 3/6/17.) Join us on a Saturday trip to Kansas City to see a live performance of “Boeing-Boeing” while you enjoy a delicious buffet lunch.

This comedy, starring Debra Jo Rupp from “That 70s Show” and “Friends”, is the story of Bernard, a bachelor juggling a very precarious social calendar while he is engaged simultaneously to three different stewardesses. His sophisticated timetable works great until the new double speed Super Boeing changes the schedules of the airlines and the mayhem begins.

“The Dixie Swim Club” at the New Theater. June 21. $129 before 4/21/17. ($139 after 4/21/17.) Join us on a Wednesday trip to Kansas City to see a live performance of “The Dixie Swim Club” while you enjoy a delicious buffet lunch. This play, starring Morgan Fairchild from “Falcon Crest”, “Flamingo Road”, and “Friends”, is the story of five Southern women who became friends on their college swim team. For 33 years they’ve had a weekend reunion every August to recharge those relationships. The Dixie Swim Club focuses on four of those weekends.

Nebraska State Parks and Solar Eclipse. August 20 - 25. Call for pricing. Come along to help celebrate Nebraska’s 150th Anniversary of Statehood. Begin the trip with the Total Solar Eclipse in Kearney, which is in the direct path of totality. Experience the beauty of Nebraska nature in several State Parks, Historical Parks, Recreation Areas, and Monuments, including a cookout, guided tours, cabin stays, and special highlights as we make a giant loop around the state.

Branson Christmas. November 6 - 9. $699 before 8/6. ($739 after 8/6.) Enjoy Daniel O’Donnell at the Welk Theater, Pierce Arrow, The Brett Family, Neal McCoy, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons hits in “New Jersey Nights”, and either “The Miracle of Christmas” at the Sight and Sound Theater or the SIX Show, and Grand Village shopping.

Kansas City Christmas. Dates to be determined after the New Theater announces its new season.

Laughlin Laughlin in March. March 29 – April 1. $329. Four days – three nights.

Includes non-stop, round-trip airfare to Laughlin, Nevada, three 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 away from the COLD! In Partnership with Collette Vacations Quoted prices are per person, double occupancy, and do include airfare. More destinations available!

America’s Music Cities. October 1 - 8. $3149. New Orleans, Memphis, and Nashville by air. Some highlights include a French Quarter tour and jazz revue, swamp cruise, Gaylord Opryland Hotel stay, Graceland, Country Music Hall of Fame, reserved seats at the Grand Ole Opry, whisky distillery tour, Belle Meade Plantation tour, and a Louisiana cooking demo.

Discover Panama. February 22 – March 2, 2018. Details to follow.

Canadian Rockies & Glacier National Park. Mid July 2018. Details to follow.

Spotlight London Holiday. December 2018. Details to follow.

Iceland’s Magical Northern Lights. Early March 2019. Details to follow.

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

11808 Mason Plaza, Omaha, NE 68154

Page 14

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New Horizons

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--Continued from page 13.

Sister University relationships were formed. The intensive language program, he said, took UNO’s name all around the world. “People came to Omaha to study intensive English. When I got here in ‘74 the challenge was to get people to come to Omaha. We (UNO) didn’t have agriculture.

We didn’t have dorms. Well, we started an intensive English language program and it became one of the largest, most highly regarded ones in the Midwest. We became a leader.”

“Tom took a fledgling program and built it into an outstanding Center for Afghanistan Studies and International Studies known throughout the country,” Weber said. “He combined a deep intellectual knowledge of the Middle East with an onsite practical understanding of Afghanistan.

Forty-one years ago few in Omaha would have known how to spell Afghanistan yet find its place on a map. It was a forgotten county. Countless Nebraskans are now well informed. That is no rare feat.”

Introducing his adopted state (Nebraska) to the country (Afghanistan) that adopted him and captured his heart has been satisfying. Being part of the inner workings to get the Soviets out was stimulating. Tom’s last trip to Afghanistan was in 2014 and he hopes to return again.

Gouttierre’s grateful for the support subsequent UNO administrators continued showing the center and its international studies programs. He’s appreciative, too, of the strong team around him that made extensive travel to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Washington, D.C., for example, possible.

UNO’s partnerships with Kabul University are particularly close and varied, including a journalism exchange program between faculty and students from each institution.

Weber marvels at what Gouttierre wrought.

“I admire Tom for his grasp of the Middle East and Afghanistan, his sharp focus, and his single-minded emphasis on that area. All of his time, effort, and knowledge were given to building that program he was brought in to build at UNO. He stood up for it, fought for it, and succeeded in making a superb program known nationally and internationally.”

Weber got to see Gouttierre in action on some overseas trips they made together.

“My many travels with him told me much about his work. He was a man who knew how to play and work hard. On one of our trips to Pakistan we convinced the American consul in Islamabad to permit us to go into Kabul for a short trip to see our school programs in person. The consul told us if we ran into any problems we were on our own as the U.S. government would not provide any assistance.

“We stayed with the minister of protocol, who insisted I sleep in his bed. As I crawled in, I felt a pistol under the pillow. Since there was no electricity, I gingerly put the pistol on the floor. In the morning I discovered it was loaded. He told me no one in Kabul was without his pistol in bed,” Weber continued.

“We went to the airport to catch a Red Cross airplane back to Islamabad only to discover it had been grounded due to shelling at the airport. Again we stayed with the minister. That night in the city under siege was a long one. I wondered if we would ever get back.”

Even as Gouttierre’s profile increased

March 2017

In retirement, Tom has more time to enjoy cooking, dining, and watching his beloved Detroit Tigers. and opportunities to go elsewhere emerged, he said, “I never, ever considered leaving Omaha. I love being in Omaha. The luckiest break of my life was to say ‘yes’ to come to UNO and Omaha in 1974.”

His cozy ties to the U.S. State Department aroused suspicions in some quarters he was a CIA operative but he flatly denies it. While he did get pushback from some colleagues, he said most UNO faculty and staff expressed support, as did alums and the Omaha community for the center’s work. No student protests raised objections.

“In all the speeches I’ve given, and I’ve given so many, I’ve never had anybody ask a question or make a comment that was motivated by a sense of meanness. I had people disagree with me, but that’s all right.

I like that, I like to have discussion and debate.”

T

hough he clearly found his calling, Gouttierre said he always looked forward to retirement. He only worked as long as he did because he enjoyed his job. Now he’s enjoying that long anticipated retirement.

“My intent was to do more of the things I love to do with family and friends and that’s exactly what I’m doing.”

He’s taking his family to Lakeland, Fla. to cheer on the Tigers at spring training this month. He said a day doesn’t go by without he and his sons exchanging texts or emails about the baseball team.

Tom’s love of fine dining, cooking, reading, conversation, movies, and tinkering around the house keeps him busy.

Wherever he is, whatever he’s doing, his joy tinged with sadness affinity for Afghanistan is omnipresent. That place is so very far away, yet reminders of it are everywhere in his life and home. The feelings and memories are always near.

“I’ll never be able to set aside Afghanistan. That’s a passion of a unique nature.

I learned so much about life by having the opportunity to live among them, broadening my horizons, enriching my appreciation of other peoples, languages, (and) cultures. I gained greater appreciation of our country by having the chance to live abroad – the best kind of comparative education.

“These opportunities have made me a better informed and more sensitive person and appreciative of the many breaks I’ve had.”

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

AARP’s Tax Aide program available at 10 Omaha-area sites through April 15

Florence AARP chapter

he AARP Tax-Aide program provides free income tax preparation services at 10 locations in the Omaha area. This program was conceived primarily to assist low and moderate-income older adults, but also serves a variety of other clients, including students.

Unless otherwise indicated, sites operate on a walk-in basis with no appointments needed or taken.

When visiting one of the tax preparation sites, clients must bring all documents related to their income, their 2015 tax return, and Social Security cards for all persons named on the tax return.

Unless noted, the sites will be open through Saturday, April 15.

The names, locations, and open days/hours for these sites are listed below.

For more information about this AARP service, please go to www.nebraskataxaide.org online or call 402-3989582

AARP’s Florence Chapter 2269 meets monthly at Mount View Presbyterian Church, 5308 Hartman Ave. The meetings feature a noon lunch for $8 followed by a program at 12:45 p.m.

The meetings are open to both AARP members and non-members.

Transportation is available by calling Ruth Kruse at 402-453-4825 or Marge Willard at 402-455-8401.

Here’s the schedule for the rest of 2017

T

Agewell 6801 N. 67th Plz. Suite 100 Fridays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Bellevue Senior Center 109 W. 22nd Ave. Mondays and Wednesdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Bellevue University Library 1100 Galvin Rd. South Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Crossroads Mall (west corridor) 7400 Dodge St. Tuesdays through Thursdays, & Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Kids Can Community Center 4860 Q St. Tuesdays and Thursdays 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Thursdays By appointment only 402-731-6988 5 to 7 p.m.

La Vista Community Center 8116 Park View Blvd.

Tuesdays, Thursdays, & Saturdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Wednesdays 3 to 7 p.m.

Montclair Community Center 2304 S. 135th Ave. Tuesdays through Thursdays 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

North Christ Child Center 2111 Emmet St. Mondays and Tuesdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Wednesdays 4 to 7:30 p.m.

• March 20 Visual impairments Outlook Nebraska, Inc. • April 17 Robert Dorr Former Omaha World-Herald reporter • May 15 HELP Adult Services Services for older adults and persons with a disability • June 19 Dr. Betty Foster Advance planning for older adults

Call 402-706-1453 to learn more

Genealogy Conference on April 1 at Nebraska Methodist College

T

he Greater Omaha Genealogical Society will present its 2017 Spring Genealogy Conference on Saturday, April 1 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Nebraska Methodist College, 720 N. 87th St. Guest speaker will be Diahan Southard from the Sorensen Molecular Genealogy Foundation.

Southard provides personalized, interactive experiences to help individuals and families interpret their genetic results within the context of their genealogical information.

Sessions will include information on genetic genealogy, tips for making sense of your DNA, YDNA tests, and how DNA made a family out of strangers.

The cost is $45 for Greater Omaha Genealogical Society members and $55 for non-members. Lunch – which features a vegetarian selection – is included. A $5 discount is available for registration forms postmarked before March 21.

A registration form is available online at www.gogsmembers.com.

For more information and to register after March 21, please contact Merrily at 402-706-1453 or by email at gogsworkshop@radiks.net.

• July 17 Simon Lobo Pakistan • August 15 Pastor Ner Clay Karen refugees from Myanmar (Burma) • September 18 Picnic • October 16 Environmental specialist Tim Fickenscher Elders for the Earth • November 20 Omaha historian Lowen Kruse Omaha Blossoms

The Sierra Group, LLC FREE Book & CD Call Us: (800) 309-0753

• December 12 Christmas music

Sons of Italy Hall 1238 S. 10th St. Sundays Noon to 4:30 p.m.

Closed Palm Sunday & Easter Sunday AARP Information Center 1941 S 42nd St. Suite 220 Mondays through Thursdays By appointment only 402-398-9582

March 2017

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New Horizons

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Page 15

A true gentleman in the funeral home business

By Jeff Reinhardt New Horizons Editor

T

om Belford has had a speaking part in a major motion picture, logged hundreds of hours in the air flying his own airplane, and spent time with Bono, the legendary lead singer for the Irish rock band U2. But perhaps what Belford – the owner of Omaha’s John A. Gentleman Mortuaries – takes the greatest satisfaction in is helping families begin the road back to a normal life after the death of a loved one.

“A pre-planned service allows family members to focus on being together, not in planning the service.”

In 2003, Belford, a 1971 graduate of Omaha Creighton Prep High School and the University of Nebraska at Omaha (1976), purchased the John A. Gentleman Mortuaries from his parents who had owned the funeral home since 1956.

When Tom bought the company, John A. Gentleman Mortuary was located at 1010 N. 72nd St. Today the death care provider also has locations in west Omaha, Bellevue, and Ralston, and a cremation facility at 7010 L St. “I looked at where we were in 2003 and where we needed to go,” Belford said about the firm’s expansion. “Location is a big reason why a family chooses a funeral home.”

The 72nd Street facility – just south of Creighton Prep – was featured in Alexander Payne’s 2002 film About Schmidt. Payne, a 1979 Prep graduate, was familiar with the midtown Omaha mortuary and wanted to use the site to film a scene in the movie.

Belford – who along with Lee, his wife of 43 years, have two children and five grandkids – was cast as a funeral director in About Schmidt and spent a day in front of the cameras with its star Jack Nicholson.

While Tom said Nicholson is a great guy, the highlight of the experience for Belford was watching Payne in action. “He’s one of the finest guys I’ve ever met. He has an amazing way about him.”

Operating four funeral homes and a cremation facility can be stressful at times, and Belford said he likes to escape the stress by piloting his Commander 114 aircraft. “There’s something magical about sitting on the end of a runway, accelerating, and then taking off,” he said.

Tom is a member of Angel Flight, a national non-profit organization of pilots and other volunteers who arrange for and provide free private air transportation for medical patients who can’t afford traditional airline service.

D

uring his 37 years as a mortician, Belford has seen many changes in the industry, most notably a trend toward more people pre-planning their funerals.

Tom said the benefits of funeral pre-planning include allowing individuals to make more informed decisions about the type of service they want.

Page 16

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Tom Belford has owned John A. Gentleman Mortuaries since 2003. Today, the company operates four funeral homes and one cremation facility in the Omaha area.

“A pre-planned service allows family members to focus on being together, not in planning the service,” he added.

Pre-planning the funeral arrangements also allows consumers to freeze the cost of the services and set up a payment plan if they choose instead of paying in one lump sum.

Among the pre-planning funeral decisions that need to be made include, when applicable, what type of casket and vault will be used, where the loved one will be laid to rest, and designing a personalized service folder (program).

Belford said 30 to 50 percent of individuals are now choosing cremation. “More people are aware of this option. It’s typically a personal choice and not a matter of cost.”

Consumers choosing cremation must decide

New Horizons

•

March 2017

if they want to rent a casket for a public viewing of the deceased, select an urn, and determine whether they want to place their remains in a mausoleum, in the ground, or elsewhere.

Another change Belford has seen is that more families are creating unique personalized services that feature audio-visual presentations about their loved one as well as elaborate musical productions. Tom helped arrange a funeral that featured Bono and another service with singing by members of the New York City Opera.

While he has seen many changes in the ways funerals are pre-planned and run, Belford said his basic goal as a funeral director has remained the same. “Every day I come to work knowing I can, in some way, assist families in creating a unique service that celebrates a life.”

ENOA recruiting older adults to join SCP, FGP

M

en and women age 55 and older who want to earn a tax-free stipend while making an impact in their community are encouraged to join the Senior Companion Program and the Foster Grandparent Program.

Sponsored locally by the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging, the SCP and FGP are national programs of the Corporation for National and Community Service through the Senior Service Corps.

Senior Companions help other older adults maintain their independence by visiting them at home to discuss the news, read mail, play cards, run errands, etc.

Foster Grandparents serve as positive role models for children who need special attention with education, healthcare, and social development in schools, Head Start programs, and child development centers.

SCP and FGP volunteers must meet income guidelines and complete an enrollment process that includes references and background checks.

In exchange for volunteering 15 hours or more per week, Foster Grandparents and Senior Companions receive a $2.65 an hour tax-free stipend, mileage reimbursement, an annual physical examination, supplemental accident insurance coverage, and other benefits including an annual recognition luncheon.

The stipend does not interfere with rent, disability, Medicaid, or other benefits.

For more information, call 402-444-6536.

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

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

The service is offered weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Corrigan Senior Center You’re invited to visit the Corrigan Senior Center, 3819 X St., this month for: • March 1, 8, 15, & 29: WhyArts? painting class with Joe Broghammer @10 a.m. Stay for a delicious noon lunch.

Call 402-731-7210 to sign-up for the class and the meal.

• March 2, 9, & 30: Colored pencil or poster painting and Social @ 10:30 a.m. Coffee, tea, and a snack provided.

• March 6: The “Rockin’ Woody” Tom Strohmyer Birthday Party Show sponsored by the Merrymakers. Noon lunch and bingo will follow his show.

• March 9: Talk on Enhancing Communication about Dementia @ 11 a.m. Lunch is a hot turkey sandwich or a deli crab macaroni salad.

• March 13: March Madness Monday. Shoot some hoops for prizes in the gym. Basketball themed movie, popcorn, and special snacks. Stayed for a noon lunch featuring almond Dijon chicken or a ham macaroni salad. Bingo @ 1 p.m.

• March 16: St. Patrick’s Day celebration featuring a special chicken dinner and bingo. Paul Siebert’s Irish music show @ 11 a.m. Chicken breast or a roast beef with Monterey jack chef salad for lunch. Come early for 10 a.m. games. Wear your favorite green outfits. The reservation deadline is 11 a.m. on Friday, March 10.

• March 17: Irish trivia game @ 11 a.m. Corned beef or tuna salad on a croissant for lunch.

• March 21: Spa Day @ 10 a.m. featuring $10 pedicures and free blood pressure checks.

• March 22: Talk on What’s in Your Milk? with Michaela Howard, R.D. from ENOA @ 10:30 a.m. Learn about the nutritional and taste differences of the various types of milk. Stay for a delicious roast beef dinner.

• March 23: Heartland Ensemble’s Irish Folk Music show @ 11 a.m. Chicken and dumplings for lunch. Bingo will follow lunch.

Everyone, including new players, is welcome 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.

WHITMORE LAW OFFICE Wills • Trusts • Probate

Ask A Lawyer: Q — What considerations are involved in estate planning for a nontraditional family?

A — Our laws for distribution of property and rights upon death are based on the traditional nuclear family, consisting of a husband and a wife and the children conceived by them. The law establishes a default Will designed for the nuclear family.

In the case of blended families (two sets of children), unmarried partners, and same sex couples, the default pattern does not work.

For those who don’t fit the nuclear family mold, planning is very much more important, because the law doesn’t protect you. Don’t put it off.

Tickets are $15 at the door

Film series to explore the Gold Rush March 23 at Village Pointe Theaters

T

he next offering in the 2016-17 Omaha World Adventurers film series will feature Gray Warriner and his Ghosts of the Gold Rush on Thursday, March 23.

Show times are 2 and 7 p.m. at the Village Pointe Theaters, 304 N. 174th St. Warriner was the first director of photography for the PBS television series Travels with Rick Steves.

Ghosts of the Gold Rush will take viewers to places like Bodie, Tombstone, Lundy Lake, Bennettville, Robbers Roost, and Two Guns, while allowing them to follow in the footsteps of Butch Cassidy, the Sundance Kid, Calamity Jane, and the Wild Bunch.

With more than their fair share of outlaws, the boomtowns and mining camps of the Old West became famous around the world.

The region’s rich history is tucked away some of the nation’s most scenic landscapes.

Tickets are available at the door for $15.

The Omaha World Adventurers film series is a production of RJ Enterprises. For more information, please call 818-601-5963.

West Omaha Cosmopolitan Club

T

he West Omaha Cosmopolitan Club – which meets Wednesdays at 7 a.m. at the Garden Café, 11040 Oak St. – is recruiting new members.

The service organization works to support diabetics and raises money to help find a cure for diabetes.

For more information, please contact Michael Hume at hume.d.m@gmail.com or 402-315-4321.

Skyline Independent Living and Skyline Foundation invite you to our

Annual St. Patrick’s Day

Celebration Food, Friends, & Fun!

Friday, March 17th

RSVP

by Thursday,

March 9th

Seniors (55+) or be accompanied by a senior in order to attend.

CALL TODAY! 402-557-6637

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

“Simply the BEST!”

Independent Living Residences

AARP Legal Service Network • No Charge For Initial Consultation

7300 Graceland Drive • Omaha, NE 68134 SkylineRC.com

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

March 2017

12:00 pm lunch 1:30 pm: Music by Jerry Stingley At Skyline’s 6-Story Manor High-Rise 7300 Graceland Drive

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New Horizons

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Page 17

Heartland Generations Center

211 Network

You’re invited to visit the Heartland Generations Center – 4318 Fort St. – for the following: • March 7 & 21: Why Arts? Dance and Movement class with Courtney Stein @ 12:30 p.m.

• March 8: Party featuring Tom Strohmyer from the Merrymakers @ 10:30 a.m. Stay for lunch and a sundae.

• March 13: Medicare 101 presentation by Jen. • March 17: Presentation by Methodist College nurses @ 10:15 a.m. and then a St. Patrick’s Day party at Skyline Villa. We’ll leave @ 11:30 a.m. Reservations due by March 9. Sign up on the Generations board or call 402-553-5300.

• March 18: Bingo and crafts with the Student League @ 3:30 p.m.

• March 20: Nutrition presentation by Michelle from ENOA @ 10:45 a.m.

• March 27: Why Arts? class on mixed media with Kim Reid @ 10:30 a.m.

• March 30: Afternoon trip to the World Cup Equestrian finals at the CenturyLink Center. Sign up on the Generations board or call 402-553-5300.

Weekly events include T’ai Chi Tuesday and Thursday @10:45 a.m.; and chair exercises Tuesday and Thursday @ 12:45 p.m.

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

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

The 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.

• Support for older Americans and persons with a disability.

• Volunteer opportunities and donations.

• Employment.

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

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THEOS THEOS, a social organization for singles age 60 and older, meets March 13 from 1 to 4 p.m. at New Cassel, 900 N. 90th St. Older men and women are encouraged to meet for a fun afternoon and to sign up for other activities throughout the month.

The March 13 meeting will feature musical entertainment by Kathy Doval.

For more information, please call Dorothy at 402-399-0759 or Mary at 402-393-3052.

Read it & eat

By Lois Friedman readitandeat@yahoo.com

Delicious food choices for March The pages of these cookbooks are filled with healthy eating ideas and terrific recipes. Make delicious food choices in 2017.

Minimalist Baker’s Everyday Cooking

By Dana Shultz (Avery, $35) Breakfast, Appetizers + Sides, Main Dishes, Desserts, and Beverages are the chapters from this blogger for plantbased, one-dish, 30-minute, gluten-free recipes.

The Backyard Homestead Kitchen Know How

By Andrea Chesman (Storey, $19.95) More than two dozen chapters in three sections. Read about these field-to-table skills to process, prepare, preserve, and cook. Learn about homesteading culture.

Low-So Good

By Jessica Foung (Chronicle, $29.95) Step-by-step guide to a low sodium diet, a Seven Day Taste Bud Reboot, and shifting sneaky sodium habits from blogger SodiumGirl.com. Eleven packed chapters. Six lowsodium cooking commandments and more than 70 recipes.

Pam Krauss-Avery: Pure Delicious

By Heather Christo ($30) This Seattle blogger shares 150 allergen-free recipes, an eight-week elimination plan, and hidden allergens guide.

Clear out your ’frig and pantry to make room for her most used ingredients.

The Book of Veganish

By Kathy Freston ($22) Start with one meal a day. Seventy recipes for two servings or more in a peppy upbeat style: Chapters include So I'm Veganish, What the #!&* Do I Eat? But My Family Would Never Eat Vegan!

By Kristy Turner (The Experiment, $24.95) More than 100 vegan recipes for family meals in chapters organized by objections. From Vegan pantry stables, everyday, and special day meals to veganized family favorites.

The Complete Guide to Natural Homemade Beauty Products & Treatments

By Amelia Ruiz (Robert Rose, $24.95) Make your own natural beauty products and treatments for hair, hand and nails, bath, scents, sun care, facial masks, lotions, tonics, and deodorants in two parts: Fundamentals and 175 recipes. Nature is your ally. From more than two dozen lemon recipes, try this for dry, brittle nails:

Lemon Nail Rub 1 lemon Using a sharp knife, cut off lemon zest, making large strips.

Save lemon for another use. Rub lemon zest all over nails.

Tip: Lemon is also excellent for softening rough, dry skin on your hands. Avoid applying it to cracked skin, however, the natural acid in lemons makes broken skin sting.

Law Offices of Charles E. Dorwart 35 years of legal experience • Wills • Living Trusts • Probate • Healthcare and Financial Powers of Attorney • In-home consultations • Free Initial consultation 6790 Grover Street • Suite 100 Omaha, NE 68106 Office: (402) 558-1404 • Fax: (402) 779-7498 cdorwartjd@dorwartlaw.com

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March 2017

UNMC study working to reduce falling in hospitals

I

n an effort to reduce the number of patients who fall while hospitalized, the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s College of Allied Health Professions is conducting a study to compare patient monitoring systems to determine which system is more effective.

CLASSIFIEDS

93rd & Maple • 402-397-6921

Each year, on average, about 3 percent of patients – three of every 100 patients – falls in a U.S. hospital. About one-third of the falls result in injury with an average cost of $14,000 per patient, said Katherine Jones, Ph.D., associate professor in the UNMC Division of Physical Therapy Education.

She said falls in hospitals are considered a preventable hospital-acquired condition even though patients may have gotten out of bed and fallen on their own. Excluding small critical access hospitals, hospitals must pay the expense to treat hospital-acquired injuries.

Dr. Jones, a physical therapist, said some of the reasons for falls are lower extremity weakness, medication side effects, the unfamiliar environment, urinary urgency, and incontinence.

Some hospitals monitor patients via video, particularly those at high risk for falls.

“A typical system involves one person monitoring multiple screens to watch when patients start to get up,” Dr. Jones said. “The problem is, if the patient’s already getting out of bed, the nurse may not be able to get there in time.”

In four Nebraska hospitals, the team will compare a new patient monitoring system developed by Ocuvera, to interventions in each hospital. This may include interventions such as bed and chair pressure sensor alarms, assisted transfers and walking with a gait belt, mechanical lifts as appropriate, an alert sign indicating the severity of the fall risk, medication review by a pharmacist, evaluation by a physical therapist, toileting schedule, and supervised toileting.

With the help of Victoria Kennel, Ph.D., UNMC College of Allied Health Professions assistant professor and industrial/organizational psychologist, the team will determine the best way to train nurses to use the system.

The Ocuvera system captures the patient’s shape and movement to predict when a patient is likely to get out of bed. The system sends a signal to a nurse’s phone before the patient actually leaves the bed. The nurse can see the patient and decide how best to respond including asking the patient to stay in bed until the nurse or another nurse can help.

“We hope the system will keep patients safe, saving nurses’ time, and reducing hospital costs,” Dr. Jones said.

“A lot in the literature of fall risk reduction talks about it as a nursing quality problem. We want to frame it as an organizational quality problem so that everybody has a role in fall risk reduction.”

The study, which was scheduled to start in February 2017 and continue through May 2018, is funded by the state of Nebraska Research and Development Grant program, which funds research intended to produce innovations that might not result without state assistance.

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Use the New Horizons CLASSIFIEDS To place your ad, please call 402-444-4148 or 402-444-6654

Driveways, garage floors, sidewalks, retaining walls, patio specialists.

Since 1985 Insured/references.

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REPUTABLE SERVICES, INC. • Remodeling & Home Improvement • Safety Equipment Handrails Smoke and Fire Alarms • Painting Interior & Exterior • Handyman Services

Senior Citizens (62+) Accepting applications for HUD-subsidized apartments in Papillion & Bellevue.

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• Senior Discounts • Free Estimates • References • Fully Insured Quality Professional Service

Call Frank

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Mow, fertilize, aerate.

Trim trees & bushes.

Clean gutters.

Build walls. Haul junk.

Call Tim @ 402-612-3576

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GET RID OF IT! Haul away, garage, basement, rental clean out…

Lonergan Lawns

[Bonded & insured]

Call Judy

Best & honest prices paid for: Nice old vintage and costume jewelry, old watches, vintage toys, Fenton glassware, old postcards, advertising items, military items, pottery, and antique buttons.

Also buying estates & partial estates.

Call Bev at 402-339-2856

Military, political, toys, jewelry, fountain pens, pottery, kitchen ware, postcards, photos, books, and other old paper, old clothes, garden stuff, tools, old household, etc.

Call anytime 402-397-0254 or 402-250-9389

Big jobs or small, I’ll do them all!

Chipping & removal.

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Please call 402-444-4148 or 402- 444-6654 to place your ad

Better Business Bureau Member

Managed by Kimball Management, Inc. PO Box 460967 Papillion, NE 68046 www.kimballmgmt.com

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We do business in accordance with the Fair Housing Law.

ENOA March 2017

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New Horizons

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Page 19

Baker’s customers buy roses for Meals on Wheels recipients

T

Shana Taylor (right), the assistant store manager at Baker’s Supermarket – 90th and Fort streets – delivered roses to Arlis Smidt, who coordinates ENOA’s Meals on Wheels Program and ENOA Executive Director Dennis Loose. The flowers were presented on Valentine’s Day to more than 100 of ENOA’s Meals on Wheels recipients.

hanks to the generosity of dozens of customers at Baker’s Supermarkets’ 90th and Fort streets store, more than 100 Meals on Wheels recipients were given a beautiful red rose on Valentine’s Day. Each year, Baker’s asks its customers to buy Valentine’s Day roses or balloons for men and women, boys and girls involved in a variety of area programs, according to Shana Taylor, assistant manager at the northwest Omaha grocer.

Pam Watts, the store’s floral manager recommended ENOA and its Meals on Wheels Program to be a beneficiary of the effort in 2017, Taylor said.

“We want to thank Baker’s and its customers for their kindness,” said Arlis Smidt, who coordinates ENOA’s Meals on Wheels program.

ENOA Executive Director Dennis Loose delivered a hot meal and a red rose to Margaret Grace on Valentine’s Day.

Your home. Your care. Your pace.

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

PACE participants may be fully and personally liable for the costs of unauthorized or out-of-PACE program services. Emergency services are covered. Participants may disenroll at any time.

For complete program details and benefits, please call 402-991-0330 or visit www.immanuel.com.

Serving Nebraska in the Counties of Douglas and Sarpy 5755 Sorensen Parkway | Omaha, NE 68152 | 402-991-0990

THE

Judy Garland SONGBOOK

MARCH 25  7:30 PM | MARCH 26  2 PM HOLLAND CENTER Ernest Richardson, conductor | Broadway Cast

Page 20

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New Horizons

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Symphony Pops Series Sponsor

“Over the Rainbow” “The Man That Got Away” “The Trolley Song” “That’s Entertainment!”

Relive the concert known as the greatest night in show business history with Judy’s set list and three Broadway women of exceptional heart and voice.

Accommodations Sponsor

March 2017

Diabetes Symposium

T

he Diabetes Education Center of the Midlands is hosting the 33rd annual Diabetes Symposium on Saturday, March 25 at the Embassy Suites LaVista Conference Center, 12520 Westport Pkwy.

Speakers will discuss a variety of topics including sexual dysfunction, new technologies and protocols in diabetes management, and strength training.

The cost is $45 for patients if registered before March 18. Registration for healthcare professionals – which includes continuing education credits – is $99.

To register, please call 402-399-0777, ext. 217 or log on to www.diabeteseducation.com.