Lebanon County Edition
November 2013
Vol. 8 No. 11
Take Two PA State Senior Idol Winner Delights in ‘Second Chance’ By Megan Joyce For a guy looking to take his second chance and run with it, 2013 has seen singer Chris Roda in a full sprint. After a four-year battle with a nerve disorder that silenced Roda’s powerful, operatic vocals, his reemergence into the world of music has been heralded with not one but two talent-competition wins in six months’ time. Roda’s win at the recent 2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL finals competition was actually his second top-place title of the year: in April, he also won the area’s Welsh Mountain Spring Sing competition. Not a bad restart for a performer whose voice returned to him a mere 14 months ago. Roda was one of 15 semifinalists who performed during the finals night of OLP Events’ annual over-50 talent competition, a sold-out affair held at the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster and emceed by Diane Dayton of Dayton Communications. It was Roda’s second time appearing as a SENIOR IDOL finalist, having been the second runner-up in 2007. Roda was one of five children growing up in a musical household. His late father’s love for the music of American tenor Mario Lanza instilled an early appreciation for opera in Roda, who began pursuing his own vocal gifts around age 20 after his father passed away. “I’m a diehard opera singer,” he said. “That’s what I love—that’s been the main influence in my style of singing.” please see TAKE TWO page 15 Chris Roda singing “E Lucevan Le Stelle” from Tosca, a performance that secured his place as the 2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL.
Inside:
PA STATE SENIOR IDOL:
Tough Choices for Judges page 8
How to Get Paid for Being a Family Caregiver page 14
Meeting and Exceeding Expectations By Christianne Rupp
17th Annual
November 6, 2013 9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
NEW LOCATION!
2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim (Just off Rt. 283 at the Salunga exit)
Sponsored by: Health & Wellness
Gold
Bronze AmeriHealth VIP Care • Lancaster County LINK to Aging and Disability Resources Longevity Alliance • Regional Gastroenterology Associates of Lancaster RetireSafe • Today’s Options • United Zion Retirement Community
Brought to you by:
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Media WDAC WHYL
The premiere Lebanon County women’s expo was recently held at the Lebanon Expo Center. OLP EVENTS, producer of 50plus Senior News and host of the Lebanon County women’s expo, appreciates the enthusiasm and support the entire community gave toward making this first-year event the hit that it was. Women began arriving by 8:30 a.m., eager, energized, and ready to chat with exhibitors, catch the fashion show, watch a demonstration, or squeeze in a free massage, haircut, or manicure. And, of course, do some shopping! Good vibes flowed from everyone. I talked with women who came with friends for a girls’ day out and many moms and daughters who were sharing special time, happy to find something they could enjoy together. Kathy K. thought it was “an amazing day” and particularly liked the spa services offered. Lori P. enjoyed the demonstrations and presentations. She is new to the area and found the women’s expo to be particularly helpful because it was a great introduction to many of the local businesses. Exhibitors I spoke with who are independent consultants and rely on building their businesses by having home parties and demonstrations raved about the many leads they gathered at the women’s expo. They were ecstatic about the number of home shows they may be able to book before the holidays. A chiropractor shared that he was busy all day performing back adjustments. This presented a wonderful opportunity for guests to chat face to face with the chiropractor in a nonintimidating atmosphere and to see how good an adjustment can feel. There was a lot of wining going on too. Wine tasting, that is. Twin Brook Winery was glad to hold a tasting where women could not only enjoy a sample of its varietals, but also buy a bottle to take home.
One thing women shouldn’t be shying away from is their finances. There were a few financial professionals at the women’s expo who offered their expertise, answered questions, and offered information. Health and wellness is on every woman’s mind, whether it’s for themselves, their spouses, their children, or their parents. Exhibitors were on hand to speak with attendees about nutrition, home care, rehabilitation, and illnesses such as breast cancer, and diabetes, and much more. While at the women’s expo, the seats were filled for the all of the demonstrations and presentations on stage, from installing mosaic tile by Home Depot, handwriting analysis by Mitzi Jones, accessorizing with jewelry by Premier Designs, and the fashion show by Encore Boutique, to Zumba with the Stotskys and belly dancing by Arabian Nights Oasis. Fun was had by all of the participants of the Hula Hoop Contest, and Megan Hoffmaster from Lebanon won the top prize of $100. Jolene Zidic from Jonestown and Lucy Meade from Cleona were runners up. We thank Good Samaritan Health System and all of our sponsors: Domestic Violence Intervention of Lebanon County, Inc., CBS 21, FM 90.3 WJTL, HOT 93.5, WDAC, WINK 104, WQIC, and ZCOUNTRY 106.7. The Cumberland County women’s expo, the last event of the fall, will be held on Nov. 9, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Carlisle Expo Center. And for those of you are in the Hershey area, the premiere Dauphin County women’s expo will be held this spring on March 22, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hershey Lodge. Visit aGreatWayToSpendMyDay.com for more information about becoming an exhibitor or for free advance guest registration for any of our women’s expos. www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
Resource Directory This Resource Directory recognizes advertisers who have made an extended commitment to your health and well-being.
Emergency Numbers Poison Control Center (800) 222-1222
Hearing Services Hearing & Ear Care Center, LLC 200 Schneider Drive, Suite 1, Lebanon (717) 274-3851
Housing Assistance Hope (Helping Our People in Emergencies) (717) 272-4400
Melnick, Moffitt, and Mesaros 927 Russell Drive, Lebanon (717) 274-9775
Housing Assistance & Resources Program (HARP) (717) 273-9328
Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (800) 233-3008 V/TTY
Lebanon County Housing & Redevelopment Authorities (717) 274-1401
Hospitals Good Samaritan Hospital 252 S. Fourth St., Lebanon (717) 270-7500
Insurance Medicare Hotline (800) 638-6833
Salvation Army (717) 273-2655
Medical Society of Lebanon County (717) 270-7500
Legal Services Pennsylvania Bar Association (717) 238-6715
Health & Medical Services Alzheimer’s Association (717) 651-5020
Hotlines Energy Assistance (800) 692-7462
American Cancer Society (717) 231-4582
Environmental Protection Agency Emergency Hotline (800) 541-2050
Food Resources Food & Clothing Bank (717) 274-2490 Food Stamps (800) 692-7462 Hope/Christian Ministries (717) 272-4400 Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging Meals on Wheels (717) 273-9262
American Diabetes Association (717) 657-4310 American Heart Association/ American Stroke Association (717) 207-4265
IRS Income Tax Assistance (800) 829-1040 Medicaid (800) 692-7462
Maple Street Senior Community Center (717) 273-1048 Myerstown Senior Community Center (717) 866-6786 Northern Lebanon County Senior Community Center (717) 865-0944 Palmyra Senior Community Center (717) 838-8237 Senior Center of Lebanon Valley (717) 274-3451
Office of Aging Lebanon County Area Agency on Aging (717) 273-9262 Pharmacies CVS/pharmacy www.cvs.com Retirement Communities
Southern Lebanon County Senior Community Center (717) 274-7541 Veterans Services Governor’s Veterans Outreach (717) 234-1681 Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 S. Lincoln Ave., Lebanon (717) 228-6000 or (800) 409-8771
StoneRidge Retirement Living (717) 866-3204
American Lung Association (717) 541-5864
Medicare (800) 382-1274
Arthritis Foundation (717) 274-0754
PA Crime Stoppers (800) 472-8477
Bureau of Blindness and Visual Services (717) 787-7500
PennDOT (800) 932-4600
CONTACT Helpline (717) 652-4400
Recycling (800) 346-4242
Kidney Foundation (717) 652-8123
Social Security Information (800) 772-1213
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (717) 652-6520
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (800) 827-1000
Lupus Foundation (888) 215-8787
Senior Centers Annville Senior Community Center (717) 867-1796
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Please specify edition: Chester Cumberland Dauphin Lancaster Lebanon York Not an all-inclusive list of advertisers in your area.
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The Squint-Eyed Senior
The Ups and Downs of Better Health
Corporate Office: 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512 Phone 717.285.1350 • Fax 717.285.1360 Chester County: 610.675.6240 Cumberland County/Dauphin County: 717.770.0140 Berks County/Lancaster County/ Lebanon County/York County: 717.285.1350 E-mail address: info@onlinepub.com Website address: www.onlinepub.com
PRESIDENT AND PUBLISHER Donna K. Anderson
EDITORIAL VICE-PRESIDENT AND MANAGING EDITOR Christianne Rupp EDITOR, 50PLUS PUBLICATIONS Megan Joyce
ART DEPARTMENT PROJECT COORDINATOR Renee McWilliams PRODUCTION ARTIST Janys Cuffe PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Jessica Johns WEB DEVELOPER Kahla Livelsberger
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES Karla Back Angie McComsey Jacoby Valerie Kissinger Susan Krieger Ranee Shaub Miller Sue Rugh SALES & EVENT COORDINATOR Eileen Culp
CIRCULATION PROJECT COORDINATOR Loren Gochnauer
ADMINISTRATION BUSINESS MANAGER Elizabeth Duvall Member of
Awards
Winner
50plus Senior News is published by On-Line Publishers, Inc. and is distributed monthly among senior centers, retirement communities, banks, grocers, libraries and other outlets serving the senior community. On-Line Publishers, Inc. will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which may be fraudulent or misleading in nature. Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. On-Line Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to revise or reject any and all advertising. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of On-Line Publishers, Inc. We will not knowingly publish any advertisement or information not in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Pennsylvania State laws or other local laws.
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Theodore Rickard verything from halitosis to osteoporosis can be treated, apparently, with the right stuff. Or, several stuffs, as it turns out. My authorities on this are the ads in that thumb-worn magazine about health that’s in my doctor’s office. The cover date is November 2007, and since then, the sheer number of things we should be swallowing has, I’m sure, increased. That’s because there are more things to be treated, especially for those of us who have reached more mature years. Mature enough, in fact, to have become forgetful about how many illnesses we are likely to suffer from and should do something about. The problem arises and intensifies because of this: Since I didn’t know I had the problem, I obviously was doing nothing about it. I was not taking my daily dose of concentrated vitamins, glandular extract from near-extinct animals, or distillate of jungle fauna. Somehow I’d survived since November 2007, despite the new problems discovered every month— usually just before the magazine’s editorial deadline. This was probably just luck, so it was high time I paid better attention. All this seems a far cry from my youth, when “finish your oatmeal” was about as much nutritional advice as I ever got. The cereal-bowl battle was complicated by the maneuvers of an older brother who, grossly overacting, gave every sign of actually enjoying the mush. Then with a smug and superior glance at me, he’d put his empty bowl and spoon in the kitchen sink—just as we’d been told hundreds of times to do.
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Meanwhile, I’d be still pushing the groats around in their puddle of milk in the bottom of my bowl in hopes they might somehow simply disappear. They never did. Which explains why I always trailed a full half a block behind my brother on the walk to school. (Years later, the same brother needed to be bailed out due to a bit of over-enthusiasm on certain civilliberties issues—something regarding beverage consumption on public
property. I took my own sweet time getting there, I can assure you. In fact, I didn’t come up with the cash until I’d asked what they served for breakfast in the First District lockup—a point which was lost entirely on my sibling, the bail bond guy, and the desk sergeant. But I felt better about it.) There’s no real reason a seaweed extract from an obscure, third-world tribal state should work any better than “eat your spinach” followed by “or no dessert.” But I’m convinced that if I just stay alert, something will work to reverse the reality of time passing … these days with remarkable rapidity. Exercise is another contentiously touted but dubious necessity for continued health—or survival, according to the magazine enthusiasts. I do not jog. I no longer even quicken my step to catch the
down elevator. Not even leaving my doctor’s office. I have learned, concerning the overall realities of elevators, that there will be another one coming along within another minute or so. Were I to act as though it were otherwise is to assume that all the downward-bound elevator boxes go through the basement floor into some sort of subterranean, bottomless pit. I must admit, however, that once having steeled myself to the decision in this, every ring of the elevator bell seems to presage a green arrow. All of the elevators are going up. Naturally, I react by repeatedly stabbing the down button. A bell rings and I move swiftly to an advantageous starting position, guessing which set of doors will slide open for me. That’s when the green arrow confirms “up” and then I quickly change my position to catch the next car. This goes on until the original car returns from the topmost floor. By then I am puffing from the exercise—the very thing the magazine article was touting. The solution would be to find a doctor whose office is on the ground floor. I refuse, however, to change what the bureaucracy insists on calling a “primary care provider” (which any mother knows is herself ). I’ll stick with my present doctor. He’s a good 40 pounds overweight. And I suspect he smokes cigars. He makes me feel better about myself. Especially after all the problems with the elevators. A collection of Ted Rickard’s family-fun essays is titled Anything Worth Knowing I Learned from the Grandkids. It is now available in paperback on Amazon.com.
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Social Security News
Social Security Serves Those Who Have Served By John Johnston n Nov. 11, we honor our nation’s veterans for their service to America. What better time than now to tell you—and for you to help spread the word—about the many benefits and wealth of information Social Security has available for veterans and military personnel? Social Security recognizes those who put their lives on the line for our freedoms. Members of the armed forces receive expedited processing of their Social Security disability applications. The expedited process is available for any military service member who became disabled during active duty on or after Oct. 1, 2001, regardless of where the disability occurs. Some dependent children and spouses of military personnel may also be eligible to receive benefits. Visit our website designed specifically
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for our wounded veterans: www.social security.gov/woundedwarriors. There, you will find answers to a number of commonly asked questions, as well as other useful information about disability benefits available under the Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs. Please pay special attention to the fact sheet available on that website, Disability Benefits for Wounded Warriors. You’ll also find a webinar that explains the faster disability process available to wounded warriors. The program covers
general information about Social Security disability benefits as well as topics unique to wounded service members. The online video is less than three minutes and a great introduction to disability benefits for veterans and active-duty military. On the same webpage, you’ll also find links to useful Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense websites. The requirements for disability benefits available through Social Security are different from those from the Department of Veterans Affairs and require a separate application.
Military service members are covered for the same Social Security survivors, disability, and retirement benefits as everyone else. Although the expedited service is relatively new, military personnel have been covered under Social Security since 1957, and people who were in the service prior to that may be able to get special credit for some of their service. To learn more about Social Security for current and former military service members, read Military Service and Social Security. It’s available in our digital library at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs. But first, take a look at the wounded warrior page (www.socialsecurity.gov/ woundedwarriors). The webinar, factsheet, and pertinent links will brief you on everything you need to know to “maneuver” your way through the Social Security process. John Johnston is a Social Security public affairs specialist.
Flu and Pneumonia Shots Available at Rite Aid Health & Wellness Area at the 50plus EXPO Rite Aid certified immunizing pharmacists will be giving flu and pneumonia shots at the Lancaster County 50plus EXPO on November 6 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m., or until supplies are exhausted. The cost of the shots are covered by most insurance plans, including Medicare Part B. Stop by the Health & Wellness Area at the EXPO.
Cost without Medicare Flu: $29.99 Pneumonia: $79.99
November 6, 2013 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Spooky Nook Sports
NEW LOCATION!
2913 Spooky Nook Road, Manheim (Just off Rt. 283 at the Salunga exit)
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Give someone you love the gift that entertains, informs, and inspires, month after month!
Breakfast Raises Funds for ‘Cure-ageous’ Boy
Or renew an existing subscription!
Traditions of Hershey Independent Living and Personal Care and local community members recently came together in support of a local child, Collin Kratzer, and his family, and were able to raise $810 during a breakfast fundraiser. Collin, dubbed “Collin Cure-ageous,” is a loving, joyful, courageous 4-yearold boy who has been fighting medulloblastoma Traditions of Hershey staff Chef Dustin Barna, Katie McConnell, Jeremy Keiter, Mitzi Dye, and brain cancer since he was 16 Patrick Daugherty present the proceeds from the months old. fundraiser to the Kratzer family: Collin and parents, The local community Bill and Jen, along with sister, Neya. came together to enjoy a delicious breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and sausage, and in doing so, helped Traditions of Hershey support the family as they continue treating Collin’s cancer. You can follow Collin’s fight with updates from parents Bill and Jen Kratzer at their Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/CollinCureageous.
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Choose the Right Turkey With Thanksgiving approaching, you may be wondering what kind of turkey to buy for your big feast. The choices can be a little confusing. Check this quick guide to learn what the different labels mean: Butterball. Despite the name, these turkeys don’t actually have any butter. The turkeys come fresh or frozen. The fresh ones have no added ingredients. The frozen birds are injected in the breast with a solution of vegetable oil, water, salt, emulsifiers, and a preservative. The solution is made to enhance the flavor and provide moisture that is lost during the freezing process. Kosher. Kosher turkeys are soaked in cold saltwater even before the feathers are
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plucked. The process draws out the blood and impurities, following Jewish dietary laws. Because they go through both rabbinical and USDA inspections, the birds are very clean. The saltwater soak also makes for a more flavorful bird. Kosher poultry are fed an all-natural diet with no hormones or antibiotics. Free-range. These birds are fed an all-natural diet and aren’t confined. Often, the birds eat natural feed that is not organic but is tested for chemical residue. Generally, they have more breast meat, about 50 percent less fat, and a quarter fewer calories than regular turkeys. However, some consumers have found that free-range turkeys are a little tougher. That’s because they are less fatty, so be careful not to overcook them. www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
Nursing & Rehabilitation Centers The listings with a shaded background have additional information about their center in a display advertisement in this edition.
Bethany Village – The Oaks
Claremont Nursing and Rehabilitation Center
325 Wesley Drive • Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 (717) 766-0279 • www.bethanyvillage.org
1000 Claremont Road • Carlisle, PA 17013 (717) 243-2031 • www.ccpa.net/cnrc
Number of Beds: 69 Rehabilitation Unit: Yes Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Occupational, Physical Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes Scheduled Entertainment: Yes
Number of Beds: 290 Rehabilitation Unit: No Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Occupational, Physical Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes
Private Rooms Available: Yes Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Accreditations/Affiliations: CARF/CCAC; Eagle, LeadingAge PA Comments: Maplewood Assisted Living also available.
Scheduled Entertainment: Yes Private Rooms Available: No Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Comments: Claremont provides quality skilled nursing and rehabilitation services for short- and long-term stays.
Homeland Center
Mennonite Home Communities
1901 North Fifth Street • Harrisburg, PA 17102-1598 (717) 221-7902 • www.homelandcenter.org
1520 Harrisburg Pike • Lancaster, PA 17601 (717) 393-1301 • www.mennonitehome.org
Number of Beds: 92 Rehabilitation Unit: No Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Occupational, Physical Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes Scheduled Entertainment: Yes
Number of Beds: 188 Rehabilitation Unit: Yes Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Occupational, Physical Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes Scheduled Entertainment: Yes
Private Rooms Available: Yes Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Accreditations/Affiliations: AAHSA, LeadingAge PA (PANPHA), NHPCO, PHN, HPNA
Comments: A beautiful, full-service continuing care retirement community with a 145-year history of exemplary care.
Private Rooms Available: Yes Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Accreditations/Affiliations: Equal Housing, LeadingAge PA Comments: Person-centered care with reputation for compassion and excellence. Established in 1903. Respite care available w/minimum stay.
Pleasant Acres Nursing & Rehabilitation Center
Spring Creek Rehabilitation & Health Care Center
118 Pleasant Acres Road • York, PA 17402 (717) 840-7100 • www.yorkcountypa.gov
1205 South 28th Street • Harrisburg, PA 17111 (717) 565-7000 • www.springcreekcares.com
Number of Beds: 375 Rehabilitation Unit: No Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Physical, Occupational Respiratory Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: No 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes
Number of Beds: 404 Rehabilitation Unit: Yes Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Occupational, Physical Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes
Scheduled Entertainment: Yes Private Rooms Available: No Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Comments: Elm Spring Residence Independent Living on campus.
Scheduled Entertainment: Yes Private Rooms Available: Yes Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Comments: A charming campus offering short-term rehab, long-term skilled nursing care, ventilator and tracheostomy support, and Alzheimer’s memory care.
StoneRidge Retirement Living 440 East Lincoln Avenue • Myerstown, PA 17067 (717) 866-3200 • www.stoneridgeretirement.com Number of Beds: 194 Rehabilitation Unit: Yes Alzheimer’s Unit: Yes Skilled Licensed Nursing: Yes Therapy: Speech, Occupational, Physical Long-Term Care: Yes Respite Care: Yes 24-Hour Medical Care: Yes Recreational Activities: Yes Scheduled Entertainment: Yes
Private Rooms Available: Yes Semi-Private Rooms Available: Yes Pet Visitation Allowed: Yes Beauty/Barber Shop: Yes Medicare: Yes Medicaid: Yes Comments: Continuing care retirement community with two Myerstown sites convenient to Lebanon, Berks, and Lancaster counties.
If you would like to be featured on this important page, please contact your account representative or call (717) 285-1350.
This is not an all-inclusive list of agencies and providers. These advertisers are eager to provide additional information about their services.
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Maudie Becker
PA STATE
Steve Gallion
SENIOR IDOL Finals
Present Judges with Tough Choices Judge Calls 2013 Talent Lineup ‘Unbelievable’ By Megan Joyce
Paul Zavinsky
Ray Ricke Jr.
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The mid-October air outside was brisk and calm, but indoors, the PA STATE SENIOR IDOL finals competition seemed to generate its own atmosphere: warm and close, with an almost visible hum of energy produced by the nerves of the performers and the anticipation of the milling crowd. Produced by OLP EVENTS, PA STATE SENIOR IDOL is an annual talent competition that highlights the vocal, comedic, dance, or instrumental abilities of the state’s performers over age 50. The 15 semifinalists for the evening’s show were culled from nearly 100 contestants who auditioned at regional tryouts in late August and early September. There was not a vacant seat to be had inside the Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre in Lancaster, which hosted the eighth-annual event. The sold-out crowd was lively and supportive, as were the four local celebrity judges: RJ Harris of WHP580, Adrian “Buddy” King of the former Magnificent Men, Valerie Pritchett of abc27, and Janelle Stelson of WGAL-8. The show opened up with a performance by last year’s winner, Vickie Kissinger of Gap, who told emcee Diane Dayton of Dayton Communications that her year as the reigning SENIOR IDOL had been “wonderful.” “It’s just opened up a lot of new doors; it’s given me opportunities I never would have had,” Kissinger said. Being first up is seldom a desirable position, but John “Legs” Lawrenzi of Sutersville was likely unfazed as he sang “An American Trilogy” by Elvis Presley. The state Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame inductee estimated he’d performed in more than 3,700 concerts. “You have like two different voices,” King observed. “You have the lower one, your more expressive solo voice, and you have the upper, more
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dynamic [voice]. I prefer the more expressive, lower voice.” Second in line was Roy “Jake” Jacobs of Thomasville with “Unchained Melody” by The Righteous Brothers. Jacobs tearfully noted that he dedicates that song to his late wife. “That came through very clearly,” Stelson agreed. “It was very clear that you were singing to someone.” West Brandywine’s Tom Williams played his acoustic guitar while singing “Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot, a mellow, intimate rendition that King called “very atmospheric.” “I felt like I could be sitting with you at a campfire,” Pritchett added. “Your voice is very smooth, and I really enjoyed it.” Tammy Estep of York was the first of the night’s female performers. She sang a passionate version of “Long, Long Time” by Linda Ronstadt. “I like the control you had; you could tell you were really working on control,” Pritchett noted. The audience buzz increased rather dramatically when dancer Ray Ricke Jr. of York appeared on stage in his Michael Jackson getup. His “Smooth Criminal” routine included the moonwalk as well as some pulsating pectoral muscles thrown in for good measure. “Let me just politely say on behalf of all my girlfriends here: That was very enjoyable,” Stelson joked. Ricke may have been a tough act to follow, but Dan Kelly of Philadelphia didn’t disappoint with his confident rendition of “Maybe This Time” from Cabaret. “I love the richness in your voice, and I also like how when you belt it out, you belt it out—you go right down to the belly and bring it up,” Pritchett said. Kelly’s confidence was followed up by Maudie Becker’s version of “At Last” by Etta James, which King called “a gutsy, soulful performance.” Stelson complimented the Seltzer resident’s choice of key.
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“You sang that kind of low, and I really liked it,” she said. “I thought it really showed you off to your best advantage.” Next up was Chris Roda of Lancaster, who used his operatic vocals on “And This is My Beloved” from Kismet. King praised Roda’s use of dynamics. “Your last note was my favorite note of all,” King said. “It seemed like you held it for about five minutes.” Adding some variety to the night’s otherwise musical lineup, Steve Gallion of Lancaster performed a stand-up comedy routine that elicited a solid 3.5 minutes of raucous laughter from the audience and judges alike. King praised the pacing and cadence of Gallion’s delivery. “I like the way you built the routine, too,” King said. “You finished on top. It was great.” Music returned in force with Cheri Coleman of Coatesville singing “Inseparable” by Natalie Cole. King liked her “sweet and tender way of singing.” “A couple of those notes you hit, I thought my glass was going to shatter,” joked Pritchett. “I thought your voice was phenomenal.” Another phenomenal voice followed in the form of Kevin Pierce, also of Coatesville, who performed “Ol’ Man River” from Show Boat. King and Stelson commented on his storytelling ability. “Your voice and your presentation were both very dynamic,” Pritchett observed. “I was captivated. I just kept watching you because you’re so expressive.” The acoustic guitar then returned on stage with Paul Zavinsky at its helm. Zavinsky, of Hummelstown, sang and strummed “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by John Denver. “Good voices are a gift; they’re not something that you just take for granted,” noted King. “You have a nice, buttery kind of feel to your singing.” Constance Kuba Fisher of Mechanicsburg brought a different energy onto the stage with her theatrical rendition of “Ring Them Bells” by Liza Minnelli. “You’re fun, you’re a storyteller, and your stage presence was really wonderful,” Harris said. Nick Ferraro of Harrisburg brought images of Elvis to mind both in his appearance and his sound
as he passionately sang Presley’s “If I Can Dream.” “That was a really soulful performance. You put your heart and soul into that,” said King. Last but not least, Tom LaNasa of York closed the evening’s semifinalist performances with a dramatic, spoken-word presentation of Johnny Cash’s patriotic poem “Ragged Old Flag.” “I wish you would go down and do that same performance before Congress,” Stelson said. “I just defy them before the end of the day not to have a deal on this [government shutdown] silliness.” The four judges’ scores for all 15 contestants were then collected and tallied to determine which three semifinalists would move on to the finalist round and present a second performance. “You have no idea how tough this is tonight,” Harris said. “This is the best lineup we’ve had— every SENIOR IDOL has been great, and we’ve been here since the beginning—but tonight is unbelievable.” After a brief intermission, Ray Ricke Jr., Cheri Coleman Campbell, and Chris Roda were named the night’s three finalists. For their second selections, Ricke danced to “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson; Campbell performed “Saving All My Love for You” by Whitney Houston; and Roda sang “E Lucevan Le Stelle” from Tosca. The judges as well as the audience then voted for their favorite, and Roda was named the 2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL. Roda, a customer-service representative for RR Donnelly in Lancaster, had earlier shared with the judges and audience that his powerful voice had returned only a year ago after conquering a four-year illness that had ravaged his vocal chords. “It’s none of our business the health difficulties that you went through,” she said, “and it’s also nobody’s business who you believe in, in terms of God or Buddha … but I will say that I think God gave you a second lease so that we could have you.” For more information and highlights on the 2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL finals competition, visit www.SeniorIdolPA.com.
2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL Winner Chris Roda Cheri Coleman
Nick Ferraro
From left: Valerie Pritchett, RJ Harris, Janelle Stelson, and Adrian “Buddy” King
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Traveltizers
Travel Appetizers: Stories that Whet the Appetite for Travel
From Apricots to Computer Chips: California’s Silicon Valley By Andrea Gross life-size model of a cosmonaut floats near the ceiling. A few feet away, a green Statue of Liberty holds aloft a plasticized chocolate sundae. And sitting next to me are two men who might, just might, be making a deal that will change my life. This is Buck’s of Woodside, a restaurant in the hills surrounding California’s Silicon Valley. It’s a place known for comfort food, quirky décor, and big deals, like the ones that resulted in funding for Hotmail, Netscape, and PayPal. “The Valley,” as it’s generally called, is centered in the fertile farmland between Palo Alto and San Jose. “This area was paradise back in the ’60s,” says Phil Consentino, who owns J&P Farms, the last commercial orchard in San Jose. Since then, the valley’s population has increased six-fold, and flourishing fruit trees have been cut down to make
A
Phil Consentino owns J&P Farms, the last commercial orchard in San Jose.
The garage where Bill Hewlett and David Packard started their small electronics company has been dubbed the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley.”
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Melnick, Moffitt & Mesaros ENT Associates bring Baha 3 System to Lebanon County for those with special hearing needs Do you only hear from one ear? Have you tried a hearing aid without success? The Baha 3 System may help you! Unlike a hearing aid, the Baha 3 System is an implantable boneconduction hearing system that uses the body’s natural ability to conduct sound. Bone, like air, conducts sound vibrations. Typical hearing aids rely on air conduction and a functioning middle ear. But in cases where the middle ear is blocked or damaged, a bone-conduction system may be a better option. The Baha implant is surgically
placed behind the non-functioning ear. After approximately three months for adults, or six months for children, it bonds with the bone around it — forming a permanent structure with the living bone. Once this occurs, a sound processor is attached that enables the recipient to hear. Melnick, Moffitt & Mesaros ENT Associates, in Lebanon, is able to evaluate and fit candidates with the Baha 3 System. The doctors and staff have been providing excellent healthcare for 23 years. Call Melnick, Moffitt & Mesaros at 274-9775 to learn more about the Baha 3 System.
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Stanford University has served as an incubator for Silicon Valley entrepreneurs since the 1930s.
Colorful sculptures give the Google campus a welcoming feel, despite the fact that the buildings are off-limits to visitors.
room for middle-class homes and apartments. This transformation from a region of bountiful orchards to one filled with some of the world’s most renowned hightech companies began just a few miles from Buck’s in a small garage at 367 Addison Ave. in Palo Alto. Here, in 1939, Stanford graduates Bill Hewlett and David Packard pooled their life savings (a total of $538, which included cash and a used drill press) in order to start a small electronics company. Today, Hewlett-Packard ranks 43rd on Fortune’s 2013 list of the world’s largest companies, and the small garage is on the National Register of Historic Places. The sign out front dubs the garage the “Birthplace of Silicon Valley.” My husband dubs the $538 a good investment. Another Silicon Valley landmark, the house where Steve Jobs lived from the mid-1990s until his death in 2011, is a please see SILICON VALLEY page 16
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Tinseltown Talks
Dick Gautier, a Man of Many Talents? Nick Thomas
O
Don Adams, Dick Gautier, and Barbara Feldon in a Get Smart publicity still.
f all those zany sitcoms produced in the ’60s, Get Smart remains a favorite of classic-TV
fans. This show had it all: crazy characters (Max, “99,” Larabee, Hymie the humanoid robot), delightfully wicked villains (Siegfried, the Claw, Leadside), goofy spy gadgets (shoe phone, cone of silence), cool cars (Sunbeam Tiger), unforgettable catchphrases (“missed it by that much!”), a parade of stellar guests (Milton Berle, Don Rickles, Vincent Price), unbelievable save-the-world plots, and that omnipresent ’60s canned-laugh track. Don Adams, who played Max, passed away in 2005. A few years earlier, during a 75th birthday roast in his honor, Adams made a very simple request: “I don’t want a big funeral. I don’t want a lot of flowers or eulogies,” he told the gathering. “I’d just like a few of my
A 1989 Get Smart Again publicity still featuring Robert Karvelas, Dave Ketchum, Don Adams, and Dick Gautier.
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close friends to get together … and try and bring me back to life.” Dick Gautier, who played Hymie the robot, wasn’t close friends with Adams off the set, but says he enjoyed working with him. We talked recently from his home in Los Angeles. “He lived a very different kind of lifestyle to me,” said Gautier. “He and his buddies were always at the racetrack, but I was never a gambler.” Incredibly, Gautier’s Hymie character (“his father’s name was Hymie”) only appeared in six episodes during the first four seasons of Get Smart. Yet he remains one of the show’s most popular and memorable characters. Gautier based Hymie partly on a childhood memory. “As a kid in Canada, I saw this mannequin-like guy in a store window who moved in a very stiff manner. The deal was, if you made him smile, you
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Second Place – Travel Column “All-Important China” and “There’s More to Maui than Sun and Surf ” by Andrea Gross
Second Place – Topical Issues “The Surge in Social Media Addiction” by Megan Joyce “Retirement Planning with a Reverse Mortgage” by Civia Katz
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could win a gift from the store. I almost got him to laugh! So I started imitating him and discovered I had a flair for entertaining. “I told that story during my Get Smart audition, did those movements, and got the role of Hymie.” Not surprisingly, laughter was not uncommon on the Get Smart set. Gautier remembers shooting one scene where Max takes a rather drunk Hymie into a closet and scolds him because drinking and spying don’t mix. “I had to reach over and kiss Don on the cheek,” recalled Gautier. “But the two of us started giggling like highschool girls during every take, and the
crew grew impatient. I finally got through it by not looking at Don. “When the scene was over, he looked at me and said, ‘Are you going to say it or am I?’ So I told him to go ahead. He looked at the crew and said ‘OK, guys, we’re coming out of the closet!’” In addition to acting in hundreds of TV shows and movies, Gautier has been a stand-up comedian, writer, producer, director, voice actor, and singer. During lean times, he even demonstrated pogo sticks at Macy’s. Details can be read on his website bio, which Gautier describes as “that once grotesquely inflated thing which deflates slightly with each passing day.”
Gautier is also an artist specializing in caricatures and has written numerous books on drawing. He’s captured the Burt Reynolds forehead, the W.C. Fields nose, the John Travolta chin, and dozens of other celebrities perfectly (see www.dickgautier.com). He also makes an interesting comparison between today’s stars to those of yesteryear with their more rugged features (think Bogie, Gable, Connery). “Many of today’s actors look like fashion models. Take someone like Brad Pitt, who has those stunning, boyish good looks. Some are so handsome, they just don’t have any distinguishing
features to hang your comic hat on, as an artist.” In addition to drawing and painting, Gautier has just finished writing a twocharacter play that he hopes to direct. And at 81, his career achievements just keep mounting. “I’ve been around so long,” he says, “sometimes I feel like I was in the original Flintstones—the real ones the cartoon was based on!” Thomas’ features and columns have appeared in more than 300 magazines and newspapers, and he is the author of Raised by the Stars, published by McFarland. He can be reached at his blog: http://getnickt.blogspot.com
Calendar of Events
Lebanon County
Lebanon County Department of Parks and Recreation All events held at the Park at Governor Dick unless noted.
Nov. 3, 1 to 4 p.m. – Music on the Porch: Bluegrass and Country Music Jam
Lebanon County Library Programs Annville Free Library, 216 E. Main St., Annville, (717) 867-1802 Lebanon Community Library, 125 N. Seventh St., (717) 273-7624 Matthews Public Library, 102 W. Main St., Fredericksburg, (717) 865-5523 Myerstown Community Library, 199 N. College St., Myerstown, (717) 866-2800 Palmyra Public Library, 325 S. Railroad St., (717) 838-1347 Richland Community Library, 111 E. Main St., Richland, (717) 866-4939
Programs and Support Groups
Free and open to the public
If you have an event you would like to include, please email information to mjoyce@onlinepub.com for consideration.
What’s Happening? Give Us the Scoop! Please send us your press releases so we can let our readers know about free events occurring in Lebanon County! Email preferred to: mjoyce@onlinepub.com help you get the word out! (717) 285-1350
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Annville Senior Community Center – (717) 867-1796 200 S. White Oak St., Annville Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. – Origami Class Nov. 18, 12:30 p.m. – Noah Live Performance on DVD with Special Meal Maple Street Community Center – (717) 273-1048 710 Maple St., Lebanon Nov. 6, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Healthy Steps for Older Americans Nov. 13, 9:30 a.m. – Carpool to Lights’ Victorian Farmhouse Nov. 15, 5 to 7:30 p.m. – Holiday Hop Music and Dancing Myerstown Senior Community Center – (717) 866-6786 51 W. Stoever Ave., Myerstown Nov. 7, 10:30 a.m. – Stitch-N-Craft Class: Scarves for Military Nov. 15, 11:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. – Bus Trip: Inn 422 for Thanksgiving Luncheon Nov. 20, 10:15 a.m. – Class: Making Greeting Cards Northern Lebanon Senior Community Center – (717) 865-0944 335 N. Lancaster St., Jonestown – www.jonestownpa.org/senior.html Nov. 21, 8:30 a.m. – Breakfast Bunch at Esther’s Restaurant Nov. 29, 10 a.m. – Pinochle Club
Nov. 27, 6 to 7 p.m. Personal Care Family Support Group Linden Village 100 Tuck Court, Lebanon (717) 274-7400
Let
Senior Center Activities
Palmyra Senior Community Center – (717) 838-8237 101 S. Railroad St., Palmyra Nov. 4, 10:45 a.m. – “Time Sayings” Trivia Nov. 18, 10:45 a.m. – Presentation on National American Indian Heritage Nov. 26, 10:45 a.m. – Biography of Joe DiMaggio Southern Lebanon Senior Community Center – (717) 274-7541 Midway Church of the Brethren, 13 Evergreen Road, Lebanon Privately Owned Centers Senior Center of Lebanon Valley, Inc. – (717) 274-3451 710 Maple St., Lebanon Washington Arms – (717) 274-4104 303 Chestnut St., Lebanon Please call or visit the centers’ websites for additional activities.
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Savvy Senior
How to Get Paid for Being a Family Caregiver Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, I have been taking care of my elderly mother for nearly three years, and it’s taking a huge toll on my finances. Are there any resources you know about that can help family caregivers get paid? – Financially Exhausted Dear Exhausted, To get paid as a family caregiver, there are various government programs, tax breaks, and family payment options that may be able to help you, depending on your mom’s financial situation. Here’s where to look for help. State Aid If your mom is low-income and eligible for Medicaid, you may be able to get paid a small amount by the state. In 15 states, Medicaid offers a Cash & Counseling program (www.cashandcounseling.org) that
provides an allowance that can be used for various services, including paying family members for care. Many other states have similar programs for low-income seniors, even if the person receiving care doesn’t quite qualify for Medicaid. To find out about these options, contact your local Medicaid office. Veterans Aid In some communities across the U.S.,
veterans who are at risk of nursing-home placement can enroll in the VeteranDirected Home and CommunityBased Services program, which allows veterans to manage their own care, including hiring and paying their own caregivers. Also available to wartime veterans and their spouses is a benefit called Aid and Attendance that helps pay for in-home care, as well as assisted living and nursing-home care. This benefit can
also be used to pay family caregivers. To be eligible, your mom must need assistance with daily living activities like bathing, dressing, or going to the bathroom. And, her income must be under $13,362 as a surviving spouse—minus medical and long-term care expenses. If your mom is a single veteran, her income must be below $20,795 to be eligible. Her assets must also be less than $80,000, excluding her home and car. To learn more, see www.va.gov/geriatrics, or contact your regional VA office or your local veterans service organization. For contact information, call (800) 827-1000. Tax Breaks Uncle Sam may also be able to help if you pay at least half of your mom’s yearly expenses and her annual income was below $3,900 in 2013 (not counting
About Our Company Since 1995, On-Line Publishers, Inc. has celebrated serving the mind, heart, and spirit of the community of Central Pennsylvania. Our corporate office is located outside Columbia, Pa.
Publications 50plus Senior News is a monthly newspaper touching on issues and events relevant to the 50+ community. The Resource Directory for the Caregiver, Aging, and Disabled is published annually in distinct county editions with information from local businesses and organizations that meet the needs of these groups. 50plus LIVING, an annual publication, is a guide to residences and healthcare options for mature adults in the Susquehanna and Delaware valleys. ((b)) magazine is Central Pennsylvania’s premier publication for baby boomers, reflecting on the past, examining where baby boomers are today, and identifying the issues they may face in the future. BUSINESSWoman is a monthly magazine with a focus on business. It features profiles of local executive women who are an inspiration to other professionals. Lifestyle and wellness articles are also included to round out the publication and address the many facets of a woman’s life. (
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SUCCESS STORIES highlights the achievements of local professional women so that others may be inspired. It is a special insert in the March issue of BUSINESSWoman magazine. All publications are available in print and digital formats.
Events OLP EVENTS, our events division, produces six 50plus EXPOs annually in Chester, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster (two), and York counties. Entrance to the event, health screenings, and seminars held throughout the day are free to visitors. The women’s expo is a one-day event featuring exhibitors and interactive fun that encompasses many aspects of a woman’s life. It is held in Lancaster and Hershey in the spring and in Lebanon and Carlisle in the fall. OLP EVENTS conducts the annual PA STATE SENIOR IDOL competition. Fifteen semifinalists vie for the title of PA STATE SENIOR IDOL during the finals competition, held in October at a popular venue. POWERLUNCH is held in York in the spring and in the Capital Region during the fall. Executive women can network and enjoy lunch, seminars, and information from a select number of exhibitors.
is seeking an ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE On-Line Publishers, Inc. has an opening for a highly motivated person with a professional attitude to sell print and online advertising as well as niche events. The successful candidate should: • Enjoy building and maintaining your own long-term business relationships. • Be highly motivated, detail oriented, and able to multitask. • Have good communication skills. • Show a willingness to learn and grow in a fast-paced environment. We offer a competitive compensation plan with a benefits package that includes health insurance and a 401(k) plan. If you have sales experience and are interested in joining our growing sales team, please send your resume and compensation history/requirements to danderson@onlinepub.com. On-Line Publishers, Inc. • 3912 Abel Drive • Columbia, PA 17512 • 717.285.1350 www.onlinepub.com
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Social Security). If so, you can claim her as a dependant on your taxes and reduce your taxable income by $3,900. See IRS publication 501 (www.irs.gov/pub/irspdf/p501.pdf) or call the IRS helpline at (800) 829-1040 for information. If you can’t claim your mom as a dependant, you may still be able to get a tax break if you’re paying at least half her living expenses, including her medical and long-term care costs, and they exceed 10 percent (or 7.5 percent if
TAKE TWO
you’re 65 or over) of your adjusted gross income. You can include your own medical expenses in calculating the total. See the IRS publication 502 (www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p502.pdf) for details. Family Payments If your mom doesn’t financially qualify for the government aid or the tax breaks, can she afford to pay you herself, or do you have any siblings that would be willing to chip in? After all, if your
mom had to pay for home care services, the costs would be anywhere between $12 and $25 per hour. If she agrees to pay you, it’s best that you or an attorney draft a short, written contract detailing your work and payment arrangements so everyone involved knows what to expect. A contract will also help avoid potential problems should your mom ever need to apply for Medicaid for nursing-home care. Another payment option to consider
is for your mom to adjust her will, so you receive a larger portion of her estate for providing her care. But to avoid conflict, be sure all family members are aware and in agreement. Also, check to see if your mom has any long-term care insurance that covers in-home care. If she does, in some cases, those benefits may be used to pay you. Jim Miller is a regular contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior Book. www.savvysenior.org
from page 1
A girlfriend at the time connected Roda with her uncle, who was involved with the Fulton Theatre. At his urging, Roda also began lessons with renowned vocal coach Romayne Bridgett. Before long, he began getting gigs at weddings and then sang with the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra chorus for two years in the early 1980s. By the ’90s, Roda bought some recording equipment of his own, but his fulltime job at a printing company meant that, although music was his passion, it could only remain a hobby. “The reality was, I was a family man and I had a job, and I could only spend so much time on the music,” he said. Roda was then introduced to the Pennsylvania Academy of Music in Lancaster and connected with a teacher there who was a retired Metropolitan Opera tenor. “I was his student for a couple of years,” said Roda. “He really refined my voice … he got me into the style of singing that people heard from me [at SENIOR IDOL].” He was also invited to sing at one of OperaLancaster Associates’ Lemonade Concerts, but he remained “just a local, low-key, hobby-type singer for the last 30 years” before placing in the 2007 SENIOR IDOL competition. After that, he said, he was rendered unable to sing due to the onset of his illness, which affected his vocal nerve. Years went by in pained silence. “Music dropped off the radar for me, which was heartbreaking,” Roda recalled. Things finally began to turn back around for Roda in fall 2012 when he suddenly observed increasing improvements in his voice, which had become raspy during his illness. “A year ago September, my voice began to come back,” he said. “The last few months, it’s gotten better than it’s ever been. The worst is behind me, thank goodness.” His win at the Spring Sing Competition was a needed confidence boost, and Roda began weekly lessons www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
As the be making in the coming months. with vocal “I’m going to New York in coach John 2013 SENIOR November,” he said. “I’m registered for Darrenkamp, IDOL winner, America’s Got Talent.” also retired Roda’s prize He also plans to continue working from the is a with Darrenkamp, who is grooming Metropolitan limousine Roda to try out for opera roles in the Opera in New trip for two York City. He to New York Fulton’s 2014-15 season. Roda noted that many male opera is the first of City for Roda’s dinner and a singers, especially tenors as he had been, retire after age 50. But even several years instructors to Broadway past that mark, Roda is optimistic and treat him as a show. But unconcerned. lyric baritone that’s not “I feel like I’ve been given a second and not a the only Roda, center, reacts as he is announced as the chance here. I’m not worried about being tenor, as journey to winner of 2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL. He is flanked by 57 because I’ve got a lot of good years of previous the Big the other two finalists, Ray Ricke Jr. of York, left, and singing left.” coaches had. Apple he’ll Cheri Campbell of Coatesville, right. “I would go through spells where I couldn’t sing because I was being pushed a little too far, a little too high up the vocal register,” he said. “You’ve got to be careful with a voice like that.” Meanwhile, Roda eagerly registered for a 2013 PA STATE SENIOR IDOL audition this summer. At the finals competition, his On-Line Publishers, Inc. was recently performance of “And This is My honored with two national awards. Beloved” from Kismet secured him a spot amongst the three finalists. His follow-up performance, “E Lucevan Le Stelle” from Tosca, earned him the win. Media Division, Roda said a chill went up his spine Magazine upon hearing his name called. Fall 2012 “It was an amazing feeling. It felt like I kind of just lifted off the stage a few inches; it was incredible,” he said. “It was fulfilling, rewarding … it was relief, joy, Media Division and euphoria all wrapped up into this little 10-second announcement.” Article: Despite his success earlier this year, “Solace for Roda said he was “in no way” feeling confident of a SENIOR IDOL win as the Wounded finals night progressed and he mingled Spirits” with the other semifinalists. BY LORI VAN INGEN “I was having so much fun. I was very in awe of the talent of the other performers,” he said. “I loved doing it. I loved meeting all those people backstage. There were lots of little friendships formed, lots of joking and banter back (717) 285-1350 • (717) 770-0140 • (610) 675-6240 • www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com there.”
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SILICON VALLEY
from page 10
few blocks away at 2101 Waverly St. The two-story brick home, which sits on about a half acre, is fairly large but at the same time unpretentious and casual. In fact, a determinedly casual attitude permeates the entire Valley. People walk with purpose, but the suits of Mad Men have morphed into the jeans of geniuses. During our week in Silicon Valley, we see only four men in sport coats, none in ties. (The dress code for women is more liberal. The only rule: Save the stilettos for after-hours.) Of course, comfortable shoes are more than a fashion statement. They’re a necessity. In Silicon Valley, workplaces are not clustered in high-rises but sprinkled across “campuses”—a word that connotes not only low-slung buildings interspersed with large, open spaces, but also youth and conviviality. Some companies have such sprawling campuses that they provide their employees with bicycles. Except for the Apple store, which is filled with logoed t-shirts and mugs, the buildings are closed to visitors, so we move on to Castro Street in the town of Mountain View. Unlike Buck’s, which is the restaurant where people make deals, Castro Street is filled with eateries where folks hatch ideas. Here, over salads and stir-fry, lattes and scones, ideas are floated, debated,
Valley museums that will, we hope, give us a layman’s overview of high-tech wizardry. They succeed beyond our wildest expectations. At the Computer History Museum we see everything from ancient abacuses to the first Apple computer (made in 1976) to an interactive display that explains how street-mapping works. At the Intel Museum we learn about semiconductor technology, and at the Tech Museum, which is not as much about how things work as it is about how much fun you can have when they do work, we train like Olympic contenders by virtually bobsledding down a virtual hill. We spend the final day of our visit strolling among ancient redwoods at Henry Cowell State Park. It’s a delightful as well as humbling experience, reminding us that nature predates even the oldest manmade wonders. On the plane ride home, we reflect on what makes Silicon Valley so different from other places. Our conclusion: Silicon Valley is a state of mind as well as a geographical entity, a place where optimism and creativity are as much a part of the environment as buildings and museums.
The Google Maps Exhibit lets visitors to the The Google campus is so large that the company provides bikes for its employees. Computer History Museum find their own house on a giant screen.
The Computer History Museum has more than 1,100 artifacts.
A walk through nearby Henry Cowell State Park lets techies escape the manmade environment of Silicon Valley.
and often massaged into “the next great thing.” In the Red Rock Coffee Company we find a packed crowd taking advantage of the café’s free Wi-Fi. Most people are in baggy shorts and sandals and look to be about 19 years old. The fellow at the
next table is typing feverishly on his tablet. I wonder if I should ask him for his autograph, just in case he turns out to be the next Jerry Yang (the founder of Yahoo!). Finally we set out for the geeky part of our expedition: a visit to three Silicon
Photos © Irv Green unless otherwise noted; story by Andrea Gross (www.andreagross.com).
Each month, 50plus Senior News profiles one of your friends or neighbors on its cover, and many of our best cover-profile suggestions have come from you, our readers! Do you or does someone you know have an interesting hobby or collection? A special passion or inspirational experience? A history of dedicated volunteer work? If so, tell us, and we’ll consider your suggestion for a future cover story! Just fill out the questionnaire below and return it to 50plus Senior News, 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512, or email your responses to Megan Joyce, editor, at mjoyce@onlinepub.com. Your name:___________________________ Your address:_________________________________________________________________________ Your phone number/email address: ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Name of person nominated (if not you): _______________________________________________________________________________________ Please receive their permission to nominate them. Nominee’s age range: 50–59
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Across 1. Lox buddy 6. Junky vehicle 10. Gay Talese’s ___ the Sons 14. Emulate Cicero 15. Women’s magazine 16. Coward’s name 17. Saint-Germain’s river 18. Captain of literature 19. Party pooper 20. Outaouais River site 22. Train component 23. Jane Austen novel 24. Spline 26. Scintillas
28. Nabokov novel 31. Nouvelle-Calédonie, e.g. 32. Globetrotters founder Saperstein 33. In the same place (abbr.) 34. Blackguard 35. Galled 39. Dedicates 41. On a horse 43. Ringo, for one 44. Shred 45. McGregor of Trainspotting 46. Day break? 48. Cuckoo bird 49. Slow-witted
50. ___ fatale 52. Adherents (suffixes) 54. Au naturel 55. Summer shade 57. Infant’s garment 62. Computer image 63. Sin City actress Jessica 65. Med. worker 66. Before case or drive 67. Hang over 68. Nag 69. Fr. seasons 70. Darns 71. Artist’s tripod
Down 1. Anjou alternative 2. Expanse 3. Benefit 4. Sicilian smoker 5. City on the River Aire 6. Biddy 7. Chosen 8. Diva Gluck 9. Illinois River city 10. Resolute 11. Bellini opera 12. Squads 13. One of Chekhov’s Three Sisters
21. Wonderland girl 25. Regrettably 27. Passing mention? 28. Opposite of hinder 29. Prima donna 30. Decorations 33. Psyches 36. Fuzzy fruit or flightless bird 37. Cheese type 38. Hibernation locale 40. Streetcar 41. Slangy negative 42. Spotted
44. Sky show 47. Flower parts 50. Aspect 51. Toothed 53. From that time 54. Chomp 56. Burn soother 58. Mystique 59. Those for 60. Feudal slave 61. Stagger 64. Some times (abbr.)
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Art and Antiques by Dr. Lori
Where to Sell Your Unwanted Stuff Dr. Lori have advised many people that when it comes to selling your unwanted vintage collectibles, you have to think outside the box. Why? Many people have the same unwanted objects that you do, and they want to cash in on them with ease, too. Did you know that party planners and prop shops are two outlets looking for various objects from the world of antiques and collectibles?
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Antique Party Accessories To cut costs at wedding receptions, baby showers, and parties, many bridesto-be, florists, and caterers are on the lookout for some relatively common vintage items, and they are looking for them in big numbers. For example, vintage white milk-glass pieces; decorative teacups used as small,
floral centerpiece TV Antique groupings; and old, Trends When TV silver-plated trays execs need an for food service are object from coveted by caterers bygone days, and party planners. where do they Many grooms look? will seek out sports Prop shops— collectibles, vintage the ones that flasks, beer provide the major collectibles, and movie and TV liquor bottles to White milk-glass serving pieces like this production crews serve as gifts for covered dish with a rabbit on the lid may be with those obscure ushers and just the favor for guests at a baby shower. objects that you groomsmen in a see on film—are wedding party. Brides prefer to provide her attendants always looking for items such as vintage jewelry, period appliances like avocadowith vintage fashion accessories like hair green can openers from the 1970s, and accessories (ribbons, barrettes, hair bands, etc.), scarves, and beaded or metal vintage clothing and accessories. Prop shops are often used for TV mesh purses.
shows like Mad Men, The Big Bang Theory, and the new sitcom set in the 1980s, The Goldbergs. You don’t think that Christina Hendricks spends her free time searching flea markets for Jackie Kennedy-esque brooches? And where does Dr. Sheldon Cooper get his evergrowing collection of vintage Star Wars collectibles? When it comes to considering the resale of your vintage collectibles and accessory pieces, consider party goers and production-house set professionals. Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author, awardwinning TV personality, and TV talk show host, Dr. Lori presents antiques appraisal events nationwide. Dr. Lori is the expert appraiser on Discovery channel’s hit TV show Auction Kings. Visit www.DrLoriV.com, www.Facebook.com/DoctorLori, or call (888) 431-1010.
Versatile Proteins Could Be New Target for Alzheimer’s Drugs
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Ph.D., the study’s lead investigator. Shatz and her colleagues report that LilrB2 (pronounced “leer-bee-2”) in humans and PirB (“peer-bee”) in mice can physically partner with beta-amyloid, a protein fragment that accumulates in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease. This, in turn, triggers a harmful chain reaction in brain cells. In a mouse model of Alzheimer’s, depleting PirB in the brain prevented the chain reaction and reduced memory loss. “These findings provide valuable insight into Alzheimer’s, a complex
disorder involving the abnormal build-up of proteins, inflammation, and a host of other cellular changes,” said Neil Buckholtz, Ph.D., director of the neuroscience division at National Institute on Aging, which helped fund the research. “Our understanding of the various proteins involved, and how these proteins interact with each other, may one day result in effective interventions that delay, treat, or even prevent this dreaded disease.” Alzheimer’s disease is the most
common cause of dementia in older adults and affects as many as 5 million Americans. Large clumps—or plaques—of betaamyloid and other proteins accumulate in the brain during Alzheimer’s, but many researchers believe the disease process starts long before the plaques appear. Even in the absence of plaques, betaamyloid has been shown to cause damage to brain cells and the synapses, the delicate connections, between them. Source: National Institutes of Health
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A class of proteins that controls visualsystem development in the young brain also appears to affect vulnerability to Alzheimer’s disease in the aging brain. The proteins, which are found in humans and mice, join a limited roster of molecules that scientists are studying in hopes of finding an effective drug to slow the disease process. “People are just beginning to look at what these proteins do in the brain. While more research is needed, these proteins may be a brand-new target for Alzheimer’s drugs,” said Carla Shatz,
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Salute to a Veteran
When They Fought in Vietnam, They Flew Their Artillery in with Them Robert D. Wilcox ary Levinson found out early that the world is full of coincidences. When he was drafted into the Army in 1966, he took his training at Fort Riley, Kan. There was a sergeant in charge of each barracks, and his sergeant made an effort to know each of his men. It turned out that both the sergeant and Levinson came from Pennsylvania— what’s more, the sergeant knew Levinson’s family. Did it help to have that kind of connection to the sergeant? “Well, it sure didn’t hurt,” he says. But he was soon on his way to Vietnam, in any case. From Oakland, Calif., he boarded the General Maurice Rose, a troopship that took him to Vung Tau, Vietnam. How was the crossing? “It was hell on wheels,” Levinson says. “It took three weeks, and almost everybody was sick as a dog the whole way. By the time we got there, no one was worried about facing the Vietcong. We just wanted to get off that ship.” Once ashore, they recovered fast, but they found that being ashore had its own problems. As part of the 9th Division, Levinson’s first assignment was as an ammunition handler in a howitzer battery. His outfit was unusual in that they hauled their artillery with them on Chinook helicopters whenever they went to hotspots where they were needed. The troops were in the helicopters, with the guns and ammunition towed in another helicopter. The guns and ammunition were also moved by truck. Later on, some guns were placed on boats. There were plenty of helicopter crashes that killed a lot of men, and they were always especially vulnerable to enemy gunfire from the ground. Levinson’s first job was to transport the 105mm ammunition by truck. He drove the truck to the ammunition depot and delivered it back to the base camp or to the field. The ammunition was in heavy, wooden crates that had to be unloaded and stacked up. Then, the colonel of his battalion transferred him to a special information unit. His responsibility was to travel with the battalion on major missions in the field, prepare reports on all activities, and
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They provided back home. We were largely reported as transmit medical care to a large power imposing its self-interest everything to 708,000 South on a small Asian nation during a long the 1st Brigade, 9th Division Vietnamese, and bloody war. Which resulted in our reconstructed troops being reviled by so many when headquarters. Later, more than 350 they returned home after their selfless Levinson was schools, opened service.” For Levinson, the end of that war came transferred again English courses in on Dec. 11, 1967, when he flew from to a different high schools for Bien Hoa to Maguire Air Force Base, N.J. artillery unit in almost 30,000 He then went to Fort Bragg, N.C., to the Mekong students, train troops headed to Vietnam. Then his Delta, where he provided 48,256 hitch was up, and he was discharged. He served on a gun man hours to Private First Class Gary M. Levinson then reenlisted in the Army Reserve and crew preparing helping the local in a Vietnam bunker in 1967. was discharged as a sergeant. ammunition people in He worked on Wall Street for a while for firing. repairing They were destroyed houses, before coming to Central Pennsylvania to work with the Disabled Veterans often under furnished 89 Outreach Program. He then became mortar attack, orphanages with chief of the recruitment division for the and he recalls construction Pennsylvania State Civil Service one shell having materials, landed just distributed 1,000 Commission in Harrisburg. He retired in 2004 and now spends short of his tons of food and much of his time trying to reverse the bunker. He has 8 tons of clothes image of the Vietnam veteran and help memories of all to refugees, and Guns and ammo were carried by the many disenfranchised vets of that era. the men who assisted in Chinook helicopters. He often thinks of his time in combat, were killed and repairing 447 and he’s proud of that. But he says he thinks about bridges and considers himself fortunate to have been them all the time, but standing out in his 1,107 kilometers of roads. memory is the way one of his buddies For that effort, Levinson is proud that part of the other side of our efforts in Vietnam as well. beat the odds. his 9th U.S. Infantry Division was awarded the Civil Actions Honor Medal. Levinson says that the man was very Colonel Wilcox flew a B-17 bomber in “Of course,” he says, “little of that religious and always carried a small Bible Europe in World War II. in his breast pocket. One day, he caught a kind of help was reported by the press bullet in the chest that surely would have killed him, except that it hit that Bible, and the bullet stopped just short of the man’s flesh. One thing Levinson feels strongly about is that people have been pounded so much with stories of the combat itself … and so little about what we did in a Do you know a 50+ volunteer who gives selflessly to humanitarian way for the South others? Tell us what makes him or her so special Vietnamese people. “That, actually, was a major part of and we will consider them for 50plus Senior News’ our being there,” he says. Part of his responsibility in the information unit was to travel with Civil Action troops to see firsthand how the Vietnamese people lived and the tremendous outpouring of help the American military provided to the people of South Vietnam. Noting that the U.S. spent $222 Submissions should be 200 words or fewer and photos are encouraged. million a year in aid to the South Email preferred to mjoyce@onlinepub.com or mail nominations to Vietnamese people, Levinson says that his 50plus Senior News, Volunteer Spotlight, 3912 Abel Drive, Columbia, PA 17512. 9th Division alone provided massive help.
Time is a Priceless Gift
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Diabetes Education. Promoting diabetes wellness. Knowledge is power, especially when it comes to managing a chronic condition like diabetes. Our Diabetes Education program is designed for people who want to learn more about their diabetes and how to keep themselves well. Our individual and group diabetes education are provided by either a registered dietitian or registered nurse with the goal of giving our diabetic patients the information and tools they need to take charge of their health. Recognized by the American Diabetes Association for the quality of our self-management program, Good Samaritan’s Diabetes Education* program works to empower patients by helping them understand how diet, exercise and medications can affect blood sugar to avoid complications. Also included are topics like care of eyes and feet - two areas prone to diabetic complications - and lifestyle issues like sick days, travel and emergency preparedness. If you have diabetes and are interested in how our educational program can help you better understand and control your condition, call us with questions or ask your doctor for a referral to the Good Samaritan Diabetes Education Department. Powerful medicine and comforting care. Only at Good Samaritan.
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