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BCOA
BCOA NEWS
BREVARD COMMISSION ON AGING
BCOA meetings are open to the public and are held the second Thursday of each month at the government center in Viera. For information, contact Cindy Short at 321-6332076, FAX 321-633-2170, cindy.short@brevardfl.gov, brevardf l.gov/HumanServices/CommissionOnAging or at 2725 Judge Fran Jamieson Way, B-106, Viera, FL 32940.
Brevard County commits to help the community identify, prevent elder abuse
Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation, Brevard Commission on Aging, Aging Matters in Brevard and other state and local community organizations will host a World Elder Abuse Awareness Day.
The WEAAD event will support efforts to raise awareness about elder abuse and neglect in our communities.
Join us from 9 a.m. until noon June 15 at Wickham Park Senior Center in Melbourne to learn what we are doing to prevent elder abuse and neglect. We will educate you on warning signs, what to watch for and how to report.
The event activities include: Vendors providing resources on community services. A Walk Down Memory Lane — Take a stroll to view scenes from the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s. Win a 65-inch TV in our memory challenge. Education seminars will include Dr. Visa presenting an early detection of Alzheimer’s at 9:30 a.m. and Detective Rebecca Hamilton from the Seminole Sheriff’s Department providing information on the latest elder abuse scams at 11 a.m.
Admission and parking are free.
WEAAD serves as a call-toaction for our communities to raise awareness about abuse, neglect and exploitation of elders, and reaffirm our country’s commitment to the principle of justice for all.
Elder abuse is widespread. Every year an estimated one in 10 older Americans are victims of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation. Experts believe that elder abuse is significantly underreported. Research suggests that as few as one in 14 cases of elder abuse come to the attention of authorities.
When we come together, we can prevent elder abuse from happening. We can put support services in place, and direct community resources toward addressing elder abuse. We can prevent and address the issue of elder abuse. There are many ways to strengthen our social support through policies, services and programs that keep us integrated in our communities as we age.
For more information, check out worldelderabuseawareness.com or contact the Brevard Alzheimer’s Foundation at 321-253-4430. SL
Fraud Alert from State Attorney Phil Archer
Financial fraud, especially online scams, is the No. 1 consumer crime nationwide today. It’s up to us to protect ourselves from this threat.
Per the BBB, online purchases remained the most reported scam at 37.4%. Followed by cryptocurrency, employment, home improvement, and investment. Credit cards were the most targeted payment method, while online apps and systems rose to second.
Gift cards are popular and con artists are increasingly using them as a form of payment in their scams. Why? They are available everywhere and allow the crooks to steal the victim’s money instantly using the numbers on the back of the cards. SL
Phil Archer is the State Attorney for the 18th Judicial Court.
The Murtha Law Group, PA
Kevin M. Murtha
Attorney and Counselor at Law
Serving Brevard County · Estate Planning · Wills · Trusts · Probate · Family Law
7351 Office Park Place Melbourne 32940 KMurtha@MurthaLaw.us 321.600.4989 Trusted Legal Advice
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UPDATE
SENIOR LIFE Mike Gaffey
A Coast Guard Honor Guard member holds a U.S. flag before bronze markers are unveiled at the graves of Cape Canaveral Lighthouse keepers Oscar Floyd Quarterman and Edward John Praetorius on May 14 at Crooked Mile Road Cemetery on Merritt Island.
Bronze grave marker ceremony honors six Cape Canaveral Lighthouse keepers
BY MIKE GAFFEY
Six lighthouse keepers assigned to the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse in the late 1800s and early 1900s had bronze markers placed at their gravesites in honor of their service during ceremonies May 14.
Members of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation unveiled the Lighthouse Service grave markers at three ceremonies for the former keepers, who are buried in three cemeteries on Merritt Island and in Cocoa.
“You think about the life that lighthouse keepers led with their families and their cohorts and the little communities that grew around lighthouses and truly how important it was to the world and our nation,” said Larry Ostarly, the lighthouse foundation president. “I just want to say thank you to the lighthouse keepers.”
Four of the men who served at the 154-year-old lighthouse are interred at Crooked Mile Road Cemetery — also known as Georgiana Cemetery — on Merritt Island, where the main ceremony took place. John Ludwig Sturk was a keeper from 1899 to 1904. Edward John Praetorius served from 1904 to 1907. Julius James Jeffords was assistant keeper from 1929 to 1930. Oscar Floyd Quarterman served from 1909 to 1939 and was the head keeper from 1930 to 1939.
Attendees then traveled to Cocoa City Cemetery to honor Alfred H. Trafford, who served as second assistant in 1872 and 1873 and returned in 1876 as first assistant keeper. The third service was at Evergreen Cemetery in Cocoa for Clinton P. Honeywell, the longestserving keeper who was hired in 1891 and worked there nearly 40 years.
The U.S. Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral provided a Color Guard and a bugler to play Taps during the
graveside ceremonies.
Located within what’s now known as Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, the cast-iron, 151-foottall lighthouse went into service in 1868, replacing a 65-foot-tall brick tower first erected in 1848. The original lighthouse’s relatively short height and weak lamps proved to be inadequate in protecting mariners from the Cape’s dangerous shoals.
Due to erosion concerns, the lighthouse was dismantled and moved 1¼ miles inland, resuming operations at its new site in 1894. The lighthouse’s then-state-of-the-art Fresnel lens allowed its light to shine up to 20 miles out to sea.
“Lighthouses were so important to the commerce of the world in the heyday of the 1700s to the mid1900s,” Ostarly said. “You might have looked at them as the GPS of the seas as far as protecting ships coming into port.”
Keepers, who often lived on the premises with their families in the sparsely populated Space Coast, had numerous tasks to complete and many rules to follow, said Becky Zingarelli, the lighthouse museum director.
For example, principal keepers were forbidden from selling liquor on lighthouse grounds and were expected to be sober, industrious and orderly.
“As you can imagine, this was probably the hardest requirement to meet out there,” she said.
The event attracted a lighthouse keeper’s descendant. Albert Scott Praetorius of Cape Canaveral, a greatgrandson of Edward John Praetorius, called the event “lovely and amazing.”
“As a matter of fact I’ve already become a (foundation) member,” he said.
The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse is open for special tours.
Go to canaverallight.org or call 321-351-5052 for more information.
—Larry Ostarly
SENIOR LIFE Mike Gaffey
Albert Scott Praetorius, center, of Cape Canaveral, a great-grandson of lighthouse keeper Edward John Praetorius, stands near his great-grandfather’s grave. Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation President Larry Ostarly, left, plants a flag as museum historian Barbara Moser talks about Praetorius’ ancestor.
