Senior Life, June 2023

Hockey, wildlife, volunteers — discover something new in each edition

We have been bringing you a series of stories we call Games People Play, that has surprised us several times.

Maybe I should not have been surprised that hockey is so popular on the Space Coast. I knew there were many who follow the game, but had no idea that so many people of quite diverse ages play it right here in Brevard County.

In fact, in our list of games, we almost left out hockey, until someone mentioned, “hey, you haven’t written about hockey.”

Is there a game you play or know of that you have not seen yet in our series? Let us know. Some of our stories come about when we hear from readers.

You likely have heard about the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary, started as a small operation 50 years ago. Did you know that it now handles more than 6,000 cases of injured, sick or orphaned wildlife each year? A veterinarian, veterinary techs and dozens of volunteers work every day to help most of the animals make it back to the wild.

Imagine holding a hatching egg in your hands as a baby alligator breaks out. You can do that at Gatorama in Palmdale, southwest of Okeechobee. Our story will tell you about the adventure and how you can take a day trip to Gatorama.

We have been telling you regularly about day trips and places of interest to visit, which might interest you as summer vacation time approaches. Lakeridge Winery is about a two-hour drive to the rolling hills area of Clermont. Lakeridge bills itself as the largest winery in Florida.

We like highlighting volunteers who make a difference in the lives of people on the Space Coast and elsewhere. As you might know, Special Olympics relies on volunteers to provide training and competition for children and adult athletes with intellectual disabilities. It helps them to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy.

While it takes many to volunteer with Special Olympics, this story in Senior Life tells about two local women who give of their time for these special athletes. There are many volunteer opportunities, not only with Special Olympics, but with many other organizations in our area. Check out a list of volunteer opportunities in the Boomer Guide. Copies of the guide are available at various locations throughout Brevard County. See page 13 of this issue of Senior Life for a list of pick-up locations. SL

R. Norman Moody norm@myseniorlife.com

Love earns historic wins in Olympic style fencing

SPECIAL TO SENIOR LIFE

Georgina Love, who trains at Space Coast Olympic Fencing, made sports history recently when she won medals in two Olympic style fencing events — Epee and Foil.

She won gold in the Vet 60 Women’s Epee as well as gold in the Vet 60 Women’s Foil at the recent North American Cup in St. Louis.

“I was thrilled,’’ Love said. “I came from being a clumsy person to this. I was never a sports person. I started this at age 42.”

The North American Cup events to qualify for the Veteran World Championships are held twice yearly, culminating at the Summer Nationals where points are tallied and teams are announced. The top four in each weapon are named to the team.

In Olympic-style fencing, there are three weapons: Epee, Foil and Sabre. Love’s win in two weapons is a great feat.

Love, 63, lives in Fort Pierce but has been training at Space Coast Olympic Fencing in Viera under the coaching of Maestro Daniel Bucur, a former European Fencing Champion from Romania.

“Georgina came to me six years ago with the goal of winning the Veterans Division at the Nationals,’’ Bucur said. “Through much hard work and dedication, she developed into a national contender. What she has accomplished in winning these two national titles simultaneously in two weapons is unprecedented. It is truly an outstanding accomplishment.’’

Bucur fenced for the Romanian National Team, and he later served in the U.S. Army, retiring at the rank of captain.

Love was down 0-5 early in the finals but came back and defeated Jeanette Starks-Faulkner of Connecticut in the finals of Foil in a thrilling 10-9 upset. She then

defeated USA No.1 Valerie Asher of Washington D.C. in the finals of Epee by a lopsided 10-4 score.

With a gold medal in Foil and a bronze from the January event, Love has accrued enough points for the Veteran foil team. The two gold medals in Epee, the first one from January as well, again give Love enough points to qualify for the team.

“I am so thrilled,” Love said. “It was so nice getting messages from all my friends in Florida and having my Space Coast fencers root for me. I’m so glad I didn’t

let anyone down. When I called Maestro immediately after my win, he answered, ‘Yay.’ ”

“Georgina has proved once again that age is just a number,” said Charlie Williams, a fellow Space Coast Olympic Fencing classmate. “If you have the will to learn, you will succeed. Even at the highest levels.”

Space Coast Olympic Fencing is in Viera. It offers classes for children in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, adults and seniors. For more information, check out SpaceCoastOlympicFencing.com.

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Serge Timacheff of USFA Georgina Love is all smiles after winning a match in the Vet 60 Women’s Foil at the North American Cup in St. Louis.

“I was thrilled. I came from being a clumsy person to this. I was never a sports person.

I started this at age 42.” — Georgina Love

PEOPLE PLAY Games

Hockey — a draw at all ages for many on the Space Coast

BY ERNIE DORLING

Former professional hockey goaltender Joseph Jacques Plante, who played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1953 to 1963 and helped his team win the Stanley Cup six times, said, “Playing goalie is like getting shot at.”

Suntree resident George McLeod, 77, echoed that sentiment. “When old people play hockey, they break things,” McLeod said, sitting at the kitchen table in his home. His right arm was in a removable cast from having recently broken it while coaching his team of special needs children.

“I wasn’t paying attention when this big kid hit me from behind and knocked me to the ground. “It was a case of me not doing what I teach others to do.”

McLeod has been playing hockey since he was five years old.

“I started playing on outdoor makeshift rinks in Detroit,” he said. “They would ice the parking lots and that’s where we’d play. I love every aspect of the game, especially being part of a team. But I can’t play until this arm is healed. When I can tie my skates again, I’ll be back on the ice.”

McLeod’s close friend and fellow skater Rick Ninko, 66, of Heritage Isle, who has been playing hockey most of his life, echoed McLeod’s feeling about the game.

“I’ve been playing the game since the late 60s while growing up in Detroit,” he said. “I did stop playing in 2014, and now coach young kids and kids with special needs,”

In the early 90s, Ninko helped organize the Brevard Amateur Hockey Association (BAHA). Most games are played at the Space Coast Iceplex at 720 Roy Wall Blvd. in Rockledge.

Ninko, who spent 20 years as a cruise director, said that when children as young as five and six years old start playing, they are introduced to the locker room.

“I still love the locker room before and after the games,” he said. “There is virtually no other sport where you

bond with your teammates at such an early age. Some guys love the locker room interaction as much as they do the game.”

Jeremy Nolan, 49, of Palm Bay, has been playing hockey since he was five years old.

“Growing up in Chicago, you played hockey,” he said.

Nolan, who moved to Florida in 2005, immediately got into hockey and eventually took over the BAHA in 2016. He ran it until 2022.

“We went from three leagues and 20 teams to four leagues and 30 teams, during that time,” he said. “The interest in hockey for people ages 5 to 80 is amazing.”

Justin Markwalter, now in his second year as the current director of the BAHA, took up hockey seven years ago after visiting friends in Pittsburgh.

“I never played sports in high school, nor did I skate. But I fell in love with the game while I was up north,” he said. “When I returned to Florida, I learned to skate and took up the sport. I haven’t looked back since.”

Many in Brevard County have a passion for the game and watch it

religiously. Noted columnist Doug Larson said, “Ice hockey is a form of disorderly conduct in which the score is kept.”

For more information on joining the BAHA, email Nolan at Jeremy@ spacecoasticeplex.com, or Markwalter at Justin@spacecoasticeplex.com.

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Justin Markwalter

Kyle Lantz, a defender, clears the puck while Joe Bessenger approaches during a recent Brevard Amateur Hockey Association game at the Space Coast Iceplex.

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Justin Markwalter George McLeod, 77, cannot wait to get back on the ice.

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Justin Markwalter Rick Ninko has been playing hockey for more than 50 years.

Bridge players find game mentally stimulating, challenging

BY BRENDA EGGERT BRADER

The camaraderie, laughter and conversation lead those who play bridge into a social exchange that adds to the joy of playing the game.

Among them are the players in two active bridge groups playing various days at the Greater Palm Bay Senior Center.

The card game of bridge — most likely born from three-handed whist games of 1870 — remains a popular game that today’s players still find challenging.

The object of playing bridge is to win points by taking tricks from your opponents — (each round of four cards is a trick). Using a standard pack of playing cards, bridge is for four players participating in two pairs sitting opposite one another, holding 13 dealt cards each. Every player sorts their cards into the four suites of spades, hearts, diamonds and clubs. The cards are valued in descending order, with Ace being the highest.

Players count the number of high points in their cards and the bidding of the game begins. Bidding is a creative and complex procedure that determines the contract or goal of the hand.

After bidding, the play begins with

13 tricks, each player placing a card clockwise from the leader. Scoring points comes from taking tricks and fulfilling the contract you bid on.

“Bridge stimulates the brain,” Doris Jones said. “That’s why we play bridge to keep your mind active. We play twice a week, on Monday and Friday and there is a Wednesday morning group, too. It’s a game played all over the world. You can find a game of bridge anywhere. We play Party bridge here, but there is Duplicate and Contract bridge. Players must be members of the senior center.”

Once the attraction and love of the game clings, some people always play.

“I’ve played for almost 70 years,” said Jan Larsen of West Melbourne. “I signed up and played with my sorority class, but learned when I was age 17. My sister-in-law enrolled me in

lessons, telling me I couldn’t live with them unless I learned to play bridge because they were a bridge-playing household,” she said with a laugh.

Men like to play the game, too.

Don LaFortune, who oversees the afternoon bridge groups, said he has been playing for 60 years. But that he’s “never getting any better,” joking with the group while turning on a smirky smile.

Another player who played for more than 60 years is John Mickelson of Palm Bay.

“Why I like the game — it’s thoughtful and this is keeping my mind sharp. I play bridge twice a week.”

SENIOR LIFE Brenda Eggert Brader

Michele Laughter, left, Don LaFortune, bridge game overseer, and Anne Cartier prepare for a bridge game at the Greater Palm Bay Senior Center. Cartier is a new bridge player who recently took up the game.

“Bridge stimulates the brain. That’s why we play bridge to keep your mind

”

— Doris Jones

BY FLORA REIGADA

Nationwide, 246 police officers died in the line of duty in 2022, according to the Officer Down Memorial page.

Nine of those served in Florida.

On May 19, during National Police Week, these heroes were honored at the Law Enforcement Memorial Service hosted by the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville.

The organization provides survivors and the public year-round access to a facility dedicated to remembering the nation’s fallen officers.

“Every year, it is our privilege to host family members and dignitaries from law enforcement and government, as they come together to remember and honor the men and women whose lives were taken as they served their communities,” said Barry Shepherd,

the United States Law Enforcement Foundation chief executive officer.

The outdoor event included stirring patriotic music, the placement of a memorial wreath, a ceremonial flagfolding and reading the names of law enforcement officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

“We read the names of more than 300 police officers as a small and poignant way of showing that their memory lives on,” Shepherd said.

Upon hearing their loved one’s name, family members stood in homage. Sheriff Mike Chitwood of the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office, Brian Smith, who retired as a captain from Chicago Heights, Illinois, Jack Rinchich, who retired as chief from Charleston, West Virginia and Chief John Lau, of the Titusville Police Department read the names of the fallen. Sheriff Wayne Ivey read the

names for Brevard County line-ofduty deaths.

A Memorial Rotunda lists more than 9,000 names and each year more are added. Multiple agencies took part in the ceremony. The Atlanta Police Department’s Honor Guard was this year’s service host and the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office the lead for Honor Guard services.

“Everyone was deeply moved by the well-planned ceremony and the gravity of the fallen officers’ sacrifice,” said Janey Hicks, the director of sales, events and protocol. “Family members were escorted to their seats by an honor guard. Their dignity in the midst of sorrow is sobering. When an officer leaves home, we never know what will happen. The memorial is a beautiful way of honoring their sacrifice.”

The American Police Hall of Fame and Museum is at 6350 Horizon Dr.

in Titusville.

For information about the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum, call 321-264-0911 or visit aphf.org

BY FLORA REIGADA

Raccoons are among the most intelligent of Florida’s wildlife, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

To some, the appeal of their bandit face and furry ringed tail is hard to resist. So is feeding them.

However, Lindsay Mayer, the outreach and volunteer manager at the Florida Wildlife Hospital in Palm Shores, advises against it.

Fruit, plants, small animals and garbage are on their menu.

“Feeding a wild animal can habituate it to an area,” Mayer said. “This can result in aggression and the animal may need to be euthanized.”

It is also illegal, carrying a $100 fine.

Other Florida species with foodrelated rules include bears, coyotes, foxes, pelicans, alligators, crocodiles, sandhill cranes and wild monkeys.

Keeping raccoons too close or handling them presents a risk for humans and their pets, since the species can carry parasites and disease, including roundworms, rabies and the parvovirus.

“Populations can become dense, and if one raccoon gets sick, disease will spread easily,” Mayer said.

Raccoons can become an unwelcome houseguest, taking up residence in attics, sheds and under manufactured buildings.

“Make the environment

unwelcoming by shining bright lights or making loud noises,” Mayer said. “The raccoon should leave.”

If it does not, that’s when someone such as Leo Cross, the owner of Florida Wildlife Trappers Inc., can help.

He cautioned that spring is when mother raccoons are looking for a place to nest and give birth to their pups.

“The animals gain access by pulling on soffit or climbing up a screen enclosure. People know they have problems when they hear shuffling and squealing.” he said. “We trap and remove, then do pest prevention by repairing and sealing up the area. All our trapping is humane, and healthy animals are relocated.”

The organization will also decontaminate areas soiled by

feces and urine.

Keep raccoons away by:

• Tightly sealing trash cans or keeping them out of reach

• Blocking access to hiding places

• Removing food and water

• Protecting vegetable gardens

• Using scent repellents such as garlic or cayenne pepper

• Setting up motion-activated lighting and sprinker.

For information, visit myfwc.com SL

SENIOR LIFE David Reigada

This raccoon climbed a pool screen enclosure into a Titusville home’s attic, where she gave birth.

SENIOR LIFE Dan Reigada A color guard participates in the Law Enforcement Memorial Service at the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville.

Help hatch an alligator at southwest Florida park

BY LINDA JUMP

Help birth an alligator, name it and receive a birth certificate between Aug. 19 and Sept. 4 at Gatorama in Palmdale, southwest of Okeechobee. For less than half the price of a theme park, attendees can enter the park at 10665 U.S. 27 and receive an incubated egg ready to hatch in their hands.

History

“Come out to experience the real Florida. We are fifth and sixth generation Floridians with a familyowned business,” said Patty Register, who co-owns and runs the roadside attraction — opened in 1957 — with husband Allen and son Ben.

Tickets go on sale June 1 at gatorama.com or hatchingfestival. com. Ticket holders and group members have a two-hour window to

get to the Crackin’ Barn to receive an egg, latex gloves and hatching station with a guide. Put that egg to your ear and you’ll hear grunting or chirping. These gators are ready. Gently peel away a bit of shell near the air chamber and a 6- to 8-inch reptile glides or leaps into your gloved hand within a minute. Take pictures with the newborn, stroke it, talk or sing to it, name it (gender is still unknown)

Then and Now

History – Then and Now features Space Coast historic landmarks or sites in pictures and what those same areas look like today in photographs.

Now - 2023

and eventually put it into a nursery with other hatchlings that are also independent at birth.

Allen Register said Gatorama has 2,000 alligators raised for their meat and hides.

“Alligators have been off the

ALLIGATORS

Continued on page 21

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Brevard County Historical Commission Built as a church in 1950, this building became the Community Woman’s Club in 1966.

SENIOR LIFE Klinton Landress Magnolia Hall houses the Community Woman’s Club in Cocoa.

SENIOR LIFE Linda Jump

Gatorama, which is located in Palmdale, is the home for 2,000 alligators.

STRI PES

Brevard never fails to support veterans, military causes

On a recent morning, eight people of diverse backgrounds, including two military veterans, gathered for a two-hour training session on helping preserve military history.

The Library of Congress Veterans History Project collects and preserves personal stories of U.S military veterans. These are the kind of stories that add details to history — the firsthand remembrances of veterans from World War I to more recent conflicts and everything in between.

The gathering for the training workshop at One Senior Place — a resource office for all types of senior services and products in Melbourne — brought together veteran advocates who saw it as an opportunity to help

former service members preserve their stories for future generations. It will allow future generations to hear directly from the veterans even long after they are gone.

The Veterans History Project uses audio and video interviews to record the remembrance from early days of service, wartime and about coming

home after wars’ end.

The information collected in the recordings and original documents, diaries, letters, memoirs and photos are archived in the Library of Congress and becomes available (except for some personal information) to researchers. The veterans are given a copy of the recording and documents.

“Everybody brings insight into this project,” said Annette Fromm, the presenter/instructor for the session at One Senior Place. “I like talking to people. I like hearing people’s stories.”

Those who received the training held a lively discussion on the importance of being able to help veterans tell their stories to the world. Participants now will interview

veterans and help to get their stories preserved in vivid first-hand accounts.

“You guys are going to go out and interview people and add to this project,” said Fromm, who lives in Miami Beach and travels to various locations to conduct the training for the Veterans History Project when needed. The accounts are not just of war and conflicts, but also of peacekeeping missions.

Congress created the Veterans History Project in 2000 as part of the American Folklife Center.

For more information about the Veterans History Project and to explore the collection of thousands of individual accounts, visit loc.gov/vets/ SL

One stint in the Army was not enough for Palm Bay veteran

BY MARIA SONNENBERG

Opportunity knocks at unexpected times.

For Bill Jungbluth, it knocked thanks to a traffic accident.

In 1972, Jungbluth — after serving in the military and moving on to other careers — was a Rockledge policeman when a teen got involved in a car accident that rendered her vehicle inoperable. Jungbluth was talking with her father, who had come to pick her up. The father turned out to be a U.S. Army recruiter who encouraged Jungbluth to return to active duty.

“There was rain dripping off me because the weather was so bad,” he said.

The weather was dark but the outlook was sunny for Jungbluth’s return to the military, a natural progression for a man who was born at the most famous of all military hospitals, Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

Jungbluth grew up in Kissimmee, thanks to his father’s job, which involved establishing airfields for the Army during World War II. In 1950, the family moved to Eau Gallie as his father, newly retired from the military, accepted a civilian position at the newly renamed Patrick Air Force Base, originally known as the Banana River Naval Air Station (now Patrick Space Force Base).

Just like his father, Jungbluth joined the Army, which delivered him to Germany in 1961. Although he left active duty prior to the United States’ involvement in Vietnam, Jungbluth remained in the Army Reserves while pursuing a career as a police officer.

During his second round with the Army, Jungbluth was trained to become a fingerprint expert.

“At that time, the Army was recognized as a leader in the field,” said the Palm Bay resident.

The intensive training, which

required two years of coursework, landed him a job at the Army Criminal Investigations Command in Berlin, Germany. Jungbluth again left the service in 1991, but not for long. By 1994, he had been employed — albeit as a civilian this time — in an Army crime lab in Georgia.

In 2005, he thought he would retire for good. It was a nice thought, but it didn’t last.

“I got bored after a couple of years, so I started building a house in Tennessee,” he said.

The project took him 15 years to complete, but it is done. Jungbluth and his wife spend summers in the cooler weather of Grandview, Tennessee and winters in Palm Bay, in the house his father-in-law built. Family birthdays, anniversaries and holidays are for Loganville, Georgia, where Jungbluth has a house near his two children, who both work for Delta Airlines in Atlanta. Even three houses can’t keep Jungbluth at home for long.

“We love to travel and we’ve been to all 50 states,” he said. SL

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Bill Jungbluth Bill Jungbluth was a Rockledge police officer before returning to active duty in the U.S. Army.

“I got bored after a couple of years, so I started building a house in Tennessee.”

—Bill Jungbluth

SENIOR LIFE Jill Blue

Bill Jungbluth, who lives in Palm Bay, grew up in Kissimmee. He often travels between houses he owns in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida.

Event celebrates, honors service, contribution of military women

BY NANETTE HEBDIGE

The Women’s Armed Service Integration Act was signed by President Harry Truman in 1948, allowing women to serve in all branches of the military.

Today, 75 years later, more than three million patriot women have served and are serving the nation through the armed forces.

On June 12, the AVET Project — American Veterans Empowerment Team — will host its first lunch at the Brevard Zoo to honor those women who have served and are serving in the military.

“This year, the AVET Project decided that we would love to host our first event for our military women and give them the recognition they so deserve,” said Kim Cone, the vice president and treasurer at AVET Project, which is organizing the luncheon.

On June 12, 1948, President Truman signed the Women’s Armed Service Integration Act into law, allowing women to serve as active members in the armed forces. June 12 is officially designated as Women’s Veterans Recognition Day.

The Women’s Veterans Recognition Luncheon at the Brevard Zoo will celebrate and honor those

women who served.

“I’m honored to have been asked to speak at the lunch that celebrates women in our military,” said Crystal Turman, a clinical social worker and Air Force veteran.

Turman, the owner of Wellspring Counseling, will speak at the luncheon about the effects of mental health.

Turman has been married for 30 years to a veteran and met her

husband while she was deployed overseas, serving on an H53 helicopter. She said she established Wellspring Health in 2013 to help veterans, first responders and their families by assisting them in reaching their mental health goals.

Turman is part of a panel of military women speakers selected for the event. The Daughters of the American Revolution will provide certificates to all the military women attending.

The certificates are provided by the DAR Abigail Wright Chamberlain Foundation and the DAR Commodore John Barry Chapter. SL

AVET Project

Women’s

Veterans

Recognition Luncheon

11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, June 12

Brevard Zoo

Military women, with military or VA ID, enter for free. Non-military, $25

Suntree United Methodist Church sponsors special day

SPECIAL TO SENIOR LIFE

Suntree United Methodist Church will conduct Suntree Stars & Stripes, a free patriotic celebration, on Sunday, July 2 on the church grounds at 7400 N. Wickham Road.

It begins at 4:30 p.m. with an assortment of activities for children, including corn toss, jumbo jenga and Big Connect 4. A self-guided scavenger hunt also will be held.

A free dinner of hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, chips, homemade baked desserts and lemonade also will be offered.

At 6:30 p.m., everything moves indoors for a concert featuring the Melbourne Municipal Band led by Staci Rothbury. The Suntree Chancel Choir under Dr. Robert E. Lamb also will sing.

For more information, call the church at 321-242-2585. SL

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of Crystal Turman Crystal Turman will be one of the featured speakers at the Women’s Veterans Recognition Luncheon.

AFTAC airman commended for doing ‘the right thing’

SPECIAL TO SENIOR LIFE

For Air Force Senior Airman Tyler Johnson, “it was the right thing to do,”stopping to free a mother and her toddler from the wreckage of their overturned vehicle.

To Lt. Col. Christine Lukasik, commander of the 22nd Surveillance Squadron at the Air Force Technical Applications Center, it was an act of heroism that deserved recognition.

On May 19, Johnson was awarded the Air and Space Force Commendation Medal for his lifesaving act, on what was supposed to be a typical drive home.

“By his prompt action and humanitarian regard for his fellowman, Airman Johnson has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force,” reads the citation.

Johnson was going home April 13 following his shift as a Subsurface Operations Manager for the 22nd Surveillance Squadron at the Air Force Technical Applications Center, headquartered at Patrick Space Force Base.

He was headed west on the Pineda Causeway when he saw a swerving vehicle. He slowed down to give the vehicle ample room. But soon the swerving vehicle clipped another, causing the other vehicle to overturn several times, end-to-end, landing upside down on the roadway’s guardrails.

Johnson stopped, turned on his hazard lights and called 911. He said he thought the occupants were seriously hurt or worse.

“But I heard a woman’s voice coming from inside who said, ‘I’m OK. I have a baby.’ So, I knew I needed to somehow free them from the pinned vehicle.”

Another passer-by stopped and helped Johnson rock the vehicle enough to get the driver’s door open enough for the woman to pass the toddler through the small opening.

Johnson ensured that the child wasn’t in need of immediate triage while the other passer-by helped the driver crawl out from around the deployed airbags.

Johnson, a father of two, stopped to render aid because “it was the right thing to do,” he said.

“I grew up in the mountains, and I have seen a lot of bad car wrecks in my

lifetime,” he explained. “I myself was in a pretty bad accident on icy roads with my mother and sister. We were fortunate enough to have other drivers stop to help, and that’s what came to my mind when I saw this situation.”

Johnson, a California native, came to work for AFTAC, the nation’s nuclear treaty monitoring center, two years ago.

“We are amazed and inspired by Tyler’s heroism and life-saving actions,” said Col. James Finlayson, AFTAC commander. SL

Susan Romano of the Air Force Technical Application Center contributed to this story.

“By his prompt action and humanitarian regard for his fellowman, Airman Johnson has reflected great credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.”

— Citation

SENIOR LIFE U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew S. Jurgens U.S. Air Force Col. James “Cobra” Finlayson, the AFTAC commander, presents the Air and Space Commendation Medal and citation certificate to Senior Airman Tyler Johnson.

SENIOR LIFE U.S. Air Force photo by Matthew S. Jurgens Senior Airman Tyler Johnson stands outside the Air Force Technical Applications Center following his recognition. Johnson, in uniform, is pictured with Tavarus Lewis, Deja Mabins, Gregory Mabins, Alison Mabins, Alexa Johnson, Danielle Johnson and Anthony Johnson.

Humble beginnings, wildlife hospital serving thousands 50 years later

BY BETTY PORTER

In 1973, Carlton and Gladys Teate started the Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary to care for sick and injured animals at their home on Otter Creek Lane in Melbourne.

Their goal was to get the animals well enough to be returned to the wild.

That was the humble beginning of what today is a five-acre facility that takes care of more than 6,000 native and migratory animals each year, rehabilitating them and returning them to the wild, as was the vision 50 years ago.

building. A staff member is there at night to monitor via camera.

As they begin their 50th year as Florida Wildlife Hospital, for the first time ever they have been able to hire a veterinarian thanks to an anonymous donor. Dr. April Geer, DVM, is now onboard as are two full-time veterinary technicians.

FWH also provides ongoing care to the dozen of ambassador animals that are part of the education and outreach team that goes into the community. A select team of volunteers, who are among the more than 100 active volunteers of Florida Wildlife Hospital, devote their time to helping educate the community about the importance of wildlife and how to safely assess and handle common wildlife situations.

“We have been asked to come and speak at schools, scout meetings, women’s leagues, business events and meetings, community festivals, nursing homes and many more,” said Lindsay Mayer, the outreach and volunteer manager.

This year marks its 50th anniversary.

In 1988, an anonymous donor provided the funds to acquire the property at the present location of the Wildlife Hospital at 4560 N. U.S. 1 in Palm Shores.

Florida Wildlife Hospital’s executive director since 2015, Tracy Frampton said that all of what they do is funded through donations.

“There is no sustainable funding,” she said. “FWH is a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization that depends primarily on private donations to give life-saving medical care to sick, injured and orphaned wild animals. We provide for their care, feeding and rehabilitation during their recovery.”

It’s the place people call for help with injured wildlife.

“We field calls from people daily when they don’t know where to turn regarding a wild animal,” Frampton said. “Pelicans are often found entangled in fishing lines. We provide hope for Brevard residents and visitors who find a wild animal in need.”

FWH is open 365 days a year, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Animals in need can also be dropped off after hours in enclosures provided outside of the

The ambassador animals that accompany the volunteers include a Keystone species of Florida Gopher Tortoise named Lt. Dan, who was missing part of a leg when he was found in an abandoned apartment building. He has been at FWH for the past 13 years, because he cannot be put back in the wild since he can’t dig a burrow. The ability to dig a burrow (home) is necessary for survival. He is the longest resident ambassador animal. The newest resident is an Eastern Screech Owl that lost an eye. They named the owl, Wink, who although fully grown and weighs five ounces, eats 12 to 15 grams of mice or insects every day.

Hawks and owls will soon have a new addition that is being built and will include four separate enclosures. The structure is being funded by grants and should be open in a couple of months.

Many of the young or newly hatched birds are kept in the facility’s nursery where they are fed by hand with droppers every 15 minutes. In addition to the nursery, there is an intake room where newly admitted wild animals are treated for hypothermia and distress, and a Critical Care Unit where the veterinarian examines and treats them.

For those who ever wondered what happens when animals are dropped off at the Florida Wildlife Hospital, for a limited time, there is a special 50th

anniversary, 30-minute Behind the Scenes Tour. Those interested can sign up for one of the 9:30 a.m. time slots on June 20, July 18 and Aug. 15.

The tour will take visitors through the hospital where they will see the specialized enclosures on the five-acre property and learn about the animal treatments, diets and more. The cost is

$10 for members, $15 for the general public. Call 321-254-8843 to reserve a spot.

More information about supplies currently needed, how to sign up to volunteer (minimum age of 16), internships, memberships, or donations, check out floridawildlifehospital.org SL

SENIOR LIFE Klinton Landress

Dr. April Geer points to two hooks lodged in the throat of a young Blue Heron after it tried to steal a fisherman’s catch.

SENIOR LIFE Klinton Landress

Lindsay Mayer works with Archer, a great horned owl.

SENIOR LIFE Klinton Landress Baby oppossoms like to be scratched.

SENIOR LIFE Klinton Landress A Blue Heron is healing from surgery.

YEARS. ONE MISSION.

CONGRATULATIONS,

Sonata Senior Living

Since opening its first community in 2008, Sonata has been committed to raising the bar in senior living. As it celebrates 15 years of service excellence, it continues its endless pursuit to offer more to seniors and their families.

• More meaningful connections to improve lives

• More passionate and caring staff

• More personal freedom

• More safety and security features

• More wellbeing and socializing

Sonata’s innovative services and award-winning amenities and programming are here for you and those you love!

Expect more joy at Sonata East at Viera!

Veteran specials available. Call today to schedule a personalized tour and learn more about Sonata Senior Living.

Why am I burping so much? Causes, remedies for excessive belching HEALTH & WELLNESS

BY KIMBERLY BLAKER

Belching, or burping, is a bodily process that helps expel a build-up of gas from the digestive system.

Some people view it as rude or embarrassing, while others find it amusing. Some even consider it a show of appreciation for good food or drink.

Regardless of your personal take on burping, it’s a normal, healthy function that all of us do an average of three to six times after each meal.

Still, if you find yourself burping excessively, it may cause you concern. A variety of causes of gas buildup can lead to the need to belch. Even though excessive burping may be frustrating, it’s most often a result of lifestyle factors that can easily be remedied.

Swallowing extra air

One of the most common causes of excessive burping is taking too much air into your digestive system. The excess air must then be expelled. There are several possible causes of swallowing more air than your stomach can handle. These include loose dentures, hiccups, eating or drinking too quickly, using a straw, smoking, chewing gum, sucking on hard candies and talking while eating.

Remedy: Pay attention to what you were doing before the burping started. Take notes to look for a pattern, and see if decreasing the behavior resolves it. Also, take your time when eating and

Belching is normal, but excessive burping might require making some minor changes in lifestyle.

drinking at meals, and consider going for a short walk afterward to help move the gas through your system.

Eating gassy foods or drinks

Some foods are harder for your body to digest because of their high levels of starch, sugar or fiber. Consuming these can cause a buildup of gas in the digestive system.

Some of the most common gasinducing foods include:

• beans

• broccoli

• cabbage

• lentils

• onions

• dairy

• peas

• bananas

• raisins

• whole wheat bread

Carbonated drinks, such as soda and beer, release carbon dioxide bubbles into your system. So these also can increase belching. A side effect of some medications is burping as well.

Remedy: Keep a food diary to track everything you eat, along with the frequency and timing of your burps. This way, you can see any patterns between the foods you’re eating and the need to release trapped gas. Then reduce or eliminate your consumption of gas-producing foods and drinks.

Digestive issues

Because burping is the release of gas out of your mouth from your digestive system, digestive issues are often the

cause. Some of the most common associated problems are:

• Acid Reflux or GERD: Stomach acid rises back toward the esophagus and causes heartburn. This leads to an increase in swallowing and the potential for air to be taken in. Over-the-counter medications are available to treat it, though some of these also cause burping.

• Hiatal hernia: This type of hernia involves part of the upper stomach pushing through an opening in the diaphragm. Hiatal hernias are relatively common after the age of 50, most often causing no symptoms. Hence, people are unaware of the hernia. When the hernia causes burping, lifestyle changes and medication usually resolve the symptom. Only rarely is surgery required for a hiatal hernia.

• Lactose intolerance: This is an inability of the body to digest lactose in milk that results in bloating, diarrhea and abdominal cramps, which leads to burping. Avoidance of dairy products is the easiest way to prevent symptoms.

• Peptic ulcers: These are sores on the lining of the stomach, esophagus and intestines caused by H. pylori bacteria (Helicobacter pylori) or irritation from pain relievers. The increase in acid that eats away at the lining can cause excess gas and belching. Ulcers may heal on their own with lifestyle changes like avoiding alcohol, controlling stress, eating a healthy diet, avoiding milk and reducing the use of pain relievers. Some medications can treat ulcers or reduce stomach acid irritation.

• Irritable bowel syndrome: Also known as IBS, this is a disorder affecting the large intestine resulting in digestive issues, including gas and bloating, that can lead to burping. IBS is a chronic condition and requires long-term management of diet, lifestyle, stress and possibly the use of medication.

• Fructose malabsorption: This is when the body is unable to process foods or drinks containing fructose, leading to increased gas production or bloating. To resolve it, read labels and eliminate anything containing fructose from your diet.

Remedy: In these cases, burping is a symptom of a more significant problem. By addressing the underlying cause with medication or altering your diet under the guidance of a medical professional, you should experience a reduction in gas production.

When dealing with excessive belching, remember that generally, it’s temporary, harmless and can quickly be dealt with by making minor changes in your lifestyle. But if an increase in belching continues for more than a couple of weeks, is accompanied by other symptoms like severe abdominal pain, or affects your quality of life, contact your doctor. It’s best to make sure nothing more serious is going on with your body that’s causing your burping. SL

SENIOR LIFE Shutterstock

Space Coast volunteers’ fervor an important part of Special Olympics

BY BRENDA EGGERT BRADER

Knowing and teaching the rules with care and love is a passion for Jan Thompson in coaching players for the Special Olympics.

“They are pretty good, they really are,” Thompson of Palm Bay said of the players she coaches.

And as a coach, Thompson must be certified and trained by Special Olympics. When coaching, she shows Olympians how to play the game and explains the rules.

“Most know how to play the game,” Thompson said. “I guess my thing is the more you practice, the better you get. I like it and it is all volunteer. You show them how to play, for them to see what they can and can’t do.”

Thompson’s son, Steven, loves the Olympics and its challenges. Both like the competition and the games that keep them in the program. Thompson coaches volleyball, basketball, bowling and swimming.

Once involved in the program, Thompson became aware coaches were needed. She has been in the program for 25 years, 15 of those as a coach. The Olympians work year long with special seasons that include various sports such as surfing on Saturdays, and volleyball now gearing up for state competition at the Walt Disney World ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

“You have training once a week, different seasons for different sports and with training six to eight weeks before competition,” Thompson said.

“We are finishing volleyball now, ... before that was basketball. Swimming is coming up in June and bowling started up in May continuing through September. There are two competitions in the county and then regionals are more counties like the Orlando area and Brevard,” Thompson said. “Whoever qualifies in regionals has to qualify to go to state competition in Orlando in every sport.”

Arlene Darby of Cocoa who retired from the Florida Department of Corrections, is a 10-year volunteer with the Special Olympics. She recently participated in a group run/walk in Viera with the Special Olympics Torch Run.

“I started volunteering in 2017 when I retired and continued work with the Special Olympics,” she said. “Walking took us an hour from the Brevard County Courthouse in Viera to the Publix at Stadium Corners on May 3.”

Darby supports the Special Olympics monetarily and by cheering them on, giving out awards and fundraising.

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities in 172 countries. SL

SENIOR LIFE Jill Blue

Arlene Darby who retired from the Florida Department of Corrections, is a 10-year volunteer with Special Olympics.

SENIOR LIFE Jill Blue Jan Thompson, right, and her son, Steven, both like the competition of the Special Olympics.

“The more you

the better you get. I like it and it is all volunteer.”

— Jan Thompson

1 2 3

Friday Night Dancing at the VMC

6:30 p.m. Veterans Memorial Center 400 S. Sykes Creek Parkway Merritt Island 321-453-1776

Lionel Road Mims, 321-264-5080

Sip & Smoke

6:30 p.m. Locally hand-rolled cigars provided for purchase by Chaffiot Cigars and a spotlight spirit selected by the mixologists. 28 North Gastropub 2250 Town Center Ave. Viera, 321-241-1159

Bingo 6 p.m.

Packages begin at $8, with a minimum payout of $1,635.

Greater Palm Bay Senior Center 1275 Culver Drive NE Palm Bay, 321-724-1338

Foods of the Space Coast 5 - 9 p.m.

Foods of the Space Coast is a gala event celebrating that heritage with unique recipes. Benefit for the Space Coast Gator Club Scholarship Fund. Pineapples 1434 Pineapple Ave. Melbourne, 321-633-1702

Third annual Raider Classic Golf Tournament

8 a.m.

Fundraiser for Rockledge High School. Duran Golf Club 7032 Stadium Parkway Viera, 321-504-7776 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

A Summer Concert

3 p.m.

Community Band of Brevard

Merritt Island High School

100 Mustang Way Merritt Island 321-258-5580

Swingtimers in Concert

3 p.m.

Brevard Investment Education Group

10:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Group that meets to talk about stock market investments.

Suntree/Viera Library 902 Jordan Blass Drive Suntree, 321-255-4404

Senior Fitness Class

Social Media for Beginners

1 - 2:30 p.m. Cocoa Beach Library

550 N. Brevard Ave. Cocoa Beach, 321-868-1104

Palm Bay Memory Care Car Show

4 - 7 p.m.

MMB Pops Concert

6:30 p.m. June 7 and 8 Concert by the Melbourne Municipal Band.

Melbourne Auditorium 625 E. Hibiscus Blvd. Melbourne, 321-724-0555

Master Gardeners

Walking Club 8 - 9:30 a.m.

DRS Community Center 1089 S. Patrick Drive Satellite Beach, 321-223-7249

Square Dance

1 - 3 p.m.

Eau Gallie Civic Center 1551 Highland Avenue Melbourne, 321-608-7400

Senior Health Friday

10 - 11 a.m.

Learn basic life-saving techniques. RSVP required.

One Senior Place 8085 Spyglass Hill Road Viera, 321-751-6771

Sock Hop

7 p.m.

Juneteenth Celebration

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Live performances, food trucks and vendors. Cocoa Riverfront Park 401 Riveredge Blvd. Cocoa, 321-433-8800

Space Coast Cars and Coffee

Rockledge United

Methodist Church 1935 Fiske Blvd. Rockledge, 321-501-3722

Live Jazz Concert by pianist Daniel Tenbusch

1 - 2 p.m.

Cocoa Beach Library

550 N. Brevard Ave. Cocoa Beach 321-868-1104

Open to all years, makes and models. There will be food and an open bar. Palm Bay Memory Care 350 Malabar Road Palm Bay, 321-574-6290

10 a.m. Master gardeners answer your questions. Titusville Library 2121 S. Hopkins Ave. Titusville, 321-264-5026

Scottish Country Dancing

Made in the U.S.

Bingo

Rock and roll concert by the Melbourne Municipal Band.

5 – 8 p.m.

10 a.m. North Brevard Senior Center 909 Lane Ave. Titusville, 321-514-594

Melbourne Auditorium 625 E. Hibiscus Blvd. Melbourne, 321-724-0555

Thrifty Parking Lot 910 Barton Blvd. Rockledge, 201-658-2004 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Senior Fraud Information Session 3 - 4 p.m.

2 - 4 p.m.

Presented by the Space Coast Jazz Society. Veterans Memorial Center 400 S. Sykes Creek Parkway

Merritt Island

321-453-1776

Adagio Sax Quartet

3 p.m.

A summer concert.

Harbor City Baptist Church

2711 N. Harbor City Melbourne, 321-724-0555

Turkey Creek Sanctuary

Ranger-led Tour 10 - 11 a.m.

First and third Sunday

Each tour will be led by park ranger and will focus on common plants and animals found in the sanctuary.

Turkey Creek Park

6:30 - 9:30 p.m. Springs of Suntree Clubhouse

8300 Holiday Springs Road Suntree, 321-242-1734

Questions About Your Hearing?

9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Personal Hearing Solutions will answer all your hearing questions.

One Senior Place 8085 Spyglass Hill Road Viera, 321-7511-6771

Ballroom Dancing

6:30 and 7:30 p.m.

Different dance each month.

Wickham Park Senior Center 2785 Leisure Way Melbourne, 321-255-4494

Cornhole 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

7 p.m.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day

1920s Prohibition Party 6 - 11:55 p.m.

1970s & 1980s Broadway

June 13, 14 Concert presented by the Melbourne Community Orchestra.

Melbourne Auditorium 625 Hibiscus Blvd. Melbourne, 321-285-6724

Pingpong

1 - 3:30 p.m. Greater Palm Bay

Senior Center 1275 Culver Drive NE Palm Bay, 321-724-1338

Estate Planning Seminar 10 a.m.

Presented by elder law attorney William A.

Johnson. RSVP required. One Senior Place 8085 Spyglass Hill Road Viera, 321-751-6771

Tips for avoiding scammers, how to stay safe while using the internet, and what to do if you fall victim to a scammer by the Titusville Police Department.

Titusville Library 2121 S. Hopkins Ave. Titusville, 321-264-5026

9 a.m. - noon

Speakers and community service resources. Space Coast Health Foundation 1100 Rockledge Blvd. Rockledge, 321-253-4430

SHINE Counseling 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Cocoa Beach Library 550 N. Brevard Ave. Cocoa Beach, 321-868-1104

Get your gangster on, wear that flapper dress and dance to live music. Includes finger foods and snacks.

Italian American Club of South Brevard 1471 Cypress Ave. Melbourne, 321-242-8044

7 p.m. Funky disco hits presented by the Space Coast Symphony Orchestra. Scott Center for the Performing Arts 5625 Holy Trinity Drive Suntree, 855-252-7276 Green Gables Open House 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Green Gables 1501 S. Harbor City Blvd. Melbourne, 321-306-8635 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

The Longest Day Noon - 4p.m. Alzheimer's resources, memory testing, dementia live experience. One Senior Place 8085 Spyglass Hill Rd. Viera, 321-751-6771

Space Coast Book Lovers 2023

June 22 to 25

Radisson Resort at the Port 8701 Astronaut Blvd. Cape Canaveral 321-784-0000

Adult Storytime 3 p.m.

Hear stories performed by the Shakespeare Troupe of Titusville Titusville Library 2121 S. Hopkins Ave. Titusville, 321-264-5026

Mango Harvest Festival 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Recipe demonstrations. Sams House 6195 N. Tropical Trail Merritt Island, 321-449-4720

Spirit of America Concert 7 p.m.

1518 Port Malabar Blvd. NE

Palm Bay, 321-676-6690

A Patriotic Concert 3:30 p.m.

Presented by the Space Coast Symphony Winds. Riverside Presbyterian Church 3400 N. Atlantic Ave. Cocoa Beach 386-320-6112

Great Palm Bay

Senior Center 1275 Culver Drive NE Palm Bay, 321-724-1338

Afternoon Movie 2 p.m.

“Mamma Mia” Titusville Library 2121 S. Hopkins Ave. Titusville, 321-264-5026

Trivia Night 6 p.m. Pineda Inn 6533 U.S. Highway 1 Rockledge, 321-751-5311 Bingo 11 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. DRS Community Center 1089 S. Patrick Drive Satellite Beach, 321-202-7337

FIT over 50 9 - 9:55 a.m.

More than 50 cardio, strength, and core exercises designe to improve flexibility, mobility strength and balance.

Cape Canaveral Library 201 Polk Ave. Cape Canaveral 321-868-1101

Table Tennis 8 - 10 p.m.

Veterans Memorial Center 400 S. Sykes Creek Parkway Merritt Island 321-453-1776

Golden Hearts Senior Fitness 1 - 2 p.m. North Brevard Senior Center 909 Lane Ave. Titusville, 321-268-2333

Dominos 6 - 9 p.m. Great Palm Bay Senior Center 1275 Culver Drive NE Palm Bay, 321-724-1338

Shred Event 9 -

Line Dancing 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Every Friday in June Viera Community Center 2300 Judge Fran Jamieson Viera, 321-323-4928

Patriotic concert presented by the Space Coast Symphony Winds. Scott Center for the Performing Arts 5625 Holy Trinity Drive Suntree, 855.252.7276 25 26 27 28 29 30 July 1

BCOA NEWS

Brevard Commission on Aging

Hurricane season — time to register those who

Brevard County Emergency Management offers complimentary evacuation support during hurricane season to eligible residents who live alone or with families requiring specialized transportation and shelter.

The Special Needs Shelter and Transportation Services are provided free of charge, but residents need to register annually for each hurricane season. If you haven’t registered this year, we request you to do so today. In the event of an emergency, priority will be given to pre-registered residents as opposed to those who haven’t enrolled in the program.

Consider utilizing the Special Needs Shelter as a secondary option for sheltering. Your primary preference should be to evacuate to the home of a friend or relative, where you can enjoy more comfortable conditions and less crowded surroundings. Please keep in mind that shelters are likely to be crowded, intrusive, noisy and lacking in privacy. You will experience the following:

• Limited amounts of food and water

• If you require a special diet, you need to bring it with you

• Essential medical assistance and monitoring

items. This includes cots, bedding, medication, medical supplies and non-perishable food (preferably pre-prepared), ensuring self-sufficiency for a period of 72 hours.

What should I expect when at a special needs shelter?

The Special Needs Shelter cannot offer the same level of comfort and convenience as a home or hotel, nor can it provide the level of care available in a medical facility. Shelters are typically set up in schools or other public facilities, which may result in crowded, noisy, and monotonous conditions.

Am I eligible?

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.

require

special needs shelter

condition that requires assistance

You can register in the following ways if you have no other alternative:

• Using the Everbridge Online Application (member.everbridge. net/453003085617884/ login)

• Fax 321-633-1738

• Email: specialneeds@ brevardfl.gov (use the paper copy of the Special Needs Application)

• Phone: 321-637-6670

Prior to an emergency, residents who may need medical monitoring, assistance with daily activities or rely on lifesaving medical equipment that requires electricity should register for the Special Needs Shelter. This ensures that assistance is available when required. Residents with physical, mental or sensory disabilities, as well as those dependent on supplemental oxygen, should also register for the Special Needs Shelters program with Brevard County Emergency Management. If the evacuee typically requires such assistance, a caregiver should accompany them. Preregistered residents will be given priority in case of an emergency.

• Space for you and one caregiver

• Backup electricity for limited lighting, air conditioning and essential medical equipment

Special needs shelter as a last resort

The answer is “You may be eligible” if:

• You have special medical needs but do not require hospitalization

• You cannot be

Bluewater Creative Group - Issue 7

SUDOKU

• You can also talk to your home health care agency, hospice agency, medical supply company, or another caregiver, who can assist with completing an application

Once registered, annual updates are required.

Special needs planning brevardfl.gov/

As part of the Special Needs registration process, there will be a section to provide information about your pets. However, please note that with the exception of service animals and due to health concerns, pets are not permitted in special needs shelters. When it’s time to go to the shelter, you will receive a call to verify your need for shelter and gather pet information. An approximate pickup time will be provided, and Animal Services will collect your pet. Please ensure that you have your disaster kit, pet and necessary items prepared. After the emergency has subsided and you have returned home, Animal Services will reunite you with your pet.

Transportation assistance to a shelter

Bluewater Creative Group - Issue 7

The Special Needs Shelter serves as a safe place when all other sheltering options have been exhausted. It is intended to be a last resort shelter and should only be considered as a backup to your primary sheltering plan. Only service animals are permitted, and the responsibility for animal care lies with the owner.

Individuals choosing to utilize a Special Needs Shelter or any other public shelter should come prepared with essential

WEAAD 2023

Continued on page 26

5 6 4 3 8 7 5 7 1 7 4 2 9 1 5 8 6 3 6 8 2 1 4 8

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3 by 3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

(Answer appears elsewhere in this issue)

HOW TO SOLVE:

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3 by 3 boxes must contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Puzzle Syndicate

2 6 7 4 3

Edited by Margie E. Burke

Solution to Sudoku:

TECH KNOW TIDBITS

Air purifiers – it takes a little research to select the right one

BY R. NORMAN MOODY

Air purifiers for homes seem to be displayed and advertised more often in recent years.

Do they really work and do what the manufacturers say they will do — purify the indoor air? It will probably take some research and homework to select the right one.

So, should you use an air purifier? There are factors that need to be considered. The efficiency of a particular purifier, the size of the room in which it will be used, and other factors should be taken into account.

People with allergies, asthma and other respiratory conditions use them to help pull pollutants out of the air they breathe.

It could be difficult to know which one to choose with so many brands. Purifiers with HEPA, which stands for high efficiency particulate air filter, are often recommended.

The HEPA purifiers theoretically remove 99.97% of airborne particles, including bacteria, mold, dust and pollen from indoor air, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Of course, the efficiency depends on changing the filter regularly as recommended by the manufacturer. Air cleaners require periodic cleaning

and filter replacement. Typically, manufacturers recommend changing the filters every 60 to 90 days.

The EPA does not recommend specific air cleaning devices but offers a guide on selecting one. See epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/air-

cleaners-and-air-filters-home

Air purifiers have fans that draw in the air through a filter, which traps particles of a certain size. The smaller the particle it can trap, the better. The manufacturer’s instruction should tell the size of particle it can trap. The

filtered, clean air is then recirculated into the room.

Another source of information that should help in selecting the right air cleaner is the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers. Check out aham.org. SL

Courtenay Springs Village

1200 S Courtenay Pkwy., Merritt Island 32952 321-452-1233 CourtenaySpringsVillage.org

Shell Harbor

2855 Murrell Rd, Rockledge 32955 321-265-6858 ShellHarborRetirement.com

Alura Senior Living

777 Roy Wall Blvd., Rockledge 32955 321-549-3980 AluraSeniorLiving.com

The Blake at Viera

Opening October 2022

5700 Lake Andrew Dr.,Viera 32940 321-343-7200 BlakeAtViera.com

Sonata East at Viera 4206 Breslay Dr., Viera 32940 321-326-9995 SonataVieraEast.com

The Brennity at Melbourne

7300 Watersong Lane, Viera 32940 321-253-7440 BrennityMelbourne.com

Chateau Madeleine

205 Hardoon Lane, Suntree 32940 321-701-8000 SuntreeSeniorLiving.com

Buena Vida Estates

Brevard’s Premier Senior Retirement & Assisted Living Communities A B C D E F G H

2129 W. New Haven Ave., W. Melbourne 32904 321-724-0060 BuenaVidaEstates.org

SENIOR LIFE Shutterstock

The efficiency of an air purifier depends on changing the filter regularly as recommended by the manufacturer.

HISTORIC TITUSVILLE MAIN STREET

Palm Shores

Crossword solution on page 26

Gatorama offers the experience to help birth an alligator, caress it during its first moments of life and name the little reptile before putting it in a nursery with other hatchlings.

ALLIGATORS

Continued from page 8 endangered species list since 1986, so it’s no different from a cattle ranch or pig farm,” he said. “Everything we do is for education and conservation.”

Gatorama partners with the University of Florida for research and follows all Centers for Disease Control recommendations.

The hatching festival loosely began about 2003-04, he said, when he and his wife brought out a tray of eggs onto the back porch for a few guests to hatch. That continued for several years. “It’s grown every year now and turned into something super cool.”

“We thought it would be a oncein-a-lifetime event, but lots of people return year after year. We have a family from California that comes

every two years,” Patty Register said. More than 5,000 eggs have been incubated for about two months to hatch, many on their own. After June mating, a female lays from 35 to 50 eggs in a vegetative nest. In the wild, less than 20 percent of her hatchlings make it to 4-foot adulthood. The Registers are required to collect eggs laid on their property.

Gatorama also has revolving native animal exhibits, including 65 American crocodiles, birds, small mammals and tortoises. The site has a variety of other shows and events. General admission is $35 for adults, $12.50 for children under 60 inches tall. Children under 36 inches are admitted for free.

Summer hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends. SL

SENIOR LIFE Linda Jump

TIME TO TRAVEL

Lakeridge Winery’s rolling hills, wines — a magnet for visitors

BY MARIA SONNENBERG

Vineyards cover the rolling hills as far as the eye can see, but the scene is not Napa Valley, but rather Lake County, home to Lakeridge, reportedly Florida’s largest winery and vineyards.

Florida is hard on temperamental grapes like chardonnay or merlot, but muscadine and other native grapes are another story. As early as 1565, Spanish missionaries were tapping the bounty of these vines for sacramental wines. These days, Florida wines may not carry such a high purpose, but they can nevertheless be heavenly.

Although vineyards and wineries exist throughout the state, Lakeridge and its sister winery, San Sebastian in St. Augustine, dominate the state. As far as picturesque goes, it is hard to surpass Lakeridge, situated less than two hours from the Space Coast on U.S. 27 in Clermont.

“Our family has 70 acres in Clermont, and this is where we do the majority of our production,” said Christian Slupe, a member of the third generation of his family to be part of Lakeridge.

Slupe’s grandfather, Gary Cox, opened the winery in 1989 in what had once been orange groves.

“Freezes in the 70s and 80s wiped out the oranges,” Slupe said.

The winery also currently plants 120 acres of the 450 it owns in the Florida Panhandle.

Although the winery blends and finishes bulk pinot, cabs and chards from California, Lakeridge’s forte are its Carlos and Welder for whites and Noble grapes for red wine. Its most popular wines are the Southern Red and Southern White.

Complimentary wine tours, once a mainstay of the wine industry, are now rare. The fact that generous tastings and well-coordinated tours at Lakeridge and San Sebastian are free make them magnets for visitors and residents alike.

Lasting about 45 minutes, the tour includes a video and guided

walking tour of the facility, capped by a tasting of seven wines ranging from dry to sweet and sparkling.

The tastings are orchestrated by experienced tour guides such as Sarah Schaeffer, who has been with the company for 29 years.

The general tour/tasting is complimentary and available several times a day, seven days a week throughout the year. Lakeridge also recently instituted a VIP option.

“We get a lot of couples who want to celebrate a special occasion,” Slupe said.

At $75 per guest, the VIP

experience begins with a welcome glass of sparkling wine, a special access facility tour with a dedicated host and a private tasting room to experience a variety of reserve wines not normally included in the complimentary tour, each paired with a gourmet charcuterie platter. At the end, guests are poured an additional glass of their favorite wine to enjoy after the tasting.

Visitor Judy Schrock thought the VIP experience was well worth it.

“After many tastings, we took the

remaining charcuterie board and sat at a picnic table outside and enjoyed the beautiful day,” she said.

Lakeridge also hosts Weekends at the Winery with live music on the vineyard green, wine bar and catered food for purchase.

Lakeridge Winery & Vineyards is at 19239 U.S. 27 North in Clermont. Call 1-800-768-WINE or visit Lakeridgewinery.com

Winery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. SL

SENIOR LIFE Maria Sonnenberg

Tour guide Sarah Schaeffer conducts a tasting after one of the free tours at Lakeridge Winery.

SENIOR LIFE Maria Sonnenberg

The complimentary tour at Lakeridge Winery takes visitors through the steps of wine production from start to finish.

SENIOR LIFE Maria Sonnenberg

The gift shop at Lakeridge Winery features a large room with a hardwood bar for complimentary wine tastings.

“Our family has 70 acres in Clermont, and this is where we do the majority of our production.”

—Christian Slupe

By Randal C. Hill

Behind the Beat

‘Kodachrome’ — Paul Simon

Paul Simon’s “Kodachrome” began as “Goin’ Home,” but the poetic perfectionist soon felt that sounded too ordinary. Thus, he shifted creative gears, restructured the lyrics and came up with “Kodachrome,” which to him, sounded close to “Goin’ Home” but stuck better in the listener’s ear.

After Simon heard the gospeldrenched Staple Singers hit “I’ll Take You There,” he knew that he wanted to record “Kodachrome” at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, the same cramped northwest Alabama locale that the Staples had utilized. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section there consisted of four white guys who could lay down soul and rhythmand-blues tracks as well as or better than anyone on the recording-session scene.

While the group may have been top-notch, the studio itself was a dump. David Hood, the outfit’s bass player, explained to songfacts.com, “Paul Simon was used to working at Columbia Studios in New York and at studios in England and different places. When he came and saw our

little place, he probably thought, ‘Man, this is a rat trap.’ Because it was.”

One example of what awaited the sophisticated hitmaker was plastic covers tossed over the recording console that protected the costly piece of equipment when rain leaked from a hole in the roof.

Simon obviously managed to cast aside any concerns he had, as he nailed the master of “Kodachrome” in just two takes. Soon afterward, his single streaked to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.

His tune could be seen as a coming-of-age treatise, perhaps how a young man could often choose to view the world through rose-colored glasses. (To Simon, this is what Kodachrome camera film offered.) But first, wanting to get something unrelated off his chest, he opened “Kodachrome” with a most quirky lyric line:

When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school

It’s a wonder I can think at all

Then, without explanation, he

altered the plotline of his mini-story:

Kodachrome

Give us those nice bright colors

Give us the greens of summer

Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day

Certainly, it’s hard to let go of thoughts of a remembered carefree life of youthful pleasures and replace them with adulthood’s grittier realities. For Simon, this would include memories of past relationships which may not have been as sublime as he once recalled:

If you took all the girls I knew when I was single

And brought them all together for one night

I know they’d never match my sweet imagination

And everything looks worse in black and white

By the way, one should remind Simon that, when he and Art Garfunkel were in high school in New York, they had recorded a ditty called “Hey, Schoolgirl!” a bit of piffle (listed as being by Tom and Jerry) that reached the bottom of the national Top

time machine in June...

June 4, 1783

Brothers Joseph-Michel and Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier invent and launch an unmanned hot-air balloon for the first sustained flight in Annonay, France. The balloon measures 33 feet in diameter and is made of silk and lined with paper.

June 12, 1898

The Philippines declares independence from Spain, ending 300 years of colonial rule. After his expedition from 1542 to 1546, Spanish explorer Ruy Lopez de Villalobos names the islands The Philippines after Prince Philip, who later becomes King Philip II of Spain.

June 18, 1983

32-year-old physicist and pilot Dr. Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space. Challenger launches from Kennedy Space Center for a six-day mission.

June 12, 1934

40 chart. Royalties from the disc’s sales had bought teenage Simon a new fire-engine-red Chevy convertible. Hey, maybe high school really wasn’t a complete waste of time after all. SL

Walt Disney introduces the beloved character Donald Duck in the cartoon “The Wise Little Hen,” which is based on the short story, “The Little Red Hen.”

June 22,1847

The donut celebrates 176 years! Captain Hanson Greggory, a ship’s galley cook at age 15, invents the donut with a hole that allows it to cook faster and more evenly.

SENIOR LIFE Shutterstock Paul Simon recorded “Kodachrome” at the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in northwest Alabama.

Source: NASA.gov and Shutterstock

NORTH BREVARD

Off and on again — Brevard Heritage Center has new plans

BY FLORA REIGADA

“Whatever happened to Heritage Park?”

It is a question that Roz Foster, the president of North Brevard Heritage Foundation, is often asked.

The answer involves a decade-long merry-go-round of challenges, delays, hope, disappointment and hope reborn.

Initially slated for inclusion in the Chain of Lakes Complex in Titusville, the park there would have included historic structures that present a virtual timeline of Brevard County’s history and its people.

That history involves the once-dominant citrus industry, recalled by a house for grove workers and their families.

African Americans are recalled by the historic Gibson tenement houses and Clifton Schoolhouse and Native Americans through the Seminole chickee shelter and Ais Indian encampment.

Foster cited the Clifton Schoolhouse built from 1890 to 1891 on North Merritt Island by the Campbell and Jackson families for their children’s education.

BREVARD HERITAGE CENTER AT FIELD MANOR

“Their studies included physiology, Latin and advanced mathematics,” Foster said. “Many went on to higher education.”

The North Brevard Heritage Foundation worked with NASA, the Canaveral National Seashore and the Campbell family to recover and preserve what remained of the school building.

Still, plan after plan for Heritage Park fell through, and expenses piled up.

But a new plan has been formed.

“The North Brevard Heritage Foundation is moving forward to develop Brevard Heritage Center,”

Foster said.

“We are partnering with Field Manor to develop this project on 15 acres off Tropical Trail on North Merritt Island.”

An interactive ecotourism destination, it will show Brevard County’s history through historic and replicated structures, lectures and exhibits, including a twoseat outhouse.

“Early settlers had to endure heat and humidity that was accompanied by an

overwhelming number of mosquitos,” Foster said.

“Snakes and wild hogs were also a threat. The settlers worried about bad weather, fires and strangers.”

The foundation will apply for grants and raise money for architectural and engineering services and funds to move historic structures from storage.

Corporate sponsorships and volunteers interested in helping with fundraising, or those skilled in carpentry,

electronics and masonry can call Foster at 321-626-5224 or Mitch Morgan at 321-9171297.

Send emails to: thepritchardhouse@yahoo. com.

Financial donations also can be mailed to:

North Brevard Heritage Foundation

Brevard Heritage Center P.O. Box 653 Titusville, FL 32781-0653. SL

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of the North Brevard Heritage Foundation The Hutcheson Barn will be among the historic structures on display at the Brevard Heritage Center. Built in the 1940s of heart pine cross-sawed lumber and recycled materials such as wood telephone poles, it sheltered cattle, feed, farm equipment and barrels of home brew.

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of the North Brevard Heritage Foundation The Clifton Schoolhouse will be among the historic structures on display at the Brevard Heritage Center. It was built in 1890 and 1891 by the Campbell and Jackson families for their children’s education.

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of the North Brevard Heritage Foundation

This is a conceptual map of the Brevard Heritage Center coming to Field Manor on Merritt Island. It will be an interactive park, showing Brevard County’s history through historic and replicated structures.

“The North Brevard Heritage Foundation is moving forward to develop Brevard Heritage Center.”

— Roz Foster

HUTCHESON BARN CLIFTON SCHOOLHOUSE

Firefighters, deputies

BY BARBARA JEAN MEAD

Family members expressed their gratitude to Brevard County Sheriff’s deputies and firefighters who acted quickly and efficiently to save the life of a woman from choking.

The firefighters and deputies were formally recognized and honored during a ceremony for the life-saving act. Brevard County Assistant Chief of Emergency Medical Service Orlando Dominguez presided over the May 15 Recognition Ceremony at Station 43 on Merritt Island.

The deputies and firefighters saved Judy Goforth, 81, from choking while out for dinner April 27 at Outback Steakhouse on Merritt Island.

Personnel at Outback made the call to 911 and dispatchers relayed that the victim’s airway was blocked and the victim’s condition was rapidly deteriorating.

Immediately upon arrival, Brevard County Sheriff’s Deputy Mark Rozecki and Deputy Joseph Batch found the victim was turning purple, not breathing, and had no pulse.

Batch immediately attempted the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge what was obstructing her airway. Rozecki then began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Brevard County Fire Rescue Lt. Christopher Simmons, fire medic Jay Ibanez, fire medic Robert Griffith, firefighter/EMT George Ricks and firefighter/EMT David Rieth arrived on scene and upon immediately assessing the airway the paramedics were able to see and remove the obstruction. Goforth was

SHELTER

Continued from page 19 primary evacuation shelters. Residents who require transportation to a shelter can request it either as part of their special needs application or if they have no means of transportation. Please note that transportation is solely provided to and from the shelter, and no other destinations can be accommodated. Bus space is limited, and carry-on items are restricted to a pillow, blanket, and one carry-on bag.

Returning home

Every effort will be made to facilitate the safe and swift return of evacuees to their homes and businesses. The authorization for re-entry into evacuated areas will be based on public safety, security and the operational requirements of search and rescue teams. The re-entry policy will be established as soon as possible, with minimal restrictions. The decision regarding general re-entry will be made through continuous coordination among county and state agencies, municipal law enforcement agencies and adjacent counties. Announcements regarding re-entry will be communicated through the news media. SL

Space and the Lagoon: A step toward balance

Recently, we called for more communication and balance between our rapidly developing space industry and restoration of our precious Indian River Lagoon.

Well, I can report, we have taken a step in that direction.

The picture shows the Indian River Lagoon Roundtable (irlroundtable. com/) table at Blue Origin’s April Earth Day event. There were about a dozen exhibitors at the event and several hundred Blue Origin employees attended.

Most of the employees we talked with said they valued the Lagoon and understood that it was experiencing problems. A few did not know that there were any issues (algal blooms, fish kills, manatee starvation) to be concerned about.

5 6 4 3 8 7 5 7 1

This conversation led naturally into a discussion of what causes the problems. Past construction at KSC that cut water flow, created impoundments and some waste sites; but also current

Solution

Puzzle on page 21

Lagoon Straight Talk

From the Brevard Indian River Lagoon Coalition

issues.

A current example is new construction of large structures with massive parking lots that produce huge amounts of freshwater runoff into the Lagoon, potentially reducing the salinity and stressing the ecology. This led to a discussion of Low Impact Development and other approaches to minimize impacts (epa.gov/nps/ urban-runoff-low-impactdevelopment).

We also touched on the tendency of regulators to permit new projects in a one off fashion, failing to track or manage the cumulative impacts of all the individual projects. This also led to talk about how commercial leaders like Blue Origin could encourage more transparency and balance in the outstanding space

Edited by Margie E. Burke

HOW

development occurring in Brevard and the Lagoon’s restoration we are working so hard to accomplish.

Most of our visitors understood and agreed that such a comprehensive and balanced process was indeed appropriate, especially recognizing that Blue Origin’s mission is about helping the earth (“Our Blue Origin”) by removing noxious and hazardous activities to space.

We thank Blue Origin for inviting local groups focused on the environment to engage with its staff. We see this as a small but important step toward building more balance between our twin blessings: space and the Lagoon. SL

For more about our piece of paradise — the Indian River Lagoon, go to HelpTheLagoon.org, facebook.com/BIRLC/ and twitter.com/HelpTheLagoon.

An attitude of gratitude fosters hope, love

Do you have hope or are you hopeless?

(Answer appears elsewhere in this issue)

News broadcasts, newspaper headlines and chatter over the internet may generate hope or hopelessness. During the spring, we have been exposed to messages of Passover, Easter and Ramadan. The spiritual messages of a rabbi, minister, priest or imam give the readers and listeners hope.

When we are exposed to spring storms, record rainfall, hail, tornadoes and blustering winds, we hope that the event will turn out for the best. Western states experienced years of drought. Residents prayed and hoped for rain. Record winter snowfalls now are creating mudslides and flooding. My sister lives in Gilbert, Arizona. She hopes for rain, but they most often get only a few inches a year.

World events, war in Ukraine, hostilities in Sudan, local shootings and disruptive behavior among neighbors bring us sadness. We hope for quick solutions. We have hope fostered by alliances, negotiations, mediation and helpfulness of agencies.

A family member or friend receives news that they have terminal or incurable cancer. We pray. We hope that some medicine, some surgery or some treatment will lead to a speedy recovery.

There are a lot of sad people in the world. Have they given up hope? Seniors often lament about the “good old days.” There are fewer smiles wherever you go. People do not seem to want to look each other in the eye. I enjoy greeting people with “Hello! Good morning!” to start things off.

Challenges of Living to Age 100

Ed Baranowski

People have often ended conversations with “Have a nice day.” Why not “Have a blessed life?”

On May 28, at the Rotary International Convention in Melbourne, Australia, representatives from nearly 200 countries heard President Gordon R. McInally of Scotland present his theme, “Create Hope in the World.” He reflected on a world in conflict and that peace is the soil in which we grow hope.” Rotarians around the world continue to be involved in projects aimed at peace and hope.

A reader commented: “This country has gone down the toilet. There is no hope for recovery.” Later in the conversation, he comments, “I’ve been blessed. I have a beautiful family, a comfortable retirement.” An attitude of gratitude fosters hope and love.

We have recovered from wars, strife, economic losses, deaths of loved ones, grief and weather disasters. As seniors, we are challenged to set the tone for hope. SL

Ed Baranowski is an awardwinning writer, artist, speaker and seminar leader. He lives in Melbourne and can be contacted at fast75sr@ gmail.com

SENIOR LIFE Courtesy of BIRLC Michael Myjak, left, and Lew Kontnik prepare to engage Blue Origin staff at the April 21 Blue Origin Earth Day to share the current issues of the Brevard Indian River Lagoon.

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