February 2014 | Howard County Beacon by The Beacon Newspapers

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Office still fights discrimination

5 0 FEBRUARY 2014

I N S I D E …

PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER MEYERS

By Robert Friedman Howard County resident Fred Johnson, 56, was rated “highly effective” as a manager at the auto parts business where he was employed. That was in 2010, when he was the oldest — and told he was one of the best — of the 12 managers at the company. Soon after, a new supervisor took over his department. Johnson (not his real name) was told he was being put on a “performance improvement plan.” He was fired from his job 90 days later, and replaced by a 34-year-old less-qualified employee. Johnson was sure that the new supervisor felt “threatened” by Johnson’s greater experience, and that was why he was terminated from his job.

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Warm(er) winter destinations beckon; plus, a safari to Botswana’s Okavango Delta page 22

Investigating age bias So where does a Howard County senior turn when he feels he had been fired because of age discrimination? He can turn, as Johnson did, to the county’s Office of Human Rights, which looks into such complaints. Its 17-month investigation in Johnson’s case, which included speaking to workplace witnesses on both sides and checking workplace records, found that Johnson’s complaint was valid. (In bureaucratize: “There is reasonable cause to believe the age discrimination allegation is substantiated.”) The case, according to Office of Human Rights Administrator C. Vernon Gray, is now in the “conciliation phase,” meaning that the company could appeal the decision, or sit down with Johnson and decide whether to offer a monetary settlement, employ him there again, or both. “The law says if a person can no longer perform essential duties [of a job], he or she can be fired,” Gray said. This, he said, was not the case with Johnson. The number of workers between 55 and 64 years old is expected to rise by 40 percent between 2006 and 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The bureau says that people 65 and older are expected to make up 6.1 percent of the workforce in two more years, compared with 3.6 percent a decade earlier. Meanwhile, the federal Equal Employ-

ARTS & STYLE

C. Vernon Gray serves as the administrator of the Howard County Office on Human Rights. The office investigates numerous kinds of discrimination complaints, including employment, housing and law enforcement.

ment Opportunity Commission has reported, according to Forbes magazine, that complaints by aging workers are soaring — jumping from about 18,000 in 2007 to as many as 25,000 a year since 2008. The 74-year-old Gray agreed this undoubtedly means that the Columbia-based office will be looking into more age discrimination cases than ever before. With a staff of nine people, the office has investigated 59 age-discrimination complaints over the last five years, Gray said. That’s more than 10 percent of the 450 workplace and housing discrimination complaints it has handled over that period. Charges of racial discrimination still lead locally and nationwide, followed by sex dis-

crimination complaints.

An Irish dance show has a contemporary twist; plus, singer Graham Nash’s new memoir recalls his ‘60s roots and columnist Bob Levey warns against gold diggers page 26

First black elected official Gray himself has been a pioneer in human rights advances in Howard County. He was the first African American to win an electoral office in the county, which didn’t happen until 1982, when he was elected to the Howard County Council to serve the first of five four-year terms. Among other incidents, he remembers during his initial campaign one already elected county commissioner refusing to shake his hand. “Why don’t you shake the man’s hand?” See HUMAN RIGHTS, page 10

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The power in numbers Among the truest truisms are the state- enough to cost them their livelihood and ments: “there is power in numbers,” and ostracize them from society. “the pen is mightier than the At the time, these were the sword.” opinions of the majority, and History offers ample exthe majority believed in the amples. The problem is that rightness of their beliefs. those examples may illusBut when we look back on trate successes by what we these times, we rightly feel (or others) might consider ashamed that our country good or moral causes, as well could have been so backward, as successes by what we (or so prejudiced, so caught up in others) might consider bad mass hysteria. or immoral causes. We might say to ourselves Not so long ago in this FROM THE that we would never have succountry, there were substan- PUBLISHER cumbed, even under the most tial numbers of Americans By Stuart P. Rosenthal intense peer pressure, to join who shared racist attitudes, the lynch mobs, reject friends propagated ugly beliefs and acted on them. for their political beliefs, or remain in the For years, black, Asian, Catholic and country clubs and schools that kept others Jewish Americans were kept out of many out due to their ethnicity or their religion. desirable neighborhoods, private schools Some of us would go further and say, and clubs, and workplaces. were something like this to happen again, Those who were gay were terrified to be we would stand up and fight — with words known as such, and remained in the closet and possibly even our fists — to defend their whole lives out of fear of losing their those who were being so unfairly attacked jobs and even their friends and family. for their ancestry, their religion or their Americans have also been persecuted beliefs. for their political beliefs. Even the barest After all, we might add, America was suggestion that someone was a card-carry- founded on the principles of tolerance, ing member of the Communist Party was freedom of speech and religion, and belief

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in the inherent dignity of all humankind. Are you with me? If so, you might not realize you’re being set up. For my intent in this column is not simply to point out how much more enlightened we Americans are today than our ancestors, but also to suggest that perhaps, as the tables have turned, we may actually be reenacting some of the biases, injustices and hypocrisy of our forebears in the name of enlightenment. While our culture has come a long way since the prejudices I mentioned above were commonly expressed and accepted, let’s take as a given that not everyone has internalized contemporary mores. Some were raised with prejudicial attitudes and haven’t moved beyond them. Some realize times and attitudes have changed, but aren’t so happy about it. Others have really come to accept current views, but when asked about the past, will admit to having had prejudices in the past. And some are fundamentalist believers who take the Bible at face value, even when that conflicts with modern notions of rights. When some of these attitudes come to light nowadays, especially when the people are famous or rich or both, the public reaction can be furious, and the result can almost instantly cost people their reputations and their livelihoods. While I understand the logic of denying prejudiced national figures a bully pulpit, I worry that we are becoming less and less

tolerant even of each other within our communities. It seems to me that a significant number of Americans are developing a reflexive rush to judge, dehumanize and penalize those whose beliefs they consider offensive, and to refuse to accept even penitent apologies. Are these not the very behaviors of those in the past whom we claim to so despise? We see online lynching of reputations, mass hysteria against, and stereotyping of, groups and political parties based on the behavior of individuals. We may think we have come a long way from the backwardness of the past, but in some ways, we have just become those we used to hate. If we truly believe in freedom of thought and freedom of religion, we should be able to live with differences of opinion and belief, as long as everyone’s rights are respected. And when we think someone’s beliefs are backward, we have the right to try to educate them and change their attitudes. It may take time and effort, and it may, in some cases, not succeed. But if we believe in human dignity — that of others as well as our own —- we must agree to treat each other with basic respect.

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BEACON BITS

Feb. 16

COLLECTING AFRICAN AMERICAN MEMORABILIA

The Howard County Historical Society hosts Dr. Philip J. Merrill on Sunday, Feb. 16 at 2:30 p.m. at the Howard County Library Miller Branch. Merrill is a nationally recognized expert in African American history, memorabilia and culture, an appraiser with the Maryland Public Television show “Chesapeake Collectibles,” and author of The Black American Series: Baltimore and The Art of Collecting Black Memorabilia. The library is located at 9421 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. Call (410) 313-1950 to reserve a space.

Feb.

FALL IN LOVE WITH ART

During February, the Artists’ Gallery presents the show “Love Our Art.” The all-media show runs from Feb. 3 to 28, with an opening reception on Friday, Feb. 7 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Artists’ Gallery, American City Building, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Columbia. The member-owned gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and closed Sunday. For more information, call (410) 740-8249 during gallery hours or visit www.artistsgallerycolumbia.com.

Feb. 22+

FREE GROCERIES

Lydia’s Pantry gives free groceries to Maryland residents in need on the third and fourth Saturdays of the month from 9 to 11 a.m. Food includes frozen meats, beans, rice, pasta, and other non-perishable items. Some eligibility guidelines apply. Lydia’s Pantry is located at 8740 Cherry Lane, Laurel. For more information, call (410) 777-0157.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

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Health Fitness &

MEDICARE CHOICES Make sure to explore the ABCs of Medicare before you turn 65 INHERITING FEARFUL MEMORIES Genes may pass information to offspring about traumatic experiences KNEE QUANDRY How to decide if surgery or rehab is best for a torn knee ligament WINTER HEART ATTACKS Cold temps, snow shoveling and weight increase winter heart attack risk

First successful gene therapy for cancer By Marilynn Marchione In one of the biggest advances against leukemia and other blood cancers in many years, doctors are reporting unprecedented success by using gene therapy to transform patients’ blood cells into soldiers that seek and destroy cancer. A few patients with one type of leukemia were given this one-time, experimental therapy several years ago, and some remain cancer-free today. Now, at least six research groups have treated more than 120 patients with many types of blood and bone marrow cancers, with stunning results. “It’s really exciting,” said Dr. Janis Abkowitz, blood diseases chief at the University of Washington in Seattle and president of the American Society of Hematology. “You can take a cell that belongs to a patient and engineer it to be an attack cell.” In one study, all five adults and 19 of 22 children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) had a complete remission, meaning no cancer could be found after treatment, although a few have relapsed since then. These were gravely ill patients who were out of options. Some had tried multi-

ple bone marrow transplants and up to 10 types of chemotherapy or other treatments. Cancer was so advanced in 8-year-old Emily Whitehead of Philipsburg, Pa., that doctors said her major organs would fail within days. She was the first child given the gene therapy, and shows no sign of cancer today, nearly two years later. To watch a video about her treatment, see http://bit.ly/VxB0dL. Doctors say this has the potential to become the first gene therapy approved in the United States, and the first for cancer worldwide. Only one gene therapy is approved in Europe, for a rare metabolic disease.

What’s involved The treatment involves filtering patients’ blood to remove millions of white blood cells, called T-cells, altering them in the lab to contain a gene that targets cancer, and returning them to the patient in infusions over three days. “What we are giving essentially is a living drug” — permanently altered cells that multiply in the body into an army to fight

the cancer, said Dr. David Porter, a University of Pennsylvania scientist who led one study. Several drug and biotech companies are developing these therapies. Penn has patented its method and licensed it to Switzerland-based Novartis AG. The company is building a research center on the Penn campus in Philadelphia and plans a clinical trial next year that could lead to federal approval of the treatment as soon as 2016. Talking with the researchers, “there is a sense of making history ... a sense of doing something very unique,” said Hervé Hoppenot, president of Novartis Oncology, the division leading the work. Lee Greenberger, chief scientific officer of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, agreed. “From our vantage point, this looks like a major advance,” he said. “We are seeing powerful responses... and time will tell how enduring these remissions turn out to be.” The group has given $15 million to various researchers testing this approach. Nearly 49,000 new cases of leukemia, 70,000 cases of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma

and 22,000 cases of myeloma are expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2014. Many patients are successfully treated with chemotherapy or bone marrow or stem cell transplants, but transplants are risky, and donors can’t always be found. So far, gene therapy has been tried on people who were in danger of dying because other treatments failed. The gene therapy must be made individually for each patient, and lab costs now are about $25,000, without a profit margin. That’s still less than many drugs to treat these diseases and far less than a transplant. The treatment can cause severe flu-like symptoms and other side effects, but these have been reversible and temporary, doctors say.

Many success stories Penn doctors have treated the most cases so far — 59. Of the first 14 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), four had complete remissions, four had See GENE THERAPY, page 4

To live longer and be slimmer, eat nuts By Marilynn Marchione Sometimes you feel like a nut, and that’s a good thing. Regular nut eaters were less likely to die of cancer or heart disease — in fact, were less likely to die of any cause — during a 30-year Harvard study. Nuts have long been called hearthealthy, and the study is the largest ever done on whether eating them affects mortality. Researchers tracked 119,000 men and women and found that those who ate nuts roughly every day were 20 percent less likely to die during the study period than those who never ate nuts. Eating nuts less often lowered the death risk, too, in direct proportion to consumption. The risk of dying of heart disease dropped 29 percent and the risk of dying of cancer fell 11 percent among those who had nuts seven or more times a week compared with people who never ate them. The benefits were seen from peanuts as well as from pistachios, almonds, walnuts

and other tree nuts. The researchers did not look at how the nuts were prepared — oiled or salted, raw or roasted.

Weight control benefits, too A bonus: Nut eaters stayed slimmer. “There’s a general perception that if you eat more nuts, you’re going to get fat. Our results show the opposite,” said Dr. Ying Bao of Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. She led the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The National Institutes of Health and the International Tree Nut Council Nutrition Research & Education Foundation sponsored the study, but the nut group had no role in designing it or reporting the results. Researchers don’t know why nuts may boost health. It could be that their unsaturated fatty acids, minerals and other nutrients lower cholesterol and inflammation and reduce other problems, as earlier studies seemed to show. Observational studies like this one can’t

prove cause and effect, only suggest a connection. Research on diets is especially tough, because it can be difficult to single out the effects of any one food. People who eat more nuts may eat them on salads, for example, and some of the benefit may come from the leafy greens, said Dr. Robert Eckel, a University of Colorado cardiologist and former president of the American Heart Association. Dr. Ralph Sacco, a University of Miami neurologist who also is a former heart association president, agreed. “Sometimes when you eat nuts you eat less of something else like potato chips,” so the benefit may come from avoiding an unhealthy food, Sacco said. The Harvard group has long been known for solid science on diets. Its findings build on a major study earlier this year — a rigorous experiment that found a Mediterranean-style diet supplemented with nuts cuts the chance of heart-related problems, especially strokes, in older people at high risk of them.

Many studies agree Many previous studies tie nut consumption to lower risks of heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer and other maladies. In 2003, the Food and Drug Administration said a fistful of nuts a day as part of a low-fat diet may reduce the risk of heart disease. The heart association recommends four servings of unsalted, unoiled nuts a week, and warns against eating too many, since they are dense in calories. The new research combines two studies that started in the 1980s on 76,464 female nurses and 42,498 male health professionals. They filled out surveys on food and lifestyle habits every two to four years, including how often they ate a serving (1 ounce) of nuts. Study participants who often ate nuts were healthier — they weighed less, exercised more and were less likely to smoke, among other things. After taking these and other things into account, researchers still See NUTS, page 5

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Gene therapy From page 3 partial ones, and the rest did not respond. However, some partial responders continue to see their cancer shrink a year after treatment. “That’s very unique to this kind of therapy” and gives hope the treatment may still purge the cancer, said Porter. Another 18 CLL patients were treated, and half have responded so far. Penn doctors also treated 27 ALL patients. All five adults and 19 of the 22 children had complete remissions — an “ex-

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

traordinarily high” success rate, said Dr. Stephan Grupp at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Six have since relapsed, though, and doctors are pondering a second gene therapy attempt. At the National Cancer Institute, Dr. James Kochenderfer and others have treated 11 patients with lymphoma and four with CLL, starting roughly two years ago. Six had complete remissions, six had partial ones, one has stable disease, and it’s too soon to tell for the rest. Ten other patients were given gene therapy to try to kill leukemia or lym-

phoma remaining after bone marrow transplants. These patients got infusions of gene-treated blood cells from their transplant donors instead of using their own blood cells. One had a complete remission and three others had significant reduction of their disease. “They’ve had every treatment known to man. To get any responses is really encouraging,” Kochenderfer said. The cancer institute is working with a Los Angeles biotech firm, Kite Pharma Inc., on its gene therapy approach. Patients are encouraged that relatively few have relapsed. “We’re still nervous every day because

they can’t tell us what’s going to happen tomorrow,” said Tom Whitehead, father of 8year-old Emily. Doug Olson, 67, a scientist for a medical device maker, shows no sign of cancer since gene therapy in September 2010 for CLL he had had since 1996. “Within one month he was in complete remission. That was just completely unexpected,” said Porter, his doctor at Penn. Olson ran his first half-marathon last January and no longer worries about how long his remission will last. “I decided I’m cured. I’m not going to let that hang over my head anymore,” he said. — AP

BEACON BITS

Jan. 27

PHARMACIST ANSWERS QUESTIONS

Don Hamilton, Pharm.D., consultant pharmacist, will answer participant’s questions about current medication concerns in a free program on Monday, Jan. 27 at 11 a.m. at the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. For more information, call (410) 313-1400.

Feb. 26

HOW TO AGE WELL

First Lutheran Church will host a program featuring a panel of experts discussing how to make and execute plans to age well and live longer. The program will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 2:30 p.m. at the church, 3604 Chatham Rd., Ellicott City. “The Truths and Consequences of Aging” is sponsored by the Lutheran Village at Miller’s Grant. Registration is required by calling 1-877-461-8933 or by visiting www.MillersGrant.org.

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saw a strong benefit from nuts. Compared with people who never ate nuts, those who had them less than once a week reduced their risk of death 7 percent; once a week, 11 percent; two to four times a week, 13 percent; and seven or more times a week, 20 percent. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very confidentâ&#x20AC;? the observations reflect a true benefit, Bao said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We did so many analyses, very sophisticated ones,â&#x20AC;? to eliminate other possible explanations. For example, they did separate analyses on smokers and non-smokers, heavy and light exercisers, and people with and with-

See MEDICARE CHOICES, page 6

I N F O R M AT I O N

From page 3

out diabetes, and saw a consistent benefit from nuts. At a heart association conference in November, Penny Kris-Etheron, a Pennsylvania State University nutrition scientist, reviewed previous studies on this topic. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re seeing benefits of nut consumption on cardiovascular disease as well as body weight and diabetes,â&#x20AC;? said KrisEtherton, who has consulted for nut makers and also served on many scientific panels on dietary guidelines. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know exactly what it isâ&#x20AC;? about nuts that boosts health or which ones are best, she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I tell people to eat mixed nuts.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D; AP

Also consider Medicare supplement coverage, also known as medigap. These plans cover part or all of the costs you

would otherwise still owe under parts A and B, including deductibles and co-pays. The 10 plans available are labeled by letter. Benefits for each are standardized, but insurers may and do charge different premiums, so shop around. The six-month initial enrollment period starts on the first day of the month in which you are 65 or older and are enrolled in Medicare Part B. During that window, you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be turned away by medigap insurers because of a preexisting condition. Miss the deadline, and you could end up paying more or be denied coverage altogether. The Obamacare ban on denying coverage based on preexisting conditions

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At the same time, you can also enroll in

tiree health benefits and coverage through COBRA are secondary to Medicare as soon as youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re eligible, whether you sign up or not.) If you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sign up for Part B within that window, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to wait until the next open-enrollment period (Jan. 1 to March 31), and your monthly premium will permanently increase by 10 percent for each 12-month period you delay. To sign up for Medicare parts A and B, call 1-800-772-1213 or visit www.social security.gov/medicareonly.

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Medicare Part B, which covers doctorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; visits and outpatient care. This coverage exacts a monthly premium ($104.90 for most people in 2013, more for those with high incomes), plus a deductible and coinsurance. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re collecting Social Security when you turn 65, you will automatically be enrolled in Part A and Part B, and the Part B premium will be deducted from your benefits. If you still have health coverage through work or are covered by your spouseâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s employer, you may be better off keeping that coverage and delaying Part B. Ask your employer for help deciding, or call Social Security at 1-800-772-1213. Once you lose employer coverage, you have eight months in which to sign up for Part B. (You should do so because both re-

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By Jane Bennett Clark These days, turning 65 doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to mean hanging up your career, but it does represent one big milestone: Medicare eligibility. In most cases, signing up for Medicare Part A is a no-brainer. This coverage pays for in-patient care in the hospital. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s generally no premium, although you do pay a deductible and share other costs. You can sign up as early as three months before the month in which you turn 65, and as late as three months after your 65th-birthday month. To avoid any delay in coverage, enroll before you turn 65, said Joe Baker, of the Medicare Rights Center.

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

BEACON BITS

Medicare choices

Feb. 3+

From page 5

COLUMBIA’S EARLY HISTORY Columbia Archives is offering a free three-part lecture course on

the early history of Columbia. It begins Monday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. at Slayton House, 10400 Cross Fox Ln., Columbia, and continues on Mondays, Feb. 10 and 17. The sessions will be led by Columbia historian Barbara Kellner. For more information, email Barbara.Kellner@ColumbiaAssociation.org. or call (410) 715-3103 To register for the sessions, go to www.CreatingColumbia.Eventbrite.com.

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8860 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite 101, Columbia, MD

does not apply to Medicare. Medicare Part D, offered through private insurers, covers prescription drugs. You pay a monthly premium plus co-pays or coinsurance, and some plans also have a deductible. The plans cover you up to a certain amount each year, after which you pay a much higher share of the cost — a gap in coverage known as the doughnut hole. Once you’ve hit the maximum out-of-pocket cost for the year, your share goes way down until year-end. You can join a Medicare drug plan during your medigap initial enrollment period. If you don’t, and you go 63 days or more without “creditable” coverage (such as through an employer), you’ll pay a

penalty based on the national base premium and on how long you delayed before you enrolled. Another option: a Medicare Advantage plan, which combines medical and prescription-drug coverage and other benefits, such as coverage for vision and hearing care. These plans, offered through private insurers, generally limit your choice of providers and require more cost sharing than Part D and medigap, but premiums tend to be lower. You can enroll in a plan during your initial enrollment period or during open enrollment (Oct. 15-Dec. 7). To find medigap, Part D or Medicare Advantage plans in your area and compare premiums, go to www.medicare.gov/find-a-plan. © 2013, Kiplinger. All rights reserved. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

BEACON BITS

Jan. 31

CHILI COOKOUT SUPER BOWL PARTY

Kickoff the Super Bowl with the N. Laurel 50+ Center. On Friday, Jan. 31 enjoy a chili hot dog lunch and special entertainment as you cheer on your favorite team. Cost: Lunch contribution. The center is located at 9411 Whiskey Bottom Rd. Call (410) 313-0380 for reservations by Tuesday, Jan. 21.

Mar. 7

AARP OLDER DRIVER COURSE

The Howard County General Hospital will host an AARP refresher course for drivers age 50 and older on Friday, March 7 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Wellness Center Medical Pavilion, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. Fee is $15 for AARP members, $20 for non-members. Call (410) 7407601 or visit hcgh.org for additional information.

Feb. 7+

VIEWING THE HEAVENS

A full-dome movie and planetarium presentation about current happenings in the night sky are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 7 and Friday, Feb. 21 at 8 p.m. at the Robinson Nature Center, 6692 Cedar Lane, Columbia. The cost is $6, and attendees must be 18 years or older. Call (410) 313-0400 for more information.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Can our genes transmit our traumas? By Quinn Eastman Trauma can scar people so indelibly that their children are affected. History provides examples of generations who were traumatized by war and starvation bearing children with altered physiology. Now researchers at Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University have found an instance of animals passing on more specific information about a traumatic experience to their offspring. That information comes not through social communication, but through inheritance. Researchers have found that when a mouse learns to become afraid of a certain odor, his or her pups will be more sensitive to that odor, even though the pups have never encountered it. The results were published in last month’s Nature Neuroscience. “Knowing how the experiences of parents influence their descendants helps us to understand psychiatric disorders that may have a trans-generational basis, and possibly to design therapeutic strategies,” said senior author Dr. Kerry Ressler, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory School of Medicine. Ressler is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute-suppor ted investigator at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center at Emory University, and worked with doctoral fellow Brian Dias on the mouse study.

Trained to fear The researchers trained mice to become afraid of an odor by pairing exposure to the scent with a mild electric shock. They then measured how much the animal startled in response to a loud noise at baseline, and in conjunction with presentation of the odor. Surprisingly, they found that the adult offspring of the sensitized mice also startled more in response to the particular odor that one parent had learned to fear, even when the offspring had never experienced the odor before. In addition, they were more able to detect small amounts of that particular odor. Smell-sensitized offspring were not more anxious in general. In separate experiments not involving odors, the mice were not more afraid to explore the bright, elevated areas of a maze. Researchers took advantage of previous study on the biology of odor detection. Scientists knew that the chemical acetophenone, which smells somewhat like cherry blossoms, activates a particular set of cells in the nose and a particular “odorant receptor” gene in those cells.

Brain cells affected Both the parent mouse who had been sensitized to a smell and his or her pups had more space in the smell-processing part of their brains, called the olfactory bulb, devoted to the odor to which they are sensitive. Both mothers and fathers were found to

pass on a learned sensitivity to an odor, although mothers can’t do it with fostered pups, showing that the sensitivity is not transmitted by social interaction. Future mothers receive their odor-shock training before (and not during) conception and pregnancy. The inheritance takes place even if the mice are conceived by in vitro fertilization, and the sensitivity continues to appear in the second generation, i.e., “grandchildren.” This indicates that, somehow, information about the experience connected with the odor is being transmitted via the sperm or eggs. The DNA from the sperm of smell-sensitized father mice is altered. This is an example of an “epigenetic” alteration, found not in the letter-by-letter sequence of the DNA, but in its packaging or chemical modifications.

In mice taught to fear acetophenone, the odorant receptor gene that responds to acetophenone has a changed pattern of methylation: a chemical modification of DNA that tunes the activity of genes. However, it’s not clear whether the changes in that gene are enough to make the difference in an animal’s odor sensitivity. “While the sequence of the gene encoding the receptor that responds to the odor is unchanged, the way that gene is regulated may be affected,” Ressler said.

Many questions remain “There is some evidence that some of the generalized effects of diet and hormone changes, as well as trauma, can be transmitted epigenetically. The difference here is that the odor-sensitivity-learning process is affecting the nervous system — and apparently, reproductive cells, too —

in such a specific way.” What the researchers don’t know yet: • Are these effects reversible – if sensitized parents later learn not to be afraid of an odor, will effects still be seen in their pups? • Does it only happen with odors? Could mice trained to be afraid of a particular sound, for example, pass on a sensitivity to that sound? • Do all the sperm or egg cells bear epigenetic marks conveying odor sensitivity? • How does information about odor exposure reach the sperm or eggs? “We are really just scratching the surface at this point,” Dias said. “Our next goal must be to buffer descendant generations from these effects. Such interventions could form the core of a treatment to prevent the development of neuropsychiatric disorders with roots in ancestral trauma.” — Emory University

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

Is surgery or rehab best for bum knee? By Dr. Diane Dahm Dear Mayo Clinic: I am 60 years old and tore my ACL. Should I have surgery to fix it, or is it OK to just let it heal on its own? Answer: No matter what your age, the decision about how best to treat an injured anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, should be based on the type of activity you’d like to be able to do after treatment, as well as the stability of your knee overall. Ligaments are strong bands of tissue that connect one bone to another. Your ACL is one of two ligaments that cross in the middle of the knee that connect your thighbone, or femur, to your shinbone, or tibia. The ACL also helps keep your knee joint stable. When the ACL is torn, it often results in knee pain and swelling. After an ACL injury, some people also have instability in the knee, or a feeling that the knee is “giving way” when they attempt to turn quickly or pivot on it. The purpose of treatment for an ACL injury is to reduce the pain and swelling, restore normal knee movement, strengthen the muscles around the joint, and allow return to full activity. For some people, that can be achieved with physical rehabilitation alone.

Rehab vs. surgery Rehabilitation usually involves doing exercises to regain full knee motion, as well as muscle-strengthening and stability ex-

ercises. You may need to use a knee brace for certain activities. Rehabilitation without surgery usually works best for people who have a less active lifestyle and whose knee stability steadily improves with rehabilitation. If you want to participate in activities such as skiing, singles tennis, hiking on uneven terrain — or other sports that require pivoting, cutting, jumping or twisting — then surgery followed by rehabilitation is more likely to be necessary to fix the ACL and ensure stability in your knee. Also, if your knee continues to give way even after you have gone through rehabilitation, then you may require surgery to improve long-term knee stability. A torn ACL can’t be sewn back together. Instead, during surgery the ligament is replaced with a piece of tissue called a graft. That graft may be a tendon or ligament from another part of your knee or leg. Or a graft from a deceased donor may be an option. If you decide to have surgery, talk to your surgeon about which choice is best for you.

Surgery OK at any age If you’re in good health, age typically is not a factor in whether or not to have ACL surgery. Research has shown that with this surgery, older patients can achieve results similar to those in younger patients, without a significant increase in the risk of complications. A final item to note is that, while ACL

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surgery typically provides improved knee stability, it does not always provide significant pain relief. If chronic knee pain is your only symptom, it may not be coming from the ACL tear. Rather, it’s more likely to be related to another knee condition, such as a meniscus tear or arthritis. As you consider the best course of action, talk to your doctor about what you hope to achieve with ACL treatment. Your level of activity and knee stability should

guide you as you make your decision. — Diane Dahm, M.D., Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic is an educational resource and doesn’t replace regular medical care. To submit a question, email medicaledge@mayo.edu. For health information, visit www.mayoclinic.com. © 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. All Rights Reserved. Distributed By Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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Human rights From page 1 asked the commissioner’s wife. The commissioner didn’t respond. “After that, at different meetings, I made certain to stand alongside him and engage him in conversations,” Gray said. They spoke, but a subsequent handshake never occurred. Both he and Gray were of the same political party, but of different skin color. Gray attended his fellow commissioner’s funeral. At the time he entered elected office, Howard County was not the affluent, progressive, racially tolerant and integrated area that several of its communities — Columbia, Ellicott City and Clarksville —

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

have now become. The $125,152 median income of the county makes it the second wealthiest in the nation, according to the Census Bureau, and Columbia and Ellicott City have often been cited by national magazines as among the five best places to live in America. Yet not so long ago, “there were no school buses for black kids, and there were separate white and black water fountains in the Howard County courts,” Gray said. He remembers, in the 1980s, African Americans expressing concern to him about traveling to Howard County because of their belief that local police were racially prejudiced. “When Jim Rouse planned Columbia with his commitment to racial justice and

integration,” Gray remembered, “there were people in the county who wouldn’t come into Columbia. Even his real estate associates thought he was crazy.” Now, Gray, a past president of both the national and the Maryland Association of Human Rights Associations and former chair of the political science department at Morgan State University in Baltimore, said that life for African Americans and other minorities in the county is “much, much better.” Nevertheless, he added, “I would say that discrimination still exists in Howard County, and as long as we have it, we need institutions like the Office of Human Rights to protect the peoples’ rights.”

Fighting on many fronts

BEACON BITS

Mar. 11

PERSONAL DIETARY COUNSELING

A registered dietician will be available to discuss weight loss, high blood pressure, cholesterol and other dietary issues on a one-on-one basis on Tuesday, March 11 from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Howard County General Hospital Wellness Center Medical Pavilion, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. The fee is $35 per person. For more information or to register, visit www.hcgh.org/events or call (410) 740-7601.

Feb. 4+

FREE BLOOD PRESSURE SCREENING

On Tuesday, Feb. 4 and every Tuesday a registered nurse will be available for a free blood pressure reading from 9 a.m. to noon at the Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. The service is sponsored by Howard County General Hospital. For additional information, call (410) 313-1400.

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The office investigates, among other things, complaints of unlawful discrimination in employment, housing, money-lending institutions, law enforcement and public accommodations — such as hospitals, retail stores, schools and recreation facilities. It lists 16 categories for complaints: race, religion, creed, marital status, familial status, sex, age, sexual orientation, personal appearance, source of income, color, national origin, physical or mental disability, occupation and gender identity. Complaints must be filed within six months of the alleged discrimination, except for housing complaints which are

given one year for filing. Each year, the county’s Human Rights Commission honors individuals and organizations for their contributions to human and civil rights in the county. The 2013 awardees were former Howard County Executive (1998-2006) and now Maryland State Sen. James Robey as well as the Council of Elders of the Black Community of Howard County, which works to advance the education of African American students and to pass on their history and experiences in the black community. Robey, who is the Democratic majority leader of the Senate in Annapolis, told the Beacon he was very honored to have received the award. He agreed with Gray that race relations have improved in Howard County, especially since the mid1970s when there were still chapters of the Ku Klux Klan operating locally. The 72-year-old public servant-politician also remembers, as a member of the Howard County police force (1966-91), then as county chief of police (1991-98), receiving complaints from some business owners that there were black people in their stores. “Howard County may now be among the best places to live, but it’s not perfect. Prejudice still exists, on all levels — racial, religious, sex, age. Anyone who thinks that discrimination no longer exists is pulling the wool over his eyes,” Robey said.

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health

Guard against wintertime heart attacks By Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior: I had a mild heart attack about six months ago. My doctor told me I need to be extra careful during the winter, when recurring heart attacks are more common. Is this true? How can the seasons affect your heart? — Leery Senior Dear Leery: Everyone knows winter is cold and flu season, but most people don’t know that it’s also the prime season for heart attacks, as well, especially if you already have heart disease or have suffered a previous heart attack. In the U.S., the risk of having a heart attack during the winter months is twice as high as it is during the summertime. Why? There are a number of factors, and they’re not all linked to cold weather. Even people who live in warm climates have an increased risk. Here are the areas you need to pay extra attention to this winter: Cold temperatures: When a person gets cold, the body responds by constricting the blood vessels to help the body maintain heat. This causes blood pressure to go up and makes the heart work harder. Cold temperatures can also increase levels of certain proteins that can thicken the blood and increase the risk for blood clots.

So stay warm this winter. And when you do have to go outside, make sure you bundle up in layers, with gloves and a hat. Place a scarf over your mouth and nose to warm up the air before you breathe it in. Snow shoveling: Studies have shown that heart attack rates jump dramatically in the first few days after a major snowstorm, usually a result of snow shoveling. Shoveling snow is a very strenuous activity that raises blood pressure and stresses the heart. Combine those factors with the cold temperatures, and the risks of heart attack surge. If your sidewalk or driveway needs shoveling this winter, hire a kid from the neighborhood to do it for you or use a snow blower. If you must shovel, push rather than lift the snow as much as possible. Stay warm and take frequent breaks. New Year’s resolutions: Every January, millions of people join gyms or start exercise programs as part of their New Year’s resolution to get in shape. Many overexert themselves too quickly. If you’re starting a new exercise program this winter, take the time to talk to your doctor about what types of exercise may be appropriate for you, and how much. Winter weight gain: People tend to eat and drink more, and therefore to gain more weight, during the holiday season

BEACON BITS

Mar. 5

FREE VERICOSE VEIN SCREENINGS Johns Hopkins vascular surgeon Richard Feinberg, M.D., will con-

duct free varicose vein screening on Wednesday, March 5 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Little Patuxent Specialty Care Center, 11065 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. To register, call (410) 550-8346.

and winter months. This is hard on the heart and risky for someone with heart disease. So keep a watchful eye on your diet this winter and avoid binging on fatty foods and alcohol. Shorter days: Less daylight in the winter months can cause many people to develop “seasonal affective disorder” or SAD, a wintertime depression that can stress the heart. Studies have also looked at heart attack patients and found they usually have lower levels of vitamin D (which your body produces when exposed to sunlight) than people with healthy hearts. To boost your vitamin D this winter, consider taking a supplement that contains between 1,000 and 2,000 international units

(IU) per day. And to find treatments for SAD, visit the Center for Environmental Therapeutics website at cet.org. Flu season: Studies show that people who get flu shots have a lower heart attack risk. It’s known that the inflammatory reaction set off by a flu infection can increase blood clotting, which can lead to heart attacks in vulnerable people. So, if you haven’t already done so, get a flu shot for protection. See www.flushot.healthmap.org to find a vaccination site nearby. Send your questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior book.

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Health Studies Page

Say you saw it in the Beacon

THE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Can antibiotics control aortic aneurysms? By Carol Sorgen An abdominal aortic aneurysm is the result of an abnormally enlarged or bulging aorta (the blood vessel that supplies blood to the abdomen, pelvis and legs). The exact cause of this condition is unknown, but risk factors for developing an abdominal aortic aneurysm include genetic factors, emphysema, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity and smoking. While anyone can develop an abdominal aortic aneurysm, it is most often seen in males over the age of 60 who have one or more risk factors. The larger the aneurysm, the more likely it is to rupture, which is a medical emergency that requires immediate surgery. The University of Maryland Medical Center, collaborating with the National Institute on Aging, is currently conducting a non-invasive clinical trial to determine if the antibiotic doxycycline will inhibit the gr owth of small abdominal aor tic aneurysms over a 24-month observation period in comparison to a placebo-treated control group. One reason for trying antibiotics to slow the growth of aneur ysms is that aneurysms are often accompanied by a secondary infection within the aortic wall. Taking care of the infection may also improve the outlook for the aneurysm.

Recruiting those 55+ Two hundred forty-eight patients diagnosed with an aneurysm will be randomized to placebo or doxycycline, and their aneurysms followed for change in diame-

ter at six-month intervals using CT imaging. Men and women 55 and older are being recruited. Those receiving the antibiotic doxycycline (also known as doxycycline hyclate, Vibramycin, Oracea, Adoxa and Atridox) will take 100 mg. capsules twice a day for a period of two years. Those receiving the placebo will take the same dosage for the same period of time, but of a similar-looking capsule that has no active ingredients. Study participants and doctors will not know which volunteers are taking which capsules. Side effects of doxycycline may include diarrhea, itching of the rectum or vagina, and sore mouth. To be eligible for the study, participants cannot be allergic to tetracycline or have been treated in the previous six months with drugs related to tetracycline. They also cannot have stage II hypertension, in which blood pressure is greater than 160/100, or a genetic syndrome that could cause abdominal aortic aneurysms, such as Marfan’s Syndrome.

Hope is to prevent surgery Aneurysms typically develop slowly over many years and often have no symptoms. Small aneurysms are typically checked by ultrasound every six months to monitor their growth. For slow-growing aneurysms, surgery is usually not called for. Surgery is, however, recommended for patients who have aneurysms larger than two inches (5.5 cm) across, and for aneurysms that are growing quickly. The

BEACON BITS

Mar. 3+

JOIN FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS

Columbia Festival of the Arts is seeking artists for its Fine Arts and Crafts Show 2014 to be held as part of the Columbia Festival of the Arts three-day free outdoor arts weekend, Friday, June 13 through Sunday, June 15, at a number of venues in the Columbia area. The application is due Monday, March 3. For more information or to apply, visit columbiafestival.com or call (410) 715-3044.

goal is to perform surgery before complications or symptoms develop. If an aneurysm expands quickly, ruptures or leaks blood along the wall of the vessel, symptoms such as severe pain in the abdomen or back may develop, along with clammy skin, dizziness, nausea and vomiting, rapid heart rate and shock.

Researchers hope that this trial will demonstrate whether doxycycline can keep aneurysms from growing to the point where they require surgery. For more information on this trial, or to see in you qualify, contact Debbie Nesbitt, RN, at (410) 605-7435 or debbie.nesbitt@va.gov.

Have You Fallen? Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the University of Maryland & Veterans aﬀairs of Baltimore to better understand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

you will receive: • Health evaluation • Balance, step, strength, and/or ﬂexibility exercises • Compensation for your time If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFT Baltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line *You must be at least 65 years old and in good health *Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Trouble sleeping? An overview of options Dear Pharmacist: out with a controlled-release version in What are the best medications to 2005 that works longer. help me sleep? I’ve tried Ambien usually puts you to all the natural remedies, I sleep within 15 to 30 minutes. need something stronger! There are other brand names — V.E. containing the same chemical Dear V.E.: ingredients, such as a sublinWhy, as a nation, do we gual low-dose tablet called have trouble sleeping? It “Intermezzo” that you can should be such a natural act. take in the middle of the I urge you to find the unnight. There’s also derlying cause of your chron“Zolpimist,” an oral spray. ic insomnia and to change Every now and then you DEAR your sleep habits, because hear a report of someone PHARMACIST you can’t rely on medication having sex, sleep-driving, By Suzy Cohen forever. making phone calls, sleepChronic insomnia may be walking and cooking meals caused by sleep apnea and, in this situa- while on Ambien. tion, sleeping pills are dangerous. For othLunesta (eszopiclone) — Everything I ers, a deficiency of your sleep hormone, said about Ambien applies to this drug as melatonin, causes you to wake up very well. It is similar in mechanism of action, early. as well of duration of action. The point is that sleep disorders aren’t Sonata (Zaleplon) — Again, similar to always related to neurotransmitter imbal- Ambien, however, it has a very short duraances, so sleeping pills (which affect neu- tion of action. The advantage is you won’t rotransmitters) often just mask the under- have morning grogginess. The disadvanlying problem. tage is you may be staring at the alarm Here are the most popular medications: clock by 3 a.m. Ambien (zolpidem) — Introduced in Rozerem (Ramelteon) — This is my fa1992, this helps put you to sleep and keep vorite sleep medication because it affects you asleep. Many people reported having your melatonin receptors, increasing the morning grogginess, so the makers came length of time you sleep. You can start and

stop as often as you wish, since there is no physical dependence. The drug may affect prolactin and testosterone levels, so if you use it long-term (greater than 3 or 4 months), have these levels evaluated. Silenor (Doxepine) — Introduced in 2010, this medication blocks histamine receptors. It contains the same active ingredient as a popular antidepressant, but in a much lower dose. I like that it does not have addictive potential. Benzodiazepine drugs (temazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, lorazepam and others) — Very affordable, and used for decades, these drugs have strong addictive potential and may cause daytime drowsiness. This category helps with some seizures.

Insurance companies may have restrictions on which sleeping pills are covered, and will obviously expect you to buy generic. They often require you to try other approaches to your insomnia first. If you are interested in natural herbs or vitamins to help you sleep, I’ll send you an expanded version of this article. Just sign up for my free newsletter at www.DearPharmacist.com. This information is opinion only. It is not intended to treat, cure or diagnose your condition. Consult with your doctor before using any new drug or supplement. Suzy Cohen is a registered pharmacist and the author of The 24-Hour Pharmacist and Real Solutions from Head to Toe. To contact her, visit www.dearpharmacist.com.

BEACON BITS

Mar. 15

A CAPITOL TRIP Enjoy a guided tour of the U.S. Capitol and Visitors Center on a

bus trip leaving at 7:30 a.m. and returning at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 15. Tickets are $49. For more information, call Recreation & Parks, (410) 313-7279.

Mar. 16

ST. PATRICK’S DAY WITH THE CHIEFTIANS Ride along on the Recreation & Parks bus to a concert of Irish music by The Chieftains at George Mason Center in Virginia on

Sunday, March 16. The bus leaves at 2 p.m. and returns at 9 p.m. Tickets are $87. Call (410) 313-7279 for more information.

Mar. 19

AUTHENTIC IRISH MEAL IN ALEXANDRIA Continue celebrating everything Irish at O’Connell’s Irish Restaurant in Alexandria, Va. on Wednesday, March 19 on a bus

trip planned by Recreation & Parks. Tickets are $79, available by calling (410) 313-7279.

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Does grandma get a say in baby naming? Dear Solutions: portant to you. If you son doesn’t wish to My son and daughter-in-law recently go further, then drop it. had an adorable baby boy. One day, you can tell your Before he was born, they grandson about his grandfasaid they would name him ther and include your husband after my husband, who in talking about family history. died two years ago. But Give priority to being a part of when he was born, my your grandson’s life and expedaughter-in-law said she riencing the pleasure this will loved a different name and bring by whatever name. gave that name to the baby Dear Solutions: instead. My daughter is getting They don’t plan to have mar ried soon. Good any other children, so this SOLUTIONS friends and relatives threw is my only grandchild. I By Helen Oxenberg, her a tasteful, lovely bridal feel that this was a prom- MSW, ACSW shower. ise, and I’m upset. I would Now, though, her collike them to at least add a middle leagues at work are planning to surname for my husband. prise her by taking her to a “bacheOur religion has a special naming lorette” party at a club with male stripceremony, and I would like to do this pers. there. But my daughter-in-law is of a I took a message for my daughter different religion, so how do I handle when she wasn’t home, and that perthis? son told me about it in secret. I’m — Emma sure my daughter will not appreciate Dear Emma: this tacky kind of entertainment, but I With great care. Talk to your son first, don’t know if I should warn her about and make it clear to him that you love the it because it’s supposed to be a surbaby and your daughter-in-law, and you prise. don’t want to upset anyone, but this is im— Not Sure

join the group. It’s true she was the quiet one and counted on her husband to be the social being, but I’m afraid she’s making herself more and more isolated and depressed. Any suggestions? — Molly Dear Molly: Sounds like she believes that since she’s “unmanned” she’s uninteresting and is better off being unavailable. Perhaps, if you know the other women, you might suggest to them that they invite her to join them for lunch or other activities without any men present. At those gatherings, they could reassure her about joining the couples events along with them. In addition, it sounds like she should get some counseling to help with her bereavement and her ability to go on with her life. © Helen Oxenberg, 2014. Questions can be sent to helox72@comcast.net.

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BEACON BITS

Feb. 28

Dear Not Sure: Tacky to you, titillating to others — maybe. Say nothing. Your daughter will survive it, even if she finds it offensive. What she won’t survive as well is the embarrassment of having her mother interfere. These are people she works with, and she won’t want to insult them or have to put on an act if she knows about it. It’s one evening. They care about her, and it’s their version of fun. Stay mum, mom! Dear Solutions: My cousin’s husband died over a year ago. From that time on, she has absolutely refused to go anywhere where other women are there with their husbands. Many of these people were good friends of hers and her husband in the past, and they keep telling her they want her company. Two of the women are also widows, and they are happy to

• Return of the urn and memorial merchandise to your home

VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR NOMINATIONS

Friday, Feb. 28 is the deadline to nominate an outstanding individual volunteer, nonprofit organization, governmental agency, forprofit organization or community group that has demonstrated commitment and dedication to the Howard County community for the 2014 “Volunteer of the Year” award. The award will be presented in a ceremony recognizing all nominees on April 2. Nomination forms are available on the county’s Volunteer of the Year website: www.howardcountymd.gov/voy.htm. For further information or questions, call (410) 313-2023 or email voy@howardcountymd.gov.

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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VOLUME 4, NO. 2 • FEBRUARY 2014

A Message from the Administrator

By Dayna Brown, Office on Aging Administrator Happy American Heart Month! Most of us know that heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in our country, but did you know that it is also preventable and controllable? Regular physical activity can help older adults maintain a healthy weight and lower cholesterol and blood pressure. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends that adults engage in moderate-intensity exercise for at least 30 minutes on most days of the week, year round. Exercising regularly also boosts your immunity, which is especially important during cold and flu season. Check out the American Heart Association’s Cold Weather Fitness Guide for more information at www.heart.org. Walking is an exercise almost anyone can do; when it’s cold out, be sure to take advantage of the indoor cushioned tracks at the Glenwood and North Laurel 50+ Centers. Since ‘home is where the heart is,’ I urge you to also give some thought this month to home maintenance issues, which can greatly affect your safety, health and wellbeing. Just last month, Howard County Housing announced the Housing Rehabilitation Program for Single Family homes (MRHP-SF), offering homeowners low-interest loans for home maintenance projects. Qualifying projects include correcting exterior or interior deficiencies; making accessibility modifications; correcting health and safety violations; improving the home's weatherization and energy conservation, as well as some general improvements. The program is intended for households with incomes that are at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income, which is $68,500 for a family of four. For more information, contact Kelly Cimino at 410-3136318 or kcimino@howardcountymd.gov. Lastly, I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentine’s Day! Many of our 50+ and senior centers have planned special celebrations, so come on in out of the cold and join in the warmth and camaraderie. All are welcome! To find a center near you, call Maryland Access Point at 410-313-5980 or visit www.howardcountyaging.org.

Make Your Home More Accessible, Earn a Tax Credit

Now is the perfect time to plan a home improvement project to make your home more accessible for the future. Why? Because Howard County’s Livable Homes Tax Credit offers a tax credit to homeowners who install certain types of accessibility features in their primary Howard County residence, like ramps, stair glides or reinforced walls for grab bars. You may be eligible to receive a credit against your county tax bill if you install (or have already installed, up to one year prior to the date of your tax credit application) a qualified feature on an existing residence. The amount of the credit is 50 percent of the eligible cost, up to a maximum of $2,500. Accessibility features eligible for the tax credit program are defined in the county

code Section 20-129C. To apply for a tax credit, you must first complete an application form, and return it to the Department of Finance. Applications will be processed in the order they are received, until all funds currently allocated for the Livable Homes Tax Credit Program have been exhausted. Visit www.howardcountymd.gov/livablehomes for more information. If you have questions about this or other Tax Credit programs, including the Maryland Homeowner’s or Renter’s Tax Credit, the Howard County Senior Tax Credit, Trash Credit or CA Tax Credit, contact the Department of Finance at 410313-2062, or call Maryland Access Point for assistance at 410-313-5980. Start planning today to make life a little easier in the future!

Don’t Miss Out! Saturday, April 26, 2014 • 10 am - 3 pm Gary J. Arthur Community Center at Glenwood 2400 Route 97, Cooksville, MD 21723

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N â&#x20AC;&#x201D; F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Say you saw it in the Beacon

Coming Events The Senior Connection

Mondays at 6 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Qigong, East Columbia 50+ Center Achieve mental, spiritual in our new Qigong class. Monthly fees apply; call 410-410-313-7680 for details. Wednesday Feb. 5, 10 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Needles Trade, Glenwood 50+ Center Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t miss the Baltimore Museum of Industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presentation on the history of the garment trade in Baltimore. Call 410-313-5440 to register. Thursday, Feb. 6, 10 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Valentine Treats & Treasures, Glenwood 50+ Center Learn to prepare and package special treats for Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day. Cost: $5; call 410-313-5440 to register.

Thursday, Feb. 6, 1:30 to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Medicare 101: What to Expect From Medicare, Bain Center Learn how Medicare works, what the benefits are, and when to make decisions related to your coverage. Sponsored by SHIP; call 410-313-7391 to register.

Thursdays, Feb. 6 - March 13, 2 to 4:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Living Well: Take Charge of Your Health, Longwood Senior Center In six weeks, you will learn to manage your health condition(s); deal with pain and fatigue; communicate better with family and physicians; develop healthy eating habits; and plan a fitness program. Cost: $28; includes all materials (financial assistance is available). To register, call 410-313-5980. Tuesday, Feb. 11, 11 a.m. to noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Celebration of African American Music, Bain Center A Lyric Opera vocalist and pianist will perform the works of African American composers. Call 410-313-0380 to register.

Tuesday, Feb. 11, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Allied Health Academy Health Fair, North Laurel 50+ Center Allied Health students will share information on health, disease prevention and nutrition. Free; call 410-313-0380 for details.

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The Senior Connection is published monthly by the Howard County Department of Citizen Servicesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Office on Aging. We welcome your comments and suggestions. To contact us, or to join our email subscriber list, email seniorconnection@howardcountymd.gov with â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;subscribeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; in the subject box.

Howard County Office on Aging 6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

410-313-6410

www.howardcountyaging.org www.Facebook.com/HoCoCitizen

Dayna Brown, Administrator

Advertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Howard County Office on Aging or by the publisher.

Wednesday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Cupidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ball, North Laurel 50+ Center Enjoy lunch, dancing, and music by Sterling Dorn and Tooo Smooth Dudes. Cost: $5 per person plus lunch contribution. For tickets, call 410-313-0380. Wednesday, Feb. 12, Noon to 2 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Valentine Tea, East Columbia 50+ Center Be still my heart, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time for tea! Cost: $5. Call 410-313-7680 for reservations (required). Thursday & Friday, Feb. 13 - 14, 10 a.m. to noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Can You Hear Me Now, Ellicott City Senior Center Get one-on-one cell phone assistance from a Marriotts Ridge high school student. Call 410313-1400 to sign up. Friday, Feb. 14, 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Party, Elkridge Senior Center Enjoy music by Frank Plummer, lunch, games, and prizes, too. Cost: $4 per person; call 410-313-5192 to register. Friday, Feb. 14, 11 a.m. to noon â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Celebration, Bain Center Sing along to the Fabulous 50+ Playersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; musical revue while enjoying light refreshments. Call 410-313-0380 to R.S.V.P.

Friday, Feb. 14, 11:30 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Brunch, Ellicott City Senior Center Our Valentineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Day Brunch, features music by â&#x20AC;&#x153;Two for the Showâ&#x20AC;? and made to order omelets. Suggested donation: $5.27; call 410-313-1400 to register.

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 10 to 11 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Journey Through the African American Poetic Tradition, Bain Center Melvin E. Brown, M.A., author of In the First Place and Blue Notes and Blessing Song, will read and discuss poetry, and the Bain Gospel Choir will perform. R.S.V.P. to 410-313-0380. Wednesday, Feb. 19, 10 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Civil War Series: Lincolnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sanctuary, Glenwood 50+ Center Matthew Pinsker, author of Lincolnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sanctuary will discuss the Soldiers Home and Lincolnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cottage. Call 410-313-5440 to register.

Fridays, Feb. 21 - March 28, 1 to 3:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Living Well, Medical Pavilion at Howard County, 10710 Charter Drive, Learn to better manage your chronic conditions in six weeks. Cost: $28; includes all materials. Call 410-313-5980 to register.

Wednesday, Feb. 26, 10 to 11 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Beyond Bereavement, Glenwood 50+ Center Gain an understanding of bereavement as you move along the path to healing. Free; call Karen Hull, 410-313-5440 to register by Feb. 21.

Friday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Harrington Slots Trip, Elkridge Senior Center Travel with us on a relaxing coach bus to play the slots in Harrington, Delaware. Just $35 per person gets you a free buffet plus $10 in free slots play. Call 410-313-5192 to reserve your spot!

Tuesday, March 4, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Financial Independence for Low-Vision Adults, Ellicott City Senior Center Blind Industry Services of Maryland will present tips about using cash, checks and other financial tasks. Call Karen Hull, 410-313-7466, to register by Feb. 25.

Mondays, March 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; April 14, 1 to 3:30 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Living Well: Take Charge of Your Health, Ellicott City Senior Center Learn to manage your health in six weeks. Cost: $28; includes all materials. To register, call 410-313-5980.

Saturday, April 26, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; WomenFest 2014, Glenwood 50+ Center Save the date for WomenFest 2014, an interactive day of health and wellness activities for women of all ages. Visit www.howardcountyaging.org for more information or to register as a vendor or sponsor. If you need accommodations to attend any of these events, call 410-313-5980 one week in advance.

The Howard County Paws4Comfort program fosters special bonds between pets, their owners and the County residents they visit.

Thursday, Feb. 20, 1:30 to 3 p.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Medicare 102: Why Medicare Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Enough, Bain Center Learn about Medicare Part C/Health Plans and Medigap Supplement Policies and how different plans cover out of pocket expenses. No fee; sponsored by SHIP. Call 410-313-7391 to register.

Friday, Feb. 21, 10 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Fitness Assessments, North Laurel 50+ Center Jennifer Lee will offer free fitness assessments to measure your endurance, flexibility, strength and balance. Call 410-313-0380 for an appointment.

If you are interested in volunteering, or wish to schedule a free evaluation for your pet, contact Ingrid Gleysteen, at 410-313-7461 or igleysteen@howardcountymd.gov. Evaluations are held the 1st Wednesday of every month.

Wednesday, February 5th 7 PM at Bain Center The Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way Columbia, MD 21044

410.313.7461 www.howardcountyaging.org

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com

Money Law &

DEADLY SINS OF INVESTING Don’t follow the herd when deciding which stocks to buy or give in to fear when determining when to sell DOLLAR STORE DUDS Why you shouldn’t buy paper products, plastic wrap, vitamins, batteries, electronics or tools at a dollar store

Don’t bet on a great stock market in 2014 By Steve Rothwell Don’t bet your shirt on a repeat performance. That’s the message from some of the biggest U.S. investment firms as the Dow Jones industrial average closed above 16,000 for the first time at the end of 2013, and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index had its best year since 1997, with a gain of 29.6 percent. Although investment professionals remain optimistic, investors shouldn’t expect such outsized gains will be repeated in 2014. The S&P 500, the Dow and other stock indexes have risen steadily as the Federal Reserve has maintained its economic stimulus to keep long-term interest rates low, and the economy has continued to strengthen. Although economic growth hasn’t been spectacular, it has been strong enough to enable companies to keep in-

creasing their earnings. We asked professionals at three big money managers — T. Rowe Price, Franklin Templeton and BlackRock — for their thoughts on how the stock market will shape up this year.

The outlook for stocks Another double-digit gain is not out of the question. Many of the tail winds for the stock market are still in place, but they may start to weaken. Corporate earnings are strong, but profit margins could be peaking. Interest rates are still low compared to historical levels, but will likely rise gradually, particularly when the Fed starts to pull back on its bond-buying stimulus program, as it recently indicated. However, the biggest challenge to the stock market is that valuations have risen so much this year, said Larry Puglia, port-

folio manager of T. Rowe Price’s Blue Chip Growth fund. That is to say, investors have been willing to pay more for a company’s future earnings, pushing up prices. The priceearnings ratio for S&P 500 companies has risen to 15 from 12.5 at the start of last year, according to FactSet. “We still find selected stocks attractive and think that the market’s OK, but I would be surprised if the market....was able to duplicate the type of gains we’ve had [in 2013],” said Puglia. He still thinks stocks could rise as much as 10 percent in 2014. Conrad Hermann, a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton said that statistics show that when the market logs an annual gain of 20 percent or more, it has been followed by another year of gains on two out of three occasions — for an average gain of 11.5 percent the next year.

The best industry to invest in Technology companies are the big favorite. The tech industry should benefit from rising spending in an improving global economy, said BlackRock’s chief investment strategist Russ Koesterich. He also said that technology stocks are typically less sensitive to rising interest rates than other industry groups. Many tech stocks don’t pay a dividend, making them less sensitive to higher bond yields, and with strong new products they should grow profits. That suggests if interest rates climb, tech stocks should perform better than the overall market. Tech companies are also less richly priced than some other parts of the market, while still offering good growth prospects. Those in the S&P 500 are tradSee STOCK MARKET, page 19

Helping pay for college? Learn the rules As families scramble to meet deadlines for college applications, the cost of education is hitting home in a big way. Although the College Board recently reported that the rate of tuition increases at U.S. colleges and universities has slowed down in recent years, it’s still a huge burden for American families. Many grandparents are helping out. The average annual tab for public colleges is $8,893, though after subtracting grants and financial aid, the net average cost is $3,120. Private universities total $30,094, with a net cost of $12,460. Tack on room and board, and the price tag increases by another $10,000 or so. A big commitment, for sure, but as anyone searching for a job knows, a college degree helps. As of September, the national unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent, but here is how the rate breaks down based on educational attainment: Less than HS Degree: 10.3 percent HS Degree, no college: 7.6 percent Some College/Assoc. Degree: 6 percent BA and higher: 3.7 percent Additionally, college grads earn more over their lifetimes. According to Priceonomics blog, a college degree offers a 30year wage premium of over $200,000, or

$6,667 a year, in extra income compared to a high school graduate’s salary.

How grandparents can help Because the value of a college diploma is so great, families are increasingly seeking the help of older generations to foot the bill. But how the extended family helps can have a big impact on a student’s financial aid chances. That’s why it’s important to understand some of the rules surrounding college savings and financial aid. On the positive side, a grandparent’s assets are not included when colleges determine eligibility for financial aid. My favorite education-funding vehicle is the 529 plan, which allows for tax-advantaged investing for college. Contributions within the account grow tax-free and are not taxed upon withdrawal, provided they’re used for qualified higher education costs. Another benefit of 529 plans is that they can be a terrific estate planning tool, because wealthy grandparents can remove assets from their estates either using the annual gift tax exclusion of $14,000 or by making a lump sum that’s far larger. The nice part is that the donor can maintain control over the invest-

disbursements do not appear on the income statement of either the parent or the student. Fair warning on this idea: Some states, like New York, do not allow changes in account ownership unless there’s a court order or the owner dies. 3. If the 529 plan ownership seems too complicated, grandparents might consider gifting the money to the parents, who RETIRE SMART can then deposit the gift into Some work-arounds their own 529 accounts that By Jill Schlesinger So, if you fund a 529 plan for have been established for the a grandchild, consider one of these work- kids. It makes sense to wait until after the aid arounds: has been determined before making the gift. 1. Wait to use money in the 529 until the 4. Alternatively, extended family memstudent’s senior year: Tapping the account bers may choose to wait until the student for the last year of school shouldn’t affect has graduated, and then help with college eligibility, because the year in which the loan repayment. income will be reported (as income for the It takes a family, a village and just about previous year) will also be the year in everyone else to fund an education. If you which the student graduates. are willing to help, make sure you are not 2. Transfer ownership of account: A few doing any harm. years before the first aid application is due, Jill Schlesinger, CFP, is the Editor-atgrandparents could transfer ownership of Large for www.CBSMoneyWatch.com. She the account to a parent of the beneficiary. welcomes comments and questions at Assets in a parent-controlled account get askjill@moneywatch.com. assessed for financial aid purposes, but © 2013 Tribune Content Agency, LLC ments and the ultimate use of the money. However, there is a big downside to using a 529 plan that’s in the grandparent’s name. When money is withdrawn to make a payment on behalf of the beneficiary of the plan, students must disclose those amounts as income. For every dollar of income, a student’s financial aid eligibility may be reduced by as much as 50 cents.

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Where to get a decent return on savings By Jeffrey R. Kosnett If you took out a certificate of deposit a few years ago, when banks were still paying respectable interest rates, you might have thought of it as an investment. But now, with rates as low as they are, think of the money as savings. And the way to manage savings is to earmark the money for when you’re going to need it: immediately, in a few years, or perhaps not for 10 years or more. That will point you toward the best place to put the money now.

without fees, and with Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. protection. If six-month or one-year CD rates begin to outpace what the online savings account pays, you can put some money into shortterm CDs every three or six months.

Three to five years Many people take out CDs to make sure they’ll have cash at a specified time — say, when it’s time to pay tuition. Although we don’t know what interest rates will be in 2017 and beyond, we see no profit in locking in a CD yield today. As long as the Federal Reserve restrains the cost of credit, you can comfortably house the money in a short-term, low-risk, low-cost bond fund. We like Vanguard Short-Term Investment-Grade (symbol VFSTX, current yield 1.6 percent) and Baird Aggregate Bond (BAGSX, 2.9 percent).

Cash reserve Your current bank is almost certain to offer so little in interest that it makes sense to open, or add to, a deposit account at an online bank. Although a yield of about 1 percent may not seem like much, you’ll have instant access to the money —

Stock market From page 18 ing at 14.4 times their projected earnings over the next 12 months. That makes them less expensive than healthcare stocks, which are priced at 16.7 times expected earnings, and industrial companies, which are valued at 16.1 times earnings.

Reduction of Fed stimulus Investors were obsessed with the Fed all last year, and the stock market’s biggest setbacks have come when they thought that policymakers were poised to cut back on economic stimulus. The S&P 500 dropped in only two months last year, June and August. In both months, investors sold stocks on concern that the Fed was about to stop its stimulus.

You maintain overnight access to the money (so it still counts as savings), and you should be able to realize a total return of 3 to 5 percent.

Longer than five years If you already have cash in the bank or some other super safe place, we suggest you move part or most of the CD proceeds into exchange-traded funds or stock or balanced funds that pay 2 to 4 percent in interest or dividends. You can reinvest the investment income

as you receive it, a plan that lets you buy some fund shares when they are cheap and others when they are not so cheap. All the while, watch those bank rates. If you get a chance to buy a CD that yields more than, say, a fund that follows Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index (currently about 2 percent), you may want to go back to the bank, especially if you have other money, such as an IRA, in the stock market. Jeffrey R. Kosnett is a senior editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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Jan. 24+

PRESIDENTIAL PRESENTATIOINS

The Elkridge Senior Center is offering a lunchtime series on recent U.S. presidents hosted by Gary Kavanagh at 12:30 p.m. on upcoming Fridays. The Nixon and Carter years will be featured on Jan. 24, Reagan on Jan. 31 and Clinton on Feb. 7. All lectures will be held at the center, 6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge. For details, call the center at (410) 313-5192.

Instead, the central bank surprised investors in September by continuing its stimulus, and investors got more accustomed to the idea that the Fed’s efforts must end at some point. Then the announcement came late last month that the Fed would indeed gradually pull back its buying of bonds, and the market reacted positively, setting new highs. That suggests investors have come to see the end of stimulus as a sign that the economy is continuing to improve. Fed policymakers also stressed that the end of stimulus will not necessarily be immediately followed by higher interest rates. Puglia of T. Rowe Price called it “a positive signal to the market that the economy can stand on its own two feet and doesn’t See STOCK MARKET, page 21

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Beware of the deadly sins of investing By Kathy Kristof You’ve probably heard of the seven deadly sins. Well, the investing world has its own set of deadly sins. To be a better investor, you’d do well to recognize the following missteps and learn how to overcome them.

Following the herd Following the herd works when you shop for a product. A car or washing machine that’s performed well in the past is likely to excel in the future. The opposite is often true in finance. What’s hot today is likely to be cold tomorrow, and vice versa. “If you expect investment performance to repeat, you are likely to be disappoint-

ed,” said Fran Kinniry, a strategist at the Vanguard funds. In fact, the herd tends to gather the most strength right before the investment it is chasing goes off a cliff. Ill-timed moves in and out of funds, sectors and markets go a long way toward explaining why the performance of fund investors is decidedly poorer than the reported results of their funds. Redemption: Follow rules, not herds, suggested Bill Allen, vice-president of the private client advisory group at Charles Schwab. These rules can be as simple as refusing to buy or sell in response to news reports, or making sure you invest the same amount every month no matter what the market is doing. Resisting the urge to follow the crowd

can prevent you from committing the sin of buying high and selling low.

Giving in to fear Avoiding losses is Warren Buffett’s first rule of investing. Since the 2008-’09 stock market meltdown, however, many investors have taken the Oracle’s advice to an extreme and abandoned stocks for the seeming safety of such things as bonds, bank accounts and money market funds. But what the typical investor sees as risk is merely volatility — normal day-today swings in the market. Although volatility can be frightening, the real danger lies in being too afraid of risk: You lose buying power — permanently. For example, suppose you invest in a Treasury security or bank account that

pays 0.5 percent annually. With inflation at 2 percent today, you’ll actually lose 1.5 percent per year in buying power. The loss will be greater if inflation reverts to its long-term average of 3 percent per year. Redemption: Put the stock market’s day-to-day volatility out of your mind and focus on the long term. Since 1926, U.S. stocks, as measured by Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index, have returned nearly 10 percent a year. Even if you had invested in the market at the March 2000 peak and held on through two horrific bear markets, you would have earned 3.4 percent annualized — not great, but not disastrous, either. Kathy Kristof is a contributing editor to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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Howard County Housing is accepting applications for a low-interest loan program to help homeowners address high-priority home maintenance items, including weatherization and health and safety concerns. The loans are available for households with incomes that are at or below 80 percent of the statewide median income — $48,100 for a one-person household and $55,000 for a two-person household. Applications are available at the Howard County housing office in the Gateway Building, 6751 Columbia Gateway Dr., Columbia. To learn more about the program, contact Kelly Cimino at (410) 313-6318 and select option 4, or email kcimino@howardcountymd.gov.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money

Items you shouldn’t buy at dollar stores By Cameron Huddleston If you want to save money on everyday items, dollar stores can be a great place to shop. And, contrary to popular belief, the quality of most items at national dollarstore chains is good, said Jeff Yeager, author of four popular books on frugal living, including his latest, How to Retire the Cheapskate Way. However, Yeager and other money-saving experts say that there are some items that you should avoid buying, either because you can find them for less elsewhere, or the quality is inferior to competitors’ merchandise. Here are eight common purchases to skip at dollar stores: • Batteries. Cheap batteries may be prone to leakage, said money-saving expert Andrea Woroch, and they may not run your gadgets as long as pricier brands. Many dollar stores sell carbon-zinc batteries, which are less efficient and have a shorter shelf life than the alkaline variety.

Stock market From page 19 need this super aggressive Federal Reserve action.”

The biggest risks Unsurprisingly, the dysfunction in Washington is still at the forefront of investors’ minds. The 16-day partial government shutdown in October hurt consumer confidence and crimped economic growth. A repeat of that political wrangling this year, when the debt limit comes up, would likely hurt the economy again. Stocks are also vulnerable to a sharp rise in interest rates. The market’s rally from its lows in March 2009 has been un-

• Electronics. Consumer Reports found in 2012 that some dollar-store electronics and extension cords may lack labels from the UL that vouch for their safety. Others may have fake labels, and those can be difficult to detect. • Foil and plastic wrap. There’s a reason these items are so inexpensive at dollar stores: The quality is inferior, said Yeager, who shops frequently at dollar stores but avoids foil and plastic wrap products. • Knives. Knives sold at dollar stores tend to be of poor quality, Woroch said. And these aren’t items you want to have fall apart while you’re using them. • Paper goods. Napkins, paper towels and toilet paper at dollar stores don’t do the job as well as the products sold at grocery stores and big-box retailers. If you buy napkins or paper towels that are so flimsy you have to use five to do the job of one, Yeager said, that’s not a good value. • Tools. Yeager said that hammers, derpinned by low interest rates, which have made stock market returns more attractive. If bond yields were to rise suddenly, the economy would suffer. The Fed’s policy is predicated on buying bonds to hold down interest rates. If investors get nervous as the central bank cuts its bond purchases, removing a support for the market, bond yields could jump as investors dump bonds. “If interest rates were to (go) back up dramatically, that would probably be a bad thing,” said Franklin Templeton’s Hermann, who manages the Franklin Flex Cap Growth fund. “We’re still in a very fragile economy and we don’t want to suddenly tilt into another recession.” — AP

screwdrivers and other tools he has bought at dollar stores have broken easily. As an avid do-it-yourselfer, he recommends buying the best tools you can afford because they’ll last longer and make the job you’re tackling easier. • Toys. Most toys from the dollar store break easily, said Andrew Schrage, coowner of the personal finance blog Money Crashers. Even if you’re spending only a dollar, it’s just not money well spent, he said.

• Vitamins. Consumer Reports research in 2012 found that off-brand multivitamins at dollar stores didn’t always have the amount of nutrients claimed on the label. You may be better off buying storebrand vitamins at Rite Aid, Walgreens or CVS. Cameron Huddleston is an online editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine and the author of Ask Kim for Money Smart Solutions (Kaplan, $18.95). © 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Travel Leisure &

Elephants, giraffes, hippos, lions and other wildlife are seen on a safari in Botswana. See story on page 24.

Warm(er) winter destinations beckon

Great gardens of Charleston Many people were surprised when a leading European guidebook listed Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon and Charleston’s Magnolia Gardens as the three most outstanding attractions in North America. Anyone who appreciates floral beauty might agree. Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, S.C., is a fairyland of century-old camellias (in late winter) and azaleas (in spring) in a setting of unsurpassed beauty.

Visitors to nearby Cypress Gardens quickly come to understand why it often is described as mysterious and enchanting, as they float along eerie dark lagoons surrounded by brooding ancient cypress trees. The blaze of color provided by plantings along the banks is intensified by reflections in the dark water. A more formal, yet no less magnificent, floral extravaganza greets visitors to the gardens at Middleton Place, America’s oldest landscaped floral display. Carefully manicured exotic shrubs and flora are set among terraced lawns, reflecting pools and a historic rice mill. Color seems to explode around visitors like a fireworks display from masses of camellias and magnolias in January and February, as well as azalea bushes, wisteria vines and flowering peach and dogwood trees come March. For more information, call 1-800-774-0006 or log onto www.explorecharleston.com.

Sun and shore in Sarasota SAVANNAH AREA CVB

A horse-drawn carriage tours Savannah, Ga.’s historic district, which boasts more than 1,000 restored mansions and row houses.

The choice of where to warm up in Florida can be daunting because there are so many inviting alternatives. One destination that combines much of what the Sunshine State has to offer is Sarasota. Those seeking little more than a sun, sand and sea vacation find a selection of beaches to fit almost any preference. The stretch of beaches along the western shoreline of Siesta Key has been recognized by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for having the finest, whitest sand in the world. Lido Key is smaller in size but not variety, with three outstanding seashores that are open to the public. Longboat Key is a

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND CVB

By Victor Block The new year has begun with an outlook for weather that’s cold and peppered with that dreaded wintry mix. Basking in the sun on a Caribbean island is alluring. But in case your time for a getaway and your travel budget are limited, here are some alternatives that combine a welcome respite from frigid temperatures with the warmth of both the sun’s rays and traditional Southern hospitality.

South Padre Island, off the Gulf coast of Texas, is a 34-mile long barrier reef, drawing not just tourists for walks through the surf, but more than 300 species of birds.

more private beachfront community geared primarily to people staying at its resort hotels. But these only scratch the surface of attractions in the area, whose residents take pride in its self-proclaimed role as “Florida’s Cultural Coast.” Just one example of the reason for that claim is the elegant mansion built in 1926 for John Ringling, which demonstrates that his cultural legacy matched his fame as a circus magnate. The four-story, 32-room Italian-style residence awes visitors with its lavish architectural touches, elaborate decorations and rich furnishings. The adjacent John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art houses a world-class art collection with works by the likes of Rubens and Rembrandt — a legacy left to the people of Florida by the avid collectors. Opportunities for encounters with Mother Nature also are close at hand. Myakka State Park offers narrated tours in what’s billed as the world’s largest airboat, along with miles of gentle hiking trails. Historic Spanish Point is home to more than 300 species of native plants, as well as resident birds and other wildlife. The veritable symphony of bird songs, calls and whistles that greets visitors to Sarasota Jungle Gardens gives new meaning to the term “surround sound.” Colorful cockatoos and multi-hued

macaws vie with peacocks and pink flamingoes for preening honors. Venomous snakes and menacing-looking alligators add an ominous touch, while curious critters like hissing cockroaches and spiny hedgehogs provide a bit of humor. For more information, call 1-800-3487250 or log onto www.visitsarasota.org.

Georgia on your mind Granted, most winter visitors to Savannah don’t want to try a swim in the ocean and aren’t likely to return home with a deep tan. But the Georgia sun warms the temperature this time of year into the pleasant 50s on most days. That’s perfect weather for strolling through one of the loveliest cities in the world. Among a number of accolades it received during 2013 alone were being named “America’s most charming accent” (Travel & Leisure) and “A top 25 destination in the world” (Trip Advisor). The 2-1/2 square mile historic district includes more than 1,000 restored mansions and row houses, many of them adorned with elaborate ironwork. Cobblestone streets, canopied by giant oak trees draped in Spanish moss, provide a lush backdrop for sightseeing, shopping or sitting in the warming sun. Should your feet give out before your inSee WARM PLACES, page 23

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Warm places From page 22 terest does, you can continue the outing by horse-drawn carriage. For more information, call 1-877-7282662 or log onto www.visitsavannah.com. A different but equally inviting setting beckons from the Golden Isles that are strung out along Georgia’s coastline. Miles of soft sand beaches are just the beginning of their attractions. Outstanding golf, tennis, biking and fishing are among the many other diversions. Jekyll Island and the exclusive Jekyll Island Club served as a winter retreat and playground for some of the richest Americans from the late 19th century until the outbreak of World War II. Most of the buildings from the Jekyll Island Club era still stand, serving as a reminder of the gracious lifestyle led by people who could afford it. The original sprawling Queen Annestyle club house is now the Jekyll Island Club Hotel. It offers affordable accommodations to the traveling public. The hotel is surrounded by 33 mansionsize “cottages” that were built by families with names such as Rockefeller, Gould and Morgan in an eclectic mix of styles, including French chateaux and Italian palazzo. Today, some of them offer additional lodgings, while others house museums, art galleries and shops.

More down-to-earth appeal may be found by meandering along oyster-shell pathways through low-lying woods and marshes. Deer, wild turkeys, armadillos and alligators are among residents that reluctantly share the island with human intruders. For more information, call 1-877-4535955 or log onto www.jeykllisland.com.

A Cajun vacation Despite its many attributes, including midwinter high temperatures that usually hover in the 60s, New Orleans isn’t for everyone. A more laid-back warming experience awaits in Cajun Louisiana, centered in 22 of the state’s 64 “parishes.” The Cajuns trace their roots back to French-speaking Canadians who, after being ousted from their homeland in the mid-18th century, eventually settled in Louisiana. Since then they have clung proudly to their traditions and ways of life. They continue to speak French, savor spicy, palatenumbing cuisine, and translate a zest for life into a seemingly never-ending series of weekend festivals. Various attractions offer glimpses of local life and culture. The Acadian Village at Lafayette is a realistic re-creation of a 19th century settlement. The town of Martinsville is home to a museum that displays artifacts of early settlers, as well as the tomb of Emmilene

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Labiche — the subject of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s well-known poem “Evangeline,” which describes the uprooting and resettlement of the Acadians. Also on the must-see list for visitors are any of the hundreds of bayous that crisscross the area. They served as water highways for early pioneers and settlers, and their sluggish waters still provide some of the fish, crayfish and rice that form the basis of much Cajun cooking. For more information, call 1-800-3461958 or log onto www.lafayettetravel.com.

South Padre Island For those willing to travel a bit further, South Padre Island, perched on the Gulf Coast of Texas, is a favorite wintering destination for visitors from both northern areas of the Lone Star State and sun-seekers from elsewhere. There are a number of reasons why the 34-mile-long barrier reef, which has only about 5,000 permanent inhabitants, attracts as many as 1 million visitors annually. Many of them are retirees, called “winter Texans,” who seek a warm place to escape the cooler temperatures at their home further north. With its sub-tropical climate and an average winter temperature of 65 degrees, South Padre provides an appealing getaway destination. For people seeking a bit of R and R, the casual, laid-back atmosphere that per-

vades the island provides an enticing setting. One example of the fun-loving environment is a “proclamation” that banishes the wearing of neck ties. It calls for firsttime offenders to receive a written warning and a T-shirt, and for any scofflaws caught a second time to pay a fine equal to the price of a silk tie. Active vacationers find a long list of choices. Boat trips range from eco-tours and close-up encounters with dolphin, to wildlife tours and sunset cruises. Fishermen may try to catch their dinner in bay and gulf waters. The island also is a birders’ paradise, with more than 300 species that add sound and color to the setting. For more information, call 1-800-6572373 or log onto www.sopadre.com. Perhaps exploring the streets of Savannah or strolling through the magnificent gardens in and around Charleston is your idea of a dream winter escape. Maybe you’d prefer to immerse yourself in the culture of Cajun Louisiana, or find out why so many sun-seekers head for South Padre Island. Whatever your choice, you’re sure to return home sufficiently refreshed to bear up under the onslaught of winter.

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Botswana’s Okavango Delta’s got game Finally I picked up the phone beside the bed, punching in random numbers since I had no directory. “Something is in our room. We need help,” I stuttered to the woman who answered. She alerted the safari staff on patrol. They discovered an elephant had been roaming around all night on the deck that lined the lodge perimeter, feasting on foliage shading our cabin. Drenched in sweat — not from Botswana’s sweltering heat but from our anxiety — Patricia and I hugged each other and laughed, slightly embarrassed that we genuinely thought we were about to be a large cat’s meow.

A trip of wonder and drama That drama-filled last night of our safari was a fitting end to what had been a week of pure magic and wonder. We landed in Botswana, zombie-like but excited, after 48 hours with no sleep, traversing time zones on two back-to-back overnight flights plus another four flights. The safari began as soon as we got to PomPom airport in Muan, Botswana. We jumped in a 4x4 after being greeted by two guides from our safari company: andBeyond Safaris. Guide Kgosikebatho Marota asked that we call him Chief, and guide

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By Charmaine Noronha I’m jolted from sleep by a deep and rolling roar and what sounds like the slithering paws of a large cat trawling through my cabin. “Oh my God, I think something’s in our room,” I whisper, waking up my friend and roommate, Patricia Lawton. “I know,” she whispers back, adding a few expletives. It might sound like the start of a Maurice Sendak story, but as we lay in our dreamy cabin in the great wilderness of Botswana’s Okavango Delta, we were truly snoozing where the wild things are. Days before, when our safari began, we were told never to leave our tent at night to avoid encounters with wild animals. But what if they came to us? For several hours, Patricia and I lay still, so afraid to move that we dared not even call for help. If this creature was in our room, the only thing that separated us from the potential intruder was a flimsy mosquito net billowing around our fourposter bed. At one point it sounded like an animal was dragging our backpacks around. I cursed Patricia under my breath, thinking she had once again left the patio door to our cabin open — a massive no-no while lodging deep in the savannah.

Elephants take a drink from the Chobe River in Botswana’s Chobe National Park. The park hosts the largest herds of pachyderms in Africa, along with giraffes, lions, water buffalo and hundreds of other mammal and bird species.

Kutlwano Mobe said he goes by Kuks. Minutes into driving deep into the savannah, we were shaken out of our bleariness by the sight of vervet monkeys swinging through tree tops, herds of impalas prancing by, and graceful woodland kingfishers with fringed, bright blue wings sweeping through the cloudless sky. As if this wasn’t enough to tickle my African-born but North American-bred fancy (I was born in Nairobi but raised in Canada), Chief beckoned us to look to the right of our jeep. “Lions came through here this morning, probably tracking the buffalo we saw yesterday. Those are their footprints,” he said, instructing the driver to follow them. We drove through the vast expanse of sun-drenched land, sprinkled with acacia trees, bulbous baobab trees and towering

termite mounds, steering over and through bushes.

Hundreds of species We turned a corner and spotted a pride of six lions sprawled in the grass, lounging in the blistering afternoon sun in post-kill splendor. Their lolling yawns revealed formidable fangs and hinted at the hard work that goes into ruling such a fine kingdom. The moment was pure magic, a National Geographic episode come to life. The big cats are among more than 100 species of mammals and 400 species of birds that call the delta home. This diversity —found amid the lily-speckled marshes, blue lagoons and picturesque woodlands — make this place set along the banks of See SAFARI, page 25

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Safari

cept the last, when we were in the cabins.

From page 24

National Park teems with life

the Okavango River one of Africa’s richest game-viewing destinations, albeit one of the continent’s pricier ones for tourists, as well. Conde Nast Traveler magazine recognized the Botswana government’s efforts to conserve the Okavango’s environment, while balancing the needs of local people, with a 2013 World Savers Award for a sustainable destination in a developing country. Our tour company has also been working with the government to reintroduce rhinos into the delta. After hours exploring the bush, we headed back to our campsite, bathed in a tepid outdoor rain shower under a sliver of a crescent moon. Then we prepared for a Botswanian feast of seswaa — beef stew served over thick pap, a type of maize porridge. We stuffed ourselves silly and traded stories under the stars with fellow safarigoers. Tuckered out, we retreated to our luxury tents — with indoor plumbing to boot — which we slept in every night ex-

A 5:30 a.m. wake-up call began another day of exploring, where zebras, hyenas, water buffalo, elephants and giraffe coexist and roam free. We left the wilderness of the delta to head to Chobe National Park — the third-largest game park in Botswana and one that boasts one of the largest concentrations of game in Africa, including the largest herds of elephants. It lived up to its reputation: Just after entering the gates into the lush terrain, we were greeted by a journey of giraffes munching on acacia trees that dot the plains. Our guides imparted this interesting fact: As a defense mechanism, once the acacia foliage is torn by a foraging giraffe, the plant emits an airborne gas, ethylene, alerting nearby plants to increase tannin production, which the giraffes don’t like. The animals then move upwind to dine on plants that failed to catch the drift. Our exploration and biology lessons were not limited to land. We jumped into a boat and cruised down the Okavango

BEACON BITS

Feb. 28

HARRINGTON SLOTS TRIP A day trip to Harrington, Del. is being offered on Friday, Feb. 28 by the Elkridge Senior Center at 6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge via

a bus leaving at 9 a.m. and returning at 5 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person and include the lunch buffet and $10 free slot play. For further information and ticket reservation, call the center at (410) 313-5192.

Mar. 3

PHILADLEPHIA IN BLOOM Visit the world’s largest indoor flower show in Philadelphia on Monday, March 3 via a Recreation & Parks bus leaving at 8 a.m.

for Philadelphia and returning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $83. For more information, call Recreation & Parks at (410) 313-7279.

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River, where we saw elephants frolicking in the water alongside their adorable offspring, glimpsed a hippo bobbing in and out of still water, and staked out a crocodile hoping to see its jaw snap. Back in the 4x4, a torrential downpour suddenly lashed us without a moment’s notice. Chief hit the gas and it was like we were in our own version of Noah’s Ark meets Life of Pi, as animals whizzed past, the windswept rain making it difficult for us to even open our eyes in the open-sided car. “You’re not in Canada, anymore, are you?” he shouted from his water-soaked seat.

Definitely not, I thought, as water buffalo bolted by us. Drenched and slightly startled, though, there was no place I’d rather have been than this self-contained sanctuary where nearly every creature I’d read about since childhood came out to play. “Let the wild rumpus start!” I hollered back. For more information on Botswana tourism, see www.botswanatourism.co.bw. Okavango Delta information is available at www.okavangodelta.com. We used andBeyond Safaries, www.andbeyond.com. Rates vary by length of tour, — AP time of year and other details.

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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Style Arts &

Graham Nash takes a look back to his wild ‘60s musical roots in his new memoir. See story on page 27.

Irish dance show has contemporary twist A homegrown company The Columbia-based company, which has grown out of the Teelin School of Irish Dance operated by Gately, has been jigging, reeling and stomping since 2001 at venues in Baltimore, Annapolis, the District of Columbia and Howard County. Gately got the school going in 1998. The Rouse Theater performances of Slainté will be the company’s homecoming, said Gately, since it will be the first time the company presents its own show in the town where it is now located. The majority of the dancers in the company are from Howard County. Many are of Irish background, but also of other ethnicities. All share a love of, and accomplishment in, traditional Irish step dancing, said the founding director. While “all kinds of dancing — ballet, jazz, modern — are incorporated in the show,” Gately said, the Irish forms predominate. In the troupe’s very physical, percussive dancing style, dancers’ legs are moving and feet are tapping in both soft shoe and hard shoe steps, while the body is often stationary and the arms are held somewhat rigidly at the sides. This is the

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By Robert Friedman Traditional Irish step dancing — with some Latin, African and beatboxing rhythms blended in — will be featured in the Teelin Irish Dance Company’s upcoming show at the Jim Rouse Theater in Columbia. The company’s two performances, on Feb. 8 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., will fuse the “heart-pounding rhythm of Irish dance with cutting edge choreography,” said Maureen Gately, the troupe’s director, choreographer and principal female dancer. “You can call it an Irish dance show with a modern twist,” said Gately about the company’s latest production, Slainté, which means “welcome” in Gaelic. The company’s traditional percussive dancing involves 40 hoofers backed by the troupe’s eight musicians. For this program, among other modern blendings, they will add the vocal percussion effects of Baltimore beatboxer Shodekeh, who channels such sounds as beating drums, turntables, ocean waves and sleigh bells. Beatboxing is a hip-hop form of musicmaking using the mouth, lips, tongue and voice, often imitating musical instruments.

The Teellin Irish Dance Company will perform on Feb. 8 at the Jim Rouse Theater in Columbia. The show includes traditional Irish step dancing with international accents, including Latin and African rhythms.

dancing form made widely popular by Riverdance and Lord of the Dance — the Irish touring companies that have appeared locally and abundantly over PBS television stations. Once you see Irish dancing, there’s no mistaking it for any other dancing style, Gately said. “It’s very different, with gradations of percussive dance, very physical, the dancers are on their toes at all times. There’s no other style like it,” she said.

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Feet first Since mostly all other dance styles feature the rhythmic movement of the hands or arms, why do the arms of the Irish dancers seem to be immovable objects at attention while the feet do all the work? There are several theories about this, said Gately. One appears based on religious mores that demanded non-married See IRISH DANCE, page 27

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

Remembering and continuing rock ‘n’ roll By Hillel Italie Graham Nash is in the recording studio, having a hard time saying the words. “It was such a tumultuous smoke-ridden cocaine-driven moment that it’s hard to remember everything as it went down,” he reads, stumbling over the word “tumultuous” and later saying “1977” instead of “1967,” an epic slip for Nash’s generation. The “moment” was Woodstock and the studio was in midtown Manhattan, where Nash recently taped the audio book of his memoir Wild Tales. Digital technology enabled him to quickly correct his errors, but the memories will not be erased as he

relives a time he still helps embody. Few were so profoundly changed by rock ‘n’ roll and the 1960s as Nash — a child of working class, World War II-era Britain, who first became a star as a grinning harmony singer for the Hollies and, just as he feared he was locked into a life of screaming teenagers and two-minute love songs, let his hair down as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash. His hair a full and flawless white, he looks improbably fit and trim at 71, especially for someone who by his own account smoked and snorted through much of his 20s and 30s.

Irish dance

times in her 38 years, is a Jersey girl (Bridgewater, N.J.) who won a dance scholarship to Towson University. She was one of eight selected for the premium scholarship from among 400 students who auditioned for the university’s highly regarded dance program. She graduated from there with a BFA in Dance Performance in 1997. Gately won the Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist Award for Choreography in 2009 for her company’s innovative style. She considers it a highlight of her career to have danced traditional jigs and reels as Gov. Martin O’Malley wailed on guitar while fronting his Celtic rock band. The performances took place on St. Patrick’s Day in 2012 and 2013 at the Paterson Theater in Baltimore. Tickets for the Slainté performances can be obtained online at www.teelin.com, or by phone at 1-800-838-3006. Tickets are $30 for regular admission; $15 for seniors and children under 10 years.

From page 26 men and women “keep their hands to themselves” while twirling around the floor in close proximity. Other theories have political plotlines. One suggests the natives were faking out their British rulers, who banned dancing, by going into pubs and dancing behind the bar while keeping their upper bodies upright as they do their rhythmic stepping and stomping from the waist down. One story has it that a group of Irish dancers in the 16th century were brought to dance for Queen Elizabeth I, who supposedly enjoyed Irish jigs. The dancers, the story goes, refused to raise their arms to her, keeping them at their sides, as they “danced out their defiance” of British rule, which included the 14th century Statutes of Kilkenny that outlawed Irish culture, except, presumably, when English royalty wanted to be amused. Gately, whose parents are from Ireland and who has visited the Emerald Isle 16

BEACON BITS

Jan. 27+

WINTER ARTS CLASSES

Registration closes Monday, Jan. 27 for classes in studio art, a mosaic basics workshop, and drop-in portrait and model sessions at the Howard County Center for the Arts, 8510 High Ridge Rd., Ellicott City. Visit the Classes and Camps page at www.hocoarts.org or call (410) 313-2787 for more information.

But he is mindful that his luck won’t last forever, and decided it was time to tell his story, if only for his baby granddaughter, Stella Joy. “I wanted to make a record of what my life was about and who I was as a person,” he said.

A magical time The man he became, the life he came to lead, began during a Hollies tour of the U.S. in the mid-1960s. He was befriended by Mama Cass of the Mamas and Papas, a

born mixer who sensed that the gentlemanly Nash would click with the Byrds’ trouble-making David Crosby. He was soon living the American dream, late ‘60s style, recording a million-selling debut album with Crosby and Stephen Stills, and sharing a house in Laurel Canyon with Joni Mitchell. In his memoir, he gives his take on how Crosby, Stills and Nash first joined in song. See NASH, page 28

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F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Morals from a story of second marriages They say that love is lovelier the second bought at Target,” Susan said. The couple time around. If it works that way, hats off. took a six-week trip around the world, stayIf it doesn’t, it can snare famiing only in suites. Gifts got delies in a whirlpool of hurt feellivered to all sorts of friends ings — and lighter bank acand family — expensive gifts. counts. “I was very reluctant to So it has gone for my pal, smell rats,” Susan says. “I Susan. We reconnected a few thought it was just nice. Two weeks ago. Over coffee, I older people enjoying life, you asked about her family. know?” Kids good. Grandkids About six months later, good. Husband good. Dad’s secretary called Susan And her father? Well, not so HOW I SEE IT again. She said Susan had to good. come over to Dad’s office By Bob Levey He became a widower at 80. right away. She had someA divorcee who had long been in his social thing to show her. circle made a beeline for him. The secretary produced two pieces of The family thought this was excellent, paper. because the beeliner was excellent. Smart. One was a power of attorney, executed Sassy. Accomplished. Generous. Who the day after Dad and New Wife had marwouldn’t want such a companion for one’s ried. It designated New Wife as the only aging Dad? person with control over Dad’s finances. The nightmare began shortly after they Previously, Susan says, she and her married. Susan’s father began to slip men- brother had shared power of attorney. tally. They had not been asked or told about the Nothing big at first. But as time went on, change. he began to fumble basic details. His secThe second piece of paper was Dad’s retary called Susan and asked if maybe the personal checking account statement. It old guy should retire. showed that New Wife had systematically She broached it to him. He scoffed and withdrawn between $12,000 and $15,000 a refused. month across three years. Meanwhile, the new wife started pilotWhere had that money gone? Obviously ing a snazzy gold Mercedes-Benz (she had to the Mercedes, to the gifts, and to the previously been a Ford Focus kind of girl). clothes that weren’t bought at Target. She began wearing “clothes that weren’t Did Dad know about any of this? The

secretary said she doubted it. When Susan sat down with her father, he was as shocked as anyone. But he refused to confront New Wife. Susan huddled with her brother to make a plan. They decided to ask New Wife to explain. “No confrontations,” Susan said. “Just three adults who cared about my father’s welfare.” New Wife refused to meet. “My business,” she told Susan. It was a stunning rebuff — and to Susan, a clear admission that New Wife was aware of and ashamed of what she had done. Lawyers were brought in. They said no crime had been committed. A spouse has priority over adult children in situations like this, the lawyers said. An exclusive power of attorney means exactly that. It doesn’t matter what a previous power of attorney may have said. It doesn’t matter whether New Wife went behind Dad’s back. She was within her rights. Seeing her father out half a million dollars without his knowledge was bad enough. Worse: He began to decline rapidly. Dementia was diagnosed. He was dead within a year. Susan and her brother appealed to New Wife directly. “We asked her please not to hoard all the rest of his money,” Susan said. “He had always said he wanted to help with college tuition for the grandchil-

dren. But he had never said so in a will.” Sorry, New Wife said. His estate is mine. Please don’t call me again. Susan says she was “as furious as I’ve ever been in my life.” She recognized that she was legally powerless. And she doesn’t think that “money is the be-all and end-all.” Still, “this was my father, and he had been steamrollered.” Her instinct was to “do something — not something that would lash out at this woman, because that wouldn’t have accomplished anything. But something that might protect other families.” I said that spreading the word to other families was my department. You’ve just read the results. Moral of this story: If you are an older gentleman of some means, and you suddenly become a widower, don’t give full control over your dough to your new spouse. It will cause problems now and bigger problems later. Second moral: Trust your adult children. They don’t want to interfere with your late-in-life happiness. But they don’t want to see you hoodwinked, either. By the way, Susan reports, her father’s second wife now has a new male friend. He’s a recent widower. A man of some means. They have just announced plans to take a six-week trip around the world together. History is reloading for a repeat. Bob Levey is a national award-winning columnist.

Nash

later. “How could you live with Joni Mitchell for two years and not still feel something,” said Nash, married since 1977 to actress Susan Sennett. “She was this incredible combination of beauty and balls, and she’ll always be a very special part of my life. Everybody knows that. My wife knows that, and that’s just the way it is.”

him for the rest of my life, but he’s a very selfish man. Part of me admires the fact that he has the strength to follow his muse, but he doesn’t realize that there are other people involved in this world,” Nash said. “For instance, when you tell 40 people you’re going to Europe and do a massive tour at the end of June, and then you decide you don’t want to do it because the muse doesn’t wave to you right? These 40 people don’t know what to do because you don’t feel like it? That pisses me off.” A spokesman for Young did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nash is tough on Crosby, too, although in a far more loving way. They are the closest of friends, and have shared girlfriends (both dated Mitchell), political causes, songwriting credits and thousands of stages. But Nash also adds to Crosby’s past confessions about his descent into drug addiction in the 1980s, when one of rock’s great wise guys transformed into a scarred and dead-eyed monster, “filthy, always sickly, irrational, covered in sores,” Nash writes. “The only time legal ever called me was about the story I put in there about Crosby selling his Mercedes to a crack dealer, and the guy OD’s, and Crosby breaks into the house while the body is still warm and stole back the sales slip [for the car],” Nash said during the interview. “Legal wanted me to check with Crosby one more time to make sure that hap-

From page 27 It was 1968, and they were at Mitchell’s house, and Crosby and Stills were working on the ballad “You Don’t Have to Cry.” Nash listened, asked them to run through it again, and added his high tenor to Still’s husky low and Crosby’s mellow middle. “Something magical had happened, and we all knew it,” Nash writes. “When you sing with two or three people, and you get it right — when the whole thing becomes

greater than the parts — everything kind of lifts a couple of feet off the ground.... It was there, complete, a minute into our relationship.” They were instant royalty, crowned by their performance at Woodstock, but soon torn apart. Neil Young joined the band after the first record and began feuding with Stills, as they had done while in the band Buffalo Springfield. Crosby’s girlfriend at the time, Christine Hinton, was killed in a car crash. Mitchell broke up with Nash, a loss clearly fresh decades

BEACON BITS

Feb. 1+

COLUMBIA ORCHESTRA PREMIERE

Aaron Copland’s “Billy the Kid” and Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody” will be featured in the Columbia Orchestra’s concerts on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. at the James Rouse Theatre, 5460 Trumpeter Rd., Columbia. The concerts will also introduce the winning work from the orchestra’s sixth annual American Composer Competition, Michael Djupstrom’s “Scene et Pas de Deux.” For additional information or to purchase tickets ($20 to $25 regular admission; $16 to $21 for those 62 and older), call (410) 465-8777 or visit www.columbiaorchestra.org.

ART NEEDED FOR AUCTION

Feb. 3

The Howard County Arts Council invites fine and craft artists residing, working or studying in Howard County to submit entries for the annual juried Silent Art Auction, part of the Celebration of the Arts to be held Saturday, March 29. The deadline is Monday, Feb. 3. For more information, call (410) 313-2787 or visit www.hocoarts.org.

Tough love Young is the book’s enigma and fatal attraction — a hard-headed genius with a well-documented reluctance to commit himself to a band, whether Buffalo Springfield or Crosby, Stills and Nash. In Wild Tales, Nash sees his time with Young as a “long, strange trip” with a man whom he regards as having a heart with two faucets: hot and cold. One tale from the cold side: Young’s memoir, Waging Heavy Peace, which came out in 2012. “My ego got in the way,” Nash said during the interview when asked about the book. “When he talked about his wife’s dog more than he did about me and Stephen and David, it pissed me off. I’ve made music with Neil Young for 40 years, and I don’t deserve a better mention than as an appendage to his dog?” Working with him is inspiring, Nash said, at least when he actually gets to work with him. “I love him to death. I’ll make music with

See NASH, page 29

Nash From page 28 pened. He said, ‘Not only was it true, but I re-sold the car.’”

Still on stage Crosby cleaned up years ago, and various combinations of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young continue to sing around the world — whether a CSN show last fall at London’s Royal Albert Hall or a 2011 concert at Strathmore Music Center in N. Bethesda, Md. Nash sang solo at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., in September. In an impromptu visit in 2011 to the Oc-

Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

cupy Wall Street protests, Nash and Crosby turned up and performed at Zuccotti Park in lower Manhattan, the crowd joining in for Nash’s signature song, “Teach Your Children.” “I think I wrote music that made people think, and broke their hearts, and depressed them, and made them laugh,” Nash said, adding that completing the book only added to his amazement at his own life. “I think I did a decent job with what I was given as a child. I’m from an incredibly poor family from the north of England. And look at me! I mean, c’mon.” — AP

BEACON BITS

Feb. 1+

ALICE HOFFMAN DISCUSSES NEW NOVEL

Best-selling author Alice Hoffman will discuss her new novel, The Museum of Extraordinary Things, on Sunday, March 2 at 2 p.m. at the Charles E. Miller Branch and Historical Center, 9421 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. Registration for the event is strongly encouraged and begins on Saturday, Feb. 1. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event. Call the library at (410) 313-1950 for further information and to register.

Feb. 4

ORCHESTRA OF EXILES

AP PHOTO/MARY ALTAFFER

The film depicting the formation of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra of Exiles, will be shown on Tuesday, Feb. 4 at the Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. The program is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Howard County. For more information, email snovinsky@jewishhowardcounty.org or call (410) 730-4976.

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Graham Nash (right) recalls his relationships with Joni Mitchell, David Crosby (left), Neil Young and Stephen Stills in his recent memoir, Wild Tales. He is shown, on right, with David Crosby at the Occupy Wall Street protest.

Coalition of Geriatric Services We’re a coalition of nonproﬁts, agencies, businesses and professionals who come together to advocate for and help older adults.

February Meeting date: Wednesday, February 26, 2014 time: 8:30 – 10:00 a.m. location: Winter Growth – 5460 Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia, MD topic: Networking Extravaganza

learn more by calling (410) 997-0610 or visit www.cogsmd.org Thank you to our 2014 Executive Members PlatinuM MeMber The Beacon Newspapers

Gold MeMbers Being There Senior Care, LLC • Howard County Oﬃce on Aging

silver MeMbers Brooke Grove Retirement Village • Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Scherr, LLP Copper Ridge – EMA • Deborah L. Herman, CPA • Oasis Senior Advisors • The Bob Lucido Team, LLC

bronze MeMbers Earl Wilkinson, M.D., ENT • HomeWatch Caregivers Lighthouse Senior Living Village at Ellicott City •Paladin Advisor Group

Patron MeMbers Craig Witzke Funeral Care • Home Call of Maryland • Home With You, LLC Right At Home In Home Care & Assistance • Visiting Angels

F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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Puzzle Page

Crossword Puzzle Daily crosswords can be found on our website: www.TheBeaconNewspapers.com Click on Puzzles Plus Hidden Gems by Stephen Sherr 1

23 30 34

36 40

46 49

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JUMBLE ANSWERS

Scrabble answers on p. 29.

Answer: What she did when she told a joke to the sewing circle -- LOST THE "THREAD" OF IT Jumbles: FORAY SYNOD BANTER CHALET

48 54

ACROSS 1. Nimble 5. Hubble component 9. Set one back 13. Toll booth unit 14. “Right away!” (not written all the way) 15. Hosted a party 16. Pampering locales 17. Confusing grid of streets 18. One 32,000th of a ton 19. Baby proofing instructions 22. General dir. down Peru’s coastline 23. Space enough for light to pass 24. Clock setting for TV’s Breaking Bad scenes 25. Product of the 111th Congress, but commonly called Obamacare 28. Coat, generally white 30. Noted Brazilian footballer 32. Add insult to injury 38. Post pre-school; pre post-school 39. Name that is also a retirement plan 40. End in ___ (satisfy no one) 41. Do a plumber’s job 46. Country singer McEntire 47. Name that is also a legal plan 48. Turned on a candle 49. 3-time NHL MVP 51. Nile snakes 54. Arafat’s org. 56. Say hi to Montezuma 62. Girl orphaned in a comic, play, and 3 movies 63. Tony Danza sitcom 64. Type of thermometer 65. 63 Across extras 66. Shoe shape preserver 67. Its first logo was approved by Ike in 1959 68. Downwind 69. Hankerings 70. Studied from afar

DOWN 1. The middle of a date range 2. International fair 3. Fly in the ointment 4. Personality identifiers 5. Green Bay Packers’ field 6. Jacob’s biblical twin 7. Those fanatically obsessed with rules 8. Write eight instead of 8 9. Guzzle drinks 10. Just for show 11. The Joy of ___ (religious guide) 12. Send a 139-character message 15. Exactly 20. European city with best quality of life, according to fDi Magazine 21. Baba ghanoush, and the like 25. Son of Zeus and Hera 26. Group of worshippers 27. Complete loathing 29. French dairy-producing region 31. User of statistics, according to Mark Twain 33. “Holy Toledo!” 34. Pistol stay-men (abbr.) 35. Acorn droppers 36. 4, on a Rolex 37. Boy scout’s construction 42. Moves down on a pain scale 43. Punishment unit in 12 Years a Slave 44. Newsweek declared 1984 to be their year 45. The middle of two cremes 49. Largest Cornhusker city 50. Of the kidneys 52. Inconsequential 53. Violate guidance regarding the sun 55. .6 parts per million of Earth’s atmosphere 57. Kidlet 58. Plow pullers 59. Fast food loaner 60. Sugarcoat 61. Like Adam, after expulsion

Answers on page 29.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4

CLASSIFIEDS The Beacon prints classified advertising under the following headings: Business & Employment Opportunities; Caregivers; Computer Services; Entertainment; For Sale; For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free; Health; Home/ Handyman Services; Miscellaneous; Personals; Personal Services; Vacation Opportunities; and Wanted. For submission guidelines and deadlines, see the box on the bottom of this page. CAVEAT EMPTOR! The Beacon does not knowingly accept obscene, offensive, harmful, or fraudulent advertising. However, we do not investigate any advertisers or their products and cannot accept responsibility for the integrity of either. Respondents to classified advertising should always use caution and their best judgment. EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally accept advertising in violation of federal, state, and local laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, familial status or handicap in connection with employment or the sale or rental of real estate.

Financial Services ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, TAXES – conscientious CPA, 37 years experience, reasonable rates, looking for additional business, personal and eldercare clients. Call 410-653-3363.

For Rent BRIGHTON DAM ROAD, CLARKSVILLE – Separate 1-bedroom apartment with full kitchen and bath. $800/month and utilities included. Good for singles, couples. 410-531-5627. I WILL BUY YOUR UNWANTED REAL ESTATE for cash. No realtor’s fees, and I can settle as quickly as you would like. Call Neal at 410-419-1289.

For Sale 2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints from Dante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed. Asking $900 for the pair. Can email pictures if desired. Call Steve 410-913-1653.

Home/Handyman Services BASEMENT OR FOUNDATION PROBLEMS? LEVELIFT SYSTEMS, INC. offers honest, professional, no-pressure inspection, consultation & repair quotes for owner-occupied homes with settling, cracking & buckling basement walls. Our 23-year-old Jessup, Marylandbased firm has a spotless record with Angie’s List, Better Business Bureau and Maryland State Home Improvement Commission. Ask for Paul. Office: 301-369-3400. Cell: 410-365-7346. Paulm@levelift.com. MHIC #45110.

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Home/Handyman Services TROCH PAINTING – Interior/Exterior, drywall repair, wallpaper removal, power washing. Locally owned, serving the area since 1974, free estimates, licensed and insured, MHIC# 99578. Call Mark, 410-591-4168 or 443-844-9498. STARCOM DESIGN BUILD – We are certified aging in place, low-threshold showers, walk-in tubs, first-floor master and in-law suites, ramps, elevators and lifts. We are Howard County’s largest remodeler, in business for over 25 years. Come visit our design Center! Starcomdesignbuild.com. 410-9977700. MHIC# 24247-01.

Personal Services LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN – FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational. Grammatical. Private lessons. Reasonable Rates. Tutoring students. 443-3528200.

Wanted VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950 through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least 100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201. CASH BUYER for old costume jewelry, pocket and wrist watches (any condition). Also buying watchmaker tools and parts, train sets and accessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-655-0412. WE BUY OLD AND NEW COINS, Jewelry, Silver and Gold, Paper Money too. Watches, Clocks and Parts, Military Badges and Patches Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954. FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by a serious capable buyer. I am very well educated [law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years in the antique business] and have the finances and wherewithal to handle virtually any situation. If you have a special item, collection or important estate I would like to hear from you. I pay great prices for great things in all categories from oriental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks to firearms, from silver and gold to classic cars. If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phony promises or messy consignments. References gladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834. Thank you. OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling Silver Flatware, Tea Sets or Single Pieces., Furniture, Tools, Cameras, Good Glassware, Artwork Too. Toys From Trains to Hotwheels, Action Figures to Star Wars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

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BEACON BITS

Feb. 5+

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED Deadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month. Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due with ad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards. Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particular items, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each additional word. Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise. Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word. Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad.

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Feb. 18

SEXISM AND HOMOPHOBIA IN HIP-HOP HopeWorks (formerly the Domestic Violence Center) is showing

the film Beyond Beats and Rhythms on Tuesday, Feb. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Kittleman Room of the Duncan Hall Building at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. The film explores connections between hip-hop music, bullying and harassment. For more information and to register for the program, visit www.wearehopeworks.org.

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THE PIANO TEACHER

Playwright Julia Cho’s drama The Piano Teacher centers on a retired piano teacher whose fond recollections of some former students are shattered when they reconnect years later. The Rep Stage production opens Wednesday, Feb. 5 and continues through Sunday, Feb. 23 at the Smith Theater of the Horowitz Visual and Performing Arts Center at Howard County Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. For tickets and more information, visit www.repstage.org or call (443) 518-1500.

Feb. 22

MAKE ME A MATCH

The second offering in the film series sponsored by the Columbia Jewish Congregation, The Matchmaker, is about a teenage boy who gets a job with a matchmaker. It will be shown on Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Columbia Jewish Congregation, 5885 Robert Oliver Pl., Columbia. Refreshments and a discussion afterward are included. For ticket information, visit the website www.columbiajewish.org/film_series.shtml or call Tom Laufer at (410) 997-0694.

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2014 Community Seminar Series Offers Insight on Living Well Brooke Grove Retirement Village (BGRV) is pleased to launch its sixth year of Living Well Community Seminars beginning in February. Designed to help participants navigate a variety of healthcare and personal challenges, this year’s series offers an impressive array of experts ready to offer insight on topics that range from healthy cooking to the power of music. Each free, monthly presentation will be held from 7 to 8:15 p.m. in the terrace level conference room of Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center and will be preceded by a complimentary light supper beginning at 6:30 p.m. They are open to the public as well as to members of the BGRV family. The seminar series will kick off on Wednesday, February 19, with “Cooking for Your Heart.” Join Warman Home Care and Personal Chef Nikki Haddad for some fabulous tips on heart-healthy cooking, instructions on how to prepare tasty and nutrient-rich recipes bursting with flavor, and a cooking demonstration with samples of “good for you” foods. Learn how to change the way you think about food

and shift your eating habits into a healthier mode. “With the right tools, you’ll be able to make good decisions about healthy eating quickly and effortlessly,” explains Ms. Haddad, who owns her own business and has over 20 years of experience in the food industry. If you are a veteran or a surviving spouse, discover “How to Apply for the Veterans Aid and Attendance Pension” on Wednesday, March 12. Presented by Jonathan Layne of Mission Veteran Assistance, this seminar will provide guidance on how veterans can apply for assistance with the cost of home care, assisted living and nursing home care from this often overlooked program. He will discuss eligibility, approval times and benefit amounts, which can range from $1,113-$2,053 per month, tax-free. Certified Wellness and Motivational Coach Nira Berry, who is also a certified Laughter Yoga teacher, will lead an interactive program entitled “LaughingRx” on Thursday, April 17. Nira benefited from the power of laughter during an illness 10 years ago and now shares

what she has learned to help others live more positively. Presented in partnership with Home Instead Senior Care, this seminar will include laughter exercises, deep breathing and, well, FUN! Laughter exercises have been scientifically shown to reduce stress, high blood pressure and pain sensation; increase endorphins; help people to cope better; and boost the immune system, energy levels, memory and focus. Whether you are a music lover, a senior, or someone who just loves to live well, “The Power of Music” on Wednesday, May 21, will inform and inspire you. According to Therapeutic Music Consultant Jeannie Finnegan of Melodies and

Memories, who will present the seminar, there is much to learn about the power of music to transform our lives: the “brain-music” connection and the neuroscience behind it, what the research says about therapeutic music, and the important role that meaningful music plays in the quality of our lives. “Music has the power to affect so many aspects of who we are — memory, emotion, communication, movement, cognition, relationships,” she says. “It’s the thread woven through the tapestry of life.” To attend any of these seminars, please RSVP to Director of Marketing Toni Davis at 301-388-7209 or tdavis@bgf.org by the Monday prior to each seminar.