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Dec. 20, 2016 • SECTION SC Volume 19, Issue 24

Gourd-geous art from nature PHOTO BY TOM MILLS

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Featured Pet

www.blufftonsun.com 14-D Johnston Way (physical) P.O. Box 2056 (mailing) Bluffton, SC 29910 843-757-9507 • 843-757-9506 (fax) Publisher

B.J. Frazier, bjf.citysun@hargray.com

Editor

Lynne Hummell, editor@hargray.com

Advertising Sales B.J. Frazier, 843-422-2321 Tim Anderson, 843-540-0882 Larry Stoller, 843-290-5101 Art Director

Kim Bowen

Contributors

Don Avedon Mary Dempsey Elaine Krome Margret VanOrden Maloney

On the cover: Nancy Adams shows some of her favorite gourd art pieces that she has created. Photo by Tom Mills.

Editor reserves the right to edit or reject material, including advertisements. The Sun City Sun does not verify, endorse nor warrant any advertisers. The editorial views expressed are not necessarily those of the Editor and Publisher.

Maverick is a sweet 1-year-old boy with a lot of energy. He gets along well with other dogs and loves to play fetch with tennis balls. He is neutered, microchipped and up to date on his vaccinations. Meet Maverick at the Palmetto Animal League Adoption Center, 56 Riverwalk Blvd. in Okatie, from noon to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. For more information, email info@palmettoanimalleague.org, call 843-645-1725 or visit www.PalmettoAnimalLeague.org.

Dec. 20, 2016

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Dec. 20, 2016

Sun City couple is passionate about rescuing birds

P H OTO S B Y TO M M I L L S

Vince and Mary Romano display the tools they take when rescuing and transporting birds of prey.

By Mary Dempsey CONTRIBUTOR

“I hope I never get over the thrill of seeing the beauty of a creature while looking eye to eye,” said Mary Romano.

For Romano, that feeling overtakes her every time she participates in a bird rescue with husband, Vince.

The Romanos have spent six years as volunteers with the Center for Birds of Prey in Awendaw. The center monitors the environment as it works to rehabilitate birds. “A lot can be learned about the environment by studying the behavior and health of birds,” said Mary.

The Romanos volunteer as transporters, whose ultimate goal is to get an injured bird to the center, which is about 120 miles from Sun City. They have rescued waterfowl, vultures, eagles, hawks and osprey. “It is such a privilege to hold

a raptor in my hands and know I am part of a life saved,” said Mary.

“Timing is important, so when a call comes from the center, we must be ready to go,” Vince said. “Birds are fragile and

are often in shock when we get to them. They are captured quickly, and we are either off to the center or to seek immediate help from a local vet who will stabilize the bird.”

The Romanos transport the birds to the center’s infirmary, where the injury is diagnosed and a determination is made to either rehabilitate or euthanize.

Here the birds are fed, cleaned and adminisMeghan Sparkman of the Center for Birds of Prey holds a tered medications by vol- Mississippi Kite that she brought to the Sun City Bird Club this year. birds and allowed them to fly throughout unteers. the room, owl wings almost touching When able to fly and find food, the bird is returned to the area from which it members of the audience.

The same demonstration can be expecame by the Romanos. “This is imporrienced at the center. Naturalist tours are tant,” Mary said, “because many birds offered along with the flight demonstramate for life, and it is our hope that they tions. There are more than 100 birds of will reunite with their mate.” prey on exhibit.

Not all calls demand transport to The center provides programs for Awendaw. Frequently the couple is called school children and special days when to return a bird to a nest (re-nesting) photographers can get up close and perwhen it has either been blown from the nest or, as a fledgling, did not have a suc- sonal to the birds. The center is always in cessful first flight and is thus stranded on need of volunteers and financial support.

For more information, visit www.the the ground.

Meghan Sparkman, an educator at the centerforbirdsofprey.org.

Mary Dempsey is a freelance writer Center for Birds of Prey, visited Sun City’s Bird Club last spring. She brought several living in Sun City.

Sparkman let this owl fly loose through the room during a meeting of the Sun City Bird Club.

An adult Harris’s Hawk from the Center for Birds of Prey visited the Bird Club last spring.

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Financial matters: What’s changing for 2017?

By Don Avedon CONTRIBUTOR

Here are a few things you need to know and consider for the New Year.

1. Social Security beneficiaries will receive a very small Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) of 0.3 percent in 2017. For most people this will amount to $4 or $5 per month.

The COLA is based on the change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is the cost of goods and services between the third quarters of 2015 and 2016. The CPI went up 1.5 percent for the 12 months ending in September, mostly due to prices of gasoline and shelter. Congress established this formula in 1972.

2. For people working, the Social Security tax will remain 6.2 percent but on a larger amount of earnings, up to

$127,200 instead of up to $118,500.

The Medicare tax of 1.45 percent on all earnings remains unchanged.

3. The Medicare Part B premium, which covers doctors and lab work, increases from $104.90 per month in 2016 to $109 in 2017 for all those who pay this premium by having it deducted from their Social Security payment.

If you do not pay the premium from your Social Security income, regardless of the reason, your monthly premium will increase from $121.80 to $134 in 2017.

There still is an additional premium for single people with income above $85,000 and joint filers above $170,000; these premiums also increased.

The Part B deductible increases from $166 to $183 for everyone. This deductible might be covered by your supplemental Medigap insurance.

4. The Medicare Part A deductible that beneficiaries pay when admitted to a hospital will increase from $1,288 in 2016 to $1,316 next year. The Part A deductible covers beneficiaries’ share of the cost for the first 60 days in the hospital. This deductible might be covered by your supplemental Medigap insurance.

5. The gift tax exemption will remain $14,000 per gift next year. Couples can double this amount.

6. In 2017, taxpayers may contribute up to $18,000 to their 401(k), the same as in 2016. The catch-up contribution limit for employees age 50 and over is also unchanged at $6,000.

7. For Medicare beneficiaries, under terms of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, there are two items to be aware of: (a) the discount in the prescrip-

tion drug gap (donut hole) increases from 42 percent to 49 percent for generic drugs while the discount for brand-name drugs increases from 55 percent to 60 percent, and (b) if the older spouse is on Medicare but the younger spouse is not, the younger one can buy insurance at the new Health Insurance Marketplace (Exchange).

8. Regarding income tax, the personal exemption for tax year 2017 remains $4,050.

9. Has your family experienced changes such as births, marriages, divorces or deaths? If so, reconsider the beneficiaries on your financial instruments such as bank accounts, CDs, annuities, insurance policies. Also consider changes to your will and-or trust.

Don Avedon can be reached at don avedon@aol.com.

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Dec. 20, 2016

Friendship bench a tribute to many relationships

P H OTO B Y A L L I E F L OY D

The friendship bench is made from three chairs in a set, with an added single platform seat.

By Elaine Krome CONTRIBUTOR

The idea for my friendship bench came from a photo I found in a magazine. You know the kind, where there are pictures of beautiful, expensive items.

I tore the page out and placed it in the junk drawer. There it laid until it would surface to the top from time to time.

I wondered how this project could be accomplished. I had all sorts of chairs that were various shapes and sizes, and six of one set.

A friend of ours, Milt Neuman, who is a wood worker as well as talented in other fine arts, suggested that three of the chairs be placed together with a “skirt” to make the seating at the appropriate level and length.

Why call it a friendship bench? What meaning does it hold?

As I studied the chairs, I noted that each had a similar pattern of flowers and leaves. But, to make them each more individual and unique, I painted some of the parts of the chairs different colors.

What enjoyment to see each chair develop a “personality.”

Isn’t that similar to people? We are various shapes and sizes, but similar in other respects. As we travel down life’s road we, too, are painted with the folks we meet.

Some are just passing by; with some, we develop casual relationships; others are lifelong, life-changing friendships.

They have become part of what we do, what we enjoy and how we see the world around us.

Not that we always agree, but we know we can share our thoughts and concerns with one another.

I am always amazed when people come into our lives in the most unexpected ways, as well as those whom we have kept in contact with for years.

I graduated from nursing school in 1973, and to this day there are three of us who exchange Christmas gifts. Not that the gifts are extraordinary, but the friendships sure are. The bench is a Please see BENCH on page 8SC

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Gourd-geous art created from and inspired by nature

By Margret VanOrden Maloney CONTRIBUTOR

“My metamorphosis is a surprise to even me,” said Nancy Adams, referring to her expanding interest in what she calls “peaceful art.”

A former nurse and educator, Nancy and her husband Bob moved to Sun City about one year ago. Retirement allowed her deep appreciation of nature to expand and express itself in the making of decorative gourds.

Many of her creations incorporate scraps of weathered wood, dried vines and preserved plants. Local nature inspires much of her work and is an intricate part of her finished designs.

Gourds can be traced back to 13,000 B.C. and have been used as containers, tools, decorative pieces, musical instruments and, infrequently, as a food. They are a member of the squash-melon family, and while still green can contain

up to 75 percent water.

When dried and cleaned a gourd is surprisingly light but extremely durable.

It can be painted, stained and even wood-burned. Most of Adams’s gourds are purchased from a large farm near Wrens, Ga., and she uses all of the above decorating media.

No two gourds are exactly alike. This individuality is what allows Adams’s creative instincts to govern her finished product. Sometimes the gourd determines her design. But other times she has a vision and must peruse her “gourd pantry” to find the exact shape and size to suit that vision.

For instance, she searched long and hard to find a gourd upon which to carve and paint a Great Blue Heron. The result is a spectacular sculpture almost a foot and a half tall.

An oval gourd, with carved arches P H OTO B Y TO M M I L L S

Please see GOURDS on page 8SC

Nancy Adams with an array of her gourd works, including a tall sculpture of a Great Blue Heron.

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Close up of the detail on the back of one of the chairs in the bench. Each is painted differently.

tribute to this long relationship.

Ten years ago, we relocated to the Lowcountry, where others from 10 states and two Canadian Providences brightened our lives. The bench is to honor the friendships that have developed because of proximity.

The bench is also a tribute to those people that I was too busy to see – when I just didn’t stop because I was on to the next task. The bench is a reminder that there needs to be room for everyone.

Lastly, and certainly not least, it is a tribute to my friendship with God. I am a child of God and like most, I wander

away, not knowing what course or what is in store for me but reassured that He is ready and waiting.

Daily I sit on the bench, and it gives me comfort and joy as I remember friends, past, present, and yet to come.

One of my husband’s favorite sayings is the following: There are good ships and wood ships and ships that sail the sea, but the best ships are friendships, may they always be!

Elaine Krome is a freelance writer and hobbyist who lives in Sun City.

retaining its shape, acts as a display case for several turtles, all of which are made from gourd scraps that have been accurately painted in subtle acrylic tones.

Adams’s ability to carve delicate details is amazing, as she shapes animals and birds from a rigid gourd base.

They look as if they might move before your eyes. Her use of color is minimal, allowing the viewer to truly P H OTO B Y TO M M I L L S appreciate the unique hues of each gourd.

Nancy Adams looks for the right gourd to suit her inspiration, “Nature emits peace, and as evidenced by this piece with a sea turtle seeming to be I aim to have it represented swimming through deep water.

Adams also is represented in the in all of my work,” said Adams, gently National Juried Fine Arts Craft Guild fondling one of her smaller pieces. exhibition on display through Dec. 31 at She has won numerous awards from the Art League of Hilton Head.

Honorable Mention to Best of Show throughout the coastal area, and her Margret VanOrden Maloney is a freework may be seen at the Maye River lance writer who lives in Sun City.

Gallery on Calhoun Street in Bluffton.

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Dec. 20, 2016

Silver Players grab Florida volleyball title

P H OTO S U B M I T T E D

In a stunning upset, Sun City Hilton Head Men’s over-65 travel volleyball team beat The Villages to steal the Florida State Senior Championship. The competition was held Dec. 3-4 in Clearwater. In pool play, four teams played a round robin six-set matchup, with Sun City Silver Players advancing to the finals to face their arch rival, The Village Elders, in the over-65 bracket. The champion Silver Players team includes, from left, Ken Finke, Rick Harpster, Chuck Beimers, “Kid” Bermudez, Bob Lewis, Leonel Robles and Bob Hissam. A best of three games match determined the winner, with Sun City taking sets one and three to capture the title. Team spokesman Leonel Robles said teamwork was the determining factor in the win, as all seven members contributed to the effort in big ways, both offensively and defensively. Jose “Kid” Bermudez served the final three points of the match despite a muscle pull that might have sidelined a less determined competitor. Kid’s final serve in game three for match point was delivered in dramatic fashion as the serve hit the tape and dropped dead on the opposing team’s court for the win. This marks the first time Sun City has prevailed in the Florida state competition, and qualifies them to represent both Florida and South Carolina at Senior Nationals in Birmingham next May.

Best in Show

The People’s Choice awards for 2016 were chosen by members of the Sun City Photography Club at its Dec. 13 meeting at Hidden Cypress.

Selections were made from the 12 first place winning images at monthly meetings.

Best of Show for the year was Peter Lauer, pictured here with his winning photograph.

Other winners were Suzanne Kozarewicz, novice; Tom Phyne, intermediate; Peter Lauer, advanced; and Tom Hanley, expert.

P H OTO B Y C O R K Y B U RT

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