June 2018
Volume 6 • Issue 5
Kennewick to turn senior center into community center BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz
Longtime Meals on Wheels director retires
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Pet urgent care opens in Southridge
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K-Life donor program offers tax savings Page 9
save the date
Mariachi & More Festival Sunday, June 24 11 a.m. - 7 p.m. Columbia Park, Kennewick
The Kennewick Senior Center will transition into a community center because of dwindling use and a demand for more allage facilities. “Our daily participation counts of seniors at the senior center have steadily declined, as have the number of volunteer hours contributed at the center. We’ve got to make a change with the marketplace,” said Emily Estes-Cross, the city’s parks, recreation and economic development director. The city will continue to use the 8,429-square-foot building at 500 S. Auburn St., located near City Hall in the nine-acre Keewaydin Park, to serve up Meals on Wheels lunches and offer senior programming. The plan to convert the senior center into a community center is a work in progress. The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission will meet with the Kennewick City Council during a June 26 workshop to discuss how to keep existing seniors engaged; programs to reach a broader audience; a timeline for building remodel priorities; and a naming strategy. The workshop is at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 210 W. Sixth Ave. The city budgeted $200,000 for improvements to the center, built in 1976, that include wifi, as well as a more accessible entrance. Estes-Cross said the city plans to complete an architect rendering of the improvements this year. The definition and perception of who a “senior” is has evolved over the years, as has the growing number of options for recreation, socialization and aging-related services, all of which has affected participation at senior centers across the country. uKENNEWICK, Page 13
Reg Unterseher of Kennewick and his wife transformed a grassy corner of their yard into a certified Heritage Garden featuring a boulder focal point, flagstone path and colorful native plants. The garden is one of five to be featured during this year’s Academy of Children’s Theatre Garden Arts Tour fundraiser on Saturday, June 16.
Get inspired, support the arts during 20th annual garden tour BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz
A Kennewick couple traded a Fuji cherry tree and mature evergreen bushes growing in a grassy corner of their front yard for native grasses and plants like sagebrush, bitterbrush and blanket flower. It was part of their plan hatched about nine years ago to reduce water use, get rid of green grass and transform their yard into a more “putterable,” less labor-intensive garden, said Reg Unterseher of Kennewick.
“It’s about the enjoyment of the garden without the stress of the garden,” he said. Unterseher said he and his wife Dr. Sheila Dunlop are no longer spring chickens — they’re both 62 year old — and they didn’t want to spend all their free time weeding and mowing anymore. Their certified Heritage Garden is one of five gardens to visit during this year’s Academy of Children’s Theatre Garden Arts Tour fundraiser on Saturday, June 16. uTOUR, Page 2
New Memory Café offers social outing for those with Alzheimer’s, dementia BY KRISTINA LORD editor@tcjournal.biz
A new program in Richland can help families avoid isolation when a loved one faces Alzheimer’s or dementia. Called the Memory Café, the monthly gathering at the Richland Public Library aims to provide a safe place for people experiencing memory loss and their caregivers. It’s the first café in the Tri-Cities, with the closest other in Yakima, which launched earlier this year, said Joan Acres, the Alzheimer’s Association’s community outreach coordinator for southeast Washington.
Acres said the cafés give those affected by the disease a chance to get out, circulate and meet people facing similar challenges. “It’s a casual gathering and fellowship. We have a program for early stage memory loss called ‘Staying Connected’ for caregivers and people with memory loss. We encourage them in that class to keep doing things. Don’t stay home or isolate yourself. Do what you love to do,” Acres said. “This will provide that.” The cafés, which are free to attend, will be held at 10 a.m. on the last Tuesday of the month at the Richland Public Library, 955 Northgate Drive, Richland. uMEMORY, Page 14
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