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Form Christmas letters. Whether they arrive by snail mail or email, people seem to either love or hate these annual family newsletters. Let me just state up front that I am a fan. Because my mother embraced this particular tradition, her children and grandchildren now have a wonderful treasure of family history. Dad arrived in Anchorage in January 1940 from Montana and Mom came to Seward in 1951 from New York. They married in 1954. As far as we know, Mom wrote her first Christmas letter while...
Delving into our family history has become a big pastime for many Americans. TV is full of ads about finding long lost relatives, discovering connections you didn’t know about, and even testing your DNA. So of course, this trend caught the attention of thieves who tap into any interest they can weasel into. A few years ago, scammers were busted, using well-known genealogy sites as a way to glean details they could use to steal identities – of the living and the dead. Now, they’re working on a newer (but not new) set of schemes. Who’s your gr...
Editor’s note: This press release was received Nov. 9, 2017. Since the tax brackets and the standard deduction wouldn’t grow as fast as in the past, more people will get pushed into higher tax brackets more quickly when their income rises, under proposed legislation on Congress. The legislation would use a more slowly growing measure of inflation, the Chained Consumer Price Index, to make adjustments. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act being pushed in Congress would eliminate many important tax deductions that older Americans rely on to reduce their tax...
My name is Mike Coons and I am the President of the Alaska Chapter to the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC). I write to inform those Alaskan Mature Citizens that AMAC is alive and well in Alaska and we have had our first meeting in November. We will be meeting the second Saturday of each month. We are in the process of finding a regular venue, thus I will be announcing those meeting in the near future. AMAC is a conservative organization so that mature Americans, in our case specifically Alaska citizens, can have a conservative...
By JACQUELINE GARCIA Diverse Elders Coalition Every morning, Eduardo arrives at a day laborer center in Los Angeles to pick up his crew for the day. Depending on the working schedule, the 52-year-old man takes between two and four men to work in different projects, mainly in construction. "Sometimes other [day labor workers] laugh at me because I often take the older men," said Eduardo. "But I take them because they have less opportunity to be hired," he said. For many years Eduardo also worked...
After the death of a family member, the holiday season can be particularly tough. Here are some pointers to keep in mind. Family get-togethers will be different ·Be honest with each other about your feelings. Share your concerns, feelings, apprehensions, etc. with a relative or friend as the holiday approaches. Tell them that this is a difficult time for you. Accept their help. You will appreciate their love and support at this time. · Sit down with your family and decide what you want to do for the holiday season. Set realistic expectations fo...
Wheelchair marathoners fly to the finish at 20 mph before this runner is half done with the race. I don’t call them athletes – I call them daredevils, who jet down hills at head-cracking speeds, sometimes dump, vault back into their chairs, and surge on with arms of steel and guts few others possess. What about typical people, confined to a chair? A friend, with severely limited use of limbs, operates a joystick, smiling radiantly while spinning to music. She breathes enthusiastically as the music guides her moves. Another friend, with cer...
I consider myself an expert in the areas of retirement and personal finance, but I admit that I’ve put review of my Medicare coverage on autopilot. I am the author of the Washington Post bestseller, “AARP Roadmap for the Rest of Your Life,” and have written many other books and articles on the subject. Yet health insurance can be challenging to understand for me too. There is a new survey that was recently released called The “Cost of Complacency,” that was conducted by Kelton Global on behalf of WellCare Health Plans, Inc. The survey fo...
Diabetes is one of the most common and costly chronic diseases in the U.S. Over 30 million adults (12 percent) have diabetes, and total medical costs and lost work and wages for people with diabetes totaled $245 billion in 2012. Another 84 million adults (34 percent) have prediabetes, putting them at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Prediabetes is a serious health condition in which blood sugar levels are higher than normal, but not high enough to be considered type 2 diabetes. Diabetes progresses over time and can lead to serious health...
The Remembrance Tree is an annual memorial ritual provided by Hospice of Anchorage that has been a part of the Anchorage community since the 1980s. It initially began as one tree at 5th Avenue Mall for many years until the last few years a second location was added at the Dimond Center. The Remembrance Trees allow individuals an opportunity around the holidays to honor the memory of a loved one or memorialize a friend, while supporting the work of Hospice of Anchorage. It begins on Black Friday...
The holiday season is upon us and that means people are searching for the perfect gift for friends and family. From socks to wine and pajamas to animals, people will receive both wanted and unwanted gifts. What about you? Have you heard murmurs from the kids that you could use a cat to keep you company? Are you thinking your grandchildren really need a dog in their lives? Let's look at the good and bad of giving and receiving pets as gifts. Research from the ASPCA (American Society for the...
I bet you feel like you used to be smarter and quicker at making decisions. I hear you, and at 52, I feel like my brain is still fairly sharp but not like it was at 30. Let me ask you some personal questions: • Do you forget things easily? • Do you get derailed from a task easily or distracted by sounds and noises? • What about your IQ? When my now 24-year-old son was just 9, a doctor thought he had ADHD, and I came this close to putting him on a stimulant. Even though I declined the medicine, I used natural fish oils high in DHA. He turned o...
Exercise as a Christmas present Taking up a new exercise program or joining a health club may be one of the best Christmas presents for older adults in 2017. That’s because the United States is now in the midst of an “inactivity epidemic.” This inactivity reportedly is the fourth leading cause of death nationwide and is responsible for 3.2 million deaths each year. No matter one’s age, when combined with a commitment to healthy eating, regular physical activity can provide a wealth of health ben...
CarFit is an educational program created by the American Society on Aging and developed in collaboration with AAA (American Automobile Association), AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association. The program is designed to help older drivers find out how well they currently fit their personal vehicle, to highlight actions they can take to improve their fit, and to promote conversations about driver safety and community mobility. A proper fit in one’s personal vehicle can greatly increase not only the driver’s safety but also the saf...
The Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program will hold the following peer support meetings in December. This month’s meeting topic: “The Rock Movement.” Painting rocks has become a movement, including locally in Kenai and Soldotna. Attendees will paint and hide rocks in the community as an act of random kindness. Dec. 5, Caregiver support meeting at Sterling Senior Center, 1 p.m. Dec. 12, Caregiver support meeting at Soldotna Senior Center, 1 p.m. Dec. 19, Caregiver support meeting at Kenai Senior Center, 1 p.m. Dec. 20, Caregiver suppo...
Even as people attempt to sing it, few know the words of the world’s best-known and most-sung song (outside of “Happy Birthday”). Or much else about the mystery song. Dick Clark, long the host of the new year’s eve TV broadcast from Times Square in New York, didn’t know. “All I remember is ‘drink a cup of kindness,’ and ‘old acquaintances,’” he said. The song is sung by average people all over the world, in English and at least 40 other languages, from Times Square to Tokyo, at funerals, graduations, farewells, Boy Scout jamborees and other f...
A new program in Interior Alaska is helping both senior volunteers and the seniors they serve. The goal is to help people stay in their own homes as long as possible. The Senior Companion Program already has 18 volunteers on the roster, helping senior citizens in Fairbanks and Delta Junction, but director Cheryl LaFollette said there is always the need for more. "There are 15,000 seniors in our area," said LaFollette, in Fairbanks. "Seven hundred of those are 85 years old and over. "It's...
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Senior Center directors meet bi-annually to discuss common issues in senior services, sharing challenges and successes. Together, we create efficient and unduplicated senior services, assisting seniors in maintaining independent and quality lives. October's meeting brought three new leaders to the table, after long time directors Jan Fena (Soldotna), Rachael Craig (Kenai) and Ron Sloan (Cooper Landing) retired, taking with them an accumulation of 70 years in senior se...
Congratulations to Anchorage's Gordon Severson, selected for this year's Governor's Veterans Advocacy Award. From an Alaska Dept. of Military and Veterans Affairs Nov. 16 press statement for the award: "Gordon began his military service in 1946 at the age of 15 – fibbing on his age at enlistment. He began in the Army as an infantryman towards the end of WWII. After this service, he was working road construction in Alaska when the Korean War began. He re-enlisted in 1950 and was awarded the P...
Haines Seniors toured the new exhibit at Haines Sheldon Museum, "Everything From Afar Drifts Ashore," following a sack lunch at noon on Nov. 2. The exhibit's well-arranged photos and captions that tell the story of Tlingit and non-Native interactions in Haines from 1850 to 1900 is open to the public for two years....
The Alaska Commission on Aging (ACoA) will hold its quarterly meeting Dec. 12 via videoconference and teleconference from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The videoconference sites for the quarterly meeting are: Anchorage: Senior and Disabilities Services, 550 West 8th Ave., Room 143 (907-269-3666) Fairbanks: Senior and Disabilities Services, 751 Old Richardson Hwy., Suite 100A (907-451-5045) Juneau: Senior and Disabilities Services, 240 Main Street, 6th Floor Conference Room (907-465-3372) Kodiak: Kodiak Public Library, 612 Egan Way (907-486-8688) Group...
More than four decades ago Congress enacted the Alaska Native Land Claims Settlement Act, which conveyed about 40 million acres to Alaska Native-owned corporations and settled aboriginal land claims. President Richard M. Nixon signed it into law in December 1971. Why was the Native land claims such a big issue after statehood? The Alaska Statehood Act said the new state could choose more than 103 million acres of its land – an amount larger in total area than California – to build its eco...
The tragedies that befell singer Connie Francis throughout her life would challenge the most resilient of souls. Nevertheless, she navigated each dark, engulfing personal tunnel with unwavering tenacity, always eventually emerging aided by her sense of humor. "It never failed me and kept me going," she said from her home in Parkland, Florida. "From the age of 10, I worked on TV with many comedians like Don Rickles and developed a sense of humor." While her professional breakthrough came in the...
FICA. Grrrrrr! Every time we get a paycheck most of us see the deduction for Social Security taken out of our earnings. It seems relentless and unfair, and to what end? It may be reasonable to think that because the one highly visible aspect of Social Security is the periodic deduction from the paycheck. But there is another story. Social Security pays benefits to nearly 92,000 Alaskans. That’s about 1 of every 8 residents in the state. These are not just a random selection of Alaskans. These are often Alaskans who would be in desperate f...
Staff from Alaska’s Social Security office will be available for questions via videoconferencing at the following locations and times: Kodiak Job Center, on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month (Dec. 12 and 26), 9 a.m. to noon. Kenai Senior Center, on the first and third Wednesday of each month (Dec. 6 and 20), 9 a.m. to noon. Ketchikan Job Center, every Thursday (Dec. 7, 14, 21, 28), noon to 3 p.m. Social Security provides toll-free telephone service to all of Alaska. Residents in Alaska’s Southeast communities can call the Juneau Soc...
