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When Archbishop of Vancouver Island Charles John Seghers journeyed down the Yukon River in November 1886, he had no way of knowing he would never return to civilization. The Catholic priest, who originally came from Belgium, had spent many years doing missionary work in Canada and Alaska. Seghers first came to Alaska in 1873, as it was included in his diocese. He made five visits to the Great Land and set up a temporary headquarters in Nulato. In 1878, he was appointed Coadjutor Archbishop of...
The 14th Annual Kenai Peninsula Senior Olympic Games will take place Feb. 21to 25 and will feature 12 events ranging from pinochle to ping pong and basketball toss to 8-ball pool, to name a few. The only requirement for participation is that you be 55 years of age or older and sign up with the nearest Kenai Peninsula senior center, says chairwoman, Bonnie Cain. "You do not have to already be part of a senior center to participate," Cain added. "You just need to register with your area's senior...
After being put on the Oct. 4 ballot, the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s plan to phase out the additional $150,000 property tax exemption offered to Kenai Peninsula Borough seniors was voted down by the public. “Three-to-one turned it down, with 6,888 not in favor and 2,754 saying yes,” said Larry Persily, assistant to Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre. “The results were pretty resounding.” The Kenai Peninsula Borough is one of the few municipalities in Alaska to offer an additional $150,000 property tax exemption along with the state’s m...
With more budget cuts from the state forcing the loss of numerous staff positions, the state’s Pioneer Homes assisted living facilities have begun to further limit the number of residents the homes are able to receive. Vickie Wilson, director of the Alaska Pioneer Homes, believes that reducing the number of new residents will allow the remaining staff to give the quality and level of care the homes are known for. “We won’t risk safety or quality by admitting too many people, and I’ve told many people that,” said Wilson. “Our level of care is...
Older Persons Action Group, Inc., earned honors for its monthly, statewide publication “Senior Voice” in the 25th annual National Mature Media Awards Program. The program, presented by the Mature Market Resource Center, a national clearinghouse for the senior market, recognizes the nation’s finest marketing, communications, educational materials and programs designed and produced for older adults. Senior Voice received a Merit award in the Local/State media division, Newsletter/Newspaper category. And Senior Voice writer Mackenzie Stewa...
After meeting on July 26 to decide whether or not to put Ordinance 2014-24 on the Oct. 4 ballot, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted to move forward with the ordinance’s senior property tax exemption phase out plan. According to a borough brochure explaining the ordinance (a link to the brochure is published below), current eligible seniors are offered up to $350,000 in property tax exemptions. The Kenai Peninsula Borough is one of the few municipalities in Alaska to offer an additional $150,000 property tax exemption to seniors along w...
No one is immune from having their identity stolen, not even Better Business Bureau. Reports have been coming in to BBB offices and on Scam Tracker regarding individuals claiming to be working with BBB. An Alaska man told us he got a call from a man named “James Stewart” stating he was holding a prize package for him. The Alaska man reports the caller told him he was working with BBB to send him the package and requested he wire money in order to get the prize. In Washington, a woman reports she received a call from someone telling her she won...
Last March, the Senior Benefit program’s top tier beneficiaries – those who qualify for the program at the highest income levels allowed – saw their monthly payments drop from the program’s initial $125 to $47. As of Senior Voice press time for the April edition, March 29, legislators had voted to completely cut out the top tier funds for the program due to the state’s limited budget for the rest of FY16. However, funds were restored to the Senior Benefits program May 31, as well as other state funded programs that have been deeply impacted...
There were a lot of moving parts to House Bill 13, says Michelle Kaelke, Finance and Licensing Supervisor at the Department of Fish and Game (DF&G). Last month, Senior Voice reported that the bill dealing with the DF&G’s senior licenses set out to raise the age requirement from 60 to 62 years of age and would require that licensees renew their license every three years. After going to print, aides from District 6 Rep. David Talerico’s office called to set the record straight. “The final draft of HB 137 decided not to raise the age from 60 to...
After meeting on June 21 to discuss Ordinance 2014-24, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly has proposed that the borough do away with the optional $150,000 senior property tax exemption as the senior population in the Kenai Peninsula increases. The state of Alaska requires that all municipalities offer senior citizens and disabled veterans a $150,000 tax exemption. The Kenai Peninsula Borough offers senior citizens an additional $150,000 tax exemption on top of that, meaning they do not pay taxes on the first $300,000 of their home’s assessed...
Update: Last minute changes in the legislation changed these particulars. As the bill reads now, the new rules are: - 65 year age limit - no three-year renewal is required. Please stay tuned, as there is confusion among sponsors and the above details may change again. Senior Voice will publish a follow-up article in July. The state’s fiscal troubles have touched multiple aspects of state-funded programs, and the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game is no exception. For the past two years, District 6 Rep. David Talerico and Alaska Outdoor Council E...
Citing low public interest and little need, Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Mike Navarre vetoed a resolution to create a senior task force on Feb. 23. The resolution, brought forward by senior advocate Peter Zuyus and Kenai Peninsula Borough assembly member Kelly Cooper, was intended to form the task force to serve as a resource for seniors in the Kenai Peninsula. “We wanted a pathway for seniors to ask questions and offer commentary on the borough level,” said Zuyus. “Other boroughs have similar setups, and there are no representatives from...
After years of planning and feasibility reports, Skagway’s senior center is getting closer to a reality. Since being appointed by Mayor Stan Selmer in March 2013, the Senior Ad Hoc Committee has been overseeing the project, guided by the committee mission statement, “Build a Skagway senior citizen center to include a commercial kitchen with dining/visiting area and expand to include senior housing.” Shortly after the founding of the Senior Ad Hoc Committee, the Assembly passed a resolution in March 2013 dedicating the corner of 11th and Broad...
With the state anxiously seeking ways to cut costs, one idea being discussed is privatizing its Pioneer Home assisted living facilities. The state recently took another step in exploring this possibility, and issued a request for letters of interest for potential privatization of the six Pioneer Homes. “We’re in a horrible financial situation,” said Vickie Wilson, director of the Alaska Pioneer Homes, Division of Health and Social Services. “The legislature is asking us to consider what’s out there for privatization. All 24-hour facilities owne...
Ketchikan Pioneer Home’s administrative director, Julie Sande, has been around the home long enough to see various rate increases. Sande was a social worker when the first big rate increase was implemented, when residents went from paying $700 a month to $1,500 a month. “It was a tremendous jump and was very painful,” Sande says. “There was a lot of pride involved with the residents being on a fixed income and expecting set projected prices.” The state’s six Pioneer Homes serve over 400 Alaska seniors, according to the Division of Alaska Pion...
A hugely popular singer and actress throughout the 50s and 60s, Doris Day first became interested in animal issues on the set of a 1956 Alfred Hitchcock film. "One of my first profound experiences working with animals in my films was in Morocco on the set of 'The Man Who Knew Too Much,'" recalled Ms. Day from her long-time Carmel, Calif., home. "I was never one to make waves when working on my films, but was appalled at the condition of the local animals used in this film and refused to...
Tired of forgetting to start your car before you head to work on a chilly morning? Looking for a stress-free way to make your daily commute more manageable? Look no further than ridesharing. The Fairbanks North Star Borough has partnered with Zimride by Enterprise to offer residents a social ridesharing network. The new network allows people to easily find carpools from others in the area that share similar commute origins and destinations. In addition to simply sharing cars with two or three commuters, Enterprise Rideshare will be conducting f...
The goal of the Sterling Christmas Angel Tree program, says program chairman Shirley Lowe, is that no child in Sterling be without a present to open on Christmas morning. The Sterling Senior Center has headed the program for the last few years after local churches that usually front the program were no longer able to be as directly involved. "I kind of just took it over when they said they needed someone to run it," says Lowe. "And it's been a privilege and a delight to be involved with the...
To the dismay of many, the City and Borough of Juneau (CBJ) Assembly voted at its Sept. 20 meeting to severely curtail the city’s senior citizens sales tax exemption. The vote was 7 to 2. The sales tax exemption will no longer apply to purchases other than essentials – food, electricity, heating fuel and CBJ water and sewer utilities. For everything else, all citizens regardless of age or income are required to pay the 5 percent sales tax upon purchase. Citizens below the poverty line must pay the tax throughout the year and prove they are low...
This year’s National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day is set for September 26 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. nationwide. The DEA-sponsored program has collected hundreds of pounds of leftover medications from Alaskans alone since the program’s premier in 2010. “By 2014, we were collecting between 800 and 1,000 pounds a year,” says Jim Penor, Solid Waste Coordinator for Juneau Borough. However in 2014, the DEA declared that funding for the popular program would be cut. “We didn’t like that,” Penor says. “The program was doing so well that we decided to s...
September, what a terrible month with the loss of the David Letterman and Jon Stewart shows. Well, now I can get to bed an hour earlier. We could be paying much less Why do Americans pay a lot more for prescription drugs than people in other advanced countries or even those with certain private insurance plans? In case you don’t know, Medicare is not allowed to negotiate with drug companies to get lower prices, according to the Part D prescription drug program. This is one of the reasons I w...
Village to Village, the ever popular program for seniors throughout the Lower 48, will soon be making its way to Alaska. The planning committee along with North Star Council on Aging are planning to open a similar program in the Fairbanks area by 2016. “We’re still in the planning process,” says Barbara Lando, head of the planning committee. “We want it to be modeled after the Village to Village programs in the Lower 48, but we’re thinking about renaming it due to the popularity of the use of the word ‘village’ for the actual villages.” As...
With a guest list of 310 that included Governor Bill Walker and current and upcoming Anchorage mayors, Dan Sullivan and Ethan Berkowitz, the June 10 "Evening at the Atwood Estate" signature fundraiser dinner and auction was "a wonderful response to a great cause," says Becky Parker, Anchorage Senior Activity Center general manager. "The owners of the Atwood estate have been absolutely generous and thoughtful. Tons of volunteers and community members went into making this happen. We wanted...
Stories at the Cemetery will be an Official Anchorage Centennial Event this year, and to celebrate the year 2015, the theme will be “Fifteen for 2015… And A Leg!” says Audrey Kelly, along with her husband Bruce. “One of the character’s legs was the only part of him buried!” The self guided Anchorage Memorial Cemetery walking tour on July 12 will feature costumed actors portraying 15 of the notable founders, movers and shakers and early notorious residents of Anchorage. Audrey will play Tilly Reeves, wife of Rob Reeves, founder of Reeve Aleut...
Anchorage seniors, your input is needed to help the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. complete its “Live. Work. Play” report on quality of life and making Anchorage the number one city to live, work and play in by 2025. The survey is short and to the point, with two questions: 1. Why did you move to Anchorage, and 2. Why would you leave? “It’s important to include seniors in this survey because they’re a such a big part of Anchorage, and their opinions are vital to the community,” says Denise Knapp, Executive Director at Mabel T. Caverly...
