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As a retired Alaskan, I depend on quality health care from knowledgeable professionals. The health care workers I see regularly are people I know and have come to trust with my care. Alaska has a stringent set of standards when it comes to nurse licensing and robust continuing education requirements. It makes sense; we have a diverse population, both ethnically and geographically, and our aging population is growing as more and more people decide to make Alaska their retirement destination. Alaska depends on these highly trained professionals t...
Like flowers in spring, senior centers across the state of Alaska are beginning to open up again. Most have been closed since March 2020, a time we collectively remember as the end of "normal" life. "Today, a woman came to the center that I had not seen in a year," Marlene Munsell, Assistant Executive Director of Wasilla Area Seniors, Inc. (WASI), said in April. "As more people are vaccinated and feeling comfortable, we expect to see more people return to the center." Senior centers statewide...
Aging at Home Fairbanks, along with almost all other organizations, has learned a lot in the last year. Becoming familiar with Zoom and creating social and educational events in this flat format instead of in person has been challenging, but we've discovered the benefits also. Aging at Home Fairbanks is a membership organization associated with the North Star Council on Aging Senior Center in Fairbanks and the nationwide Village to Village Network. The goal of the organization is to assist...
AARP Alaska, Older Persons Action Group and the Anchorage Senior Activity Center continues its series of “Age Smart – Let’s Talk” forums on May 11, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Events are currently held virtually on the internet, using Zoom. Have you ever wondered about Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs)? What do they do? How do you access one if a need arises? Join us May 11 to learn more about these valuable organizations. Alaska’s ADRCs connect seniors, people with disabilities, and caregivers with long-term services and supports...
As a retired Alaskan, I depend on quality health care from knowledgeable professionals. The health care workers I see regularly are people I know and have come to trust with my care. Alaska has a stringent set of standards when it comes to nurse licensing and robust continuing education requirements. It makes sense; we have a diverse population, both ethnically and geographically, and our aging population is growing as more and more people decide to make Alaska their retirement destination. Alaska depends on these highly trained professionals t...
The Mat-Su Health Foundation is working to develop a vibrant, mixed-use Community Health Campus on land it owns surrounding Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and is seeking input from the public about the project. Mat-Su residents are encouraged to complete the Mat-Su Community Health Campus Project Survey now through April 4, 2021, at www.matsucommunityhealthcampus.org. Surveys will be accepted after that date as well. Mat-Su Health Foundation contracted with HDR, Inc. to create a master plan that will help provide a long-range vision for how...
Remember when ice cream only cost a quarter? These days, 25 cents won’t buy much, but for less than one dollar, voters can still support some of the most popular facilities at the heart of our community. This spring, we have an opportunity to give back to our community and invest in three municipal facilities that are vital to our daily lives. When you get your ballot in the mail this month, look for Proposition 2, the Facilities Capital Improvements for Anchorage and Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Centers and Loussac Library Bond. It’s a sma...
The Alaska Alliance for Retired Americans (AKARA) was organized by a group of retired Alaskan workers in the fall of 2017. The group is affiliated with the Alliance for Retired Americans, a nationwide grassroots organization, launched in 2001. ARA now has more than 4.4 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics and institutions that shape American life. For 20 years, ARA has mobilized retired union members, seniors and community activists into a movement advocating a political and social agenda...
Friends of Seniors, Catholic Community Service (CCS) Juneau's latest volunteer program, addresses gaps in community care. The program matches senior participants age 60 and older with local volunteers to assist with non-medical, advocacy and daily support care. Friends of Seniors supports seniors with a variety of needs, and the only requirement is the age limit: anyone needing support can participate. Before the COVID-19 pandemic settled in last March, Jennifer Carson, Director of Home and...
Interested in learning more about businesses and agencies providing senior services in the Anchorage and Mat-Su area? Want to get the word out about your own service? The monthly Service Providers Breakfast (formerly known as the Interagency Breakfast), sponsored by Older Persons Action Group, Inc., is an opportunity for all the above. Informal, early and free, the monthly event is being continued virtually online via Zoom. The March meeting is March 10, hosted by Assistive Technology of Alaska (ATLA). Begins at 8 a.m. RSVP by calling Older...
Before Alaska International Senior Games Athlete Carol Johnson even had a bicycle, her ten-year old adventurous self was drawn to biking, learning from her grade school friends on their bikes. Fast forward 60-plus years to an April spring day in 2020. Carol was on one of her regular outings riding around Fairbanks when she noticed her bike skipping gears, so she stopped by the local bike shop. While checking it in for service, she remembered a conversation she had in 2019 with another cyclist...
If I could go back in time, what advice would I offer my 21-year-old self? There are obvious things: Save more. Don’t buy that impractical convertible. Wear better shoes (your future feet will thank you). Other coulda-shoulda-wouldas: Write down the dates on the back of your photo prints as soon as you get them developed. Learn a second language. Sing more. And there are deeper lessons, learned the hard way: Don’t let friends slip out of touch. Be easier on yourself. Observe and celebrate the milestones, even when it’s a hassle. Especially when...
In March 2020, Alaska International Senior Games athlete Goldie Southwood made a decision that had a huge impact on her life. Goldie's big heart has led her to be an awesome volunteer in her North Pole community. However, she spent so much of her day helping others that she ignored herself and her health was declining. With COVID shutting her community down, Goldie was fighting depression. Using her time to think about herself for a change, she decided that her health was important to her. So sh...
The Alaska Commission on Aging will meet February 16 and 17 in Juneau. The focus of this meeting will be discussion of legislative priorities for Alaska seniors, sharing information from statewide senior service programs, and providing information about COVID-19 response. Meeting hours are Feb. 16, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Feb. 17, from 9 a.m. to noon. Public comment is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Call-in information and Zoom link will be posted on the ACoA website at http://dhss.alaska.gov/acoa/Pages/default.aspx Please...
AARP Alaska has appointed Madeline Holdorf, a lifetime community activist, to the top volunteer position in Alaska. As the new State President for Alaska, Holdorf will chair the AARP Alaska Executive Council, a volunteer leadership committee that helps set AARP's state agenda and programs for its 77,000 members and volunteers. "I am honored to accept this appointment and to advocate on behalf of Alaskans 50 and older," said Holdorf. "As a long-time AARP member and volunteer, I am committed to...
Municipality of Anchorage residents have another option for utility relief during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Anchorage Aging & Disability Resource Center’s (ADRC) Utility Assistance Program. Separate from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services’ Low Income Heating and Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), also called the Heating Assistance Program (HAP), the Anchorage ADRC’s Utility Assistance Program works with Chugach Electric customers to cover one electric bill up to $500. While the Anchorage ADRC assists with the appli...
"What is serendipity?" my 8-year old third grader asked me recently. I was so pleased to have just the story to offer him to illustrate sudden, unexpected good fortune, thanks to a phone call from Ms. Angie Jensen, a counselor at Lake Hood Elementary School in Anchorage. Ms. Jensen contacted Anchorage Senior Activity center to inquire about the possibility of connecting a third grade class with elders so that the students could read letters they would write, reaching out to older Alaskans. I...
Alaska offers an exemption to seniors from paying property tax on the first $150,000 of their home’s value. Different areas may offer an exemption on a higher value, and different boroughs set different deadline dates to apply. Kodiak Borough’s application deadline is Jan. 15. Forms are mailed by Nov. 15 to qualified property owners who applied the prior year. Existing applicants who have not received one via mail by Dec. 1, should contact the Assessing Department at 486-9353 or email Seema Garoutte at garoutte@kodiakak.usga...
"Mute yourself! Is everybody muted?" What strange request is this from a chorus director, beginning a singing session? She's looking directly at us, checking us out. "OK, everybody's muted. Now let's sing." It's the world of Zoom, in the seasons of 2020. And I am thousands of miles away from the other chorus members as we begin singing "The Star-Spangled Banner." They are in Anchorage, and I am in a small farm town, outside of Portland, Oregon. We are all staring at our individual computer...
"My favorite place in Alaska is my Grandpa Clayton's cabin down at Kenai Lake," wrote Taral Clayton, my nine-year-old-niece back in 2004. "My Grandpa has a lot of neat things inside the cabin such as a whale bone, moose antlers, caribou antlers, and tree funguses. I like to go to Kenai Lake because there are so many different exciting things to do." I had just started reading the rough draft of her paper titled "Kenai Lake," which was a third grade school assignment. Since Taral knew I was a...
The Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) has opened the nomination period for the 2021 Alaska Ocean Leadership Awards. The center established the awards to recognize those who have made significant contributions to ocean sciences, education and resource management in Alaska. Awards will be presented at a virtual event in March, 2021. Nominations for the 2021 Alaska Ocean Leadership Awards are open now through January 15, 2021. The award categories are as follows: Walter J. & Ermalee Hickel Lifetime Achievement Award: Awarded to an individual or...
Sealaska Heritage Institute (SHI) will sponsor the November 2020 Lecture Series in honor of Native American Heritage Month and Walter Soboleff Day. The series this year will be offered virtually and will focus on citizens and shareholders in Alaska Native corporations and tribes. All lectures will be live streamed on SHI’s YouTube channel at noon and are free to everyone. Here is the schedule: Nov. 3, “ANCSA Selection of Corporate Model and its Business/Non-Business Investments,” with Greg Razo Nov. 5, “A Review of Tribal Governm...
The Alaska Association for Historic Preservation (AAHP) will hold their annual membership meeting virtually via Zoom on November 5 at 6 p.m. to celebrate the announcements of the Historic Preservation Award Recipients and the Ten Most Endangered Historic Properties Grant recipients. The meeting is open to members, prospective members and the general public. Due to the nature of the meeting being held via Zoom, an RSVP is required so that those attending can be sent the login information and...
Every day, new steps are being taken to improve recycling programs throughout Alaska. Anchorage Solid Waste Services announced in August that it would start allowing recycled greasy pizza boxes as part of Anchorage cardboard recycling. That's because grease and small amounts of cheese in pizza boxes has no effect on the recyclability of the boxes. This rule change is just the beginning and currently different avenues are being explored to improve and expand Alaska's recycling programs. "We are...
