South Coast Prime Times – May/June 2016

WHAT’S COOKIN’?

FIGHTING FOR

SENIORS

CULINARY DELIGHTS

STRIKE DOWN STROKES

CHESS CHECKS IN

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Councils on aging

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10 Not your grandma’s cooking

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18 New hope for strokes

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24 Healing Stones

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32 White hair, white knuckles

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22 Chess makes a move

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FROM THE PUBLISHER May/June 2016 ■ Vol. 12 ■ No. 3 PUBLISHED BY

Coastal Communications Corp.

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

THE MORE THINGS STAY the same, the more they change. Isn’t that how the saying goes?

It sure seems like it. It’s important to take the time, especially now that the weather is warming up, to examine some things that we may have once taken for granted.

Ljiljana Vasiljevic EDITOR

Sebastian Clarkin ONLINE EDITOR

Paul Letendre

If you’re looking for some fun activities or even a way to volunteer, look no further than your local council on aging. As Jay Pateakos finds on page 6, you’re likely to be well taken care of, despite some significant hurdles that these organizations face.

CONTRIBUTORS

Greg Jones, Paul Kandarian, Jay Pateakos,, Elizabeth Morse Read and Michael J. Vieira South Coast Prime Times is published bi-monthly.

Copyright ©2016 Coastal Communications Corp.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, by any means, without written permission from the Publisher. All information contained herein is believed to be reliable. Coastal Communications Corp. does not assume any financial responsibility for typographical errors in advertisements, but will reprint that portion of an advertisement in which the typographical error occurs.

NEXT ISSUE May 18, 2016

Our cover story this issue has Greg Jones exploring the evolution of dietary departments in care facilities around the region. These chefs are bringing new meaning to the phrase, “delicious and nutritious!”

See what’s on the menu on page 10.

Pop quiz: the person sitting next to you is suffering from a stroke.

But how do you know? Do you understand what to look for? What the early symptoms are? If you hesitated in answering any of these questions, then you can’t afford to skip Elizabeth Morse Read’s article on page 18. It could mean the difference between life and death.

The game of chess is over twelve centuries old, but one local craftsman is finding a brand new way to introduce it to the community. His work is meditative, inspiring, and when you get right down to it, fun. Check out Mike Vieira’s profile on page 22.

There’s more to be found within the issue and across the region.

Grab a breath of fresh air and watch the world turn.

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M AILING ADDRESS South Coast Prime Times P.O. Box 3493 Fall River, MA 02722

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THE M ATTAPOISETT COA IS ALL SMILES

Fighting for seniors: Councils on Aging JAY PATEAKOS

No town department does more with less than your local Council on Aging. They face unprecedented challenges, as the baby boomer generation grows, and they confront problems unseen by preceding generations.

Most feature dozens of different programs from yoga to Pilates, from Meals on Wheels to transportation for doctor’s appointments. But they can only do so much, and with a growing number of baby boomers looking to tap into the services, many of them face an uncertain future. Despite that uncertainty, they are focused on what they can mostly control, the here and now.

REACHING OUT Westport’s Council on Aging Director Beverly Bisch, already a positive force just a year into her tenure, struggles, like many COAs, in getting the word out that they are here to help seniors and offer dozens of activities for them.

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“It’s our visibility,” said Bisch. People still feel her agency is a place where old people just “go” and nothing more. “We have so many activities here – at least twenty different ones – and support programs [for maladies] like early Dementia to help people.”

Westport has roughly 6,000 people over the age of 60 (estimated to be 8,000 by 2025) and Bisch’s agency sees about 1,500 per year, leaving many not taken care of.

Sure, there are plenty who feel they don’t need the services, but likely as many others that need it and don’t know about it or don’t know what’s offered at all. Bisch said with the baby boomers not having as many children as the generation before them, there will be less people to care for the boomers when they get old.

M AY /J UNE 2016

“As the population gets older, caregivers are decreasing. There used to be an average of six to seven caregivers,” said Bisch.

“These people didn’t have many children so there’s not as many caregivers. In 2025, there’ll be just two to three. That’s a concern.”

Transportation, especially in a rural place like Westport, is another concern.

A big one. Last year, the Westport COA transportation expenses totaled $86,000, bringing in $26,000 in donations, forcing them to tap into a revolving fund that will soon be depleted. Bisch said they ask for a $5 donation for a round trip and $3 for a one-way trip, with most of the trip taking the Westporter to Fall River or New Bedford doctor’s appointments. If you’ve ever been to Westport, that could be a 20-mile, one-way journey. With four handicap vans and two van drivers that work from 7:30-4:30 each day, Bisch said they do it because there is really no alternative for the seniors.

Other available transportation for seniors costs $30 for a half hour and $45 for

an hour. Bisch noted that it’s something the seniors simply cannot afford. Grant money the COA used to lean on has dried up, so they keep plugging away, helping as many seniors as possible.

“You have an elderly woman on her own, needs to go to the eye doctor to have her eyes dilated so she can’t drive and has no friends or family, what do we do?” said Bisch. Answer: they help her.

“The transportation business isn’t a very lucrative one; it’s a really tough business to be in. But if someone needs a ride and can’t pay, we take them.”

Sleep well while you’re away from home.

SPREAD THE WORD Mattapoisett COA Director Jacqueline Coucci, like Bisch, said they are always trying to figure out better ways to reach seniors. Coucci said most people need to hear the COA message over and over again and some day, when they need it or are ready, will tap into it, hopefully long before it’s too late.

“These people may need the resources some day or help down the road but it’s hard for us because these are people we don’t see, that may be in their house and struggling on their own,” said Coucci.

“They don’t think to call us and these are all people that could benefit from a friendly visitors program or Meals on Wheels. It’s important for us to let them know that they are not alone.”

Coucci said seniors are in far better shape than they were a generation or two ago, with many of them still working part-time jobs or taking care of their grandchildren, and in many cases, younger seniors are now taking care of their older senior parents.

“The senior center and COA are here as resources for those who already have support systems,” said Coucci. “The hurdles the COA faces include people realizing that getting older is not a stigma – having people be honest about their needs, frailty, or potential challenges, and to realize the COA is available for support and may be a first step to getting needed resources to help you live better.”

Coucci said they work with a huge age range, variety of health issues, and other concerns in order to help every senior they can.

“There is no one-size-fits all,” she said.

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Senior Centers, but especially here in Coucci said she is lucky to have the full Fairhaven,” said Silva, who serves roughly support of the town, the town adminis1,400 of the town’s 4,700 seniors, though trator, and finance committee to ensure they do come from other towns as well. their needs are met. She said some of the “We have a building and we’re blowing best help that they receive is from volunthe doors off it.” teers in the comLally, Direcmunity. Coucci ‘There’s a waiting list for torSharon of the Rochester said transportajust about everything and COA, said that with tion is a growing the baby boomer concern as it’s only going to get worse’ generation getting people age, and older and eventually Mattapoisett in need of services, the “world is in for a is blessed with a number of volunteers rude awakening” when it comes to senior who drive for FISH (Friends In Service care.

Helping).

Lally said she counts about 100-200 new “A private effort, in collaboration with seniors in her town each year, wondering the COA, these volunteers drive senior how she will handle them all when they residents to medical appointments in the need the services. Their conference room, areas between Dartmouth and Wareham. where most of their activities take place, In 2015 alone, volunteers provided a total only holds 100 people per the fire code. of 525 rides to medical appointments,” “There’s a waiting list for just about evsaid Coucci. “This volunteer service is erything,” said Lally, “and it’s only going beneficial in a number of ways. It benefits to get worse.” the town by reducing COA transportation Rochester administers to 1,100 of the costs. It benefits the seniors in that, for town’s 5,000 seniors. some who live alone, the ride may be the Staffing is another concern. Lally is the only time in a week that they get out and only full-timer in Rochester, with 8 partpossibly can engage in social interaction time non-skilled staff that works between with someone. And it benefits the driver 10-30 hours per week. because they have made a difference in “The towns in general are not adequatesomeone’s life.” ly growing in time to meet the needs of But again, these are the people they their growing (senior) population,” said actually reach. What about those they Lally. “We’re better off than most, but haven’t yet? that’s not adequate at all. We are reactive MORE TO DO instead of being proactive.”

There’s also another side to this coin. A Lally said other struggles including number of COA’s, like those in Fairhaven trying to keep up with different groups and Rochester, are bursting at the seams, of seniors, especially, with the newer, with not much room left for any new more fit baby boomer seniors coming programs and services for a huge influx of in. Where older seniors were used to the people. What will happen then? Will they big noon-time meals, the incoming baby even be able to expand? boomer seniors don’t eat as much, opting Ann Silvia, Director of the Fairhaven out of the big lunch COA, said they Many of the COAs are ‘in and looking for a are lucky to have light salad at 1 or 2 the adjacent the same boat’ in their p.m., which poses Fairhaven Recreproblems with schedation Center, but struggle to keep up the uling. She categorizes they still need transportation for seniors the seniors as one more space. She grouping of the older looks at places and frailer, then a second group of those like Marion, that don’t have a building, who have occasional struggles, and then and wonder how they make it through. the final group that may not need any Many with current buildings need bigger services yet but will. ones and that’s not something in the Silvia said many of the COAs are “in the cards for many towns right now, still same boat” in their struggle to keep up struggling to keep budgets level. the transportation for seniors, and that “Space is going to be an issue for all

M AY /J UNE 2016

Fairhaven is no different. She said they used to have a number of volunteers that took the seniors to their appointments in Boston, but the stress of the drive and the traffic issues both ways, as well as the high gas prices a few years back, nixed that. They secured one anonymous grant to provide transportation for women over 70, with very specific criteria making them eligible for a town car ride to Boston appointments.

“It’s been a Godsend to those who qualify, but not a lot of ladies do qualify,” said Silvia. “It’s tough for these seniors, and it becomes so stressful that they can’t get to where they need to go.”

She feels for the seniors who need those periodic trips to Boston, where private pay transportation could be as high as $70-$80, a tough financial pill to swallow for those on an $800 a month check, Silvia said.

Locally, she said SRTA offers shuttles on Tuesdays to New Bedford and Thursdays to Fall River for things like doctor’s visits, but those appointments must fall within a 10-1 p.m. timeframe, and many do not.

She said Fairhaven is lucky that they have a good contingent of volunteers that help the seniors get to local appointments when needed.

“It’s not anything I see improving. I don’t see any way to get them to Boston.

Locally, we have enough volunteers and we’re lucky for that,” said Silvia. “I hope SRTA increases the amount of days and adds more trips. Our COAs are just too small to make it work.”

These Senior Centers continue to push on, serving the seniors in every way they can, helpless at times to fix transportation issues that many seniors vitally need.

Our area is lucky to have such a group of tireless directors and volunteers who work far more hours than they should in order to provide for the aging population.

The next ten to twenty years will mark a turning point in how these towns and cities adjust to the aging population, if they do at all. Like many of the directors say, it’s something that’s only going to get worse. By 2029, twenty percent of the population will be over 65. What then?

J AY PATEAKOS has been a freelance writer for more than 10 years including daily and weekly newspapers and monthly magazines.

A native of New Bedford, he currently lives in Marion and has three children.

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PRIME LIVING

Not your grandma’s cooking Chefs are the new superstars.

They're celebrities who have television shows, websites and fan clubs. This increased GREG interest in food and how it’s JONES prepared has resulted in better food, more innovative recipes, and a higher level of what might be called “professional food.”

While people have come to expect better menus at restaurants, there is another category of food that has, in the past, been subject to lower expectations. That’s institutional food, food prepared for hospitals, nursing homes, and extended care facilities.

No more. The meals prepared at care facilities along the South Coast are winning prizes and awards, with menus distinguished by their imagination and innovation. They are, while adhering to the dietary needs unique to their establishments, good places to eat.

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NORBERT SOARES

Dedication

A

t Clifton Nursing and Rehabilitation Facility at 500 Wilbur Avenue in Somerset, Food Service Director Norbert Soares is familiar with the problems surrounding running a good kitchen. He’s been in the food industry his entire working life; he was a member of the second class to graduate from the then-new Johnson & Wales University. He thinks nursing home and hospital food has been given a bad rap and he’s dedicated himself to fixing it.

Proof of that will be found at the 35th Annual Great Chowder Cook-off, to be held in Newport on June 18. It’s a big deal – restaurants from all over the world come to compete. Soares and his team from Clifton had a 4th place finish at their last contest, and he’s going for gold this time.

“It’s the world-championship of chowder, the oldest and largest in the country,” he said.

Back at the reality level of preparing 200 meals, three times day, Soares said, “the most challenging part is putting out good-quality food,” even with all the restrictions and individual attention

each meal requires. “I try to make the meals as pleasurable as possible,” he said.

“I interact with the residents a lot. Every Friday we have a special program that I started,” he said. Soares loads up a dessert cart and “I go to each table and give them a choice of what they want.

They call me Mr. Friday,” he said with a smile.

Clifton has a dietitian on staff, and an assistant dietitian who interviews all new patients and finds out what they like and what they don’t like. This information is passed along to the dietitian who calculates menus, and then Soares and his staff work their magic to turn “hospital food’ into an enjoyable diet. For the short-term rehab patients, Soares has a special treat. The day before they are due to be discharged, he pays them a visit and offers them a full restaurant meal. “We have shrimp scampi, beef tenderloin, lobster, nearly anything,” he said.

“I’ve worked in a lot of nursing facilities,” said Soares, “and this is by far the best I’ve ever seen. We go above and beyond on the food that other nursing homes just can’t do.”

‘I interact with the residents a lot − they call me Mr. Friday’

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Feeding family

A

t Brookdale Dartmouth Village, at 274 Slocum Road, Dining Services Director Tony DeMatos has his own set of challenges, meeting the dietary needs of the 83 residents while maintaining an “always available” menu.

“The residents can choose anything from the menu at any time,” said DeMatos. “They can ask for a chef ’s salad, turkey, ham, cheese sandwiches, grilled cheese, tuna or chicken salad, fresh fruit, cottage cheese, hamburgers, hot dogs…” he paused, took a breath, “it’s a long list.”

Of course there’s also the daily menu, which always has two entrees. One of them is the diabetic entrée, while the other is somewhat heartier, while still being careful of salt and sugar.

‘The challenge here is we have to meet everyone’s needs. What ingredients are going to work together to maximize flavor with less salt and sugar.’

DeMatos began his fascination with cooking at the age of 10, when, with his family “fresh off the boat” from Portugal, his sister was in a car accident that put her in the hospital for several months. His mother spent time at the hospital and “Dad picked up two jobs,” explained DeMatos. That put DeMatos in charge of feeding the family.

Now his “family” consists of 83 residents, “close to capacity,” said DeMatos, who did a two-year program at Johnson & Wales University after high school and then worked at local restaurants. He then went back to college, got a degree and a teaching certificate, and began a career teaching cooking and nutrition at Roosevelt Middle School in New Bedford.

After 10 years of teaching, he took a position as a chef at a rehab hospital, but then a corporate move required him work in Boston. The commute and resultant loss of family time influenced him to stay in New Bedford, and, two yeas ago he began his career at Brookdale Dartmouth Village.

The difference between cooking at a restaurant and at Brookdale are greater than one might think after a look at the menu.

“The challenge here is we have to meet everyone’s needs” said DeMatos. “What ingredients are going to work together to maximize flavor with less salt and sugar.”

The food has to look good as well. In the food industry, that’s known as “presentation,” and DeMatos understands that the food first has to look appetizing.

“It has to be restaurant-like service and the quality of the food has to be restaurant-style,” said DeMatos.

Nutrition is the final ingredient, and DeMatos has professional

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TONY DE M ATOS

help with this. “We consult with a dietitian more than in a restaurant,” said DeMatos. “We have nutritional trackers; we follow some of the residents. The dietitians are here on a quarterly basis and they scrutinize the spreadsheets and the diet modifiers.”

“Modifiers” are the dietary restrictions that many of the residents have to follow. For example, if a resident has to keep their daily salt intake to less than two grams a day, that will be shown on the spreadsheet, along with how the requirement was met.

Some of the menu planning comes as a result of meetings with the residents. “I know each of them by name,” said DeMatos.

“We have a weekly menu chat with the residents where we sit down and chat about the menu.”

It’s a popular item on the Brookdale social calendar, with 30 to 35 residents attending an average meeting. Sometimes there’s more to the meeting than suggesting different cheese in the omelets.

“They bring recipes, and I try to build them into the menu, modifying them to follow the nutritional guidelines, with their recipe,” said DeMatos.

DeMatos has five people on his kitchen staff, and is actively looking for another cook. It’s a good place to be a cook because, “everything is cooked fresh, all vegetables are cut here, no canned soups – everything is made here,” he said.

Speaking of the residents he cooks for every day, he said, “This is a great, great place to live.”

Top tastes

Let our Executive Chefs cater to you!

WAYNE G ALLAGHER

T

here’s more to this specialized branch of the culinary arts than just keeping the salt content down.

Wayne Gallagher knows this all too well. He’s the Director of Dietary Department at The Oaks in New Bedford, located at 4245 Acushnet Avenue.

“The challenge here,” said Gallagher, “is to make it taste good, supply all the needed nutrition, even if it’s mechanically altered.”

Wait a minute… “mechanically altered?” It turns out that roughly 25 per cent of the people residing at The Oaks are required to have modified diets ranging from ground to pureed texture. Depending on the resident’s need for liquid consistency, it can be “nectar thick,” “honey thick,” or “pudding thick.”

‘We cook for 122 people, three times a day, and we have an excellent menu program’ Gallagher is not deterred. After 32 years of cooking for health care facilities, he’s up for the challenge. “Our residents deserve quality food. We cook for 122 people, three times a day, and we have an excellent menu program,” said Gallagher.

Gallagher stressed that preparing restaurant-grade food that also stays within the dietary guidelines of his residents requires more than just his decades of experience and expertise. He has three cooks, and is actively seeking a fourth. There is a dietary aide who collects information from new residents regarding what their needs are, a menu coordinator, and “a great relationship with our nursing staff.”

Our professional chefs use the freshest local ingredients to conjure more than 20 delicious entree choices at lunch and dinner and breakfasts made-to-order.

• Boasting anytime dining in our restaurant-style setting • Lighter fare choices from our second floor bistro • Custom menus to accommodate special dietary requirements

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Call Eva Fey at 508-636-0590 to make your luncheon reservation today.

Independent & Assisted Living | Reflections Memory Care

628 Old Westport Road • Dartmouth, MA 02747 www.residencecedar.com

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Fine foods

I

f you’ve taken a walk along the Cape Cod Canal in the past year, you might have noticed the new building of the Keystone Place at Buzzards Bay. Located at 218 Main Street in the town of Buzzards Bay, Keystone Place is an assisted living complex that offers its residents views of the Cape Cod Canal, as well as the culinary expertise of Director of Dining Services Scott Williamson.

Williamson began his career in what he calls “the food business” shortly after he graduated from Vermont’s Norwich University with a degree in biology. A member of the class of 1976, “I was supposed to be a doctor,” he said with a chuckle, but instead, “I went into doing what I love best: cooking and preparing food.”

He worked for the Valle Steak House chain for five years, graduating from their highly-regarded chef training program, after which he went to Brandeis University for a position as food service manager.

The time at Brandeis honed his skills, feeding several thousand students at every meal, plus the special occasions. “I vividly remember a clambake for 1,200 people,” he said.

He was hired by Keystone in March of 2015, walking into a food service area that “still had cement dust on the floors,” he said. He began serving meals just a month later, and now has a kitchen crew of six people with eight servers on the dining room staff.

“We eat restaurant-style,” said Williamson. There are two entrées in a standard lunch or dinner menu, plus there is the option of the “always available” food service with sandwiches, fish, burgers, fruits and cheeses, and the like.

There are currently 74 residents. “We’re still growing, and we haven’t even hit our first anniversary,” said Williamson.

Williamson and his staff serve up three full meals a day. Breakfast, he says, “is just like going to any good restaurant,” he said, “with Belgian waffles as a special once or twice a week.”

He has wide latitude in his menu planning. “I have free rein to set up menu options with the approval of the executive director of Keystone,” said Williamson. He talks with the residents, discusses what they like, and sometimes will incorporate menu ideas or recipes from the resident into the regular fare. “That’s how we can end up with something like ‘Mrs. Smith’s Blueberry Pie,’” he said.

He has a rotating menu “on a popularity basis,” but it’s not a rigid menu. “My whole philosophy is to mix and match different colors and textures. This is their home, and I really enjoy making nice home-style food, cooked to order, presented and served properly.”

Nearly everything is made from scratch in the kitchen. “We don’t have a baker,” he said, “but we do make brownies, cookies, and that sort of thing.”

Although Williamson works at Keystone, he is not, strictly speaking, a Keystone employee. Rather, he works for a company named New Horizon Foods, Inc. They are a national company that provides contract food management services for senior facilities, schools, and residential services. This arrangement gives Williamson a significant resource to draw on, with dietitians to screen the menus and offer advice and information as needed, at any time.

“The bottom line,” said Williamson, “is the enjoyment of food and making the residents happy.”

To that end, “we get the freshest ingredients, whether seafood, vegetables, meats, or salads,” said Williamson.

He is the chair of the resident dining committee, which meets monthly. He is in near-constant communication with the sous-chef, the dining room manager and the rest of his staff.

“It’s totally a team effort,” Williamson said.

He has a daily goal. “I like to say that we have a ‘wow factor’ with every meal. It may be fresh berries on the pancakes, it may be a special touch in the presentation of dinner,” he said, “it could be anything, but it will be there.”

Residents can invite guests and family to dinner, for a nominal fee. “We are the best deal in town,” said Williamson. “It’s good to come into a place where there is gratitude, enjoyment of food, and a well-functioning community.”

‘The bottom line is the enjoyment of food and making the residents happy’

SCOT T WILLIAMSON

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Deep diets

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t Atria Senior Living, at 391 Alden Road in Fairhaven, Culinary Services Director Roger Stevens is familiar with the differences between an assisted living center and a restaurant.

While in high school, he and his father ran a restaurant in downtown New Bedford. Stevens began working there parttime while he was getting his diploma in Culinary Arts from Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational Technical School.

Following graduation he worked with his father full-time, followed by a stint at Candleworks Restaurant.

Apparently seized by a sense of adventure, he was next a chef on board a Norwegian Cruise Lines vessel based in Hawaii. Of that experience, he said, “It’s always good to wake up on an island in Hawaii.”

‘I make up the menus and make sure everything is done right, careful with the diets’ He eventually moved back to the South Coast and switched from restaurants to food service, cooking in several public schools. He then joined the staff of Atria, where he now has three cooks working for him.

“I make up the menus and make sure that everything is done right, careful with the diets,” said Stevens.

It’s a hands-on job. “I cook as well,” said Stevens. “I’ve done it my whole life, and every time we’re doing a new menu, I’ll make sure it’s going to work.”

Atria is an assisted-living facility, and most of the residents come to the dining room at the usual times and eat together.

But Stevens stressed, “We have an open dining room, open from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The majority come down at regular times, but we want to make sure they get properly fed, no matter what they do.”

That means if a resident goes for a walk with the grandkids and misses lunch, they can go to the dining hall when they get back.

For lunch and dinner, Stevens offers a choice of two entrees, as well as a wide range of choices in sandwiches, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled salmon, and fruit and cottage cheese plates.

On Sundays, Stevens treats the residents to beef tenderloin.

He monitors the salt and sugar content, but has great latitude in what he actually selects for the menu.

Stevens has a wide range of resources available to him when

ROGER STEVENS

he makes up his menus. Atria is a national chain, and they employ a national dietitian, plus every Atria facility has a local dietitian.

“We can build our own menus,” said Stevens, “we have great freedom with that. The dietitian comes in once a month and goes over the menu to make sure we are supplying a healthy diet.”

Every day, Stevens and his three cooks prepare three meals for the 60 residents who make up the facility, and maintain a kitchen that can prepare a meal at any time for any of the residents. They’re now at full capacity, a testimony to the quality of life at Atria, and the food provided.

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Refined palates

Get a Taste

A

of the Good Life Meet our Executive Chef Tony Dematos and sample his awardwinning clam chowder and stuffed quahogs.

During your visit, take a tour and discover Saturday, April 30 what Brookdale has to 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. offer you or a loved one.

RSVP by April 26.

We are as dedicated to (508) 999-0404 providing great services and amenities for our residents as Chef Tony is to creating great dishes.

Bringing New Life to Senior LivingTM

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brookdale.com 24688-P1-0316-ROP MH

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BROOKDALE SENIOR LIVING and BRINGING NEW LIFE TO SENIOR LIVING are the registered trademarks of Brookdale Senior Living, Inc.

Freeman Borden

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t the Adams House in Fall River, which is affiliated with The Freeman Borden Transitional Care Unit, the food preparation is under the care of Food Service Manager Michelle Federowicz. She has been at Adams House for the past three years, after working as a chef at other nursing homes in the South Coast area.

The two facilities are different in their function, but share an address, 1168 MICHELLE FEDEROWICZ Highland Avenue.

Federowicz explained that, “Freeman Borden is for transitional care: they go through a rehab program and they go home.”

Adams House is residential – it is “home” for the residents.

But whether Federowicz is cooking for someone who is a permanent, full-time resident or someone who is only there temporarily, she has to deliver food that is nutritious, cooked to order, and, most importantly, tastes good, even to people facing sometimes difficult challenges.

Three times a day, Federowicz and her staff of more than a dozen prepare 30 meals for their residents. There are two shifts: the breakfast crew arrives in the wee hours around 5 a.m. and gets to work on breakfast. They work until mid-afternoon, with the second shift coming in at 11:30 a.m. They stay until 7 p.m.

“We do most serving by trays,” said Federowicz, “taking the meals to the resident’s room.”

The nutritional content of the meals is overseen by a staff dietitian. “She decides what everyone eats,” said Federowicz.

But even with that, “nearly everyone has a special diet,” said Federowicz. “Some are on a low-salt diet, some with low sugar... they’re all different.”

Regardless of the dietary requirements, Federowicz tries to provide a variety of meals, with several entrées to choose from.

“We can do requests if it’s feasible,” said Federowicz, who also noted that Adams House provides its residents with what she calls “a room service menu. If they don’t like anything we have, they can order salads, burgers, all kinds of things.”

Snacks? You bet. ”We have snack time three times a day,” said Federowicz. The residents can indulge in snacks at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and “7 or 8 in the evening,” said Federowicz.

“The difference between here and a restaurant is that we cater to the residents – we cook just for them, special meals designed to their dietary needs,” said Federowicz.

Dining in

O

ver at Bay View, which is affiliated with The Adams House, Dietary Supervisor Evelyn Sirois has been making sure the 30-some residents at this independent living community are well fed since she began in 1994.

Located at 4380 North Main Street in Fall River, Bay View has residents whose parents (in some cases, their grandparents) were residents. Part of the reason for this just has to be the quality of the meal services. Sirois has been cooking professionally since she was 14, and while she is the dining room supervisor and menu planner, she makes it very clear that much of the credit for the success of the meal services at Bay View are due her head chef, Stephen Hasenfus. “He’s been here since 1993,” she said.

Breakfast at Bay View is continentalstyle, with fruit, yogurt, cereal, oatmeal, and baked goods. Lunch will be a choice of “two or three light meals,” said Sirois, “or they might just take a salad, and then have a full evening meal. It’s their choice.”

When new residents arrive at Bay View, they decide on their meal plan. The choice runs from no meals and doing all their own cooking (every apartment has a full kitchen) to a full meal plan, with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

“Of course they can change at any time,” said Sirois, adding, with a slight chuckle, “when they see things like the crab legs

we’re having tonight, sometimes they decide on the spot.”

The food is one of the most notable attributes of Bay View. “The residents always have a choice,” said Sirois. “We have seafood twice a week, and if they can’t eat seafood, we have a steak option.”

Most of the residents who are on a meal plan eat in the dining hall, but “we deliver to the rooms as well. There are very few residents who are on a special menu,” said Sirois. She’s careful with salt and sugar, but the food is much more like a restaurant than an institution.

If you have any doubt on that, come visit during the cocktail hour. “We have that before dinner,” said Sirois. “Sometimes we have wine and cheese and crackers; sometimes we even have live music.” She might have been referring to the 10-piece band they had for St. Patrick’s Day, but she might also have been thinking of the violinist who shows up periodically.

With all these benefits, plus great food, the residents might have the urge to share with their family, and that’s part of the experience at Bay View. “We do parties, we have a function room, and residents can bring guests any time. “We just ask that they let us know ahead of time,” said Sirois.

The residents are part of the meal planning experience. “We have meetings where we discuss food plans. They attend and make suggestions. Sometimes they bring favorite family recipes,” said Sirois.

With or without the meetings, the residents have a voice in meal plans. “We’re small enough that I see the residents all the time,” said Sirois. “Sometimes we’ll meet on the elevator and they’ll tell me they want more green beans.”

Or maybe a favorite flavor of ice cream for the dessert of the day. “We have the dessert of the day, every day, and also things like Jell-O, cookies, ice cream sundaes, or cakes,” she said.

It’s no wonder that Bay View, and its sister facilities, The Adams House and The Freeman Borden Transitional Care Unit, have served multiple generations of South Coast residents. The facilities are run for the residents, at every stage of their lives. And the food is good.

G REG J ONES is a local writer who lives in STEPHEN H ASENFUS

Dartmouth.

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PRIME SEASON

New hope for

strokes ELIZ ABETH MORSE READ

May is national stroke awareness month. A stroke is what happens when a blood vessel in your brain either ruptures (hemorrhagic stroke) or is blocked by a clot (ischemic strokes and TIAs). If the oxygen-rich blood can’t reach the surrounding brain tissue, then there’s a serious risk of permanent brain damage, lifelong disability, or death.

But there are amazing new medical interventions available for certain stroke victims, which can effect stunning recoveries if performed within the first critical hours. Time is of the essence when someone suffers a stroke, no matter how minor or temporary – call 911 immediately.

STROKE STATS Strokes are the fourth-leading cause of death in the country, but they are the number one cause of long-term disability. Almost 800,000 Americans suffer a stroke every year – that’s one every forty seconds. In 2012, six people died of strokes every day in Massachusetts.

Strokes are not just random medical events that happen in faraway retirement communities.

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Your risk of having a stroke is partially determined by your age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, and family medical history, but your lifestyle choices have a tremendous influence on your stroke risk, too.

THE MOST SIGNIFICANT RISK FACTOR FOR STROKES IS UNCONTROLLED HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE Strokes don’t happen just to “old” people – nearly a quarter of all strokes happen

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to people under 65 years old, especially women. Your chances of having a stroke doubles for each decade of your life after 55. But the most significant risk factor for strokes, no matter what your age, race, or gender, is uncontrolled high blood pressure (HBP, aka hypertension.)

Women suffer more strokes than men do, and more women die of strokes than men do. Women face unique stroke risks – birth control methods and oral contraceptives that can cause clotting, pregnancy-related conditions like preeclampsia and gestational diabetes, even post-menopausal hormonal therapy.

African-Americans are at a much higher stroke risk than Caucasians, in part because of the higher incidences of obesity, HBP, diabetes, and blood disorders like sickle-cell anemia.

THE ABCS OF

STROKE PREVENTION You can’t manage stroke risks by yourself – you need to get regular checkups and tests, take your medicines, and change the lifestyle habits that increase your risks. Your doctor or nurse practitioner can also help you manage your behavior, like smoking and overeating, not just the risk factors.

Aspirin/Anticoagulant therapy: Depending upon your medical profile, your doctor might recommend medications to reduce your blood’s ability to form clots, or to control…

Blood pressure, Cholesterol levels, and diabetes. Your doctor will also recommend lifestyle changes, like a…

Diet low in sodium, sugars and fats, but high in healthy real foods, as well as…

Exercise and weight control.

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The Event is Free and Open to the Public Statistically, the lower the income level, the higher the risk of a stroke. Geographically, states in the Deep South are sometimes referred to as the “Stroke Belt” states, linked to unhealthy diet, lifestyle, heredity, and socioeconomic conditions.

H YPERTENSION AND TIA S Hemorrhagic strokes, about 10% of all strokes, occur when a weakened blood vessel in the brain ruptures, often signaled by a sudden excruciating headache.

The underlying cause of hemorrhagic strokes, aka “brain bleeds,” is uncontrolled hypertension. But more than half of all strokes are triggered in some part by unmanaged high blood pressure.

Almost 90% of strokes are ischemic strokes caused by a sudden blockage (clot) in a brain blood vessel. A TIA (transient ischemic attack) is a temporary blockage caused by a small clot that dissolves or breaks up quickly without medical intervention.

Transient ischemic attacks are often called “mini-strokes” because the outward symptoms pass quickly without

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE permanent damage, but they’re actually “warning strokes” that should never be ignored. Most people who have an acute ischemic stroke never experience a warning TIA, but a person who’s experienced a TIA is ten times more likely to have a fullblown ischemic stroke in the future.

A few minutes of visual disturbance, sudden muscle weakness on one side, speech difficulty or disorientation could be symptoms of a TIA – and an alarm bell that a major stroke might be on the way.

But because TIA symptoms clear up within minutes, many people just shrug them off as symptoms of too much stress, lack of sleep or having a “senior moment.”

Short-lived TIA symptoms should never be glossed over or self-diagnosed – they need to be treated as aggressively as major ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke symptoms. Having TIA symptoms clearly indicates that there’s some pre-existing medical problem that needs immediate treatment and long-term management – life-threatening conditions like atrial fibrillation, hypertension, or arteriosclerosis. If left untreated, they can all ultimately contribute to a stroke.

Lifestyle choices like poor diet, smoking, alcohol/drug abuse, and lack of physical activity play a huge role in your stroke risk. Smoking is linked to one in five strokes – it thickens the blood, making it easier for plaque to build up in arteries.

Unhealthy habits that lead to systemic disorders (like obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes) contributes to clot buildup, too.

Generally speaking, a diet and lifestyle that’s good for your heart and cardiovascular system is good for your brain.

Health officials believe that better medical management of high blood pressure is a key reason for the recent decline in strokes.

ACT F.A.S.T.!

Time is of the essence – the faster a stroke event is treated, the better the chances of survival and recovery. If you experience or observe F.A.S.T. symptoms, get immediate medical attention.

FACIAL DROOPING

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF A STROKE? Think of your brain as a small planet (or cauliflower) covered and riddled with tiny pipelines of blood – some carrying fresh nutrients (arteries) and some carrying off waste products (veins).

The specific effects of any stroke or TIA will depend upon where exactly the blood-flow blockage happens, because the different sections of the brain control different functions of your body and mind. For instance, the right hemisphere of your brain controls your left-side motor functions (and vice versa), but each hemisphere also has specialized functions governing language, imagination, memory, vision, thinking, and emotions.

If the immediate cause of an acute stroke isn’t treated within a few hours, there could be permanent debilitating paralysis, personality changes, and greatly diminished quality of life.

CAN STROKES BE PREVENTED? The good news is that 80% of strokes are probably preventable through careful management of risk factors like high blood pressure, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, and obesity.

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A RM WEAKNESS (especially on one side) SPEECH DIFFICULTIES TIME TO CALL 911

A DVANCES IN STROKE TREATMENT If a clot in the brain could be successfully neutralized within the first crucial hours after an ischemic stroke, the risk of death or disability would be greatly reduced. Until recently, the ability to surgically remove a brain clot was in the realm of science fiction movies and religious miracles. Yet the medical-engineering technology to do exactly that is here and now – and available on the South Coast.

Surgically-inserted clot-grabbing devices, when used along with standard clot-dissolving drugs, greatly improve certain ischemic stroke victims’ chances of surviving and thriving after a stroke.

Clinical trials around the world using

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these new clot-grabbing devices produced such stunning results that the testing was stopped early, and the procedure is now being used in specially-equipped hospitals around the world.

According to the head of acute stroke services at Massachusetts General Hospital, stroke is now a treatable disease in its earliest hours – immediate medical intervention promises dramatic reductions in disability and death.

DOUBLE-WHAMMY CLOT BUSTERS Every year, almost 700,000 people in the US suffer strokes caused by clots. The standard clot-dissolving drug given in hospital emergency rooms is tPA (tissue plasminogen activator), the only FDAapproved clot-busting drug, but it must be given intravenously within three hours after an ischemic stroke, and tPA alone doesn’t always succeed if the clots are particularly large.

New endovascular procedures, called mechanical thrombectomies, can successfully grab and pull away the clot. Some of these clot-grabbing devices are like tiny wire cages (retrievable stents). Others are more like microscopic grappling hooks.

Both are attached to a catheter that’s threaded through the groin artery up into the brain. Either way, these procedures must be done within six hours after the ischemic stroke occurs, and only after the patient has received tPA. With tPA treatment alone, almost three of four people who suffer an ischemic stroke either die or have long-term disabilities. But with these new endovascular interventions, those numbers are almost reversed – about 75% of patients are discharged from the hospital within a few days, often with minimal impairment.

In a Canadian study, more than half of stroke victims who’d received both tPA and clot removal surgery were functionally independent three months later, and 90% of them were still alive. In comparison, fewer than 30% of stroke patients who’d received only tPA were able to take care of themselves three months later, and only 80% were still alive.

In an Australian clinical trial, more than 70% of qualifying stroke victims receiving both tPA and clot-grabbing surgery were independent after three months vs. only 40% who received just tPA. The Australian neurologist who led the study said that the surgery results meant

the difference between being someone being paralyzed on one side and having speech problems for the rest of their life and someone going home and resuming normal life.

We need to make sure that stroke patients everywhere have rapid access to nearby hospitals and medical specialists who can perform these revolutionary clot-grabbing procedures. For the past three years, Rhode Island Hospital in Providence has been the go-to medical facility on the South Coast for stroke clot-removal, with almost half of their patients coming from other South Coast hospitals through a high-tech referral and medevac system.

BEAT THE CLOCK You can only hold your breath for so long when you’re underwater, right? Likewise, your brain can only be deprived of oxygen for a very short time before there’s irreversible damage. Strokes block off oxygen supply to the brain, and the faster that blockage can be fixed, the sooner the blood and oxygen supply can flow again.

At the first sign of a stroke or TIA, call 911 – get the stroke victim to the nearest emergency room of any hospital, so that tPA treatment can be started within three hours. If the patient is assessed by the ER staff as a good candidate for clot removal, they’ll be transferred to a stroke-specialty hospital, like Rhode Island Hospital, capable of removing brain clots within six hours after the stroke.

Starting this year, Rhode Island Hospital’s stroke unit will be partnering in a clinical trial with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to evaluate the effectiveness of this clot-grabbing procedure on stroke patients who have had stroke symptoms beyond the current six-hour treatment window.

Every minute counts – the sooner a stroke victim receives treatment, the lower the risk of death or disability.

To learn more about stroke prevention and treatment, go to www.heart.org, www.strokeassociation.org, or www.cdc.gov/stroke.

E LIZABETH M ORSE R EAD is an award-winning writer, editor and artist who grew up on the South Coast. After 20 years of working in New York City and traveling the world, she came back home with her children and lives in Fairhaven.

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GOOD TIMES

Chess makes a move MICHAEL J. VIEIRA

Most people know at least a little about the game of chess. It’s a strategy game and the pieces have names which bring back the times when Kings and Queens were protected by pawns, knights, and bishops.

James Medeiros, owner of Paleolithic Chess Tables, states that some would argue the game is “the most intellectual game on the planet with its infinite game moves.” But studies have also shown that playing the 1500-year-old game also can improve memory as well as increase problem solving, creativity, and concentration.

Because it’s a sensory game, it has also been associated with helping Alzheimer’s patients and those recovering from strokes by helping with hand/eye coordination. In addition, it can be used to help patients in residential treatment and other facilities, which is something he has experienced firsthand.

Medeiros, who worked for the last decade at Corrigan Mental Health Center and at St. Vincent’s Home prior to that, has seen positive results from playing the game. Ironically, it was a patient who taught him to play chess.

“I saw it as a way to work with patients,” he recalled, explaining that he achieved great results, especially in de-escalating conflicts, adding, “I noticed how many patients came in who wanted to play.”

Medeiros began reading about the history and learned about the pieces and board. “I just got into it,” he said. “I wanted a table.”

To provide a place for the patients to play, Medeiros built a concrete chess table and donated it to Corrigan. That piece put into play a move to expand his work into the community and to inspire a business idea.

CONCRETE AS ART He drew some inspiration from his grandfather Alfonse Araujo (“He could carve anything,” Medeiros said) and his

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great grandfather, George Dewey Curtis, who quarried lime rock in Maine.

Medeiros then enlisted his friend Jeff Levrault, who “just knows everything.”

The results of his passion are polished, concrete tables that weigh 900 pounds and include 300-pound seats. They can be freestanding or fastened to a foundation.

“The tables are made to withstand diverse weather patterns, as concrete with 4000 psi is used along with fibers, rebar, and sealants,” he noted, but that’s not the only thing that’s lasting.

“I can embed anything into it,” Medeiros said, explaining that the tables are inlaid with several types of stone and terrazzo glass. They can be left a natural gray or colored to match a design theme.

“It becomes fine art,” Medeiros stressed. And his local work supports that claim.

In addition to the one at Corrigan, another is located just off a public sidewalk near a doctor’s office. It not only serves as a piece of art, but includes the street number. Others are in private residences.

The light bounces off the highly polished service and the marble inlaid board is highlighted by sparkling bits of glass embedded in the concrete. Smooth

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benches provide comfortable seating for a challenging or informal game of chess.

This spring, Medeiros is planning to donate a chess table to the New Bedford Regional Airport playground honoring Lance Corporal Matthew R. Rodriguez.

The donation was inspired by the story of the veteran who loved to play chess.

Another will be located along Fall River’s waterfront, pending approval, and a third will find a home on the Elsbree Street campus of Bristol Community College, a place Medeiros partially credits for his success.

“If it wasn’t for Durfee and BCC, I’d have ended up in jail,” he admits. He also recalls summer youth work programs and several mentors. “They built me up.”

Medeiros’s early life was filled with turmoil. At 13 years old, he found his father hanging. After the suicide of the man whom Medeiros describe as “a monster,”

Medeiros was raised by his mother, who was 16 years old when he was born.

“She wasn’t really given a shot,” Medeiros said of the woman he remains close to today.

He also credits his grandmother and aunts, who like the queen in chess were powerful, but he also recalls male role models from high school and the influence of folks at BCC, where he worked in the library and earned the Silver Shield Award.

GIVING BACK After living in most of the projects in Fall River and surviving battles with alcohol and drugs, he has empathy for others, especially those who like him have PostTraumatic Stress Disorder. He speaks with sadness about seeing people he knows who remain chained to old habits and addictions.

excellent, permanent monument. “It’s a material that just keeps on hardening,” he explained, and a plaque can be mounted in the base.

Although he admits that the process of creating helps him keep his demons at bay – and could help provide his family with some financial assistance – his real goal is to be able to get enough funding to help others.

Donations and community support can not only cover the cost of installing tables, but can also provide funds for teachers, chess pieces, books, clocks, and other materials. Especially for disadvantaged students and others who find solace in the parks and community spaces in the South Coast, Medeiros sees chess as more than a pastime. He likes to quote M.C. Escher: “My work is a game, a very serious game.”

‘Anyone can play − once you get into the game, it’s very profound’ “I value everything,” he said. “It hasn’t been easy.”

At 37 years old, Medeiros is married, a new homeowner, and father of a four-year old daughter. She is part of his motivation.

“I want her to be near something positive,” Medeiros stressed, adding that the tables are very strong and designed to withstand the elements. “They’re a reflection of me.”

Each table takes about two to three weeks from start to finish, although he can work on several at the same time.

Currently, in addition to the Fall River locations, there are tables in Westport, Dartmouth, and Providence.

“It makes for high-end yard art,” he admits, but to Medeiros, his work goes beyond making money. His goal is to get corporate sponsors and community funding to place tables in the community where young and old can engage in the game.

“Anyone can play,” he said, “Once you get into the game, it’s very profound.”

Medeiros’s vision is that someday his tables will be in the housing developments where he struggled, on the streets where he wandered, and in senior facilities, public parks, and near schools and colleges.

For sponsors who want to honor somebody, Medeiros suggested it’s an

JOIN THE GAME Want to play or learn to play chess?

For adults and children, a newly formed Chess Club meets on Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon at the Fall River Public Library at 104 North Main Street.

Cory Silva, a member of the U.S. Chess Federation, began the Southeastern Massachusetts Chess Club in November of 2015. The group met every other Saturday.

His goal was to fill the gap left when another club disbanded a few years ago, and plans to host tournaments in the Fall River/New Bedford area if there’s enough interest.

Now listed as the Fall River Public Library’s Chess Club, the group meets weekly. All ages and skill levels are welcome.

Chess sets are provided, thanks to a donation. For more information or to make a donation, contact 508-324-2700, Ext. 111.

To purchase or to donate a Paleolithic Chess Table, email jmed12@icloud.com or call Medeiros at 774-888-7009.

MICHAEL VIEIR A, PH.D. retired from full-time administration at BCC. He has written for several newspapers and magazines including ‘The South Coast Insider’ and ‘South Coast Prime Times.’

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PRIME SEASON

HEALING STONES What would inspire a woman who holds an MD, PhD and is a Harvard-trained research scientist to give all that up for a totally different career?

GREG JONES

That was one of the first questions asked of Dr. Hannah Hershoff, who is the woman behind Sara Yo Spirit Jewels. It all began in 2013 with a phone call from a cousin of hers who had just returned from a trip to China, Dr. Hershoff ’s homeland.

FROM A STRANGE LAND The cousin told her of the jewelry she found made from a mineral mined near Dr. Hershoff ’s home village, located in the southeast region of China. Dr. Hershoff was familiar with the stones as her father was a manager of the mines where the mineral was extracted.

The crystals are mainly composed of kaolin, also known as “China clay.” Using a long treatment process involving water, fire, and wood in a kiln, you end up with a jewel that only becomes more beautiful as it is worn.

“I was familiar with the stones and knew they were beautiful, but I never thought I could make jewelry from them,” she said. She thought she might give it a try, just to have a few items she could give to members of her family.

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“So I got a few pieces from the local area, made some jewelry, and then forgot about it until one day, my sister-in-law came to visit” said Dr. Hershoff.

“She was drawn to one of the items sitting on the kitchen counter.” Hershoff let her keep it.

“Then two weeks later she called up, asked what was in the jewelry. I asked her why she asked,” said. Dr. Hershoff. The woman explained that she had been feeling “really low in spirit,” but that she now felt empowered – felt she could overcome her problems.

“One year later she started her own business,” said Dr. Hershoff. “She was really happy, so that made me feel like I could help. “

HEALING AND SUCCESS Sara Yo Stones began when Dr. Hershoff made a half-dozen bracelets and gave them to six women, whose ages ranged from 16 to 64. “After two or three months, to my surprise, six out of the six women told me how wonderfully the bracelets had changed their lives,” said Dr. Hershoff.

“The 16-year-old had huge problems in her life and never thought she was pretty,

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even though she was a model, so we gave her jewelry,” said Dr. Hershoff. “After a month we interviewed her and she was feeling much better.”

That experience was, in essence, the beginning of Sara Yo Spirit Jewels. Dr. Hershoff left her well-established 25-year medical career and started to provide her healing stones to customers via her online store, www.myspiritjewel.com, out of her home in Tiverton.

“It’s not really the jewelry, it’s the mineral the jewelry is made from and the local nature elements including fire, water and wood for processing the mineral,” explained Dr. Hershoff. “I tried to find out just how it worked…I was trained at Harvard University, so with my scientific background I had to do some research on the mineral, finding out what compounds made people feel better.

“I couldn’t find what chemicals were in it,” she said, “but there was certainly something happening.”

Now, Dr. Hershoff and her husband, Randy, are the owners of Sara Yo Healing Fashions. Dr. Hershoff exhibits a line of more than 400 designs, and each stone is unique.

Dr. Hershoff also provides her customers with a complimentary “Five Element Healing Program,” based on Taoist philosophy that has been practiced in China for thousands of years.

Learn more at: www.myspiritjewel.com.

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ccording to the Alzheimer’s Association, 142,000 families are living with Alzheimer’s in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Our office meets with families every week who are caring for a loved one with memory loss. Families come to us at all stages of their journey.

Most families come to us with the intention of caring for their loved one at home. It is a wonderful intention, but sometimes it’s just not realistic.

The families usually have no idea what should be done so that they can keep their loved one safely at home for as long as possible and how to do it without going broke.

It is a difficult and emotionally draining path that these families are on. Families need to know that they are not alone. Getting help early usually means the difference between having the tools and resources to care for someone at home or not. As a person’s memory loss continues it can become too late to take care of certain necessary legal matters – too late to give the caregiver relief so that the caregiver can continue to provide care.

If you are caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease or other form of memory loss please reach out to the elder care community as soon as you can. Call our office, Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. at 508-994-5200 for a consultation to make sure your affairs are in order, you have done all you can to care for a loved one, and to protect the assets you worked so hard to get.This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

M ICHELLE D. B ENESKI is an Attorney at Surprenant & Beneski, P.C. For specific questions email mdb@nbelderlaw.com or call 508-994-5200.

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It’s time to start your gardens and gear up for summer! Gather with family and friends to celebrate Earth Day, Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and Memorial Day. And Rhode Islanders – don’t forget to cast your presidential primary ballots on April 26!

BIZZ BUZZ

A group of Taunton residents, backed by the casino company hoping to open a gambling resort in Brockton, have filed suit challenging the federal government’s decision to grant reservation land for a tribal casino in Taunton to the Mashpee Wampanoag. Meanwhile, the tribe has already broken ground on its Project First Light Casino.

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Dartmouth has received a $1 million state grant to create a maritime center and public access waterfront in Padanaram Harbor.

The old Apex building at the Swansea Mall may be turned into senior rental housing.

In two years, a $10 million dollars boutique hotel with valet parking, restaurant, and banquet hall is scheduled

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to open in the heart of downtown New Bedford.

Marion’s VFW Cushing Post may be donating its building to the town for a new senior center.

Standard & Poor’s has given the Town of Dartmouth an AAA bond rating, the highest rating possible.

The landmark Lebanese Kitchen Restaurant in New Bedford, which was destroyed by fire in 2014, will be re-opening in the vacant Mattapoisett Chowder House building by late spring.

The Java House, known for its organic coffee, smoothies bar, and European breakfast and lunch menu, has opened at the former site of Café Arpeggio in Fall River’s downtown.

New Bedford received a $250,000 state grant to invest in infrastructure and private-business development along the waterfront.

A Market Basket supermarket will be an anchor store at the South Coast Plaza in Fall River, the new shopping complex that will replace the former New Harbor Mall.

A.D. Makepeace has proposed a new 58unit assisted-living center at Wareham’s Rosebrook Business Park.

The first standalone Starbucks on the South Coast will open this summer on Route 6 in Dartmouth.

Livestock farmers on the South Coast will no longer have to drive to New York – a state-of-the-art slaughterhouse operated by the Southeastern Massachusetts Livestock Association is being built in Westport.

SIGHTS TO BEHOLD

Don’t miss the special exhibits now showing at the Rotch-Jones-Duff House in New Bedford – “The Lost Gardens of New England,” “The Art of Travel,” and “Julia Smith Wood: Creative Journey.”

Special lectures and events will also be scheduled through June. For more info, go to www.rjdmuseum.org or call 508997-1401.

The New Bedford Whaling Museum will host the 28th annual Scrimshaw Weekend on May 13 through May 15 and the 7th Annual Nautical Antiques Show on May 13 from noon-5 pm. Regular admission to the show is free with paid admission to the Whaling Museum, and for Scrimshaw Weekend registrants and Museum members. For more information or to register for the event, visit www.whalingmuseum.org/programs/ scrimshaw-weekend or call 508-997-0046 ext. 100.

Head for the Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence for “Toruk: Cirque du Soleil” June 1-5. For more info, visit www.dunkindonutscenter.com or call 401-331-6700.

Check out the new exhibit “Under the Influence – Paintings of New England Mill Neighborhoods & their Rural Surroundings” starting May 26 at the Grimshaw-Gudewicz Art Gallery at Bristol Community College in Fall River. For

more info, call 508-678-2811 x 2631 or visit www.bristolcc.edu.

Plan ahead for “The Secret Garden Tour” June 17-19 in Newport’s historic Point District. For more info, visit www.secretgardentours.org or call 401439-7253.

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Memorial Day

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The Women’s Fund of Southeastern Massachusetts is hosting the 10th annual Tiara 5K road race in Mattapoisett on Mother’s Day, May 8. To register, go to www.womensfundtiara5k.com or call 508-717-0283.

It’s never too early to sign up for the 23rd Annual Buzzards Bay Swim on June 25! For info, go to www.savebuzzardsbay. org/swim.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

AHA! Fall River is hosting a fundraising trip to Italy April 24-May 2 that highlights the art, history and architecture (AHA!) of northern Italy. For more info, go to www.ahafallriver.com or a.amaral@italianwineservices.com.

The Dartmouth Friends of the Elderly will host a multi-day trip to the Colorado Rockies July 23-31, and another to Central and Eastern Europe September 18-October 1. For more info, call 508636-6453.

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The Fall River Marine Museum is sponsoring a “Treasures of Italy Tour” September 17- 23. To learn more, go to www.marinemuseumfr.org or call 508674-3533.

Take a guided tour of the newly-restored Blue Garden in Newport on June 16! To pre-register, call 508-997-1401. For more info, visit www.rjdmuseum.org or call 508-636-4693.

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

Buzzards Play Productions in Wareham will perform Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” April 29-May 1 and May 6-8.

For more info, call 508-591-3065 or visit www.buzzardsplayproductions.com.

Check out what’s playing at 2nd Story Theatre in Warren! “Seascape” and “Educating Rita” will be performed April 29-May 22. Call 401-247-4200 or go to www.2ndstorytheatre.com.

Trinity Rep in Providence will perform “Arnie, Louise & Bob” through May 8.

“Oklahoma” will play May 5-June 5. For

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KRISTEN CHENOWETH, A PRIL 16 PPAC

THE SMITHEREENS, A PRIL 22 N ARROWS CENTER

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC…

Mark your calendar for the monthly Paskamansett Concert Series at the Dartmouth Grange Hall. The Atwater-Donnelly Trio will perform on May 14. For more info, call 401-241-3793, or visit www. paskamansettconcertseries.weebly.com.

Head for the Sandywoods Center for the Arts in Tiverton! There’s The Johnny Watson Blues Band May 14, Daryl Hance May 20, Bob Dylan Tribute June 3, Abbey Rhode June 4 – and lots more! For a complete schedule, call 401-241-7349 or go to www.sandywoodsmusic.com.

more info, call 401-351-4242 or go to www.trinityrep.com.

Find out what’s on stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center! There’s “Jersey Boys” through May 1, Generation Axe May 8, Joe Bonamassa May 21, Carol Burnett May 22, “Bullets Over Broadway” May 31-June 5 – and plan ahead for Celtic Woman June 29! For details, call 401421-2787 or go to www.ppacri.org.

Catch “Jerusalem” performed by The Wilbury Theatre Group in Providence May 19-June 11. For info, call 401-4007100 or visit www.thewilburygroup.org.

Enjoy a dinner-theatre night out at the Newport Playhouse! “One Slight Hitch” plays through May 15. “Play It Again, Sam” plays May 19-June 29. For more information, call 401-848-7529 or go to www.newportplayhouse.com.

Curtain time! Mark your calendar to see

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The Narrows Center for the Arts in Fall River has a fabulous line-up – there’s The Smithereens April 22, Janiva Magness April 29, Chris Smither May 14, Dave Bass May 19, and The Garcia Project May 21.

For a complete schedule, call 508-3241926 or visit www.narrowscenter.com.

It’s all happenin’ at the Z! Head for the Zeiterion in New Bedford for Doo Wop 12 on April 16, the 2016 International Portuguese Music Awards April 23, The Gipsy Kings April 24, the Moscow Festival Ballet’s performance of “Cinderella” on May

“And Then There Were None” May 5-8, 12-15 performed by Your Theatre in New Bedford. For info, call 508-993-0772 or go to www.yourtheatre.org.

Fall River’s Little Theatre will perform “The Producers” May 19-22, and “The Miracle Worker” in June. For details, go to www.littletheatre.net or call 508-6751852.

“The Man from Earth” will be performed by the Attleboro Community Theatre May 6-8, 13-15 and 20-22! For details, call 508-226-8100 or go to www.attleborocommunitytheatre.com.

WHEN THE KIDS ARE HOME…

There’s always something to see or do at the Capron Park Zoo in Attleboro!

Sign the kids up now for Summer Zoocademy. Call 774-203—1840 or go to www.capronparkzoo.com.

Sign the kids up for summer pro-

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GYPSY KINGS, A PRIL 24 ZEITERION

5, Christina Branco May 7 and the NBSO performing Bernstein and Beethoven May 14. Plan ahead for Melissa Etheridge on June 29! Go to www.zeiterion.org or call 508-999-6276.

Get back to your musical roots at Common Fence Music in Portsmouth! There’s John Gorka April 16, Ana Egge April 23, Brenda Bennett & Blue Bamboo May 15.

For more info, call 401-683-5085 or visit www.commonfencemusic.org.

Kristin Chenoweth will perform with the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra

grams at the Marion Natural History Museum! Call 508-758-9089 or go to www.marionmuseum.org.

Check out what’s happening at the Buttonwood Park Zoo in New Bedford!

Don’t miss “Red, White & Brew at the Zoo” on May 20. Children’s programs Bear Cub Club (2-3), Puddle Jumpers (25), Little Learners (3-5), Roots & Shoots (11-15). For info, call 508-991-6178 or visit www.bpzoo.org.

For fans of the Percy Jackson universe, check out “Camp Half-Blood” on May 28 at Camp Promising Acres in Swansea.

Quests, archery, and sword-play, rain or shine. For more information, visit www.mastermindadventures.com /2015/3/camp-half-blood.

Take the little ones to visit the baby animals at Stoney Creek Farm in Swansea – free! For more info, call 401-4654832 or visit the farm on Facebook.

or call 508-294-5344. Help invigorate and showcase the arts and culture scene in Fall River – volunteer for AHA Fall River! To get involved, call Sandy Dennis at 508-673-2939 or Donna Winn at 401663-6889.

Help kids learn about running a business at the Greater Fall River Lemonade Day on May 7! For more info, go to www.greaterfallriver.lemonadeday.org.

CAROL BURNETT, M AY 22 PPAC

on April 16 at the Providence Performing Arts Center. For details, call 401-4212787 or visit www.ppacri.org.

Find out what’s on stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center! There’s Diana Ross April 14, Gordon Lightfoot April 17, “Jersey Boys” April 26-May 1, Generation Axe May 8, Joe Bonamassa May 21, Carol Burnett May 22, “Bullets Over Broadway” May 31-June 5 – and plan ahead for Celtic Woman June 29!

For details, call 401-421-2787 or go to www.ppacri.org.

Round 1 Entertainment, a multi-faceted entertainment complex at the Galleria Mall in Taunton offers bowling, arcade games, pool/ping pong, karaoke, darts, and snack bar serving beer and wine.

Take the kids on Dino Land or Thomas the Tank Engine train rides at Edaville Railroad in Carver! For more info, visit www.edaville.com or call 508-866-8190.

Explore the Children’s Museum in Providence! Go to www.childrenmuseum.org or call 401-273-5437. Then find out what’s happening at the Roger Williams Park Zoo! For more info, go to www.rwpzoo.org or call 401-785-3510.

FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY

The theme of the AHA! Fall River event on April 21 is “Hands Across the Water.”

For details, go to www.ahafallriver.com

Take the family to the Coggeshall Farm Museum in Bristol for “Home and Hearth” workshops! For the kids, there’s Farmhouse Storytime every Wednesday at 10am. Plan ahead for the Rhode Island Wool and Fiber Festival on May 21. For details, visit www.coggeshallfarm.org or call 401-253-9062.

All hands on deck! On May 7, it’s USS Massachusetts Field Day at Battleship Cove – volunteer and help restore a WWII battleship! Family Nautical Night (sleepover) is May 28, and the free Memorial Day Ceremony is May 30. Call 508-678-1100 for info or visit www.battleshipcove.org.

Enjoy FREE family fun and entertainment on AHA! Nights in New Bedford.

The May 12 theme is “We Art NB.” The June 9 theme is “Placemaking Now & Then.” For details, call 508-996-8253 or go to www.ahanewbedford.org.

To find out what’s happening in Fall River, check out the new online events calendar We Love Fall River! Nightlife, family activities, restaurants, museums, theatre – and more! For more, go to www.welovefallriver.com.

The new (and free!) Viva Portugal! celebration on May 7, which will take place outside the Zeiterion in New Bedford preceding the fado concert featuring Cristina Branco, will feature music, food, and dancing. For more info, go to www.zeiterion.org/cristina-branco.

Check out the new Children’s Aquarium and Exploration Center of Greater Fall River at 16 Granite Street! Learn more at www.aquariumgfr.com or call 508-801-4743.

And check out what’s going on at the Children’s Museum of Greater Fall River. Reduced admission on the first

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CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Friday each month. For more info, go to www.cmgfr.org or call 508-672-0033.

CLASSICAL ACTS

The Rhode Island Civic Chorale and Orchestra will perform works of Britten and Faure at the Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Paul in Providence on May 14, and at St. Joseph’s Church in Newport on May 15. For more info and tickets, call 401521-5670 or go to www.ricco.org.

The Fall River Symphony Orchestra, along with the South Coast Community Chorale, will perform a memorial concert featuring Ralph Vaugh Williams and Tchaikovsky at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Fall River on May 1. For more info, visit www.fallriversymphonyorchestra.org or call 508-642-6837.

It’s all happenin’ at the Z! Don’t miss the Moscow Festival Ballet’s performance of “Cinderella” on May 5, Christina Branco May 7 and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra performing Bernstein and Beethoven May 14. Go to www. zeiterion.org, www.nbsymphony.org, or call 508-999-6276.

Listen to “Fly Me to the Moon: A Sinatra Celebration” performed by the Plymouth Philharmonic Orchestra on May 21 at Memorial Hall in Plymouth.

For details, call 508-746-8008 or go to www.plymouthphil.org.

Concerts at the Point in Westport will present Emil Altschuler with Thomas Pandolfi April 24. For more info, visit www.concertsatthepoint.org or call 508636-0698.

Watch a performance of “Swan Lake” on April 29-May 1 at the VETS Auditorium in Providence. For more info, visit www.festivalballet.com.

Listen to the Rhode Island Philharmonic’s performances of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on May 6-7. For more info, go to www.ri-philharmonic.org or call 401-248-7000.

The Sippican Choral Society will be performing its French-themed spring concert in Marion on April 30. For more info, visit www.sippicanchoralsociety.org or call 508-763-2327.

TIME TRAVEL

If you’re a boat-lover, don’t miss a visit

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to the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, home of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame. For info, call 401-253-5000 or visit www.herreshoff.org.

To celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service, the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park will offer free admission on August 25-28, September 24, and November 11 this year.

For more info, go to www.nps.gov/nebe.

And while you’re there, visit the Whaling Museum! For more info, call 508-9970046 or visit www.whalingmuseum.org.

If you’re interested in the history of Japan-America ties, plan a visit the Whitfield-Manjiro Friendship House in Fairhaven, where it all began. Go to www.wmfriendshiphouse.org or call 508995-1219 for details. The annual Cherry Blossom Friendship Festival in Fairhaven will be held on May 1. For more info, visit www.fairhaventours.com.

Check out the largest collection of Titanic memorabilia in the US, including the one-ton model used in the 1953 movie, at the Fall River Marine Museum in Battleship Cove. For more info, visit www.marinemuseumfr.org or call 508674-3533.

FOOD, FEASTS, AND FESTIVALS

Crafts, music, and fresh local oysters. For more, go to www.warehamvillage.org.

Don’t miss the 10th Annual “Taste of Southcoast” Festival May 15 under the tents in New Bedford! For complete info, visit www.downtownnb.org.

Get ready for the Newport Oyster Festival on May 21-22 at Bowen’s Wharf!

Visit www.bowenswharf.com/events.

THE GREAT OUTDOORS

Take a stroll along the Harbor Walk, a ¾ mile pedestrian/bike path atop the hurricane dike in New Bedford’s south end.

Take a family walk through the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Middletown! EcoTours for all ages. For info, call 401-846-2577 or visit www.normanbirdsanctuary.org.

Explore the trails, wildlife, and scenery of the Mattapoisett River Reserve – leashed dogs welcome. Hike, fish, picnic, bird-watch – and it’s a great place for cross-country skiing! For more info, go to www.savebuzzardsbay.org.

Take a stroll through the newly-restored Acushnet Sawmills public park and herring weir in the north end of New Bedford! Canoe/kayak launch, fishing, trails.

For info, visit www.savebuzzardsbay.org.

Don’t miss the 10th Annual “Taste of Southcoast” Festival May 15 under the tents! And plan ahead for the New Bedford Jazz Festival June 11. For complete info, visit www.downtownnb.org.

Wander through the urban greenspace of the Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens in New Bedford’s north end – learn more at www.thetrustees.org or call 508-636-4693.

The annual Cherry Blossom Friendship Festival in Fairhaven will be held on May 1. For more info, visit www.fairhaventours.com.

If you’re near Newport, stroll through Ballard Park! For more information, go to www.ballardpark.org.

Mark your calendars for the Great Chowder Cook-Off at Fort Adams State Park in Newport on June 18! For more, go to www.newportwaterfrontevents.com.

Kick off warmer weather at the 22nd Annual Garden & Herb Festival at Tiverton Four Corners on May 23! For more info, visit www.tivertonfourcorners.com.

Take the family to the free Cinco de Mayo Block Party in Downtown Providence on May 7! Great food, live music, kids activities.

The seafood festivals are back! Head to the Wareham Oyster Festival on May 1!

M AY /J UNE 2016

Wander through the Blithewold Mansion and Gardens in Bristol! For info, go to www.blithewold.org or call 401-2532707.

Take the kids to Mass Audubon’s Oak Knoll Wildlife Sanctuary and Nature Center in Attleboro! For more info, call 508223-3060 or visit www.massaudubon.org.

Explore the Lloyd Center for the Environment in Dartmouth! Try your hand at canoeing or kayaking! For details and dates, call 508-990-0505 or visit www.lloydcenter.org.

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S OU TH C OAST P R IME T IMES

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PRIME SEASON

White hair, white knuckles It’s a weird thing, but as we get older our perceptions change – the way we view things, how we judge and interpret them.

We see things anew through the prism of age.

PAUL K ANDARIAN The best example I can think of is there now seem to be a lot more really bad drivers out there then when I was younger. Where did they all come from, I wonder?

And no, I’m not one of them. I’m a good driver. A damn good driver. I drive fast, yes, but in control, always looking out for the other guy, as the old commercial said (another way we know we’re getting older – we quote old TV commercials). It just amazes me how I, a good driver, can be surrounded by complete idiots on the road.

I’m tooling along at 75 or so, figuring it’s safe to do no more than 10 mph above the speed limit because cops don’t bother with you unless you’re going noticeably faster, and out of nowhere, cars blast by at 80, 90, 100 mph. Almost all of them younger, way younger than me, not blessed with my experience or qualifications to deem them jerks.

I resist the urge to morph into my father at that point, who’d let fly with a string of unprintable invectives, declaring people passing him as insane, gonna get themselves killed, where’s a damn cop when you need one. Mind you, in his old age, my dad maybe drove 50 on the highway, so anyone going faster than molasses running uphill tended to upset him.

But I see idiots all the time (again, not me) zipping in and out of lanes trying to gain another 30 seconds time in their mad journey to who-knows-where, not signaling, tailgating, swerving, narrowly

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missing the guy in front or behind them.

Also painfully evident in the moronmotorist gene pool are people who for some reason, cannot fathom the concept of merging. You pull onto a highway and there’s room on the right to slowly blend into the traffic flow, picking up speed, seeing an entry point and coasting into it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come around a corner to find people fully stopped, sitting there in total confusion, waiting for a break in the traffic that around here will never, ever come.

Someday I expect to look into one of those cars and see a skeleton behind the wheel.

I’ve driven in many places, and never have I seen the piggish behavior of our drivers exhibited anywhere else The worst is when traffic is jammed on a highway and people are trying to merge onto it. This is not rocket science. If you’re on the highway, you let one guy in, creep forward and assume the guy behind you will let the next guy in. One goes, another lets another in. Simple, like ski lines for chairlifts, where one skier goes, another cuts in, the guy behind him goes, and right on down the line.

But polity doesn’t factor into driving in our area. I’ve driven in many places, and never have I seen the piggish behavior of our drivers exhibited anywhere else.

Whatever little chunk of the road they inhabit, and for a good distance in front,

M AY /J UNE 2016

behind and around it, is one they’re ready to duel to the death to protect.

I was in Halifax, Nova Scotia a few years back, renting a car at the airport and driving into the city over the McDonald Bridge. I came onto it on the far left. At the far right were toll booths I needed to get to. The traffic was snarled to a stop.

“Great,” I thought to myself, looking for an opening that didn’t exist. “I’m screwed.”

Then as if by the hand of some unseen force, the metallic sea of trucks and cars parted. People were waving me over, smiling, gracious, polite. I was stunned into inaction. They waited, smiling, gracious and polite, and waved again – with all five fingers, not just the middle one people use in urban America. I happily scooted over to my toll booth unmolested.

If that happened on the Tobin in Boston when there were tolls booths, angry motorists would have pulled me from my car, beaten me to death and tossed my body into the Charles.

This could be a Canadian thing. Walking down the street later in Halifax, if it looked like I was even thinking of crossing the road people would stop and wave me across. All of which makes Canada the most viable place to move if Trump gets elected president.

Bad drivers are everywhere I tell ya, like never before. And again, I am not one.

I have never had an accident – in drive.

Any fender benders I’ve had have all been in reverse. So if you see me backing up, just wait. And wave nicely with all five fingers to let me in.

PAUL K ANDARIAN is a lifelong area resident and has been a professional writer since 1982, as columnist, contributor in national magazines, websites and other publications.

145 Faunce Corner Road North Dartmouth, MA 02747 Faunce Corner Road (508) 997-5466

145 North Dartmouth, MA 02747 (508) 997-5466

305R Oliphant Lane Middletown, RI 02842 Oliphant Lane (401) 846-8680

305R Middletown, RI 02842 (401) 846-8680

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