Healthy aging means avoiding trips and falls

Older adults can learn to avoid trips and falls plus schedule a mobility assessment through the Douglas County Health Department. is vital topic will be explored on ursday, June 1 at the Seniors’ Council of Douglas County meeting held at the Douglas County Miller Building, Conference Rooms

Living And Aging Well

A&B, in Castle Rock. e meeting is from 10-11:30 am and is free and open to the public.

Clara and Ollie were living a calm retirement when a fall changed their lives.

Clara was 75 years old and in good health when she tripped on a loose rug, fell, and broke her wrist. e injury required surgery and a cast. e related pain required medication.

One night, after getting home from the hospital, Clara got up from bed.

Letters

FROM PAGE 14 roughout her previous board service, Pam earned the support of many across the district for her work ethic, integrity, fair-mindedness and compassion. Pam was always thoroughly prepared for each board meeting, adding thoughtful comments and often a fresh perspective to decisions that came before the board, and she had a remarkable ability to listen carefully to help nd workable solutions to constituents’ issues and requests. We all will be well-served if Pam is elected once again on May 2.

As she stood, her head began to swim. Lightheaded from the pain medication, Clara fell again. is time, she hit her head on the bedside table and su ered a fatal brain injury. Ollie was devastated by the loss of his wife, and he died the next year from a broken heart.

For older adults, a fall can be lifealtering. Each year, nearly 3 million older adults nationwide are treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained during a fall. Helping Douglas County’s 52,000 adults over age 65 prevent falls is a priority for the new Douglas County Health Department.

“As we began planning for our new health department, we asked our community what they wanted from public health,” said Michael Hill,

Recreation Center, 6315 S. University Blvd., Centennial.

Stene director of the Douglas County Health Department. “Based on community engagement and research, we saw that injury prevention was one of the top three needs in our community.”

Health care professionals and public health agencies are working together to better understand what leads to falls, including some of the realities our older adults face, such as:

1. Decreased strength, conditioning, and balance

2. Side e ects of medications, both prescribed and over-the counter

3. Limited vision and hearing

4. Hazards in/around the home, such as stairs, rugs, and uneven sidewalks or oors

What can older adults do? Laura Larson and Dr. Owen Stene, Doug- las County Health Department, will discuss the plan to prevent older adults from injury-related falls as well as introduce the new Health Department’s priorities, at the June 1 Seniors’ Council meeting. e Douglas County Health Department is committed to providing person-centered care that supports overall health and wellbeing for older residents. e department is located at 410 S. Wilcox Street, Suite 103, in Castle Rock and can be contacted at 720-643-2400.

Seniors’ Council of Douglas County serves and advocates for older adults. Information and updates are available at www.douglas.co.us — search for Seniors’ Council. Our signature event for older adults, Vintage & Vibrant, is planned for Saturday, Sept. 28 in Parker. Details and updates can be found on our website.

You may vote in this election if you are a resident and/or property owner within the district boundaries:

1. At the polls on Tuesday, May 2 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Goodson

2. By absentee ballot — Voters who have signed up on South Suburban’s Permanent Absentee Voter (PAV) List automatically receive a mail ballot for every South Suburban May election. To be added to this list, visit www.ssprd.org and search “2023 Election.” e link to the Application for Absentee Ballot is on the Elections page. To speed the application process and receive a ballot for this election, take a phone photo or make a PDF of your completed application and email it to Elections@ ssprd.org. Questions? Call South Suburban Elections at 303-483-7011 during regular business hours, M-F, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit the Elections page to learn more about all six candidates running for the two open seats in this election. With your vote on May 2, Pam Eller will again work collab- oratively with the board, sta , and residents to maintain and strengthen our recreational amenities for the personal and nancial health of our entire community.

Kay Geitner, Centennial, 20042012, board chair 2010-2012

Sue Rosser, Centennial, 2008-2016 John Ostermiller, Littleton, 20092018, board chair 2012-2018 Mike Anderson, Lone Tree, 20102018

SEE LETTERS, P39

Paula J Edwards

Paula Edwards, 53-year Littleton resident, passed peacefully on April 2, 2023, leaving a strong legacy of love. She volunteered and taught over 18 years in Littleton Public Schools, focusing on literacy at South (later Moody), Whitman, Runyon, and Centennial. Honoring Paula’s career in LPS and passions for literacy and music a fund has been established through the LPS Foundation https://lpsfoundation. com/how-to-help/donate-now.html. Please select Paula Edwards under the “My donation is for” dropdown. More details may be found at https://obituaries. neptunesociety.com/obituaries/arvada-co/ paula-edwards-11235437

FROM PAGE 14 acronym, F.E.A.R. stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. And lastly, the famous quote said by so many, but I will choose this version, “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is the realization that there is something more important than fear.” - Franklin D. Roosevelt

November 29, 1941 - April 2, 2023 fears, developing strategies and coping mechanisms to help overcome their fears in certain situations. And some of us face our fears head on. It’s not that the fear isn’t there, it’s just that they acknowledge their fear and summon the courage to deal with it in that moment. Still there are others who say they have no fear, that they aren’t afraid of anything, and these are the folks who lie about other things too.

We all have fears, and that’s normal and okay. What we should strive to work towards is not letting our fears stop us from achieving our goals. We can never let our fears get in the way of who we want to be and what we want to do. When fear wins, we lose, and when we allow fear to cheat us from achieving our goals it’s a double loss.

Here are a few things that I have learned to lean into when I have felt fearful. First is this that hope and fear are the same thing, a belief that something is going to happen in the future. So why not live with hope instead of fear, hoping that something good will happen and not anything bad. Second is turning fear into an

Here’s the good news, Carolyn overcame her fear of public speaking by learning how to be overprepared with her content. She learned other helpful speaking tips from Toastmasters, and she is doing awesome. Allen not only survived his 90-day performance improvement plan, he is also back to focusing on doing his sales behaviors, following a sales process, and winning business. Fear for both is a thing of the past.

Are you holding on to any fears that are keeping you from achieving your goals? I would love to hear your hope and fear story at gotonorton@ gmail.com and when we can never allow our fears to cheat us out of our goals and dreams, it really will be a better than good life.

Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.

BY OLIVIA JEWELL LOVE OLOVE@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

In a state that has over 400 breweries and almost 100 distilleries, approaching the topic of sobriety can be a hard conversation for many people to have.

But with low-key, no-fuss non-alcoholic options at many establishments across the metro, it doesn’t have to be a big deal if you don’t want to drink, whatever your reasons.

Mocktails that you wouldn’t even know were NA

Golden Moon Speakeasy in Golden uses all its own distilled spirits and creates unique craft cocktails at’s all the more reason that general manager Kayla Veatch sees to o er quality, non-alcoholic options.

“My overall philosophy when I changed the menu was to have the same options as the alcohol menu,” Veatch said.

So no, you won’t have to order a water if you’re the designated driver. e mocktails at Golden Moon use highly steeped teas to replace alcohol and utilize many of the same syrups and NA ingredients the cocktails use.

Mocktails are a great option for people ready to slow down on alcohol for the night, people taking certain medications, pregnant people and people exploring sobriety, Veatch said. e speakeasy even serves mocktails to children before 9 p.m.

Having an inclusive menu makes an establishment like this a gathering place for groups, Veatch explained.

“People can still come together….if I didn’t have mocktails, I wonder if they would still be excited to come,” she said about group members who don’t consume alcohol.

Some of the mocktails Veatch makes include the Cloud City, which features an earl grey tea base, ginger, lemon and elder ower, or the Cheshire Cat, which features a butter y pea ower tea base, passionfruit juice and lime. Veatch even makes a copycat smoked whiskey.

Golden Moon Speakeasy is located at 1111 Miner’s Alley in Golden.

An alcohol alternative

For those looking for another NA drink option, perhaps with health bene ts, kombucha has been a popular choice.

Kombucha has been added as an option at many breweries, bars and co ee shops around Colorado; but Marc Gaudreault owns one of only two kombucha tap rooms on the front range.

Before the pandemic, the Trubucha tap room in Lone Tree had space for people to sit inside and enjoy a glass of kombucha. According to Gaudreault, Trubucha actually grew during the pandemic, and the demand for his product is so great he needs most of his shop space for fermenting the kombucha in huge vats.

Still, Trubucha boasts 31 taps in the store and has a spacious patio for people to enjoy kombucha, lemonade, ginger beer or cold brew.

So, what is kombucha? Put simply, Gaudreault explained, it’s lightly fermented tea. But the health bene ts are much more lengthy, he said. Most notably, the drink has an abundance of natural probiotics,