Prime Time-July 2025 by Lewistown Sentinel

A special story: My hairdresser saved my life

A missed hair appointment, good neighbors and

BY CARA AUNGST Director of Marketing Valley View Retirement Community

BELLEVILLE — When Janet Hefright fell and broke her hip last fall, she feared the worst. Although she wasn’t in pain, she couldn’t move to reach her phone, and she didn’t think her neighbor would stop in to check on her until the next day. She was stuck on

of the next day. Without a blanket or water, her vitals started to drop dangerously low. That is, until she missed her weekly hair appointment at Designer’s Edge Hair and Nails in Huntingdon.

“My hairdresser, Jen Eichelberger, called my neighbor, Linda Weir, and said, ‘Janet never misses an appointment so there must be something wrong. Can you check?’ So, my neighbor’s husband came over and found me. He called an ambulance just in time,” Hefright said.

Hefright says that she doesn’t know what would have happened if her hairdresser hadn’t reached out.

“Jen is my superhero living in Huntingdon. She saved my life.”

After spending time in the hospital, Hefright needed to choose a rehab where she could heal and get stronger to go home. She didn’t know where to go until her neighbor Linda stepped in again.

“She said that she had gone to a wonderful open house at Valley View, and she said she was really impressed. I told her that was good enough for me!” Hefright said. “And I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”

“I got tears in my eyes telling her,” she remembers. “And I said, ‘I don’t have anything to give you.’ She told me, ‘You’ve given me your friendship and that’s the most important thing.’”

We talked with Hefright the day before she moved to Virginia. It was a dayises to write, and, as she says, many mixed feelings.

“Years ago, I heard that you can be sad and glad at the same time. And now I know what that is. I’m glad that I’m going to be with my family, but I am

sad to leave here. I’ve made friends and it’s been a good place for me. Everyone’s been so wonderful.”

In fact, Hefright enjoyed being at Valley View so -

ished her time in Rehab, she decided to make the move to a personal care apartment in The Terrace for a few months while her niece prepared a suite for her in her home in Virginia.

Hefright says one of her favorite things about

living in The Terrace was mealtime.

“I liked sitting at small tables with three other people. I got to know them very well and they took me under their wing.”

When her new suite at her niece’s house was ready, Hefright sat down with one of her new friends, Mary, to tell her that she was leaving.

Jeffrey Davis, Esquire

Valley View Retirement Community

Janet Hefright (center, seated) with stylists from Designer’s Edge, from left, Billie Jo Price, Jenn Eichelberger and Julie Norris.

Zoo & Glow:

A Philly Day Trip

Philadelphia Zoo Chinese Lantern Fest.

Sa, Aug 9 $199

Boston Red Socks @ NY Yankees

Su, Aug 23 $259

Lake Tobias

Grandparents Day Outing

Su, Sep 7 $125

Explore the Outer Banks of North Carolina

Sep 22-26 $1,359 A combination of touring and relaxation.

Covered Bridge & Arts Festival

Bloomsburg, PA

Sa, Oct 4 $89

Gettysburg Heritage & Haunts

Fr, Oct 17 $179

New York City

Do As You Please

Sa, Oct 18 $175

Murder Mystery Weekend

Villa Roma Resort, NY

Oct 24-25 $799

An entertaining, beautiful weekend in the Catskills!

PA Renaissance Faire, Manheim, PA

Su, Oct 25 $139

NYC Do As You Please Weekend

Nov 7-9

$739

Hotel conveniently located in midtown, just a short walk from Times Square and other popular attractions.

Atlantic City, NJ

Tropicana Resort with Tony Danza show Nov 12-13 $299

Buffalo Bills at Pitts Steelers Su, Nov 30 $429

Noah

30th Anniversary

Sight & Sound Theatre

Lancaster, PA Sat, Aug 2 (3pm) $249 Tue, Sep 23 (3pm) $249 Sat, Oct 11 (11am) $249 Fri, Nov 14 (3pm) $249

PA Christmas Show

Farm Show Complex

Harrisburg, PA

We, Dec 3 $95

Old Bedford Village Christmas

Sa, Dec 6 $129

Yuletide Magic in Lancaster

Sa, Dec 13 $229

Yuletide at Wheatland (US President James Buchanon s home), Magic & Wonder Dinner Theater show and a stop at Hershey Christmas Sweet Lights!

New York City Do As You Please

Sa, Oct 18 $175 Sa, Dec 6 $175 with RCMH* $385 We, Dec 10 $165 with RCMH* $300 Sa, Dec 13 $175 with RCMH* $385

*Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular

New Year s Getaway Ocean City, MD

Dec 30-Jan 1 $949

Celebrate the New Year with a spectacular New Year s Gala featuring a fabulous buffet, open bar, live musical performance and more!

Mackinac Island & More (Michigan)

Mo-Sa, May 4-9, 2026

$1,689 pp

This spring tour of Michigan begins in the charming town of Frankenmuth, known as Little Bavaria, featuring festive experiences like pretzel making, wine tasting, and a visit to Bronner s Christmas World. The journey continues to the elegant Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, where guests can enjoy carriage rides, afternoon tea, and views from the world s longest porch, before concluding in Detroit with visits to the Motown Museum and the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village.

Juniata Valley senior centers very active in July

BY GREG WILLIAMS Sentinel reporter gwilliams@lewistownsentinel.com

YEAGERTOWN — It

Lewistown Senior Community Center

Thursday, July 24:

Friday, July 25:

Monday, July 28:

Tuesday, July 29:

Wednesday, July 30:

Thursday, July 31:

Four Seasons Senior Community Center

Thursday, July 24: 9

Friday, July 25:

Monday, July 28:

Tuesday, July 29: 9 to

Wednesday, July 30:

Thursday, July 31: 9

McAlisterville Senior Community Center

Friday, July 25:

Monday, July 28:

Tuesday, July 29:

Wednesday, July 30:

Thursday, July 31:

Milroy Senior Center

Thursday, July 24:

Friday, July 25: -

Monday, July 28:

Tuesday, July 29:

Wednesday, July 30:

Thursday, July 31:

Thursday, July 24:

Bone health is the focus of Penn State Extension program

Penn State Extension’s in-person workshop series, “Build Your Bones,” is focused on preventing osteoporosis and maintaining bone health. The seven in-person classes will occur from Aug.1 to Sept. 12 in State College.

Photo courtesy of Metro

PRIME TIME

Stay active, stay healthy: Practical tips from a Valley View pro

BY CARA AUNGST Director of Marketing Valley View Retirement Community

BELLEVILLE — When it comes to living well as we age, a little prevention goes a long way, and Valley View Retirement Community’s own Joe Kotch knows that better than most. With 29 years of experience as a physical therapist, Kotch has helped countless residents stay safe, strong and independent. So, we recently asked him for fall prevention tips and he didn’t miss a beat.

“I put together these tips years ago,” Kotch said. “The principles are just as helpful now as they were then.”

Whether you’re walking down the hallway or heading out for a social event, small choices can make a big difference. Here is Kotch’s tried-and-true advice for reducing risk and staying vibrant—physically, mentally, and socially.

Fall prevention 101: Know the risks

As we age, some changes are natural—but they can increase the risk of falling. The most common culprits?

ness

-Decreased balance

-Poor vision

-Throw rugs and cluttered walkways

-Worn or inappropriate footwear

Simple steps to stay safe

Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do to stay steady on your feet:

-Keep walkways clear and remove throw rugs

-Make sure your home is

well-lit

-Clean your eyeglasses regularly

-Use assistive devices like canes or reachers

-Wear nonslip socks and sturdy shoes

-Promptly clean spills and use nonslip bathroom mats

-Avoid using step stools or ladders

Stay strong, inside and out -

ness are closely connected—and both are essential for aging well. Kotch recommends:

Move daily:

-Take a walk

-Stand up from a chair 5–10 times a day

-Join group activities and exercise classes

Keep your mind active:

-Read

-Do crossword or jigsaw puzzles

-Play cards (maybe even join a bridge club!)

Stay social:

-Volunteer

-Attend group outings

-Spend time with friends

Don’t forget the basics:

-Eat well

-Stay hydrated (6–8 glasses of water daily, unless restricted)

Keep living life to the fullest

Kotch’s motto is simple: Staying active isn’t just about prevention, it’s about living fully. Whether it’s a walk around the block, a friendly card game, or helping out at a community event, every step you take is an investment in your health and happiness. Thanks, Joe, for reminding us that aging well is a team effort, and that it’s never too late to keep moving forward.

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Myrtle Beach is now the fastest-growing US metro for seniors

BY MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press

A South Carolina beach town once nicknamed “Dirty Myrtle” because of its rowdy nightclubs and strip joints has become a magnet for retirees in a nation that continues to age.

The number of residents age 65 years and older in the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area grew by 6.3% last year, making it the fastest-growing metro area for senior citizens in the U.S., according to population estimates the U.S. Census Bureau released last week.

During the 2020s, Myrtle Beach’s senior population has grown by more than 22%, also the fastest rate in the United States this decade. Senior citizens now make up more than a quarter of the around 413,000 residents in metro Myrtle Beach, which once was known for being a budget beach destination.

The community with a mile-long boardwalk and 200-foot Ferris wheel used

to attract biker rallies which the city tried to end in the late 2000s because ofdiness. But now the noisy streets have had to make room for quiet diners and pickleball courts.

The COVID-19 pandemic played a role in the area’s senior boom as people in such places as Ohio and New York who had been vacationing for years in Myrtle Beach realized they could retire early or work from home anywhere, said Mark Kruea, a longtime for Myrtle Beach who is now running to be mayor.

“Many people converted that thought into action,” Kruea said. “The climate’s great, taxes are low, there’s a wealth of opportunities for recreation, dining and shopping.”

A graying United States

The U.S. population age 65 and older rose by 3.1% last year, while the population under age 18 decreased by 0.2%. In the past

two decades, seniors have increased from 12.4% to 18% of the U.S. population, while the share of children has dropped from 25% to 21.5%, according to the population estimates.

Maine, Vermont, and Florida were the only three states where older adults outnumbered children as recently as 2020. But four years later, those states were joined by Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

Maine last year had the oldest median age at 44.8, while Utah’s was the

numbers, the Hispanic population grew the most last year in the New York, Houston and Miami metro areas. When it comes to growth rates, the biggest gains were in smaller metros such as Ocala, Florida; Panama City, Florida; and St. Joseph, Missouri.

youngest at 32.4.

Groups that saw the most growth

The share of the U.S. population that is Hispanic reached 20% last year by an annual gain of 1.9 million Hispanics mostly through migration. In pure

For Black residents whose growth last year was split between migration and natural increase, the biggest gains were in the Houston, New York and Dallas-Fort Worth metro areas in pure numbers. Bozeman, Montana, and Provo, Utah — metro areas with tiny Black populations to start with — were tops in growth rates.

In pure numbers, the New York, Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle metro areas had the biggest Asian population gains, and the growth came primarily from migration. The largest growth rates were in three metro areas with small Asian populations: Farmington, New Mexico; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Burlington, North Carolina.

The non-Hispanic white population in the United States declined slightly last year, but it grew the most in the Nashville, Tennessee; New York and Charlotte, North Carolina metro areas in pure numbers. The biggest growth rates for the white population were in the Myrtle Beach; Daphne-Fairhope, Alabama; and Wilmington, North Carolina metro areas. The decline in the white population was driven by deaths outpacing births.

AP Photo

The number of residents age 65 years and older in the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area grew by 6.3% last year.

AP Photo

Myrtle Beach has become a magnet for retirees.

How to build a portfolio you don’t have to babysit

BY CHRISTINE BENZ Morningstar

These four steps can help you craft a (mostly) hands-off portfolio.

If you’re a do-it-yourself investor aiming to build a “no babysitter required” portfolio, here are the key steps to take.

Step 1: Find your portfolio’s true north

Give due consideration to your asset allocation. That decision will have the biggest impact on how your portfolio behaves in the future.

The tricky part about asset allocation, even a hands-off approach, is that the “right” asset allocation is often a moving target as retirement approaches.

Target-date funds elegantly address this issue by transitioning to a more conservative stance as the years go by. If you’re OK with an asset allocation that’s not necessarily customized to your particular situation, your quest for a low- or no-maintenance portfolio could begin and end with a good-quality target-date fund.

If you’d like to have more control over your asset allocation, think through your risk capacity and risk tolerance.

Target-date funds’ asset allocations can be a decent starting point when deciding how to allocate assets depending on life stage. You can also tailor your mix of aggressive and conservative investments, which is particularly valuable if you’re retired and actively spending from your portfolio.

Also give some thought to how your asset allocation will change over time.

A good-quality target-date fund can help you visualize

your portfolio’s glide path.

Step 2: Eliminate redundant accounts

If your aim is to reduce complexity and oversight in your portfolio, you can slim down your number of accounts. Multiple rollover IRAs from previous employers, as well as straggler 401(k) assets, can create unnecessary complexity.

Just remember that the consolidation process can only go so far because some of your accounts will need to remain distinct for tax purposes.

You can combine multiple IRAs in your name, for example, but you won’t typically be able to combine your 401(k) with those IRAs unless you’ve retired or left your employer. Tax-

able nonretirement assets will need to remain distinct from IRAs and company retirement plans.

If you and your spouse each have assets in your own names, those accounts will need to remain distinct, too.

Step 3: Identify low-

building blocks

Now, you can turn your attention to identifying the building blocks to populate the portfolio(s).

maintenance regimen

If you’ve followed the steps above, a thorough annual review should be enough.

This will be essential if you’re already retired beout how to extract cash for living expenses from your portfolio, and to take required minimum distributions from your tax-deferred accounts once you hit age 73.

I like the idea of using an investment policy statement that documents the basic outlines of your portfolio, how often you’ll check on your portfolio, and how you’ll do it.

One fork in the road is whether to obtain your total market exposure via a traditional index fund or exchange-traded fund.

For your cash holdings,

For your long-term investments, broad “total market” index funds and exchange-traded funds are the lowest-maintenance choices. The best aspect of these products is that a single fund will provide all (or almost all) of the exposure you need to a given asset class.

focus on products that are and low-maintenance, like online savings accounts and money market mutual funds.

Step 4: Document your

If you’re retired, maintaining your portfolio will be a bit more complicated: Not only will you need to determine where you’ll go for cash to meet your living expenses, but you’ll also have to ensure that your portfolio withdrawals aren’t so rich that you risk early depletion of your portfolio. A retirement policy statement can help ensure that you’re thinking through and documenting all of these issues.

•••

Christine Benz is directortirement planning at Morningstar.

AP Photo

Get proactive with your eye health, the sooner the better

Family Features

Glaucoma, one of the leading causes of permanent blindness, often does its damage silently - with no noticeable symptoms - as vision is lost. Glaucoma affects an estimated 3 million Americans, but most people don’t know they have the condition until it’s revealed in an eye exam.

Once vision is lost, it cannot be recovered. If left untreated, glaucoma can cause blindness. That’s why when it comes to detecting and treating glaucoma, the earlier, the better.

What is Glaucoma?

Glaucoma is an eye disease caused by increased pressure in the eye, which can damage the optic nerve and reduce vision, sometimes making objects look blurry or dark. Early on, most people don’t notice what’s happening, but as glaucoma progresses, you may notice some loss of peripheral vision. By this point, the disease hasly toward blindness, and treatment options may be limited.

Diagnosing Glaucoma

Regular eye exams, intests, are important for the early detection and diagnosis of glaucoma. If diagnosed early, an eye doctor can recommend treatment to manage glaucoma and help prevent vision loss.

“Many patients are surprised to learn glaucoma often presents with no initial symptoms,” said Oluwatosin U. Smith, MD, glaucoma specialist and ophthalmologist at Glaucoma Associates of Texas. “That’s why routine, com-

prehensive eye exams are so vital. These screenings allow us to detect glaucoma in its earliest stages, often before any vision loss occurs. Early diagnosis and treatment are the cornerstone of effective glaucoma management and it empowers us to take proactive steps to protect your vision.”

To check for glaucoma, your eye doctor tests your eye pressure, peripheral vision and overall eye health.

The painless screening is the only way to accurately diagnose the condition and determine appropriate treatment.

Traditional Glaucoma Treatment

For decades, prescription eye drops have been the most common treatment to help lower eye pressure and slow the progression of the disease.

Although prescription eye drops are commonly prescribed and generally effective at lowering eye pressure, they can cause challenges and unwanted side effects, including redness, irritation, burning,ting them in the eye. In

take their eye drops every

day, and missing doseseven by accident - can put vision at risk by allowing eye pressure to rise unchecked.

When prescription eye drops are unsuccessful at controlling eye pressure or managing glaucoma, an eye doctor may change treatment by prescribing additional prescription eye drops, which can make the challenges and inconveniences associated with prescription eye drops worse.

Modern Glaucoma Management Takes a Proactive Approach

Modern glaucoma management is evolving with a shift from reactive - that is, take prescription eye drops and “watch and wait” until glaucoma progresses before exploring alternative treatment - to proactive management.

Taking a proactive approach to glaucoma treatment means choosing a minimally invasive procedure earlier in the treatment journey to help slow the progression of glaucoma and minimize vision loss while reducing the challenges of daily prescription eye drops.

tion. However, with modern minimally invasive procedures, we can now proactively lower eye pressure and protect the optic nerve much earlier. This approach helps us preserve our patients’ vision and quality of life for longer. I encourage anyone with a glaucoma diagnosis, or those with risk factors, to discuss proactive options with their ophthalmologist.”

coma surgery involves less-invasive procedures, devices (such as stents) and techniques with faster recovery times than traditional surgeries.

* Laser treatment commonly involves a laser being aimed through a special lens onto the drainage system of the eye, triggering a natural change that eye to lower pressure.

“The shift toward a more proactive approach

advancement in how we manage glaucoma,” Smith said. “Traditionally, we waited for vision loss before a procedural interven-

* Procedural pharmaceuticals, or drug delivery systems, may include tiny, FDA-approved implants that deliver medication continuously to help lower eye pressure and protect vision.

* Micro-invasive, or minimally invasive, glau-

These treatments may be used in combination with prescription eye drops or on their own.

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with glaucoma, visit livingwithglaucoma.com to learn more and help manage the condition.