Mena Fire Department to install smoke alarms in homes of those that qualify

Submitted by Mena Fire Chief Steve Egger

The City of Mena and the Mena Fire Department are pleased to announce that the Arkansas Fire Protection service Board (AFPSB) has awarded the fire department a grant for 100 smoke alarms for the department’s fire prevention program.

This will be the second time for the department to be able to institute the smoke alarm program (INSTALL, INSPECT, AND PROTECT) for citizens living within the city limits of Mena. The alarms are the sealed 10-year lithium battery model. The smoke alarms will be installed by the fire department and not just handed out to the individuals.

The Mena Fire Department will install at least one smoke alarm in the home of those that qualify through a simple application pro- cess. We are seeking applicants from low income families, handicapped, and senior citizens. If you know of anyone that fits the criteria and may not have a working smoke alarm in the home please tell them about this program. Applications are available at Fire Station No. 1 at 603 Dequeen Street during normal business hours and will be available at various public relations events.

The fire department will notify applicants of approval of the application and will arrange a date and time for installation of the smoke alarms. During the installation, firefighters will provide families with information for them to inspect their home for fire hazards and provide fire safety tips to better protect their families from home fires.

If you have any question, or need additional information, please contact the Mena Fire Department at 479-394-1234.

Name: ______________________________________Telephone____________________

Address: _________________________City________________ZIP___________________

1. Do you own or rent your home? _________________

2. What type of home? _House _Apartment _Duplex _Mobile home _Other (specify) _________

3. How many levels with living areas are in your home? ___1 ___2 ___3 or more

4. How many people who live in your home are under 5 years old? ____ Over 64 years old? ____

5. How many people live in your home? _______

6. How many smokers live in your home? ______

7. Do you already have a working smoke alarm in your home? ______ _ How old are they? ____yrs.

8. What is the age of the homeowner? ______ Male____ Female____

9. Household Income _________________________

10. How many people in the home are disabled? ________

11. How many people in the home are hearing impaired? _______

12. How many people in the home are visually impaired? _______

13. How did you hear about this program? ___________________________________________

The applicant hereby releases the City of Mena Fire Department and its employees of any and all claims, actions, damages, and liability pertaining to the performance of the smoke alarm in the event the smoke alarm fails to perform properly during a fire or related occurrences. The applicant also agrees to release the City of Mena Fire Department and its employees of any and all claims, actions, and liability pertaining to damage that may result during the installation of the smoke alarm. The applicant will also allow the City of Mena Fire Department and its employees to install the smoke alarm and to inspect and perform any necessary maintenance at no charge to the applicant. Further, I understand that the smoke alarm provided by this program is done for public safety and the sponsors or installers are not dealers of this type of goods, and make no warranty on the smoke alarm. I agree to allow program representatives to inspect and verify the function of the alarm at a later date, if they desire.

Signed___________________________________ Date _____ /_____ /_______

The Mena Fire Department will contact you upon approval of this application to arrange a date and time for installation. Return completed application to:

Mena Fire Department 603 Dequeen St. Mena, AR 71953

How often are Americans changing smoke detector batteries?

(according to All Star Home - allstarhome.com)

Three or more times a year- 6%

Twice a year - 18%

Once a year - 26%

Once every other year - 3%

Every few years - 3%

Never - 7%

Only when it beeps - 37%

• 61% of Americans have 3 or more smoke detectors in their home.

• 39% of Americans have unplugged their smoke detectors.

• 18% have forgotten to plug them back in.

• 1 in 6 do not remove lint from their dryer every time they use it.

• 58% of Americans have a carbon monoxide detector in their homes.

continued from page 1 before. I talked to her and my brother about it some. She went through it many years ago. I didn’t have a clue of what I was getting into, but it was ‘cancer.’ I don’t care what kind of cancer it is. You hear the word and if it’s you it scares you to death. If anybody tells you it doesn’t, they’re lying. I would have told you at the time, ‘No, I’m fine.’

The paying job and the volunteer work demands a lot of time and energy. Add a family of four kids as a single mother onto the pile and it’s even more of a demand physically, mentally and emotionally. When a person is also stricken with something such as breast cancer and still keeps working at her obligations, it falls into a special category for strength and persistence. Take a look at the aforementioned dates again and in the middle of possibly one of Caldwell’s busiest years, 2016, she received shocking news on top of a life-changing event.

“I was really lucky. That was really a bad year for me when I got diagnosed with cancer. I have four children and two were teenagers and still at home. Two months prior to getting diagnosed with cancer, I had a heart attack and had to have stints put in. I was in Walmart walking around one day and decided I better go to the hospital,” Caldwell said with a laugh as she looks back at what all she has battled and survived.

During her heart stints procedure, nothing additional had been noticed in her scans, possibly because an unsuspected lump was on the far side of her right breast. X-rays can detect breast cancer but are not the typical method for discovery.

“X-rays and mammograms are different types of scans. The breast cancer was discovered during my mammogram, here at the local hospital. It was just a small spot. We caught it really, really quick. I had a biopsy here locally. Once it was found to be malignant, they sent me over to Genesis Cancer [and Blood Institute] in Hot Springs to Dr. [Stephen “Fred] Divers.

When it was first determined she had cancer, Caldwell said, “I was scared to death. I had two kids at home.”

It was also a shock because breast cancer does not run in her family. “My father died from prostate cancer. I had an aunt that died from cervical cancer. As far I know, I was the first one with breast cancer. I didn’t know what to expect. My sister-in-law had breast cancer

“All I could think of was all of the things that I hadn’t finished in my life. I didn’t have my kids raised. I hadn’t seen any grandkids yet.”

She discovered some self-therapy. “I started writing a journal. The first time I had ever journaled anything in my life. It was one of the things that kept me sane. If something did happen, at least I had written something that my kids knew what I felt and what I expected and what I’d hoped. That kind of diagnosis helps you think about your mortality.”

She had to decide on how to approach her family. “I said, ‘We’re not going to worry about this. We’re going to take care of it.’ That’s what I as a single mom was used to doing. We take care of it. We try not to worry about it. We do everything the best we can. I tried not to let them know I was worried because you don’t want them to be scared, too. My family has always been ‘You be strong, and you take care of things.’ Even if things go wrong, you still take care of it the best you can and keep on going. I tried not to stress them out. I don’t think I was successful all the time,” she said with another laugh.

Caldwell had not even suspected something was wrong. “I had infiltrating ductal carcinoma, so it was in the ducts. No lump, nothing.”

Her recent heart attack at that time and the stints added to the concern. “They had to get permission from the cardiologist to do stuff. Look, if I’m going to go, I’ll go with the heart attack rather than the lingering death of cancer. When my aunt died, it was long and drawn out and painful.”

“We did some more testing and surgery at CHI [St. Vincent]. We did a lumpectomy. Then I went for radiation treatments.”

A lumpectomy is a treatment option for early-stage breast cancer. It’s less invasive than mastectomy, which removes the entire breast. In a lumpectomy, the tumor and a small amount of surrounding tissue known as the margin is removed. The purpose is to remove the cancerous cells.

According to the MD Anderson website, landmark studies dating back to the ‘70s and ‘80s show that patients who have a lumpectomy and radiation therapy have the same low risk for recurrence as patients who have a full mastectomy.

“I’ve never been through anything like that before and it was miserable. I had to have 30 treatments. They give you two options: You can do them every other day for two months or you can double up and do it all in one month. I was driving back and forth to Hot Springs every weekday morning for radiation therapy, driving back to work for the afternoon, then still trying to keep up with Elks and kids. This started in November on the radiation treatments, and I finished up just a few days after Christmas.

“I was exhausted. I was burnt. I was sore. I had no energy or appetite. But I didn’t have to go through any chemo treatments. The people who do… my hat is off to them. I can’t even imagine the extra wear and tear on your body that takes.

“The treatment facility at CHI, they have a cancer center for treatment with radiation. They have a whole department there just for that. They were great. They were very efficient. They have your appointment set up and you check in. They come and get you and you go back to the treatment room, which is this huge empty room except for this giant machine. You lay down on this cold table. They place the machine — I still have the markers that they used for where they put the machine — it’s little blue dots. It takes less than 10 minutes, even for the double dose.”

Caldwell would get up and take the kids to school, make the hour-and-ahalf drive to Hot Springs, do the double treatment, drive home, go to work.

“The first week, I thought, ‘This is nothing. Everything is fine. No big deal. I’m not turning red.’ They kept telling me how I’d look burnt. I didn’t have that at all.

“By the end of week two, the sunburn — radiation burn — was there. You can’t wear a bra. You get this cream they give you for that. It’s disgusting, but it helps. You can buy it at Walmart. If you ever have a sunburn, it’s great,” she said with a laugh.

Supplemental topical agents, which come in different brands, are utilized for the treatment of acute radiation dermatitis for breast cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy. The skin reaction can result in itching, swelling, pain and general discomfort. Some of the agents are petroleum based while others are water based.

At the end of week four, Caldwell said, “By the time I was getting done, I was having a hard time getting on and off the table. To raise up, I had to do a full rollover and get my feet on the ground and get up that way.”

Having a support team helps, be it family, friends, co-workers and employers, or even an ex-husband.

“My two older kids were working. My two younger kids couldn’t drive yet. You don’t want to put people out. You don’t want to ask for favors and stuff. By the time I got to the end… Christmas Eve, my ex-husband, Martin Caldwell drove me to that treatment. He and I are still really good friends. I just didn’t think I could get there and back on my own. He drove me over,¬ waited on me and got me back.

“I had a three-day weekend because of Christmas. Where I work, at Hampton’s, we take off the afternoon of Christmas Eve. So, I didn’t have to go back to work that day and I had three days off in a row. Then I went back to work and also had my last three treatments.

“It was not fun, but the good point was we caught it early. Less than three months of my life were actual physi-

See CALDWELL continued on page 12

By Richie Lawry

My Daddy had looked forward to his Madison College reunion for six months. I told him I would take him, and he was so happy. Over the years, he kept in touch with friends from college. This year’s reunion was to be the final reunion, and Daddy didn’t want to miss it. Madison College closed in the early ‘60s, so there are few remaining alumni. As the reunion neared, he talked about it to everyone he met.

A few weeks before the reunion, my orthopedic surgeon scheduled my knee replacement surgery just a few days before the college reunion. When I told Daddy, he was very disappointed. I felt terrible, but there was nothing I could do. I asked my daughter if there was any way that she might be able to take him, and she was able to arrange her schedule so that she could.

Daddy was excited when I told him she would take him to the reunion. They packed the car with snacks and headed out on a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee. While at the reunion, Daddy had a great time reconnecting with old friends. He also enjoyed showing off his beautiful granddaughter. Nine college alumni who, along with Daddy, graduated in the ‘50s were in attendance.

The morning after the reunion, Daddy and some friends ate breakfast at Cracker Barrel. After a wonderful visit, it was time to head back home to Mena. When they said their goodbyes, Daddy told his friends, “I probably won’t see you again, but I will meet you at the river.”

The evening that Daddy and my daughter returned from Nashville, we had a wonderful time visiting as they told us stories of the weekend. Daddy was happier and more engaging than he had been for quite a while. He told anyone he talked to about his reunion experiences. He told stories from his boyhood that I had never heard before.

While recovering from knee surgery, Daddy stayed at my business daily to let customers know I could not work for a few weeks. Last Wednesday, while