York County Edition
March 2014
Vol. 15 No. 3
Dedication and Dance through the Ages Women’s Club Benefits from Program Director’s Arts Pedigree By Megan Joyce Our 21st-century dance styles would likely leave the ragtime-dancing, Edwardian-era female founders of The Iris Club confused at best. But those progressive-for-their-time ladies would be pleased by their modern club’s continuing dedication to community service, women’s empowerment, and artistic and enlightened entertainment—spearheaded by its current program director, Priscilla Kaufhold. “She is always full of great ideas,” said Carol Szutowicz, The Iris Club’s first vice president. “While many people have that talent, the difference is Priscilla works to make those ideas happen and sees projects through to the end.” The Iris Club formed in 1895 when Alice Nevin, daughter of Franklin & Marshall College President John Williamson Nevin, invited 70 women to her home to initiate a club to encourage women’s socialization and community involvement. The club’s downtown building was purchased in 1898 and still hosts the club’s twice-monthly meetings, where members enjoy lunch, entertainment, friendship, and high tea. In October 2013, the club celebrated its 115th please see DANCE page 14 Priscilla Kaufhold, program director for The Iris Club, on the club’s grand staircase. Over her shoulder is a portrait of Alice Nevin, who founded the women’s club in 1895.
Inside:
Are Your Social Security Benefits Taxable? page 7
Special Section: Living for the Long Term page 9
The Way I See It
March Madness Mike Clark Lancaster
Celebrates Seniors
15th Annual
Two of your favorite events, together!
26th Annual
15th Annual FREE!
DAUPHIN COUNTY &
May 27, 2014
May 5, 2014 May 5–9, 2014 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Spooky Nook Sports
FREE!
NEW LOCATION!
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Hershey Lodge 325 University Drive Hershey
2913 Spooky Nook Road Manheim (Just off Rt. 283 at the Salunga exit)
11th Annual
12th Annual
CHESTER COUNTY
June 10, 2014 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. FREE! Church Farm School 1001 East Lincoln Highway Exton
YORK COUNTY
Sept. 17, 2014 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. York Expo Center FREE! Memorial Hall East 334 Carlisle Avenue York
15th Annual
CUMBERLAND COUNTY
18th Annual
LANCASTER COUNTY
Oct. 22, 2014 FREE!
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Carlisle Expo Center 100 K Street Carlisle
Nov. 5, 2014 FREE!
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Spooky Nook Sports 2913 Spooky Nook Road Manheim
(Just off Rt. 283 at the Salunga exit)
Limited Sponsorship Opportunities Available
Exhibitors • Health Screenings • Seminars Entertainment • Door Prizes (717) 285-1350 • (717) 770-0140 (610) 675-6240
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March 2014
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o, I’m not talking about the NCAA basketball tournament overtaking the airwaves of every sports fan in the nation. I’ve never been at all interested in that. And those diagrams of teams, who they play, and where they end up is like contemplating those convoluted sentence diagrams in English class. I didn’t pay much attention to those, either. Actually, the only way these diagrams seem to resemble each other is that there are subjectively important words on outspreading lines. The exception is that there are no dangling lines on the basketball charts. Maybe there should be for the teams whose chances of advancing are slim. To those danglers we could add short, horizontal lines with gloomy-face icons. But what do I know? Well, I know one thing (my wife says that’s about all I know), and so do you. The days are getting noticeably longer; and soon, the crocuses, daffodils, hyacinths, irises, and other early-spring bloomers will push through the sodden earth to show off their vivid splendor. I’m amazed that some of these plants withstand the wild vagaries of March and early-April weather. It is striking to see crocuses and daffodils emerge from a patch of snow, don’t you think? We planted two eastern red bud trees last year on a sweltering summer day. Doing so nearly crippled my wife and me. Why we picked the spots where two previous trees had once grown is inexplicable. Much of the old root systems still lurked roughly 4 or 5 inches below the surface. That should have been easy enough to surmise, but those trees were gone long enough that I just assumed rot had done its job. It did not. Rot only takes place where it is least welcome, such as landscape timbers, wood house trim, and tires on my barely used truck. The first shovelful of dirt gave us a false sense of ease. By the second shovelful I was well aware that I was going to need a hatchet, a reciprocal saw with a toothy pruning blade, a hefty digging iron, 2 gallons of cold drinking water, and a shady place for frequent breaks. We persevered, though, and the trees
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were in-ground by the end of the day. It was a satisfying accomplishment, in spite of my wife and me being scuffed bloody. Anyway, the new buds should soon appear, assuring us that our struggle paid off. Since March winds can really knock the spindly things around, I might have to stake them. I didn’t stake them after planting because I was told that if trees were planted properly, they wouldn’t need staking. And then we watched in horror as heavy storms whacked away at them in late summer, and the November winds made valiant attempts to uproot them. They endured it all, but I am still uneasy about that theory. The weather is what creates March madness. One day it is sunny and very warm, almost summerlike; other days can be cold and blustery, seeming as though snow is imminent. This unsettled condition is essentially what causes March to be so windy. It is also why November is the same. I’m no meteorologist or earth scientist, so I am hardly qualified to go into all the details of the forces that come together to make the wind kick up such a fury. But it’s one of the things I like about March. I love how the dramatic, wind-driven clouds move swiftly overhead on a bright day, creating fluid forms on the ground; walking along the mushy banks as turbid trout streams rush along, swollen from the snow and ice-melt; and the plethora of regional garden shows that inspire us to start planning for the inevitable arrival of spring. We have our shows in York, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia. I’ve heard many people say that they dislike March because it feels so gloomy. Really? Gloominess is in the mind. Think about it a bit more. Think of things that you can like about this month. I’ll bet you can come up with something surprising; maybe it will change your perspective. After all, a positive outlook makes the transition to spring a lot less fretful. Mike Clark writes a regular column for The Globe Leader newspaper in New Wilmington, Pa. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational behavior/applied psychology from Albright College. Mike lives outside Columbia, Pa., and can be contacted at mikemac429@aol.com.
www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
Colorectal Cancer Screening Rates Remain Low About one in three adults aged 50 to 75 years have not been tested for colorectal cancer as recommended by the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), according to a new Vital Signs report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite research that shows colorectal cancer screening tests save lives, screening rates remain too low. “There are more than 20 million adults in this country who haven’t had any recommended screening for colorectal cancer and who may therefore get cancer and die from a preventable tragedy,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “Screening for colorectal cancer is effective and can save your life.” Colorectal cancer is the secondleading cancer killer among men and women in the United States, after lung cancer. Screening tests can prevent cancer or detect it at an early stage, when
treatment can be highly effective. Adults aged 50 years and older should get tested with one or a combination of these screening tests: • Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) done at home every year • Flexible sigmoidoscopy, done every five years, with FOBT/FIT done every three years • Colonoscopy done every 10 years A colonoscopy can detect cancer early, and it can find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. An FOBT/FIT is a simple at-home test that can detect cancer early by identifying blood in the stool, a possible sign of cancer. People are not always offered a choice
of colorectal cancer tests, but studies have shown that people who are able to choose the test they prefer are more likely to get the test done. CDC researchers reviewed colorectal cancer screening data from CDC’s 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System to estimate the percentage of people aged 50 to 75 years who reported getting screened as recommended by type of test. Major findings:
screening was in Massachusetts (76 percent). • Blacks and whites had similar screening rates, but a higher percentage of blacks across all income and education levels used FOBT.
• Among adults who were screened as recommended, colonoscopy was by far the most common screening test (62 percent). Use of the other USPSTFrecommended tests was much lower: fecal occult blood test, 10 percent, and flexible sigmoidoscopy in combination with FOBT/FIT, less than 1 percent.
The authors noted that increasing use of all tests may increase screening rates. Furthermore, research shows that more people may get tested if healthcare providers use an organized approach to identify people who need to be screened; contact them at their home or community setting; advise them of each test; and carefully monitor to make sure they complete their test. For more information about preventing colorectal cancer, please visit www.cdc.gov/cancer/colorectal.
• The highest percentage of adults who were up to date with colorectal cancer
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Resource Directory This Resource Directory recognizes advertisers who have made an extended commitment to your health and well-being. Active Adult Communities Roth’s Farm Village Roth’s Church Road, Spring Grove (717) 633-7300 Adult Day Centers SeniorLIFE 1500 Memory Lane Ext.,York (814) 535-6000 Animal Hospitals Community Animal Hospital Donald A. Sloat, D.V.M. 400 S. Pine St.,York (717) 845-5669 Automobile Sales/Service Gordon’s Body Shop, Inc. 10 Mill St., Stewartstown (717) 993-2263 Sun Motor Cars 6677 Carlisle Pike, Mechanicsburg (877) 316-3030 Coins & Currency Steinmetz Coins & Currency 2861 E. Prospect Road,York (717) 757-6980
Energy Assistance Low-Income Energy Assistance (717) 787-8750 Entertainment Dutch Apple Dinner Theatre 510 Centerville Road, Lancaster (717) 898-1900 Health & Medical Services Alzheimer’s Association (717) 651-5020 Alzheimer’s Information Clearinghouse (800) 367-5115 American Diabetes Association (800) 342-2383 CONTACT Helpline (717) 652-4400 The National Kidney Foundation (800) 697-7007 or (717) 757-0604 Social Security Information (800) 772-1213 Healthcare Information PA HealthCare Cost Containment (717) 232-6787
Hearing Services Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (800) 233-3008 V/TTY Home Care Services Senior Helpers Serving Adams and York counties (717) 920-0707 Visiting Angels Living Assistance Services (717) 630-0067 – Hanover (717) 751-2488 – York Housing/Apartments Elm Spring Residence 118 Pleasant Acres Road,York (717) 840-7676 Springetts Manor Apartments 50 Eisenhower Drive,York (717) 757-1565 Housing Assistance Housing Authority of York (717) 845-2601
Insurance – Long-Term Care Apprise Insurance Counseling (717) 771-9610 or (800) 632-9073 Pharmacies CVS/pharmacy www.cvs.com Minnich’s Pharmacy 976 S. George St.,York (717) 848-2312 Senior Move Management A Life Transition Service (717) 799-0648 Services York County Area Agency on Aging (800) 632-9073 Veterans Services Lebanon VA Medical Center 1700 S. Lincoln Ave., Lebanon (717) 228-6000 or (800) 409-8771
Property Tax/Rent Rebate (888) 728-2937
Not an all-inclusive list of advertisers in your area.
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50plus Senior News is published by On-Line Publishers, Inc. and is distributed monthly among senior centers, retirement communities, banks, grocers, libraries and other outlets serving the senior community. On-Line Publishers, Inc. will not knowingly accept or publish advertising which may be fraudulent or misleading in nature. Views expressed in opinion stories, contributions, articles and letters are not necessarily the views of the publisher. The appearance of advertisements for products or services does not constitute an endorsement of the particular product or service. The publisher will not be responsible for mistakes in advertisements unless notified within five days of publication. On-Line Publishers, Inc. reserves the right to revise or reject any and all advertising. No part of this publication may be reproduced or reprinted without permission of On-Line Publishers, Inc. We will not knowingly publish any advertisement or information not in compliance with the Federal Fair Housing Act, Pennsylvania State laws or other local laws.
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March 2014
Medicare Manuals Updated to Rule Out Suspected ‘Improvement Standard’ The Center for Medicare Advocacy recently announced that the Medicare policy manuals have been revised as a result of December’s Jimmo vs. Sebelius settlement. Published by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) in December, the manual revisions clarify that improvement is not required to obtain Medicare coverage for skilled nursing facilities (SNF), home healthcare (HH), or outpatient therapies (OPT). The manual revisions also improve coverage for people who require intense rehabilitation in inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRF). Medicare determinations for skilled nursing facilities, home health, and outpatient therapy turn on the need for skilled care—not on the ability of an individual to improve. For patients in inpatient rehabilitation facilities, the manual revisions and CMS education campaign clarify that coverage should never be denied because a patient cannot be expected to achieve complete independence in self-care
or to return to his/her prior level of functioning. “As with all components of settlement agreements, the Jimmo revisions are not perfect,” says Judith Stein, executive director of the Center for Medicare Advocacy. “But they do make it absolutely clear that skilled care is covered by Medicare for therapy and nursing to maintain a patient’s condition or slow decline—not just for improvement.” The Jimmo case was brought in 2011 by the Center for Medicare Advocacy and Vermont Legal Aid on behalf of a nationwide class of Medicare beneficiaries who were denied Medicare coverage and access to necessary healthcare or therapy because they did not have sufficient potential for improvement. As a result of the Jimmo settlement, Medicare cannot be denied in a nursing home, home care, or outpatient therapy setting based on an “improvement standard.” As CMS states in the transmittal announcing the Jimmo manual revisions:
No “improvement standard” is to be applied in determining Medicare coverage for maintenance claims that require skilled care. Medicare has long recognized that even in situations where no improvement is possible, skilled care may nevertheless be needed for maintenance purposes (i.e., to prevent or slow a decline in condition). The Center for Medicare Advocacy encourages people to appeal if they are told Medicare is not available for skilled-maintenance nursing or therapy because they are not improving. Information and self-help material are available on the center’s website (www.medicareadvocacy.org). Patients can also contact the Center for Medicare Advocacy or its website to obtain a card with key provisions from the new Medicare manuals to show their healthcare providers. More information is available on the center’s website (www.medicare advocacy.org/medicare-info/improve ment-standard) or by calling their national office at (860) 456-7790.
Walk to Cure Arthritis Let’s walk to find a cure for arthritis this spring by participating in the Arthritis Foundation Central PA Office’s 2014 Central Pennsylvania Arthritis Walk on Saturday, May 17. The walk will be held at the U.S. Army and Heritage Education Center, 950 Soldiers Drive, Carlisle. The Walk to Cure Arthritis is a non-competitive, 5kilometer (3.1-mile), or 1-mile course with varying distance options to accommodate all levels of fitness. Come out with your friends, family members, coworkers, and even your dog. Individual walkers and teams are encouraged to walk in honor of a loved one with arthritis, while men, women, and children living with arthritis lead the way, wearing special blue honoree hats to signify their action in taking control of their condition. Individuals who raise $100 or more will receive a t-shirt. There
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will be a VIP and team tailgate party new this year. Any individual who raises $500 or more will be invited to the VIP area. Any team raising $1,000 or more will be
invited to the team tailgate party. Arthritis affects more people than you might imagine. There are 52 million men and women in the United States with doctor-diagnosed arthritis. Children are also affected. Nationwide, there are more than 300,000 children who suffer from a form of juvenile arthritis, 11,500 of whom live in Pennsylvania. Funds raised from the Walk to Cure Arthritis support hundreds of programs to help people prevent
and control arthritis. It also funds promising arthritis research that is critical to finding new therapies, treatments, and eventually a cure for arthritis. The Arthritis Foundation is the only nationwide, nonprofit health organization helping people take greater control of arthritis by leading efforts to prevent, control, and cure arthritis and related diseases. The Arthritis Foundation also provides a large number of community-based services located nationwide to make life with arthritis easier and less painful. You may register online at www.arthritiswalkcentralpa.kintera.org. For more information on the Walk to Cure Arthritis, please contact Douglas Knepp at dknepp@arthritis.org or (717) 8847525. Together we can change lives, and we look forward to seeing you at the Walk to Cure Arthritis in May. www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
Art and Antiques by Dr. Lori
Collecting Glass Canning Jars
MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF PEOPLE WITH DEMENTIA Please join us for this FREE educational seminar
Friday, April 11 Zion United Methodist Church 1030 Carlisle Ave, York
RSVP 717.751.2488
Lori Verderame he method of using glass jars to could be opened in a flash, the glass lids preserve food came about when were popular because they did not Napoleon Bonaparte's French present as many contamination problems military sponsored a contest. as did the common zinc lids. Many The French military offered a cash companies produced glass canning jars: prize of 12,000 francs to the person who Lustre, Climax, Atlas, Swayzee, Samco, devised a method to preserve food for etc. long periods of time. French inventor The Buffalo, N.Y., family named Ball Nicolas Appert was responsible for (the Ball jar), headed by William Charles introducing the heat-seal process of Ball and his five brothers, produced canning in the early 1800s. He won the paint-and-oil storage cans. From a new prize! factory in Muncie, Later, glass jars Ind., following a fire came of age. In the at their Buffalo late 1850s—1858 facility, the Ball to be exact—when Company began the Mason fruit jar producing glass was patented by tin storage jars. Like Mason jars, smith John Mason, soon Ball jars everything changed became a household in the world of name. While the canning. The majority of glass Mason jar solved canning jars sell in the foodthe $10 to $75 preservation range, a Ball problem with the Perfection half-pint use of a lid and glass fruit-canning rubber seal. jar sold recently for Mason’s patent was A 19th-century half-pint glass $600 at auction. for the machine fruit-canning jar worth $60. While both that cut tin into Mason and Ball took threads, making it great strides in the arena of glass canning easy to manufacture a jar with a reusable jars, Alexander Kerr made canning easier screw-top lid. Mason’s sealing for those working in the kitchen with his mechanism, comprised of a glass container with a thread-molded top and a introduction of wide-mouth/easy-to-fill self-sealing canning jars. zinc lid with a rubber-seal ring, was His jars allowed a threaded metal ring patented on Nov. 30, 1858. Bacteria were killed by heating the jars to stay in place during the heating in hot water and sealing the jar while still process. These jars could be quickly filled and reused, too. hot. The heat-seal process gave glass jars When it comes to valuable glass an important place in the collectibles canning jars, look for embossed pattern realm. Today, collectors look for glass canning decoration and lettering advertising the jars, also called fruit jars, for canning and origin and maker of the jar, clear condition, no cracks or chips, and the for kitchen decoration in the antiques original accessory lid, seal ring, or clamp. market. Happy canning and collecting! If you think one canning jar is no different from another canning jar, then, think again … Celebrity Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author,
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Registration: 8 – 8:30 a.m. Presentation by Good News Consulting & Dr. Kenneth Brubaker: 8:30 – 11:30 a.m. Panel Discussion: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
Dr. Kenneth Brubaker, Chief Medical Director for the Pennsylvania Department of Aging and the Office of Long Term Living, will be joining us at all locations as a speaker and panelist. Seminar will also be held on May 2 in Lancaster and June 6 in Hanover.
FREE gift for the first 25 attendees Door prizes • Light Refreshments
Sponsored by:
Registration is required and seating is limited. Call today to reserve your seat.
Community Animal Hospital Our caring, well-trained staff will treat you and your pet like family
Donald A. Sloat, D.V.M. Office Hours: 7 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday 8 - 11:30 a.m. Saturday Doctor’s Hours by Appointment Serving the York community for over 40 years. (717) 845-5669 • 400 South Pine Street • York
Photo courtesy of staff of www.DrLoriV.com
Clamped Glass Jars In 1882, Henry Putnam of Bennington, Vt., invented a glass canning jar that used a glass lid and a metal-clamp closure. Called lightning jars because they www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
and award-winning TV personality, Dr. Lori hosts antiques appraisal events worldwide. Dr. Lori is the star appraiser on Discovery channel’s Auction Kings. To learn about your antiques: www.DrLoriV.com, www.Facebook.com/DoctorLori, @DrLori on Twitter, and (888) 431-1010.
is seeking an ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE On-Line Publishers, Inc. has an opening for a highly motivated person with a professional attitude to sell print and online advertising as well as niche events. The successful candidate should: • Enjoy building and maintaining your own long-term business relationships. • Be highly motivated, detail oriented, and able to multitask. • Have good communication skills. • Show a willingness to learn and grow in a fast-paced environment. We offer a competitive compensation plan with a benefits package that includes health insurance and a 401(k) plan. If you have sales experience and are interested in joining our growing sales team, please send your resume and compensation history/requirements to danderson@onlinepub.com. On-Line Publishers, Inc. • 3912 Abel Drive • Columbia, PA 17512 • 717.285.1350 www.onlinepub.com
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The Beauty in Nature
Dead Leaves on Beeches and Oaks in Winter Clyde McMillan-Gamber ead, dried leaves clinging to twigs on American beech trees and certain kinds of oak trees in winter add decorative bits of beige and warm-brown beauties to gray or snowcovered deciduous woods and suburban lawns in southeastern Pennsylvania, as elsewhere. The dead foliage of beeches is pale beige, thin, and curled, while dried leaves on the oaks are thicker and brown. And dead foliage from beeches and oaks has other beauties. Pieces flutter dryly in the wind, sleet rattles against them, and snow piles beautifully on them. Additional beauties of beeches include massive trunks and gnarled limbs on older individuals. And all beeches, young and older, have smooth, gray bark;
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copper-yellow woods with moist, foliage; and small, rich soil. And they brown nuts in are planted on prickly shells in lawns where the fall and long, thin beauties of both leaf buds with species are most warm-brown scales admired. in winter. Beeches Beeches and dominate certain oaks are closely woodlands. But related. And pin, that is noted only white, black, and in winter, when scarlet oaks are the other kinds of species in the local trees are devoid of area most likely to foliage while the retain much of innumerable dead their dried foliage A beech tree retains some of its dead leaves beech leaves still through winter. embrace their throughout the winter. Pin oaks and twigs. beeches are plentiful in bottomland Marcescence is the phenomena of
deciduous trees holding many of their desiccated leaves through winter. Retention of dead foliage may be caused by a failure of an enzyme to produce a complete abscission layer on some of the stems that attach the leaves to their twigs. Complete abscissions break leaves free of their twigs. Dead beech and oak leaves eventually break off their trees in spring: from rain, wind, and the swelling of new leaf buds breaking the attaching layers in the stems. The leaves finally join innumerable other ones in decomposing carpets on the ground, which enriches the soil. Look for dead, dried beech and oak leaves on their trees this winter or succeeding ones. They add beauty to woods and lawns.
Free Tax Assistance Offered Through April 15 of each year, the AARP Tax-Aide program offers free oneon-one counseling as well as assistance on the telephone and Internet to help individuals prepare basic tax forms, including the 1040, 1040A, 1040EZ, and other standard documents. The following are locations in your area. Please call for an appointment or visit www.aarp.org/money/taxaide for more information. Dover Community Library 3700 Davidsburg Road, Dover Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (717) 292-6814
Hanover YWCA 23 W. Chestnut St., Hanover Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to noon (717) 637-2125
Red Lion Senior Center 20C Gotham Drive, Red Lion Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (717) 244-7229
Windy Hill On the Campus 1472 Roth Church Road, Spring Grove Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m. to noon (717) 225-0733
Messiah United Methodist Church 1300 N. Beaver St., York Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. (717) 771-9042
Redland Senior Citizen Center 60 Newberry Commons, Etters Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. (717) 938-4649
York Alliance Church 501 Rathton Road, York Wednesdays, 8:30 a.m. to noon (717) 771-9042
Northeastern Area Social Services 131 Center St., Mount Wolf Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (717) 266-1400
White Rose Senior Center 27 S. Broad St., York Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (717) 843-9704
Yorktowne Senior Center 509 Pacific Ave., York Fridays, 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. (717) 854-0693
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Social Security News
Are Your Social Security Benefits Taxable? By John Johnston f you’ve recently begun receiving Social Security benefits or plan to apply in the near future, you may be wondering this tax season: Are Social Security benefits taxable? The short answer is: sometimes. Some people have to pay federal income taxes on their Social Security benefits. This usually happens only if you have other substantial income (such as wages, self-employment, interest, dividends, and other taxable income that must be reported on your tax return) in addition to your Social Security benefits. There is never a case when a person pays tax on more than 85 percent of his or her Social Security benefits, based on
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Internal Revenue Service (IRS) rules. Now, let’s get down to the numbers.
have a combined income that is between $32,000 and $44,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits.
• If you file a federal tax return as an individual and your income is between $25,000 and $34,000, you may have to pay income tax on up to 50 percent of your benefits.
• If your combined income is more than $44,000, then up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable.
• If your income is more than $34,000, then up to 85 percent of your benefits may be taxable. • If you are married and you file a joint return, and you and your spouse
Note that your “income” for the purpose of determining whether you must pay taxes on some of your Social Security benefits includes your adjusted gross income, your nontaxable interest, and one-half of your Social Security benefits.
In January, you should have received a Social Security benefit statement showing the amount of benefits you received last year. You can use this statement, or SSA1099, when completing your federal income tax return to find out whether some of your benefits are subject to federal income tax. If you didn’t receive yours, you can request one at www.socialsecurity.gov/1099. So, are your Social Security benefits taxable? Maybe. To learn more, read page 14 of our booklet, Retirement Benefits, available at www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs or visit www.irs.gov to obtain more detailed information on the subject. John Johnston is a Social Security public affairs specialist.
Calendar of Events
York County
York County Department of Parks and Recreation
Senior Center Activities
Pre-registration is required for these programs. To register or find out more about these activities or any additional scheduled activities, call (717) 428-1961.
South Central Senior Community Center – (717) 235-6060, http://southcentralyorkcountysrctr.webs.com First and Third Mondays, 12:30 p.m. – Card-Making Class Wednesdays, 9 a.m. – Ceramics Class Wednesdays, 11 a.m. – Dancersize
March 30, 2:30 to 4 p.m. – Signs of Spring Walk, Nixon County Park
York County Library Programs Collinsville Community Library, 2632 Delta Road, Brogue, (717) 927-9014 Tuesdays, 6 to 8 p.m. – Purls of Brogue Knitting Club
Please contact your local center for scheduled activities. Glatfelter Memorial Library, 101 Glenview Road, Spring Grove, (717) 225-3220 Mondays, 6 to 8 p.m. – Knitting and Spinning Group Paul Smith Library of Southern York County, 80 Constitution Ave., Shrewsbury, (717) 235-4313 March 6, 2 to 4 p.m. or 7 to 9 p.m., or March 8, 10 a.m. to noon – Year of the Book Writer’s Workshop
Programs and Support Groups March 4, 7 p.m. Surviving Spouse Socials of York County Faith United Church of Christ 509 Pacific Ave., York (717) 266-2784 March 7, 10:30 a.m. Partners in Thyme Herb Club of Southern York County Meeting Glenview Alliance Church 10037 Susquehanna Trail South, Glen Rock (717) 428-2210
Free and open to the public March 9, 2 p.m. One Book, One Community Celebration of Readers Lebanon Valley College Zimmerman Recital Hall 101 N. College Ave., Annville RSVP to (717) 867-6976 or onebookpa@gmail.com
Please send us your press releases so we can let our readers know about free events occurring in York County! Email preferred to: mjoyce@onlinepub.com
March 20, 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Alzheimer’s Support Group Senior Commons at Powder Mill 1775 Powder Mill Road, York (717) 741-0961
If you have an event you would like to include, please email information to mjoyce@onlinepub.com for consideration.
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Give Us the Scoop!
Let (717) 285-1350 Help you get the word out!
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Salute to a Veteran
He Has a Bullet from the Rifle of the First Man He Killed in Combat Robert D. Wilcox Locally RN Owned & Nationally Known VisitingAngels.com
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hen Richard Lawrence graduated from high school in 1967, he had already heard a lot about the Marines. His father had been a Marine in World War II, and his older brother was a Marine corporal. So he had heard many war stories centered on what it meant to be a Marine. He could hardly wait to share in some of that glory himself, so, as soon as he graduated from high school, he enlisted in the Marine Corps and headed for boot camp at Sgt. Richard G. Lawrence with South Vietnamese Parris Island, S.C. He soon soldier and captured enemy flag. found that grinding toughness was fundamental in becoming a Marine. to learn all there was to know about Then it was to Camp Lejeune, N.C., firing rifles, machine guns, and rockets.
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That was followed by a flight to Camp Pendleton, Calif., for training specific to warfare in Vietnam. Ready for combat, in December 1967 he was flown to Da Nang, Vietnam, which was the site of the main U.S. airbase in Vietnam, with U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marine units. What was it like to find yourself in Vietnam? With a thin grin, he says, “It told us it was going to be rough, since the base was under rocket attack as we arrived. I remember that a single rocket killed everyone in two squads of Marines in one of the barracks that night.” He was assigned to Headquarters Company, Service Battalion, 1st
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Living for the Long Term
A special section featuring some of Central Pennsylvania’s many options for long-term care.
Savvy Senior
Paying for Nursing-Home Care with Medicaid Jim Miller Dear Savvy Senior, What are the eligibility requirements to get Medicaid coverage for nursing-home care? – Looking Ahead Dear Looking, The rules and requirements for Medicaid eligibility for nursing-home care are somewhat complicated and will vary according to the state you live in. With that said, here’s a general, simplified rundown of what it takes to qualify, along with some resources you can turn to for help. Medicaid Rules Medicaid, the federal and state joint program that covers healthcare for the
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poor, is also the largest single payer of America’s nursinghome bills for seniors who don’t have the resources to pay for their own care. Most people who enter nursing homes don’t qualify for Medicaid at first but pay for care either through long-term care insurance or out of pocket until they deplete their savings and become eligible for Medicaid.
To qualify for Medicaid, your income and assets will need to be under a certain level that’s determined by your state. Most states require that a person have no more than about $2,000 in countable assets that include cash, savings, investments, or other financial resources that can be turned into cash. Assets that aren’t counted for eligibility include your home if
it’s valued under $543,000 (this limit is higher—up to $814,000—in some states), your personal possessions and household goods, one vehicle, prepaid funeral plans, and a small amount of life insurance. But be aware that while your home is not considered a countable asset to determine your eligibility, if you can’t return to your home, Medicaid can go after the proceeds of your house to help reimburse your nursing-home costs, unless your spouse or other dependent relative lives there. (There are some other exceptions to this rule.) After qualifying, all sources of your income, such as Social Security and pension checks, must be turned over to please see MEDICAID page 15
A warm, caring, 50-bed, non-profit community with an excellent staff-to-resident ratio and a personal touch, Misericordia Nursing & Rehabilitation Center offers physical, occupational, and speech therapy; respite, hospice, and dementia care; and short- or long-term skilled nursing care. Misericordia earned a five-star rating on the Medicare Nursing Home Compare website and was named one of the best nursing homes in the United States in 2013 by U.S. News and World Report. All faiths are welcome.
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Providing the highest-quality services with compassion and respect, Visiting Angels assists with bathing, dressing, meal preparation, transportation, errands, respite care, and more. Susan Heinle, RN, president, and CEO, created The Passages™ program, where specially certified staff assist people with dementia and offer training for families. Awards include the Central Penn Senior Care Hero Award; Best of York County 2012, 2013; and nomination for Business of the Year. Gov. Corbett appointed Heinle to the Pennsylvania Alzheimer’s Disease State Planning Committee.
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Tinseltown Talks
The Real Rod Serling Nick Thomas t’s been called one of the most influential programs in the history of television drama. The Twilight Zone, an anthology series that aired in the early 1960s, was created by Rod Serling (1924-1975), a veteran of radio and World War II. Both influenced his career as a writer. “When he returned from war in the Philippines, he went to college and wrote for the campus radio station,” daughter Anne Serling recently recalled to me. “He later wrote plays for commercial radio, then television. He said writing was a way to get the war trauma ‘out of his gut.’” During the show’s five-year run, Serling was executive producer and chief writer, penning more than half the approximately 150 episodes. But he is best remembered as the program’s stonefaced host, whose foreboding narrations introduced the show each week.
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Photo courtesy of Jerry Sroka Photo courtesy of Anne Serling
Anne Serling with her father, Rod Serling, in the early 1970s.
Mariette Hartley and Robert Lansing in the Twilight Zone episode, “The Long Morrow.”
Serling and the Twilight Zone icon.
In biographies after his death, the master storyteller of chilling sci-fi and fantasy tales was often described as dark and depressed, inaccuracies that led Anne “to set the record straight” in her own book about her father. “He was described as a tortured soul, but that wasn’t my father at all,” said Anne, who published As I Knew Him: My Dad, Rod Serling in 2013. “Although the war left scars, he was also a very positive, fun, down-to-earth person. My friends adored him, and any apprehension they had about meeting him would instantly dissolve because he could make anyone feel at ease. He was brilliantly funny at home, a great practical joker, and was always at the dinner table each night.” As a child, Anne had little knowledge of her father’s career. “I knew he was a writer but didn’t know what he wrote about until I was
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about 7. Some mean boy on the school playground asked if I was ‘something out of The Twilight Zone,’ but I had no idea what that meant because I wasn’t allowed to watch much TV during the week— my mother’s rule! “A few years later, we watched ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet’ together, the episode where William Shatner sees a gremlin on an airplane wing. I remember looking at my father and thinking, ‘This is what you write?’ It was a bit scary.” Praised for his original fiction writing, Serling was also highly respected for raising social issues in some episodes, although controversial topics were subject to the censors’ whim. So he frequently concealed his intent in fantasy. “He famously once said he could have aliens say things that Democrats and Republicans couldn’t,” Anne recalled. Several Twilight Zone actors also shared vivid memories of Serling. Theodore Bikel is well known to fans of My Fair Lady as Henry Higgins’ rival linguist, the nosey Zoltan Karpathy. In July 1960, Austrian-born Bikel appeared on a Hollywood TV talk show, Caucus with Backus, and was verbally assailed by fellow guests: glamorous silent-film actress Corinne Griffith and beloved character-actor Adolphe Menjou. “We were talking politics and they said I had no right to open my mouth
Rod Serling CBS press photo Rod Serling chats with Charlton Heston on the set of Planet of the Apes with director Franklin Schaffner.
The cover of Anne Serling’s book, As I Knew Him, which she wrote to set the record straight about her father.
because I wasn’t born in this country,” recalled Bikel. Appalled, Serling appeared on a later program defending Bikel’s right to freedom of speech. “I will never forget how Rod came to my defense. I later appeared in The
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Twilight Zone episode ‘Four O’Clock’ in 1962.” Ann Jillian and Mariette Hartley were teenagers when they first met Serling. “I was 13 when I starred in the episode ‘Mute,’” Jillian recalled. “I was very excited about doing the popular
show. Mr. Serling made me feel at ease and didn’t talk down to me.” And after seeing him on TV, a gutsy 14-year-old Mariette Hartley telephoned Serling and asked him to speak to her Connecticut high school drama club. “He said he would be delighted, and I can still see him sitting in the teacher’s desk at the front of the classroom talking to us,” Hartley said. “Years later, when I started working in Hollywood, I met him again when his limousine pulled up as I was walking out the studio. He remembered coming to my class. I told him I was looking for work, and within a couple of months he gave me the wonderful gift of working in ‘The Long Morrow’ episode.” Today, Serling continues to inspire other moviemakers. J.J. Abrams, director of the new Star Trek films, has called The Twilight Zone a big influence on his career and reportedly has secured the rights to adapt Serling’s last, neverproduced script, The Stops Along the Way. Until then, Rod Serling’s work is still available for your viewing pleasure, almost nightly, on classic TV cable channels … in The Twilight Zone. Thomas’ features and columns have appeared in more than 300 magazines and newspapers, and he is the author of Raised by the Stars, published by McFarland. He can be reached at his blog: http://getnickt.blogspot.com
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BULLET
from page 8
Marine Division. And the job of his unit was to provide protection for military vehicles moving back and forth on Highway One, south of Da Nang. Was that dangerous work? “Well,” he says, “it got pretty close to me when one night I wasn’t able to pull my duty of guarding the main gate of our camp, and the guy that replaced me got killed.” Then his unit was moved north to help recapture Hue, the major city that was once the capital of Vietnam. “The city was a shambles, and there was nothing but the most brutal, houseto-house fighting,” Lawrence says. He later was transferred to H Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Division for frontline fighting as a rifleman. “We had a ton of equipment,” he says, “and you had to carry it all. Ammo for your rifle and for a machine gun, one mortar round, c-rations, plastic poncho and liner, gas mask, and four canteens of water. Believe me, it was a load! “I headed a five-man fire team that once got gassed. I don’t know what the gas was, but I remember having seizures.
Fortunately, I was able to get an atropine brig. Then he was transferred to the shot, and that probably saved my life. Philippines, where he served for 18 “Just about everybody got jungle rot, months as a platoon sergeant with the an infection that came from the responsibility of helping to secure the inevitable scratches we got. It was easy to base. get cut up by the elephant grass that was There, the rebel Huks would try to just as sharp as a razor steal anything in sight. blade. And there were One night, he broke the bugs everywhere. arm and a leg of a Huk Believe it or not, there who was trying to steal were centipedes that copper wire. were a foot long. Then his hitch was “During the up, and he was flown to monsoon months, the a hospital in Treasure rain and the heat would Island, San Francisco, rot the clothes right off where he was treated for you. So we had to get cluster warts that were them replaced all the the result of an time.” infection he got while In January of 1969, serving in Vietnam. Lawrence got hepatitis After two months, he Richard Lawrence recuperating and was med evacuated was discharged from in Philadelphia Naval Hospital in the hospital and from by C-141 from Saigon January 1969. to Alaska and then to a the Marine Corps. hospital in Fort Dix, He returned to N.J. From there, he spent two months in Central Pennsylvania and worked in the Philadelphia Naval Hospital. construction for a while, but he was When he recovered, he returned to suffering from post-traumatic stress and Parris Island, where he worked in the was having recurring nightmares. He
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received treatment at the Harrisburg Outpatient Center and then for four years at the Lebanon VA Medical Center, where he was deemed to have a 100 percent disability. It was then he turned to his lifelong interest in art. As a teenager, he had won a Gold Key in the Scholastic Art Show in high school. And even during his days in Vietnam, he had continued sketching, as he had time. Now he was able to pursue his art in earnest, and he became an established artist, with 20 of his pieces exhibited in the National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum in Chicago. His work has been displayed at the art museums of several states, and he also provided the art for the book, Soldier’s Heart, which told the story of survivors’ views of combat trauma. He says that his time in Vietnam has led to the use of the very strong colors he uses in his artwork. So those years, as difficult as they were at the time, are very much with him today.
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CROSSWORD
Solutions for all puzzles can be found on page 14
WORD SEARCH
Across
SUDOKU
1. 5. 10. 14. 15. 16. 17. 19. 20. 21. 23. 24. 26.
Sunblock ingredient Court worker Circuits Eve’s son Wanderer Promised land Concern Adjutant Knitted fabric Feminist Duncan Beer mug Explode Turf
27. Moorehead of TV’s Bewitched 29. Consumed 31. Emulator 34. Provoke 35. Actor’s line 39. Like some computer files, at times 41. Ebbed 43. Unnatural 44. Way of life 45. Admiration 46. Singleton 48. Terrestrial lizard
50. 53. 55. 59. 61. 62. 63. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71.
King of Judah Social class Organic compound Air out Store sign Fem. suffix Wolf spiders Solar disk Spam medium ___ Blanc Variety Answer Conclusions
22. 24. 25. 28. 30. 31. 32. 33. 36. 37. 38. 40. 41. 42. 44.
47. 49. 50. 51. 52. 54. 56. 57. 58. 60. 61. 64. 65.
Rel. holiday Take for granted Regions Fight Subsequently Dishonor Claw Antelope Reposes Hire Exclusively Knock Be in pain
Down
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Everyone has them Terminate Contradict Actress Silverstone Irritation Child Ostrich relative Low-water mark Ukrainian seaport Toxic element So long California’s San ___ Bay 13. Slammin’ Sammy 18. Harmony
Bond Conveyor Consumption Pinch Compass point Hotshot The Black Cat writer Blunder Crete mountain Condensation Dutch commune Brazilian port Storm Gr. letter Caress
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DANCE
from page 1
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Club four years meeting other Scenes from “Fashion and Dance through the Ages”: ago when a artists through member invited their programs Kaufhold to and events,” she perform one of said. her dance shows, At its height “Dancing in the ’50s, the through the club had about Decades,” at a 600 members. club luncheon. Today, the Originally her number is closer written thesis to 90, but it is Feathered and fringed flappers from the 1920s project that still a dedicated compared and productive women’s fashion group of women. with concurrent “It makes me dance styles feel good to have through the first the chance to half of the 20th work with ladies century, the show who care about has since been their community expanded to and give back to Two dancers truckin’ in the 1940s include additional the community,” decades and said Kaufhold. renamed “Fashion “They have and Dance knowledge that I through the can grow from.” Ages.” Now in her “It’s turned out second year as to be an program entertaining director, history lesson Kaufhold’s main through music, duty is to find dance, and and schedule costumes,” said interesting Kaufhold, also a artists, poets, The polyester and disco dance fever talented craftspeople, of the 1970s seamstress. “[The musicians, show] is popular historians, and at retirement villages as well as schools.” dancers for the club, which offers its After her first Iris Club performance, members opportunities for community Kaufhold said she was flattered to be service by promoting educational asked to become a member. (Unlike a pursuits and creativity. century ago, however, membership is no In addition to its internal longer by invitation only.) Since then, programming, which Kaufhold the highly popular show returned in coordinates, The Iris Club hosts events spring 2013 as an Iris Club fundraiser. and fundraisers open to the local public. “The people are great, the building is “I also help plan special weekend a lovely mansion, and I really enjoy events throughout the year, such as
Pancakes with Santa, Pancakes with the Easter Bunny, the Fairytale Ball, themed dinners, and dance concert fundraisers,” Kaufhold said. Kaufhold is also a board member of The Iris Club and promotes the arts and volunteerism through partnerships with other community organizations. In 2012, while teaching at the local school of ballet, Kaufhold learned that the tenants of the old armory building, which included the ballet school, would have to relocate as the building was going up for sale. “I knew The Iris Club had lovely wooden floors, and the club was looking for rental income,” she said. “I thought the ballet company and The Iris Club would be a great fit and benefit mutually.” The ballet company now splits its class time between its nearby studio and The Iris Club. Kaufhold is grateful for the support of her husband, Jeffrey, and their three children, who have followed in their mother’s volunteer path. “All three have helped out with costumes backstage, crafts with camps, and Pancakes with Santa and the Easter Bunny over the years,” said Kaufhold. “Other children love them, and I just like having my kids around while I’m working on a show or project.” She also enjoys being around the other members of The Iris Club and is thankful that the women have entrusted her with bringing in entertaining and educational programming. “Their energy seems endless, and I realize I can’t complain around them,” she laughed. “I’m constantly in awe of these ladies. I’d be happy to accomplish half of what most of these Iris Club ladies have accomplished in their life!” For more information, contact The Iris Club at (717) 394-7811 or visit www.irisclublancasterpa.com.
Puzzles shown on page 13
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anniversary at the same location, greater than any other club in the state. Kaufhold has an extensive career in dance, theater, and performance direction. She runs the Millersville Costume Shop, where she began working shortly after graduating from American University in 1984 with a degree in performance/dance. She earned a graduate degree in dance and design at George Washington University while starting her family and continued to manage the costume shop during the 15 years she worked as professional company director of Kinetics Dance Theatre in Ellicott City, Md. “The Costume Shop combines all of my interests in crafts, sewing, design, theater, dance, etc.,” Kaufhold said. In 2013, Kaufhold expanded her creative foothold further when she started the Barefoot Dance Company, which includes dancers ranging in age from 13 to 55. Born in Boulder, Colo., with a childhood spent in Williamstown, Mass., Kaufhold’s family moved to Central Pennsylvania in 1968 when her father accepted a geography-professor position at Millersville University. Kaufhold’s artistic genes come honestly. Her mother directed and choreographed high-school musicals, operas, Girl Scout jamborees, and shows at the Fulton Opera House. She also taught modern dance at the YMCA and as a dance professor at Franklin & Marshall College. “I grew up going to my mom’s shows with my brothers and father to support my mother’s work,” Kaufhold said. “This has shaped my goal to create dances and shows that are entertaining—not just to people who want to attend, but their brothers, fathers, sisters, and other relations who come to shows because they have to.” Kaufhold connected with The Iris
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Have Money to Burn? Quality may be priceless, but it’s sometimes quite expensive. Take a look at some of the most costly luxury items available these days: Cars. The world’s most expensive automobile is the Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4, made with gold and jewels. Price tag: 4.6 million British pounds (about $7.4 million). No word on the gas mileage. Cocktails. The Winston, named for Winston Churchill, is made with Grand Marnier Quintessence, Angostura bitters, and a shot of 1858 Croizet cognac ($157,000 a bottle). The Australian bartender who mixed it
MEDICAID
up charged $12,916. Home offices. Your typical telecommuter probably couldn’t afford this: The Lehman Mansion, a fivestory commercial townhouse in New York City, sold for $40 million last fall, a price of $2,410 per square foot. Sporting events. Tickets to Game Six of the World Series, in which the Boston Red Sox faced the St. Louis Cardinals in Boston with the prospect of winning the World Series at home, cost anywhere from $900 for standingroom-only to $10,000 for actual seats close to the plate, making them the most expensive baseball tickets in sports history.
from page 9
Medicaid to pay for your care, except for a small personal-needs allowance— usually between $30 and $90. You also need to be aware that you can’t give away your assets to qualify for Medicaid faster. Medicaid officials will look at your financial records going back five years to root out suspicious asset transfers. If they find one, your Medicaid coverage will be delayed a certain length of time, according to a formula that divides the transfer amount by the average monthly cost of nursing-home care in your state. So if, for example, you live in a state where the average monthly nursinghome cost is $5,000 and you gave away cash or other assets worth $100,000, you would be ineligible for benefits for 20 months ($100,000 divided by $5,000 = 20). Spousal Protection Medicaid also has special rules for married couples when one spouse enters a nursing home and the other spouse remains at home. In these cases, the healthy spouse can keep one half of the couple’s assets up to $117,240 (this amount varies by state), the family home, all the furniture and household goods, and one automobile. www.50plusSeniorNewsPA.com
The healthy spouse is also entitled to keep a portion of the couple’s monthly income—between $1,938 and $2,931. Any income above that goes toward the cost of the nursing-home recipient’s care. What about Medicare? Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities, does not pay for long-term care. It only helps pay up to 100 days of “rehabilitative” nursing-home care, which must occur after a hospital stay.
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Get Help Again, Medicaid rules are complicated and vary by state, so contact the local Medicaid office (call (800) 633-4227 for contact information) for eligibility details. You can also get help from your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP), which provides free counseling on all Medicare and Medicaid issues. To find a local SHIP counselor, visit www.shiptalk.org or call (800) 677-1116. Jim Miller is a regular contributor to the NBC Today show and author of The Savvy Senior Book. www.savvysenior.org
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