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1 al e r 2 r c e 20 ne len inn e l G ce W x d E ar w A
Vol 43 • No. 1
www.theactiveage.com Kansas’ Largest Newspaper
December 2021
Newton's wild past
Hope, questions surround new drug for Alzheimer's
Neighbors Barbara Hammond, Claire Willenberg and Kathy Morgan spearheaded restoration of the Fresh Air Baby Camp building.
Fresh start for beloved building
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By Joe Stumpe A historic building that was constructed in three months a century ago took volunteers more than a decade to restore. They say it was worth every Saturday spent stripping paint and
patching walls, every grant application filled out and every donation request made on behalf of the Fresh Air Baby Camp building. Known by many for its later life as the Little Girl Scout House, the building in North See Baby Camp, page 12
By Joe Stumpe As someone afflicted with Alzheimer’s, David Welch was happy to see a drug called aducanumab conditionally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this summer. Now, he and many others are wondering when it will be available locally and how much it will cost patients to obtain, even though some medical experts say there’s no David Welch evidence it actually works. Welch has been part of a clinical trial of the drug for about six years and believes it has kept his memory problems from getting worse. The trial is being conducted by Via Christi
Research, part of Ascension Via Christi St. Francis. “Oh my gosh, I’m still driving, still working,” said Welch, who’s in his 60s. “I’ve still got a normal life. This doesn’t happen with dementia, you know.” The FDA approved aducanumab for all Alzheimer’s patients in June. A few weeks later, however, the agency said the drug should be used only for patients with mild memory or thinking problems, or about onefourth of the estimated 6 million Americans affected by the disease. That doesn’t prevent physicians from prescribing it to other Alzheimer’s patients, but it may influence if and how insurance companies and Medicare decide to cover the drug. The drug, made by Massachusettsbased drug giant Biogen, currently carries a list price of $56,000 per year. It’s sold under the name Aduhelm. See Alzheimer's, page 6
Art teacher 'can’t be in a bad mood' creating
Babs Mellor was honored last month for decades of teaching art in Wichita.
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By Bonnie Bing If your children or grandchildren want to play in the mud, let them. After all, that’s how sculptor and teacher Babs Mellor started. At the age of six, she was thrilled that her father dug ditches for irrigation pipes. “There was all that wonderful ooey-gooey mud, really like clay, and I spent hours making things,” she said. Her first pieces were cowboys, Indians and covered wagons. Last month, Mellor received the Arts Educator Recognition Award from the Arts Council, which paid tribute to her 47 years of teaching sculpting. “I was so surprised, pleased and honored,” Mellor said. “I didn’t know they even knew my name. But really, all you have to do is live long enough and you get awards.”
Central Plains Area Agency on Aging/Sedgwick County Department on Aging: 1-855-200-2372
You could spend a lot of hours in her rambling ranch home and attached studio and not see all the pieces she’s created or collected in travels. One that holds special meaning is of a World War II veteran from Italy, which Mellor made while in that country. “He was wonderful. He told us how he was starving (during the war) and ate straw to stay alive and how his feet were frozen.” And because he said the children in his village didn’t believe his stories, Babs added two children to the piece who appear to be listening intently to the man. She based them on a photo of her grandchildren. Mellor started teaching at the Art Association, continuing when See Babs, page 14
Butler County: (316) 775-0500 or 1-800-279-3655 Harvey County: (316) 284-6880 or 1-800-279-3655