Senior Living - July 2011

It’s not an easy thing to ride 100miles in a day. It’s not an easything to ride several hundred

miles in a week. It’spractically a Herculeaneffort to ride across thecontinent in a month.

That’s what fiveAustin residents will doin a few weeks. DickSchindler, Terry Fox,Jerry Ulwelling, Roe Er-landson and DaveThomsen will embarkfrom Oregon to Massachusettsstarting Aug. 1, biking more than3,500 miles through more than 10states and part of Canada.

“It’s something every guy haswanted to do for the past five to 10years,” said Julie Thomsen, thesupport person for the ride. It’s

Julie’s job to follow the pack in hercar carrying everyone’s equipment.She’s the taskmaster in chief, as

she has mapped outwhere everyone willbe going, where theymight stay, and wherethey could camp.

The trip is a longtime coming. Julieoriginally thoughtshe would help outDave with a nation-wide ride for his 70th

birthday, as he had already com-peted in several bike races. Fromplanning stops to mapping out di-rections, Julie’s taken care ofmost of the planning.

Dream ride

Dr. Dick Schindler, from left, Roe Erlandson, Jerry Ulwelling, Dave Thomsen, Julie Thomsen, andTerry Fox (not pictured) will take part in a cross-country ride in August. Schindler, Erlandson, Ul-welling, Dave and Fox will be making the trek. Julie planned and mapped the route.

> RIDE continues on 7

Story by Trey Mewes and Jason Schoonover • Photo by Eric Johnson

Never say never: Group to ride across country

“It’s somethingevery guy haswanted to do forthe past five to

10 years.”

-Julie Thomsen

2 FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2011 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD - SENIOR LIVING

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Advisory committee still going strong

By TREY [email protected]

Have a question in Mower County? TheMower County Senior Services Adivsory Coun-cil has the answer. They’ve been in the businessof helping seniors for awhile.

The SSAC, originally the Senior AdvisoryCommittee, was commissioned in 2003 by theCounty Board of Commissioners, and they’vehit the ground running ever since.

“We’ve been a very hardworking committee,”said Ruth Biedermann, SSAC secretary.

The group has accomplished much in eightyears, helping caretakers and providing infor-mation (in more than one language) for seniors,public health officials, nursing homes andmore.

The SSAC’s most recognizable achievementis the Senior Resource Directory they put to-gether over the years. The directory, a 19-pagecomprehensive listing of vendors, hospice serv-ices, memory care, financial assistance, per-sonal emergency response system services andmore, is twice revised, the most recent revisionlast year. It’s available online (and in Spanish)at the county Department of Human Resources

website for residents in need.“That was a huge undertaking and we’ve

given out thousands of them,” said SaraSchafer, Mower County Senior Center director.“There’s almost not a day that goes by thatthere’s not somebody calling here asking forphone numbers to other services.”

The SSAC also started a volunteer programcalled Health Partners, where trained SSACmembers can help care givers watching overloved ones and relatives for an afternoon or anevening. The group focuses on dementia pa-tients, but they’re open to watching any seniorwho needs an adult around so care givers canhave some time to themselves.

In recent years, the SSAC became something

of an auxiliary group to the senior center, help-ing to expand programming and writing grantsfor senior center opportunities. That includesthe fifth annual Health Fair, which the SSAC isorganizing. The fair, set for October, will havemore than 60 vendors for a variety of needs.

The group is working hard wherever theymay, although they’re not officially sponsoredby the county anymore. County officials say thegroup did what they were asked to do and haveno need for oversight anymore.

“It appears to me that we’ve accomplishedwhat we set out to do,” Commissioner RayTucker said earlier this month.

Yet the SSAC wants to expand. The 11-personteam is looking for a few more members andcould always use more Health Partners volun-teers. There’s plenty of things to still be done,after all.

“I’m getting there myself.” Biedermann saidon why she still helps seniors. “I think that forlots of people that are my age, we have a win-dow of opportunity to be really useful betweenthe time we retire and the time we need to sup-port ourselves.”

Anyone interested in joining the SSAC cancontact Schafer at the senior center.

“It appears to me thatwe’ve accomplishedwhat we set out to

do.”

-Ray TuckerMower County Commissioner

Despite split with county, senior council continues serving community

Trying a new approach to primary care: preventionASSOCIATED PRESS

INDIANAPOLIS — A budding modelfor primary care that encourages the fam-ily doctor to act as a health coach who fo-cuses asmuch onpreventing illness as ontreating it has shown promising resultsand saved insurers millions of dollars.

Growth in emergency room visits and

hospital admissions slowed and prescrip-tion drug costs have been tamedwith thisapproach, known in the industry as pa-tient-centered medical homes, or justmedical homes.

The current health care system paysdoctors to see patients and largely attendto their immediate needs. Patients may

get treatment, advice, a prescription andafollow-up appointment.

Patient-centered medical homes focuson keeping patients healthy, which savesmoney by reducing hospital visits, espe-cially for chronic conditions such as dia-betes.

WellPoint Inc., UnitedHealth Group

Inc., and other insurers have pilot proj-ects around the country testing this con-cept. The departments of Defense andVeterans Affairs are making plans to usemedical homes, and more than a millionMedicare recipients are involved in an-other test.

By GARRETT [email protected]

Ardell Anderson’s age hasn’t deniedher the ability to do what she loves themost, helping others. The most recentgroup to benefit fromAnderson’s good-will is the Oglala Lakota IntegratedTribal Child and Family ServicesAgency in Pine Ridge, S.D.

The 86-year-old woman has recentlybeen spending her time sewing hats,mittens, dolls and other items to donateto the American Indian group.

“Age does not make one bit of differ-ence in what you can do,” Andersonsaid. “I walk aroundwith a walker andI can’t do some things, but that doesn’tstopme from doing something.”

She learned about the possibility ofdonating from a craft book, which sheordered through Lutheran WomanToday. Originally, Anderson was insearch of something to do with hertimewhen she came across the ways tohelp others.

After a little research onall of the op-portunities, she settled on the SouthDakota tribe because they were theonly groupnot seekingmonetary dona-tions, but rather items of need.

“Why send things to other countrieswhen less than 200 miles from us thereare such people in need,” Andersonsaid. “Thekids over there are so abusedand neglected.”

The items that she donated were allhandmade, includingusinghand stitch-ing and an electric sewing machine toconstruct the garments. Andersonlearnedhow to sewat a young agewhenshe was living with her grandma. Shesaid her grandma taught her how tosew by hand before she learned how tosew on an oldmachine.

Anderson feels that byhelping some-one it gives her the chance to do some-thing creative and have a purpose inlife.

“I’ve just always done something, Idon’t like to sit aroundanddonothing,”Anderson said. “My sewing machinehas been a good friend of mine.”

Materials for the items have been acollection of donated materials of An-derson’s friends. She has been sellingsome of the items to defray the cost ofpostage to mail all of the items to thereservation.

On July 4 she sent a full, 15-inch

square box of garments to SouthDakota.

TheOglala Lakota Integrated TribalChild and Family Services Agency is apart of Lakota Oyate Wakanyeja Ow-icakiyapi Inc., which supports compre-hensive, culturally appropriate servicesthat meet the basic needs of Lakotafamilies.

She enjoys lending a helping hand,which has been evident throughoutmost of her life even before helping theOglala Lakota.

Before she retired, Anderson alsoworkedwith thementally handicapped.

She currently teaches a writing groupthatmeets everyMondaymorning.An-derson also tutors others in English.

She often doesn’t hear back fromthose who she has helped in the past,but when she does hear from them, shesays “it feels good.”

“Iwas at a gathering and a young galcameup and gavemea big hug, and shesaid ‘do you remember me?’ and I did-n’t at first,” Anderson said. “I had tu-tored her when she was in high school.It really mademe feel good.”

There is one thing that she feels isimportant to learn in life. It is a lessonshehas lived by andhas taught her chil-dren.

“You hear too many people say ‘Iwish I would have’ and you don’t haveto live like that,”Anderson said. “If youwant to do it, go do it. Don’t sit back 20years from now and say ‘I wish I wouldhave done that.’”

If you would like to donate any ma-terials such as old sweaters or fleeceyou can contact Anderson at 507-373-2604.

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86-year-old donates time to make dolls, mittens

Ardell Anderson poses for a photo surrounded by samples of the items she recently sentto Oglala Lakota Integrated Tribal Child and Family Services Agency in Pine Ridge, S.D.Below: Bears, dolls, hats and mittens are just a sample of the items Ardell Anderson made.— Photo by Garrett Wampler

ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON—Baby boomers saywrinkles aren’t so bad and they’re notthatworried about dying. Just don’t callthem “old.”

The generation that once powered ayouth movement isn’t ready to symbol-ize the aging of America, even as itsfirst members are becoming eligible forMedicare. A new poll finds three-quar-ters of all baby boomers still considerthemselvesmiddle-aged or younger, andthat includes most of the boomers whoare ages 57-65.

Younger adults call 60 the start of oldage, but baby boomers are pushing thatnumber back, according to the Associ-ated Press-LifeGoesStrong.com poll.The median age they cite is 70. And aquarter of boomers insist you’re not olduntil you’re 80.

“In my 20s, I would have thought the60s were bad, but they’re not so bad atall,” says 64-year-old Lynn Brown, a re-tired legal assistant and grandmotherof 11 living near Phoenix in ApacheJunction, Ariz.

The 77 million boomers are celebrat-ing their 47th through 65th birthdaysthis year.

Overall, they’re upbeat about theirfutures. Americans born in the popula-tion explosion after World War II aremore likely to be excited about the pos-itive aspects of aging, such as retire-ment, thanworried about the negatives,like declining health. A third of thosepolled feel confident about growingolder, almost twice as many as find itfrustrating or sad. Sixteen percent re-port they’re happy about aging, aboutequal to the number who say they’reafraid. Most expect to live longer thantheir parents.

“I still think I’ve got years to go to dothings,” says Robert Bechtel, 64, of Vir-ginia Beach, Va. He retired last yearafter nearly four decades as a retailmanager. Now Bechtel has less stressandmore time to dowhat he pleases, in-cluding designing a bunk bed for hisgrandchildren, remodeling a bathroomand teaching Sunday school.

A strong majority of baby boomersare enthusiastic about some perks ofaging — watching their children orgrandchildren grow up, doing morewith friends and family, and gettingtime for favorite activities. About half

say they’re highly excited about retire-ment. Boomers most frequently offeredthe wisdom accumulated over theirlives as the best thing about aging.

“The older you get, the smarter youget,” saysGlennFarrand, 62, of Ankeny,Iowa. But, he adds, “The physical partof it is the pits.”

Baby boomersmost often brought upfailing health or fading physical abili-tieswhen asked to name theworst thingabout getting older.

Among their top worries: physicalailments that would take away their in-dependence (deeply worrisome to 45percent), losing their memory (44 per-cent), and being unable to pay medicalbills (43 percent). Many also fret aboutrunning out of money (41 percent).

Only 18 percent say theyworry aboutdying. Another 22 percent are “moder-ately” concerned about it. More thantwo-thirds expect to live to at least age76; 1 in 6 expects to make it into the 90s.

About half predict a better quality oflife for themselves than their parentsexperienced as they aged.

“My own parents, by the time theywere 65 to 70, were very, very inactiveand verymuch old in theirminds,” saysBrown. So they “sat around the houseand didn’t go anywhere.”

“I have no intentions of sittingaround the house,” says Brown, whosehobbies include motorcycle rides withher husband. “I’m enjoying being a sen-ior citizen more thanmy parents did.”

But a minority of boomers — abouta fourth — worry things will be harderfor them than for the previous genera-tion.

“I think we’ll have less,” said VickiMooney, 62, of Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., whofears older people will be pinched bycuts to Social Security and Medicareand rising health care costs. “Themaindifference in the quality of life is won-dering if we will have a safety net.”

Baby boomers with higher incomesgenerally are more optimistic aboutaging than their poorer peers. Womentend to feel sunnier than men; collegegraduates are more positive than those

without a degree.A third of baby boomers say their

health has declined in the last fiveyears, and that group is more likely toexpress fear or frustration about aging.Still, most boomers rate themselves ingood or even excellent health overall,with less than 1 in 10 doing poorly.

Looking older is seriously buggingjust 12 percent of baby boomers. Thevastmajority say theywouldn’t get plas-tic surgery. That includes JohannaTaisey, 61, of Chandler, Ariz., who saysaging is “no problemat all ... it’s just na-ture.”

“Age with dignity,” Taisey advises.Among the 1 in 5 who have had or

would consider cosmetic surgery, abouthalf say they might improve theirtummy or eyes. A sagging chin is thenext biggest worry — nearly 40 percent

would consider getting that fixed.Only 5 percent of baby boomers say

they might use the chemical Botox totemporarily smooth away wrinkles; 17percent would consider laser treat-ments to fix varicose veins.

But boomers, especially women, aretaking some steps to look younger. Amajority of the women— 55 percent —regularly dye their hair, and they over-whelmingly say it’s to cover gray. Only 5percent of the men admit using haircolor.

A quarter of the women have paidmore than $25 for an anti-aging skin-care product, such as a lotion or nightcream. Just 5 percent of the men saythey’ve bought skincare that expensive.

Almost all baby boomers — 90 per-cent — have tried to eat better. Three-quarters say they’remotivatedmore bya desire to improve their health thantheir appearance. Most boomers — 57percent — say in the past year they’vetaken up a regular programof exercise.About the same number do mental ex-ercises, such as crossword puzzles orvideo games, to stay sharp.


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Upbeat baby boomers say they’re not old yet“In my 20s, I would have thought the 60s were bad,

but they’re not so bad at all.”

-Lynn Brown64-year-old

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PARIS— Scientists are closing inon a long-sought goal: A blood test toscreen people for Alzheimer’s dis-ease.

An experimental test did a goodjob of indicating how much of thetelltale Alzheimer’s plaque lurks inpeople’s brains, Australian re-searchers reported Wednesday. Ifthe test proves accurate in largerstudies, it could offer a way to checkpeople having memory problems tosee who needs more definitive test-ing for the disease.

Many blood tests are being devel-oped and a few are used in researchsettings now, but only the Aus-tralian one has been validatedagainst brain scans and other ac-cepted diagnostic tests with good ac-curacy in large groups of people,said Maria Carrillo, senior directorof medical and scientific relationsfor the Alzheimer’s Association.

The results, reported Wednesdayat the Alzheimer’s Association In-ternational Conference in France,“give us hope that wemay be able touse a blood test in the near future,”although that doesn’t mean nextyear, she said.

More than 5.4 million Americansand 35 million people worldwidehave Alzheimer’s, themost commonform of dementia. It has no cureand drugs only temporarily easesymptoms. Finding it early allowspatients and their families to pre-pare, and ruling it out could lead todiagnosing a more treatable causeof symptoms, such as sleep prob-

lems.Brain scans can show signs of

Alzheimer’s — sticky clumps of aprotein called beta amyloid — adecade ormore before it causesmem-ory and thinking problems, but scansare too expensive and impractical forroutine use. Doctors and patientsneed simpleways to screenpeople forthe disease.

Samantha Burnham and othersat Australia’s national scienceagency, CSIRO, working with sev-

eral universities, used a long-run-ning study of more than 1,100 peo-ple — some healthy, some impaired— to develop the blood test.

They started with blood samplesfrom 273 study participants andidentified nine hormones and pro-teins that seemedmost predictive ofamyloid levels in the brain. A cutofflevel was set for what was consid-ered high.

“The belief is that people abovethat point will go on to get

Alzheimer’s disease, and the lag isabout 8 to 10 years,” Burnham ex-plained.

When researchers used the nine-marker blood test on these sameparticipants, they found that it sep-arated healthy people from thosewith mild cognitive impairment orAlzheimer’s as verified by theirbrain scans. The test correctly iden-tified 83 percent of people with highamyloid levels and correctly ruledout 85 percent of people withoutthis condition.

“That’s pretty high,” theAlzheimer’s Association’s Carrillosaid of the test’s accuracy.

More importantly, she said, theAustralian researchers validated thetest’s accuracy in two additionalgroups: the other 817 folks in theAus-tralian study and 74 people in a bigU.S.-led study aimed at finding novelAlzheimer’s disease biomarkers.

The test performed well in thosesituations, too, Burnham said.

CSIRO has patented the test andis talking with major companiesaboutmaking it commercially avail-able.

“It sounds like the Australians dohave good clinical data” and that themarkers they are testing for trackwith cases of the disease, saidCreighton Phelps, a neuroscientistwith the U.S. National Institute onAging.

The next step is wider validationwork and ensuring it can be stan-dardized to give reliable results re-gardless of what lab or doctor woulduse it, he said.


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Progress seen on a blood test for Alzheimer’s

PARIS — Scientists in Australia are re-porting encouraging early results from asimple eye test they hope will give a nonin-vasiveway todetect signs ofAlzheimer’s dis-ease.

Although it has been tried on just a smallnumber of people and more research isneeded, the experimental test has a solidbasis:Alzheimer’s is known to cause changesin the eyes,not just thebrain.Other scientistsin the United States also are working on aneye test for detecting the disease.

A separate study found that fallsmight bean earlywarning sign of Alzheimer’s.Peoplewho seemed to have healthy minds but whowere discovered to have hidden plaquesclogging their brains were five times morelikely to fall during the study than thosewith-out these brain deposits, which are a hall-mark of Alzheimer’s.

Both studies were discussed Sunday atthe Alzheimer’s Association InternationalConference in France.

More than 5.4 million Americans and 35million people worldwide have Alzheimer’s,themost common formof dementia.It has nocure anddrugs only temporarily ease symp-toms, so finding it earlymostly helpspatients

and their families prepare and arrange care.Brain scans can find evidence of

Alzheimer’s a decade or more before itcauses memory and thinking problems,butthey’re too expensive and impractical forroutine use. A simple eye test and warningsigns like falls could be a big help.

The eye study involved photographingblood vessels in the retina, the nerve layerlining the back of the eyes. Most eye doc-tors have the cameras used for this, but ittakes a special computer program tomeasure blood vessels for the experimen-tal test doctors are using in the Alzheimer’sresearch, said the study’s leader, ShaunFrost of Australia’s national science agency,CSIRO.

Researchers compared retinal photos of110 healthy people, 13 people withAlzheimer’s and 13 others with mild cogni-tive impairment, or “pre-Alzheimer’s,” whowere taking part in a larger study on aging.The widths of certain blood vessels in thosewith Alzheimer’s were different from vesselsin the others and the amount of differencematched the amount of plaque seenonbrainscans.

Eye test may give clues

JULY 22—MS TRAM bike ride planning session, 3:30 p.m.,Mower County Senior Center.

JULY 23—BOSS Motorcycle Ride, 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.,Riverland, $25 minimum donation for scholarshipsupport.—Austin Area Farmers’ Market, 9:30-11:30 a.m., OakPark Mall.—Summerset Theatre presents: “Inherit the Wind,”7:30 p.m., Frank W. Bridges Theatre, Riverland. Tickets:$12.—Mexican Music Concert, 7:30 p.m., ParamountTheatre.

JULY 24—Flapjacks and ham fundraiser for veterans assistance,7 a.m.-1 p.m., North Iowa Fairgrounds, Mason City.—Moose on Main breakfast (6 choices), 9 a.m. - 12:30p.m.—American Legion — no burgers.—Celebration of the life of James T. Rogers, AmericanLegion.

JULY 25—Senior Center: blood pressure screenings, 9 a.m.,Pinochle and Bridge, 12 p.m.—Austin Area Farmers’ Market, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., OakPark Mall.—VFW Bingo: Early Bird, 6:10 p.m., Regular, 6:30 p.m.—The American Red Cross blood pressure screenings,9-11 a.m.

JULY 26—Mower County Board, departmental business at 8:30a.m., general business at 10 a.m., Mower CountyCourthouse board room.—Silver Sneakers, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Mower CountySenior Center.

—Weaving with Kim Finnegan, Austin Area Art Center.—Mower County Humane Society open house, 4:30p.m.-6 p.m., every Tuesday, 1010 10th Drive SE, Austin.—Stag/stagette, 5 to 7 p.m., Austin VFW.—TRAM Bike Ride and fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosisenters Austin from Owatonna.

JULY 27—Blood pressure clinic, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. fourthWednesday of each month, Mower County Public Health.—Acrylic knife painting with Bonnie Lee, Austin Area ArtCenter.—TRAM Bike Ride and fundraiser for Multiple Sclerosisleaves Austin for Lanesboro.—Izaak Walton League steak cookout fundraiser, 5:45p.m., Todd Park, Austin. Tickets: $12.

JULY 28—Silver Sneakers, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Mower CountySenior Center.

—Storyteller Al Batt, 9 a.m. with trail ride afterward, JayC. Hormel Nature Center.—St. Augustine Council of Catholic Women luncheon,11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Jennings Hall, Tickets $7, cards willbe played after.—Lunchbox History Series, noon-1 p.m., speakerBarry Adams, “Minnesota at Gettysburg,” HistoricalSociety.—Austin Area Farmers’ Market, 3:30-5:30 p.m., 1st St.NE, downtown Austin.—“Welcome Circle Dedication” with native Kansassinger Ann Zimmerman, 6:30 p.m., Jay C. HormelNature Center.—American Legion all-you-can-eat taco bar.


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UPCOMING EVENTS

Alice Swenson of Rose Creek interacts with customers ather stand during the year's first Farmer's Market, downtown.Swenson was selling asparagus, rhubarb, honey and maplesyrup. — Herald File Photo


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That includes a whole lot of food.It takes about 9,000 to 10,000 caloriesa day to feed a Tour de France bicy-clist, or so the team found out. Thatmeans eating pasta, bananas andgranola for breakfast, eating a pre-race meal, eating during the ride,eating after the ride, eating dinnerand eating before bed, all while rid-ing 200 miles a day. While the teamwon’t push that hard, they’ll still beriding between 80 to 130 miles ormore a day, depending on the condi-tions.

“Some days, it’ll feel like more,”said Schindler, a wry smile on hisface.

As far as being physically ready,the men have few doubts they’ll bein shape for the ride.

“Fitness-wise, we’re always onthe edge of being able to do it,” Ul-welling said in January. “It’s justbumping up the endurance.”

But the ride is not going to be apleasure cruise. The group is al-ready planning a tight schedule tofinish in the month Schindler hasoff work. They plan to bike 100 to150 miles a day at an average speedof 15 to 18 mph. They plan to take afew days off.

“It’s not going to be a recreationalthing,” Dave said in January.

Endurance challenges are noth-ing new to the group. All the menhave run marathons, and they’veeach participated in Border to Bor-

der, a 500-plus mile triathlon acrossMinnesota from south to north. But,the sheer length of this ride is theunknown.

“It’s kind of an unknown terri-tory when you get into the 20-somedays. Our body’s should hold up,”Ulwelling said earlier this year.

While those bodies have alreadyclocked a lot of miles, only Erland-son and Ulwelling still run. Theother men now focus on cycling,along with other activities.

With all that biking comes a lot ofpreparation. For Dave, that meanscarrying a dozen tires, between 12to 24 bike tubes, some spokes andthe tools he needs to fix whateverproblems they come across.

“There’s always the unpre-dictable,” Dave said.

They’ll certainly face some un-

predictable weather bikingthrough Oregon, Wyoming, SouthDakota (where the land is flat andthe rest stops few and far between),Ottawa and upstate New York, be-fore ending at Salisbury, Mass. Yetthey’ll have plenty of company, asbikers will be riding with themalong the way, with many in Min-nesota riding while they passthrough Faribault and New Ulm ontheir way to Wabasha, and on toLake Michigan mid-way throughtheir trip.

At the end, they will have ac-complished a goal not many cansay they’ve done (especially sincethe five-man team’s total age addsup to 340). They’ll come away withsome great stories and interestingsites, since they plan on visitingthe Jell-O Museum in Le Roy, N.Y.,to see whether it measures up toAustin’s Spam Museum.

“We want to see what kind ofcompetition we have,” Julie joked.

Dave Thomsen, left, and Dr. Dick Schindler are part of a five-man team biking across NorthAmerica starting in August. — Photo by Trey Mewes

Distance: About 2,900-3,000 milesRiding time per day: Eight-10 hoursAverage distance per day: 110-150 milesAverage speed: 15-18 mphCombined Age of five bikers: About 270

Ride: ‘Fitness-wise, we’re always on the edge of being able to do it’From Page 1

By NATHAN HANSENAssociated Press

Francis Losinski hobbled down thedockFriday afternoonwith fishing polesin one hand, a walking cane in the other,and his hood pulled up over his head toshield himself from the rain.

He walked up the handicapped-acces-sible ramp and stepped onto a canopiedpontoon boatwith seven other senior cit-izens,wherehe pulled on a life jacket andsat down, waiting for his chance to fish.

Driving rain, wind and the loud

cracks of thunder couldn’t keep severalelderlyWinona-area residents fromhead-ing out on the river July 16, with the as-sistance of Let’s Go Fishing.

The rain only kept the boat from fill-ing to capacity, as the last three seats —located on a couch the canopy didn’tcover— stayed empty.

Let’s Go Fishing is a state organiza-tion that provides scheduled boat outingsfor seniors across Minnesota. TheWinona chapter joined the organizationinMay.

Leader Bill Wichmann has organized

fishing outings for seniors before, butLet’s Go Fishing allows him to reach alarger audience interested in getting outon the water, he said.

Wichmann said that within threeweeks of founding the Winona chapter,he received a bank loan for $40,000, aswell as the pontoon boat that he uses totake out groups as large as 10.

Wichmann plans to pay off the loanwithin a year and buy a second boat.

“We are confident we will do it,” hesaid. “This town is very generous.”

Group helps take seniors fishing in Winona


TRAINS IN THE COLORADO ROCKIES AUGUST 11-20, 2011 $1469SUMMERTIME ON THE MISSISSIPPI (GREAT 3 DAY TOUR) AUGUST 24-26, 2011 $419FALL MYSTERY (ALL NEW 6 DAY TOUR) SEPT. 6-11, 2011 $799MACKINAC ISLAND, MI SEPT. 16-18, 2011 $409CHICAGOLAND SPEEDWAY - NATIONWIDE & SPRINT CUP RACES SEPT. 16-19, 2011 $539BRANSON SEPT. 22-25, 2011 $539LEGENDS IN CONCERT, LEE GREENWOOD WITH LOUISE MANDRELL, DIXIE STAMPEDE DINNER & SHOW, A TRIBUTE TO PATSY CLINE

NORSK HOSTFEST (ONLY A FEW SEATS LEFT) SEPT. 28-OCT. 1, 2011 $5396 meals, 2 shows; reserved seats for Trace Adkins & The Judds, 3 nights loding in Bismarck, ND

WASHINGTON DC & GETTYSBURG OCT. 17-23, 2011 $999CHRISTMAS BRANSON NOV. 3-6, 2011 $539SHOJI TABUCHI, DANIEL O’DONNELL, NEAL MCCOY, MIRACLE OF CHRISTMASCHRISTMAS BRANSON NOV. 10-13, 2011 $539ANDY WILLIAMS, GATLIN BROTHERS WITH DEBBY BOONE, DANIEL O’DONNELL, SIXCHRISTMAS BRANSON NOV. 17-20, 2011 $539TONY ORLANDO, JOHNNY MATHIS, DANIEL O’DONNELL, LEGENDS IN CONCERT

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN CHICAGO, IL NOV. 25-27, 2011 $339A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS IN NASHVILLE, TN NOV. 29-DEC. 4, 2011 $1049HAWAII - HONOLULU & MAUI (COMPLETE PACKAGE) JAN. 21-29, 2012 $3299DEEP SOUTH TEXAS - Great 14 Day Winter Get-A-Way FEBRUARY 11-24, 2012 $1899NEW ORLEANS MARCH 9-19, 2012 $1539CIVIL WAR IN VIRGINIA APRIL 16-24, 2012 $1289SPRING MYSTERY (ALL NEW 6 DAY TOUR) MAY 1-6, 2012 $819HOLLAND, MI MAY 11-13, 2012 $419NEW YORK CITY MAY 12-19, 2012 $1399ALASKA - LAND & CRUISE (COMPLETE PACKAGE) MAY 23-JUNE 2, 2012 starting at $3399NW CIRCLE & YELLOWSTONE JUNE 14-29, 2012 $2199

THE PRICES ARE BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

Poll: Obesity hits many boomers in U.S.ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Baby boomerssay their biggest health fear is cancer.Given their waistlines, heart diseaseand diabetes should be atop that list,too.

Boomers aremore obese than othergenerations, a new poll finds, settingthem up for unhealthy senior years.

And for all the talk of “60 is the new50” and active aging, even those whoaren’t obese need to domore to stay fit,according to theAssociatedPress-Life-GoesStrong.com poll.

Most baby boomers say they getsome aerobic exercise, the kind thatrevs up your heart rate, at least once aweek. Butmost adults are supposed toget 2½ hours a week of moderate-in-tensity aerobic activity — things likea brisk walk, a dance class, pushing alawn mower. Only about a quarter ofboomers polled report working up asweat four or five times a week, whatthe average personneeds to reach thatgoal.

Worse, 37 percent never do any ofthe strength training so crucial tofighting the muscle loss that comeswith aging.

Walking is their most frequentformof exercise. The goodnews:Walkenough and the benefits add up.

“I have more energy, and my kneesdon’t hurt anymore,” says MaggieSanders, 61, of Abbeville, S.C. She haslost 15 pounds by walking four miles,three times a week, over the past fewmonths, and eating better.

More boomers need to heed thatfeel-good benefit. Based on calculationof bodymass index from self-reportedheight and weight, roughly a third ofthe baby boomers polled are obese,compared with about a quarter ofboth older and younger responders.Only half of the obese boomers saythey are are regularly exercising.

An additional 36 percent ofboomers are overweight, though notobese.

The nation has been bracing for asurge in Medicare costs as the 77 mil-

lion baby boomers, the post-war gen-eration born from 1946 to 1964, beginturning 65. Obesity — with its extrarisk of heart disease, diabetes, highblood pressure and arthritis — willfurther fuel those bills.

“They’re going to be expensive ifthey don’t get their act together,” saysJeff Levi of the nonprofit Trust forAmerica’sHealth.He points to a studythat found Medicare pays 34 percentmore on an obese senior than onewho’s a healthy weight.

About 60 percent of boomers polledsay they’re dieting to lose weight, andslightly more are eating more fruitsand vegetables or cutting cholesteroland salt.

But it takes physical activity, notjust dieting, to shed pounds. That’s es-pecially important as people start toage and dieting alone could cost themprecious muscle in addition to fat,says Jack Rejeski of Wake Forest Uni-versity, a specialist in exercise andaging.

Whether you’re overweight or just

the right size, physical activity canhelp stave off the mobility problemsthat too often sneak up on the seden-tary as they age.Muscles gradually be-come flabbier until people can findthemselves on the verge of disabilityand loss of independence, like a canoethat floats peacefully until it gets toonear a waterfall to pull back, Rejeskisays.

He led a study that found a modestweight loss plus walking 2½ hours aweek helped people 60 and older sig-nificantly improve their mobility.Even thosewhodidn’twalk thatmuchgot some benefit. Try walking 10 min-utes at a time two or three times a day,he suggests, and don’t wait to start.

“I don’t think there’s any questionthe earlier you get started, the better,”says Rejeski, who at 63 has given uprunning in favor of walking, and getsin 30 miles a week. “If you allow yourmobility to decline, you pay for it interms of the quality of your own life.”

Documents

Senior Living - July 2011