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Warren County Community Services wants area seniors to know they don’t have to dine alone.

The organization offers nutritious lunches five days a week at its five senior dining centers across the county, said Mary Catherine Faller, WCCS manager of nutrition services.

Lunch with two menu options is served at noon Monday through Friday at:

• The 741 Center – 570 N. State Route 741, Lebanon, 513-695-2256
• Station Hill Retirement – 114 Dave Street, Lebanon, 513-939-5189
• Union Village Retirement – 327 N. Section St., South Lebanon, 513-267-8293
• Earl Maag Retirement – 124 Pamela Drive, Morrow, 513-889-8886
• Sherman Glenn Retirement – 301 Sherman Drive, Franklin, 937-545-6788

Daily menus are posted at www.wccsi.org or by calling the dining hall.  Suggested meal donation for those 60 and older is $3.  Meal cost for anyone under 60 is $6.  To make a reservation, call the dining hall by 1 p.m. the day before.

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: dining halls, lunch, nutrition, senior citizens, seniors, warren county, warren county community services

Senior citizens in Mason will now be able to attend Mason school events at no cost.

The district announced this month that Mason residents ages 60 and older are eligible to receive a Golden Comet card, which grants them free admission to school plays and musical productions, art shows, athletic events and other school events.

“It’s a small way to acknowledge the ongoing support and many contributions our seniors make to the community,” said District spokeswoman Tracey Carson.

For more information or to request a card, call 513-398-0474, option 7.

Posted in: Schools |

Tags: Tags: free admission, golden comet card, mason high school, mason schools, senior citizens, tracey carson

Bridget Vis reports:

Sonia Leopold, a 94-year-old resident at Cedar Village Retirement Community, admits she’d never been fond of dogs.

Until she met Gates.

Today, Sonia’s face lights up whenever the 5-year-old golden retriever walks into her room.

“Gates brightens people’s moods,” said Debi Tyler, Gates’ owner and Cedar Village’s rehabilitation director. “He enriches their lives and gives them a quality of living that is better than before he arrived.”

Since his arrival as a facility dog, Gates has become a cherished part of the 300-resident community, making friends with folks like Leopold. Gates, the first and only facility dog at Cedar Village, also encourages physical therapy patients to accomplish more than they thought possible.

Gates arrived in June 2012 after Tyler adopted him from Circle Tail in Pleasant Plain in Warren County, a nonprofit that trains hearing, facility and service dogs.

“There’s something about interacting with a pet that brings out responses you can’t get any other way,” Tyler said. “He’s especially helpful in the rehab unit because he often motivates patients to do exercises that are painful or difficult for them to do.”

Her favorite story of Gates’ motivational abilities is of an older woman who suffered a stroke and couldn’t walk. But in her first week at Cedar Village, the woman saw Gates and walked to him.

“That woman has since completed her rehabilitation here, and is at home walking every day,” Tyler said.

(more…)

Posted in: Community, News |

Tags: Tags: cedar village, circle tail, facility dogs, hearing dogs, senior citizens, service dogs, therapy, therapy dog

John Cook gives his wife Harriett a gentle kiss as she falls asleep on the couch at their West Chester home on Wednesday, December 19, 2012. The Enquirer/Leigh Taylor

This Christmas morning, John Cook will wake early as he normally does. He will set aside his wife Harriet’s medications – six pills in the morning and six in the evening – and get her up and dressed. He will prepare and feed her breakfast, check her blood sugar and give her insulin .

He will remind Harriet – or Hatsy, as she’s known by friends and family – several times throughout the day that he is her husband, that they have been married for 53 years, that they have a daughter and that he loves her.

Then, on Thursday, he will endure the most difficult decision he’s ever had to make throughout their more than half-century together: to move Hatsy from their West Chester home into a nursing facility at The Emeritus at Long Cove Pointe in Mason.

“It’s been the hardest job that I’ve ever had,” said Cook, 74, of the 10 years he’s spent caring for Harriet since she was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease at age 63.

It’s a process Cook says has been made easier by a complimentary home visit program offered by Emeritus Senior Living, which operates the facility in Mason and another in Edgewood.

The Seattle-based company launched the free service in 2009 at each of its more than 470 assisted-living and memory care facilities nationwide. Emeritus staff donate their time and services to the program.

(more…)

Posted in: Business, Community, News |

Tags: Tags: emeritus at long cove pointe, emeritus senior living, home visit, pro seniors, senior citizens, seniors, volunteer

The Mason Community Center is launching a new program for senior citizens.

The national SilverSneakers fitness program is geared towards group retirees or older adults eligible for Medicare.

The program provides a fitness center membership, with customized classes for seniors to improve their strength, flexibility, balance and endurance, along with health education seminars, online support classes and program advisors.

The center will hold a free informational seminar about the program at 2 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 27.

Enrollment for the program begins at 9 a.m. Monday, Dec. 3 at the front entrance desk. The center is at 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road and can be reached at 513-229-8555.

Posted in: Events, Health & Fitness, Mason Community Center |

Tags: Tags: enrollment, fitness, health, informational session, mason community center, senior citizens, silversneakers

The City of Mason will celebrate National Senior Health & Fitness Day with an open house event Thursday at the Mason Community Center.

The free event, which runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., offers free admission for adults ages 55 and older.  Here’s a lineup of activities:

• Mini-vendor fair, 9 a.m. to noon
• Forever Fit group exercise class, 10 a.m.
• Lunch with dietitian Miriam Jackobs, 11:30 a.m. (reservations required)
• Chair yoga class, 1:30 p.m.

Seniors can also get a “brown bag prescription” review from Group Health Associate’s on-site pharmacy throughout the event.  Call 513-229-8555, ext. 5543 to make an appointment.

Membership discounts of up to 20 percent will be offered.  For more information, call the community center at 513-229-8555.

Posted in: Events, Health & Fitness |

Tags: Tags: fitness, health, mason community center, national senior health & fitness day, nutrition, open house, senior citizens, seniors

An expert on dementia care will give a free presentation Wednesday at the Cedar Village Retirement Community in Mason.

Teepa Snow, a dementia expert who provides private dementia training and consultation, will help caregivers recognize the symptoms of dementia and learn how to care for people with dementia.

The one-hour presentation, “Something’s Changed with my Loved One: What’s Happening and What Can I Do About it?,” is set to begin at 7:15 p.m.  A dessert reception precedes the program at 6:45 p.m.

Snow, who has cared for two family members with dementia, says her program is designed for both family members and caregivers, as well as healthcare professionals.  She has clinical appointments with Duke University’s School of Nursing and UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Medicine.

Snow visits Cedar Village four times a year to train staff in dementia care.  The Mason facility has a dementia unit and provides special programming for people with dementia, said Carol Silver Elliott, Cedar Village’s CEO and president.

“As more and more of our seniors develop some form of dementia, family caregivers and others need to be prepared with the latest information about dementia,” she said.  “Teepa Snow has helped Cedar Village become a leader in caring for people with dementia, so we are thrilled to share her with the public — to educate more members of the community.”

The event is free and open to the community.  Cedar Village is at 5467 Cedar Village Drive and can be reached at 513-754-3100.  More information about Snow is available online at www.teepasnow.com.

Posted in: Events, Health & Fitness |

Tags: Tags: cedar village retirement community, demential, event, presentation, senior citizens, seniors, teepa snow

Voters in Warren County overwhelmingly approved mental health and senior services levies with 172 of 172 precincts reporting, according to unofficial Warren County Board of Elections results.

The Mental Health Recovery Services, five-year, 1-mill renewal levy, or Issue 11, received nearly 68 percent of the vote.

Also winning by a margin of more than 72 percent was the five-year, 1.21-mill renewal levy for the Warren County Elderly Services Levy, or Issue 12.

Both levies are renewal levies, meaning property taxes will remain the same.

The owner of a $100,000 home will continue to pay $26.34 a year for the Mental Health Recovery Services levy.  The Elderly Services Levy will continue to cost the owner of a $100,000 home $36.14 a year.

Posted in: Election, News |

Tags: Tags: elderly services levy, election 2011, issue 11, issue 12, meals on wheels, mental health recovery services levy, ohio, property taxes, senior citizens, taxes, warren county

Megan Richardson, a volunteer with Pampered Pets Animal Rescue, holds a rescued bunny at an adoption event. PPAR is one of 25 nonprofit organizations that will be at the Mason Volunteer Fair on Oct. 22 at the Mason Community Center. Photo credit/Feay Coleman

This Saturday is Make a Difference Day — the largest day of volunteering in the country.

Want to help, but don’t know where to start?  Try the Mason Community Center.

The center will host the first Mason Volunteer Fair from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22.

Longtime Mason volunteer Laurie Mitroff organized the event after seeing area nonprofit organizations wrestle with an increasing need for volunteers amidst a growing need for services.

“I’ve seen the needs getting greater and greater especially over this past year,” said Mitroff, who volunteers with Mason schools, the Mason Food Pantry and as a Warren County child advocate.

Twenty-five organizations will attend the event, offering information on the services they provide and ways in which volunteers can support their efforts.

Mitroff said she researched the needs of the community so as to offer a wide range of volunteer opportunities suitable for youth, adults and senior citizens.

Participating groups include military support, animal rescue, homeless and hunger, health and safety, schools and other charitable organizations.  Some of the participating groups include:

• Circle Tail
• Pampered Pets Animal Rescue
• Kids Against Hunger
• Yellow Ribbon Support Center
• Interfaith Hospitality Network of Warren County
• Mason Food Pantry
• Ronald McDonald House Charities
• Project Linus

Hoxworth Blood Center will have its mobile donor bus parked outside to collect blood donations.  Call 513-558-1280 to schedule a donation.

“Not only are you providing a service to someone when you volunteer, but you get a sense of well being out of it.  It’s a win-win,” said Mitroff.

An open house and fall festival is being held on the same day at the Mason Community Center at 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road.  All events are free and open to the public.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: adults, charities, charity, circle tail, city of mason, interfaith hospitality network, laurie mitroff, mason, mason community center, mason food pantry, nonprofit organizations, opportunities, pampered pets animal rescue, senior citizens, seniors, volunteer fair, volunteers, warren county casa, yellow ribbon support center, youth

Help Our Elderly, the senior services tax levy campaign for Issue 12 in Warren County, will hold a campaign kickoff on Thursday, Sept. 22 at the Mason Senior Center.

The kickoff begins at 1 p.m. that day with remarks by Help Our Elderly honorary chairman Mike McMurray, a broadcaster for 40 years and current host of The City Show on Lebanon Cable Channel 6.

Suzanne Burke, CEO of the Council on Aging of Southwestern Ohio, will speak about the levy and the Warren County Elderly Services program, which it funds.  The council administers the program for Warren County.

The $1.21 million renewal levy is on the Nov. 8 ballot.  If passed, it will not raise taxes.

The Mason Senior Center is in the Mason Community Center at 6050 Mason-Montgomery Road.  For more information about the campaign, go to www.helpourelderly.com.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: ballot, help our elderly, issue 12, lebanon, mason, meals on wheels, older adults, senior citizens, voters, warren county