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Warren County Community Services will offer a free seminar on estate-planning and elder law 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Michael Millonig, an elder law attorney, will lead the seminar, which addresses wills and trusts, avoiding probate estate tax, powers of attorney and living wills.

The event will be held at the 741 Center at 570 North S.R. 741, Lebanon.  For more information or to register, call WCCS at 513-695-2239 or email Michelle Carpenter at michellec@wccsinc.org.

Posted in: Events |

Tags: Tags: estate planning, seminar, seniors, warren county community services, wccs

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

“Rhythm of Nature” by Elizabeth Bransford. Photo provided

Two Mason High School seniors have been awarded silver medals in the National Scholastic Art & Writing Awards competition of the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers.

Elizabeth Bransford and Brittany Dodson will be honored with other national medalists during a live webcast ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City on May 31.

Each year, thousands of students in grades 7-12 enter submissions in 28 categories of art and writing for the chance to earn scholarships and have their works exhibited or published.

Bransford’s painting, “Rhythm of Nature,” received a regional Gold Key award and was nominated for best in show in the American Visions Award, which showcases the best works of the region.

Red and Grey dinner set by Brittany Dodson. Photo provided

Dodson is the recipient of two silver medal awards for two sets of ceramic vessels, both of which also received regional Gold Key awards.

The Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, which oversees the competition, presents more than $250,000 annually in awards and scholarships to the top winners and their teachers.

The awards began in 1923 and include past winners such as Andy Warhol, Sylvia Plath, Truman Capote and Robert Redford.

Posted in: Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: alliance for young artists and writers, art, brittany dodson, elizabeth bransford, gold key, mason high school, national scholastic art awards, seniors, silver medals

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

Warren County Community Services is teaming up with the Ohio Senior Health Insurance Information Program (OSHIIP) to hold a Medicare “Check-up Day” event this month.

The free event is set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 30 at Warren County Community Service’s offices at 570 N. S.R. 741, Lebanon.

Seniors, family members and caregivers will learn about the different Medicare options, plan selections and determining coverage eligibility.

Medicare’s open enrollment begins Oct. 15 and runs through Dec. 7.

Appointments are suggested for individual counseling sessions and can be made by calling Karen Hill at 513-695-2288 or by email at karenh@wccsinc.org.

Attendees are encouraged to bring their social security number, photo ID, current Medicare coverage or other insurance cards, current medications taken and names of preferred pharmacies and doctors.

Information: 513-695-2288; www.wccsi.org.

Posted in: Community, Events |

Tags: Tags: caregivers, check up day, coverage, enrollment, informational, medicare, meeting, seniors, warren county community services

Twelve Mason High School seniors have been named Commended Students by the National Merit Scholarship program.

Honored students include: : Madalyn Baehre, Usoshi Chatterjee, Daniel Chrzanowski, Katherine Garwood, Parker Henry, Lauren Huff, Dan Li, Sarvesh Nalluri, Alexander Notton, Paige Richie, Sean Sargent and Songyi Yen.

About 34,000 students in the nation are named Commended Students for demonstrating strong academic achievement and promise for admission to selective colleges. Commended Students make up the top 5 percent of the more than 1.5 million students who take the SAT test each year.

The students, along with 20 students named National Merit semifinalists last month, will be recognized at the Oct. 9 school board meeting.

“All of these students are extremely talented and hard working. Being named as commended scholars will help enhance their educational opportunities,” said Mason Principal Mindy McCarty-Stewart.

Posted in: Schools, Student achievements |

Tags: Tags: alexander notton, college board, commended students, dan li, daniel chrzanowski, katherine garwood, lauren huff, madalyn baehre, mason high school, national merit scholarship program, paige richie, parker henry, sarvesh nalluri, sean sargent, seniors, songyi yen, usoshi chatterjee

Sue Kiesewetter reports:

Paul Caito won’t ever forget the 9/11 terrorist attacks 11 years ago.

And he doesn’t want his son to, either.

It’s one reason why the Kings High School parent volunteered Tuesday to spend his day overseeing a group of teenagers as they planted 10 trees and 60 bushes and did other landscaping chores at their school.

Sharon Nursery partnered with the district to provide the materials even as the owner’s son worked alongside 19 classmates planting, weeding and spreading 24 yards of mulch on school landscaping beds.

It was one of nine projects the seniors could sign up for as the school’s participation in the National Day of Service and Remembrance.

After attending a morning ceremony at the school that included a moment of silence and a history lesson, the students were sent to their destinations for four to five hours of work.

The daylong projects included framing the inside of three Habitat for Humanity homes in Hamilton, packing eyeglasses in Mason and repackaging donated goods for Mathew 25: Ministries in Blue Ash.

“I think it’s extremely important to remember. These seniors were in the first grade when the attacks happened,” Caito said. “While they heard about it and have studied it, they did not experience it the way we did. This brings focus to that day and what it means.”

The Kings project was one of several remembrances or projects across the region marking the anniversary of the terrorist attacks in New York City, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.

In Lebanon, a monument was dedicated at 9:58 a.m., the precise moment the south tower of the World Trade Center began crumbling in New York after being attacked by a plane 11 years ago.

In West Chester Township, the day was remembered at Chesterwood Village with a display, ceremony and patriotic songs.

At Fairfield South Elementary School, police and firefighters joined children as a new flag was raised and patriotic songs were sung.

And in Newport, the names of those who perished at the World Trade Center were memorialized in a ceremony at the World Peace Bell.

“I’ve lived in Kings all my life,’’ said senior Brady Vanover. “It feels good giving back something bigger than me.’’

Posted in: Schools |

Tags: Tags: 9/11, brady vanover, kings high school, matthew: 25 ministry, national day of service and remembrance, paul caito, seniors, sharon nursery, terrorist attacks

Paul McKibben reports:

This fall, 13 Jewish and Christian senior citizens from Warren County will embark on a once-in-a lifetime trip to the Holy Land.

It’s more than a sightseeing trip to a revered, ancient part of the world. It’s a chance for residents of Jewish-affiliated Cedar Village in Mason and United Methodist-affiliated Otterbein Lebanon in Turtlecreek Township to come together and intimately learn about their faiths, which share a common origin.

This will be the third time Cedar Village has taken a group to Israel but its first inter-faith trip.

Carol Silver Elliott, CEO and president of Cedar Village, recalls the first trip, in 2007. That’s when members witnessed a group of people on their knees crying in the Old City of Jerusalem.

A shopkeeper told Elliott they were at the seventh station of the cross, part of a series of prayers. The seventh station is when Christians recall Jesus Christ falling a second time while carrying his cross on the way to being crucified.

“For me as a Jew, it was like ‘Oh my gosh. I forget that this is the birthplace of all of the world’s major religions, not just Judaism,’’ she said.

Elliott said the idea of an inter-faith trip “had been percolating in the back of my brain.” Her husband, Tom, works at Otterbein, so she is familiar with the community. She met last year with Otterbein President and CEO Jill Hreben, who loved the idea.

Elliott hopes the trip sets an example for others. She said the travelers, who ages range from mid 60s to late 80s, are open to learning about other beliefs.

“What’s wrong with the rest of us that we (often) can’t get along? I think there’s a big symbolism there,” she said.

(more…)

Posted in: Community, News |

Tags: Tags: carol silver elliort, cedar village, christianity, christians, holy land, jerusalem, jesus christ, mason, otterbein lebanon, seniors, stations of the cross, tom elliott, trip, warren county

Warren County families struggling to stay cool in the summer heat may be eligible for financial assistance.

Warren County Community Services is offering assistance to qualified candidates through its summer crisis program, administered through the Emergency HEAP department.

Eligible recipients can receive up to $250 in a one-time assistance with summer utility bills.  To quality, recipients must be a senior over the age of 60; have a documented medical condition or be facing an electric utility disconnection notice.  Income guidelines also apply.

The organization is also distributing window air-conditioning units to qualified candidates who have not received one in the past three years.

Applications are being accepted now through Aug. 31.  For more information or to schedule an appointment, call WCCS at 866-747-1042 or go to www.wccsi.org.

Posted in: News, Warren County |

Tags: Tags: assistance, disability, electric, emergency heap, heap, seniors, summer crisis program, utility bills, warren county, warren county community services, window unit ac

Darryl Johnson / File photo

Three Mason and two Kings players have made The Enquirer’s list of 50 high school seniors to watch from the 2013 class this football season.

The names were based on all-Enquirer, all-district and all-conference stats and recognition from the 2011 season along with team success and college recruiting information this spring/summer.

Mason and Kings players making the list are:

14. Darryl Johnson, Mason: The senior rushed for 1,344 yards and 18 touchdowns for the Comets last season. Johnson, who is 5 feet 10 and 205 pounds, also had 12 receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns. He was first-team all-Greater Miami Conference last season.

26. Corey Quallen, Mason: The safety has had interest from Wisconsin and Michigan State this summer. Quallen, who is 6 feet 2 and 205 pounds, has multiple Mid-American Conference offers.

35. Elijah Nkansah, Mason: The offensive lineman has offers that include Toledo and Ohio University. He is 6 feet 5 and 305 pounds.

38. Brady Vanover, Kings: The defensive lineman had 16 sacks and 90 tackles in the regular season. He was Division II second-team all-state and FAVC Cardinal co-defensive player of the year.

44. Evan Berg, Kings: The kicker was an Enquirer Divisions II-VI first-team all-area selection last season. He was Division II third-team all-state and first-team all-FAVC Cardinal. He was 48 of 49 on extra points and 16 of 23 on field goals including a long of 47 yards.

To see the full list, go to The Recruiting Trail blog.

Posted in: Fall sports, Sports |

Tags: Tags: brady vanover, corey quallen, darryl johnson, elijah nkansah, evan berg, football, high school sports, kings, kings high school, mason, mason high school, seniors, sports