June 2013 Howard County Beacon Edition

VOL.3, NO.6

I N F O C U S F O R P E O P L E O V E R 5 0JUNE 2013More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard County

The Howard County

By Anne BallSeveral years ago, Barbara Greenfeld’s

aging mother needed someone to driveher to doctor appointments while Green-feld worked full time in enrollment servic-es at Howard Community College. Greenfeld discovered Neighbor Ride, a

Columbia-based nonprofit that matches vol-unteer drivers with Howard County resi-dents 60 and older who need transportation.At first, her mother was a bit reluctant to

let a stranger drive her somewhere. “So Isuggested she keep a journal of her trav-els,” Greenfeld recalled. “She recorded names and types of vehi-

cles as well, and for the first time in her liferode in a pickup truck and a limousine.One time the volunteer who came to thedoor turned out to be her dentist!”The Neighbor Ride program, whose slo-

gan is “Volunteers Drive/Seniors Thrive,”is in its ninth year of connecting seniorswho need wheels with volunteers whoenjoy driving them to and from medical ap-pointments, shopping, religious servicesand other special or routine trips. Last year, Neighbor Ride provided near-

ly 15,000 trips. Most are taken within thecounty, but trips extending up to 35 milesone-way can be booked, enabling resi-dents to go to Baltimore, Washington,D.C. and surrounding counties. Those booking rides pay a modest

amount for each trip, ranging from $5 forround trips under two miles each way, to$35 for round trips up to 35 miles each way.Passengers are also expected to pay for anytolls or parking fees on the day of the ride.Those with limited incomes may be eli-

gible for subsidized rides. The organiza-tion’s funding comes from a variety ofstate, local, foundation, corporate and indi-vidual contributions.

Giving (and getting) backWhen Greenfeld, 63, and her husband

retired a few years ago, they decided tosign on as volunteer drivers themselves.Greenfeld also serves on the organiza-tion’s board of directors.She and her husband have been pleas-

antly surprised at their passengers’ varietyof backgrounds and interests. “We’re finding some fascinating passen-

gers,” Greenfeld said, “like one elderlywoman who was finishing up an accelerat-ed course at Howard Community College. “Then there are some folks who have

never driven a car, whether they’ve been inan urban situation where one was not need-ed, or if it is a cultural thing from anothernation where women just don’t drive.” And from the passengers, too, there’s

strong enthusiasm for the interesting driv-ers they get to meet. Marilyn Barnes, 80, used to come along

with her late husband when Neighbor Ridedrove him to doctor’s appointments. Thoughhe is gone now, she continues to call on

Neighbor Ride for rides to and from her doc-tor’s appointments several times a week. Although some callers ask for the same

driver each trip, Barnes enjoys the spon-taneity of a different driver each time. “I really appreciate talking with the won-

derfully interesting drivers that turn up,” shesaid. “We have some great conversations!”

A “feel good” jobNeighbor Ride grew out of a Howard

County Office on Aging study in 2001, pro-jecting that the county’s senior population

Gina Eichman and her 5-year-old son pick up Raymond DeGrafft in Ellicott City as apart of the Neighbor Ride program, in which volunteers drive older adults to doctorappointments, grocery stores, social events and other destinations. Riders pay amodest fee for the service.

See NEIGHBOR RIDE, page 15

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Volunteers driven to help others

F R E E

I N S I D E …

FITNESS & HEALTH 4k Cancer radiation can harm heartsk When you forget, should you worry?

THE SENIOR CONNECTION 16k Howard County Office on Aging newsletter

LAW & MONEY 18k Higher returns with moderate riskk Funds that beat the market

PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACONBITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

ARTS & STYLEAn electrifying production of In the Heights at Toby’s DinnerTheatre; plus, the plucky Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra

page 26

LEISURE & TRAVELThe Western wonders ofScottsdale, Ariz.; plus, how toget airlines to schlep your bags — for a price

page 22

Recently, a friend brought to my attentiona relatively minor change being proposed tocurrent immigration law thatcould have a significant impacton the daily lives of olderAmericans and their families.

As I write, the Senate ismarking up new legislationthat would, among otherthings, eliminate the annualgreen card (or “diversity”) lot-tery that allows into the U.S. upto 55,000 people from a groupof nations with otherwise lowrates of immigration to the U.S.

The lottery is for workerswith a high school degree ortwo years’ work experience (and without acriminal record) and their immediate fami-lies. The vast majority admitted are un-skilled or low-skilled workers from Africannations and the Caribbean, though someare from the Middle East and Asia.

These green cards are highly soughtafter. Nearly 8 million people abroad applyeach year for these 55,000 slots, and thosewho get one really do feel as if they have“won the lottery.”

But this opportunity for ordinary people tocome to America to work and start a new life

may come to an end due to a bipartisan com-promise that seeks to transfer those green

card slots to higher skilledworkers and immigrants withhigh-tech knowledge.

Many businesses in Ameri-ca today say they are unable tofind enough new employeeswith the education and skills toperform sophisticated work.Too few American studentsexcel at math and science orpursue those fields as a career.So we need to import thelabor, the argument goes, andsave our green cards for thosewith these qualifications.

But don’t we also hear from industries atthe other end of the spectrum — thosethat hire less skilled laborers and workerswho care for our sick and elderly — whosay too few Americans are willing to takejobs paying low wages and involving de-manding or disagreeable physical labor(think: helping people with toileting or car-ing for a combative Alzheimer’s patient)?

We need to import this labor force as well,it is said, or we will have no one to performthe relatively menial (and demandingly com-passionate) work of child and elder care.

A significant portion of green card lot-tery winners, I am told, go into the latterjobs. I certainly have seen anecdotal evi-dence of that in meeting many certifiednurses’ aides and home care aides hailingfrom African and Caribbean countries.Visit any skilled nursing facility or assistedliving community in this area and you willsee what I mean.

Not only do these immigrants fill a greatneed, they do so at a price that, while oftenbeyond the means of those who need it, isstill considerably less than the pay of theaverage American worker.

Certainly the availability of inexpensivelabor is an issue for industries other thanelder care. And it is debatable whetherhaving a class of immigrant workers earn-ing such low salaries is a good thing. (Ofcourse, many do gradually work their wayup the income ladder, as immigrants toAmerica have done for centuries.)

But even viewed through this narrowprism, we can see that ending such asource of workers is likely to decrease thesupply of home care workers even as de-mand for them increases, leading to aspike in costs and hardship for thousandswho need the services.

Keep in mind that Medicare does notcover custodial long-term care expenses.

When these services are needed — andthe need is growing leaps and bounds asour longevity increases — they must bepaid for out of pocket.

It is sad to me that, with a 7.6 percent un-employment rate in this country, we haveto go abroad to find people willing and ableto perform the highest and lowest paid jobsthat keep our nation and families afloat.

But this does seem to be the case. I amguessing the companies looking for high-tech workers are investing more in lobby-ists to expand immigration slots for theirneeds than are those companies that hirethe less- or unskilled.

So if we want to protect this source of es-sential labor — while also offering the op-portunity of a new and better life to a di-verse group of people who seek to escapecrushing poverty, civil war or worse — Ithink we ordinary individuals will have tospeak up.

I encourage you to contact your politicalrepresentatives. And please also send yourthoughts to us as a letter to the editor viamail, email, or through our website,www.theBeaconNewspapers.com.

Who will win this lottery?

FROM THEPUBLISHERBy Stuart P. Rosenthal

Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed inthe Beacon as well as on political and social issues of the day. Mail your

Letter to the Editor to The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915,or e-mail to [email protected]. Please include your

name, address and telephone number for verification.

Letters to the editor

Dear Editor:Your publisher’s thoughtful editorial in

April on the virtues of automated, driverlesscars for seniors must be attracting a lot of at-tention. There is no doubt they would makea huge improvement to the quality of theirlives.

Yet one cannot help feeling nervousabout how helpless a frail, elderly personwould be if one of these automated sys-tems went wrong. And if a drunk, hit-and-run driver smashed into one of thesecars, [a driverless car passenger] could takeno avoiding action. Too awful to think about!

The concept is brilliant. The question is:Will time perfect it?

David WiesenbergBaltimore

Dear Editor:Your May article, “Mediterranean-style

diets beats low-fat ones” in prevention ofheart disease, based on research pub-lished in the New England Journal of Medi-cine, needs clarification.

What constitutes a low fat diet? Dr. DeanOrnish (who has pioneered the low fat dietin reversing coronary artery disease), re-butted the research you wrote about in ablog post on April 20 in the Huffington Post.Excerpts from his “Does a Mediterranean

Diet Really Beat Low-Fat for Heart Health?”are below. His blog can be read atwww.huffingtonpost.com/dr.../mediterranean-diet_b_2755940.html.

“In the ‘low-fat’ group, total fat consump-tion decreased insignificantly, from 39 per-cent to 37 percent. This doesn’t even comeclose to the American Heart Associationguidelines of a low-fat diet (<30 percentfat) or ours for reversing heart disease(<10 percent fat)….

“Also, the researchers appear to havedone everything they could to bias the out-come in favor of the Mediterranean diet byencouraging the “low-fat” diet to increaseconsumption of foods that are known to in-crease the risk of cardiovascular disease,including bread, potatoes, pasta, and rice,and not to limit their intake of sodas (whichalso increase cardiovascular disease risk).”

Dilip Ray, M.D.Baltimore

Dear Editor:I have to tell you, your May cover arti-

cle, “The secrets to healthy aging,” by Bar-bara Ruben was outstanding! It was notonly interesting, but got right to the sub-ject of aging and Dr. Ferrucci. Great job!

Elizabeth O’ConnorTowson

2 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 3 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

BeaconThe

I N F O C U S F O R P E O P L E O V E R 5 0

• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal• Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal• Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei• Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel• Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King• Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben• Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory• Advertising Representatives ........Doug Hallock, ................................................ Steve Levin, Jill Joseph

• Publishing Assistant ....................Rebekah Sewell

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915(410) 248-9101 • Email: [email protected]: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial and advertising isthe 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 35 for classified advertising details.Please mail or email all submissions.

© Copyright 2013 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedi cated toinform, serve, and en ter tain the citi zens of HowardCounty, Md. and is pri vate ly owned. Other editionsserve Greater Baltimore, Md., Greater WashingtonDC, and Greater Palm Springs, Ca.Subscriptions are available via third-class mail

($12), pre paid with order. Maryland residents add6 percent for sales tax. Send sub scrip tion order tothe office listed below.

Publication of advertising contained hereindoes not necessarily con sti tute en dorse ment.Signed col umns represent the opinions of thewriters, and not necessarily the opinion of thepublisher.

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon 3

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END GERD FOR GOODA bracelet of magnets implantedaround the esophagus can stop GERD

FIX YOUR KNEE WITH PTPhysical therapy can be just as good assurgery for many knee woes

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTSThe Columbia Association is developinga plan to serve area older adults

WHEN FIDO EATS NON-FOODHousehold items, from socks to penniesto flowers, can pose risks to pets

HealthFitness &

By Marilynn MarchioneWomen treated with radiation for breast

cancer are more likely to develop heartproblems later, even with the lower dosesused today, new research suggests. Therisk comes from any amount of radiation,starts five years after treatment, and lastsfor decades, doctors in the UK found.

Patients shouldn’t panic — radiation hasimproved cancer survival, and that is thetop priority, doctors say. The chance of suf-fering a radiation-induced heart problem isfairly small.

For example, 4 to 5 of every 100 womenwho are 50 years old and free of heartrisks will develop a major cardiac problemby age 80, and radiation treatment wouldadd one more case, the research suggests.

Women can do a lot to cut their risk by

keeping their weight, cholesterol andblood pressure under control. Still, thestudy reveals that the potential harm fromradiation runs deeper than many medicalexperts may have realized, especially forwomen who already have cardiac risk fac-tors such as diabetes.

And it comes amid greater awareness ofovertreatment — that many women arebeing treated for cancers that would neverprove fatal, leading to trouble down theroad such as heart disease.

Arteries and more affectedSome chemotherapy drugs are known to

harm the heart muscle, but the new studyshows radiation can hurt arteries, makingthem prone to harden and clog and cause aheart attack. Women who receive both

treatments have both types of risk. The study “will raise the antenna” about

the need to do more to prevent this, saidDr. David Slosky, a cardiologist at Vander-bilt University, one of the growing numberof medical centers with special “cardio-on-cology” programs for cancer survivors.

With today’s lower radiation doses, “it isless of a problem, but it is not going away,”he said.

The artery-related problems that thestudy tracked may be just the most visibleof many risks because radiation also cancause valve, rhythm and other heart trou-bles, said Dr. Javid Moslehi. He is co-direc-tor of the cardio-oncology program at theDana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Like cancer, heart disease developsafter “a number of strikes that go against

you,” such as high cholesterol, he said.“The radiation is just another hit.”

He wrote in an editorial that appears withthe study in the New England Journal ofMedicine. British government agencies andprivate foundations paid for the research.

Breast cancer is the most common can-cer in women — more than a million casesare diagnosed each year worldwide. Whenit’s confined to the breast, most women getsurgery to remove the lump, followed byseveral weeks of radiation to kill any lin-gering cancer cells and sometimes hor-mone or chemotherapy.

What heart disease risks come fromwhat specific doses isn’t known. The newstudy, led by Dr. Sarah Darby of the Uni-

Breast cancer radiation may harm hearts

See RADIATION, page 6

By Dr. Daniel Pendrick Worried that you’re getting more forget-

ful as you age? Ironically, worry itself cantrigger memory slips.

It might take a conversation with yourdoctor to pinpoint the cause of your memo-ry lapses — especially if the change is sud-den or uncharacteristic.

“If it’s worse than it was a few monthsago, or somebody is asking you about it,that would definitely be something to see adoctor about,” said Dr. Anne Fabiny, chiefof geriatrics at Cambridge Health Allianceand an assistant professor of medicine atHarvard Medical School.

Some ordinary reasonsIf you consult a medical reference on

possible causes of memory loss, you’ll findan assortment of possibilities — frombrain tumors and infections to syphilis andmigraine headaches.

But hiding among them are a few ordi-nary causes worth serious consideration:

1. AlcoholHaving more than the recommended

number of daily drinks can contribute tomemory loss. For men, the recommendedlimit is no more than two standard drinksper day, defined as 1.5 ounces (1 shotglass) of 80-proof spirits, a 5-ounce servingof table wine, or a 12-ounce serving of beer.The limit for women is one drink per day.

2. MedicationsTranquilizers, certain antidepressants

and some blood pressure drugs can affectmemory by causing sedation or confusion,which interfere with your ability to payclose attention to new things. Talk to yourdoctor or pharmacist if you suspect that anew medication is taking the edge off yourmemory.

3. Thyroid disorderFaltering thyroid hormone levels

could affect memory, as well as causesleep disturbance and depression, bothof which contribute to memory slips. Al-though thyroid function is usually notthe cause, your doctor may want to ruleit out.

4. Stress and anxietyFor older adults, disturbances in mood

are among the most common causes ofmemory problems. The cause of the prob-lem could be an illness in the family — orsomething with more positive overtones,like moving to a new home. In either case,the new life stressor can make it harder foryou to keep on top of things.

Stress and anxiety affect memory be-cause they make it harder for you to con-centrate and lock new information andskills into memory. You may end up forget-ting something simply because you werenot really paying attention or had toomuch on your mind.

5. DepressionThe symptoms of depression often in-

clude forgetfulness. Most people think ofdepression as a stifling sadness, lack ofdrive, and lessening of pleasure in thingsthat you ordinarily enjoyed. But the signscan change with aging.

“Depression in older people often pres-ents with physical symptoms,” Fabiny ex-plained. “People don’t come in and saythey are really depressed. They say myshoulder hurts, I have a headache, I havestomach pains, I don’t sleep very well.”

6. Sleep deprivationLack of restful, high-quality sleep is per-

haps the greatest unappreciated cause ofmemory slips. Sleeplessness can becomemore of an issue with aging.

“Older adults spend less time in thedeep stages of sleep, which are the mostrestful,” Fabiny said. “As a result, they maynot feel as rested upon awakening in themorning because they haven’t slept well.”

Lack of restful sleep can also triggermood changes. Anxiety is one possibility.

“It’s not uncommon for people to be-come anxious because they can’t sleep, orto not sleep well because they are anx-ious,” Fabiny said. “Both can leave you inthe same place.”

When to seek helpIf you think you are sleep deprived, see

a doctor about it. Don’t succumb to themyth that older people need fewer hoursof slumber, Fabiny said.

“If you were a 9-hour-a-night sleeperwhen you were 29, you will still be whenyou are 79. But sleep quality may changewith aging,” he said. You may wake moreoften, for example, and find it more diffi-cult to get back to sleep.

It can also help your memory to giveyour brain a break. “As you get older, itmay become more difficult to maintain ahigh level of attention for several things atonce,” Fabiny said. “Dividing your atten-tion can definitely cause you to think youare having memory problems.”

Finally, remember that fatigue that in-terferes with memory — and life in gener-al — is not normal. Inadequately treatedpain, sleep disorders, or low thyroid hor-mone levels in your blood could be at theroot of a pooped-out and forgetful de-meanor.

“If you are feeling fatigued or lacking inenergy, it’s important to have a conversa-tion with your doctor,” Fabiny said. “It’spossible that an existing medical problemneeds more attention or that an evaluationfor a new condition is warranted.”

— Harvard Men’s Health Watch© 2013 President and fellows of Harvard

College. All rights reserved. Distributed byTribune Media Services, Inc.

Forgetfulness can have multiple causes

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 5

OPEN HOUSE:Learn more about Columbia Association’s

work on developing a

COMPREHENSIVE

PLANOLDER

ADULTSPre-registration is encouraged, but not required andcan be done at olderadults.eventbrite.com.For more information, please visitColumbiaAssociation.org/OlderAdults.

• Learn about the plan’spurpose and process.

• Find out about researchand findings.

• Hear of CA’s programs andfacilities for older adults.

• Share your thoughts andideas.

Wed,May 294:30-8pmSpecial presentationswill also be given at5pm and 7pm.

Owen BrownCommunityCenter6800 Cradlerock WayColumbia, MD 21045

for serving

versity of Oxford in England, sought tomeasure that.

It involved 2,168 breast cancer patientsfrom Sweden and Denmark diagnosedbetween 1958 and 2001 and treated withradiation.

They included 963 women who suffered aheart attack, needed an artery-opening pro-cedure or died of heart artery-related caus-es in the years after their radiation treat-ment. The other 1,205 were similar patientswho did not develop these heart problems.

Researchers compared the women’s ra-diation exposures using gray units, a meas-ure of how much is absorbed by the body.They used hospital records and treatmentplans to figure how many gray units actual-ly reached each woman’s heart and one ar-tery often involved in heart attacks.

Most women treated today get doses thatresult in 1 to 5 gray units reaching the heart— more if the cancer is in the left breast.Patients in the study got an average of fivegray units; the doses ranged from 1 to 28.

The risk of a heart attack, need for an ar-tery-opening procedure, or dying of heartdisease rose about 7 percent per gray unit

and no “safe” level was seen. The riskstarted to rise within five years of treat-ment and continued for at least 20 years.

Minimizing your riskDon’t forgo radiation if it’s recommended

because it is lifesaving, and doctors increas-ingly have ways to shield the heart from ex-posure, said Dr. Bruce Haffty, associate di-rector of the Cancer Institute of New Jerseyand president-elect of ASTRO, the Ameri-can Society for Radiation Oncology.

“Whatever cardiac risks may be there,they are outweighed by the cancer bene-fit,” he said.

Some centers have special tables thatwomen lie on face-down with holes for thebreast to hang through. That allows radia-tion to be delivered just to that tissue rather

than the wider chest area that gets irradiat-ed when a woman lies face-up on a table.

Women need to tell any doctor treatingthem about radiation they have received inthe past. It may mean they should avoid di-agnostic tests that use radiation and in-stead have ultrasounds and MRI, or mag-netic resonance imaging, whenever possi-ble, Slosky said.

Some places are starting to use elec-tronic medical records to track radiationexposure over a patient’s lifetime, so thecumulative dose is known regardless ofwho ordered what test and when.

“I’d like to have a personal record like apersonal dosimeter” for each patient,Slosky said. “Then you’d know” what risksthey face and what tests are safe for themin the future. — AP

6 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 3 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

ACCESSIBILITY TAX CREDIT AVAILABLE

Howard County homeowners who make qualified improvements in

order to make their homes more accessible — such as ramps, stair glides, grab

bars — may be eligible to receive a tax credit against their county tax bill under

the county’s new Livable Homes Tax Credit program. Visit www.howardcoun-

tymd.gov/livablehomes for more information and downloadable forms. For informa-

tion by phone, contact the Department of Finance at (410) 313-2062 or Maryland

Access Point at (410) 313-5980.

BEACON BITS

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RadiationFrom page 4

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Fix your kneewith PT, not

surgeryYou might not want to rush into knee

surgery. Physical therapy can be just asgood for a common injury and at far lesscost and risk, the most rigorous study tocompare these treatments concludes.

Therapy didn’t always help, and somepeople wound up having surgery for theproblem, called a torn meniscus. But thosewho stuck with therapy had improved asmuch at six months and one year later asthose who were given arthroscopic sur-gery right away, researchers found.

“Both are very good choices. It would bequite reasonable to try physical therapy firstbecause the chances are good that you’ll doquite well,” said one study leader, Dr. JeffreyKatz, a joint specialist at Brigham andWomen’s Hospital and Harvard MedicalSchool. Results were published online by

the New England Journal of Medicine. A meniscus is one of the crescent-

shaped cartilage discs that cushion theknee. About one-third of people over 50have a tear in one, and arthritis makes thismore likely. Usually the tear doesn’t causesymptoms, but it can be painful.

When that happens, it’s tough to tell if thepain is from the tear or the arthritis — orwhether surgery is needed or will help.Nearly half a million knee surgeries for atorn meniscus are done each year in the U.S.

The new federally funded study com-pared surgery with a less drastic option. Re-searchers at seven major universities andorthopedic surgery centers around the U.S.assigned 351 people with arthritis andmeniscus tears to get either surgery orphysical therapy. The therapy was nine ses-sions on average, plus exercises to do athome, which experts say is key to success.

After six months, both groups had simi-lar rates of functional improvement. Painscores also were similar.

Thirty percent of patients assigned tophysical therapy wound up having surgerybefore the six months was up, often be-cause they felt therapy wasn’t helping them.

Yet they ended up the same as those whogot surgery right away, as well as the rest ofthe physical therapy group who stuck withit and avoided having an operation. — AP

Time for another whooping cough

vaccineYou might have assumed that you no

longer need to be vaccinated for diseasesthat normally strike in childhood, includ-ing pertussis, or whooping cough. Yet astudy published in the December 2012journal Clinical Infectious Diseases under-scores the need for older adults to also getvaccinated, as rates of this disease have

risen in all age groups.When researchers in Australia looked at

a database of pertussis records, they foundthat the incidence of this disease wasabout 30 percent higher in women — andolder adults who are infected are morelikely to need hospitalization.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Controland Prevention said the actual number ofadults over age 65 with pertussis may bemuch higher than we realize, becausemany cases go unreported. As of February2012, the Advisory Committee on Immu-nization Practices began recommendingthe Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria, and pertus-sis) vaccine for all adults age 65 and older.

— Harvard Women’s Health Watch

Health Shorts


See HEALTH SHORTS, page 8

LEARN THE BASICS OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVESA free program on understanding advance directives, determining

who needs them and how to get them will be offered on Thursday,

June 6 at 6 p.m. at the Howard County General Hospital Wellness Center, 10710

Charter Dr., Suite 100, Columbia. For more information, call (410) 740-7601.

Online registration is available at www.hcgh.org.

EXERCISES FOR BRAIN FITNESSAn hour-long class of fun exercises and games to sharpen the

brain will be offered at 10 a.m. on Thursday, June 6 and Thursday

June 20 at the Elkridge Senior Center, 6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge. Fee is

$4 per class. For more information, call (410) 313-4930.

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Check the boxes you’re interested in and return this form to:The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915

or fax to (410) 248-9102.

Housing Communities� Alta at Regency Crest (see ad on page 25)

� Brooke Grove (see ad on page 32)

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� Heartlands Ellicott City (see ad on page 11)

� Homecrest House (see ad on page 10)

� Homewood at Willow Ponds (see ad on page 15)

� Morningside House Ellicott City (see ad on page 6)

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� Willows at Victoria Falls (see ad on page 28)

Health Study Volunteers� Coronary Artery Disease/

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June 6+

Heart-lungmachines safe for older adults

One of the scariest parts of bypass sur-gery — having your heart stopped andgoing on a heart-lung machine while doc-tors fix your clogged arteries — is safeeven in those 75 and older and doesn’tcause mental decline as many people have

feared, two landmark studies show. Bypass surgery is one of the most com-

mon operations in the world. There isgreat debate about the best way to do it,and patients often are given a choice.

Usually doctors stop the heart to makeit easier to connect new blood vessels tomake detours around blocked ones. Butsome patients later complain of “pump-head” — mental decline thought to befrom the heart-lung machines used topump their blood while their hearts couldnot.

So surgeons started doing “off-pump”bypasses on beating hearts. Nearly one

quarter of bypasses are done this way now.But that brought a new complaint: Resultson the blood vessels seemed not as good.

The new studies were aimed at testingall these factors in a rigorous way to seewhich method was best. Dr. Andre Lamyof Canada’s McMaster University led astudy of 4,752 people in 19 countries. Theywere randomly assigned to have bypasseswith or without the use of heart pumps.

After one year, there were no big differ-ences in the rates of death, heart attack,stroke or kidney failure in the two groups.Slightly more people who had bypasseswithout a heart-lung machine needed a fol-low-up procedure to open clogged arter-ies, but the difference was so small it couldhave occurred by chance alone.

Mental sharpness and quality of life alsowas similar in the two groups. That sug-gests that whatever decline people experi-ence is temporary or a result of anesthesiaor something other than the way the oper-ations were done, said Dr. Timothy Gard-ner, a surgeon and an American Heart As-sociation spokesman.

That was true even in people 75 or older,

a group most worried about going on aheart-lung machine. The second studytested the two bypass methods in 2,539 ofthese patients in Germany. Again, themethods proved equally safe and effectivea year later. — AP

ECG? There’s anapp for that

People with heart disease will soon beable to provide vital information abouttheir heart rhythm to their healthcareprovider without making a visit to the doc-tor’s office.

Last December, the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration approved a mobile electro-cardiogram (ECG) device that attaches toan iPhone 4 or 5. To record an ECG, theuser simply presses the fingers of bothhands onto the electrode pads.

The information is analyzed by an app,then transmitted digitally for storage onthe company’s website, where it can be ac-cessed by a doctor.

— Harvard Heart Letter


Health shortsFrom page 7

FIND EMPLOYMENT AS A CAREGIVERHome Instead Senior Care invites interested seniors to apply for

caregiver positions on its website, www.homeinstead.com. A

member of the AARP National Employer Team, the company reports that more

than 60 percent of its caregivers are over the age of 50. For more information,

visit the website or call the local office at (410) 349-1169.

PART-TIME OPENINGS AT REC & PARKSOpportunities may be available to develop courses and to teach

art, cooking, dance, drama, languages and other subjects includ-

ed in the wide range of Recreation & Parks programs. For an up-to-date listing of

possible job needs within the department, visit www.howardcountymd.gov and

click on Recreation & Parks, or call (410) 313-4450.

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By Dr. C. Daniel SmithDear Mayo Clinic: I saw a story on the news about

magnets being used to treat patientswith GERD. Is this treatment safe?How does it work? I’ve taken prescrip-tion drugs for GERD for years andwould love to not need it anymore.

Answer: The treatment you heardabout is a new therapy now available forpeople with persistent gastroesophagealreflux disease, or GERD.

It involves placing around the lower endof the esophagus a device that looks like abracelet and is made up of magnetic beads.The device allows food to pass into thestomach, but prevents acid and other di-gestive juices in the stomach from gettingup into the esophagus.

Normally a ring of muscle called thelower esophageal sphincter, located at thebottom of the esophagus and the top of thestomach, stays closed when you’re not eat-ing. This keeps the acid that’s in your

stomach out of your esophagus. If those muscles become weak or relax

when they shouldn’t, acid can work its wayinto the esophagus. This acid reflux leadsto the painful burning and regurgitationsymptoms known as heartburn. The com-bination of acid reflux with heartburn,when they last over time, is GERD.

When drugs don’t helpIn the past, treatment for GERD has re-

lied mainly on medicine to reduce stomachacid. But that’s not always effective in con-trolling the disorder.

This new treatment is intended for peo-ple whose GERD symptoms continue toflare up even when they take a daily doseof medication.

Effective control of GERD is importantbecause, if left untreated, excessive acid candamage the esophagus and lead to a precan-cerous condition known as Barrett’s esopha-gus and, eventually, to esophageal cancer.

The purpose of putting the bracelet devicearound the esophagus is to reinforce thelower esophageal sphincter. The device isplaced in the same area as that ring of muscle.The magnetic force between each bead holdsthe bracelet snug around the esophagus.

How it worksWhen a person implanted with this de-

vice swallows food, pressure within theesophagus pushes the food down.

When the food reaches the bracelet ofmagnetic beads, the pressure causes themagnetic force between each bead tolessen. The bracelet then pops open, foodpasses into the stomach, and the magnetic

force pulls the bracelet closed again.Surgery to implant the device usually

lasts one to two hours. The procedure isminimally invasive and typically requiresonly an overnight hospital stay. Recoverytakes about a week.

Some individuals report difficulty swal-lowing with the device in place. But formost people, that fades over time. Thebracelet is designed to be a permanent so-lution for GERD. So unless there are prob-lems, it is not removed.

A recent study, published in The NewEngland Journal of Medicine, followed 100people who had this treatment for threeyears. Ninety-two of the people in the studyreported fewer GERD symptoms. Eighty-seven percent of the study participantswere able to completely stop using acid-lowering medications, and 94 percent re-ported being satisfied with the treatment.

In March 2012, the U.S. Food and DrugAdministration approved the device fortreatment of GERD in the United States. Ifyou have GERD and daily antacid is notenough to control your symptoms, thistreatment may be a good fit for you. Talkto your doctor or contact a physician whospecializes in GERD to learn more.

— C. Daniel Smith, M.D., Surgery, MayoClinic, Jacksonville, Fla.

Medical Edge from Mayo Clinic is an ed-ucational resource and doesn’t replace regu-lar medical care. To submit a question,write to medicaledge@m ayo.edu. For healthinformation, visit www.mayoclinic.com.

© 2013 Mayo Foundation for Medical Ed-ucation and Research. All rights reserved.Distributed by Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Implanted device relieves GERD for good10 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 3 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

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By Rebekah SewellBetween one-quarter and one-third of

Columbia’s population is age 55 or over.Furthermore, this constitutes the fastestgrowing segment of the population.

To better prepare for and serve thisgrowing older population, the ColumbiaAssociation (CA) has begun to craft a Com-prehensive Plan for Serving Older Adults.

A team consisting of CA staff, represen-tatives from Columbia’s village communityassociations, and members of CA’s SeniorAdvisory Committee, will begin by analyz-ing demographic and other trends, assess-ing CA’s current facilities and programs,and consulting with local experts on serv-ing older adults, including communityagencies and medical experts.

It will then identify needs and look for thebest ways to address them, soliciting inputfrom Columbia residents in developing aplan. The work team is especially interestedin understanding what older adults wouldlike to see in terms of programs and servic-

es that can serve them as they age.Before implementing new policies, the

plan will be reviewed by the CA Board ofDirectors, as well as the larger Columbiacommunity.

“The ultimate goal is to come up with acomprehensive, long-range plan to betterserve this community,” said Paul Verchins-ki, chair of the Columbia Association Sen-ior Advisory Committee and member ofthe board of directors of the HowardCounty Citizen’s Association

Verchinski formerly worked as a trans-portation planner for the Federal TransitAdministration and is utilizing his experi-ence with short- and long-term planning tohelp craft the plan.

The work team holds monthly meetingsthat are open to the public. Verchinski saidthe plan will address many pertinent is-sues concerning older adults, such astransportation needs, the potential forabuse or exploitation, and ways for resi-dents to remain in their homes as they age

(known as “aging in place”).These topics and others will be ad-

dressed at an open house from 4:30 to 8:30p.m. on Wednesday, May 29 at the OwenBrown Community Center at 6800 Cradle-rock Way, Columbia, Md. All are invited.

At the meeting, speakers will share theplan’s purpose and process, provide back-ground information, and solicit ideas. At-tendees will be able to visit various infor-mation “stations,” where they can inquireabout specific topics and provide their

comments and ideas. There will also be presentations (at ap-

proximately 5 and 7 p.m.) highlighting de-mographic trends, sharing informationabout current CA facilities and programs,and illustrating the planning process.

Registration is recommended. Registerat http://olderadults.eventbrite.com.

For more information about CA’s Com-prehensive Plan for Serving Older Adults,visit http://bit.ly/ComprehensivePlan-ForOlderAdults.


Help county plan for aging residents

AUDIENCE AND ACTORS INTERACT Three vignettes on “Aging: Facts and Fiction” will be presentedoffering a fresh look on aging issues and their relevancy for thefuture on Thursday, May 30 at 6 p.m. at the Bain Center, 5470

Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia. Audience interaction is encouraged. For more infor-mation or to register, call the Bain Center at (410) 313-7213.

BEACON BITS

May 30

The Sinai Center for Thrombosis Re-search, under the direction of Dr. PaulGurbel, has been actively fighting heartdisease by designing and conducting clini-cal trials investigating novel drug thera-pies and devices.

The center is currently conducting aclinical trial with the support of the Nation-

al Institutes of Health to examine the ef-fects of an investigational drug called PZ-128 on patients ages 18 to 75 with a docu-mented history of vascular disease (pe-ripheral vascular disease, carotid arterydisease or coronary artery disease) or twoor more coronary artery risk factors.

Coronary artery risk factors for this

study include the following: diabetes, highcholesterol, high blood pressure, currentsmoking and obesity.

Intravenous drug benefitsPZ-128 was designed to prevent the

blood from forming clots, which can blockvessels in the body and lead to heart attackor stroke.

Existing drugs like Plavix, Brilinta andPrasugrel, all tested at Sinai, are givenorally to patients undergoing coronarystenting for a blockage in the heart arter-ies. These drugs remain in the body fordays, posing a potential bleeding risk.

Conversely, PZ-128 is administered di-rectly into the bloodstream, allowing it tobe immediately active and reversible with-in a few hours.

On a microscopic level, the drug worksto block a receptor by passing throughblood cell walls, something no competingdrugs on the market currently do. Whileit’s not clear whether that will mean moreeffective treatment, it does explore a drugdelivery method that is new to coronaryartery disease therapy.

In this initial phase of clinical trials, re-searchers at Sinai will look first and fore-

most for evidence of the drug’s safety,along with signs of effectiveness. Approxi-mately 34 participants are being recruitedfor the study.

Overnight visit required The study will include a screening visit,

a hospital stay for one night, one follow-upvisit at the study site, and a telephone callapproximately 30 days after the last hospi-tal visit.

Study participants will receive:• Reimbursement of up to $590 for time

and expenses.• Specialized platelet function testing

(These tests are not part of routine studiesthat can assess your risk of forming bloodclots.)

• Physical exam with cardiologist andcomplete laboratory blood work-up.

The information learned about thestudy drug and how it works may be help-ful to patients with heart disease in the fu-ture.

For more information, or to see if youqualify to participate, contact the SinaiCenter for Thrombosis Research at (410)601-4795 or email Kevin Bliden at [email protected].


Health Studies PageTHE PLACE TO LOOK FOR INFORMATION ON AREA CLINICAL TRIALS

Study testing clot prevention medication

VOLUNTEER CENTER HAS OPENINGSThe Volunteer Center, a community-based organization that match-es individuals and groups with volunteer opportunities throughout

Howard County, lists current possibilities at www.volunteerhoward.org. The infor-mation is also available by calling (410) 715-3172.

DO YOU LIKE TO BE OUTDOORS?From gardening on Wednesday mornings to habitat restoration onThursday afternoons, the Howard County Conservancy is lookingfor individuals or groups to spend some time outdoors improving

nature sites throughout the county. Current volunteer needs as well as a schedulefor the habitat restoration are posted on the website www.hcconservancy.org via the “Support” link. To schedule a session or for additional information, call (410) 465-8877.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

Ongoing

Have You Fallen?Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study at the

University of Maryland & Veterans affairs of Baltimore to betterunderstand balance and the prevention of falls in aging individuals.

you will receive:• Health evaluation

• Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises• Compensation for your time

If interested call: 410-605-7179 & Mention code: LIFTBaltimore VA/University of Maryland Gerontology Recruitment Line

*You must be at least 65 years old and in good health*Participants will be seen at the Baltimore VA Medical Center and

University of Maryland School of Medicine *You will attend approximately 41 visits for 1 to 4 hours of time per visit

CaLL Today!

By Sue ManningA toy poodle that was rushed to the vet

after swallowing a tube sock. A Great Danethat had to be operated on three times foreating his owner’s shoulder pads.

These are just a couple of examples ofthe emergency cases Dr. Karen Halliganhas seen involving household items thatseem harmless until an animal decides tomunch on them.

Hundreds of pets undergo surgeryevery year to remove small articles ofclothing and other objects from theirstomachs and intestines, said Halligan,author, TV consultant and director of vet-erinary services for the Society for thePrevention of Cruelty to Animals, LosAngeles.

Prompt treatment vital “It’s very common in private practice

and in large institutions to be removingnon-food items out of dogs and cats,” shesaid. It also can be very dangerous.

Ingested clothing and fabric items, forinstance, won’t show up on X-rays. Within48 hours, a pet that has consumed a pieceof clothing will develop symptoms likevomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy, feverand depression.

If caught early, a vet can remove theitem from inside the animal and every-thing will be fine. If not, the pet’s intestineswill start to die because blood can’t getthrough, Halligan said. Removing the in-testine is an option if the obstruction iseventually found.

If left untreated, the problem can be fatalbecause of dehydration or bacteria leakinginto the stomach, causing peritonitis.

“We had one Great Dane. Three timeswe had to cut him [open] for his [owner’s]shoulder pads. He loved those shoulderspads,” Halligan said.

And surgeries to remove or dislodgethings that pets swallow are not cheap.

“We are talking $2,500 to $5,000 at theleast,” Halligan said.

Socks are probably the most popularpet-pilfered pieces of clothing across thecountry. They’re especially irresistible topets after they’ve been worn. “It’s thescent that attracts them,” Halligan said.

One of Halligan’s older clients came inwith his toy poodle and said the dog ateone of his tube socks.

“I was skeptical. I X-rayed, and it didn’tshow up. But he was absolutely certain.He was adamant,” she said.

Halligan said she made the dog vomitand “sure enough, we pulled a foot-longtube sock out of this miniature apricot poo-dle, and the dog was fine.”

Toxic penniesX-rays quite clearly show many other

things pets swallow.

In March, Tim Kelleher’s 13-year-oldJack Russell terrier got sick and he rushedhim to the vet. X-rays showed the dog hadeaten a pile of pennies.

Dr. Amy Zalcman used a camera at-tached to a net to fish 111 pennies out ofJack’s stomach. Scooping up five at a time,it took a couple of hours.

Letting the coins pass could have killedJack because pennies made after 1982 con-tain toxic zinc. “Many were corroded, sug-gesting that they were being digested,”Zalcman said.

Jack goes jogging daily and eats thebest holistic food on the market, but he’sgot a voracious appetite and is always lick-ing things off the floor, Kelleher said.

Kelleher thought he had “Jackproofed”his apartment. But just a few days ago, thedog ate a whole bag of hamburger rollsafter pulling it off a kitchen counter.

Deadly foodsWhile some human foods are fine for

pets, others, like chocolate, can be deadlyto dogs and cats.

For those who keep flower bouquets inthe house, eating just one lily can kill a cat.Preservative packets for the water in thevase also can make animals sick if theydrink it.

In seven years of emergency veterinarymedicine, Zalcman has removed a varietyof items from pets, including jewelry, con-doms, and a new No. 2 pencil with an eras-er. Some of her colleagues have retrievedforks and blades, she said.

In Halligan’s 24 years as a vet, the mostunusual object she had to retrieve from adog’s stomach was a Mickey Mouse hat.

“You could see the plastic parts on theX-ray,” Halligan said.

— AP


ART MUSEUM

EXCURSION

A bus trip sponsored by Howard

County Recreation & Parks leaves at

9 a.m. and returns at 3:30 p.m. on

Tuesday, June 4 for a visit to the

Baltimore Museum of Art to visit the

new contemporary wing and other

collections and exhibitions. Lunch is

on your own at Gertrude’s, the muse-

um’s restaurant. Tickets are $45. To

register call (410) 313-7275. For fur-

ther information, call Ginny Russ at

(410) 313-7279.

BEACON BITS

June 4

Household items can pose risks to pets

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Personal assistance from knowledgeable staff.

would double by the year 2020. Seniorssurveyed for the study listed healthcareand a lack of transportation options astheir top two concerns.

A work group explored options for twoyears. Then a model utilizing the county’sexisting programs and volunteer re-sources was launched as Neighbor Ride inthe summer of 2004.

“It’s a wonderful program for volun-teers — you feel good right off the bat,”said Colleen Dumais Konstanzer, thegroup’s community outreach director.Konstanzer served as the organization’sfirst executive director until growing fami-ly demands intervened. Konstanzer alsovolunteers as a driver.

Konstanzer’s assessment gets an en-dorsement from longtime volunteerThomas Meachum, an attorney in down-town Columbia at the law firm of Car-ney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett &Scherr.

“I read about Neighbor Ride in thepaper and thought it sounded like a per-fect fit for me,” Meachum said. “I wantedto do some volunteering, and this fit in per-fectly with my availability.

“I work mostly in the Columbia area,”Meachum continued, “driving folks to doc-tors’ appointments or shopping at the mall,then coming back to my office to work for

a couple hours till it’s time to pick them upfor the trip back home.

“I’m always interested in meeting peo-ple one on one, and the driving makes it soeasy to do that. What wonderful stories mypassengers tell me about what they’vedone in their lives! And it’s helped me toappreciate the rich diversity in the makeupof Howard County, too.”

Coordinating ridesThose who volunteer to drive for Neigh-

bor Ride must be at least 21 years old, sub-mit to a driving record and criminal back-ground check, and be interested in seniors.

Although drivers are offered up to 40percent reimbursement on the gas theyuse, Neighbor Ride Director Brad Crossnotes that few take it, preferring to consid-er fuel as part of their contribution. Neigh-bor Ride covers all drivers with an umbrel-la liability insurance policy.

The office phones are manned by volun-teers who take calls from seniors request-ing transportation for a specific date andtime. Such requests must be made at leastthree business days in advance of the need.

Requests are then entered into a mastercomputer program used to match volun-teers and their availability with those need-ing rides. There is no guarantee that eachride request can be filled.

But once a driver accepts an assign-ment, he or she informs the office andtakes responsibility for calling their pas-

senger(s) the day before as a reminder ofthe pickup time and destination.

Cross estimates that close to 99 percentof all ride requests are filled, and thosethat aren’t are usually “Friday eveningrush hour on the Beltway,” when no volun-teer drivers are available.

Cross, 67, formerly at Hewlett-Packard,now uses his business skills to oversee theoperations of the organization’s $250,000annual budget, which covers staffing andorganizational expenditures.

Susan Appletree, a retired elementaryschool teacher who has worked withNeighbor Ride as a driver and volunteerride coordinator for the past seven years,has story after story to tell about the pas-sengers, their requests and their gratitude.

Many of the Neighbor Ride volunteersare retirees, she noted. She hears fromthem especially the “feel good” stories of

passengers they’ve driven to weekly lunchgatherings with friends, or to senior cen-ters just to meet with people and chat foran hour or two.

Another favorite story is that of a volun-teer driver who originally contactedNeighbor Ride as a passenger followingsurgery that left him unable to drive to hisrehabilitation appointments. Now fully re-covered, he is determined to “pay it for-ward” as a volunteer driving others in needof transportation to remain active and in-dependent.

And then there was one elderly gentwho went straight to the heart of it whenhe said good-bye to his driver one day.

“Thank you, angel,” he said.For additional information on Neighbor

Ride, or to volunteer or make a contribu-tion, visit www.neighborride.org or call(410) 884-RIDE (7433).


Neighbor RideFrom page 1

�e Key to Beating Lung Cancer is Finding Lung Cancer Early.

Screening with CT scans can cut the lung cancer death rate among high-risk patients by 20 percent.

The earlier lung cancer is detected, the better it can be treated and possibly cured.

MedStar Health Cancer Network is offering low-cost CT screening scans to individuals at high-risk for developing lung cancer.

You could be a candidate for our lung screening program if you are:

• 55 to 74 years of age

• A smoker of a pack of cigarettes a day for 30 years or more

• Currently smoking or have quit fewer than 15 years ago

To learn more about the program and find out if you are eligible, call 877-715-HOPE (877-715-4673).

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VOLUME 3, NO. 6 • JUNE 2013

By Dayna Brown,Office on AgingAdministratorAs May comes to a close, we are

winding down activities for OlderAmericans Month, and what a monthit was. I had the pleasure of helping tolaunch Howard County’s newest bikinginitiative, Cycle2Health, along withmore than 40 enthusiastic cyclists. Infact, I enjoyed it so much that I amplanning to purchase a bike of my own!The program welcomes both beginnerand experienced riders; visit

www.howardcountyaging.org/Cycle2Health to find out more. Also in May, I was proud to join the members of our SHIP team

as they were honored as recipients of the Audrey Robbins’Humanitarian Award, presented by the Association of CommunityServices. These knowledgeable and dedicated volunteers havehelped many county residents navigate the often murky waters ofMedicare plans and procedures. It is wonderful to see their effortsgarner such positive notice. Well done! If you need assistance with aMedicare-related topic, call SHIP at 410-313-7391.This month, we turn our attention to more serious matters,

as we mark National Safety Month and observe Elder AbuseAwareness Day on June 15. Did you know that falls are the leading cause of injury

among those ages 65 and older? Or that most falls happen inhomes and are entirely preventable? Visitwww.howardcountyaging.org to learn more, and download aSafety at Home checklist. And don’t forget that addingaccessibility features to your primary residence in HowardCounty may not only make your home safer as you age, it maybe eligible for a Livable Homes county tax credit. For moreinformation, and a list of qualifying improvements, visitwww.howardcountymd.gov/livablehomes.Lastly, please take a moment to review the information

regarding how you can spot, stop or report cases of ElderAbuse at www.howardcountyaging.org/ElderSafety. We allneed to take an active role and do what we can to protectvulnerable older adults in our county. Reach out to those atrisk, and report suspected abuse by calling 911 or contact oneof the agencies listed on our website.As always, if you need information, assistance or a referral from

the Office on Aging, contact a Maryland Access Point specialistweekdays at 410-313-5980, email [email protected] orvisit www.marylandaccesspoint.info.

A Message from the Administrator

Since 1987, the Senior Health In-surance Assistance Program has pro-vided Medicare beneficiaries inHoward County with free, confiden-tial and unbiased assistance. A signif-icant part of this important work isdone by an incredible group of vol-unteers who serve as SHIP coun-selors, helping both new and long-term beneficiaries navigate the oftenconfusing realm of health insurancecoverage and costs, while protectingtheir rights and options. In recognition of the contributions

SHIP volunteers have made to not onlyto the county’s Medicare beneficiaries,but also to their family membersand/or caregivers, they have beennamed the 2013 Audrey Robbins Hu-manitarian Volunteer Team of the Year.Now in its 36th year, the prestigious

Audrey Robbins Humanitarian awardsare presented by the Association ofCommunity Services to recognize thework of human services organizations,volunteers and staff who go above andbeyond all expectations in their serviceto Howard County. Nomination docu-ments point to the fact that in 2012,SHIP volunteers had significant directcontact with approximately 1,600 peo-ple and helped more than 2,300 resi-dents, who attended 94 communitypresentations and Medicare informa-tion events. The Office on Aging recognizes the

contributions of the entire SHIP teamas not only a truly an amazing groupof people, as individuals and as a col-lective, but also for providing a muchneeded service to the residents ofHoward County. Congratulations!

SHIP Team Honored with Audrey Robbins Humanitarian Award

The Senior Connection is published monthly by the Howard CountyDepartment of Citizen Services’ Office on Aging. We welcome your

comments and suggestions. To contact us, or to join our email subscriber list,email [email protected] ‘subscribe’ in the subject box.

Howard County Office on Aging6751 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia, MD 21046

410-313-6410www.howardcountyaging.org • www.Facebook.com/HoCoCitizen

Dayna Brown, AdministratorAdvertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Howard County Office on Aging or by the publisher.


The Senior Connection

Coming EventsFriday, May 31, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. – AMoment to Honor, The Bain CenterJoin us to honor the significant people in our lives whoare no longer with us. Featuring a guest speaker, quietreflection accompanied by music, time for individualsharing, and a group commemorative activity. Free,light refreshments served. Contact Elaine Widom, 410-313-7283 or [email protected] to RSVPor for more information.

Monday, June 3, 1:30 p.m. – MusicalJourneys, Longwood Senior CenterDon’t miss a wonderful concert by Phoenix Arts,sponsored by Taiwanese American Charity &Education Association and featuring Mingying Zhangand Keng-Yuen Tseng on violin and Chun-Ru Wei onthe piano. The concert and reception is free and opento all. Call 410-313-7217 for details.

Tuesday, June 4, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. –Baltimore Museum of Industry Presents: TheGarment Industry, The Bain CenterLook back at the history of the garment industry inBaltimore, starting with its beginnings in the 19thcentury. Tales about hats, umbrellas and men’s suits will be‘sewn’ together in the talk. Call 410-313-7213 for details.

Tuesday, June 4, 11 a.m. – Social SecurityAdministration Chorus, Ellicott City SeniorCenterJoin us for an afternoon of musical entertainment bythe Social Security Administration Chorus. Call 410-313-1400 for details.

Tuesdays, June 4, 11, 18 & 25, 1:30 to 2:30p.m. – Qigong, Elkridge Senior CenterQigong is a mind, body and spirit integrative exercisewhich can improve flexibility, strength and balance, whilereducing stress, arthritis and fibromyalgia pain. It’s easy todo for all fitness levels. Call 410-313-5192 to register.

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, June 5 to 7 –Food, Fun & Fiction Book & Bake Sale,Glenwood 50+ Center LobbyGet your summer beach reads at our book and bakesale! Support our fundraiser, by donating books now(no textbooks), or sign up to donate baked goods —cakes, cookies, brownies for our sale days. See Chris atthe front desk to volunteer, or call 410-313-5440 formore information.Thursday, June 6, 10 a.m. – Swap or Shop,East Columbia 50+ CenterBring in nearly new clothing and accessories by June 4to swap, or stop by to shop for unswapped items andour cookbook sale. Call 410-313-7680 for details.

Thursday, June 6, 11 a.m. – Brain Fit, EllicottCity Senior CenterInstructor Robin Zahor teaches us how to keep themind sharp by using techniques designed to keep thebrain in tip-top form to improve cognitiveperformance. Call 410-313-1400 to register.

Friday, June 7, 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. – AARPDriving Class, Elkridge Senior CenterAn exciting, interactive class designed to teach driversafety. Learn many things that you may not knowabout driving and the rules of the road. Some insurancecompanies may offer a discount on your policy onceyou complete the class. Call 410-313-5192 to register.

Friday, June 7, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. – Father’sDay Concert, The Bain CenterHear the smooth tunes of the Bain Gospel Choir asthey sing melodies that will melt your heart. Don’t missit; call 410-313-7213 for details.

Monday, June 10, 1 to 2 p.m. – Zumba Gold,Elkridge Senior CenterZumba Gold is so much fun you won’t know that you areexercising, featuring exciting Latin moves to great music.It’s easy to follow, and all fitness levels are welcome. Cost:$4 per class; call 410-313-5192 to register.

Mondays & Tuesdays, June 10 - 18, 11 a.m. tonoon – Brain Fitness, North Laurel 50+ CenterLearn a series of brain-stimulating exercises to improvememory retention and cognitive performance. Cost: $12for the series. Register by June 5 by calling 410-313-0380.

Tuesday, June 11, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. – Radioin Baltimore, The Bain CenterEd Hawkins, WITH radio personality, will discuss thehistory of radio broadcasting in Baltimore from the1920s to the 1960s. Join us to learn about themilestones and legendary radio personalities from thepast. Free; call 410-313-7213 to register.

Wednesday, June 12, 10 a.m. to noon –Genealogy: Love and Marriage, Ellicott CitySenior CenterLearn how marriage records and divorce records canaid in the research of your ancestors. Free; call 410-313-1400 to register.

Wednesday, June 12, 11:30 a.m. – Father’sDay Picnic, North Laurel 50+ Center Enjoy a BBQ lunch, activities and live entertainment inour pavilion in celebration of the great men in ourlives. Cost $3; call 410-313-0380 by May 26.

Thursday, June 13, noon – Glamourat Glenwood, Glenwood 50+ CenterChristopher and Banks will be back atGlenwood as we host an afternoon of fashionand food. Cost: $15; get your tickets earlybefore they sell out. Models needed; contactRegina Jenkins, 410-313-5440 if interested.

Thursday, June 13, 7 to 8:30 p.m. –Medicare 102: Why Medicare Isn’tEnough, Howard County GeneralHospital Wellness Center, 10710Charter Dr., Suite 100, Columbia Learn about Medicare Part C/Health Plans,Medicare Supplement Policies (MedigapPlans) and find out if a Medicare HMO,PPO, Cost Plan or Private Fee for ServicePlan is the right choice for you. No fee; call410-740-7601 to register. Also offered onJune 19 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. atKiwanis-Wallas Recreation Center, 3300Norbert’s Way in Ellicott City. To register, call410-313-7391. No fee; sponsored by SHIP.

Friday, June 14, 11 a.m. – Flag DayCeremony, North Laurel 50+ Center Learn why the American Flag has its own day ofcelebration in this ceremony brought to us by theAmerican Legion Post 300. Free; for more information,call 410-313-0380.

Friday, June 14, 12:30 p.m. – Tap Recital, Ellicott City Senior CenterJoin the graduates of Jackie Dunphy’s Tap class as theyperform for us live and on stage. All family membersare invited to enjoy the show! Call 410-313-1400 fordetails.

Thursday, June 20, 6 to 8 p.m. – SPRING Wellness Seminar,North Laurel 50+ Center This seminar showcases an older adult who has brokenthe ageism perspective by creating new ways to engagein life. Small group discussions follow keynote; lightrefreshments served. Free; call 410-313-0380 to registerby June 18. Contact Karen Hull, 410-313-7466 fordetails.

Wednesday, June 26, noon to 2 p.m. –Summer Tea, East Columbia 50+ CenterLazy days of summer...join us for a leisurely afternoonof tea, savories and sweets. Cost: $6; call 410-313-7680for reservations (required).

Friday, June 28, noon to 2 p.m. – Flower Design Workshop, East Columbia 50+ CenterCreate a beautiful fresh flower arrangement with freshsummer greens and flowers from the garden. Cost: $7;all materials provided. Call 410-313-7680 to register.

Thursday, July 18, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. –SPRING Luncheon: Timbuktu Restaurant, 1726 Dorsey Road, Hanover, Md.Celebrate summer with SPRING and have lunch atTimbuktu! Choose an entrée: Crab Cake, ChickenTimbuktu or Pasta Primavera (price varies withselection and includes coffee/tea/ice tea and gratuity).Seating is limited; register by July 9 by calling ElaineWidom, 410-313-7283.

The Bain Center, 5470 Ruth Keeton WayColumbia, MD 21044

410.313.7461www.howardcountyaging.org

The Howard County Paws4Comfort programfosters special bonds between pets, their

owners and the County residents they visit.

If you are interested in volunteering, or wish to schedule a free

evaluation for your pet, contact Ingrid Gleysteen,

at 410-313-7461 or [email protected].

Evaluations are held the 1st

Wednesday of every month.

Wednesday, June 5th

7 PM at Bain Center

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PARTNERING IN CITIZEN

SAFETY

MoneyMoneyLOOK BEFORE YOU LEAPIf you’re returning to the stock market,buy into stocks gradually, and considerhybrid investments, like target date andbalanced funds

ARE YOU A TREND TRACKER?Startup company Motif Investing enablescustomers to buy groups of stocks thatfollow a trend, from discount stores toweight loss

Law &

Readers continue to ask how they caninvest without a great deal ofrisk and still obtain reason-able income.

I have often pointed out thatinvestors who need incomecannot expect high incomefrom investing in Treasurybills, money-market instru-ments and short-term savingsaccounts. Such investmentspreserve capital but do notkeep up with inflation.

Alternatives that providemore income include real-es-tate investment trusts(REITs), Treasury inflation-protected se-curities (TIPS), intermediate-term bonds,master limited partnerships (MLPs) andhigh dividend common stocks. These pro-vide more income than the most conserva-tive investments, but they are certainly arenot risk-free.

Consider preferred stockAnother alternative is preferred stocks.

These are more like bonds than a commonstock. They are hybrid securities withcharacteristics of both bonds and equities.

Preferred stocks pay a fixed interest, gen-erally at a higher rate than bonds issued bythe same company. The current yield of pre-ferred stocks is about 6 percent. Corpora-tions issuing preferred stock cannot pay div-

idends on their common stock without pay-ing the interest due on the pre-ferred stock.

Preferred stock prices gen-erally fluctuate based on theirdividend yield, credit ratingand maturity date (where ap-plicable). Increased interestrates generally will depressthe value of preferred stock,since investors could pur-chase new issues of preferredstock and bonds at higher in-terest rates. Also, if a corpora-tion’s financial condition orprospects deteriorate, the

value of its outstanding securities will fall.Corporations that issue preferred stock

are those that require substantial capital.Most issuers are financial institutions, util-ities and communications companies.

Not all of these companies have stellarcredit ratings. As a result, there is not a largesupply of high-quality preferred. For thatreason, in order to minimize risks, investorsshould consider buying a diversified portfo-lio of preferred stocks through ETFs ratherthan purchasing individual company shares.

Advantages and disadvantagesAn advantage of preferred stocks is that

they have a low correlation to other fixed-price securities such as TIPS, REITs andMLPs.

A major disadvantage, according to JoshPeters, equity strategist of Morningstar, isthe risk of recall. Most issues may be re-called within five years. If interest rates godown, the issuer will likely recall the stock.

Another disadvantage is there is noguarantee you will receive the price youpaid for the stock. With individual bondpurchases, at maturity, you will receive theface value of the bond back. Corporatebonds have maturity dates; most preferredstocks do not.

Another disadvantage is the lack of anactive market. When you do decide to sell,there may be a large gap between the bidand ask price for an individual security.That is another reason to buy preferredstocks in an ETF.

The price of preferred stock will gener-ally not increase when the income of thecorporation increases. Income growth willbenefit common stock holders. You do notpurchase preferred stock in order to ob-tain capital growth.

Some recommendationsAbby Woodham, an analyst at Morn-

ingstar, recommends ETF iShares S&PU.S. Preferred Stock Index (PFF), indicat-ing it has the lowest expense ratio of theETFs at 0.48 percent. Over the last fiveyears, the fund returned an average of 5.5percent. The return for the last year was18.2 percent. The current yield is approxi-

mately 6 percent.If you hold your account outside of a re-

tirement account, you should consider thetax implications. For example, some pre-ferred stock dividends are qualified, whichmeans that they are taxed at no more than20 percent. If the dividends are not quali-fied, the marginal tax rate can be as highas 39.6 percent.

Woodham points out that the Power-Shares Financial Preferred (PGF) ETFproduces 100 percent qualified income. Itsexpense ratio is 0.66 percent, higher thaniShares EFT; however, if you hold theshares in a non-retirement account, thePowerShares ETF may provide a higherreturn due to tax savings.

Too many investors still invest too muchin money-market instruments and savingsaccounts. You have to accept some risk toget high income.

I do not recommend that a significantportion of your fixed income portfolioshould be in preferred stocks. However, ifa significant part of your portfolio is cur-rently earning less than 1 percent, consid-er adding a preferred stock ETF to yourfixed-income portfolio. You should earnclose to 6 percent without a great deal ofrisk.

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questionsand comments at [email protected].

© 2013 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed byTribune Media Services, Inc.

By Mark JewellAn annual scorecard of mutual fund per-

formance is in, and it’s generating more ofthe negative headlines that fund managershave become accustomed to in recent years.

The key finding: Two-thirds of managedU.S. stock funds failed to beat the market in2012, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.For all their stock-picking skills, the vast ma-jority of managers couldn’t claim an edgeover low-cost index funds and exchange-traded funds that seek to match the market.

It was the sixth time in the last 10 yearsthat average annual returns of managedfunds fell short of the market’s overall per-formance. Faced with such persistentlydisappointing results, it’s understandablethat an investor might consider giving up

and rely exclusively on index funds.But look deeper into the latest annual

scorecard, and there’s a positive takeawayfor investors. Funds specializing in stocksof small foreign companies have beatentheir market benchmark year after year.

In 2012, 85 percent of this small group offunds posted larger returns than an S&Pindex of stocks from foreign developedcountries. Returns for the five-dozen fundsin the international small-cap category av-eraged 21.7 percent, compared with 15.4percent for the index.

An ongoing trendIt wasn’t a one-year fluke: Ninety per-

cent outperformed over three years, and79 percent over five years.

Those results are far better than thelong-term numbers for other stock fundcategories, suggesting that internationalsmall-cap is the go-to category for market-beating fund performance.

“It’s kind of like an overlooked child,” saidAye Soe, an S&P Dow Jones Indices re-searcher who authored the company’s latestscorecard. “There are lots of opportunitiesthere, and active managers can find them.”

Stocks of small companies based overseasgenerate less attention from investment man-agers and stock analysts than the big U.S.names in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index.That under-the-radar status creates greateropportunity to find stocks that are under-priced relative to their earnings potential.

That’s reflected in the wide variations in

returns among small-cap internationalstocks. The gap between the best andworst performers is typically larger than inother market segments.

“That creates more opportunity for ac-tive managers to add value,” Soe said.

Some winning picksA couple examples of top-rated small-

cap international funds, and stocks thathave generated strong recent returns:

Franklin International Small Cap Growth(FINAX) found a gem in Jumbo SA, whichwas recently the fund’s third-largest hold-ing. Shares of the Greece-based retailer ofchildren’s products have surged 43 percent

Small-cap foreign funds beat the market

A way to higher returns at moderate risk

THE SAVINGSGAMEBy Elliot Raphaelson

See BEAT THE MARKET, page 19


over the past 12 months.For Invesco International Small Compa-

ny (IEGAX), a key contributor has beenTotal Energy Services Trust. The Canadi-an energy services company is a longtimeholding and the stock has more than dou-bled over the past five years.

One word of caution: Investors whodon’t have the stomach for volatile returnsmight want to avoid international small-cap funds. Sharp ups and downs are morelikely with foreign stocks than with theU.S. market, especially among small-caps.

But for consistency in generating mar-ket-beating returns, international small-cap funds stand out.

Last year, just two out of 13 categories ofmanaged U.S. stock funds posted average re-turns better than their market benchmarks.

The two: funds specializing in large-capgrowth stocks, and funds investing inproperty-owning real estate investmenttrusts. But going back over three and fiveyears, the vast majority of funds in bothcategories failed to beat the market.

Among managed U.S. stock funds lastyear, 66 percent failed to beat a broad meas-ure of the market, the Standard & Poor’sComposite 1500. Although that may soundbad, it’s a marked improvement from the 84percent that underperformed in 2011. Thelast year that a majority of managed fundsbeat the market was in 2009.

Such poor numbers are a key reasonwhy investors have been pulling theirmoney out of managed funds in recentyears. Among all U.S. stock funds — themajority of them managed funds, ratherthan index products — withdrawals haveexceeded deposits for six years in a row.

Last year, investors withdrew a net $95billion from managed large-cap stockfunds, according to Morningstar. In con-trast, a net $61 billion was deposited intolarge-cap index mutual funds and ETFs.

Other standout fundsDespite the overall performance num-

bers, there have been standout managedfunds in recent years. Consider the top di-versified U.S. stock funds of last year: LeggMason Capital Management Opportunity(LMOPX) returned 39.6 percent andFairholme Fund (FAIRX) gained 35.8 per-cent. Those results were more than doublethe 16 percent total return for the S&P 500.

What’s more, a small minority of fundshave delivered market-beating returns overperiods of 10 years or longer. And Soe notesthat several fund managers successfully ex-ecuted defensive strategies in 2008, limitingtheir losses in a year when stocks plunged38 percent amid the financial crisis.

“Just because a majority of active man-agers underperform doesn’t mean activemanagement is completely dead,” Soe said.“It really depends on market conditions,and how skilled those managers are at tak-ing advantage of those conditions.” — AP

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 19

Beat the marketFrom page 18

MEDICARE OPTIONS SEMINARLearn about factors to consider when choosing a Medicare HealthPlan and how to protect yourself from healthcare fraud in a free

program sponsored by the county’s Senior Health Insurance Assistance Programon Wednesday, June 19 at 11 a.m. at Kiwanis-Wallas Hall, 3300 Norbert’s Way, El-licott City. Pre-registration is required. To register or for more information, call(410) 313-7391.

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By Anne Kates SmithHow you re-enter the stock market

matters, especially if you’ve taken a hia-tus. Even if you’re anxious to get back inthe game, you’ll want to buy into stocksgradually.

Investing a set amount periodically, astrategy called dollar-cost averaging,helps you psych yourself into sticking toyour investment plan. It lowers the aver-age per-share cost of your stock hold-ings by ensuring that you buy more

shares when prices are down and fewershares when they’re richly priced. Youalso might want to let a trusted advisorhelp you figure out how much of whichassets to own.

Hybrid funds, which include target-date funds and balanced funds, togglebetween stocks, bonds and money mar-kets, within set parameters. Industry gi-ants Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Van-guard offer target-date funds. We have aslight preference for the Price and Van-

guard funds. Price’s funds have themost aggressive mix, and Vanguard’sthe most conservative.

A good one-stop balanced fund worthconsidering is Vanguard Star (symbolVGSTX), a diversified mix of other Van-guard funds that invest in bonds as wellas U.S. and foreign stocks. FPA Cres-cent (FPACX), a member of theKiplinger 25, owns everything fromstocks and bonds to preferred shares,convertible securities and bank loans, amix that does well in both up and downyears.

For super-skittish investors, financialplanner George Kiraly, Jr., at LodeStarAdvisory Group, in Short Hills, N.J., fa-vors Vanguard Wellesley Income Fund(VWINX). The fund, which holds aboutone-third of its assets in stocks and therest in high-quality bonds, lost only 10percent in 2008 and has returned nearly8 percent annualized over the pastdecade.

If wild swings in the market wreakhavoc with your financial for titude,focus on low-volatility investing. By side-stepping big market swings, you won’tjust sleep better, you may even beat themarket in the long run. That’s becauselarge losses often cost investors morethan big gains can make up.

Research coauthored by BrendanBradley, director of managed volatilitystrategies at Boston-based AcadianAsset Management, shows that from1968 through 2012, a portfolio of low-volatility stocks would have returned11.2 percent annualized, compared with9.5 percent for the S&P 500.

You’ll find scads of low-volatilitystocks among the household names onyour shelves (think General Mills,Clorox and Johnson & Johnson). Makesure the stock’s “beta” (a measure ofhow a stock’s price moves relative to theoverall market), is below the market’sbeta of 1. You can find this informationon investing sites such as Yahoo Fi-nance,

The easiest way to buy low-volatilitystocks is with one of a new crop of ex-change-traded funds, such as Power-Shares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio(SPLV).

Anne Kates Smith is a senior editor atKiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.Send your questions and comments [email protected]. For more onthis and similar money topics, visitwww.Kiplinger.com.

© 2013 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.All rights reserved. Distributed by Trib-une Media Services, Inc.

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By Mark JewellThink you can tell the difference be-

tween a fad and a trend with stayingpower? Look around, and you might comeup with some decent investing ideas.

If you’ve noticed that lots of your friendsare using tablet computers instead of PCs,it might be a good time to consider stocksof companies driving the tablet revolution.

See evidence that Americans are gettingmore serious about their weight prob-lems? Consider stocks of fitness centerchains and weight-loss clinics.

On the other hand, if you’re convincedthat we’ll never get disciplined about ourdiets, try the opposite approach and investin fast-food chains.

For average investors hoping to beat themarket, buying several stocks fitting a broadinvestment theme is probably a better op-tion than assessing which individual compa-nies to buy. Few have the know-how to rou-tinely make good stock picks, let alone thepatience to do the required research.

Do-it-yourself, sort ofWith those realities in mind, a Silicon Val-

ley startup last year launched a websiteaimed at do-it-yourself investors who consid-er themselves savvy trendspotters. The com-pany, Motif Investing, enables customers tobuy baskets of up to 30 stocks that fit various“motifs,” as the company calls them.

The bigger player a company is in thatinvesting theme, the larger its weighting isin the basket of stocks. For example, Wal-Mart makes up nearly one-quarter of theportfolio in a retail stock motif called “Dis-count Nation.”

The website has a menu of more than100 motifs. Some are fairly conventional,such as offerings focusing on dividend-pay-ing stocks and diversified bond portfolios.

But most are trend-oriented, such as a“Tablet Takeover” motif geared toward tabletcomputing, a “Fighting Fat” basket of weightloss-themed stocks, and a “Junk Food” motifof fast-food and soft drink stocks.

If social change is important to you, a“No Glass Ceilings” motif owns stocks ofcorporations run by female executives. An-other invests in companies with gay-friend-ly workplace policies.

Motif launched last June, and recentlyannounced a new feature enabling individu-als to create custom motifs and share themwith other customers. Eventually, Motifplans to adopt a royalty system, allowingsomeone creating a motif to earn small pay-ments when other investors buy it.

Customers can post investing ideas on-line for all to see, or friends or colleaguescan exchange tips privately.

Other creative websitesMotif is among a small number of young

companies trying to challenge traditionalinvestment advisory firms through noveluses of the Internet and social networking.Others include Covestor, MarketRiders,Wealthfront, ShareBuilder and Betterment.

Although none has become a significantplayer in the industry, some could eventual-ly catch on with certain types of investors.

“There’s room for these niche players ifthey can get some traction,” said DavidSchehr, an analyst at research firm GartnerInc. Motif’s likely target audience, he said,is investing enthusiasts who actively tradesmall portions of their invested savings.

Motif isn’t disclosing how many cus-tomers it has or how much money they’veinvested.

Low costs are one of Motif’s chief sell-ing points. After meeting a minimum in-vestment of $250, there’s a $9.95 charge to

buy a single motif of up to 30 stocks. That’scomparable to the commissions that tradi-tional brokerages charge to buy a singlestock (although some offer free ETFtrades with certain restrictions).

For $4.95, a Motif customer can buy addi-tional shares of an individual stock or ETF ina motif, thus customizing holdings so they’redifferent from the default motif. And, in con-trast with mutual funds and ETFs, there areno ongoing investment management fees.

After getting a demo of Motif from co-founder and CEO Hardeep Walia, I’m im-pressed with how easy the site is to use. In-formation on the investment options is pre-sented in user-friendly language. Photos il-lustrate each investing motif. Commandscan be executed with a few mouse clicks

or taps on a touch-screen. That said, investing isn’t a game, and

there’s a potential negative to Motif’s easeof use. As you tap away, it could be easy toget carried away with money that you maybe depending on for retirement.

Also, some of the motifs are geared to-ward potentially short-term trends that areunsuitable investment ideas for anyone withlong-term goals.

With such potential shortcomings inmind, Gartner’s Schehr suggests that anyoneconsidering Motif or rival websites investonly small amounts of their savings, reserv-ing the majority for traditional diversifiedportfolios: “Just take a taste,” he advised,“and don’t sign up for the full banquet.”

— AP

Startup helps DIY investors buy cheaplyHOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 21

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By Victor Block Bejeweled women dressed in the latest

fashions strolled into the likes of Gucci,Neiman Marcus and Tiffany intent onadding to their chic wardrobe and collec-tion of costly adornments. Not far away, mywife Fyllis — wearing blue jeans, boots anda cowgirl hat — was learning to lasso cattle.

My afternoon was spent exploring arugged wilderness of giant cacti, toweringmesas and vast stretches of barren land-scape. There I discovered that what ap-peared to be a dry, dead desert actually ishome to thousands of plants and animalsthat have adapted to life in searing temper-atures and an almost complete lack ofwater.

The first impression that Fyllis and I hadduring a visit to Scottsdale, Ariz., was thediversity of attractions in and around thatsmall city. The shopping experience aloneprovided an introduction to the something-for-everyone variety.

World famous top-of-the-line stores areneighbors to one-of-a-kind specialty shopsand boutiques. And in a city whose sloganis “The West’s most Western town,” it’s nosurprise to pass store after store sellingcowboy hats, boots and everything wornbetween them.

Of course, where there were cowboys

there usually were Native Americans, andtheir influence also remains strong. Oneshop alone, the River Trading Post, sellsNative American art and artifacts createdby people from more than 50 tribal nations.

Cowgirl for a dayNor has the cowboy influence faded, as

Fyllis learned while playing the role of aworking cowgirl, at least for a few hours.She was a part-time student at the ArizonaCowboy College, which serves up a tasteof life on the range without touristy frills.

Most city slickers go through a two-dayorientation followed by four days at aranch rounding up cows, searching formissing steer, branding, vaccinating anddoing other cowboy-like chores. Hearingthat description prompted me to inquire,“And they pay for that?”

The one-day introduction to life on therange that Fyllis attended included learn-ing to clean hooves and groom and saddleBillie, the brown mare she was assigned.That was followed by instruction in ridingon a Western saddle.

As Fyllis and Billie circled a ring, ElainePawlowski, the ranch manager andteacher, shouted out reminders: “Heelsdown. Lighten up on the reins. Sink yourbutt into the saddle.”

Later came a lesson in ropinga wayward calf. Rather than alive animal, this exercise used ametal mini-cow on wheelswhich, after several errant toss-es, my newly Westernized wifewas able to ring several times ina row.

The cowgirl experienceended with a ride over therocky wasteland that surroundsScottsdale and nearby Phoenix,loping over sandy, rocky terrainpast cacti in a variety of shapesand sizes.

Desert denizensThe trail in the Sonoran

Desert over which Fyllis rode,and the somewhat larger areathat I had explored, represent-ed just a sliver of that vastwilderness. It stretchesthrough Arizona, California andnorthern Mexico, covering an

expanse eight times the size of Maryland. Descriptions of the desert often include

words like bleak and drab. Fyllis reportedthat her horseback ride passed through amonochromatic panorama of gray and tan,broken occasionally by the muted green ofa cactus.

For anyone who favors that kind ofplant, Arizona and its Sonoran Desert arecactus heaven. The majestic saguaro (pro-nounced suh-WAHR-oh), the most familiarand identifiable kind, can grow to 50 feetand live as long as 200 years. They existonly in the Sonoran Desert, and thesaguaro blossom is the official state flower.

Numerous other species of cactus alsohave found the Sonora’s arid conditions totheir liking. Their colorful names — likepurple prickly pear, organ pipe and teddy-bear cholla — add to their appeal.

One of many fascinating stories thedesert has to tell is how both plant and ani-mal life have adapted to its harsh environ-ment. What appears to be a seemingly un-inhabitable wasteland is home to some 60mammals, 350 kinds of birds, over 100types of reptile and even 30 species of fish.Their survival techniques are among na-ture’s more intriguing stories.

For example, many cactus plants have aroot system that grows outward rather thandown in order to absorb surface moisture,and some have stems that expand to saverainwater for later use. The saguaro can

store enough water to last as long as a year. Many animals sleep in shade during hot

days and venture out to feed during thecooler nights. Some rabbits and othersmall mammals are able to survive prima-rily on water they get from what they eat.The Western Banded Gecko stashes awayboth food and water in its long tail for lateruse when needed.

More outdoorsy adventuresThe desert is also a treasure-trove of

human history, ranging from prehistoricruins and remnants of Native American lifeto abandoned mining encampments.

A wide choice of alternatives awaits visi-tors interested in exploring this other-world-ly setting. On land, that can mean hiking,biking, horseback rides, and off-road guidedtours via Jeep, Hummer and luxury SUV.

Those who prefer to take to the air maychoose a gentle hot-air balloon ride orclamber aboard an airplane, helicopter oreven a seaplane for a flight that includes alake landing.

Some of the desert’s magic and magnifi-cence is captured in several sanctuaries andmuseums that Fyllis and I took time to visit.

The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is amini-wilderness that stretches over 21,000acres and provides an excellent introduc-tion to the entire desert. It’s home to hun-

The Western wonders of Scottsdale, Ariz.

Outside Scottsdale, Ariz., hikers in the Sonoran Desert pass numerous types of cactus, including the towering saguaro, which is unique to that locale. Surprisingly,the desert is also home to 60 types of mammals, over 100 sorts of reptiles and 350 kinds of birds that have adapted to its hot, dry environment.

The Arizona Cowboy College in Scottsdale impartssuch skills to visitors as rounding up cows, vacci-nating livestock and branding. Here, FyllisHochman practices using a lasso to rope a calf.

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22 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

dreds of types of plants and animals, aswell as 60 miles of trails.

Entering the more formally organizedDesert Botanical Garden, Fyllis and Iglanced around, looked at each other and ex-claimed “Wow” in unison. Never had we real-ized there are so many, very different kindsof cactus, each quite beautiful in its own way.

Five thematic loop trails meanderthrough an amazingly varied collection ofarid plants from deserts around the world.Each path focuses upon one topic, includ-ing plants of the Sonoran, desert wildflow-ers and conservation.

I found most interesting the exhibits ofhow people learned to live in the hostileenvironment. Native Americans learned touse a variety of plants, including cactusand mesquite, for food, medicine andother needs.

Along the way, Fyllis and I paused at agrinding stone to pound mesquite beans intoflour, a muscle-tiring exercise that gave us anew appreciation for store-bought bread.

We also stooped to step inside a round-house of the kind constructed by NativeAmericans who once inhabited this area.

Additional reminders of the native resi-dents are everywhere.

A vast collection of Native American artand artifacts is the main feature at theworld-class Heard Museum (based in

Phoenix, and with a satellite location inNorth Scottsdale). The lovely sculptureand native plant garden at the Scottsdalesite is a perfect place to relax and rest fol-lowing a sightseeing excursion.

The Pueblo Grande Museum and Arche-ological Park also is worth a stop and stroll.The complex sits atop remains of a villageof the Hohokam people, who lived in thearea from about 450 to 1450 CE. They werethe first to cultivate the land of the SonoranDesert, using a vast system of irrigationditches. Some of those trenches, and an ex-cavated ball court, are still visible today.

Reproductions of pit houses, mud andadobe-covered structures placed in a shal-low depression, demonstrate how thedwellings provided insulation against theextremes of desert temperatures.

Old and new townsThe neighborhoods in and around

Scottsdale combine interesting historicaltidbits with an array of shopping and recre-ational opportunities.

The center of much action is the OldTown neighborhood. Located on the origi-nal site from which the community expand-ed, it‘s a hub of museums, historic struc-tures, dining, night life and a shopper’s par-adise. From cowboy wares to Native Amer-ican jewelry to international brand-namehandbags, any shopper who can’t find waysto spend money there just isn’t trying.

Old Town is also crammed with many of

the city’s estimated 125 art galleries. Eventhe streets serve as an outdoor museum,with dozens of works — including a giantlizard, a metal rider astride a buckinghorse and a number of less identifiable ab-stract sculptures — on display.

Very different in atmosphere and appealare tiny enclaves on the outskirts of Scotts-dale. Cave Creek (population about 5,000)was settled in 1870 by miners and ranch-ers, and served as a stopping point for U.S.Cavalry troops. The town clings stubborn-ly and proudly to its Western heritage, ashome to shops selling cowboy gear, sever-al saloons and periodic rodeos.

If Cave Creek keeps vestiges of the OldWest alive, the adjacent village of appropri-ately named Carefree represents the pres-ent. It was built as a planned community ofhomes, some now valued at millions of dol-lars, which line streets with names like

Easy, Tranquil, Ho and Hum. Locals de-scribe this juxtaposition of Old and NewWest as the “home of cowboys and caviar.”

That same comfortable marriage of oldwith new, casual with chic is experiencedeverywhere. It’s common in and aroundScottsdale to see men and women wearingjeans and Western hats strolling out of shopsthat would feel comfortable on New York’sFifth Avenue or Rodeo Drive in BeverlyHills, laden down with high-end purchases.

Some residents refer to a gourmet ham-burger restaurant, where the parking lotoften is packed with top-of-the-line automo-biles, as “Burgers and Bentleys.” For Fyllisand me, this combination of upscale lifewith a laid-back attitude added to thecharm and appeal of Scottsdale.

For more information about a visit toScottsdale, call (800) 782-1117 or log ontowww.experiencescottsdale.com.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 23

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United Airlines is emulating rival Ameri-can in featuring a baggage-de-livery service at your arrivalairport.

Although you have to getyour bags to the departure air-port and check them by your-self, when you arrive at yourdestination airport, you handyour bags over to a deliveryrepresentative and go past thebaggage claim to your hotel,office or other local destina-tion, where a local service de-livers your bag.

The fine print: United says it already offersthe service at Boston, Chicago, Honolulu,Houston, Los Angeles and Orlando, and itwill be available at 190 domestic airports“over the next few months.” Delivery serviceis available to addresses within a 100-mile ra-dius of each airport, with expected baggagearrival within four to six hours after yourflight’s arrival, depending on the distance.

The standard rate for delivery within a40-mile radius is $29.95 for one bag, $39.95for two, and $49.95 for three to eight bags.Delivery beyond 40 miles is at extra costdepending on distance.

To arrange the service, indicate youwant it either when you reserve or later,and a link on the airline’s website directsyou to BagsVIP, the outfit that does the ac-tual schlepping.

American’s existing program is essen-tially identical. It’s currently available at200 domestic airports.

American adds that it’s available even oninternational flights from the nine Bahami-an, Canadian and Irish airports where U.S.Customs provides pre-clearance. The priceof the service is in addition to checkedbaggage fees, if any.

Although American and United are theonly two airlines I could find that featurethis baggage delivery through their ownwebsites, BagsVIP actually “partners” withAirTran, Alaska, Copa, Delta, JetBlue,Southwest, Virgin Atlantic and WestJet. Youjust have to arrange the pickup separately.

It also offers similar services with sever-al cruise lines, hotels, convention centersand other locations. For more information,log onto the BagsVIP website atwww.maketraveleasier.com.

What about home pick-up?BagsVIP does not pick up baggage for

your departure. If you want a completely“no hands” door-to-door pickup and deliv-

ery service, you need to go with one of theseveral outfits that offer thisservice.

Options include LuggageConcierge (1-800-288-9818,ww.luggageconcierge.com),Luggage Forward (1-866-416-7447,www.luggageforward.com),and Luggage Free (1-800-361-6871, www.luggagefree.com).

Each company (or a sub-contractor) picks up your bag-gage wherever you designate,does all the paperwork neces-

sary for shipment, arranges for delivery toa designated address at your destination,and tracks the shipment’s progress. Allhave websites where you can enter tripand bag data for an immediate cost quote.

All of the companies give you price op-

tions depending on how far ahead you canget your bags ready — delivery fromovernight air to five days ground. Al-though the actual shipment is usually byUPS or FedEx, the baggage companymakes all the arrangements.

Similar pricingPrices from all three are about the

same. My standard test is for two mediumsuitcases (20 pounds each) from theSmarterTravelMedia office (02129) inBoston to Walt Disney World (32830) bythe least expensive ground option.

The lowest quote I found was $120 fromLuggage Free, the same as two years ago.The others asked from $128 to $138.Overnight air was about triple those costs.

This service is clearly more expensivethan the airline deal of $39.95 for two suit-cases. But if you fly an airline that charges

for checked baggage, you’d save on thosefees as well. That makes the door-to-doorprice not such a bad deal if you don’t mindeither packing five days in advance or wait-ing five days for your stuff to arrive.

Another option is to ship your stuff your-self by FedEx or UPS ground. Costs varyby weight and distance. A 20-pound pack-age from a UPS Store near the Boston ad-dress to a hotel near Walt Disney Worldwould cost about $25 for three-day delivery;more for a pick-up at an office or residence.

All in all, whether you want to avoidschlepping just at your destination or atboth origin and destination, someone willhappily help you — for a fee. And giventoday’s airline checked-bag fees, the door-to-door option is looking better all the time.Send e -ma i l t o Ed P e r k i n s a t

[email protected]. © 2013 Tribune Media Services, Inc.

Airlines will schlep your bags for a price

TRAVEL TIPSBy Ed Perkins

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 25

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By Michael ToscanoBam! In the Heights hits the stage at full-

throttle, a high-energy blast of Grammy-winning salsa and Latin pop, swirling cho-reography and quickly recognizable char-acters.

Now at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Co-lumbia, the Tony Award-winning Best Mu-sical of 2008 never lets up in its fervent at-tempt to ingratiate itself with the audience.And it usually succeeds.

While the story is set in the ethnicallySpanish-speaking enclave of WashingtonHeights in Manhattan’s upper reaches,and the sensibilities of its street setting isurban, the show’s themes resonate withanyone who has ever marveled at theAmerican dream.

The music (and lyrics) from Lin-ManuelMiranda, who conceived the show andstarred in its long Broadway run, is su-perb. The score blends Latin pop with hip-hop and adds a layer of old-fashionedBroadway show tunes, perhaps makingthe Latin rhythms and mild hip-hop-in-spired lyrics and delivery accessible andagreeable for ears not already attuned tothem.

Portrait of a neighborhood The show opens at dawn with the elec-

trifying title song, beginning three days inthe lives of a neighborhood and itsdenizens. Bodega owner Usnavi (DavidGregory) takes us on a tour of the streetand its stories, highlighting the hopes andthe dilemmas coloring daily life in a neigh-borhood on the cusp of change.

With vigorous choreography from co-di-rectors Toby Orenstein and Lawrence B.Munsey and choreographer Christen Svin-gos, the two-dozen-member companygives us a vibrant introduction to a seriesof intertwined vignettes. And the vigor ofthe performances never lets up.

A mix of newcomers and Toby’s regu-lars, the cast immediately gets to the coreof their characters in what is essentially asoap opera, and wins us over. That’s essen-tial in overcoming the rather flawed bookby Quiara Alegria Hudes, which reliesheavily on exposition and broadly writtencharacters and story lines.

The vignettes all seem familiar, recycledthrough Latino-infused vernacular and atti-tude. Some of the exposition — telling,rather than showing a story — takes place

in the songs, but any awkward-ness there is offset by the hip-hop nature of some of the se-lections, which allows charac-ters to rap their way, more orless naturally, through plot de-tails.

Still, the stories are stale, en-livened primarily by the emo-tive music and vivid acting andchoreography. Clumsily con-structed emotional manipula-tion of the audience actuallysucceeds because each of theleading actors is able to reachwithin and offer us somethingthat feels real.

Usnavi and his grandmother,Abuela Claudia (Crystal Free-man), dream of returning tothe Dominican Republic. Spirit-ed college freshman Nina(Alyssa V. Gomez) is seekingboth the nerve and the moneyto return to Stanford Universityafter dropping out. Her hard-

Arts &


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See IN THE HEIGHTS, page 28

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Benny (Marquise White), Sonny (Ryan Alvarado) andUsnavi (David Gregory) hang out at the neighborhoodbodega in the Toby’s Dinner Theatre production ofthe Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. Inthe show, store owner Usnavi takes the audience ona tour of Washington Heights and its denizens.

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Jim Blanchard plays second mandolin inthe Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra.Learn more about the group’s upcomingbenefit concert on the opposite page.

By Anne BallJim Blanchard calls the Baltimore Man-

dolin Orchestra one of the area’s “best-kept secrets.” One of only 30 such orches-tras in the country, the BMO was foundedin 1924 by Conrad Gebelein, music direc-tor at Johns Hopkins University for nearly50 years.

Blanchard, who plays second mandolinfor the orchestra, explains that a mandolinis essentially a small, short-necked lutewith eight strings. A mandolin orchestra isbasically the “plucked-string equivalent” ofa regular bowed-string orchestra.

In addition to mandolins — think vio-lins, said Blanchard — there are man-dolas (like violas), mandocellos (like vio-loncellos), and mandobasses (like doublebasses).

“So there’s a full range of sound,” saidBlanchard, adding that a classical guitarsection provides rhythm and rounds outthe sound.

Several BMO concerts every year sup-port charitable causes. The next is aKnights of Columbus public benefit con-cert on Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m. at theWilde Lake Interfaith Center in Columbia.Admission is a $10 donation, with all pro-ceeds to help fund the development of anorphanage center in the Tanzanian villageof Mahida.

Once completed, the orphanage centerwill serve eight villages in the KilimanjaroRegion, where an estimated 700 orphanedchildren live. This fund-raising concert is acooperative effort of Support the Poor, anonprofit organization located inClarksville, as well as the Knights ofColumbus Columbia Council 7559, locatedin Columbia, and individual volunteers.

“This is an incredibly far-reaching proj-ect, and we are excited to be a part of it,”said Blanchard. “The impact of the workbeing done with this is just so fantastic.”

Mandolins once highly popular Blanchard, a federal retiree, spearheads

the publicity portion of the all-volunteer or-chestra from his home office in EllicottCity.

Like many of his fellow BMO members,Blanchard, who always enjoyed music, fol-lowed a circuitous route to becoming amandolin player.

In the early ‘70s era of folk music, Blan-chard taught himself guitar — “but notwell,” he chuckled. He went back to it offand on, but once introduced to the man-dolin at a BMO concert at the MarylandHistorical Society in 1981, he became moreand more interested in the instrument.

He learned that the mandolin wasbrought to the U.S. from Italy and that

both Italian and Italian-American com-posers wrote for the mandolin orchestra.

In fact, he said, a little over 100 yearsago, mandolins and mandolin orches-tras were the primary source of instru-mental enter tainment — until radiocame along.

Mandolins were fairly inexpensive and

easily available at the time, Blanchard said.“You could order one from a Sears & Roe-buck or Montgomery Ward’s catalog.” Buttheir popularity faded in the late 1920s, hesaid, when Americans began to prefer thejazzier sound of banjos.

H OWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 27

See MANDOLIN, page 29

The Baltimore Mandolin Orchestra has entertained audiences with music written forthe diminutive stringed instrument for nearly 90 years. Its June 2 concert will raisefunds for an orphanage in Tanzania.

EDWARD POLOCHICKARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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Gold membersBeing There Senior Care • Gary L. Kaufman Funeral Home at Meadowridge Memorial Park

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Mandolin concert to help fund orphanage

working parents Kevin (David Bosley-Reynolds) and Camila (Tina Marie DeSi-mone) face selling their gypsy cab compa-ny to help her.

Their African-American employeeBenny (Marquise White) struggles to wintheir acceptance as he and Nina fall in love.Usnavi, meanwhile, loves Vanessa (NadiaHarika), who longs to escape the neigh-borhood, along with her bad credit scoreand alcoholic mother.

Throw in a sub-plot of a winning lottery

ticket, and some other characters whomostly provide comic relief, and the over-all effect — the blend of story, characterand music — is a pleasing theatrical mural.

Emotional and compelling songs“It Won’t be Long Now,” an Act One

song featuring Vanessa, Usnavi and Sonny(Ryan Alvarado), a teenage employee atUsnavi’s bodega, is more schmaltz thansalsa, but Harika’s outsized performanceadds grit and emotional heft to the showtune. It’s intense, compelling and ultimate-ly uplifting. “Paciencia y Fe” (“Patienceand Faith”) is a stirring exploration of the

clash of aspiration and struggle, as Free-man’s Abuela leads the company in a floor-filling mélange of melody and melodrama.

Act Two opens on a somber note, follow-ing a somewhat cataclysmic ending to thefirst act. It seems like a bleak dawn afterthe festive first act. But we know the innatehumanity of the people in this neighbor-hood will overcome tribulation, and we’renot disappointed.

Soon enough, it’s time for “Carnival delBarrio,” another high-energy productionnumber featuring Santina Maiolatesi inher happy Toby’s debut as Daniela, wise-cracking owner of a beauty salon who iseager to re-locate her shop to a better area.

I say production number, but here atToby’s, that means a floor filled with danc-ing and singing, with just a few minimalprops, as it’s theater-in-the-round, and thatround space has to serve food just prior tothe show. Still, the dance is so eye-catch-ing and vibrant, and the singing so joyous,and the music so pulsating, that nothingelse is really needed.

The music, as always at Toby’s, comesfrom a small live band tucked away in acramped room, augmented with syntheticsounds emanating from a keyboard.

“Alabanza,” mourning the loss of abeloved character (more by-the-numbersemotional manipulation from writerHudes), becomes an elegiac anthem and ahighlight of Act Two.

Also of note is the too-brief singing of To-bias Young, in the mostly walk-on role of Pi-ragua Guy, who sells piragua, a frozen,syrupy concoction popular in Puerto Rico.He ends Act One with the song “Piragua”and reprises it near the end of Act Two, un-leashing a sweet, soaring voice that we

need to hear more of in future productions.The show’s story takes place July 3

through July 5, and Toby’s productionruns right through the 4th of July holiday.It’s fitting, as this is an American tale, how-ever often it has been told.

Ethnic buffet dishesMaking this production a sensation for

the palate, as well as the eyes and ears,Toby’s has mixed in some Dominican-fla-vored dishes to its usual evening buffetfare, included in the ticket price.

These include “Abuela’s Pork Goulash,”Dominican Chicken, Pasta Del Dia, “Car-naval Corn Medley,” “Benny’s BroccoliCon Queso,” “Caribbean Braised Cab-bage,” and “Arroz de la Vega,” which is fi-esta rice with spicy tomatoes.

In the Heights continues through July21 at Toby’s Dinner Theatre, 5900 Sym-phony Woods Road, Columbia.

The show runs seven days a week. Thedoors open at 6 p.m. for dinner at eveningshows Monday through Saturday and at 5p.m. for the Sunday evening performance.Following the all-you-can-eat buffet, theevening performances begin at 8 p.m. ex-cept Sundays, when show time is 7 p.m.

Doors open for matinees at 10:30 a.m.Wednesdays and Sundays for brunch, andperformances begin at 12:30 p.m.

Reservations are required. Ticket pricesrange from $35.50 to $54, depending onwhich performance is selected. There isample, free parking on the premises.

For reservations and more information,call 1-800-88TOBYS (888-6297) or visitwww.tobysdinnertheatre.com.Michael Toscano is the Beacon’s theater

critic.

28 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 3 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

In the HeightsFrom page 26

SUMMER CAMP FOR CREATIVE SENIORSEncore Creativity for Older Adults will hold its sixth annual

Summer Institute for Older Adults music camp at St. Mary’s

College in St. Mary’s City from Tuesday, June 18 through Tuesday, June 22.

Registration, including meals and housing, is $675. For further information, visit

www.encorecreativity.org or call the Encore Creativity office at (301) 261-5747.

JEWISH FEDERATION GALA CELEBRATES FAMILY

The Jewish Federation of Howard County will celebrate the mod-

ern family at its fundraising gala featuring Jeffrey Richman, execu-

tive producer of the ABC comedy “Modern Family,” at 6 p.m. on Sunday, June 9

at the Ten Oaks Ballroom, 5000 Signal Bell Ln., Clarksville. Tickets starting at

$95 are available by calling the Federation at (410) 730-4976 or by visiting the

web site www.jewishhowardcounty.org.

OFFICE ON AGING WELCOMES VOLUNTEERSThe Office on Aging invites enthusiastic volunteers interested in

sharing some of their time with older adults to contact Celene

Steckel at (410) 313-5951 or [email protected].

HOSPITAL INVITES VOLUNTEERSFor persons interested in volunteering in a hospital setting,

Howard County General Hospital offers opportunities to work in a

number of areas supporting medical and administrative staff. For further informa-

tion, visit www.hgch.org, email [email protected] or call (410) 740-7890.

BEACON BITS

June 18

Ongoing

Ongoing

June 9

On again, off again orchestraAs for the history of the BMO, it dis-

banded during the Depression, only fiveyears after being founded. It was revivedfor a few years, then stopped again duringthe years shortly before World War II.

In 1975, however, Gebelein — then 80—- revived the orchestra, and it’s beenplucking along ever since. Kristen Turnercurrently serves as music director of the35 or so players who consider themselves

“primarily amateur musicians.”The music they play ranges from light

classical and traditional mandolin music(think “Funiculi Funicula,” “’O Sole Mio,”“Torna a Surriento”) to show tunes,marches, rags, traditional and popularcompositions. Baltimore composer SidneyShapiro wrote “City by the Sea” especiallyfor the orchestra. It was used as the titlefor the BMO’s first CD several years ago.

Many members of the orchestra, includ-ing Blanchard, learned to play the mandolinthrough lessons with Joyce Adams, formerorchestra concert mistress and unanimous-

ly regarded as the grande dame of the BMO.Adams joined around the time Gebelein res-urrected the orchestra in the ‘70s, and shehas been playing with it ever since.

Today the orchestra still offers connec-tions to mandolin teachers through itswebsite, which Blanchard maintains, aswell as through conversations with audi-ence members after performances.

The enthusiastic, receptive audiences andthe offstage camaraderie of the group arebig draws for the musicians, Blanchard said.

“It’s just a heck of a lot of fun, and it’s al-ways such a good feeling to know we’replaying some part in enabling worthwhilecauses to happen” through the BMO’sbenefit concerts.

For more information on the orchestra,its history and its upcoming concert sched-ule, visit www.baltimoremandolinorches-tra.org. Tickets to the June 2 benefit con-cert are available at www.brownpapertick-ets.com/event/371602 and at the door.Additional reporting by Carol Sorgen.

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 29

MandolinFrom page 27

ARTISTIC EXPRESSION CLASSESArtist Carol Zika is offering two six-week painting and drawingclasses for beginners as well as more experienced artists, start-

ing Thursday, June 6 from 1:15 to 3:45 p.m. at the Bain Center, 5470 RuthKeeton Way, Columbia; and on Friday, June 7 from 9:15 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. at theEast Columbia Library Senior Center, 6600 Cradlerock Way, Columbia. To register,call (410) 313-7275; for more information, call (410) 313-7311.

BENEFIT FOR DISABLED PETSThe fourth annual “Toast to Pets with Disabilities” will be held onFriday, June 14 from 6 to 10 p.m. The event benefits the nonprofit

organization Pets with Disabilities, the only shelter in the country that exclusivelycares for dogs and cats that are blind, paralyzed or missing limbs. Tickets are$65. The event will be held at Running Hare Vineyard, 150 Adelina Rd., PrinceFrederick, Md. For more information and to buy tickets, see www.petswithdisabili-ties.org or call (443) 624-9270.

BEACON BITS

June 6+

Seabury Leadership in Aging CelebrationThursday, June 6, 2013

6:30 – 9:00 p.m.The Katzen Arts Center at American University4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NWWashington, DC 20016

2013 Leadership in Aging Honoree:Julie Potter, MSWA Pioneer in Senior WellnessFormer Program CoordinatorSibley Senior Association

JC HaywardMistress of CeremoniesNoon Anchor & Vice President Media OutreachWUSA9

Silent and Live Auctions!

For tickets or to inquire about sponsorship opportunities, contactMonise Quidley at 202.414.6313 or [email protected].

www.seaburyresources.org

2013

You’re Invited!

FROM PAGE 30ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

June 14


Crossword PuzzleDaily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.comClick on Puzzles Plus

Answers on page 29.

3. Uninvited dinner guests4. “Gilligan’s Island” landing spot5. Airport shuttle, often6. A cursor may target it7. Hot and cold8. Fancy ties9. Night bird10. Kettle companion11. In jeopardy12. One Pound of poetry13. Battled against the gray18. German foe in WWII19. Golden Rule word24. Nap seducer26. Qatari, for example27. Small cul-de-sacs28. His .388 average in 1977 was the highest since 1941

29. Alpha’s bookend30. Drainage region31. Take in a sad movie32. Sum up the story so far33. Snare and steel, but not conga38. “As-Seen-On-TV” co.39. Univ. near Harvard40. Belt or beltway43. ___-cone44. Having low density47. Rules and ___48. One on a soapbox49. Derriere50. Raven’s claws53. Pumps up54. Beach party56. Midwestern reversal of 2 Down58. Like a Bond villain59. Clinton’s Attorney General60. Hammock holder62. Place to stay when out63. 21st century cop show64. Tie-breaking rounds (abbrev.)

Across1. Bobbing barker5. Gift cards are a liability on its balance sheet9. Selected answer (c), perhaps14. Damsel in Distrito Federal (Mexico)15. Henry V has V16. In love (or, maybe, just concussed)17. Multiple choice listing for the firstquestion of the Pop Quiz

20. Cuban coins21. Bar sign22. Crude dude23. The CIA made it disappear25. Use a paper clip28. Pop Quiz choices for question number 234. French toaster35. Prepare onion rings36. Lead voice actor in Pixar’s Up37. Kick into high gear38. “Every Kiss Begins With ___”39. Grp. that tracks slugging percentage41. The closest airport to the FAA’s HQ42. Discharge, bodily44. Part of a book jacket blurb45. Chasm46. Alternatives for question 351. Spanish dance52. Irritant (to a princess)53. Start to carte55. Marvin of Motown57. On one’s toes61. Possibilities for the final question65. Some symptoms66. “Step ___!”67. Number of songs on Thriller68. Member of Islam’s largest branch69. Highways and byways (abbrev.)70. Gin flavoring

Down1. Crackle’s pal2. Irish reversal of 56 Down

Pop Quiz by Stephen Sherr

Puzzle Page

Scrabble answers on p. 29.

Answers on p. 29.

SKILLED NURSING / PERSONAL CARESERVICES AT HOME Clearview Medicalservices is committed to providing compas-sionate skilled nursing & personal care serv-ices. We have a pool of experienced healthprofessionals (RN, LPN, CNA, & Compan-ions) with a track record of excellence. Call ustoday for all your nursing & companion needson 410-779-9162.

PRIDE JAZZY SELECT 6 Ultra Powerwith charger unit. Power elevating pan seatwith synergy cushion. Like new – never used.$1,900 or best offer. 410-465-5647.

AMIGO RD SCOOTER, batteries andcharger. Model 31000. $300 or best offer. 410-465-5647.

2 SALVADOR DALI woodblock prints fromDante’s Divine Comedy. Signed and framed.Asking $900 for the pair. Can email picturesif desired. Call Steve 410-913-1653.

SANFORD & SON HAULING Trash re-moval, house & estate clean-outs, garageclean-outs, yard work & cleanups, demolition,shed removal. 410-746-5090. Free Estimates.Insured. Call 7 days a week 7am - 7pm.

ARTISTIC SLIPCOVERS – UPHOL-STERY COMPANY. Steve Gulin. Your fab-ric or mine. 45 years experience. Referencesavailable. 410-655-6696 – Cell: 410-207-7229.

ESTATE SPECIALIST Experts in estateclean-outs and preparing your house for sale.Trash removal, house cleanouts, light mov-ing, demolition, yard work, cleaning. 410-746-5090. Free estimates. Insured. Call 7 days7am - 7pm.

HELP YOU SELL we help you sell any typeof large item. Don’t lose the sale we’re therewhen you can’t. We run the ad, meet withclients, and help with the transaction. Auto-motive, Motorcycles, RV’s, large vehicles, andEquipment, Boats, and More. Call Dave @443-514-8583.

$$$$$ NEED CASH $$$$$We help clear outand conduct sales for: Estates, Down Sizing,Clutter Clearing, Divorce, Moving, RentalProperties, and More. We Buy, Sell, and TradeItems. Free Estimates. Call David @ 443-514-8583, [email protected].

VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul,Rhythm & Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3LPs, 45s or 78s, Larger collections of at least100 items wanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

CASH BUYER for old costume jewelry, pock-et and wrist watches (any condition). Alsobuying watch maker tools and parts, trainsets and accessories, old toys, old glassware &coins. 410-655-0412.

$$$$$ WE PAY CASH FOR ITEMS $$$$$We buy the following items and more: Toys,Collectable Glassware, Dolls (Barbies, Ce-ramic), Automotive and Motorcycle Parts andRelated Items, Electronics, Musical Instru-ments, Trains, Items of Any Kind – Just Ask– Vintage or Current Cars, Trucks, Motorcy-cles, RV’s and More. Call Dave @ 443-514-8583. [email protected].

BUYING OLD BASEBALL CARD COL-LECTIONS Baseball Card Outlet at 7502Eastern Ave. near Eastpoint Mall is alwaysin the market for buying vintage sports cardcollections & memorabilia from 1975 & older.410-284-4440 Open daily at 10AM.

WE BUY JUST ABOUT ANYTHING –Jewelry to coins, watches to tools, silver totoys, & clocks to artwork. Call Greg 717-658-7954. No middle man, no wasted calls. Callme, talk to me, deal with me personally. Onepiece threw entire collections or whole &partial estates! Let me help you, give me acall 717-658-7954.

MILITARY ITEMS Collector seeks: hel-mets, weapons, knives, swords, bayonets, we-bgear, uniforms, inert ordnance, ETC. From1875 to 1960, US, German, Britain, Japan,France, Russian. Please call Fred 301-910-0783, Thank you. Also Lionel Trains.

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 3 Say you saw it in the Beacon 31

CLASSIFIEDSThe Beacon prints classified advertising

under the fol low ing headings: Business &Employment Opportunities; Caregivers;Computer Services; Entertainment; ForSale; For Sale/Rent: Real Estate; Free;Health; Home/ Handy man Services; Miscel-laneous; Personals; Per son al Services; Va ca -tion Opportunities; and Want ed. For sub -mis sion guide lines and dead lines, see thebox on the bottom of this page.

CAVEAT EMPTOR!The Beacon does not know ing ly ac cept

ob scene, of fen sive, harmful, or fraudulent ad-vertising. How ev er, we do not in ves ti gate anyad ver tis ers or their prod ucts and can not ac -cept re spon si bil i ty for the in teg ri ty of either.Re spon dents to clas si fied ad ver tis ing shouldal ways use cau tion and their best judg ment. EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally accept

ad ver tis ing in violation of federal, state, andlocal laws pro hib it ing dis crim i na tion based onrace, color, national origin, sex, fa mil ial sta tus orhandicap in connection with employment or thesale or rental of real estate.

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Private Party Text Ads: For individuals seeking to buy or sell particularitems, or place a personal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents foreach additional word.

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Note: Each real estate listing counts as one business text ad.

Send your classified ad with check or money order, payable to theBeacon, to:

The Beacon, Howard County Classified Dept. P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915-2227

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AFTERNOON TEA AT DELAWARE ART MUSEUM

Explore the Delaware Art Museum’s collections with a docent-guid-

ed tour and then on your own via a Recreation & Parks bus tour from 8 a.m. to 4

p.m. on Wednesday, June 12. The trip includes lunch at the Hotel DuPont’s

“Artisan” afternoon tea. Tickets are $85. To register, call (410) 313-7275.or for

more information, call (410) 313-7279.

BEACON BITS

June 12

Makes a

great gift!

WATERFRONT AT NATIONAL HARBOR BECKONSStroll the riverside, enjoy shops and eateries at National Harbor,Md. along the Potomac River. The Recreation & Parks bus leaves

at 9 a.m. on Saturday, June 8 and returns at 5 p.m. Tickets are $45. For furtherinformation, call (410) 313-7279 or to register, call (410) 313-7275.

CATARACT SYMPTOMS AND SURGERYA free talk by ophthalmologist Melanie Sobel will include informa-tion on signs, symptoms and treatment of cataracts, including

intraocular lenses and lens implant options, on Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m. at theHoward County General Hospital Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Dr., Suite 100,Columbia. For more information, call (410) 740-7601. Online registration is avail-able at www.hcgh.org.

BEACON BITS

June 8

June 11

32 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 3 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Discover our innovative approach to assisted living and memory support.

Explore our residential-style dwellings, gardens and secure walking paths.

experience our homelike surroundings and meet our live-in pets.

Enjoy our 220-acre campus of lush pastures and hardwood forest.

BROOKE GROVE RETIREMENT VILLAGE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO ATTEND AN

Please RSVP to 301-388-7209 or [email protected] by June 17, 2013

OPEN HOUSEThursday, june 20, 2013

2 - 4 p.m.The Meadows Assisted Living

assisted living

18100 Slade School Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860

301-260-2320 or 301-924-2811 www.bgf.org

Residential Cottages independent Living Skilled Nursing Care

Memory support Rehabilitation

June 2013 Howard County Beacon Edition

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