SPRING PLANTING TIPS FOR GARDENERS DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Despite the winter cold, it's really not too early to begin thinking about the spring planting season and Donna Hoffman, Natrona County Extension Horticulturist (pictured above), shared some tips with local enthusiasts during a recent edition of Senior-Wise at the Casper Senior Center.  

Most of her program concerned the planting and care for perennials, the plants that return annually. She said an important place to begin is to improve the soil in your garden. "Any of you who have gardened for years probably know that the WY soil is pretty shallow," she said. "There aren't a lot of nutrients and there's very little organic matter in our garden soil. That's true for most of the rocky Mountain region." So she said it's a good idea to add organic matter such as peat moss or compost or straw to your garden because all those will benefit future generations of plants. "Adding organic matter is one of the first and most important things you can do  to improve the success of anything you grow in your garden," she said.

She noted that as far as geology is concerned Wyoming soil is still pretty young so there's not as much plant growth here as there is in the Midwest. Hoffman recommended cutting down on water use in your garden in the summer by mulching. This also cuts down on the weeds that come up and helps protect perennials from harsh winters. She added that good mulch can contain such common matter as shredded tree bark and straw. 

Also, because Wyoming soil has such low nutrient content she recommends using fertilizers. "You may want to begin with a soil test to know exactly what your soil will need," she said, "and those of us at the extension office will be glad to test your soil."

Having a successful garden also requires proper care during the winter. "It's important to protect plants from warming up too much so they don't germinate and come back up too early," she said. "We want to protect them in case we have freezing temperatures and the best way to do that is keeping the mulch layer on until things really do need to start greening up."

The Natrona County extension office has available to the public a publication called "Landscaping: Herbaceous Perennials for Wyoming" that lists nearly one hundred plants that survive and thrive in our climate. It is available free of charge.

Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center.

HEALTH CARE MAINTENANCE FOR SENIORS DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Health care maintenance for seniors was the discussion topic during a recent edition of Senior-Wise, the weekly informational program at the Casper Senior Center. The guest speaker was Dr. Tabitha Thrasher (pictured above), a resident physician at Wyoming Family Practice in Casper. She stressed that preventive  care is important from birth throughout life and suggested many practices to help us all live our lives to the fullest. 

First, she said, know what you're dealing with. "The three leading causes of death for seniors," she cautioned, "are heart attacks, strokes and cancer. So take care of your heart and your body and make sure you regularly screen for cancers to help with early detection."

Second, she noted, it's important to have the appropriate immunizations, to make lifestyle modifications such as exercising regularly and quitting smoking. She also recommended a pneumonia vaccination if you're over the age of 65 and have never had one. In addition, she urged seniors to get a shingles vaccination. "You only need to be vaccinated for shingles once in your lifetime," she said.

She also stressed the importance of regular exercise. "Thirty minutes of moderate exercise five days a week is a good idea for those over 65, and since bone fractures are more common in seniors, weight bearing exercises are important too," she noted.

She also shared some new blood pressure guidelines for those over the age of 60 with no history of diabetes or chronic kidney disease. "For those individuals, it's not recommended that the blood pressure be 150 over 90. She said it's been learned that aggressive blood pressure controls can cause falls. She said for those persons with diabetes or chronic kidney disease blood pressure should still be 140 over 90.

Finally, she stressed the importance of regular tests and screenings for things like cancer. "If you're over 50 you should get a colonoscopy every ten years as long as the test results are normal. For women, get a mammography starting at age 50, or sooner if there's  a risk of breast cancer in your family." And she said it's also a good idea to get annual blood work done starting at age 35, to screen for things like blood sugar and cholesterol.

Senior-Wise is the weekly information and discussion program held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center,

PROPER DISPOSAL OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICATIONS DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Did you know that in Casper, WY, the third most abused drug in the community is prescription medication? Casper overall is a pretty safe community but unfortunately there are some drug abuse issues here. That was the message shared by Casper Police Sgt. Joe Nickerson (pictured above) recently, during his presentation at Senior-Wise at the Casper Senior Center. He said marijuana is the most commonly abused drug and methamphetamine is second. This all poses challenges for local law enforcement. "The problem with prescription drugs," he said, "is if we find a guy with marijuana or meth, those are against the law and we can arrest them. But someone who is addicted to prescription medication is harder to evaluate because they may have that prescription legally." 

The way the Casper police department combats this problem is by collecting all unused prescriptions so they can be disposed of safely and properly. Sgt. Nickerson said flushing them down the toilet is the most common practice but that's not a good idea because medications flushed down the toilet can adversely affect our water supply. "City water treatment plants are designed to remove harmful bacteria from our water supply and are not designed to remove some of the chemicals found in prescription medications," he cautioned. "The bottom line is, please don't flush unused or out of date medications down the toilet."

The Casper Police Department has a drop box available in the lobby of the police headquarters at 201 North David Street and the lobby is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. "It's a big green box," Sgt. Nickerson said, "that looks like a mail box. Just open the drawer, drop your medications inside, and they'll fall into a locked container. That way the drugs are kept off the street."

Seniors are a popular demographic for those who would abuse prescription medications and some people who come to visit you in your home may not have the purest of motives. "We've seen cases where a grandchild comes to visit and brings a friend," he told the group. "Then while you're talking to your grandchild the friend leaves and snoops around the house looking for prescription medications." He said this happens most often with high school or junior high school kids. Prescription medication theft also occurs during real estate open houses, he said. Sometimes a criminal will attend an open house, excuse himself to use the bathroom and then open the medicine cabinet to look for drugs. 

If you are unable to leave your house the Casper Police Department will come to your house to collect your unused our out of date medications. Call the non-emergency number at (307) 235-8278.

Senior-Wise is held Tuesday at 12:30pm at the Casper Senior Center.

                                                                                                                                                          

JOB OPENING AT THE CASPER SENIOR CENTER

HELP WANTED: Part Time housekeeper needed to provide services in home. 

Duties: light housekeeping, laundry, linen change and possibly  some respite care and/or transportation of clients.  

Qualifications: Applicants must possess valid drivers license and their own transportation. Must be able to pass pre-employment drug test and background checks. Previous experience a plus.

We pay competitive wages and pay mileage.

Apply in person at the Casper Senior Center, 1831 E. 4th St., Casper, WY 82601. No phone calls, please.

Central Wyoming Senior Services is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION USE AND MISUSE DISCUSSED DURING SENIOR-WISE

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(Casper, WY) -- Medications we take can do wonderful things but they must be used properly. That was the message from pharmacist Jennifer Steiner (pictured above) during her recent presentation at Senior-Wise, the information and discussion program offered at the Casper Senior Center.  "Medications are wonderful and can keep us alive," she said. But she cautioned that if used incorrectly they can cause hospitalization and even death. 

She explained that prescription drug misuse can be a problem as we age because when we get older we typically take more medications. "In fact," she noted, "after age 80 the typical number of medications people use is 13. Also, as we get older our bodies change -- medications will stay in our systems longer so the blood pressure medication someone might take for 20 years could actually be adversely affecting them because it's staying in their system longer and they have more of it built up." Frequently, she said, we see more doctors as we get older -- specialists and primary care physicians -- and so it's important to make sure all our providers know the medications we take.

Misuse of medications can be a serious problem and she explained that there are common reasons we may not take medications exactly as the doctor prescribes: we may forget, we may stop taking them because we feel better, we may take more than prescribed or less than prescribed -- people may think "I'm feeling good today so I won't take my heart medication," she said) -- we may give our medications to others, and we may even take medications prescribed for others. "There are problems with all these," she cautioned, "There could be legal problems, the person could build up an immunity to the medications; you just don't want to do any of these things." 

It's important that we all become part of the solution, Steiner encouraged, and they promote the STAMP program -- Safely Taking All Medications Properly. We all can do this by doing such things as using pill boxes, reading the label on the bottle, and asking questions of your pharmacist. "That last one is huge," she said. "Your pharmacist is paid to be there for you so don't be shy about asking questions." 

Finally, she recommended checking your medication list twice a year, taking your list of medications to all doctor's appointments, taking all medications exactly as directed, talking to your doctor before stopping or changing medications, and keeping your medications in a place that's dry and clean and out of the reach of children. 

Senior-Wise is held Tuesdays at 12:30pm at the Casper Senior Center.

GREAT CLASSES FOR SENIORS THROUGH CASPER COLLEGE CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAM

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(Casper, WY) -- The start of the new year can be a great time to learn a new skill, brush up on a foreign language, plan a trip or commit to a healthier lifestyle, and the Casper College Continuing Education Program has classes to help you with each of those. That was the topic discussed recently during  Senior-Wise at the Casper Senior Center.

According to Laura Burnett, the college's Community Education Specialist (pictured above, right), classes are very reasonably priced and there's even a financial break for anyone 60 and older.  "We have Golden Age Scholarships available," she said, "from funds that were donated more than 50 years ago. Seniors can take classes at up to 70% off so most are  in the $6-$10 range." Included in the new course list are classes on gardening, music, sewing, art, dance, exercise, photography, and firearm safety.  For more information she suggests going online to the Casper college website at caspercollege.edu and looking under continuing education section.

The college also offers classes through the OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) program. According to program director Vicki Pollock (pictured above, left), OLLI has been around nine years and continues to grow. "We started with six classes and 37 members," she explained, "and now we offer more than 40 classes and we have 500 members." These classes have a target age group of 50. She says a one year membership in OLLI is $55 and includes two complimentary classes in spring, one class in summer and two classes in the fall. She also said OLLI classes are less how-to and are more hands-on. For example, she says they offer many field trips. The Older Than Dirt class is the fossil hunting class, while the Home Grown Adventure class goes and explores the area's natural history. 

They also offer tours several times each year. Previously, they've taken groups to San Francisco for a tour of wine country and conducted a Music City Tour to New Orleans, Nashville and Memphis.  Next year they plan trips to Greece and Canada.

Registration for the Community Educations classes has already begun and will continue until the individual class starts, although some classes don't begin until April or May.  The most important date for registration is January 27. Registration will be held between 4pm-6pm that day at the Gateway Building on campus. You can also register by phone with a credit card. 

Senior-Wise is an information and discussion program held Tuesdays at 12:30 at the Casper Senior Center.

TIPS FOR WRITING THE PERFECT THANK YOU NOTE

                (Casper, WY) -- 'Tis the day after Christmas and all through the house we find the opened gifts -- toys and games and clothes and the boxes they were wrapped in. Now what? You may remember your mom telling you that the appropriate response when someone gives you something is "thank you" and that probably included writing thank you notes. According to author Margaret Page the thank you note is far more valuable than an email or text. After all, she notes, you can’t display an email on your desk or hang a text on your bulletin board. So if the value of the written thank you note is being lost, how do you go about writing one?

                Blogger Trent Hamm says the written thank you note has two big things going for it: it's a simple way of showing gratitude toward someone who has done something kind for you, and it keeps the communication loop open between you and that person. He suggests always hand writing your thank you notes because it provides a level of "elegance" that just can't be captured by typing and printing out your note. The first sentence of the thank you note is simple: begin by saying thank you. Then explain what the gift meant to you and what you plan to do with it. Continue by expressing hope you'll see the person in the future and conclude by thanking the person again.

                Jeanne Field, an editor with Hallmark Corporation says it's important to reply quickly, within a week. If it's longer than that begin your note with a brief apology such as "I've been meaning to tell you..."

                And Jennifer Beeler of Southern Living magazine notes some "Thank You Note Don'ts" such as not exaggerating and not referring to specific amounts of money. She says it's also a good idea to avoid rambling -- in other words, get to the point. And she says you shouldn't assume an in-person thank you is enough.

                So there you have it, tips on writing the perfect thank you note. Don't assume an in-person thank you will get the job done and don't use email or texts. Respond quickly. Hand write your note and begin by saying thanks. Then share how you'll use the gift, express hope for a future in-person meeting, and say thank you again.

                Tips from the experts. Come to think of it, mom was right all along.