Travel, Leisure & Fun for South Valley Adults
Travel, Leisure & Fun for South Valley Adults
Sorted by date Results 26 - 48 of 48
The San Diego Comic-Con attracts more than 170,000 pop culture fans annually, but is it senior-friendly? This 63-year-old writer enjoys attending the event each year but when I was there this year, I started wondering if it was something I would recommend to other seniors. I decided to get the advice of two cartoonists whose tables I make a point of visiting at every Comic-Con. "The Con's attendees span all age groups, all races and backgrounds," said former National Lampoon c...
"Six-bed facilities are the wave of the future," said California State Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno). "This is where many of our moms and dads are. Eighty percent of residential care facilities for the elderly are six-bed facilities." Patterson authored Assembly Bill 1437, which addresses the two main issues faced by owners of more than one six-bed care facility. The assembly easily passed the bill and the state senate is expected to also approve the bill. 6Beds, Inc.,...
"We have plans to invest in elder abuse issues," said Kings County District Attorney Keith L. Fagundes. The current effort is currently grouped with other crimes such as insurance fraud. Unlike neighboring Tulare County, Kings County has not applied for grant money to create an elder abuse task force, so the D.A.'s office is working within its budget. "Grant funding is always nice, but it creates false security," said Fagundes. "You don't know if it's going to continue. I'm no...
"Nationally, there are twice as many suicides as homicides, said Noah Whitaker, director of the Suicide Prevention Task Force, which is responsible for the oversight and guidance of suicide prevention efforts in both Tulare and Kings counties. "There are more suicides by firearms alone than all forms of homicide combined." He estimates that there are 40 suicides a year in Tulare County, and between 8 and 15 in Kings County. "When you look at it from a humanitarian angle, one...
An Elder Abuse Awareness Flag Ceremony was held at Government Plaza in Visalia on June 6, which was attended by about 70 people. Speakers included Tulare County Board of Supervisors Chairman Pete Vander Poel, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreax and Family Services Executive Director Caity Meader. June has been designated as World Elder Abuse Awareness Month, and annual ceremonies and other events educate people around the world about...
If you are at least 55 years old and meet a few other requirements, the California Highway Patrol wants you! The CHP is looking to increase the numbers of people involved in its Senior Volunteer Program, which currently has more than 875 volunteers in its 90 offices across the state. These volunteers donated a total of 188,541 hours of work in 2016, which the CHP estimates to be worth more than $5.3 million. There are currently 20 senior volunteers working out of the Visalia...
The 2017 Visalia Senior Games exceeded expectations with 505 athletes competing in various locations in Visalia over two weekends in March. Seniors from 95 California cities, and from as far away as Texas and Washington state, competed in various sporting events, including archery, bowling, disc golf, golf, horseshoes, table tennis, tennis, the 5K/10K Road Race, other track & field events, trap shoot, and swimming. The ten oldest athletes ranged in age from 82 to 95, with...
On January 23, the Farmersville City Council decided how to use the $150,000 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) the city was awarded to help pay for senior services over the next two years. Although the city already has a senior center, seniors there wanted nothing to do with the grant money because it meant allowing CSET (Community Services Employment Training) to run their center and serve pre-packaged meals instead of the home-cooked meals they currently enjoy. The...
The 2017 Visalia Senior Games, the Central Valley's only senior games, will be held at various locations in Visalia on March 16-19 and 24-26. The inaugural Senior Games, which were held in October 2015, were considered a success, attracting athletes from 50 California cities. A total of 237 athletes participated, including some traveling from as far as Oregon and Texas. "We're excited about hosting this event, as we have the potential to see hundreds of local participants and...
The State of California recently approved a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) for the City of Farmersville that includes $150,000 for senior services for two years. About $140,000 is for "activity delivery" and about $10,000 for administration, according to Farmersville Mayor Paul Boyer. Seniors at the Farmersville Senior Center, however, don't want the money if it means allowing CSET to run their center. CSET (Community Services Employment Training) has been serving...
Hospice care is a compassionate and team-oriented approach to medical care for the terminally ill. A hospice house, such as the Open Arms House that will open in Visalia in 2017, is as close to home as possible while still supplying the necessary round-the-clock care. "Most hospice houses are operated by a single hospice agency and they have a license like a skilled nursing agency," said Open Arms House Board President Carol Nickel. "They cost millions of dollars to build and...
"We have our 'oldies but goodies' but they become new again during the holiday season," said Nicole Burnham, victim advocate with the Tulare County District Attorney's Office, about the scams and frauds seniors and others can expect during the holidays. "For example, charity fraud exists every day year round but during the holiday season, when people are feeling more generous, there is an upswing," she said. "I want to remind people it is never safe to give a donation over...
The Tulare County District Attorney's Elder Abuse Task Force has been growing as it uses some of the $400,000 in grant funding it was awarded in July. The two-year funding from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services allows the county to expand its efforts to protect seniors and broaden its community educational outreach. Elder abuse is defined as neglect, financial exploitation, physical abuse, sexual abuse or emotional abuse of an individual age 65 or older. I...
The San Diego Comic-Con, the annual event that attracts more than 100,000 comic book collectors, movie and television show fans each summer, is not just for young people. If you ever have the opportunity to attend this pop culture celebration, take a moment to look around the exhibit hall and the rest of the San Diego Convention Center. You will see that a good number of fans, dealers and artists in attendance have distinguished gray hair. Many of the cartoonists showcasing...
The Kings County Sheriff's Department will be upgrading its RUOK ("Are You OK?") program in the near future. The decision was made to replace the system it has been using to serve the needs of its seniors for the past 18 years with a Call Reassurance (CARE) service. CARE is a telephone service that contacts the elderly and handicapped to ensure their well-being. The program can also be used to check in on latchkey children to make sure they are OK when their parents are at...
The Tulare County Board of Supervisors approved a request by the Tulare County District Attorney's Office to allow it to accept grant funding in the amount of $400,000 for a new Elder Abuse Program. The two-year funding from the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services allows the county to hire victim witness workers. "The grant allows for two full-time employees to get in their cars and go throughout Tulare County," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Dan Underwood...
Once again, the City of Visalia Parks and Recreation Department will include a variety of sports activities among its busy spring schedule for seniors. "What we're doing differently this year is gearing up our sports program to those 50+," said Recreation Supervisor Jason Glick. "We picked three sports: men's and women's softball, women's volleyball, and men's and women's soccer. These sports have been offered before, but we have not offered them specifically for those 50+."...
"Medicare insurance is the most confusing thing for a senior to figure out," Susan Hatch told members of the Senior Care Organization at their October meeting at Café 225 in Visalia. Hatch, a Medicare insurance agent, advocate and specialist, said that ever since Original Medicare started in 1965, every hospital in the country accepts it, along with 97% of all doctors. "Medicare Advantage is different," she said. "You give up your Original Medicare card and replace it with...
Last month, athletes from 50 California cities competed in the first Senior Games ever held in the Central Valley. A total of 237 athletes participated, including some traveling from as far as Oregon and Texas. The inaugural Visalia Senior Games started on Wednesday, October 21, with a resource fair and opening ceremonies at Riverway Sports Park, which included a parade of athletes and a tri-tip dinner. Over the following four days, 68 competitions were held in nine sports....
"Right now, the number of cons and scams are very high," said Nicole Burnham, elder abuse victim advocate for the Tulare County District Attorney's office, adding that telephone scams and those attempted through the mail are currently the most common. Many of these phone scams attempt to collect on a bill that is allegedly unpaid, according to Burnham. "We've seen a lot of utility bill scams. They may threaten to sue you or throw you in jail unless you pay. These things...
Response to the 2015 Visalia Senior Games, the first event of its kind for seniors in the South Valley, has been "real good," according to Allison Lambert, recreation supervisor for the Visalia Parks and Recreation Department. "Right now (as of September 4), we have just under 100 athletes registered." When they started, members of the Senior Games committee had no idea how many seniors would participate in the first year of the event. "The feedback we got was 50 would be...
"Every year, an estimated five million – or one in ten older Americans – are victims of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation," according to the National Center on Elder Abuse. "It's a huge problem," said Bethany Berube, J.D., public guardian with the Tulare County Health & Services Agency and division manager for Adult Protective Services, before the second of eight presentations for seniors held around the county last month. "In Tulare County from July 2014 to June 2015, Adu...
Pickleball keeps growing in popularity in the South Valley, with many seniors coming out to play on the pickleball courts at Recreation Park in Visalia on at least a weekly basis. The two courts were opened to the public with a grand opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting on December 13. "Pickleball has been called 'the fastest growing sport in America,' and we are seeing that right here in Visalia," said Cheryl Waymack, USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) ambassador for the area....