More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard CountyVOL.4, NO.6

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

The Howard County F R E E

I N S I D E …

FITNESS & HEALTH 3k Statins for (almost) everyonek Hepatitis C cure: quick but costly

THE SENIOR CONNECTION 16k Howard County Office on Aging newsletter

LAW & MONEY 18k The effect of higher interest ratesk Is gold glittering again?

PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACONBITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

LEISURE & TRAVELA Puerto Rican island’s transformation from bomb site to beach destination; plus,exploring the Amazon’s many wonders

page 23

ARTS & STYLEJune is busting out all over,with both the annual ColumbiaFestival of the Arts and CapitalJazz Fest scheduled.

page 27

By Robert Friedman“It’s not a bad time to leave, when you are

still excited about your job and not burntout,” said 51-year-old William McMahon,who retires on June 30 after 28 years on thepolice force and eight years as the policechief of Howard County.

“I’m blessed. I still love what I’m doingday after day,” McMahon said, as he wasinterviewed just before taking off on a 300-mile bike ride from Philadelphia to the Na-tional Law Enforcement Officers Memori-al in Washington, D.C. The event, in whichother police chiefs around the country arealso taking part, is meant to raise funds forthe families of police officers who losttheir lives in the line of duty.

Is McMahon, who apparently is still in tip-top shape, ready now for a second career?

“I have no plans yet,” he acknowledged.“I don’t have anything lined up. I don’tknow if I’ll stay in law enforcement.”

One thing he does know is that his wife,Annette, a professional tutor, won’t wanthim around their Ellicott City home all day.

”I’m sure she is going to want me to dosomething,” he laughed. They have threeadult children, Megan, 26, Krissy, 24, andBrian, 19.

Maj. Gary Gardner, 55, a 30-year veter-an of the Howard County Police Depart-ment, will take command after McMahonretires. The department has 649 full-timepolice and civilian employees and operateson a budget just under $100 million.

Taking charge during tragedyMcMahon, who selected his retirement

date four years ago in a deferred retire-ment payment program, became a nationalfigure last January, after the murder of twoyoung people and the suicide of the killerat the Columbia Mall.

While supervising scores of police offi-cers on the scene of the killings, he be-came Howard County’s face and voice tothe nation, delivering continual updates tothe press as events unfolded.

The police chief said one of his firstthoughts after getting the news of the mallshooting was that “the people involvedwere the same age as my kids.”

The two victims were Brianna Benlolo,21, of College Park, and Tyler Johnson, 25,

of Ellicott City. Darion Aguilar of CollegePark, their killer who later committed sui-cide, was 19.

McMahon, who was on his way to St.Michaels for a short vacation with his wife,hustled back when he first got news of themall shooting. He was one of the first rank-ing police officers on the scene. His calm,professional presence under the glare ofnational TV earned him kudos both locallyand nationwide.

The Baltimore Sun, among others, laud-ed the police chief for his handling of thesituation. The newspaper said in an editori-al: “During those trying few days, it wasMcMahon who was in the midst of it all,keeping us informed of what his officers

learned, and more importantly, providingthe kind of leadership that gave the com-munity at-large the kind of confidence thateverything that could be done to makesome sense of this tragedy was being done.

“It was McMahon at his best, and to thosearound the country, showed Howard Coun-ty at its best during the worst of times.”

McMahon indicated that the professionalpolice response did not come out of a vacu-um. “We’d been doing exercises on respond-ing to an active shooter in the mall,” he said.

Guns, media and mental healthThe chief seemed reluctant to get into a

Howard County Police Chief William McMahon will retire at the end of June after 28years on the force. In January, he became nationally recognized as the face and voiceof the county as he briefed the press during the hours and days following the tragicshooting at Columbia Mall.

See TOP COP, page 28

Howard’s top cop recalls career

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JUNE 2014

There was a time we spoke about our“right to privacy” or our “reasonable expec-tation of privacy” as thoughwe understood what thosephrases meant. It was a givenof American values that everyindividual had a fundamentalright to be left alone to pursuehis or her own form of happi-ness as long as the rights ofothers were respected.There was a whole realm of

private life, where what youdid “behind closed doors” wasgenerally not subject to publicscrutiny. Yes, many states longhad laws proscribing certainbehaviors in bedrooms, but they were gener-ally ignored and virtually never enforced.Speaking of which, people who lived

much of their lives in public — politicians,celebrities — naturally had a more con-strained expectation of privacy. They, in asense, earned their livings off the public,so they were expected to understand thattheir private lives would be of particular in-terest to the masses. Still, generally only

sleazy publications would actually seek outprivate information about their personal

behavior and relationships. When I was growing up, my

mother was good friends withthe Washington correspon-dent for our local paper in FortWorth, Texas. Years later, mymom told me that the reporterhad confided in her aboutPresident Kennedy’s many li-aisons during his first years inoffice, which were well knownamong the press corps. When I asked why the re-

porter hadn’t publicized thefact, my mom said it wasn’t

considered appropriate to do so at thetime. First, it was a private matter. And sec-ond, JFK was such a respected and ad-mired public figure that no one wanted todamage his image. Similarly, even until rather recently, pro-

fessional paparazzi were denounced forsnapping photos of the rich and famous intheir private lives for personal gain. Re-member the revulsion at the paparazzi car

chase of Princess Diana that ended in heruntimely death? But today, things appear to have com-

pletely changed. We are all paparazzi,every one of us with a cell phone, eitherbrazenly or surreptitiously snapping,videoing or recording whatever we chooseat any time — the more private, the better.In our post 9/11 world, cameras are film-

ing every inch of every public thoroughfare24 hours a day, in some places whiffing theodors that escape our bodies or packages. And it’s not just out on the street. The in-

teriors of almost every mall and building,including the elevators and probably a num-ber of bathrooms, are wired (or wi-fied) forsound and closed-circuit television. Those “security cameras” were placed

there, with general public consent, to helpprotect us from (or catch) terrorists andcriminals. Within hours, we knew whatone of the Boston Marathon bomberslooked like, thanks to them. But how quickly they’ve morphed into

means for security guards or passers-by tomake a fast buck by copying salacious oramusing footage and selling it to a TV sta-tion, gossip website or political enemy.Even private cellphone conversations

can be easily hacked and taped, then publi-cized worldwide within minutes. A per-son’s whole life can change in an hour.In addition, much of our “identity” — our

credit card numbers, personal information,shopping history — is now in the “cloud,”where it can easily be stolen by hackers,even from huge, sophisticated organiza-tions like (the ironically named) Target. It’s not just the new technology and con-

cern over national security that have shrunkour zone of privacy to almost nothing. We the people are also responsible. We

live in an age where most of us willingly“agree” to turn over much of our private in-formation to companies when we like thediscounts or coupons we get in return. We shower publicity, and often adulation

and even money, on people who “share”with us personal information, photos andfilm about the private lives of the rich andfamous, not to mention classified data andsecurity secrets of government at everylevel. Popular mobile apps like Snapchat were

created to simplify the sending of nakedphotos to friends and others.For years now, reality shows have been

the most popular shows on television. Peo-ple willingly put their whole lives on publicdisplay — their search for a job, theirsearch for a spouse, their home life — forthe sheer pleasure of becoming celebritiesof a sort or winning a big prize at the end. We seem to have an insatiable appetite

for such material. Salacious videos “goviral” (reach millions of people online with-in hours) because there’s such a demandfor them. In a culture where another per-son’s private life is deemed sacrosanct,videos of private encounters simply wouldnot go viral. There’s a great supply be-cause there’s a great demand. To maintain a sphere of privacy, we as a

society — and as individuals — have tovalue personal privacy, make an effort tomaintain our privacy, and discourage or os-tracize those who invade others’ privacy. Until we do so, we can’t be surprised that

we get the world we deserve; the world wehave made for ourselves.

Privacy for sale

FROM THEPUBLISHERBy Stuart P. Rosenthal

Readers are encouraged to share their opinion on any matter addressed in the 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,

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Letters to the editor

2 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

BeaconThe Howard County

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

The Beacon, P.O. Box 2227, Silver Spring, MD 20915(410) 248-9101 • Email: info@thebeaconnewspapers.comSubmissions: The Beacon welcomes reader contributions. Deadline for editorial and advertising isthe 1st of the month preceding the month of publication. See page 31 for classified advertising details.Please mail or email all submissions.

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The Beacon is a monthly newspaper dedi cated to in-form, serve, and en ter tain the citi zens of Howard County,Md. and is pri vate ly owned. Other editions serve GreaterBaltimore, Md., Greater Washington DC, and GreaterPalm Springs, Calif.Subscriptions are available via third-class mail ($12),

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Publication of advertising contained herein doesnot necessarily con sti tute en dorse ment. Signed col -umns represent the opinions of the writers, and notnecessarily the opinion of the publisher.

• Publisher/Editor ....................Stuart P. Rosenthal

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Dear Stuart Rosenthal:Like many readers, I was touched by the

recent column that you wrote about your fa-ther (“A man of valor,” April). It was a mov-ing and heartfelt story that resonated withme. I hope you will write more about yourfamily history. Where were your grandpar-ents from? What were they like? Did theyraise a large family?I’m a new Beacon reader, attracted by the

recent article on self-publishing. It was aninformative and enlightening piece that ledto my placing a classified ad — I’m the “free-lance writer” in the May (Howard County)edition. I’m a storyteller, so your personalstories will always find a home with me.

As I read about your father, I thought ofmy own dad who would have turned 92 thisyear. He was a “tin man,” a first-generationBaltimorean, a son of Russian immigrants.I know he would have loved the Beacon. In high school, he wrote a column for

the school newspaper; his byline was “NatHanson” (making two words out of our lastname). In retirement, he self-published afree newsletter. He made his living sellingaluminum siding, but I think he reallywanted to be a newspaperman.Thank you again for sharing your per-

sonal story. I look forward to readingmany more.

Marsha Nathanson

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 3

DARK SECRETSNot only is dark chocolate yummy, ithelps fend off diabetes and dementia

TENNIS ELBOW?You don’t have to play the game to getthis painful, inflammatory condition

NEW HEPATITIS C CUREA new drug can help cure hepatitis C in12 weeks, but it costs $1,000 a pill

SMOOTH SKIN SANS SURGERYFillers, lasers and chemical peels canrejuvenate skin without surgery

HealthFitness &

By Marilynn MarchioneAlmost half of Americans ages 40 to 75,

and nearly all men over 60, qualify to con-sider cholesterol-lowering statin drugsunder new heart disease prevention guide-lines, an analysis concludes.

It’s the first independent look at the im-pact of the guidelines issued in November,and shows how dramatically they shiftmore people toward treatment.

Supporters say the guidelines reveal thetrue scope of heart risks in America. Crit-ics have said they overreach by suggest-ing medications such as Zocor and Lipitorfor such a broad swath of the population.

“We wanted to be really objective andjust quantify what the guidelines do, andnot get into a discussion about whetherthey are correct,” said Michael Pencina,the Duke University biostatistician wholed the analysis, which was published inthe New England Journal of Medicine.

Under the new guidelines, 56 millionAmericans ages 40 to 75 are eligible toconsider a statin; 43 million were eligibleunder the old advice. Both numbers in-clude 25 million people taking statins now.

“That is striking, eye-opening,” Dr.Daniel Rader of the University of Pennsyl-vania said of the new estimate. But sincetoo few people use statins now, the advice“has the potential to do much more good

than harm,” said Rader, a cardiologist whohad no role in writing the guidelines.

Nearly half a million additional heart at-tacks and strokes could be prevented over10 years if statin use was expanded as theguidelines recommend, the study estimates.

The guidelines, developed by the Ameri-can Heart Association and American Col-lege of Cardiology at the request of the fed-eral government, were a big change. Theygive a new formula for estimating risk thatincludes blood pressure, smoking statusand many factors besides the level of LDL or“bad” cholesterol, the main focus in the past.

Tailored guidelines For the first time, the guidelines are per-

sonalized for men and women and forblacks and whites, and they take aim atstrokes, not just heart attacks. Partly be-cause of that, they set a lower thresholdfor using statins to reduce risk.

The guidelines say statins do the mostgood for people who already have heartdisease, those with very high LDL of 190or more, and people over 40 with Type 2diabetes.

They also recommend consideringstatins for anyone 40 to 75 who has an esti-mated 10-year risk of heart disease of 7.5percent or higher, based on the new for-mula. (This means that for every 100 peo-

ple with a similar risk profile, seven oreight would have a heart attack or strokewithin 10 years.)

Under this more nuanced approach,many people who previously would nothave qualified for a statin based on LDLalone would now qualify, while others witha somewhat high LDL but no other heartrisk factors would not.

The Duke researchers gauged the im-pact of these changes by using cholesterol,weight and other measurements fromhealth surveys by the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention. They looked athow nearly 4,000 people in those surveyswould have been classified under the newand old guidelines, and projected the re-sults to the whole country.

Helped those 60+ the most The biggest effect was on people 60 and

older, researchers found. Under the newguidelines, 87 percent of such men not al-ready taking a statin are eligible to consid-er one; only 30 percent were under the oldguidelines. For women, the numbers are54 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

Dr. Paul Ridker and Nancy Cook ofBrigham and Women’s Hospital in Bostonhave criticized the risk formula in theguidelines. Ridker declined to be inter-viewed, but in a statement, he and Cook

noted that most people newly suggestedfor statins do not have high cholesterol,but smoke or have high blood pressure.They feel those problems, and lifestylechanges that address them, should betried before prescribing medications.

Dr. Neil Stone, the Northwestern Uni-versity doctor who helped lead the guide-lines work, stressed that the guidelinesjust say who should consider a statin, andthey recommend people discuss that care-fully with a doctor.

“We think we’re focusing the attentionfor statins on those who would benefit themost,” Stone said.

Dr. Harlan Krumholz, a Yale Universitycardiologist who has long advocated thisapproach, agreed. “The guidelines providea recommendation, not a mandate” forstatin use, he said.

Pencina, the leader of the Duke study,said his own situation motivated him tolook at the guidelines more closely. HisLDL was nearing a threshold to consider astatin under the old guidelines, but underthe new formula for gauging risk, “I’mfine,” he said.

For more information on cholesterolsee http://tinyurl.com/2dtc5vy. A risk cal-culator can be found at http://my.ameri-canheart.org/cvriskcalculator.

— AP

Half of US adults 40 to 75 eligible for statins

By Marsha McCulloch, R.D.Though going grain-free is a popular

diet trend, grains — especially in theirwhole form — provide a significant por-tion of important nutrients in the diet.

You’ve likely noticed the proliferation ofbooks, websites and specialty foods aimedat helping people avoid gluten-containinggrains — and all other grains, too.

While a small group of scientists, med-ical professionals and bloggers are leadingthe charge for grain-free diets — declaringgrains a mismatch based on human evolu-tion — the majority of experts believegrain-free diets for the masses are a wrongmove.

If you’ve considered ditching grains, it’simportant to understand the science andthe potential pitfalls if you do so.

Who should avoid certain grains?Clearly, those with an allergy to wheat

or other grains must avoid them. And theone percent of the population with celiacdisease, and the six percent with non-celi-ac gluten sensitivity, must avoid all gluten— a protein found in grains, includingwheat, rye and barley.

With a doctor’s approval, most peoplewith a gluten sensitivity can eat smallamounts of uncontaminated oats; all otheruncontaminated, gluten-free grains aretypically allowed.

According to an August 2013 review inCurrent Allergy and Asthma Reports, multi-ple case reports suggest gluten can play arole in some autoimmune diseases beyondceliac disease, but large studies are lack-ing. Autoimmune diseases that occur most

commonly in combination with celiac dis-ease are autoimmune thyroid disease, au-toimmune liver disease, Type 1 diabetes,Sjogren’s syndrome and psoriasis.

If you have an autoimmune condition orhealth concern that has a scientifically doc-umented relationship with gluten, talk withyour doctor about celiac disease testing.

The nutrient gapGluten-free diets carry the concern of

nutritional deficiencies, and completelygrain-free diets only heighten that risk.Julie Miller Jones, PhD, CNS, LN, profes-sor emerita of nutrition at St. CatherineUniversity, St. Paul, Minn., summarizesdata showing grains provide the followingamounts of nutrients in the U.S. diet:

Seventy percent of folate; 60 percent of

thiamin; 50 percent of iron; 40 percent ormore of niacin, riboflavin and selenium,and 25 percent of magnesium and zinc.

Jones is especially concerned about theimpact a grain-free diet could have on folicacid intake. “Since the mid-1990s, when it be-came mandatory to add folic acid to enrichedgrain products, the incidence of neural tubebirth defects, such as spina bifida, hasdropped by more than 50 percent,” she said.

Proponents of grain-free diets voice con-cern about “anti-nutrients” in grains.Grains, especially whole grains, contain asubstance called phytate that impairs thebody’s absorption of some minerals. How-ever, in populations with well-balanceddiets, this may be of little consequence.

Think twice before giving up all grains

See GOOD GRAINS, page 4

Vaccine cuts seniorpneumonia ratesand complicationsA vaccine against pneumonia, blood and

other infections met its goal of preventingillness in vulnerable older adults in a hugestudy required by the Food and Drug Ad-ministration.

Prevnar 13 protects against 13 strains ofpneumococcal disease, which can causepainful children’s ear infections, pneumoniaand life-threatening bloodstream infections.

The study, known by the acronym CAPi-TA, included about 85,000 patients 65 andolder. It found that, compared to study par-ticipants getting a dummy shot, those get-ting the vaccine had about 46 percent fewercases of pneumonia and about 75 percent

fewer cases of invasive pneumococcal dis-ease such as bloodstream infections.

The top-selling vaccine in history, Pre-vnar 13 brings its maker, Pfizer, Inc., $4 bil-lion in annual revenue. Launched at theend of 2009, it’s now on sale in more than120 countries.

In the U.S., it’s approved for childrenfrom six weeks to 17 years old and foradults aged 50 and older. In 2011, the Foodand Drug Administration granted acceler-ated approval to use the vaccine in the 65-and-up group, but required a large study toverify it actually prevented illness in them.

Seniors are particularly vulnerable to in-fections by pneumococcal bacteria, and po-tentially life-threatening complications, be-cause their immune systems don’t work aswell as when they were younger. For thesame reason, vaccines generally are onlyabout 50 percent effective in patients 65and older.

Pfizer noted the study is the first of anypneumococcal vaccine showing a signifi-

cant reduction in pneumococcal infectionsin adults. That could help Prevnar 13 takemore market share from rival Merck &Co.’s Pneumovax vaccine. — AP

Fixing heart valveswithout surgery

A new study gives a big boost to fixing abad aortic valve, the heart’s main gate,without open-heart surgery. Survival rateswere better one year later for people whohad a new valve placed through a tube intoan artery instead.

The results prompted some doctors topredict that, in the near future, far fewer peo-ple will be having the traditional operation.

“It’s going to be very hard to tell a pa-tient that if they need an aortic valve, sur-gery is going to be their best option,” saidDr. Prediman K. Shah of Cedars SinaiHeart Institute in Los Angeles.

A bad aortic valve can stiffen and nar-

row with age, keeping blood from passingthrough as it should. Until a few years ago,the only solution was a major operation toopen the chest, cut out the bad valve, andsew in a new one.

That changed in 2011, when EdwardsLifesciences Inc. won federal approval foran expandable valve that could fit in acatheter into a leg artery, be guided to theheart, and be placed inside the old valve.Studies showed survival was comparableto surgery or a little better, but strokeswere more common after the catheter ap-proach, making some leery of it.

Earlier this year, a rival device —Medtronic Inc.’s CoreValve — was ap-proved for treating people at too high arisk to have surgery. The new study testedit in nearly 800 people who were less sick— eligible for the operation but still withelevated risks.

One year after treatment, 19 percent of

There are ways to minimize phytate, too.“Breads made with longer fermentation

times, such as Julia Child’s French bread(which requires at least six hours of risetime), and classic sourdough bread, have sig-

nificantly lower phytate levels,” Jones said.Lectins, another type of anti-nutrient ingrains, also may be inactivated by lengthy fer-mentation, and some are destroyed by heat.

Unique fiber in grainsFiber in grains is not the same as the

fiber in other foods.

“Some people reason that if they eat morebroccoli, for instance, then it won’t matter ifthey don’t eat grains. But thinking you don’tneed grain fiber because you get a lot of veg-etable fiber is like saying that if you getenough vitamin A you don’t need any vita-min C. That’s just plain wrong,” Jones said.

For example, beta glucan, the fiber bestat lowering cholesterol, is present only inoats and barley. And it’s grain fiber, ratherthan fiber from any source, that is linkedwith a reduced risk of colon cancer.

A 2009 study published in the British Jour-nal of Nutrition found that healthy adults ona gluten-free diet for a month had a signifi-cant decrease in protective gut bacteria,while potentially unhealthy bacteria in-creased in number. These findings are simi-lar to an earlier study of children with celiac

disease following a long-term gluten-freediet (Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2007).

In the typical American diet, wheat sup-plies at least 70 percent of inulin andoligofructose, which are prebiotic starchesthat fuel the growth of good bacteria.

When all is said and done, the more re-stricted your food options are, the morecareful you’ll need to be to ensure yourbody gets what it needs. So, look beyonddiet books’ bestseller headlines and sensa-tionalistic stories to make sure any dietarychange is appropriate for you.Reprinted with permission from Environ-

mental Nutrition, a monthly publication ofBelvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384.www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.© 2014 Belvoir Media Group. Distrib-

uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Health Shorts

4 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Good grainsFrom page 3

See HEALTH SHORTS, page 6

By Lori ZantesonIn addition to its great taste and endur-

ing popularity, dark chocolate may helpyou fend off heart disease, diabetes, de-mentia and stroke.

Chocolate has a variety of health-protec-tive qualities thanks to its antioxidantflavonoids. The darker the chocolate, thehigher level of flavonols (the main antioxi-dant found in cocoa and chocolate) it con-tains.

Dark chocolate has a protective effectagainst cardiovascular disease. It lowersblood pressure and cholesterol, and mayprotect the heart by improving the func-tion of cells that line the heart and bloodvessels (the endothelium). It also im-proves insulin resistance, a predictor of di-abetes, according to a November 2013study in the journal Current Opinion inClinical Nutrition Metabolic Care.

In addition, cocoa flavonols are ab-sorbed into, and accumulate in, the areasof the brain involved in learning and mem-ory. According to a study in a 2013 Neuro-science and Biobehavior Reviews, long-termflavonol consumption may have protective

effects against cognitive decline, includingdementia and stroke.

In addition to the gustatory pleasures ofenjoying a rich square of dark chocolate, italso may improve mood, with the potentialto ease symptoms of anxiety and depres-sion, according to a study in a 2013 Journalof Psychopharmacology.

How it’s made and processedChocolate is made from beans harvest-

ed from the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao.The ancient Mayans first discoveredchocolate’s health potential. They groundthe beans into a bitter brew that they usedas traditional medicine for heart ailments,depression and other conditions.

Today, chocolate manufacturers removecocoa beans from their pod and ferment,dry, roast and grind them into cocoa liquor.The beans may be further processed intococoa butter and cocoa powder. Cocoaliquor, cocoa butter, sugar and vanilla arethen combined to make chocolate.

Dark chocolate contains higheramounts of cocoa solids and smalleramounts of sugar than milk chocolate, re-

sulting in a richer, deeper flavor.When shopping for chocolate, go as

dark as your palate allows for the biggestboost of flavonoids and health benefits.Most studies use chocolate with 70 per-cent or higher cocoa content. Ingredientsshould include cocoa butter (but not otherfats such as palm or coconut oils), sugar,vanilla, and not much else.

Note that just one ounce of 70 to 85 per-cent dark chocolate has 168 calories and 12grams of fat, so it’s best to keep portions pe-tite — about one ounce. Pair your squareswith other flavonoid-rich treats like red wine(in moderation) or a handful of almonds.

An alternative way to the health benefitsof dark chocolate — one with fewer calo-ries and fat — is to add natural cocoa pow-

der to your foods. (Try it in hot oatmeal!) One to two tablespoons of natural cocoa

powder provide a similar level of flavonoidsas the amount of dark chocolate used instudies suggesting health benefits. Thepowder alone tastes quite bitter, however,so some sweetener is typically called for.

As for chocolate milk and hot cocoamixes: those are typically made withDutched cocoa. Unfortunately, the pro-cessing that makes Dutch cocoa also re-moves most of the flavonoid compounds.Reprinted with permission from Environ-

mental Nutrition, a monthly publication ofBelvoir Media Group, LLC. 800-829-5384.www.EnvironmentalNutrition.com.© 2014 Belvoir Media Group. Distrib-

uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

What’s all the fuss over dark chocolate?H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 5

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the surgery patients, but only 14 percentof those given a CoreValve, had died.

Stroke rates also seemed lower, thoughthis was not one of the main results re-searchers were tracking. After one year, 13percent of surgery patients and 9 percentof the others had had a stroke.

Two-year follow-up is not complete, but“we are certainly encouraged” that trendsappear to be continuing, said one of thestudy’s leaders, Dr. David Adams of NewYork’s Mount Sinai Hospital.

There were drawbacks to theCoreValve, though — twice as many pa-tients needed pacemakers afterward.Other complications were a tradeoff —more vascular problems with the

CoreValve but more problems with a flut-tering heartbeat called atrial fibrillationamong those who had surgery.

Still, several independent expertspraised the results. “It’s a great leap for-ward” for fixing valves through blood ves-sels, said Dr. David Kandzari of PiedmontHeart Institute in Atlanta.

The study was paid for by Medtronic,and many study leaders consult for

Medtronic, Edwards or other heart devicemakers. Results also were published in theNew England Journal of Medicine.

Doctors say both companies’ artificialvalves need more long-term study to see ifthey hold up as well as the ones implantedsurgically, which typically last 20 years.Other firms are also testing catheter-placed valves.

— AP

6 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

By Marilynn MarchioneA simple test appears very good at ruling

out heart attacks in people who go to emer-gency rooms with chest pain — a big publichealth issue and a huge worry for patients.

A large study in Sweden found that theblood test plus the usual electrocardio-gram of the heartbeat were 99 percent ac-curate at showing which patients couldsafely be sent home rather than be admit-ted for observation and more diagnostics.

Of nearly 9,000 patients judged low riskby the blood test and with normal electro-cardiograms, only 15 went on to suffer aheart attack in the next month, and not asingle one died.

“We believe that, with this strategy, 20 to25 percent of admissions to hospitals forchest pain may be avoided,” said Dr. NadiaBandstein of the Karolinska University

Hospital in Stockholm. She helped lead the study, published in

the Journal of the American College of Car-diology and presented at the cardiology col-lege’s annual conference in April.

Chest pain sends more than 15 millionpeople to emergency rooms in the UnitedStates and Europe each year, and it usuallyturns out to be due to anxiety, indigestionor other less-serious things than a heart at-tack. Yet doctors don’t want to miss one —about 2 percent of patients having heart at-tacks are mistakenly sent home.

Hospitalization risks and costs People may feel reassured by being ad-

mitted to a hospital so doctors can keep aneye on them. But a hospital stay raises therisk of picking up an infection and havingexpensive care they’ll have to pay a share

of, plus unnecessary tests. The study included nearly 15,000 people

who went to the Karolinska Universityhospital with chest pains over two years.About 8,900 had low scores on the newblood test for troponin, a substance that’s asign of heart damage. The test has beenavailable in Europe, Asia and Canada forabout three years, but it has not yet beenapproved for use in the United States.

The patients were 47 years old on aver-age, and 4 percent had a previous heart at-tack. About 21 percent of them wound upbeing admitted.

Researchers later looked back to seehow the blood test and electrocardiogramwould have predicted how they fared overthe next month.

They determined that in order to findone heart attack in patients like this, 594

would have to be admitted — a huge wasteof resources.

A test like this would be “enormouslyuseful,” and the study’s results are “almosttoo good to be true,” said Dr. Judd Hollan-der, an emergency medicine specialist atthe University of Pennsylvania. He believesthe test should be available in the U.S. andthat the amount of evidence that FDA regu-lators are requiring to approve it is too high.

Dr. Allan Jaffe, a cardiologist at theMayo Clinic, said the problem is not whatthe test rules out, but what it might falselyrule in. It’s so sensitive that it can pick uptroponin from heart failure and other prob-lems, and cause unnecessary tests for that.

“I think the strategy long-term will beproven,” but more studies underway now inthe U.S. are needed to show that, he said.

— AP

Blood test rules out heart attacks in the ER

Health shortsFrom page 4

By Marilynn MarchioneIt’s not just grandma with a new hip and

your uncle with a new knee. More than 2of every 100 Americans now have an artifi-cial joint, doctors are reporting.

Among those over 50, it’s even morecommon: Five percent have replaced aknee, and more than 2 percent, a hip.

“They are remarkable numbers,” saidDr. Daniel J. Berry, chairman of orthope-dic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. Roughly 7million people in the United States are liv-ing with a total hip or knee replacement.

He led the first major study to estimatehow prevalent these procedures have be-come, using federal databases on surger-ies and life expectancy trends. Resultswere reported at an American Academy ofOrthopaedic Surgeons conference.

More than 600,000 knees and about400,000 hips are replaced in the U.S. eachyear. But until now, there haven’t beengood numbers on how many people cur-rently are living with new joints.

The number is expected to grow as thepopulation ages, raising questions aboutcost, how long the new parts will last, andhow best to replace the replacements asthey wear out over time.

Why the boom? “People are aware thatthey’re a success” and are less willing toput up with painful joints, Berry said.

The term “joint replacement” is a littlemisleading, said Dr. Joshua Jacobs, chair-

man of orthopedic surgery at Rush Univer-sity Medical Center in Chicago and presi-dent of the orthopedic surgery association.

What’s replaced is the surface of a jointafter cartilage has worn away, leavingbone rubbing against bone and causingpain and less mobility. In a replacement op-eration, the ends of bones are removed orresurfaced, and replaced with plastic, ce-ramic or metal materials.

Arthritis is the main reason for these op-erations, followed by obesity, which addsstress on knees and hips. Baby boomersare wearing out joints by playing sportsand doing other activities to avoid obesity.

Knee replacement surgeries have morethan tripled in the 45-to-64 age group overthe last decade, and nearly half of hip re-placements now are in people under 65,federal numbers show.

Surgery not for everyone“It’s not for anybody who has pain in the

joint,” Berry warned. Surgery won’t helppeople with pain and stiffness from arthri-tis but whose joints are not damaged, saidBerry, who gets royalties from certain hipand knee implants.

Surgery also is not for people whohaven’t first tried exercise, medicines andweight loss, Jacobs said.

But for a growing number of people, itcan mean a big improvement in quality oflife. Mary Ann Tuft, 79, who owns an exec-

utive search firm, said her right knee waspainful for a decade before she had it re-placed in 2005.

“I live in downtown Chicago, take a lot ofwalks along the beach. I could barely walk ablock” by the time the operation was done,she said. “I’m very social, but I found goingto cocktail receptions where you had tostand a long time, I would just avoid them.”

After the operation, “I felt better prettymuch right from the beginning,” she said.“You don’t even know you have it in there,which is amazing.”

Cynthia Brabbit, a dental hygienist fromWinona, Minn., had hip replacement in2007 when she was 52. She developed hipproblems in her 20s that distorted her gaitand even caused one leg to grow longerthan the other.

“I was running marathons, doing halfmarathons, playing tennis,” but the prob-lem grew so bad she couldn’t even walkmore than half a mile, she said.

“Now I can walk an hour a day,” and istraining for a 100-mile bike ride this sum-mer, she said. “What a world of difference.”

Recall and failure concerns Not all patients have fared as well, though.

Implant recalls and big patient lawsuits showthe danger when a device is flawed.

Last June, Stryker Corp. recalled cer-

tain hip implant products because of corro-sion and other problems. Last month, an-other device maker, Biomet, agreed to payat least $200,000 each to hundreds of peo-ple who received artificial hips that werelater replaced.

And in November, Johnson & Johnsonagreed to pay $2.5 billion to settle roughly8,000 patients’ lawsuits over an all-metal hipimplant it pulled from the market in 2010.

Even good implants can fail over time —about 1 percent or fewer fail each year.After 10 years, more than 90 percent ofthem are still functioning, Jacobs andBerry said.

It costs about $20,000 for a knee or hipreplacement, but a recent study suggeststhey save more than they cost, becausethey reduce lost work days and improvemobility. “There’s a cost for not doing theprocedure,” Jacobs noted.

To help a joint replacement succeed andlast, doctors recommend doing physicaltherapy to strengthen bones, muscles andthe new joint. Other tips include maintaininga healthy weight, cross training so you don’toverdo one type of activity or sport, spend-ing more time warming up, and letting mus-cles and joints recover between workouts.

For more information, see www.orthoin-fo.org and www.aaos.org/research/stats/patientstats.asp. — AP

Replacing hips and knees at record paceH O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 7

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BEACON BITS

June 4

By Dr. Terry SchneeklothDear Mayo Clinic:

I enjoy a glass of wine each night withdinner and sometimes have another be-fore bed. My husband is concerned andthinks I should take a break from it tomake sure I’m not becoming addicted.Is it possible to become an alcoholic justby having one or two drinks at night? Inever drink to the point of feeling drunk.

Answer: For most people, an occasionalglass of wine with dinner or a drink in theevening is fine. When drinking becomes adaily activity, though, it can put you at riskfor health problems. From your descrip-tion of your drinking habits, it may be timeto take a closer look at how much youdrink.

In general, drinking alcohol in modera-tion is not a cause for concern. According tothe National Institute on Alcohol Abuse andAlcoholism, or NIAAA, no more than threedrinks in any one day, and no more thanseven drinks a week, is considered to be inthe moderate or low-risk range for women.For men, it’s no more than four drinks a dayand no more than 14 drinks a week.

How large is a drink?Those guidelines are based on standard-

size drinks. One standard drink containsabout 14 grams of pure alcohol. Thatequals 5 ounces of wine, 12 ounces of beer,8 to 9 ounces of malt liquor and 1.5 ouncesof 80-proof spirits or “hard” liquor.

If you’re not careful, it’s easy to drink

more than a standard drink in one glass.For example, many wine glasses hold farmore than 5 ounces. You could easily drink8 ounces of wine in a glass. If you have oneof those glasses during a meal and anotherbefore bed, you’re actually consumingabout three standard drinks in one evening.

You mention that you never drink to thepoint of feeling drunk. Although that’s acommon way people gauge how much theyshould drink, it can be quite inaccurate.

In fact, researchers who study alcoholabuse find that people who do not feel theeffects of alcohol after they drink severalalcoholic beverages are at higher risk foralcohol-related problems than those whodo.

It is important to note that even thoughyou may not feel the effects of alcohol, youstill have the same amount of alcohol in yourbody as someone who does start to feel in-toxicated after one or two drinks. Your lackof response to the alcohol may be related toan increase in your body’s alcohol toleranceover time, due to your regular drinking.

Drinking more than the NIAAA-recom-mended limits puts you in the category of“at-risk” drinking. That means you have ahigher risk for negative consequences re-lated to your alcohol use, including healthand social problems. You’re also at higherrisk of becoming addicted to alcohol.

Alcohol-related health issuesAlcohol can damage your body’s organs

and lead to a variety of health concerns.For women, this damage happens withlower doses of alcohol because their bod-ies contain less water than men. That’swhy the moderate drinking guidelines forwomen and men are so different.

The specific organ damage that happenswith too much alcohol use varies consider-ably from one person to another. The mostcommon health effects include heart, liverand nerve damage, as well as memoryproblems and sexual dysfunction.

Unless you or your husband notice spe-cific negative consequences related toyour drinking, it probably is not necessaryfor you to quit drinking alcohol entirely.

However, I would strongly encourage youto reduce the amount you drink, so it fitswithin the guidelines of moderate drinking.

For more information about alcohol andhealth, visi t the NIAAA web site:www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health. — Terry Schneekloth, M.D., Psychiatry and

Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.To submit a question, write to: med-

icaledge@mayo.edu. For health information,visit www.mayoclinic.com.© 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Ed-

ucation and Research. All Rights Reserved.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Is one drink a day too much? It depends8 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 9

YOU MAY HAVE MORE OPTIONS THAN YOU THINK, AND THAT’S

NO SMALL THING

ASK YOUR DOCTOR IF SOMETHING NONSURGICAL CAN BE DONE NOW

Dupuytren’s contracture is a disorder of the hand that can worsen over time. XIAFLEX is the only FDA-approved therapy that is administered during an in-offi ce nonsurgical procedure to treat Dupuytren’s contracture where a “rope-like” cord can be felt. A hand specialist trained to inject XIAFLEX performs the procedure, and no general anesthesia is required for administration.

Studies show that prescription XIAFLEX may help straighten the affected fi nger and improve range of motion. These results have been shown in contractures ranging from less severe to more severe. And that’s no small thing.

In two clinical studies, 64% and 44% of people receiving XIAFLEX (versus 7% and 5% of patients receiving placebo) had a straight or nearly straight fi nger after up to 3 XIAFLEX injection procedures.Most people required 1 or 2 injection procedures with XIAFLEX to help “break” the cord.

Since February 2010, approximately 45,000 people have had their Dupuytren’s contracture treated with XIAFLEX. Watch a video about one person’s treatment experience, and fi nd more information at XIAFLEX.com. Then, talk with your doctor to see if XIAFLEX may be right for you.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION Do not receive XIAFLEX if you have had an allergic reaction to collagenase clostridium histolyticum or any of the ingredients in XIAFLEX, or to any other collagenase product.

XIAFLEX can cause serious side effects including tendon rupture (break), ligament damage, nerve injury or other serious injury of the hand, or allergic reaction. Surgery could be required to fi x the damaged tendon or ligament.

Call your doctor right away if you have trouble bending your injected fi nger after the swelling goes down, pain, tingling, numbness, or problems using your treated hand or if you get hives, swollen face, breathing trouble, or chest pain.

Bleeding or bruising at the injection site can happen in people who receive XIAFLEX. It’s important to tell your doctor about a prior allergic reaction to XIAFLEX, or if you have a bleeding problem or use a blood thinner.

Common side effects include hand swelling, bruising, injection site reaction or bleeding, and pain.

XIAFLEX should be injected into the cord by a healthcare provider who is experienced in injection procedures of the hand and treating people with Dupuytren’s contracture.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see Important Product Information on the following page.

FOR ADULTS WITH DUPUYTREN’S CONTRACTURE WHEN A “CORD” CAN BE FELT

XIAFLEX FOR INJECTION

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL 1-877-XIAFLEX© 2014 Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. All rights reserved. XDC-00721 April 2014

Find a XIAFLEX-experienced hand specialist near you.Use the Physician Locator tool at XIAFLEX.com.

By Dr. Howard LeWineQ: My doctor says my elbow pain is

due to tennis elbow. But I don’t playtennis. Could you explain how this hascome about and what I can do about it?

A: “Tennis elbow” is a common term fora condition doctors call lateral epicondyli-tis. It’s caused by inflammation of the ten-don that connects the extensor muscles ofthe wrist to the outside of the elbow.

Probably fewer than 10 percent of peo-ple get this by playing tennis. The usualcauses are recreational activities such asgardening, job-related lifting, using ascrewdriver or wrist overuse.

The medial epicondyle can also get in-flamed. In this condition, called medial epi-condylitis, the affected tendons connect theflexor muscles of the wrist to the inside ofthe elbow. It’s commonly called “golfer’selbow” or “pitchers elbow.” Tightening andtwisting the wrist from activities such asgolfing or throwing a baseball can cause it.

Most people with medial or lateral epi-condylitis feel pain when their doctor ap-plies direct pressure to the inflamed area.He or she might ask you to push yourwrist against resistance, which could alsocause pain. You might also feel pain withhandshaking, lifting a briefcase or heavypot, or similar activities.

Treatment optionsThere is treatment for both conditions.You could wear a wrist splint or forearm

brace to prevent overuse of the muscles ofthe forearm.

You can also try a non-steroidal anti-in-flammatory drug (NSAID, such as ibupro-fen or naproxen) and ice packs to help re-lieve symptoms. Your doctor may recom-mend physical therapy, especially if youneed to return to a job or activity thatcaused the problem.

Sometimes doctors recommend one ortwo steroid shots over the affected epi-condyle. But there is some risk of tissueloss around the elbow with repeated shots.

The symptoms of “tennis” or “golfer’s”elbow normally get better within a fewmonths with conservative therapy. Oncethe symptoms disappear, you should begingradual stretching and strengthening ofthe tendon and muscle attachments.

Is a specific activity likely to havecaused your condition? Try exploring adifferent swinging action or differentequipment to avoid another episode.

Despite trying all the above, lateral or me-dial epicondylitis can sometimes persist formany months. If that happens, talk withyour doctor about referral to an orthopedist.Howard LeWine, M.D., is a practicing in-

ternist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital,Boston, Mass., and Chief Medical Editor ofInternet Publishing at Harvard Health Pub-lications, Harvard Medical School.© 2014 President and Fellows of Har-

vard College. All Rights Reserved. Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

10 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

Don’t have to playtennis to get its elbow

Tell them you saw it in the Beacon!

Important Product InformationXIAFLEX® (Zī a flex) (collagenase clostridium histolyticum)

For injection, for intralesional useRead this Important Product Information before you receive XIAFLEX for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture and each time you get an injection. There may be new information. This Important Product Information does not take the place of talking with your healthcare provider about your medical condition or treatment.What is the most important information I should know about XIAFLEX for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture?XIAFLEX can cause serious side effects, including:

1. Tendon rupture or ligament damage.Tendon rupture or ligament damage.T Receiving an injection of XIAFLEX may cause damage to a tendon or ligament in your hand and cause it to break or weaken. This could require surgery to fix the damaged tendon or ligament. Call your healthcare provider right away if you have trouble bending your injected finger (towards the wrist) after the swelling goes down or you have problems

g g y p g y y bending your injected finger (towards the wrist) after the swelling goes down or you have problems

using your treated hand after your follow-up visit. 2. Nerve injury or other serious injury of the hand. Call your healthcare provider right away if y

you get numbness, tingling, or increased pain in your treated finger or hand after your injection or after your follow-up visit.

3. Allergic reactions. Severe allergic reactions can happen in people who receive XIAFLEX, because it contains foreign proteins.

Call your healthcare provider right away if you have any of these symptoms of an allergic reaction after an injection of XIAFLEX:• Hives, swollen face, breathing trouble, chest pain

What is XIAFLEX?XIAFLEX is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with Dupuytren’s contracture when a “cord” can be felt. It is not known if XIAFLEX is safe and effective in children under the age of 18. Who should not receive XIAFLEX?Do not receive XIAFLEX if you:

• have had an allergic reaction to collagenase clostridium histolyticum, or any of the ingredients in XIAFLEX, or to any other collagenase product. See the end of this Important Product Information for a complete list of ingredients in XIAFLEX.

Talk to your healthcare provider before receiving this medicine if you have any of these conditions.What should I tell my healthcare provider before receiving XIAFLEX?Before receiving XIAFLEX, tell your healthcare provider if you:

• have had an allergic reaction to a XIAFLEX injection in the past, have a bleeding problem, have received XIAFLEX to treat another condition, have any other medical conditions, are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if XIAFLEX will harm your unborn baby.

• are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if XIAFLEX passes into your breast milk. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby if you receive XIAFLEX.

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using XIAFLEX with certain other medicines can cause serious side effects. Especially tell your healthcare provider if you take:

• medicines to thin your blood (anticoagulants). If you are told to stop taking a blood thinner before your XIAFLEX injection, your healthcare provider should tell you when to restart the blood thinner.

Ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for a list of these medicines, if you are not sure.Know the medicines you take. Keep a list of them to show to your healthcare provider and pharmacist when you get a new medicine.How will I receive XIAFLEX?

• XIAFLEX should be injected into a cord by a healthcare provider who is experienced in injection procedures of the hand and treating people with Dupuytren’s contracture.

• Your healthcare provider will inject XIAFLEX into the cord that is causing your finger to bend. Your healthcare provider will inject XIAFLEX into the cord that is causing your finger to bend. Y• After an injection of XIAFLEX, your affected hand will be wrapped with a bandage. You should limit

moving and using the treated finger after the injection.o Do not bend or straighten the fingers of the injected hand until your healthcare provider says it

is okay. This will help to keep the medicine from leaking out of the cord.o Do not try to straighten the treated finger yourself.

• Keep the injected hand elevated until bedtime. • Call your healthcare provider right away if you have:

o signs of infection after your injection, such as fever, chills, increased redness, or swelling, numbness or tingling in the treated finger, trouble bending the injected finger after the swelling goes down

• Return to your healthcare provider’s office as directed on the day after your injection. During this first follow-up visit, if you still have the cord, your healthcare provider may try to extend the treated finger to “break” the cord and try to straighten your finger.

• Your healthcare provider will provide you with a splint to wear on the treated finger. Wear the splint Your healthcare provider will provide you with a splint to wear on the treated finger. Wear the splint Yas instructed by your healthcare provider at bedtime to keep your finger straight.

• Do finger exercises each day, as instructed by your healthcare provider. • Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions about when you can start doing your normal activities

with the injected hand. What are the possible side effects of XIAFLEX?XIAFLEX may cause serious side effects, including:

• See “What is the most important information I should know about XIAFLEX?”• increased chance of bleeding. Bleeding or bruising at the injection site can happen in people who

receive XIAFLEX. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have a problem with your blood clotting. XIAFLEX may not be right for you.

The most common side effects with XIAFLEX for the treatment of Dupuytren’s contracture include:• swelling of the injection site or the hand, bruising or bleeding at the injection site, pain or tenderness

of the injection site or the hand, swelling of the lymph nodes (glands) in the elbow or armpit (axilla), g j g g j p

of the injection site or the hand, swelling of the lymph nodes (glands) in the elbow or armpit (axilla),

itching, breaks in the skin, redness or warmth of the skin, pain in the armpit Tell your healthcare provider if you have any side effect that bothers you or does not go away.These are not all of the possible side effects with XIAFLEX. For more information, ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist. Call your doctor for medical advice about side effects. You may report side effects to FDA at 1-800-FDA-1088.General information about the safe and effective use of XIAFLEX. Medicines are sometimes prescribed for purposes other than those listed in the Important Product Information. This Important Product Information summarizes the most important information about XIAFLEX. If you would like more information, talk to your healthcare provider. You can ask your healthcare provider or pharmacist for information about XIAFLEX that is written for health professionals. For more information, go to www.XIAFLEX.com or call 1-877-663-0412.What are the ingredients in XIAFLEX?Active ingredient: collagenase clostridium histolyticumInactive ingredients: hydrochloric acid, sucrose, and tromethamine. The diluent contains: calcium chloride dihydrate in 0.9% sodium chloride This Important Product Information has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Manufactured and distributed by:Auxilium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Chesterbrook, PA 19087Based on PL-1109-001.eApproved: 12/2013

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By Carol SorgenIn the United States, more than 22,000

women are diagnosed with ovarian cancerevery year, and more than 14,000 will dieof this disease. One reason the mortalityrate is so high is because more than 70percent of women with ovarian cancer arediagnosed at an advanced stage of the dis-ease (stage III or IV).

The current standard of treatment for pa-tients with advanced ovarian cancer is cy-toreductive surgery (CRS), which removespart of a malignant tumor that cannot becompletely excised, followed by systemicchemotherapy, administered intravenously.

Cancers of the appendix or lining of theabdominal cavity, which are biologicallysimilar to ovarian cancer, are similarly hardto treat. Those cancers currently are treat-ed with CRS plus hyperthermic intraperi-toneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) — a highlyconcentrated, heated chemotherapy treat-ment that is delivered directly to cancercells in the abdomen during surgery, allow-ing for higher doses of treatment.

Heating the solution is intended to im-prove the absorption of chemotherapydrugs by tumors and to help destroy mi-croscopic cancer cells that remain in theabdomen after surgery.

Mercy Medical Center has been suc-cessful in treating these cancers in thisway. Researchers at Mercy believe that pa-tients newly diagnosed with advancedstage ovarian, peritoneal (abdominal cavi-ty), or fallopian tube cancers may be suc-cessfully treated with CRS/HIPEC, withthe addition of systemic chemotherapyover a period of 18 weeks.

This treatment may decrease recur-rence rates and improve overall patientsurvival without compromising long-termquality of life.

Patients sought for studyMercy is currently recruiting women

with these types of cancer for a study de-signed to assess recovery related to sur-gery and chemotherapy, demonstrate im-provement in overall survival, identify riskfactors, determine prognoses and factorsaffecting treatment, and evaluate health-related quality of life.

Forty-eight patients will be enrolled inthe study. They will be randomly dividedinto two groups.

Patients in the first group will undergoCRS alone followed by systemicchemotherapy with carboplatin and pacli-taxel every 21 days for a total of six cycles.Quality of life questionnaires will be ad-ministered throughout the study.

Patients in the second, or experimental,arm of the study will undergo CRS withHIPEC, using carboplatin, administeredfor 90 minutes. Six weeks post-surgery, asystemic combination chemotherapy withcarboplatin and paclitaxel will be givenevery 21 days for a total of six cycles. Qual-ity of life questionnaires will also be con-ducted throughout the study.

Gynecologic and general physical exami-nations, as well as the appropriate diagnostictests, will be performed, and tumor responserate, disease progression and quality of lifewill be measured periodically over five years.

To enroll in the study, patients do nothave to be current or prior patients of

Mercy Medical Center. They may be self-or physician-referred.

They cannot, however, have had anyprior treatment for ovarian, fallopian tubeor primary peritoneal cancers, includingno prior cancer surgery, chemotherapy,and/or radiation treatments.

There is no financial compensation for

study participants. The patients’ insurancewill be billed for all study portions, exceptthe HIPEC portion, which will be paid forby the study. Patients will be responsiblefor any balance or normal co-pays. For more information, contact Michelle

Sittig, RN, at (410) 783-5828, or msit-tig@mdmercy.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 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 11

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

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you will receive:• Health evaluation

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

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CaLL Today!

By Matthew PerroneU.S. health officials recently approved a

highly anticipated hepatitis C drug fromGilead Sciences Inc. that is expected tooffer a faster, more palatable cure to mil-lions of people infected with the liver-de-stroying virus.

The Food and Drug Administration ap-proved the pill Sovaldi in combination witholder drugs to treat the main forms of hep-atitis C that affect U.S. patients.

Current treatments for hepatitis C can

take up to a year of therapy and involveweekly injections of a drug that causes flu-like side effects. That approach only curesabout three out of four patients.

Sovaldi is a daily pill that in clinical trialscured roughly 90 percent of patients in just12 weeks, when combined with the olderinjected drug cocktail.

Baby boomers at riskThe new treatment option comes as the

U.S. government urges all baby boomers

to get tested for the disease. People bornbetween 1945 and 1965 are five times morelikely than other age groups to have hepa-titis C, with many having contracted thevirus by sharing needles or having sexwith an infected person in their youth.

Hepatitis C symptoms may not appearuntil two or three decades after infection,though the virus can cause liver failure,cirrhosis and cancer if left untreated.

Between 3 and 4 million Americans,many of them baby boomers, are estimatedto carry the blood-borne virus, though mostdo not even know they are infected.

Dr. Donald Jensen of the University ofChicago said he’s optimistic that newdrugs like Sovaldi will increase treatmentof the disease, which is blamed for 15,000U.S. deaths per year.

“I’m hoping that these new, less toxictherapies will drive more people to gettested, and more primary care physiciansto test their patients, knowing that thetherapy is going to be more effective andeasier,” said Jensen, who directs the uni-versity’s center for liver diseases.

Gilead Sciences Inc., based in Foster City,Calif., is one of a half-dozen companies bat-tling over the market for more effectivetreatments for hepatitis C.

Pricey pillBut the drug isn’t cheap, and at $1,000

per pill, critics have complained it will beunaffordable for many patients. A 12-weeksupply costs $84,000.

Patients with a less common subtype ofthe disease may need to take the drug for24 weeks, raising the cost to $168,000 forone course of treatment. Drugs already onthe market run between $25,000 and$50,000 for a course of treatment.

For most of the last 20 years, the standard

treatment for hepatitis C involved a gruelingone-year regimen of pills and injections thatcaused nausea, fever and headaches, andcured fewer than half of patients.

Then in 2011, the FDA approved two newdrugs from Merck and Vertex Pharmaceuti-cals that raised the cure rate to about 65 and75 percent, respectively, when combinedwith the older treatments.

Gilead’s once-a-day pill pushes the curerate much higher. In a company study of pa-tients with the most common forms of thedisease, 90 percent of participants had un-detectable levels of the virus after 12 weekstaking Sovaldi plus the older pill-and-injec-tion cocktail. The forms of the disease stud-ied in the trial account for more than 75 per-cent of hepatitis C cases in the U.S.

Gilead’s drug is less effective in treating aless common form of the disease that ac-counts for about 10 percent of U.S. cases. Pa-tients with that strain of the virus had to takethe drug for 24 weeks, twice the normal du-ration, to achieve an 85 percent cure rate.

But even for those patients, experts sayGilead’s drug represents an importantstep forward.

No more injections?In February, Gilead filed for FDA ap-

proval of a combination pill containing so-fosbuvir and ledipasvir, another antiviraldrug, that could become the first all-oralregimen for the most common form ofhepatitis C, long viewed as the holy grail oftreatments by drugmakers. The combina-tion oral drug can cure some types of hep-atitis C in eight weeks.

Similar development efforts are under-way from competitors, including AbbottLaboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.,Vertex Pharmaceuticals and others.

— AP

New hepatitis C pill is quick, costly cure12 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

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Location: Heartlands Senior Living Village3004 North Ridge Road, Ellicott City, MD

speaker: Ofelia Ross Ott, Division Manager, Home & Community Based Services, Howard County Office on Aging

Topic: Elder AbusePlease note the earlier start time for this event. Reservations Required.

Please visit our website – www.cogsmd.org to register for this event.

PLaTInUM MeMBerHoward County General Hospital – A Member of Johns Hopkins Medicine

The Beacon NewspapersGoLd MeMBers

Being There Senior Care, LLC • Howard County Office on AgingsILVer MeMBers

Brooke Grove Retirement Village • Carney, Kelehan, Bresler, Bennett & Scherr, LLPCopper Ridge – EMA • Deborah L. Herman, CPA • Oasis Senior Advisors

The Bob Lucido Team of Keller Williams Select RealtorsBronze MeMBers

Earl Wilkinson, M.D., ENT • Gentiva Health Services • Home Instead Senior CareHomewatch CareGivers • Lighthouse Senior Living Village at Ellicott City

Paladin Advisor Group • Professional Healthcare Resources, Inc.

PaTron MeMBersAlzheimer’s Association – Greater MD Chapter • Candle Light Funeral Home by Craig Witzke

Home Call of Maryland • Home With You Senior Care • Ivy Manor Normandy, Inc.New Life Assisted Living • Right At Home In Home Care & Assistance • Visiting Angels

Thank you to our 2014 Executive Members

We’re a coalition of nonprofits, agencies, businesses and professionals who come together to advocate for and help older adults.

Coalition of Geriatric Services

June Meeting

Age isn’t kind to skin. Years of accumulat-ed sun exposure leave their mark in the formof fine lines, wrinkles and discoloration.

By the time you reach your 60s or 70s,much of the damage has already beendone, but that damage isn’t indelible.

“There are a lot of things you can do aboutthe changes that time, aging and sun expo-sure have brought about,” said Dr. KennethArndt, clinical professor of dermatology atHarvard-affiliated Beth Israel DeaconessMedical Center (Boston, Mass.) and med-ical editor of the Harvard Medical SchoolSpecial Health Report, Skin Care and Repair(www.health.harvard.edu/SCR).

The first step is to slow the pace of furtherdamage by staying out of the sun and wear-ing adequate sun protection whenever youare outside. That means completely coveringexposed skin with an SPF30 or higher sun-screen, and wearing sun-protective clothing,wraparound sunglasses, and a wide-brimmedhat that shields your face, neck and ears.

Time erasersTo minimize wrinkles and age spots that

have already etched themselves into yourskin, Arndt suggests the following nonsur-gical cosmetic techniques.

1. Smooth and fillThe most common skin rejuvenation

tools Arndt uses on his patients are dermal

fillers and neuromodulators.Neuromodulators (Botox, Dysport,

Xeomin) are injections to relax the mus-cles that create the appearance of wrinkleswhen you smile, frown or laugh.

“These products diminish the frownlines and forehead lines, and sometimesthe crow’s feet, and they do it well, reliablyand safely. People are almost always happywith the results,” Arndt said.

Dermal fillers are injections that plumpup sagging areas of skin. They’re some-times called “liquid facelifts,” because theycan create a more youthful look without thedowntime and risks associated with cos-metic surgery. Dermal fillers are often usedto soften the “laugh lines” that run from theside of the nose down to the mouth.

Often the two treatments are used to-gether. Neuromodulators diminish frownlines, while fillers plump up the appearanceof the lower face, cheeks, chin and laughlines. Combining the two enhances and pro-longs their effects. Arndt said both tech-niques are safe, with very few side effects.

Botox and similar injections may causea little bruise at the injection site or a slightheaviness of the brow, but these effectsare temporary. Fillers also may causesome slight, temporary bruising.

Also remember that the effects of thesetreatments are temporary. To keep seeing

results, you’ll need to return for repeat ses-sions — Botox two or three times a year,and fillers once or twice a year.

2. RejuvenateFor skin discoloration, including freck-

les, age spots and liver spots, Arndt recom-mends laser resurfacing or pulsed lighttherapy.

Fractional laser resurfacing aims verysmall beams of high-energy light at theskin to smooth and tighten the surface andstimulate the development of collagen —

the protein that gives skin its elasticity. Because fractional laser resurfacing works

only on fractions of the larger areas treated ata time, redness is minimized and healing isquick. However, you may have some itchingand swelling in the treated area.

Pulsed light therapy exposes the skin tointense broadband wavelengths of lightenergy — unlike the laser, which emitsone specific wavelength. This technique,

Preserving youthful skin without surgeryH O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 13

If you, or a loved one, is Deaf, hard of hearing, Deaf-Blind, or have difficulty speaking, Maryland Relay offers many calling options to keep you connected by phone.

You may also qualify for a free assistive device through the Maryland Accessible Telecommunications program.

More ways to say “I love you.”

Calling Options

Just dial 7-1-1 to make a Relay call. Visit mdrelay.org to learn more.

800-552-7724 (Voice/TTY)443-453-5970 (VP)

TTY (Text Telephone)Voice Carry-Over Hearing Carry-OverSpeech-to-SpeechCaptioned TelephoneSpanish Relay

See YOUTHFUL SKIN, page 15

COMMUNITY AMENITIES• Beautiful club room with theatreand demonstration kitchen

• Salon• Indoor saltwater pool• Yoga studio & classes• Bingo, and many moreplanned activities

• Movie theatre & Billiards room• Business center – 24 hours• Incredible courtyard and meditation garden with koi pond and gazebo

• Guest suites

Regency Crest is an extraordinarily carefree community because ofthe convenient lifestyle enjoyed by those who live here. We go theextra mile to provide our residents with distinctive amenities andservice that cannot be found in ordinary active adult communities.

3305 Oak West DriveEllicott City, MD 21043855.446.1131

www.RegencySeniorApartments.comPLANNED ACTIVITIES SUCH ASWATER AEROBICS, RESIDENT MIXERS, COOKING CLASSES, ZUMBA, MOVIE NIGHTS, BBQ’S AND MANY MORE!

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Full In-House Optical DepartmentOutpatient No-Stitch Cataract Surgery • Laser Surgery

MEDICARE ASSIGNMENT ACCEPTEDLENARD H. HAMMER, M.D., F.A.C.S.GORDON LUI, M.D.SCOTT B. BECKER, M.D.MEDICARE EYE EXAMS

BRIAN J. WINTER, M.D.CRISTINA F. ROUILLER, O.D.

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410-997-99008860 Columbia 100 Parkway, Suite 101, Columbia, MD

14 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

By Barbara RubenUntil this year, Maryland voters had a

mere two months between the primaryelection for governor and the general elec-tion. But that changes on June 24. All gu-bernatorial primaries will now take placein June rather than September.

That gives military and overseas votersmore time to receive absentee ballots andvote. And, of course, it extends the generalelection campaign season as well.

In addition to the primary for the gover-

nor’s race, voters will also be choosingcandidates for attorney general, state sena-tors and delegates, county council, state’sattorney and several other offices at theJune 24 primary.

The deadline to register to vote for theprimary is June 3. If you have a Marylanddriver’s license or MVA-issued ID card, youcan register online at http://bit.ly/mary-land_voter_registration. You can also maila registration form (download at www.elec-tionsmaryland.com) or register in person

at the Board of Elections, 9770 PatuxentWoods Drive, Suite 200, Columbia.

For those who will vote by absentee bal-lot, a request for a ballot must be made byJune 17 if you want to receive the ballot bymail or fax, and by June 20 if you want todownload it from the website. The ad-dresses above can also provide and re-ceive absentee ballots.

Another option for casting your vote inthe primary is early voting. Early voting isavailable from June 12 through 19 at these

three Howard County locations:• Miller Branch Library, 9421 Frederick

Rd., Ellicott City• Florence Bain Senior Center, 5470

Ruth Keeton Way, Columbia• Ridgely’s Run Community Center,

8400 Mission Rd., JessupFor more information, see the Howard

County Board of Elections’ website athttp://bit.ly/hocoboardofelections or call(410) 313-5820.

which also stimulates collagen production,reduces the look of sun damage andbrown spots, and minimizes wrinkles. Sideeffects are usually mild, but there may besome redness afterward.

Less costly optionsThe treatments listed above can be pricey

— Botox injections range from $300 to $700per session, and fractional laser resurfacingcan exceed $1,000. If you don’t want to investquite as much money, consider these options:

Chemical peels use chemicals such asglycolic acid to strip away the outer layerof damaged skin.

“They’re reasonably mild,” Arndt said.“The skin is left refreshed, a little pink, andshiny.” A glycolic acid peel can cost as littleas $80, but it needs to be repeated everyfew weeks or months to continue showingan effect.

Microdermabrasion uses tiny exfoliat-ing crystals to buff off the top layer of skinand reveal the smoother surface below. Al-though the technique is different from achemical peel, the results are similar, ac-cording to Arndt. The cost is around $100.

Mild laser resurfacing (Clear and Bril-liant) is a gentler version of fractional laserresurfacing. It involves smaller areas ofskin, and the beam is less intense, so there’sless downtime and discomfort afterwardthan with a traditional laser resurfacing pro-cedure. The cost ranges from $200 to $500,depending on the area of skin treated.

Where to goMost of these techniques are available

at both dermatologists’ offices and

“medspas” — nonmedical facilities thatoffer a range of cosmetic services.

Well-trained estheticians can performsome of these procedures. However, Arndtcautions, “In some spas and similar of-fices, people who are not well trained dosome of the treatments. That’s where itgets dangerous.”

In October 2013, a study in JAMA Der-matology found that the percentage of law-suits from skin laser surgery performedby nonphysicians more than doubled from2008 to 2011, calling into question the safe-ty of some medspas.

If you do decide to see an esthetician in-stead of a dermatologist, make sure the

practitioner is licensed in your state and iscertified by the National Coalition of Es-theticians, Manufacturers/Distributorsand Associations (NCEA).— Harvard Women’s Health Watch© 2014. President and Fellows of Har-

vard College. All Rights Reserved. Distrib-uted by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Youthful skinFrom page 13

Early primary and early voting in Maryland

CONTROLLING OVEREATING Dr. Pamela Peekedraws on her latest

New York Times bestseller The HungerFix: The Three-Stage Detox andRecovery Plan for Overeating and FoodAddiction to provide tips and tools tohelp change lifestyles and individualwellness goals in a talk on MondayJune 9 at 7 p.m. at the Charles E.Miller Branch Library, 9421 FrederickRd., Ellicott City. For more informa-tion, call (410) 313-7860.

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June 9

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 15

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16 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

VOLUME 4, NO. 6 • JUNE 2014

By Dayna Brown, Office onAging AdministratorIn Howard County, the number of

adults age 65 and over is forecast toincrease by more than 50 percent overthe next 10 years. Recognizing that thecapacity of our existing senior centersand facilities may not be adequate tomeet the projected demand for senior

services, plans are underway to define how the County canbest serve the future needs of our rapidly expanding olderadult population. The Howard County Master Plan for theAging Population is a comprehensive planning initiative todesign the types of services, programs and facilities that willaddress the future needs for this segment of the population(see article, right). Those charged with the task of drafting the comprehensive

Aging Master Plan with us will be introduced to HowardCounty residents and community partners at two publicmeetings we have scheduled to announce the Master Planproject — on Wednesday, May 28 at 11 a.m. at the MillerLibrary, 9421 Frederick Rd. in Ellicott City and on Tuesday, June3 at 7 p.m. at the Bain Center in Columbia. In addition, Iencourage Howard County residents to share their perspectiveson services and programs they would like to see implementednow and in the future. To do so, there will be ampleopportunities for the community to have input through onlinesurveys, focus groups and other community forums which willalso be announced and available soon.It is clear that the challenges and opportunities presented by

an increasing aging population are many. Unfortunately, researchhas shown that elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation is one ofthe biggest issues facing senior citizens. World HealthOrganization data suggests that 4 to 6 percent of elderly sufferfrom some form of abuse, a large percentage of which goesunreported. To help spread awareness of this alarming trend, theUnited Nations sponsors World Elder Abuse Awareness Dayeach year on June 15 to focus global attention on the physical,emotional, and financial abuse of older adults.Please take a moment to learn how to spot, stop or report cases

of Elder Abuse by visiting ww.howardcountyaging.org/ElderSafety.Take an active role to protect the vulnerable older adults in yourcommunity – reach out to those at risk, and report suspectedabuse by calling 911 or contacting one of the agencies listed on ourwebsite. And, as always, if you need information, assistance or areferral from the Office on Aging, contact a Maryland Access PointSpecialist weekdays at 410-313-5980, email tomap@howardcountymd.gov or visit ww.marylandaccesspoint.info.

Master Plan to Address Future Needs of Howard

County’s Aging PopulationNo matter what you call it — the

greying of America, the SilverTsunami — it’s hard to ignore that ourworld is undergoing significantdemographic changes. Estimatesindicate that by 2050, the globalpopulation of people above the ageof 60 will exceed the number ofyounger people. In Howard Countyalone, the number of adults aged 65and over is expected to increase bymore than 50 percent over the next10 years. Of course, with increasingnumbers comes increasing needs anddemands.Responding to concerns that the

capacity of Howard County’s existingsenior centers and facilities may not beadequate to meet the projecteddemand for senior services, HowardCounty Executive Ken Ulman recentlyannounced that work is underway tolay out a Howard County Master Planfor the Aging Population. The MasterPlan for the Aging Population is acomprehensive planning initiative todesign the types of services,programs and facilities toaddress future needs for thissegment of the County’spopulation. The Department of Citizen

Services and its Office onAging will work closely withthe Department of PublicWorks’ Bureau of Facilities tofacilitate the planning processover the next several months.KGRW & Associates, aHoward County basedarchitectural and planning firmspecializing in senior facilities,will provide the neededprofessional assistance andsupport to develop this twentyyear Master Plan. KGRW hasalso teamed up with the

Institute for Alternative Futures andthe Boomer Project to bringadditional expertise to the study. Thegoal is to have the Plan completed byNovember of this year.An integral part of the planning

process includes having substantialinput from the Howard Countycommunity. To learn more about theMaster Planning process, all areinvited to attend one of our initialpublic meetings, either on Wednesday,May 28 at 11 a.m. at the MillerLibrary, 9421 Frederick Rd. in EllicottCity or on Tuesday, June 3 at 7 p.m.at the Bain Center in Columbia. Plans are underway to provide

opportunities for the community toshare their input online as well. Surveylinks will soon be available athowardcountymd.gov/AgingMasterPlanfor residents to express their opinionsand share their perspective on servicesand programs they would like to seeimplemented now and in the future.Log on and let your voice be heard!

A Message from the Administrator

The Senior Connection is published monthlyby the Howard County Department of

Citizen Services’ Office on Aging.We welcome your comments and suggestions.

To contact us, or to join our email subscriber list, email

seniorconnection@howardcountymd.gov with “subscribe” in the subject box.

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Advertising contained in the Beacon is not endorsed by the Howard County Office on Aging or by the publisher.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — J U N E 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 17

CALENDAR OF EVENTSWednesday, June 4, 7 p.m. Paws4Comfort Pet Evaluations • Bain CenterWant to volunteer with your pet?Paws4Comfort pet evaluations and informationsessions are held the first Wednesday of eachmonth. Call Ingrid Gleysteen at 410-313-7461for more information.

Tuesday, June 3, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. A Moment to Honor • Bain CenterTake time to honor the significant people inour lives who are no longer with us, featuringa guest speaker, quiet reflection to music,individual sharing, and a groupcommemorative activity. Free; open to all.Light refreshments served; contact ElaineWidom, 410-313-7283 to RSVP.

Thursday, June 5, 5 to 7 p.m.A World of Thanks • North Laurel Community CenterAre you an Office on Aging volunteer? Join us for a celebration in your honor, inappreciation for all you do to support ourprograms and services. RSVP by May 30 toTia Coleman, 410-313-6552.

Monday, June 9, 10 to 11 a.m.Medicare 101: What to Expect from Medicare• HCGH Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Dr.,Suite 100, Columbia 21044Learn what to expect from Medicare. Call410-740-7601 to register.

Monday, June 9, 10 to 11:30 a.m.It’s Election Time • Bain CenterFacilitators from SeniorsTogether will coverMaryland’s primary system, the candidates,contested races and more. Call Elaine Widom,410-313-7283 for more information.

Tuesday, June 10, 11 a.m.Terry Marsh Sings • Ellicott City Senior CenterEnjoy vocal music by Terry Marsh —Broadway tunes, the standards, classics andmore. Free; call 410-313-1400 for details.

Tuesday, June 10, 11 a.m. to noonMaster Gardeners Series: Native Plants in theHome Landscape • North Laurel 50+ Center Find out how growing native plants benefitsboth the gardener and the environment. Free;call 410-313-0380 to register.

Wednesday, June 11, 1 to 3 p.m.Healing through Writing • Bain CenterJoin authors Tom Glenn and Shirley Brewer,who will discuss how they learned to dealwith trauma by writing books about it. Cost: $10; call 410-313-7213 to register.

Wednesday, June 11, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Father’s Day Tee Time Lunch • North Laurel 50+ CenterCelebrate Father’s Day with a lunch shared bygolf enthusiasts, featuring entertainment andgames. Cost: $5. Call 410-313-0380 toregister by June 4.

Wednesday, June 11, NoonGlamour at Glenwood • Glenwood 50+CenterDon’t miss our annual fashion show byChristopher and Banks. Cost: $15. Call 410-313-5440 to register.

Monday, June 16, 10 to 11:30 a.m. Medicare 102: Why Medicare Isn’t Enough •HCGH Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Dr.,Suite 100, Columbia 21044Learn about Medicare Part C/Health Plans andMedigap Plans. Free; call 410-740-7601 toregister.

Monday, June 16, 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.Father’s Day Cookout • Elkridge Senior CenterEnjoy a traditional cookout to celebrateFather’s Day, featuring music by the JointVenture Quartet, plus games and prizes. Cost:$5; call 410-313-4930 to register.

Tuesday/Wednesday, June 17 - 18, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Food, Fun & Fiction • Glenwood 50+ CenterJoin the Glenwood Senior Council in the lobbyfor our annual book and bake sale. Grab yourbeach reads at great prices. Book donationsare welcome. Call 410-313-5440 for details.

Tuesday, June 17, 12:30 p.m.Frank & Trish Curreri: The Glory of Love • Ellicott City Senior Center Join Frank & Trish as they take you on anenjoyable journey down memory lane, singingsongs of the past. Free, but seating is limited;call 410-313-1400 to attend.

Thursday, June 19, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.SeniorsTogether Luncheon • Peking Chef,Hickory Ridge Village CenterJoin us for lunch! Choose an entrée: HouseTriple Delight, General Tso’s Chicken, orVegetable Lo Mein, and call 410-313-7283 toRSVP by June 12. Cost: $17.50. Partialscholarships are available. Call HT Ride at800-270-9553 to arrange transportation.

Friday, June 20, 9:45 to 10:45 p.m. Spring Art Workshop: Bracelets • North Laurel 50+ Center Learn how to make trendy bracelets using funtechniques with guidance from art instructor.Cost: $7; includes all materials. Call 410-313-0380 to register by June 18.

Monday, June 23, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Prepare to Care • Claret Hall, 6020 DaybreakCircle, Clarksville, MD 21029Learn about services and programs for agingfamily members and explore options for agingin place, assisted living and nursing homecare. Free; call 410-313-5980 to register.

Wednesday, June 24, 10:30 a.m. Floral Arranging • East Columbia 50+ Center Express your creativity by making a beautifulfloral arrangement. Cost: $5.Call 410-313-7680 to register.

Wednesday, June 25, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.Nutrition Counseling with Rona Martiyan • Ellicott City Senior Center Nutritionist Rona Martiyan, RD, LDN presentsnutrition tips and answers your questions. Toschedule an appointment call 410-313-1400.

Wednesday, June 25, 11 a.m.The Fall of Saigon • East Columbia 50+ CenterTom Glenn, a former National SecurityAgency Operative in Saigon, discusses thefinal days when North Vietnamese attackedthe city. Free; call 410-313-7680 to register.

Thursday, June 26, 7 to 8:30 p.m.Medicare 103 – Using Medicare’s Plan Finder• Bain CenterLearn how to use the ‘Plan Finder’ tool on thewww.medicare.gov website, to help youcompare and review Medicare PrescriptionDrug Plans. Free; call 410-313-7391 to register.

Friday, June 27, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.Atlantic City Trip • Elkridge Senior CenterTravel via motor coach to Atlantic City; walk theboardwalk, try your luck in the casino, or relaxon the beach. Cost: $30; includes $25 in slotsplay plus bus. Call 410-313-5192 to register.

Friday, June 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Jimmy Buffet Party • Glenwood 50+ CenterJoin us on the patio for lunch and dance toyour favorite Buffet songs. Cost: lunchdonation; call 410-313-5440 to register.

www.howardcountyaging.org/eldersafety

To request accommodations to attend any of these events, call 410-313-5980 one week in advance.

The Senior Connection

By Nellie S. HuangRising rates have been the talk of Wall

Street — and Main Street — for months.The yield on 10-year Treasuries hasclimbed more than one-half percentagepoint over the past 12 months, to 2.7 per-cent.

But not all rates are rising. What youearn on your savings accounts and moneymarket funds hasn’t budged, and don’thold your breath expecting that to change.

Short- and long-term viewsShort-term rates are “anchored” by the

Federal Reserve’s monetary policy, saidWarren Pierson, a fixed-income strategist atRobert W. Baird, an asset-management firmin Milwaukee. The Fed controls the federalfunds rate — the rate that certain bankscharge each other for overnight loans —which in turn guides other short-term rates.

That rate has been set at nearly zerosince late 2008, and the Fed has said it willstick with its strategy “for a considerabletime,” perhaps even beyond the point thatunemployment falls below 6.5 percent, atrigger point it has previously suggested.Unemployment isn’t expected to reachthat level until some time next year.

Longer-term rates, however, are drivenby the market. Until recently, the Fed’spurchases of Treasuries and mortgagebonds have successfully held down long-term rates. As the economy improves andthose purchases continue to shrink, long-term rates will rise.

Investing and borrowing adviceHere’s how the changing landscape will

affect savers and borrowers.Investors. Rising rates can do damage

to your bond assets because when rates

rise, bond prices fall. So with short-termrates stuck and long-term rates on the rise,the best place to invest is intermediate-term corporate and government bondfunds with maturities of six to seven years,said Jeff Moore, a fixed-income fund man-ager at Fidelity.

If the threat of rising rates still keepsyou up at night, stick with short-term in-vestment-grade bond funds, such as Van-guard Short-Term Investment-Grade(symbol VFSTX).Savers. Interest rates on money market

accounts, savings accounts and shorter-term certificates of deposit will not climbmuch this year, if at all, said GregMcBride, of Bankrate.com. Boost yieldswithout locking in low rates by ladderingCDs with maturities of one to five years,with average yields ranging from 0.22 per-cent to 0.79 percent. Credit unions often

do better: The rate on a five-year CD fromPenFed with a $1,000 minimum deposit is2.0 percent.Borrowers. Mortgage rates will grind

higher in 2014, said McBride. Kiplinger ex-pects the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, re-cently averaging just over 4.4 percent, to riseto 5 or 5.5 percent by year-end. Considerlocking in your rate once you have set yourclosing date. For credit cards and home-eq-uity loans, 2014 could be the last hurrah forlow rates, said McBride. Pay down your vari-able-rate debt before rates rise.

Nellie S. Huang is a senior associate edi-tor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance maga-zine. Send your questions and comments tomoneypower@kiplinger.com. And for moreon this and similar money topics, visitKiplinger.com.

© 2014 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance; Dis-tributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

How higher interest rates will affect you

18 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

Money TAMING THE PAPER TIGER Some financial records can be thrownaway (such as old utility bills or tax returns over three years old) or storedelectronically to cut down on clutter

Law &

John Maynard Keynes is recognized asone of the great historical economists.Aside from his theoreticalwork, though, he accom-plished something few otheracademic economists have:He was a successful investor.

Keynes used his expertiseto build a multimillion dollarfortune in the stock marketwhile providing counsel to thelikes of Winston Churchilland Franklin Roosevelt.

John Wasik, an award-win-ning columnist who has cov-ered investor issues for manyyears, has written an excellentbook, Keynes’s Way to Wealth (McGrawHill), which contains excellent advice forcurrent investors. The book has receivedpraise from writers and investors I respect,including John Bogle, William Bernsteinand Larry Swedroe.

David Swensen, who has managed YaleUniversity’s endowment very successfullysince 1985, has used many of Keynes’ in-vestment practices at Yale and has refer-enced them in the books he has written.

Primary principlesHere are some of Keynes’ keys to

wealth, referenced in the book, that arestill valid today.

• Over time, stocks beatbonds: From 1926 to 2012,large company stocks re-turned an average of 9.8 per-cent, and small-companystocks 12 percent. Naturally,there will be periods in whichstocks fall in value, but long-term investors, even those inretirement, should maintain asignificant percentage of theirportfolios in stocks in oneform or other.• Probability is not the

same thing as certainty: Justbecause a stock went up in value last yeardoesn’t mean it will go up this year. Don’t in-vest on the assumption that past returns are agood predictor of future prices.• Opposed risks will help balance

your portfolio: You need a mix of assetsthat are truly uncorrelated during marketdownturns to give you real diversification.This means balancing stocks with bonds,real estate, Treasury Inflation-ProtectedSecurities (TIPS) in periods of high infla-tion, and some alternatives. Swensen be-lieves that this key is one of the significantreasons for his success.

• Take advantage of the value quo-tient: Keynes concentrated on a compa-nies’ intrinsic value in the 1930s when mar-kets were falling. He concentrated on fac-tors such as worth if a company was bro-ken up, earnings potential, rising dividendsand low price/earnings ratio. A well-diver-sified portfolio should have a significantpercentage of value stocks/funds/ETFs.• Dividends don’t lie. Keynes pur-

chase a great deal of utility companies inthe 1930s because of consistent dividends,and they performed well. Utilities continueto pay consistent dividends, and the stockprices are still reasonably priced. For sev-eral years, I have maintained a significantholding in utility funds, and the perform-ance has been very good.• Don’t move with the crowd: Being a

contrarian pays off. A significant percent ofinvestors increase their purchase of stocksat market peaks, and sell at market bot-toms. Many investors bailed out of stocksin 2008 at market bottoms and either neverreturned or returned at much higher stockvalues. Investors who utilize dollar-cost av-eraging consistently will do better than in-vestors who try to time the market.• Invest for the long term: It is essen-

tial to have a long-term investment policy.Don’t invest based on what you perceive as

the current environment. Rebalance once a year. This will ensure

you do not have too much invested in oneasset class. In this way you will be takingsome profits and investing in an asset classthat may be currently undervalued. Useleverage sparingly if at all. If you have agood long-term investment policy, youdon’t need leverage. Markets are toovolatile.• Invest passively: Put most of your

money in inexpensive index funds. Youdon’t need many of them to have a diversi-fied portfolio. Remember, the index fund isthe market. Purchasing index funds orindex ETFs are the most cost-effective wayto build a diversified portfolio.• Drink more champagne: Apparent-

ly this is said to be Keynes’s one regret —that he had not enjoyed life more. Hispoint is that the objective of investing is toensure prosperity, not become obsessedwith making money.

My investment philosophy is consistentwith these keys. I believe that if you followthem, you will do better than the vast ma-jority of investors.

Elliot Raphaelson welcomes your questionsand comments at elliotraph@gmail.com

© 2014 Elliot Raphaelson. Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.

Follow Keynes to make money in market

THE SAVINGSGAMEBy Elliot Raphaelson

By Stan ChoeGold is back on the rise after dropping

like lead last year. Although it has recov-ered just a portion of its steep loss from2013, the shift in momentum has beenenough to halt the stampede of investorsfrom gold-related funds.

The price of gold has jumped 14 percentthis year, towering over the nearly flat per-formance of the Standard & Poor’s 500index. The stocks of gold-mining compa-nies have been even better. The FTSEGold Mines index of miners around theworld has jumped 25 percent.

It’s a welcome change for anyone whostuck with the precious metal throughout2013, when its price sank 28 percent. Itwas the first down year for gold in morethan a decade and its biggest loss sinceMuhammad Ali last boxed in 1981.

To be sure, many analysts don’t expectgold’s mini-rebound to last. Barclays Capi-tal, for example, projects gold will average$1,260 an ounce in the last three months ofthis year. At the end of April, an ounce wasvalued at $1,284.

Many of the conditions that led to lastyear’s decline are still in place: Inflation re-mains low, the Federal Reserve is slowingits bond-buying stimulus program, and theeconomy is making some progress, even if

it’s less than hoped. Investors are nevertheless giving gold-

related funds another chance, albeit tenta-tively. The SPDR Gold Shares exchange-traded fund (GLD), one of the most popu-lar ways to buy gold, now holds 26.1 mil-lion ounces for investors. That’s up from25.7 million ounces at the end of 2013.

Although that may not sound like a bigchange, it’s a sharp turnaround from lastyear. Over the course of 2013, the fund’sgold assets fell by 41 percent from 43.4million ounces.

Choose mines, not metalSome managers of gold-related funds

say shares of miners look to be a betterchoice than the metal itself. Mining stocksoften swing more sharply than the price ofgold — climbing faster in a rising marketand falling more sharply during down-turns — and miners were hit particularlyhard last year. That leaves them more at-tractive than gold, managers say.

The First Eagle Gold fund (SGGDX),rated five-stars by Morningstar, can buy ei-ther gold or the companies that pull it fromthe ground. The fund makes its choicebased on whichever looks cheaper, and ithas a big preference for miners: It hasnearly 80 percent of its assets invested in

gold mining stocks versus 18 percent ingold bullion.

“If you’re willing to buy gold in a vault,you should be willing to own it in the dirt,”said Matt McLennan, portfolio manager ofthe fund. “It’s been ugly, but there hasbeen an opportunity to invest in the min-ers.”

Another benefit is that gold-miningstocks often pay dividends, said MichaelBradshaw, senior portfolio manager at the

Wells Fargo Advantage Precious Metalsfund (EKWAK). Each of the fund’s fivebiggest stock investments pays a dividend.The FTSE Gold Mines index had a 1.7 per-cent dividend yield at the end of February,while gold yields nothing.

Investors are buying in, and mutualfunds that own gold-mining stocks have at-tracted $358 million in net investment

Why you might give gold funds another goHOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 19

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HOME REPAIR PROGRAM GEARED TO SENIORSThe Columbia Association and the Howard County Office on Agingare offering applications for financial assistance with home repairs

and modifications for seniors or for homeowners of any age with a disability. In-come limits and other restrictions apply. To learn more, call the Office of Aging’sMaryland Access Point at (410) 313-5980 or Relay 711 for the deaf or hard ofhearing. Or visit online at ColumbiaAssociation.org.

WOMEN’S BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION The Maryland Women’s Business Center is offering its annual busi-ness plan competition to businesses in Maryland, D.C. and Vir-

ginia that are at least 51 percent women-owned, start-up, pre-start-up or in busi-ness for three years or less. Deadline for submissions is 3 p.m. Wednesday, June25 online at www.marylandwbc.org/startright, where all entry requirements anddeadlines are listed.

BEACON BITS

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See GOLD FUNDS, page 20

June 25

WEATHER ON CALLRemember being able to call to get the weather? The service is

back. Telecompute Corporation is offering free time and weather

phone information. The report starts with a 15-second commercial that helps pay

for the service, followed by current weather and forecasts. It also offers a menu to

access weather in other locations, sports scores and lottery results. The number

is (410) 235-1212.

BEACON BITS

Ongoing

through February of this year, accordingto Morningstar. It’s a sharp turnaroundfrom 2013, when investors pulled an aver-age of $355 million from the group everytwo months.

Many of the companies in gold-relatedstock funds are based outside the U.S., incountries such as Australia and SouthAfrica. That raises concerns becausechanges in currency values can wipe outgains made by their stocks. But currenciesfrom gold-producing countries often movein concert with gold’s price, limiting therisk, managers say.

A bigger concern is the politics of min-ing abroad. Companies can run into trou-bles with labor groups or local govern-ments.

Price fluctuationsAnother risk could be gold’s price

falling like it did in 2013. Gold’s descent ac-celerated last spring amid speculation that

the Federal Reserve would pare back its$85 billion in monthly bond purchases.

A wind down of the stimulus programmeans less demand from investors whohad been worried that the Fed’s effortswould lead to higher inflation. Gold hastraditionally been seen as an investmentwhose price will rise with inflation.

The Fed has since begun to trim itsmonthly bond purchases, and inflation wasrelatively low at 1.6 percent in January.

This year’s climb for gold has been dueto the return of a familiar reason: fear. In-vestors often buy gold when they’re wor-ried, and several weaker-than-expected re-ports on the economy heightened con-cerns. Tensions in Ukraine also drove in-creased interest in gold.

First Eagle’s McLennan said that’s whyinvestors should keep a portion of theirportfolios in gold — say 5 to 10 percent. Itprovides insurance because it has tendedto perform well when fear is high.

“Ultimately,” he said, “gold’s value is theinverse of confidence.”

— AP

By Alex VeigaTax season offered an opportunity to fi-

nally dig through that shoe box or file cab-inet where you’ve amassed a trove of oldreceipts, bank statements, pay stubs andother personal financial information.

Before it’s out of sight and out of mindagain, here are some tips on how to thinout that clutter of financial records youmay have accumulated over the years: 1. The 3-year rule

A key reason to hold on to your past tax

returns and supporting documentation isso you can address any issues should theInternal Revenue Service question any en-tries on a previous tax return.

In most cases, the IRS only has threeyears after the return was filed to conductan audit. That means one generally needsto keep past tax returns for at least threeyears, said Jackie Perlman, principle taxresearch analyst at the H&R Block Tax In-stitute.

“That does not mean when three years

are up you should take your return andthrow it in the trash,” she said. “If you havesome concern about being vulnerable toan audit, or you think the IRS might look atyour return later, you might want to keepthat longer.”

In the event the IRS suspects you’veunder-reported your income by 25 percentor more, the agency can audit your returnsgoing back six years. And if the agency be-lieves you committed fraud, it can go audityour returns as far back as it wants.

If you’ve filed your tax return electroni-cally, you can retrieve a copy on the IRSwebsite. But it’s best to consider that only

a backup copy. 2. Consider future tax implications

Some records, like weekly pay stubs,can be discarded after you’ve receivedyour year-end pay statement. Even if youneed to go back to a specific pay period,that stub can likely be recovered fromyour employer.

Still, you should hold on to records thatmay be a factor in future tax returns.

“Very often your tax return is your verybest record of a lot of things you’ve doneor haven’t done,” Perlman said. “You could

20 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

Ways to tackle clutter of financial records

Gold fundsFrom page 19

See CLUTTER, page 21

want that information months or yearslater.”

One example pertains to individual re-tirement accounts, or IRAs. If you make anon-deductible contribution to an IRA thisyear, for example, you might want to keepa record of that for years to come, whenyou begin to take distributions from the re-tirement account.

At that point, such documentation couldbe necessary to establish that part of thatfuture payout should be tax-free, Perlmannoted.3. Keep property records

Financial records that apply to assetsthat could grow in value, such as a home,should be retained until you sell the asset.

In addition, keep any records of majorupgrades or additions, which can help es-tablish the value of the property. 4. Know rules for employers

Own your own business or have employ-ees? The IRS requires that you keep em-ployment tax records at least four yearsafter any taxes for a given year become dueor are paid, whichever is later. For more de t a i l s , s ee IRS Pub l i c a t i on 15 :www.irs.gov/publications/p15/index.html. 5. Consider going digital

These days, banks, credit card issuersand most other businesses issue electron-ic statements, which you can retrieve at

will online or retain as copies on your com-puter.

For paper records, make digital copiesand store them on your computer.

“The original is the best evidence, butscanned copies will suffice for most pur-poses,” said Ted England, a tax attorney inVentura, Calif.

It’s critical that copies be legible. Shoulda dispute arise with the IRS over a deduc-tion on a certain expense, the agency willbe looking to determine that the receipt —whether digital or not — is credible andnot tampered with or incomplete.

Another consideration is where to storedigitized documents. Computer harddrives can get damaged by viruses. Flashdrives can become corrupted. CDs canmalfunction.

One option is to back up data online.Cloud-storage services such as Dropboxand those offered by Google and Mi-crosoft, among others, provide online stor-age for free, as well as gigabytes of extraspace for paid subscribers.

But data stored in cloud services likethese can potentially be susceptible toidentity theft. Some cloud-storage servicesoffer encryption features to ease such con-cerns. Among them: Spideroak, Tresoritand Wuala.

For more guidance on how long to keepfinancial records, check out IRS Publica-tion 17: http://bit.ly/irsrecords.

— AP

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 21

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ClutterFrom page 20 NEW COLUMBIA DOGPARK OPENS

The grand opening of the Columbia DogPark will take place onSaturday, May 24 between 10 a.m. and noon at the site, 5901

Rivendell Ln., Columbia. The park is adjacent to Columbia Sports Park in Harper’sChoice. For more information, visit ColumbiaAssociation.org/DogPark or call(410) 312-6330.

HERBS THAT HELPAnne Roy, a Howard County master gardener, will describe ways touse herbs to deter common garden pests and to clean in place ofharsh detergents in a talk on Thursday, June 5 at 7 p.m. at the

Miller Branch Library, 9421 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City. Call (410) 313-1950 foradditional information.

LEARN THE SCIENCE OF HOME BREWINGRetired brewer Art Lydick will discuss the various facets of homebrewing in a talk on Thursday, June 12 at 7 p.m. at the GlenwoodBranch Library, 2350 Rt. 97, Cooksville. For more information, call

(410) 313-5577.

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22 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

TravelLeisure &TravelLeisure &TravelLeisure &

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 23

By Victor BlockA jet plane bearing the identifying emblem

of the U.S. Navy streaked low over a broadstretch of beach, dropped a bomb onto the is-land below and banked sharply to return toits base. The U.S. Navy was attacking a tinycorner of its own country — sort of.

Today, a smattering of beach towels andcolorful umbrellas dot the sand not farfrom where that bomb fell, and the onlysounds are the surf and chatter of peopleenjoying a relaxing day in the sun.

Welcome to Vieques island, just off thecoast of Puerto Rico. If the name soundsfamiliar, that’s probably because you haveread or heard about use of the destinationby our country’s Navy as a place to con-duct training exercises, including ship-to-shore artillery fire and bombing runs.

Beginning in 1941, large tracts of land atboth ends of the 21-mile-long island wereacquired for use by the U.S. military. Onearea was set aside as a storage depot, whilethe other was the site of a live impact zone.

Since the Navy departed in 2003, after aseries of protests over its use of the island,a trickle of vacationers has been makingits way to Vieques to discover and enjoy itsattractions. The beaches, some still calledby the color-based code names given bythe military, are a major draw.

Uncrowded world-class beachesFor many people, the greatest appeal is

what Vieques does not have. That includes

streets lined by souvenir shops, a movietheater or even a traffic light.

Instead of the likes of McDonald’s andBurger King, fast food means tortillas, em-panadas, and grilled chicken and shrimpon skewers available from vendors like SolFood. That rather ramshackle truck is per-manently parked at the front gate of CampGarcia, a former Navy compound.

What the beaches lack are the crowdsencountered on many better knownCaribbean islands. That prompts the localtourist board to boast that “crowded” onVieques can mean more than one group ofpeople every 50 yards. It’s often possibleto find a sandy seaside refuge to call yourown for the day. (Another lack, which maypartly explain the first, is that only onebeach has restroom facilities.)

The beaches range from broad, gentlycurving seashores overlooking sweepingbays, to tiny slivers of sand hidden at theend of narrow dirt roads punctuated bysome of the most forbidding potholes I’veencountered anywhere.

The island has been ranked by TripAd-visor among the top 25 destinations in theworld for outstanding beaches, and it does-n’t take long to understand why. Eachbeach has unique attractions, and togetherthey offer something-for-everyone variety.

Silver Beach (Playa Plata) is tuckedaway at the end of a motion-sickness-induc-ing road, which discourages many peoplefrom seeking it out. Those who do, howev-

er, find inviting shade in which to spreadout a towel, and good offshore snorkeling.

Navio Beach (Playa Navio) is framed bypalm and sea grape trees, and nestledamong rock cliffs interspersed by wavesperfect for diving into or riding.

The beach at Sun Bay is the only one onthe island with restrooms and a smallrestaurant. It is also the only one thatcharges a fee to enter — but just $2 a car.It’s more than a mile wide, and, because itis the favorite among the Viequenses (asthe locals are called), it can be somewhatcrowded on weekends by local standards.

Sun Bay has won the coveted Blue Flagdesignation, which is awarded to beachesaround the world that meet strict criteriafor water quality, environmental manage-ment and other standards.

Aquatic light showWhile the inviting, uncrowded beaches

tempt sun-worshippers, swimmers andsnorkelers, a more unusual and intriguingattraction appeals to those in search of amore dramatic experience.

Picture this: You’re gliding over a shal-low bay at night, with the sky lighted by ablanket of stars. Each time a canoe orkayak paddle dips into the water, an explo-sion of blue-green sparkles dances acrossthe surface as if vying for attention withthe light show overhead.

This is the extravaganza of nature found

at the unfortunately, but accurately, namedMosquito Bay. The show is put on by mi-croscopic single-celled organisms (dinofla-gellates), for which the bay environmentprovides a perfect home. When agitated,they emit a bright burst of light as a de-fense mechanism that makes them seemlarger to would-be predators.

When conditions are at their best, the re-sult resembles a mini-fireworks display inthe sea. Even on nights that are less thanperfect, you’re likely to have at least a hintof why this body of water has been declaredby Guinness World Records to be thebrightest bioluminescent bay in the world.

Back on land, other forms of life showup, at times in unexpected places. That canpresent a challenge to anyone driving onthe narrow streets, when a chicken orrooster suddenly decides to seek an an-swer to the eternal proverbial question bydarting to the other side of the road, or aniguana finds a perfect spot to enjoy the sunat the edge of the pavement.

Wild horses, Spanish historyMuch more frequent are encounters

with horses that roam free on the island,grazing wherever they please, and pleasingvisitors with frequent sightings. They aregenuine celebrities of Vieques island, andtheir ancestry is said to be traceable back

A riverboat trip through the heart of theAmazon. See story on page 26.

Boats line a harbor on Vieques Island in Puerto Rico. The U.S. Navy used the island’sbeaches for artillery fire and bombing exercises from 1941 until 2003. Today, wildhorses and calm tourists roam the beaches.

A food truck provides Vieques’ version of fast food: tortillas, empanadas, and grilledchicken and shrimp on skewers.

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From a bomb site to a beach destination

See VIEQUES, page 24

to 16th century Spanish Conquistadores. Few places are off limits to them. I spot-

ted a pony eyeing the swimming pool atthe posh W Retreat & Spa, as if it were con-sidering taking a cooling dip. Small groupsof the animals often graze on the W’s per-fectly manicured lawns, at times givingproof to signs posted for guests that warn,“Caution – Wild Horses Poop.”

When the Conquistadors claimedVieques after Columbus landed in PuertoRico in 1493, they found it inhabited by theTaino people, one of the Arawak Indiantribes. A subsequent rebellion by the Tainoresulted in most of them being killed, im-prisoned or enslaved. Traces of the Tainoculture remain in some place names, foodand the use of medicinal plants.

While not a treasure trove of historicsites, visitors to Vieques may discover sev-eral places that depict chapters of its past.Among artifacts recovered at the PuertoFerro (iron fort) archeological site is ahuman skeleton buried with shells datedback to about 1900 B.C.

A good place for a short course in islandhistory is the El Fortin Conde de Mirasol(Count of Mirasol Fort), built 1845-1855 on asteep hill overlooking the town of Isabel II. Ithouses the Vieques Museum of Anthropolo-gy, History and Art. Exhibits range fromarcheological items to crossbows, swords

and other early instruments of warfare.Isabel II (Isabel Segunda) is the larger of

the two main towns on Vieques and is its ad-ministrative center, with a cluster of govern-ment offices. It was named for Queen IsabelII, who ruled Spain from 1843 to 1868.

Esperanza, the only other town of anynote, is little more than a gathering of ca-sual restaurants, bars and modest guesthouses that line the Malecon — a pavedesplanade squeezed between the main(and virtually only) street and the harbor.

The town has a distinct dual personality.During the day, there’s so little activity aperson could almost take a nap on thestreet through town.

But that changes dramatically in theevening, especially on weekends. That’swhen strings of colored lights brighten thesetting, music blares from several estab-lishments, and people crowd the streetsand sidewalks chatting, laughing and sip-ping from paper cups.

The relative hustle and bustle in IsabelII and Esperanza contrasts sharply withthe tranquil, laid-back atmosphere thatpervades most of Vieques. Men who gath-er to sip rum and exchange banter eachday at the tiny bar in the El Encanto con-venience store ignore the horses thatsometimes graze near their cars parkedoutside.

For the visitor to Vieques, these areamong attractions that give the island diver-sity and appeal well beyond its small size.

If you goThe least expensive flight to San Juan,

P.R. is $328 roundtrip on American Airlinesfrom all three area airports. After flying toSan Juan, the quickest way to reachVieques is the 25-minute flight on Cape Air($218 round-trip) or Vieques Air Line($242 round-trip).

The passenger ferry is much less ex-pensive (round trip $4, patrons 60 to 74 $2,75 and older free). But it can take close totwo hours from San Juan to reach the de-parture dock in traffic, the crossing itselftakes 60 to 90 minutes, depending on theweather, and it can be rough.

In keeping with the island’s noncom-mercial persona, most accommodations onVieques are in tiny inns, guest houses andrental properties. The major exception isthe super-luxurious W Retreat & Spa, partof an upscale chain that boasts it caters to“jetsetters and local tastemakers.”

The property’s 156 spacious rooms arescatted throughout a sprawling compoundthat offers the amenities one would expectin such an elegant setting.

The resort’s two cozy beaches are aspleasant as most others on the island. Notsurprisingly, all of this panache does notcome inexpensively. Rates for a double roombegin at $379. For more information, call(877) 946-8357 or log onto www.whotels.com.

Typical of less grand, less costly housingthat abounds on the island is the AbaborSuites, a four-unit guest house perched ona small beach just outside Isabel II. Itsrooms are modestly furnished but clean,and include a fully equipped kitchen.

Rates are $130 (up to four guests) and$150 (up to six people), and genial hostessWanda Bermudez is a font of knowledgeabout the island. For more information, call(787) 435-2841 or log onto www.ababor-suites.com.

While the Sorcé restaurant at the W isoutstanding, with food and service in keep-

ing with the luxurious setting, my wife Fyl-lis and I preferred to rub shoulders withlocals at dinner time.

Bili is typical of restaurants in Esperan-za, a casual open-air spot that serves goodfood in ample portions. Popular disheswith regulars include turnovers filled withpork and cheese ($8) and chicken breastover a cassava pancake ($8). For more in-formation, call (787) 741-1382 or log ontobilirestaurant.com.

Overlooking the water in Isabel II, Al’sMar Azul achieves its goal of capturing thefun and funky atmosphere of the island.Those who aren’t put off by the ambience,or rather lack of it, will feel welcomed bythe friendly staff and other diners.

The light fare includes a grilled chickenwrap ($6.50) and individual pizza ($5). Forthose who like their food spicy, the menulists a dozen hot sauces rated by intensity,with names like the Ultimate Dragon andPassionate Frog. For more information,call (787) 741-3400.

For information about visiting Vieques,call 1-800-866-7827 or log onto www.seep-uertorico.com/en/destinations/culebra-and-vieques.Editor’s note:The Navy’s decades-long bombing and

ship-to-shore shelling of Vieques is also thetheme of The Surrounding Sea, a recentlypublished novel by Howard County Beaconwriter Robert Friedman.The novel, set in the year 2000, when the

protests were in full swing, involves a youngNew York-raised Puerto Rican who returnsto the island of his birth as a student at theUniversity of Puerto Rico.Friedman lived in Puerto Rico for more

than 20 years, working for the English-lan-guage San Juan Star newspaper. The Sur-rounding Sea, published by Floricanto Pressof California, is currently being sold in pa-perback and e-book editions at Amazon.comand Barnes&Noble.com.

24 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

ViequesFrom page 23

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 25

By Fyllis HockmanI am a hiker. But at home in Maryland,

no one uses a machete to blaze the trailprior to walking on it as did Souza, ourAmazon guide. He created a path for us inthe overgrown rainforest step by step. Slic-ing, swatting, swooping and chopping, nobranch, bush, vine or twig was safe.

The hike was one of four daily activitiesduring our eight-day adventure exploringthe Amazon rainforest. We traveled morethan 200 miles along the River Negro inBrazil, calling the 16-passenger riverboatTucano our home.

For our daily excursions, we clamberedaboard a small power launch that took ushiking, bird-watching and village hopping,as well as on night-time outings that dram-atized the allure of the river not experi-enced in any other way.

Souza demanded quiet during our launchrides, using all of his senses to read the for-est. He would listen for the breaking of abranch or a flutter through the trees, snifffor animal odors, scan leaves above andbelow for motion, or the water for ripples,and then alert us at every junction of whathe had discovered. On our own, we wouldhave heard, felt and discerned nothing.

A birder’s paradiseSouza’s most amazing talent was his abili-

ty to identify (and communicate with!) themultitudes of birds traversing the river andforest. He could replicate many of their callsprecisely, imitating more birds than the mostgifted comedian can impersonate celebrities.

Like a modern-day Doolittle, he carriedon such a long, intimate “conversation” witha blackish gray antshrike that I think theybecame engaged by the time he wasthrough. Then Souza, fickle male that he is,romanced a colorful blue-beaked trogonperched on a dead branch high in a tree.

As one of my travel companions ob-served, “If you don’t like birds, you mightas well take the next flight home.”

Our forest walks with Machete Manalso were a time for observation, not con-versation. On a stop to view teca antsswarming over the bark, Souza wiped hishand across it, proceeding to rub the antsover his forearms. Instant mosquito repel-lant –- a handy tool in the Amazon.

At one point, I looked down and saw along brown twig draped across a log.Souza saw a snake. I looked again and stillsaw a twig, albeit one that now had an eye.I stepped more gingerly.

And then there were the leaf cutter ants! Along assembly line of tiny leaves paraded upa hill, as synchronized as a marching band. Acloser look revealed leaf cutter ants to be theburly carriers. Hard to believe something so

fragile can carry so large and unwieldy aload as much as half a mile to its colony.

Surprised at how much he learned abouthimself on the trip, a fellow traveler, RiteshBeriwal, (a 23-year-old burned-out WallStreet trainee) said, “I didn’t realize how in-terested I’d be in the little things, like howinsects such as the leaf-carrying ants buildhomes. Before it was just an ant; now it’s anant with an entire life and work history.”

Each day brought new revelations andinsight into our surroundings, whether onland or water. Our visits to several villages,isolated from civilization with little if anymodern conveniences, only reinforcedthat impression.

The Amazon after darkAlthough every day was an adventure,

nothing compared with our nighttimejaunts. Our post-dinner sojourns pitchedSouza and his searchlight against the darkhorizon, scanning shoreline and trees, des-perately searching for something to enter-tain his eager customers.

An all-pervasive quiet loomed, magnify-ing whatever sounds were audible: dol-phins snorting, fish jumping, caimansslithering, monkeys howling -– all vyingfor attention in the pitch blackness.

Eventually, the flashlight, seeminglydarting randomly above, below and be-yond the trees, alighted (so to speak) on acaiman lizard in the brush, his wholesnout protruding for a moment beforeslinking away. Or perhaps instead the lightreflected off a kingfisher’s eyes, temporar-ily blinding him so that we could drift in al-most close enough to touch.

Then for an encore, we watched a spidergrab a dragonfly from a crack in a tree di-rectly in front of us -– and diligently devour it.

Whereas during the day, the trills,tweets and twerps of the birds dominatethe landscape, at night it’s the croaks,caws and throaty outpourings of the frogsand caimans.

From our first launch at 6 a.m. to ourfinal return sometime after 9 p.m., we pret-ty much spend our non-exploring time eat-ing. The native foods, beautifully prepared

and presented, are a pleasant surprise thisfar from civilization.

Waiting for the fish to bite As much as that is a typical day, there

were also exceptions. One particular daywe got to “sleep in” until 6 a.m., still earlyenough to watch the sun pull itself over theforest, and late enough to feel the alreadyoppressive heat seep into my lightweight,washable, bug-repellant-treated blouse.We were going fishing.

I sat with my Tom Sawyer fishing pole,thinking the Amazon’s a long way from theMississippi. I attached the chunks of beef tothe end of the line thinking this was strangebait, until I remembered our intended prey.

Watching Souza rattle the water with hispole, I remembered that being quiet wasthe order of the day on most fishing expe-ditions. Still, I followed his lead — makethe quarry think there’s a wounded fishthrashing about.

Within a minute, I knew I had snaggedthe big prize: at the end of my line was thefamed carnivorous (actually omnivorous)fish — a 6-inch piranha.

Souza held it up to a tree and used itsmouth like a scissors to cut a branch intwo. Just looking at the piranha’s imposingteeth, we knew it came by its reputationhonestly.

Still, the predator gets a bad rap. The truthis, unless they’re starving, or you’re bleeding,humans aren’t really in their food chain.

But they are in ours. The fried piranhaswe had that night as appetizers werescrumptious, their tiny bones crunchy andthe meat flaky, proving the wise adage thatmore people eat piranhas than piranhaseat people — at least in Amazonia.

My trip was arranged through the travelcompany Latin American Escapes. The costfor the eight-day Tucano trip (one of manyoffered in the Amazon), starts at $3,450,plus airfare to Brazil. For more informationon this and other trips, call 1-800-510-5999or visit www.latinamericanescapes.com.Fyllis Hockman is a travel writer living

in Montgomery Village, Md. She happens tobe married to travel writer Victor Block.

Exploring the Amazon’s many wonders26 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

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HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 27

By Robert FriedmanIt’s festival time in Columbia.In June, the city will host both the 22nd

annual Capital Jazz Fest and the 2014 Co-lumbia Festival of the Arts. First, from June 6 to 8, will be the jazz fest

at Merriweather Post Pavilion. The event isscheduled to feature, among others, singer-songwriter-nine time Grammy winner JohnLegend, jazz vocalist legends Al Jarreau andDianna Reeves, bassist innovator StanleyClarke, singer Chaka Khan, and the Rhythmand Blues group the O’Jays.Starting just five days later, from June 13

to 28, the arts festival will bring to Colum-bia acrobats from Peking, theater-dance-circus performers from Australia, a cappel-la country music singers, fiddle masters, astaged radio drama and much more.

Jazzing it upJohn Legend kicks off the Capital Jazz

Fest at 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 6 in a soulsession with vocalist Erykah Badu. On Saturday, June 7, from noon until 10

p.m., the sounds of jazz will resound fromthe stages of the Merriweather Post Pavil-ion and Symphony Woods. At the Pavilion,Al Jarreau and Stanley Clarke will host atribute to keyboard pioneer George Duke,who died last year. Appearing at the showwill be Dianna Reeves, Rick Braun, Downto the Bone and Michael Franks. Chaka Kahn takes to the Symphony

Woods stage Saturday, along with the BrandNew Heavies, Klymaxx featuring Bernadette

Cooper, Dwele and Regina Belle. Activities on Sunday, June 8, will also

take place from noon to 10 p.m. at thePavilion and Symphony Woods. The Pavil-ion stage will host local pianist MarcusJohnson, as well as Kem, Incognito,Rachelle Ferrell, the Jeff Lorber Fusion,and Keiko Matsui.Appearing at the Symphony Woods

venue will be the O’Jays, Faith Evans,Peabo Bryson, Loose Ends and Joe. New artists will be featured in all three

concerts in “Catch A Rising Star” showcases.Capital Jazz Fest said that the concerts

will be held rain or shine, noting that “thetalent lineup and schedule are subject tochange without notice” and that all ticketsales are final. Ticket prices for Friday rangefrom $56.50 to $92.50. Tickets for Saturdayperformances are $69.50 to $185. Tickets forSunday’s shows are $75.50 to $185.Also listed as part of the festival is a

“mix and mingle reception featuring BelaDona,” an all-female band, from 10:30 pm.to 1:30 a.m., and a “late night dance partyand jam,” Saturday, from 10:30 p.m. to 3a.m. Both events will be held at the Mar-riott BWI HotelFurther information is available at

www.capitaljazz.com.

Arts of all kindsThe Festival of the Arts gets underway

with a free opening weekend, June 13 to15, with events at the lakefront by the towncenter. The opening weekend will include,

among other things, live music, arts andcrafts exhibits and strolling performers.Listed as a highlight of the weekend’s

free events will be the appearance of Aus-tralia’s Strange Fruit performance group,

presenting a premiere piece called “TheSpheres” — a fusion of theater, dance andcircus performed atop 14-foot flexible

Arts & StyleP

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The Columbia Festival of the Arts opens the weekend of June 13 to 15 with a varietyof free events, including children’s performances, live music, arts and crafts, andmore at the town center lakefront. Ticketed events, from acrobats to movies, takeplace over the following two weeks.

Singer Chaka Khan will perform duringthe Capital Jazz Fest.

June arts and jazz festivals in Columbia

See FESTIVALS, page 29

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discussion about laws that would moreclosely scrutinize who should or shouldn’tbe allowed to own a gun “I think people who want to do evil

things will do evil things. I’m not suremore gun laws will stop them,” he said.McMahon appeared more concerned

about authorities dealing with the mentalhealth issues that were found confrontingmany mass shooters, including the Colum-bia Mall killer.“I think the conversation should go be-

yond guns,” he said. “We have to makesure that people who have serious mentalhealth issues get the treatment they need.”The police chief did reluctantly express

one criticism about the handling of themall shootings by the media. “You recog-

nize that the media has a job to do,” hestarted out. “But the main frustration wassome of the misreporting — such as thereports that the victims and the shooterhad a relationship; that there may havebeen a romantic involvement. How badmust that have been for the parents.” No connection has been found between

the killer and the victims.

Falling crime rateDuring McMahon’s eight-year reign as

police chief, crime in the county reported-ly dropped by some 9 percent. He notedthat, since he became police chief in 2006,auto thefts have been reduced by half, rob-beries cut by about one-third, and burgla-ries were down by 10 percent. He said his department has been mak-

ing special efforts to crack down on repeatoffenders and on domestic violence.

Until the mall killings, there had beenfour or five homicides a year among thecounty’s 300,000 residents. The police chief said policing in Howard

County has had “special challenges, bothgood and bad,” since it is located betweenBaltimore and Washington, D.C. — bothhigh crime areas in the recent past. The people who move to Howard Coun-

ty have been “very protective” of the highquality of life in their communities,” hesaid, noting that the department has start-ed strong outreach programs. “We makesure that the community knows we arethere to help them, that this trickles downto the officer on the street.”

McMahon has put an accent on reassur-ing seniors on crime, assigning an officer tobe in charge of outreach to them. (See side-bar, “Protecting older residents.”)“For many older residents, their percep-

tion is that their community is changing,so we spend a lot of time” in offering helpto them, he said.Asked why he has served close to three

decades as a police officer, McMahon re-sponded: “Well, my family has no historyof policing. But I took interest when I wasabout 14 or 15 years old.“I decided then, as corny as it sounds,

that I wanted to do things that make a dif-ference, and to help people.”

28 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

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Top copFrom page 1

Officer Andre Lingham has servedas the police liaison with older adultsfor the past five months, taking overfor officer Holly Burnham, who recent-ly retired after seven years.Lingham said in an interview that he

goes to senior centers and senior com-munities around the county for hour-long question-and-answer sessions anddiscussions on crime prevention pro-grams. He sees the major threats to seniors

as being scams and frauds. “What I’mseeing now is a prevalence of [phony]foreign lotteries and sweepstakes sentto seniors through the mail,” Linghamsaid. “Once you respond to them, theytell you you’ve won, and you have tosend money to get the winnings. “They keep asking for maybe $5

with each response. This soon addsup. In one recent case, someone gave$35,000 over seven months.”He said only one in five seniors re-

port such cases, since they are embar-rassed at falling for the scams. But heurged residents to report such inci-dents to the police to help protect oth-ers from a similar fate.Another growing threat, the officer

said, are “home improvement” scams,

which target senior communities.“Someone knocks on the door and of-fers to fix up the senior’s home for acheap price. They then do shoddywork with shoddy materials and raisethe price after they’re finished.”The homeowners are cowed into

“going right to the bank to pay incash. It’s construction workers vs.older people.”

Lingham said such cases should bereported to the police and that theywill be “vigorously prosecuted.”He noted that a conference titled

“Protecting Vulnerable Adults” will beheld June 17 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. atthe James Robey Public Safety Train-ing Center in Marriottsville. The eventwill discuss such topics as “Protectingthe Elderly from Financial Exploita-tion,” “Intimate Partner Violence inLater Life” and “Fraud and Scams thatTarget Vulnerable Adults.” While the conference is designed

for police, eldercare professionals andhealthcare workers, the general publicis invited to attend. Admission is free,but registration is required by June 4.Call (410) 313-1364 for more informa-tion.

—Robert Friedman

Protecting older residents

STRING QUARTET

Winner of the Chesapeake Chamber Music 2014 Gold Medal, the

Wasmuth String Quartet will perform a program of Haydn, Ligeti and

Mendelssohn on Sunday, June 15 at 3:30 p.m. in the Smith Theatre of the

Horowitz Performing Arts Center, 10901 Little Patuxent Pkwy, Columbia.

Presented by the Candlelight Concert Society, the admission is $32 for adults,

$30 for seniors and $12 for students. To order or for more information, call (410)

997-2324 or visit www.candlelightconcerts.org.

BEACON BITS

June 15

poles. The performances, which includespecial lighting effects, will take place Fri-day, June 13 and Saturday, June 14 from 9to 9:30 p.m. and from 10:30 to 11 p.m. Other weekend lakefront events include

model yacht races on Lake Kittamanqundi,a “Chalk-It-Up” street painting contest, andjuggling, plate spinning and various otherwhirling and tossing demonstrations bythe Center Ring Circus School. The weekend finale on Sunday will feature

Deanna Bogart, the local jazz-blues-boogiewoogie pianist, saxophonist and singer.The free weekend on the lakefront hours

are Friday, June 13, 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.; Satur-day, June 14 noon to 11 p.m.; Sunday, June15, noon to 7 p.m. A free shuttle will beavailable between Howard Community Col-lege campus parking and the lakefront.Among the ticketed events: The Hampton Rock String Quartet —

four classical musicians who swing outwith their own arrangements of rocksongs made famous by the Who, theRolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, amongothers. (Wednesday, June 18, 7:30 p.m.,Smith Theater, tickets $30 to $45.)

The Intergalactic Nemesis: A Live ActionGraphic Novel, Book One: Target Earth, de-scribed as “a one-of-a-kind theatrical experi-ence recalling classic radio drama combinedwith comic book art.” (Friday, June 20, 8p.m., Rouse Theater, tickets $25 to $45.) The Peking Acrobats — A troupe from

China of tumblers, contortionists, jug-glers, cyclists and gymnasts “who pushthe envelope of human possibility” withvarious feats “defying the laws of physics.”(Rouse Theater, Saturday, June 21, 8 p.m.,tickets $30 to $50.) Masters of the Fiddle — Celebrated fid-

dlers Natalie MacMaster and Donald

Leahy use their bows and strings to playCeltic, French, Cajun and American blue-grass. (Thursday, June 26, 7:30 p.m.,Rouse Theater, tickets $30 to $55.)Letters Home — The Griffin Theater

from Chicago brings the wars in Iraq andAfghanistan home through the dramatiz-ing of excerpts from actual letters writtenby soldiers serving at those far-off fronts.(Friday, June 27, 8 p.m., Smith Theater,tickets $20 to $35.) Home Free — Five guys, five mikes, and

no instruments compose what may be theworld’s first country music a cappella band.Last year, the group won the NBC-TV show“The Sing Off.” (Saturday, June 28, 8 p.m.,Rouse Theater, tickets $40 to $55.)

Also scheduled are Movie Mondays,which will screen Sundance art house filmshorts (Monday, June 16, at MonteabaroHall, the Horowitz Center at Howard Com-munity College, tickets $15) and a SproutFilm Festival showcase, which featuresshort films created by and about people

with disabilities (Monday, June23, at the same place and ticketprice as the Sundance event.)Also scheduled for the arts

festival are free book events, artexhibits, receptions, and a day-long hair and makeup competi-tion, Sunday, June 22, 8 a.m. to 6p.m. at Historic Savage Mill. A full schedule and further in-

formation are available by calling(410) 715-3044, or visiting thefestival website at www.columbi-afestival.org. Click on the logofor “2014 Festival Brochure.”

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 29

A R E A S A C T E D D D TB E I G E T H E S E O A RC O N N A R T I S T S G N U

S A T I N L E I L I ER A T T E D M A S S L E S SI C E D E G A S T I G H TO H I O S U M S E AT E N N C O M M A N D M E N T

I O N A G I S N O WS P O O R P L O D S T E AP E N N P A L S E A S E L SA T E S S A I L L E RR I M M I S S B Y A M I L EE T A A D M E N M I N E DD E N N E A T S I S G O D

ANSWERS TO SCRABBLE

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

FROM PAGE 30

FestivalsFrom page 27

Grammy-winning musicianJohn Legend and other well-known jazz artists, such as AlJarreau and Keiko Matsui, willperform at the Capital JazzFest, which will be held atMerriweather Post Pavilionfrom June 6 to 8.

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30 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

Puzzle Page

Scrabble answers on p. 29.

Crossword PuzzleDaily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.comClick on Puzzles Plus

Answers on page 29.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16

17 18 19

20 21 22

23 24 25 26

27 28 29 30

31 32 33 34

35 36 37 38 39 40

41 42 43

44 45 46 47 48 49

50 51 52 53

54 55 56

57 58 59 60 61

62 63 64

65 66 67

Down1. Fundamental2. Vintage car3. Genius whose name ends like it starts4. “You strain out ___ but swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24)

5. Inside the bumper car6. Env. notation7. Greek letter that looks looks like an “X”8. Electric cars9. ___ Park, Colo.10. Abstained from11. Golf course bend12. Dessert tray option13. Most accurate18. Takes the bus23. Run amok24. Heart or tooth malady25. Dogs and hogs, but not frogs26. Actors Neeson and Hemsworth29. Trident, for example32. Stew ingredient34. With a sneer36. Extra on M*A*S*H37. Sixth word of the Gettysburg Address38. Walking down the red carpet39. Christmas carol40. Start of a Christmas carol44. Converted the 7-10 split45. Small and dainty46. Band with a small payroll47. Yellow part of blood48. Cracker stacker51. “All kidding ___...”53. Final four games56. Arab name parts59. After ready; before go60. Zodialogical sign of baseball’s

Durocher61. Actor Byrnes

State Starts by Stephen Sherr

Across1. Regions6. Cried crocodile tears11. Banned pesticide14. Like mocha ice cream15. “With friends like ___ ...”16. Pinta propeller17. Waterbury watercolorists19. Serengeti migrator20. Prom dress fabric21. Ornamental anagram for 22 Across22. Dishonest anagram for 21 Across23. Spilled the beans25. Without some New Englanders27. Soda fountain offering28. Impressive impressionist30. Like well-laced ice skates31. State with only four letters33. Grand total34. Med. or Red35. Product of Nashville’s General Assembly41. The end of TV42. Last fig. on the front of a 1040 form43. Miss White’s first name44. Hound’s trail47. Walks wearily49. Alternative to coffee and me50. Ben Franklin, and buddies52. Supporters of the arts54. Gorged on gorgonzola55. Distributer of 37% of US fed.

expenditures56. Further under the weather57. Canyon’s edge58. Just across the Ala. border62. LAX prediction63. Not free marketeers64. Searched for shiny rocks65. Comfy room66. Ice-less drinks67. Clapton ___ (1960’s graffiti slogan)

Jumbles: FIORD GAILY BABOON INBORN

Answer: What the basketball player and his son hadin common. -- DRIBBLING

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CASH FOR YOUR UNWANTED REALESTATE – I will pay cash for your unwantedReal Estate. There are never any fees, real es-tate commissions or other chargers to you.Any condition acceptable. Please call Neal at410-419-1289.

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.

ACUPUNCTURE GRIEF/LOSS SUPPORT– A safe space to express your loss. Feel more re-laxed, able to cope. Town center, Columbia.Adele Morales, 301-490-0165.

STARCOM DESIGN BUILD –We are certi-fied aging in place, low-threshold showers,walk-in tubs, first-floor master and in-lawsuites, ramps, elevators and lifts. We areHoward County’s largest remodeler, in busi-ness for over 25 years. Come visit our designCenter! Starcomdesignbuild.com. 410-997-7700. MHIC# 24247-01.

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 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.

BALTIMORE’S BEST JUNK REMOVAL –Clean Outs: Whole House, Emergency, At-tics/Basements. Furniture and Junk Re-moval, Yard Waste Removal, General Haul-ing, Construction Debris Removal. Free esti-mates. 10% Senior Discount. Licensed, Bond-ed and Insured. Call Jesse, 443-379-HAUL(4285).

LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN– FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversa-tional. Grammatical. Private lessons. Rea-sonable Rates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

VINYL RECORDS WANTED from 1950through 1985. Jazz, Rock-n-Roll, Soul, Rhythm& Blues, Reggae and Disco. 33 1/3 LPs, 45s or78s, Larger collections of at least 100 itemswanted. Please call John, 301-596-6201.

OLD AND NEW WE BUY Sterling SilverFlatware, Tea Sets or Single Pieces., Furniture,Tools, Cameras, Good Glassware, Artwork Too.Toys From Trains to Hotwheels, Action Figuresto Star Wars. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

CASH BUYER for old costume jewelry, pocketand wrist watches (any condition). Also buyingwatchmaker tools and parts, train sets and ac-cessories, old toys, old glassware & coins. 410-655-0412.

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS ANDQUALITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGSwanted by a serious capable buyer. I am verywell educated [law degree] knowledgeable[over 40 years in the antique business] andhave the finances and wherewithal to handlevirtually any situation. If you have a specialitem, collection or important estate I wouldlike to hear from you. I pay great prices forgreat things in all categories from orientalrugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks tofirearms, from silver and gold to classic cars.If it is wonderful, I am interested. No phonypromises or messy consignments. Referencesgladly furnished. Please call Jake Lenihan,301-279-8834. Thank you.

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.

WE BUY OLD AND NEW COINS, Jewelry,Silver and Gold, Paper Money too. Watches,Clocks and Parts, Military Badges and Patch-es Old and New. Call Greg, 717-658-7954.

Personal Services

Wanted

Health

Home/Handyman Services

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — J UNE 2 0 1 4 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com 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 right.

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.

Business & Employment Opportunities

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIEDDeadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of eachmonth.Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in thenext month’s issue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a numberwhere you can be reached in the event of a question. Payment is due withad. We do not accept ads by phone or fax, nor do we accept credit cards.

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.

Business Text Ads: For parties engaged in an ongoing business enterprise.Each ad is $25 for 25 words, 50 cents for each additional word.

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

Computer Services

Caregivers

ARTISTS GALLERY RECEPTIONThe Artists Gallery in Columbia will host a reception on Friday,June 13 at 5:30 p.m. during the Lake Fest weekend of the

Columbia Art Festival. The event will honor the more than 20 member artistsworking in a wide variety of media displayed in the “All Member Summer Show”that runs through Friday, June 27. The gallery is located in the American CityBuilding, 10227 Wincopin Circle, Columbia. For more information, visitwww.artistsgallerycolumbia.com or call (410) 740-8249.

BEACON BITS

June 13

HB6/14

Financial Services

For Rent

For Sale

SINGER-SONGWRITER PERFORMANCE

The Howard County Historical Society presents John Emil, singer,

songwriter and guitarist on Saturday, June 14 at 7 p.m. at its Music in the

Museum Concert Series at the Howard County Historical Society Museum, 8328

Court Ave., Ellicott City. Tickets are $15 and may be purchased at

hchsmd.org/event/ or by calling the Historical Society at (410) 480-3250.

BEACON BITS

June 14

32 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com J U N E 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

18100 Slade School Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860

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

BROOKE GROVE RETIREMENT VILLAGE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO ATTEND AN

Please RSVP to Toni Davis at 301-388-7209 or tdavis@bgf.org by June 9.

OPEN HOUSEThursday, June 12, 2014

10 A.M. – 12:30 p.m.

The Meadows Assisted Living • 1641 Hickory Knoll Road • Sandy Spring, MD 20860

Assisted living - memory support

Discover our innovative approach and programs designed to stimulate memory.Explore our memory support homes, gardens and secure walking paths.

Meet our staff, trained in assisting those with Alzheimer’s and memory loss.

Enjoy our 220-acre campus and our live-in pets.

RESIDENTIAL COTTAGES INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLED NURSING CAREMEMORY SUPPORT REHABILITATION