I N S I D E …

By Rebekah SewellAfter 10 years of marriage, Milton

Matthews and his wife Barbara are onceagain scheduling mid-week date-nights.Otherwise, they tend to see each other onlyon weekends: Barbara lives in Rockville,Md., and Milton lives in Columbia.

The reason for their two households isnot personal but business. They both livewhere they do because their jobs require it.

Milton was recently named presidentand CEO of the Columbia Association, aposition for which he must live within citylimits.

Just last year, Matthews stepped downafter nine years as CEO of the Reston As-sociation in Virginia because Barbara be-came city manager of Rockville, and shealso was required to live where sheworked. At the time, they both movedfrom Virginia to Maryland.

Becoming president of Columbia Asso-ciation was unexpected. “It was not on myradar,” Milton said. “When this came up, Italked to Barbara. We knew there wouldbe a residency requirement, but she said,‘if your desire is there, go for it.’”

Milton, 60, had been a finalist for the po-sition of CEO of the Columbia Associationfive years ago, before he was named CEOof the Reston Association. But the positionhere opened up again this spring.

Like Reston, Va., Columbia is a plannedcommunity. Both were designed and builtby developers whose vision included atown center around which neighborhood“villages” were built, all with a view to cre-ating a high quality of life for residents.

The Columbia Association (CA) is thenonprofit association that manages thecommunity. It is funded through assess-ments of Columbia’s residential propertyowners as well as fees collected from itslarge array of recreational facilitiesthroughout the area. Its annual budget ex-ceeds $60 million. On its board sit repre-sentatives of Columbia’s 10 self-containedcommunity associations.

In addition to supporting the village as-sociation with part of its revenues, the CAmaintains 3,500 acres of public spaces andowns and operates numerous communityfacilities, including an art center, fitnessclubs, 23 swimming pools, and varioussporting arenas, including an ice rink and

horse center. It also offers many pro-grams, including lakefront concerts, sum-mer camps and volunteer opportunities toenhance the quality of life for its residents.

Getting into governanceMilton Matthews grew up on Virginia’s

eastern shore, in a small town called Tem-peranceville. He originally didn’t think hewould work in local government. “I thoughtI wanted to be in the military,” he said.

Matthews was raised by his great grand-parents and was the oldest child in a largefamily.

He was always an athlete, and has re-mained a sports lover ever since. “In highschool, I played football, basketball andbaseball. Then I got to college, and I ran

track because I was told, ‘You aren’t bigenough to play football,’” he laughed.

Matthews discovered his career callingduring his senior year at Virginia UnionUniversity, where he earned a bachelor’sdegree in government and history.

“I had an adjunct professor whose day jobwas city manager of Richmond, Va.,” hesaid. “He brought [to students] the practicalaspect of local government. I was impressedby his everyday responsibilities and howeach day was so different,” Matthews said.

He went on to earn his master’s degreein public administration from SyracuseUniversity. He also spent a year in lawschool at Ohio State, but ultimately left

Milton Matthews, the former CEO of the Reston (Va.) Association, recently becamepresident and CEO of the Columbia Association, the planned community’s nonprofitcommunity association. The organization has a budget exceeding $60 million, andmanages Columbia’s public spaces, recreational facilities and more.

See MATTHEWS, page 14

A couple of city leaders, literally

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More than 30,000 readers throughout Howard CountyVOL.4, NO.10

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

OCTOBER 2014

INNOVATIONS 4k Tech that keeps you safek A library in your pocket

FITNESS & HEALTH 8k A pill that can end allergies?k Exercise and meditation

THE SENIOR CONNECTION 17k Newsletter for Howard County seniors

LAW & MONEY 21k Benefitting from mergersk How not to outlive your money

PLUS CROSSWORD, BEACONBITS, CLASSIFIEDS & MORE

ARTS & STYLEPianist Menahem Pressler, aworld-renowned soloist, performs Oct. 18; plus, how you can help protect the localwatershed page 28

LEISURE & TRAVELThe Berkshires — like livingin a Norman Rockwell paint-ing; plus, what to expect atNew York’s 9/11 memorials

page 26

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

While the month of May is known asU.S. Older Americans Month, the monthof October is the metro area’sMonth of 50+Expos.

Over a 10-day period thisOctober, there will be 5 daysof entertaining and informa-tive events within easy driv-ing distance of Howard Coun-ty residents who are over 50or love someone who is.

The first such event hap-pens Friday, October 17,right here in Howard County,at Wilde Lake High School.The popular 50PlusExpo isproduced by the county’s De-partment of Citizen Services and coordi-nated by the Office on Aging’s Health andWellness Division.

This year’s theme is “Your Next Chap-ter,” as the event promises to get attendeesthinking about the many ways one can be-come or stay active. Thousands attend thefree event each year to speak with repre-sentatives of over 150 organizations andbusinesses who exhibit and provide free

information and giveaways. There are also speakers on a variety of

topics, including a keynoterfrom AARP who will talkabout that organization’s “LifeReimagined/Real Possibili-ties” campaign.

And entertainment happensthroughout the day, includingtwo performances by the Capi-tal Steps political comedytroupe. It might seem hard toimagine that there are funnythings to say about today’s po-litical climate, but they alwaysfind a way to lighten things up.

The expo runs from 9 a.m.to 4 p.m., and there is a free shuttle bus fromparking areas at the Columbia Mall. Formore information, look for the announce-ments and ads in this issue of the Beacon.

In BaltimoreJust a few days after the Howard County

event, the Baltimore County Departmentof Aging offers its annual two-day extrava-ganza at the Maryland State Fairgrounds

in Timonium. The Baby Boomer and Senior Expo will

take place Tuesday, October 22 andWednesday, October 23 at the Cow Palaceon the fairgrounds.

The event features everything but cows.There will be hundreds of exhibitors, nu-merous speakers and exercise demonstra-tions, vaccinations and health screenings,an art fair, an employment fair for all ages,and a new Veterans Muster, with re-sources and referrals for veterans wantingto know more about their benefits.

Entertainment includes music for danc-ing (ballroom, line and square) as well asfor listening, including a return of theDrifters, who also performed in 2012.

Admission is $2; free with your donationof two cans of nonperishable food. Formore information, see the ad on the backpage of this issue.

Beacon ExposLast but not least, the Beacon is proud to

present our 15th annual 50+Expos, takingplace at two nearby locations in Marylandand Virginia. And, unlike the events above,these occur on the weekends, for those ofyou who may work or are otherwise occu-pied during the week.

From noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday, October19, our 50+Expo will be at the Silver SpringCivic Center, in downtown Silver Spring.

As at the other expos around the region,you can obtain health screenings and a flushot, pick up information from (and askquestions of) dozens of government agen-cies and nonprofit organizations, and visitbooths of area businesses providing servicesand products of special interest to olderadults and their families. Of course, many ofthem will also be offering free giveaways andholding prize drawings. And we will have liveentertainment and door prizes as well.

We are especially excited about thisyear’s keynote speaker, Robert Fischell.You may remember reading about him onthe cover of our May issue. He’s a residentof Howard County, and one of the mostprolific inventors of our day.

Among his 200+ patents for life-chang-ing and life-saving devices are the firstwidely-used rechargeable pacemaker, theimplantable insulin pump, and the flexiblecoronary artery stent (more than 10 mil-lion have been placed!).

Any one of those inventions would earna person a place in history. And there’smore to come. At the age of 85, he contin-ues to work daily on new advances.

His latest FDA-approved treatment, asmall device that delivers brief magneticpulses to the back of the head, has beenshown to reduce or eliminate migraine

headaches without pills or side effects. Our keynote topic ties in with the Bea-

con’s new focus on technology and innova-tion. You may have noticed we have intro-duced a new section on these topics.

You will find another example of thisfocus at our Expo: hands-on digital deviceseminars taught by experts from AARP’snew TEK (Technology Education Knowl-edge) program.

At our Silver Spring event, we will be of-fering three sessions of training, whereeach attendee will have their own devicefor the duration of the class and learn howto use its key features in 45 minutes.

You will notice I am being somewhatvague about the “device.” That’s because wehope (but cannot yet be sure) to be introduc-ing at our Expo the brand-new AARP “Real-Pad” tablet — a device geared to older adultswho have not yet become comfortable withiPads or other widely marketed tablets.

The tablet is preloaded with applicationsand instructional materials designedspecifically for older adults, various “easy-fix” features that require only one click toactivate, and comes with 24-hour live techsupport. In short, it promises to addressmany of the fears some of us have aboutusing the latest technology.

The existence of the Real Pad was an-nounced publicly only a few weeks ago(September 4), and it will not be availablein stores until the end of October.

But we are hoping to have an advancesupply in time for our October 19 Expoand hope you will join us to get the firsthands-on experience with it. If we are un-able to obtain these in time for the event,however, the classes will still take place,but with either an iPad or a smartphone.

Seating is limited at these seminars. Toreserve a place, call the Beacon at (301)949-9766.

Our N. Virginia expo takes place the fol-lowing Sunday, October 26, again from noonto 4 p.m., on the third level of Ballston Mall(near the movie theatre) in Arlington, Va.

Almost everything from our SilverSpring Expo will be found at our Ballstonevent: nonprofit and government re-sources, businesses, entertainment, healthscreenings, etc. We will also have RobertFischell as our keynote speaker.

However, for reasons beyond our con-trol, we will have speakers on technologysubjects instead of hands-on digital deviceclasses at Ballston. We hope to havehands-on classes at next year’s event.

So much to see and do in October! Ihope you will look for the Beacon at allthese events, and I invite you to visit one(or both) of our own 50+Expos this year. Ifyou do, please come up to me to say hello.

Get expos-ed in October

FROM THEPUBLISHERBy Stuart P. Rosenthal

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 35 for classified advertising details.Please mail or email all submissions.

© Copyright 2014 The Beacon Newspapers, Inc.

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),

pre paid with order. Maryland residents add 6 percent forsales tax. Send sub scrip tion order to the office listedbelow.

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

• Associate Publisher..............Judith K. Rosenthal

• Vice President, Operations........Gordon Hasenei

• Director of Sales ................................Alan Spiegel

• Assistant Operations Manager ..........Roger King

• Managing Editor............................Barbara Ruben

• Graphic Designer ..............................Kyle Gregory

• Advertising Representatives ........Doug Hallock,

................................................ Steve Levin, Jill Joseph

• Editorial Assistant ........................Rebekah Sewell Letters to the editorReaders 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, or e-mail to barbara@thebeaconnewspapers.com. Please include your name, address and telephone number for verification.

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

Columbia Associationoffers clfers clf as las l ses, programs, special

,

events and moreg , p nts and more

to keep you active and involved in your community.

• Golf • Fitness Classes• Six Class Pass• Art Classes• Nutrition Consultations• Committees• Free Events• Volunteering and Time Banking

• And More!

AttentionMMMMMMMMaaaaaaattttttuuuuuuurrrrrrreeeeeee AAAAAAAddddddduuuuuuullllllttttttsssssss!!!!!!!

GetActiveand

StayActive!

Please visit ColumbiaFit.org for special membership offers or ColumbiaAssociation.org/50Plus for details onCA’s programs classes and events for mature adults. For additional information, please call 410-715-3000.CA s programs, classes and events

Visit CA’s Ro

om at50+EX

PO

Friday, Octo

ber 17 to get

your

FREEcopy o

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’s

Activities for

Mature Adultsbookle

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By Carol Sorgen Using technology to maintain the health

and safety of older adults is not new — med-ical alert jewelry, for example, is one ex-ample. But advances intechnology have nowgiven family membersand caregivers an op-portunity to monitorfor themselves thewell-being of the onesthey care for.

A number of in-home safety sys-tems and personaltracking devicesbeing offered by Bal-timore-based Health Trends is affordingelders (as well as individuals with disabili-ties) the ability to remain in their own home,while providing peace of mind to their fami-ly and caregivers.

According to a survey conducted byAARP, being able to remain in their homesas they age (age in place) is of paramountconcern to those 65 and older. Whileawareness of assistive technology is notyet widespread, those who were surveyed

said they would be interested in usingsuch devices.

“This technology has been used for along time in the professional security in-

dustry,” said Dr. BorisKerzner, medical direc-tor of Health Trends.“But it is only now be-ginning to be used tomonitor the elderly andthe disabled.”

Among the systemsavailable are wirelesshome sensors, GPSlocator watches withthe ability to detectfalls, medication man-

agement systems, easy-to-use wrist bloodpressure monitors, and remote monitoringsystems.

Sensing something amissWith the wireless home sensor system,

for example, up to 10 sensors can beplaced throughout the home. By selectinglocations such as the bed, the bathroom,the stove, the front door, etc., family mem-bers, neighbors or professional caregivers

who have been designated to receivealerts (via email, text or phone call) candetermine if there is a shift in a pattern ofbehavior: (“Mom used to get up at 8 a.m.,but now she’s staying in bed all morning,”or “Dad hasn’t been to the kitchen today;maybe he’s not eating”). There may be apossible emergency if the sensors havepicked up no motion at all.

The notifications can go out to as manypeople as you would like and in any order.They can also go out to multiple individu-als at one time.

In addition to the wirelessmotion sensors, door sen-sors and lock controls areavailable, as are refrigera-tor door sensors, surfaceand area temperaturesensors (so a stove, forexample, could be turnedoff automatically), videosurveillance, and wearablehealth- or location-alert per-sonal emergency response solutions.

“The devices can be customized for theindividual living situation, and can beadded on to as conditions change,” said

Kerzner, who is consulting not only withindividual families but home health agen-cies and assisted living facilities as well.

How much does it cost? The equipment is leased, and the moni-

toring service costs an additional $100 to$175 a month. Some costs may be coveredby long-term care policies or charitableprograms.

According to Kerzner, all of the prod-ucts have been tested by Health Trendsfor reliability, consistency and accuracy.

“We not only test all the products,but provide insight and education

so you can make the best deci-sion for yourself or your lovedone.” For more information about

the company, call (410) 484-9400or visit www.healthtrends.us.com. For more information on homemonitoring and other useful tech-nologies for aging in place, see

“High-tech gadgets monitor safety at home”and “Gadgets to consider” in the Housing &Homecare Options section of the July Balti-more Beacon.

Technology that gives you peace of mind

4 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

InnovationsTechnology &

Medfolio pill dispenser

Trilock GPS watch

Changing AgingDr. Bill Thomas is an international ex-

pert on seniors and geriatric medicine,and is the founder of the Eden Alternativeand Green House project to transformnursing homes. His blog examines every-thing from Shakespeare’s old age, to treat-ing dementia with music, to the concept ofkindness.

http://changingaging.org

Accessible travelLooking for a barrier-free hotel in Italy,

or a wheelchair rider’s guide to Los Ange-les? This site pulls together dozens of re-sources to help travelers with disabilitiesnavigate around the world. Look for linksto magazines; databases, like the Accessi-ble Vacation Home Exchange; outdoorrecreation sites and more, such as Accessi-ble Virginia, a new website about explor-ing the state.

www.travelguides.org

Unleash your inner

abstract artistAnd now for a little fun. Create your own

Jackson Pollack painting. Just move themouse quickly or slowly to create splotch-es or squiggles on the screen. Left click to

change colors. http://manetas.com/pollock

Senior health information from NIH

The NIH SeniorHealth website, provid-ing information for older adults, was devel-oped by the National Institute on Agingand the National Library of Medicine, bothpart of the National Institutes of Health.

This website contains a wide range of in-formation on many health topics including:Alzheimer’s disease, arthritis, balanceproblems, breast cancer, colorectal cancer,

diabetes, exercise for older adults, hearingloss, lung cancer, prostate cancer, takingmedicines, and many more.

www.nihseniorhealth.gov

Test your knowledge

Keep your brain nimble by learning newwords and information — and help worldhunger at the same time. Free Rice do-nates grains of rice to the World Food Pro-gramme for every correct answer you pro-vide in progressively harder vocabularyquizzes, math problems, painting identifi-cation, chemistry questions and more.

www.freerice.com

Beacon LinksBy Barbara Ruben

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Technology & Innovations 5

THE JOB HUNTER’S GUIDE TO THE INTERNET

Master online tools for the job search, exploring the power of

social media, USAJobs and job aggregator sites. Learn how to coordinate an

effective job search with job alerts and a strong online presence at this class at

the Central Branch Library on Tuesday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. The library is located

at 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy., Columbia. Registration is required. Call (410)

313.7800 or go to http://hclibrary.org.

BEACON BYTES

Sept. 23

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Name____________________________________________________ _____________

Address________________________________________________________________

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Phone (day)________________________(evening)________________________

Please provide your e-mail address if you would like to receivemonthly links to the Beacon online and occasional notices

of events and programs of interest.

Email____________________________________________________ _____________

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

or fax to (410) 248-9102.

Housing Communities� Alta at Regency Crest (see ad on page 6)� Brooke Grove (see ads on pages 11 & 36)� Charlestown (see ad on page 23)� Heartlands (see ad on page 25)� Homecrest House (see ad on page 8)� Paradise Assisted Living (see ad on page 15)� Park View at Colonial Landing (see ad on page 29)� Park View at Columbia (see ad on page 29)� Park View at Ellicott City (see ad on page 29)� Park View at Emerson (see ad on page 29)� Shangri-La Assisted Living (see ad on page 15)� Shriner Court (see ad on page 6)� Somerford Place (see ad on page 12)� Vantage House (see ad on page 7)

Health Study Volunteers� 80+ Healthly Volunteer Study (see ad on page 13)� Fall Prevention Study (see ad on page 13)� Memory Problems Study (see ad on page 13)� Parkinson’s Study (see article on page 13)

10/14 HC

FREE INFORMATIONFor free materials on housing communities and

health studies, just complete and clip this coupon and mail or fax it to the Beacon.

�

By Anick JesdanunOwn a tablet or a smartphone? Then for

a few bucks a month, you can have a (virtu-al) library in your pocket or carrying case.

Two startups are trying to do for e-books what Netflix does for movies: Oys-ter and Scribd let you read as many booksas you want for a fixed monthly price —$10 for Oyster and $9 for Scribd.

I was skeptical at first. I can never findenough time to read, and I’m picky aboutwhat I do read. I was worried about their

limited book selections. But I found plenty to read in no time,

and I found myself reading more than Inormally would. There are enough bookson these e-book services to keep you busyfor years. Oyster has more than 500,000 ti-tles, while Scribd has more than 400,000.

These services are great if you have along weekend or a vacation coming up or,as in my case, three weeks of travels fromCalifornia to New York.

Just don’t think it’ll be the same as walk-

ing into a library and finding just about anybook you want.

How good is the selection?I checked several titles from my wish

list and asked colleagues for other sugges-tions, including a few for kids or in foreignlanguages. Of the 75 titles I checked, Oys-ter had 17 and Scribd had 16.

For some popular novels, such as TheHunger Games series and The Fault in OurStars, I got readers’ guides and other com-panions, but not the actual books.

Both services have selected titles fromSimon & Schuster, HarperCollins and lots ofsmaller publishers. But other major U.S.publishers — Hachette, Macmillan and Pen-guin Random House — remain holdouts.And even when there’s a deal with a publish-

er, newer books tend to be excluded. Avid readers won’t be bored, though.

When I signed up, Scribd asked about thetypes of books I like. Oyster didn’t, but stillmade good recommendations based onwhat other subscribers are reading.

I quickly found about two dozen books be-tween the two services. Each time I added atitle, I got recommendations for more.

I just finished books on lobster popula-tions and the Ben & Jerry’s ice creamcompany. I’m now reading about LanceArmstrong and the doping scandal — an-other book I wouldn’t have known about ifit hadn’t popped up on Scribd.

In that sense, both services are muchlike Netflix. Netflix’s streaming selection

E-book services offer a library of choices6 Technology & Innovations | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

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 E-BOOKS, page 7

HALLOWEEN HAUNTINGSDead of Night at the Museum, a paranormal investigation at the

Howard County Historical Society Museum, 8328 Court Avenue,

Ellicott City will run from 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 25 through 5 a.m. on Sunday,

Oct. 26. The excursion is part of the HallowRead Convention for authors and fans

of paranormal magazines and merchandise. Events are held at various locations

in Ellicott City Friday, Oct. 24 through Sunday, Oct. 26. For a schedule of events

and fees, visit www.hallowread.com or call (442) 897-2646.

BEACON BYTES

Oct. 24+

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!

APARTMENT HOMES FOR ACTIVE ADULTS 62 OR BETTER

Starting at $1,570

550 Shriner Court Union Bridge, MD 21791

410-775-2940www.qpmgmt.com

Are you an Active Seniorof Moderate Income?

Discover Great Senior Living at our Affordable CommunityConveniently located near the Union Bridge Community

Center. 24-hour emergency on-call maintenance.Affordable rent. Caring & dedicated staff.

Call or visit our web site to view this community.T/A Quantum Property Management

Rent starts at $485. Income restrictions apply.

looks poor when you are searching for aspecific title, but Netflix is smart enoughto recommend enough movies to keep youpaying $8 or $9 a month.

You’ll need the appsNeither Oyster nor Scribd works on

dedicated e-readers such as Amazon’s Kin-dle Paperwhite. Rather, you need a devicethat lets you install apps.

Both work on iPhones, iPads and An-droid devices, including Kindle Fire tablets.Oyster also works on Nook tablets, whileScribd has apps for Windows devices.

Only Scribd lets you read on Webbrowsers on personal computers, thoughOyster plans to add that soon.

Apps for both services offer featurestypical for e-books. You can start a book onone device and pick up where you left offon another, though I’ve often run into

syncing problems with both. You can see where you are in a book,

change text size and even add notes. Theoptions aren’t as extensive as what I’m usedto with Kindle devices and apps, though.

Oyster lets you store up to 10 books perdevice to take with you on the road, whileScribd lets you save up to 20 books. Bothservices permit reading on up to six devices.

Of the two, I like Oyster’s apps and e-book selection better, and it’s been addingfeatures and device support quickly tocatch up with Scribd. But it’s also $1 amonth more.

I tend to prefer distraction-free readingon a dedicated e-reader, but phones andtablets work when I’m able to exercisesome discipline from checking email andFacebook. Plus, I’m more likely to be carry-ing a phone, so I’m able to get reading donewhile waiting for a bus or tardy friends.

What about Amazon?There are plenty of other ways to get e-

books for free or for a set price. Checkyour local library for starters.

If you have Amazon’s $99-a-year Primemembership, you can read an e-book forfree each month if you also have a Kindledevice or the Fire phone, though you’renot offered everything that Amazonmakes available for purchase.

That’s where the new Kindle Unlimitedservice comes in. The $10 a month KindleUnlimited lets you download 10 books at atime on up to six devices. Those devicesdon’t have to be Amazon devices, as Primerequires. But the selection is somewhatlimited; I only found six of the 75 books I

was looking for.But Kindle Unlimited beats its rivals in

several ways. It has 2,000 audiobooks fromAmazon’s Audible business. They’re syn-chronized to the corresponding books, soif you need to break off reading to drive,you can have the audiobook play instead,starting where you left off reading.

Also, Kindle apps are available for agreater range of devices. Oyster works oniPhones, iPads and Android devices.Scribd supports those, plus Macs and Win-dows devices. Kindle does all that, pluswebOS and BlackBerry devices.

— AP

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Technology & Innovations 7

E-booksFrom page 6

BORROWING EBOOKS FROM THE LIBRARYLearn how to browse, borrow and download eBooks from HowardCounty Library System’s growing collection. A class for iPad

users will be held on Monday, Sept 19 at 7 p.m. at the Miller Branch, 9421Frederick Rd, Ellicott City. Register by calling (410) 313-1950. A similar class forthose with Kindles will take place on Thursday, Oct. 23 at 7 p.m. at the ElkridgeBranch, 6540 Washington Blvd. Elkridge. Call (410) 313-5088 to register.

BEACON BYTES

Sept. 29+

• Eye Care for All Ages • Specialists in Cataracts, Glaucoma, DiabeticRetinopathy and Macular Degeneration • Contact Lens Specialists

• LASIK - Laser Vision Correction • Plastic & Reconstructive Eye Surgery

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

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By Linda A. Johnson For decades, seasonal allergy sufferers

had two therapy options to ease the miseryof hay fever. They could swallow pills orsquirt nasal sprays every day for brief re-prieves from the sneezing and itchy eyes.Or they could get allergy shots for years togradually reduce their immune system’sover-reaction.

Now, patients can try another type oftherapy to train their immune system —new once-a-day tablets that dissolve quick-ly under the tongue and steadily raise tol-erance to grass or ragweed pollen, muchlike the shots.

“It’s been several decades since the lastbig breakthrough,” Cleveland Clinic aller-gy specialist Dr. Rachel Szekely said.

The downside: The pills must be starteda few months before the grass or ragweedpollen season, which began in August, soit’s too late for this year.

In April, the Food and Drug Administra-tion approved two tablets from drug makerMerck & Co. — Grastek for grass pollenand Ragwitek for ragweed — plus a grasspollen tablet called Oralair from Staller-genes SA, a French manufacturer.

The tablets could become popular withpeople who dislike pills, which can makethem drowsy or don’t provide enough relief.

They’ll likely appeal even more to pa-tients with severe allergies who fear nee-dles or can’t make frequent trips to the al-lergist — key reasons that only about 5percent of U.S. patients who would benefitfrom allergy shots get them.

Meanwhile, new treatments for othertypes of allergies, including to peanuts andeggs, are in various stages of testing andcould turn out to be big advances.

Dust mites, tree pollen and cats Merck has a tablet for house dust mite

allergies in final patient testing that couldhit the market in two or three years, andit’s considering other therapies.

Stallergenes is testing a tablet for birchtree allergies and, with partner Shionogi &Co. Ltd. in Japan, tablets for allergies to dustmites and Japanese cedar pollen. Britain’sCircassia Ltd. has a cat allergy treatment infinal testing and six others in earlier testing.

A handful of companies also are looking atpossible new ways to administer im-munotherapy, including drops under the

tongue, capsules and skin patches, said Dr.Linda Cox, former president of the AmericanAcademy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunolo-gy, and an allergist in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

The new tablets are not right for every-one, particularly patients with allergies tomultiple substances, Szekely cautioned.

That was the case with one of her pa-tients, 10-year-old Samantha Marshall ofMentor, Ohio, who has been getting aller-gy shots since last fall.

“She’s not loving the [shots],” said hermother, Rachel, who recently asked Szeke-ly about switching to the tablets. Szekelyexplained that shots are more effective be-cause Rachel is also allergic to weeds anddust mites, and the shots she receives area customized mix of extracts to all thosesubstances.

Differences between treatmentsTreatment can be tricky because of

body chemistry differences and the com-plexity of the immune system, which isstill poorly understood. “You can’t justhave one size fits all,” Szekely said.

For people with mild hay fever, inexpen-sive pills that suppress immune chemicals

called histamines work well. Allegra, Be-nadryl, Claritin and Zyrtec are availablewithout prescription, often competing withstore brands.

Other patients fare better on prescrip-tion pills or nasal sprays. But for patientswith severe allergies, those aren’t enough.They suffer — though hardly in silence —or try allergy shots.

Rarely, the shots cause systemic allergicreactions, from hives and itching to dan-gerous airway narrowing, because smallamounts of allergen circulate in the blood-stream. That’s why patients must be ob-served by a nurse for a half-hour after eachshot.

Allergy tablets are less likely to trigger adangerous allergic reaction than shots,which have been used for a century, Coxsaid.

In Merck’s testing, about 5 percent ofpatients experienced tingling, itching orswelling in the mouth or tongue, said Dr.Sean Curtis, Merck’s head of respiratoryand immunology research. Less than 1percent had serious reactions, nearly all

New daily tablets may replace allergy shots

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

FEELING DIZZY?There are several causes — primarilybenign — and treatments for commondizziness

EXERCISE 101How to get started with aerobic exer-cise, weight training and stretching, aswell as meditation

PARKINSON’S GENETIC ROOTSA Parkinson’s study that explores a genelinked to Jewish ancestry is looking forparticipants with and without the disease

HealthFitness &

See ALLERGY PILLS, page 9

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after the first dose. With the new tablets, as they dissolve,

the grass extract inside drains into lymphnodes in the neck, which produce protec-tive antibodies against the effects of pollenthat’s inhaled or gets in the mouth. Sincethe extract is unlikely to enter their blood,patients need only be watched the firsttime, then can take the pills at home.

Pricier than shotsHowever, the tablets are expensive com-

pared with shots: Merck is charging about$8.25 per daily tablet and Stallergenes about$10. Insurers are expected to cover most of

the cost, as they usually do with allergy shots. Shots generally cost only $15 to $25 per

visit without insurance, because they’regiven by a nurse.

Typically, patients get allergy shots ofgradually increasing dosage two or threetimes a week initially, then once a week forup to nine months, then monthly. Afterthree years, at least two-thirds have mini-mal symptoms, while most of the rest havereduced symptoms.

With the tablets, patients start at the topdose, at least three months before allergyseason, and continue through the seasonor even year-round.

Large potential marketPrevalence of hay fever in the U.S. has

declined slightly since 2000, according todata from the National Center for HealthStatistics. In 2012, about 17.6 million adults,or 7.5 percent, reported having hay fever, asdid about 6.6 million children, or 9 percent.Millions more don’t see a doctor and get bywith nonprescription medicines like Be-nadryl or Claritin.

Longtime hay fever sufferer Kim Steen ofSidman, Pennsylvania, participated in one ofMerck’s studies of the new pills last year.

“After the second, maybe third week, Istarted noticing a difference in the symp-toms,” said the 41-year-old contracts ad-ministrator. “It was pretty significant, not

feeling like you have a cold all the time.” Merck has followed study participants

through three years of treatment and thentwo years after that, when patients still re-ported significantly reduced symptoms.

But Cox, the Florida allergist, expectsthat benefit to last at least eight years aftertreatment ends, nearly as long as with al-lergy shots.

It won’t be clear whether the tablets willbe a hit with patients or big moneymakersfor their manufacturers until next spring,when patients and more doctors will be fa-miliar with them.

— AP

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

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Allergy pillsFrom page 8

GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP!A free program of strategies for beating insomnia will be offeredby Dr. Luis Buenaver, behavioral sleep specialist at the Johns

Hopkins Center for Sleep on Thursday, Oct. 2 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the HowardCounty General Hospital Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. For fur-ther information or to register, visit www.hcgh.org or call (410) 740-7601.

JOINT REPLACEMENT SURGERY EXPLAINEDTotal hip and knee surgery will be discussed by Dr. RichardKinnard and past patients of the of the Howard County GeneralHospital’s Joint Academy in a free program on Thursday, Oct. 23

from 7 to 9 p.m. at the hospital’s Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia.Registration is suggested online at www.hcgh.org or by calling (410) 740-7601.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 2

Oct. 23

By Paul Takahashi, M.D.Dear Mayo Clinic: I am 68 and have

periodic spells of dizziness. They don’tlast long, and I don’t seem to have anyother symptoms. Should I see a doc-tor? What might these spells indicate?

A: Dizziness is a common problem withmany possible causes. They can rangefrom relatively minor issues, such as a cer-tain medication triggering dizziness, tomore serious underlying medical prob-lems. When dizziness persists, as in yourcase, it is a good idea to see your doctorand have the condition evaluated.

Although the term “dizziness” sounds

quite specific, there are actually severalkinds of dizziness. One involves feeling aloss of balance, as if you’re unsteady on yourfeet or feel like you may fall. Another in-cludes a sensation of being lightheaded orfeeling faint, as if you might pass out. A thirdis feeling as if you’re spinning or that theworld is spinning around you. This type ofdizziness is called vertigo.

It is helpful for you to be able to de-scribe to your doctor exactly what you’reexperiencing during episodes of dizziness.Your description can offer clues to the po-tential source of the problem. For exam-ple, conditions that affect the balance

mechanism in your inner ear frequentlylead to dizziness with a feeling of vertigothat happens when you move your head.

One such condition is called benignparoxysmal positional vertigo, or BPPV. Oneof the most common causes of vertigo,BPPV is characterized by brief episodes ofmild to intense feelings of spinning. Thespinning sensations are triggered by specificchanges in the position of your head, such astipping your head up or down, or by lyingdown, turning over or sitting up in bed.When you keep your head still, symptoms ofBPPV improve.

Another frequent cause of dizziness isreduced blood flow to your entire brain.This can be triggered by a common condi-tion known as orthostatic hypotension orpostural hypotension.

The disorder is a form of low blood pres-sure that happens when you stand up fromsitting or lying down. It often causes briefepisodes of lightheadedness just after youstand and improves after you’ve been uprightfor a minute. Dehydration can also lowerblood flow to the brain and lead to dizziness.

More serious conditions related to re-duced blood flow to the brain include car-diovascular disorders, such as hardeningof the arteries, or arteriosclerosis, andheart rhythm problems. A tumor or massin the brain also can lead to dizziness. If

left untreated, these conditions tend to getworse over time.

May be caused by drugsSome types of prescription drugs can

cause dizziness. Some of the common onesinclude antidepressants, medications thatcontrol high blood pressure, sedatives,anti-seizure medications and tranquilizers.

A thorough physical evaluation, as wellas additional tests and exams based onyour situation can help your doctor deter-mine a diagnosis. Reviewing your symp-toms, medical history, family history andcurrent medications with your doctor mayoffer some clues.

When dizziness keeps coming back, it’simportant to have the condition evaluated. Ifleft unchecked, dizziness puts you at risk forfalling and that can lead to serious injury. Somake an appointment to see your doctor.

If you develop other symptoms alongwith your dizziness — such as chest pain,shortness of breath, heart palpitations,changes in your vision or speech, leg orarm weakness, or seizures — seek emer-gency medical care right away. Thesecould be symptoms of a serious medicalproblem, such as a heart attack or stroke.

© 2014 Mayo Foundation for Medical Ed-ucation and Research. All rights reserved.Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Causes, treatments for common dizziness10 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com O C O T B E R 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

BOOST YOUR BRAINDr. Majid Fotuhi teaches you how to improve your brain power atany age. The free three-part series at the Miller Branch Library

starts with learning which foods can make your memory sharper and stronger at7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 30. The Dec. 8 session covers stress and the brain, andJan. 8 looks at sleep. The library is located at 10375 Little Patuxent Pkwy.,Columbia To register, go to http://hclibrary.org or call (410) 313.1950.

ROBINSON NATURE CENTER OPEN HOUSEIn celebration of its third anniversary, the Robinson Nature Centerwill hold an open house on Sunday, Sept. 21 from noon to 5 p.m.The event will feature live animal presentations, guided nature

walks, and tours of its planetarium and arboretum. The center is located at 6692Cedar Ln., Columbia. Call (410) 313-0400 for more information.

BEACON BITS

Sept. 30+

Sept. 21

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 11

BROOKE GROVE RETIREMENT VILLAGE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO ATTEND AN

Please RSVP to Toni Davis at 301-388-7209 or tdavis@bgf.org by October 25.

OPEN HOUSETuesday, October 28, 2014

10 A.M. – 12:30 p.m.

TThhee MMeeaaddoowwss AAssssiisstteedd LLiivviinngg •• 11663355 HHiicckkoorryy KKnnoollll RRooaadd •• SSaannddyy SSpprriinngg,, MMDD 2200886600

Assisted living

For more than 60 years, Brooke Grove Retirement Village has built a history of excellence in Montgomery County.

Explore our residential-style homes, gardens and secure walking paths.Discover our innovative approach and programs including those designed to stimulate memory.

Meet our staff, trained in assisting those with Alzheimer’s and memory loss.Enjoy our 220-acre campus and our live-in pets.

RReessiiddeennttiiaall CCoottttaaggeess iinnddeeppeennddeenntt LLiivviinngg SSkkiilllleedd NNuurrssiinngg CCaarree MMeemmoorryy ssuuppppoorrtt RReehhaabbiilliittaattiioonn

18100 Slade School Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860

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

By Howard LeWine, M.D. andMichael Craig Miller, M.D.

Q: I’m a 66-year-old man. My doc-tor told me I need to exercise more tomaintain good health. What’s the bestexercise for a man my age? How oftenshould I do it? What symptoms shouldI watch out for?

A: Great to hear that you’re taking yourdoctor’s suggestions to heart!

Physical training should include threeparts: aerobic exercise, resistance (weight)training and stretching. I also recommendbalance exercises for anyone in their 60’s.Tai Chi is an excellent choice.

Aerobic exercise is what you will domost days of the week. So choose some-thing that’s appealing. No matter what you

choose, start at a low pace.Walking and jogging are easiest be-

cause you don’t need to go to a gym or buyexpensive equipment. My favorite is ridinga stationary bike. I personally enjoy itmore than running, and it’s easier on myjoints.

You should do resistance training two tothree times per week, and never two daysin a row. Start with low resistance (lightweights). Don’t increase the weight untilyou can comfortably do three sets of 8 to12 repetitions.

Always warm up before any exercise,even after you become more advanced.Take 5 to 10 minutes while you slowlybring your heart rate up.

I recommend stretching after exercise.

This way your muscles are warm. Stretch-ing should feel good. Be gentle and gradu-ally increase how far you go with eachstretch.

The goal is to start slowly. Work up tohigher intensity gradually. That way,you’re less likely to injure your muscles,joints and tendons.

Symptoms to be concerned about dur-ing exercise include:

a) Chest pain.b) Severe shortness of breath.c) Feeling like you might pass out.d) A sudden, drenching sweat or cold

sweat. (Sweating is good, but it shouldcome on gradually during exercise.)

If you experience any of these symp-toms, stop exercising immediately. Don’t

restart any exercise without first talking toyour doctor.

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.

Q: How do you pull yourself out of afunk or slight depression?

A: Mood shifts frequently result fromminor or trivial disappointments. So, muchthat gets us down is inconsequential. Yet itcan be quite difficult to let meaninglessmatters go.

A small funk can turn into a persistentdepressive episode. Therefore, early de-

Exercise and meditation for beginners12 Fitness & Health | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com O C O T B E R 2 0 1 4 — H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N

FIVEEE STAR MEMORY CARE, BBRINNGINNNNGG BBACK THE joy in life

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822020 S Snowdwdwden R Rivi er Parkway • Columbia, MD 21045410-313-9744www.SomerfordPlaceColumbia.com© 2014 Five Star Quality Care, Inc.

SOMERFORD PLACEFrrroomm F ivvvvve StStarra D Dinninnngg,g to o our awwwarra d‐wwiwinnnininnnng g BrBriddgege t o o o ReeR did scs oovoveery™y™lllifefesstylylylylyle, ourur memem mmmom ryry cacaareee b b riringngn ssbab cck l l l l l life’s sisimpmpmpleleessts joyoyo s.ssHeHeHH rerererere, our rerrer sissidededentntn s s rrreddiiscsscs ovovovererrefafaff vvvvovov riitete disshehehehesss, a andnddd ; ; ;inininnd d d d suuccccccesesee s s s ataattmmmemm aaltitimme, wiwiiiththttt a a m m menene u u u u u inspspirirrededded b byyycccec leebrrb iti y chhheefe Brarad d MiMMiller, spspeeciaallevenentss, , and d d a a caring t t teaeam of e expxxpertsssby t theeh iir sididi e.e.

SeeMEDITATION, page 15

DIABETES SCREENING

Meet with a registered nurse to receive a free diabetes screening

including a glucose blood test, body mass index measurement, and weight man-

agement information on Tuesday, Oct. 21 between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., or on

Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Howard County General Hospital

Wellness Center, 10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. Fasting eight hours prior to the

test is recommended. For more information and to register for an appointment,

call (410) 740-7601 or visit www.hcgh.org.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 21+

By Carol SorgenOne million people in the United States

(five million worldwide) suffer fromParkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegen-erative disease second only to Alzheimer’sin numbers of people affected.

Motor symptoms of PD include tremor,stiffness and/or slowing of movement, andwalking problems. Parkinson’s can also af-fect neurological and mental health. Whilethey vary from person to person, somecommon non-motor symptoms include de-pression, memory loss and loss of smell.

The cause of PD is unknown, but 10 per-cent of all cases can be traced to genetics.The LRRK2 gene, in particular, is an im-portant known genetic contributor toParkinson’s disease. A LRRK2 mutation isfound among 15 percent of Parkinson’sdisease patients of Ashkenazi Jewish an-cestry.

While having a mutation in the LRRK2gene can increase your chances of devel-oping Parkinson’s disease, many peoplewith the mutation will not go on to developthe disease.

The LRRK2 gene is the subject of in-tense investigation by Parkinson’s diseaseresearchers around the world because ofits potential to lead to medical break-throughs for all people with PD, not justthose with a genetic form.

Over the past decade, studies focusedon the genetics of Parkinson’s diseasehave pursued a “disease-modifying treat-ment” — a therapy that can slow or stopthe progression of PD. To date, no disease-modifying treatment has been discovered— it is the single greatest unmet need ofParkinson’s patients today.

For this reason, families of AshkenaziJewish heritage that carry a LRRK2 muta-tion have a vital role to play in this re-search.

Jewish volunteers neededOne study in particular, the Parkinson’s

Progression Markers Initiative (PPMI), is

seeking to learn more about how theLRRK2 gene can sometimes lead toParkinson’s disease.

PPMI is a $60 million dollar landmarkclinical study being conducted by theMichael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’sResearch. It is taking place at 32 clinicalsites worldwide, including Baltimore’sJohns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

The goal of PPMI is to identify indica-tors of PD progression to ultimately enableearly and accurate detection, and potential-ly to help identify new and better treat-ments for future generations of peoplewith Parkinson’s.

PPMI is seeking volunteers to partici-pate in this study who meet either of thefollowing criteria:

• people with PD who are of AshkenaziJewish ancestry, or

• people without PD who are related tosomeone with PD, and are of Eastern Eu-ropean Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.

Genetic testing for the purposes of par-ticipating in PPMI is available to individu-als of Ashkenazi Jewish descent at nocharge.

Individuals with blood-related ancestorsfrom Eastern European Jewish communi-ties are needed if they have had PD for anylength of time and are of any age, or do nothave PD, are over 50 years old, and are re-lated to someone who does have PD.

What the study entailsParticipation in PPMI involves:1. A brief PPMI online survey — Visit

www.michaeljfox.org/ppmigenetics to findout if you may qualify for genetic testing inPPMI at no cost.

2. A genetic test — If you are eligible forgenetic testing for the purposes of PPMI,you will be contacted by a PPMI represen-tative and sent a “saliva kit” to provide aDNA sample for genetic testing.

3. Counseling and results — All PPMIvolunteers who complete genetic testingwill receive genetic counseling at no cost

to review the results of their genetic test.4. A visit to a PPMI site — Based on the

results of your genetic test, you may be in-vited to participate in additional tests andevaluations at Johns Hopkins.

Because PPMI is an observationalstudy, participants do not take any experi-mental drug or placebo.

All costs associated with activities thatare part of this study, including the genetictest, are covered by the research study.You do not need to disclose your results toyour health insurance company.

For more information or to volunteer,visit www.michaeljfox.org/ppmigeneticsor call 1-888-830-6299.

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Fitness & Health 13

Do You ExperienceMemory Problems?

For more information, please call 410.494.0193

www.NeurExpand.com

Enroll now in a clinical study at the NeurExpand Brain Center.

A clinical study is underway to evaluate the effects of two dietary supplements, Fruitflow® (tomato extract) and Resveratrol (grape extract) on memory, lblood flow, and fitness. Dr. Majid Fotuhi, Medical Director of the NeurExpand Brain Center is the Principal Investigator.

You may qualify to participate if you:

primary care physician

Call today to see if you are eliglible.

SM

SM

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

Study explores Parkinson’s genetic roots

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

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

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

CALL TODAY!

Want to Prevent Falls in the Elderly?Seeking Men and Women to participate in a research study

at the University of Maryland &Veterans Affairs of Baltimore to better understand balance and the

prevention of falls in aging individuals.You will receive:

• Health evaluation• Balance, step, strength, and/or flexibility exercises

• Compensation for your time

and earned another master’s, this time incity and regional planning.

Soon after finishing school, Matthews re-located to St. Louis, Mo., where he beganhis career in government administration.He worked there for more than 17 years,and was assistant city manager, director offinance and administration and eventuallycity manager of Webster Groves, a suburbin St. Louis County.

St. Louis was where he first met Barbarain 1988. She was also a native Virginianand working as an assistant city manager.They were close friends for over 13 yearsbefore they married.

Managing planned communitiesIn the summer of 2004, the couple de-

cided to relocate back to Virginia to helpcare for Barbara’s mother, who had cancer.

After interviewing with the Reston Asso-

ciation, Matthews realized he’d found ahome. “I liked what I saw,” he said simply.He was named CEO in 2004.

Matthews said he is proud of his accom-plishments there, especially the changesto the Fairfax Comprehensive plan toallow for the redevelopment of the DullesQuarter. Among other things, that madeMetro’s new Silver Line, which began op-erating this summer, possible.

He was able to accommodate and man-age the parties involved, which includedthe residents, some of whom were afraidof the changes to the community, and thedevelopers, “who wanted to make suretheir investments were going to add valueto the community but also be profitable,”he explained.

He is also proud of the working relation-ship he helped develop among senior staffmembers of the association, and the factthat he was able to become the public faceof the association throughout the commu-nity — what he calls his “external” role.

Over the next 20 years, the population inReston is projected to rise dramatically.“The major influx of residents indicate thatredevelopment is necessary,” andMatthews was able to work through itspreliminary stages.

He believes his experiences in Virginiawill be very helpful to the challenges hefaces in his new position here. Like Re-ston, Columbia is undergoing redevelop-ment.

The city of Columbia is larger than Re-ston, numbering over 100,000 to Reston’s60,000. Because of this, “the programs andservices we are offering are much moreexpansive than they are in the Reston com-munity,” Matthews said.

Advocating for older adultsMatthews’ objectives are strongly influ-

enced by his experiences. For example,being raised by his great-grandparentsmay have given him a unique perspectiveon older adults. One of his goals is to make

Columbia more walkable for the city’sgrowing population of seniors, as well asfamilies with children.

“Older adults in the community aremoving out of larger homes back into con-dos, townhomes and apartments, and theywant walkable communities where fewercars are required,” he said.

One of Matthews’ community responsi-bilities is serving on Howard County’sOlder Adults Advisory Committee, whichis currently drawing up a 20-year MasterPlan for the Aging Population.

In addition, the CA has its own Compre-hensive Plan for Serving Older Adults, andthe association’s senior advisory commit-tee is very active. “We’ll be hearing fromthem more and more,” he said.

Matthews plans to emphasize that theCA must work in tandem with its “commu-nity partners,” including Howard CountyGeneral Hospital, Howard CommunityCollege and the Howard Hughes Corpora-tion, a real estate development and man-agement company.

Though he runs a nonprofit corpora-tion, one thing Matthews doesn’t intend tolose sight of is what he calls profitability.“We have to be profitable [precisely] be-cause we’re a social welfare organization.We make a profit, and then put it back intothe community to make it even better,” hesaid.

Matthews also looks forward to sup-porting new developments occurring inthe area, including the construction of theMetropolitan, a large mixed-unit apart-ment complex; the renovation of Merri-weather Post Pavilion; and the Inner Arbor

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

MatthewsFrom page 1

SeeMATTHEWS, page 15

WORLD WAR IICODE CRACKING Jennifer Wilcox of the

National Security Agency’s NationalCryptology Museum will speak onthe crucial role of the “enigmamachines” during World War II in afree lecture on Wednesday, Oct. 1 atthe Jewish Federation of HowardCounty, 10360 Little Patuxent Pkwy.,Columbia. For more information, callSophie Novinsky at (410) 730-4976or visit jewishhowardcounty.org.

CPR COURSE Earn an AmericanHeart Associationcard at completion of

its CPR course offered onWednesday, Oct. 8 from 5:30 to 9:30p.m. at Howard County GeneralHospital Wellness Center, 10710Charter Dr., Columbia. The course,including instruction in clearing air-ways from obstructions and using anautomated external defibrillator, willbe repeated on Monday, Oct. 21. Feeis $55. To register or for more infor-mation, visit www.hcgh.org or call(410) 740-7601.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 1

Oct. 8+

Trust, which has been approved to buildan art park on the grounds of SymphonyWoods.

“I’m most excited for the redevelop-ment and being part of it,” he said. “Un-derstanding that we’re going through thisphase is very important for the ongoing vi-ability and desirability of the community.”

Tandem careersBeing career-driven can certainly make

it complicated for marriage. Luckily forMatthews, Barbara is equally motivated.

Their secret to a successful marriage?“Respecting each other’s career desiresand being supportive,” he explained. “We

got married later in life, and we knew whowe were. I would not change her, and shewould not change me.”

In his free time, Matthews enjoys run-ning, listening to jazz and going to thegym. Though no longer a marathon run-ner, he plans to start running again in Co-lumbia, joining many of the city’s runningresidents.

As the new face of the Columbia Associ-ation, residents can expect to seeMatthews at events and activities through-out the community.

“The quality of life in a community doesnot exist by happenstance. It’s a concertedeffort by a lot of different parties,” he said.“I want Columbia Association to be one ofthose key parties, leading the others tomake that happen.”

tection is vital.Often, a mood shift starts as an automat-

ic reaction to a small disturbance. You canprevent or interrupt a funk by becoming abetter observer of your thoughts. Pay at-tention to reactions that you usually allowto happen mindlessly. The simple act ofpaying attention can help you control yourreactions.

Some experts recommend practicingmindfulness meditation to become a better

observer of your thoughts. Sitting quietly,focus on your breath. You’ll probably no-tice your mind running away with itself.Refocus on your breath.

Upsetting, irritating or anxiety-provok-ing thoughts may continue to bubble up.Try to cultivate a less critical attitude to-ward them. Notice instead what, if any-thing, is triggering them.

There are proven benefits to this kind ofpractice, but you don’t have to meditate tobe mindful. Your goal can be simpler:

— Recognize the patterns that makeyou feel sour.

— Don’t just give yourself over to thebad feelings.

— Ask whether the triggers are reallyworth the distress you feel.

It’s at this point that you can try to re-fresh yourself or press your own resetbutton. Take a break. Connect with afriend or family member you like. Exer-cise. Do something you enjoy. Use a re-laxation technique. If it appeals to you,meditate.

You may continue to be stuck. Your badfeelings may persist or recur. The triggermay be something important rather than

trivial. If that’s the case, then you maywant to seek help from a professional whocan help you evaluate the problem.

Michael Craig Miller, M.D., is an assistantprofessor of psychiatry at Harvard MedicalSchool and an associate physician at Beth Is-rael Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, Mass.He is a senior medical editor at HarvardHealth Publications.

For additional consumer health informa-tion, visit www.health.harvard.edu.

© 2014 President and Fellows of HarvardCollege. All rights reserved. Distributed byTribune Content Agency, LLC.

MeditationFrom page 12

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

MatthewsFrom page 14

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

ALL AGES WILL ENJOY THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDING:EXPO

Baltimore County Department of Aging50+

Wednesday, October 9, 20139 a.m. to 6 p.m.Thursday, October 10, 20139 a.m. to 4 p.m.Timonium Fairgrounds

ALL AGES WILL ENJOY THE FOLLOWING SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDING:

• Encounter over 300 exhibitors with information and specialty products

• See two days of continuous entertainment on the Main Stage

• Experience free exercise classes in the Senior Center Demonstration Area

• Unearth a treasure in the Silent Auction

• Determine the best older adult artist in the Power of Age Art Show/Exhibit

• Locate preventive health screenings and flu/pneumonia vaccinations

• Explore how to make a difference at the RSVP Volunteer Fair• Visit the Vetaran Resource Muster for resources and information• Explore vocational counseling and search for a new job at the Employment Fair

EXPO

Baltimore County Department of Aging550+

Speciial performancce by

WEDNESDDAY, OCTOOBER 22 • • 4-6 P.MM.

The Original DRIFTERS

BABY BOOMER/SENIOR EXPO 2014

Wednesday, October 22, 2014 • 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.Thursday, October 23, 2014 • 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Timonium Fairgrounds

ADMISSION: $2 or two cans of

non-perishable food. Free Gift - Document Organizer

Sponsored by BGE & GBMC

410-887-2594 • www.seniorexpoonline.com

VOLUME 4, NO. 10 • OCTOBER 2014

By Dayna Brown, Office onAging Administrator

AARP’s Life Reimagined is allabout helping older adults discovernew possibilities and connect with acommunity of people pursuing similarpassions and goals both on andoffline. The Office on Aging is

honored to have Anne Herbster, one of the creative forcesbehind Life Reimagined, as the keynote speaker at our 16thannual 50+EXPO, coming up on Friday, October 17 atWilde Lake High School.

The 50+EXPO has always been about planning for thefuture and healthy aging, but this year we are taking it a stepfurther and encouraging attendees to take an active role indesigning the next chapter of their lives. Based on herexperiences with Life Reimagined, Anne Herbster will bring herpublic speaking and creative thinking skills to the 50+EXPO tohelp her audience identify their “what’s next” possibilities.

More than 160 exhibitors and vendors will also be at thisyear’s 50+EXPO, making it easier for you to find resources tohelp you meet today’s needs and prepare for tomorrow’schallenges, all under one roof. While you’re there, pick up afree copy of the 2015 Howard County Resource Guide, andbe sure to visit the new Howard County Showcase in ExhibitHall B. View the full schedule of 50+EXPO events andactivities online at www.howardcountyaging.org/50plusexpo.Don’t miss it and I hope to see you there!

October brings not only the 50+EXPO, but also the startof Medicare’s open enrollment period, which runs October15 through December 7. Our State Health InsuranceAssistance Program (SHIP) has planned a series ofinformation events (see the article and schedule in this issue)to help current Medicare recipients review their coverageplans to be sure they have the one that best fits their needs.Call SHIP at 410-313-7392 to schedule your appointment.

Looking ahead, November is National Family CaregiverMonth, so mark your calendars to attend “The CaregivingJourney: Making Your Way,” the 3rd annual CaregiverWorkshop on Saturday, November 22 from 8 a.m. to 3p.m. at the North Laurel Community Center. Join us toshare and learn from Office on Aging staff, serviceproviders and, perhaps most importantly, other caregivers.Respite care is available, and breakfast and lunch areincluded, but you must RSVP by November 14 to attend!And remember, if you have questions about caregiving, orneed information or a referral, call Maryland Access Pointfor assistance at 410-313-5980.

Explore “Your Next Chapter” at the

16th Annual 50+EXPOWith people living longer and

redefining traditional notions of agingand retirement, a new life stage hasemerged, according to AARP LifeReimagined (lifereimagined.aarp.org).For many people in their 50s, 60s andbeyond, this new lifestage is strengthened byyears of experience,accumulated knowledgeand wisdom, and feelingsof optimism for thepossibilities ahead.

This year, with the helpof Life Reimagined’sAnne Herbster andothers, the 50+EXPOwill help adults inHoward County explorethose possibilities as they contemplatetheir own “Next Chapter.” Join us onFriday, October 17 from 10 a.m. to 4p.m. at Wilde Lake High School inColumbia.

“We found that people didn’t knowhow to get started to achieve their

dreams, or uncover things thatinterested them but that they neverpushed to the forefront,” saysHerbster, Director of Life ReimaginedLive Experiences for AARP. “LifeReimagined is like having a GPS

system to guide youthrough making lifechanges.”

To find out more aboutLife Reimagined, don’t missAnne Herbster’s lively andengaging keynote addressin the Jim Rouse Theatre at10 a.m. Admission is free. Aseries of engaging seminarswill also be offeredthroughout the day,including:

• Designing Your Life’s NextChapter: Candy Spitz, LCSW, PCC,BCC, Career/Life Coach at UnlimitedPaths Coaching will lead participantsthrough exercises and discussion toexpand their awareness of how totransition into the next phase of life.

• Anatomy of a Scam —How to Detect & Avoid theLatest Cons: RebeccaBowman, Administrator ofHoward County Office ofConsumer Affairs, remindsconsumers that new scams popup every day; escape their reachby learning the tell-tale signs thatan offer may be a con. • Wisdom Through the

Ages: Leah Turner, M.Ac.,L.Ac. and Molly Dearstine,M.Ac., L.Ac., Acupuncturistsfrom WisdomWell FamilyAcupuncture & Wellness,explore how Chinese medicinecan support you through theseasons of your life.

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.

!"#$%&'!()*+&,-./0&!)&123)24567&'!8(9:3#&;#*0"#+&<$=

'!8(9:3#>&?<&@7AB4B7ACD7DC4B7A

"""=E!"#$%/!()*+#23)2=!$2"""=F#/0:!!G=/!9H !'!'3*3I0)<#+)#&?=&J$!")>&1%93)3K*$#*!$

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

Anne Herbster

See 50+EXPO, page 20

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

Visit the all new HOWARD COUNTY SHOWCASE in Exhibit Hall Band enter our drawing for YOUR chance to win a Big Screen TV!

Attend the exciting keynote, LIFE REIMAGINED, a new AARP program,along with dynamic seminars to help you discover YOUR NEXT CHAPTER.

Donate at locations on-site to the VIVIAN REID FUND, which provides emergency financial assistance to older adults in Howard County.

Use the FREE COURTESY SHUTTLE from The Mall in Columbia for a STRESS-FREE parking experience. On-site parking is very limited.

Friday, October 17 • 9:00 AM - 4:00 PMWilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia 21044

• FREE ADMISSION • 160+ EXHIBITORS • HEALTH FAIR • FLU SHOTS • SEMINARS • ENTERTAINMENT

If you need this information in an alternate format, or need accommodations to attend this event, call Maryland Access Point at 410-313-5980 at least one week in advance.

410-313-6410 (VOICE/RELAY)www.howardcountyaging.org/50plusexpowww.facebook.com/hococitizen

GOLD LEVEL SPONSORSBGE • Evergreens at Columbia Town Center • GGP - The Mall in Columbia • Howard County Health Department • Keller Williams, The Silver Group of the Bob Lucido Team • LifeBridge HealthLorien Health Systems • Orthopaedic Associates of Central Maryland • St. Agnes Healthcare

MEDIA SPONSORSBaltimore Sun Media Group • Focus on Women Magazine • Guide to Retirement Living SourceBook • Her Mind Magazine • RTA (Regional Transportation Agency of Central MD) • The Beacon Newspapers • The Business Monthly

PLATINUM LEVEL SPONSORS

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

The Senior Connection

CALENDAR OF EVENTSWednesday, October 1, 7 p.m.Paws4Comfort Pet Evaluations • Bain CenterWant to volunteer with your pet? Paws4Comfort pet evaluations andinformation sessions are held the first Wednesday of each month. RSVP to Ingrid Gleysteen at 410-313-7461.

Thursday, October 2, 6:30 to 8 p.m.Prepare to Care • Linden Hall, 4765 Dorsey Hall Dr., Ellicott CityLearn about services and programs to assist aging family members, how toassess needs, and design a care plan. Free; call 410-313-5980 to register.

October 6 through 10, Hours varyArt Appreciation Week • Ellicott City Senior CenterEnjoy 5 days of art-filled programs: Plus Art, Name that Tune, Movies,plus a Thirst ‘N Howl performance and an Art Reception. Call 410-313-1400 for details.

Tuesday, October 7, 10 to 11 a.m.Fall Gardening with Carrie Engle • Glenwood 50+CenterJoin TV personality Carrie Engle from Valley View Farms for a talk onFall gardening tips. Call 410-313-5440 for details.

Tuesday, October 7, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.Maryland Technology Assistance Program Trip • SeniorsTogetherJoin the Low-vision group on a visit to MdTap to learn about low-visionaides, assistive devices and independent living programs. No cost for bus orvisit; bring money for lunch. Space is limited; call 410-313-7353 to register.

Tuesday, October 7, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.Opera Lovers & Lunch • Bain CenterOpera returns to Bain with a new presentation by Dr. Sam Stern. Cost: $13; call 410-313-7213 to register by Oct. 1.

Wednesday, October 8, Doors open at 10:30 a.m.Memphis at Toby’s • Glenwood 50+CenterMeet us at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Columbia to see this hot newBroadway musical (transportation is on your own). Cost: $45; call 410-313-5440 to order tickets.

Wednesday, October 8, 11 a.m.Soundtrack of Our Lives: Elvis to the Beatles • East Columbia 50+ CenterJoin Dr. Keesling to relive the music, fads, fashions and trivia of the time.Cost: lunch donation; call 410-313-7680 to register.

Fridays, starting October 10, 1 to 2:30 p.m.Exploring the Creative Arts • Bain CenterTake a closer look at the creative arts with art professors and museumdocents; enjoy live performances and engaging discussions! Space islimited; call Elaine Widom, 410-313-7353 to register by October 3.

Tuesday, October 14, 11 a.m.Duct Tape Tote • East Columbia 50+ CenterMake a beautiful, sturdy tote from duct tape! Cost: $15; includes allmaterials. Call 410-313-7680 to register.

Wednesday, October 15, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.Share Your Apps! • Bain Center LobbyJoin us to learn all about apps; add new apps to your smart phone, ipad,or tablet, or share the ones you love! Space is limited; call 410-313-7213to register.

Wednesday, October 15, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oktoberfest Luncheon • North Laurel 50+ CenterCelebrate Oktoberfest with German fare and live entertainment. Tickets:$3 plus lunch contribution. For more information, call 410-313-0380.

Wednesday, October 15, Maryland Zoo Visit • Elkridge Senior CenterExperience an interactive visit with live animals from the Maryland Zoo.Cost: $5 plus optional lunch donation. Call 410-313-5192 to pre-registerand order lunch.

Wednesday, October 15, 1 to 2:30 p.m.Power Over Pain • North Laurel 50+ CenterA SeniorsTogether program, Power Over Pain will help you sustain apositive attitude, identify resources, and share concerns with others livingwith chronic pain. Free; call 410-313-0380 to register or contact KarenHull, 410-313-7466 for details.

Tuesdays, October 21-December 9, 2:30 to 4 p.m. Digital Storytelling • Bain Center Learn how to tell your story digitally using Microsoft powerpoint withvoice recordings, music and pictures; guidance provided for those withlimited computer skills. Cost: $40; register by Oct. 14 with the BainCenter registrar.

Tuesdays, October 21-30, 1 to 3 p.m. Autumn Colors in Watercolor • North Laurel 50+ CenterImprove your basic skills in watercolor painting; learn to drawpreliminary sketches and explore the use of autumn colors. Cost: $32for 4 sessions. Call 410-313-0380 to register by Oct. 16.

Wednesday, October 22, 9 a.m. to noonRetirement: Love it! Hate It! Your Choice • East Columbia 50+ CenterExplore the psychological, emotional and social challenges of retirement,and discover activities to add zest to your life. Cost: $10 for materialsand lunch donation. Call 410-313-7680 to register.

Wednesday, October 22, 12:30 p.m.Greg Lupton Performs • Ellicott City Senior CenterGreg’s show is a one-hour interactive experience; sing-a-long as heperforms American ragtime, boogie-woogie, stride, blues and jazz on thepiano. Call 410-313-1400 for details.

Wednesday, October 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.Prepare to Care • Kahler Hall, 5440 Old Tucker Rd., ColumbiaLearn about services and programs to assist aging family members, how toassess needs, and design a care plan. Free; call 410-313-5980 to register.

Friday, October 24, 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Fall Art Workshop: Cake Decorating • North Laurel 50+ CenterLearn basic techniques to decorate treats; create borders, designs,flowers, garlands and swirls. Cost: $12; includes all materials. Call 410-313-0380 to register by Oct. 22.

Friday, October 24, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.Gettysburg Outlet Trip • Elkridge Senior CenterEnjoy the fall foliage in Thurmont and a buffet lunch at the MountainGate Restaurant, then head to the Gettysburg Outlets for an afternoonof shopping. Cost: $35; call 410-313-5192 for details.

Tuesdays, starting October 28, 12:30 to 2 p.m.Bereavement Group • SeniorsTogetherThose mourning the loss of a loved one (bereaved more than twomonths and less than two years) are encouraged to join a supportivegroup explore life beyond grief. Nominal fee applies; call 410-313-7466to pre-register.

Wednesday, October 29, NoonCulture, Conversation and Cuisine • Glenwood 50+CenterJoin the staff for a taste of Germany and Oktoberfest – enjoy authenticfood, history, trivia and more! Cost: $6; call 410-313-5440 to register.

Friday, October 31, 11:45 a.m.Halloween Lunch & Show • Ellicott City Senior Center Enjoy a Spooktacular lunch and show featuring “The Grey Legends” folkrevival and sing-a-long. Win prizes for best costumes! Cost: $15; call 410-313-1400 for details and tickets.

Thursday, November 13, Doors open at 10:30 a.m.Thanksgiving Celebration • Ten Oaks Ballroom, 5000 Signal Bell Ln., ClarksvilleEnjoy a festive meal of roast turkey with all the trimmings, plus music bythe Retro Rockets. Cost: $13; tickets on sale at senior centers. Bringcanned goods to donate to the Howard County Food Bank.

Saturday, November 22, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.The Caregiving Journey: Making Your Way • North Laurel 50+ CenterDon’t miss the 3rd annual Caregiver Conference. For more informationor to register, call 410-313-5980 or email map@howardcountymd.gov.Reservation deadline for lunch/respite care is Friday, Nov. 14.

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

H O WA R D C O U N T Y B E A C O N — O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 19

The Senior Connection

Medicare Open Enrollment ishere: Time to

review your planYes, it’s that time again. Even if

you’re happy with your currentMedicare prescription drug plan,you should make sure the planwill still work well for you in 2015.Open enrollment is from October15 to December 7, with thechanges effective January 1, 2015.In addition to prescription plans,Medicare Advantage health plans(such as HMOs) also have openenrollment during this period.Why re-shop? One, your

needs change over time; two,every year insurance companieschange their premiums,deductibles, co-pays, lists ofcovered drugs, and lists ofpharmacies where you can getthe best prices. Plans can bebought, sold and merged; somedrop out of the market, whileothers offer new plans that mightwork well for you. The plan thatmet your needs in 2014 may notwork as well for 2015, and theremay be new options that wouldbe a better choice for you. People who stay in the same

plan without checking could bein for a nasty surprise in January,when they get a hefty premiumhike or find out that themedicine they need is no longercovered. Every year, somepeople who re-shop with SHIP inHoward County, or who reviewtheir plans on their own, savehundreds of dollars by switching.Many others stay in the sameplan, but do so knowing that itwill continue to meet their needsin the coming year.Learn how to do your own

prescription plan search usingMedicare’s website or make anappointment for a one-on-onereview by calling SHIP at 410-313-7392. Visit their website atwww.howardcountyaging.org/ship,or see the ad, top right, for aschedule of free enrollment eventsthroughout the county. SHIPcounselors also offer in personassistance at the Bain Center,Ellicott City Senior Center, and the Glenwood and North Laurel50+ Centers.

Medicare Open EnrollmentOctober 15 through December 7, 2014

410-313-7392 (VOICE/RELAY)

EMAIL ship@howardcountymd.govwww.howardcountyaging.org/ship

Information/Counseling • New to Medicare Fraud and Abuse • Prescription Drug PlansSupplemental Policies • Help with Costs

In addition to our regular schedule, take advantage of these special enrollment events!By appointment only; call 410-313-7392

Tuesday, October 21 • 9:00 a.m. - noon Glenwood 50+Center, 2400 Route 97, Cooksville 21723

Friday, October 24 • 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Ellicott City Senior Center, 9401 Frederick Rd., Ellicott City 21042

Wednesday, October 29 • 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Elkridge Senior Center, 6540 Washington Blvd., Elkridge 21075

Know your options. Contact us for help.For a complete schedule of enrollment events, go to www.howardcountymd.gov/SHIP

ALL NEW! Enjoying the Creative Arts

Take a closer look at the creative arts through local art professors, national museum docents, live performances and engaging pre- and post- event discussions!

Meeting on Fridays, 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. at the Bain Center beginning October 10!Space is limited; register by October 3 for the Fall season programs.

If you need accommodations to attend this program, please contact MAP at 410-313-5980 at least one week prior to the program.

To register, contact Elaine Widom410-313-7353 (VOICE/RELAY)EMAIL ewidom@howardcountymd.gov

For more details, visit us at www.howardcountyaging.org/seniorstogether

DISCUSSION GROUP

• Eat This, Treat That: Brooks Wuerdemann, M.Ac., MQP,Chinese Medicine Practitioner at WisdomWell Family Acupuncture &Wellness helps you discover the secret healing properties of foods andherbs hidden in your kitchen.

• Sleep from A to Zzzzz’s - How to Sleep Well as You Age:Raya Wehbeh, M.D., Neurology Associate and Sleep MedicineSpecialist at NeurExpand Brain Center will focus on common sleepproblems that occur as you age.In addition to the keynote presentation and seminars, the 50+EXPO

will feature more than 160 vendors and exhibitors, flu shots and acomprehensive health fair, plus all day entertainment, includingperformances by the Capitol Steps at noon and 2 p.m. New this year,attendees will have a chance to win a Big Screen TV in the all newHoward County Showcase in Exhibit Hall B, and show their support forthe Vivian Reid Community Fund – an emergency assistance fund forolder adults in Howard County – at donation sites throughout the50+EXPO. For more information and a full schedule of the day’sactivities, visit www.howardcountyaging.org/50plusexpo.

50+EXPOFrom page 17

By Bill Salganik, Counselor, State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)

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

The Senior Connection

The life expectancy for both men andwomen in the United States continues toincrease. This is obviously good news, yetit raises a prospect many fear: that theywill outlive their assets.Interest rates are low and will likely re-

main so for some time, so many peoplenearing or at retirement age are lookingfor financial products that will preservetheir resources through their remainingyears. One worth looking at is a deferred in-

come annuity (DIA), also known as alongevity annuity.

How it worksThe buyer of a DIA, in its simplest form,

invests a lump sum with an insurance com-pany and in return is guaranteed a lifetimeincome stream beginning at a designatedfuture date. (An immediate annuity, bycontrast, guarantees an income stream be-ginning immediately.)Just how large are the payments in that

lifetime income stream? That depends on alot of different factors: current interestrates, life expectancy, the amount of thepremium(s) deposited, the length of the

deferral period, and the various income op-tions.Consider this example, based on typical

rates as of May 2014, taken from the web-site ImmediateAnnuities.com (which, inci-dentally, is a good source of information,as well as rates and quotes from insurancecompanies): If you were to invest a lump sum of

$100,000 at age 55, specifying in your con-tract that you want your income stream tobegin at age 65, you would begin receiving$10,609 a year at that time. With an imme-diate annuity, you would receive $5,621 an-nually, beginning immediately. As expect-ed, the longer the interval between yourinitial investment and the date you elect tobegin receiving your income stream, thelarger your income will be.With DIAs, you have several options re-

garding your income stream. For example,you can choose lifetime income for youonly, or you could select a joint-life optionthat allows another party (such as aspouse), if you predecease him or her, tocontinue to receive the same monthly in-come. Naturally, a joint-life option comes with a

cost: The monthly income will be smallerthan the self-only option (given the samepremium). The insurance company willbase the monthly stream of in-come not only on your age butalso the age of the joint party.Another option is a guaran-

teed income for a specified pe-riod, such as five, 10 or 15years. The longer the speci-fied period, the lower the in-come stream. If you die dur-ing the specified interval, theremaining income paymentswill be made to specified ben-eficiaries.

Options, disadvantages to considerThere are other options that you can dis-

cuss with your insurer. These include rid-ers that protect you from inflation, thatprotect beneficiaries if you die before re-ceiving payments (e.g., by returning tothem the initial lump sum you investedplus nominal interest), or that give you ac-cess to some of your initial premium incase of an emergency. Naturally, adding

any such rider will either increase your up-front cost or decrease your future incomestream.

DIAs need not be pur-chased only with a one-timelump sum. You can buy oneover time in a “flexible premi-um purchase.” If you will beable to make additional pur-chases prior to retirement,consider this option.No one can predict interest

rates, but if you expect themto increase in the near term,you can postpone investingsome of your capital. Howev-er, if you use this strategy, itwill reduce the subsequent

deferral period, which might offset the ad-vantage of higher interest rates.There are two basic disadvantages of

DIAs. The first is that you may die beforeyour time, actuarially speaking. Riders canmitigate this risk, of course, but an annuityis a lot like a bet with an insurance compa-ny that you will live long enough to see a

THE SAVINGSGAMEBy Elliot Raphaelson

Secure for long life with a longevity annuity

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon 21

MoneyNEWS ON DISTRIBUTIONSA new tax rule postpones required distributions from certain annuities

EMPOWER YOUR PORTFOLIOSun and wind energy are part of power company funds called yieldcos

PROFIT IN A DROPMarket “corrections” are inevitable; how to make the most of them

MERGER SURGEA boom in company mergers offers a way to boost your portfolio

Law &

410.337.8900 | www.frankelderlaw.com | 1.888.338.0400

Towson | Columbia | Easton

Medical Assistance Planning and Eligibility

Advance Medical Directives / Living Wills

Trusts / Estate Planning Administration

Wills / Powers of Attorney

Disability Planning / Special Needs Trusts

Guardianship

Frank, Frank& Scherr, LLC––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––Elder Law, Estate & Special Needs Planning

See ANNUITY, page 22

favorable return on your investment. The other risk is loss of liquidity. You

should invest in this type of policy only ifthere is a low probability that you will needaccess to the initial premium prior to thedate when your income stream starts.An investment in DIAs may not do as

well as a long-term diversified investment,

such as a target fund. However, you cantake some comfort in knowing you are re-ceiving a guaranteed positive return.If you decide to purchase a DIA, buy it

only from a company with top rating, suchas A, A+ or A++. Ratings from A.M. Best,Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s are reliable.

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

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

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

By Kimberly LankfordQuestion: I understand that the Treas-

ury Department just changed the taxrules so people can now invest IRAmoney in deferred income annuities with-out worrying about required minimumdistributions. Should I invest in this kindof annuity?Answer: If you’re starting to plan for

retirement income, it’s worth consider-ing. A deferred income annuity lets youinvest a lump sum now and lock in a guar-anteed lifetime payout that starts at a laterdate. [See “Secure for long life with alongevity annuity” on page 38.]Knowing you can count on a guaranteed

income stream after a certain age can helpyou plan withdrawals from the rest of your

savings. And the longer you defer payouts,the bigger the bang for your buck. The required minimum distribution

rules in effect before the Treasury’s rul-ing made it difficult to make the most ofthese annuities. Because you need tostart taking money from traditional IRAsand 401(k)s at age 70 1/2 and pay taxeson the withdrawals, some insurers wouldonly let people invest in deferred annu-ities with money from taxable accounts. Other insurers let people invest IRA

money in deferred income annuities, butrequired them to start receiving payoutsbefore age 70 1/2. The short deferral pe-riod limited the value of their investment.For example, MetLife allowed cus-

tomers to invest in deferred income annu-

ities in their 401(k)s, but required pay-outs to begin at age 70 1/2. Or you couldinvest traditional IRA money in an annuityas long as you agreed to take RMDs fromanother IRA account.

What the new rule does The Treasury Department’s new rule

would permit people to invest up to 25percent of their IRA or 401(k) accountbalance (or $125,000, whichever is less)in a longevity annuity without having totake RMDs on the money. Insurers arenow expected to extend the deferral ageto 80 or 85.The average buyer of deferred income

annuities is about 59 and defers payouts forseven or eight years, said Joe Montminy,

LIMRA Secure Retirement Institute annu-ity research director. Removing the RMDissue creates an opportunity for people toget higher payouts by deferring longer.Montminy expects that more companieswill enter the market and more adviserswill start recommending these products.To keep in mind: It may take a few

months for state regulators to approvechanges to new products from insurers. In-surers are also determining what this meansfor people who bought deferred income an-nuities before the rules were changed.

Kimberly Lankford is a contributing editorto Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

©2014 Kiplinger’s Personal Finance;Distributed by Tribune Content Agency,LLC.

New tax rule adds to value of annuities

AnnuityFrom page 21LEARN HOW TO FOIL SCAM ARTISTS

Beth Silverman, an investigator for the Howard County Office of

Consumer Affairs, will talk about current scams targeting seniors and how to

avoid them on Monday, Oct. 13 at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3604

Chatham Rd., Ellicott City. To register or for more information, visit

www.MillersGrant.org or call 1-877-900-6618.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 13

Learn more by calling (410) 997-0610 or visit www.cogsmd.org

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

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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

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

Coalition of Geriatric Services

October MeetingDate: Wednesday, October 22, 2014Time: 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.

Location: Brightview - Catonsville912 S. Rolling Rd., Catonsville, MD 21228

Speaker: Dr. Clay Souder, PsyDTopic: Suicide and Depression in Older Adults

By Jonathan FaheyYou can now fit a wind or solar farm into

your portfolio, even if your portfolio isn’texactly vast. Energy companies are wrapping renew-

able energy projects and other power-relat-ed assets that generate steady cash intonew companies they hope attract investorshunting for dividends.In an unfortunate victory for corporate

speak, they are called yieldcos. They’rethe electric power industry’s answer toreal estate investment trusts, which dis-tribute rental income to investors, andmaster limited partnerships, which distrib-ute income from oil and gas pipelines to in-vestors.Yieldcos aim to distribute most of the

proceeds from generating or deliveringelectricity to shareholders through asteady stream of dividends. They try togrow the dividend by buying more powerprojects. Analysts say they are a relatively safe

way to invest in renewable energy —much safer, for example, than buyingshares in notoriously volatile solar panelmakers.Warren Buffet agrees. He’s invested $15

billion in the same type of wind and solarprojects that yieldcos own, and he plans todouble that amount.

Promising, but risky, tooBut analysts caution there are risks for

yieldco investors because their popularityhas inflated share prices and the concept isso new.“They are new types of companies, so

we have very little visibility into what theymight evolve into in the future,” said Mi-hoko Manabe, an analyst at Moody’s, thecredit rating agency.

So far, many are doing quite well. NRGYield (NYLD), which was created by thepower producer NRG Energy, went publicin 2103 at $22 a share and is now trading at$54. Next Era Energy Partners (NEP),which was created by the electric utilityNext Era Energy, went public in July at $25and is now trading above $34. TerraFormPower (TERP), created by SunEdison, alsowent public in July at $25 and now tradesnear $30.These yieldcos own power plants that

have entered into long-term power pur-chase agreements at set prices with localutilities. For example, Next Era Energy’sTuscola Bay wind farm in Michigan willsell all of its power over 20 years to DTEEnergy.And assets go beyond wind or solar proj-

ects, or even ones that generate power.Abengoa Yield owns power transmissionlines in Peru and Chile along with solarfarms in Arizona and California. NRGYield owns a coal-fired plant in Delaware.Because these companies own assets

operating under long-term agreements,they aren’t subject to wild swings in theprice of wholesale electricity the way tradi-tional power producers are. The idea isthat while some investors would like to payfor the risk and upside of a traditionalpower producer, many others would ratherhave a steady flow of cash.For the companies, these new businesses

have created a new and cheaper source offunding to buy or build new power projects.“It’s the biggest thing going on in ener-

gy finance,” said Peter Davidson, execu-tive director of the Energy Department’sloans programs office, which lent moneyto projects that are now in yieldco portfo-lios. “We think it’s the next great step inthe evolution of clean tech.”

Other concerns to considerOne big concern for investors is that

share prices could fall, perhaps sharply, ifinterest rates rise. That’s because compa-rable yields will then be available fromsafer investments, such as bonds.Another is that investor enthusiasm in

these companies has pushed yields downso far that some barely justify the nameyieldco. NRG Yield now pays out just 2.7percent, not much more than the 2.2 per-cent that the components of the DowJones industrial Average pay, on average. Investors are banking on fast dividend

growth, which all the companies project.NRG has told investors it hopes to growthe dividend an average 10 to 15 percentper year over the next five years.But that requires buying more projects

at good prices. With more and more yield-

cos chasing these projects, there mightnot be enough to go around, or they mightget too expensive.Manabe, of Moody’s, recommends

sticking with yieldcos controlled by large,stable companies that have many projectsavailable to sell to the yieldco, such asNext Era Energy Partners. It’s controlledby Next Era Energy, the biggest windpower producer in the U.S. and one of thelargest solar power producers.Nathan Kubik, a principal at a Colorado

Springs financial advisory firm, said hethinks yieldcos could have a place in hisclients’ portfolios along with REITs andMLPs — someday.“I like what they are doing,” he said.

“But right now it’s probably a little prema-ture for us to get in. It needs to be proven alittle more.” — AP

Sun and wind energy empower portfoliosHOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 23

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HATFIELD & MCCOY COUNTRY Explore the historic coal mining areas of West Virginia and east-ern Kentucky on a three-day motor tour of the historic sites asso-

ciated with the Hatfield & McCoy feud. The tour leaves from Frederick, Md., onFriday morning, Oct. 3 and returns Sunday evening, Oct. 5. Fee including twonights at Chief Logan Resort State Park Lodge, all meals and admissions is $445per person double occupancy; $485 for singles. For full information, visit the web-site www.coalcountrytours.com or call (540) 233-0543.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 3+

By Anne Kates SmithStock market “corrections” are an in-

evitable part of investing. Since 1932, de-clines of 10 to 20 percent (the traditionaldefinition of a correction) have occurredan average of every two years, accordingto InvesTech Research. Are we due for a big drop? Probably.

The current bull market has brushed off

unfavorable economic news, but there’s noguarantee that it will brush off future dis-appointments. Still, if you believe the bull market has

more room to run, don’t panic when itstumbles. Here’s how to put a downturn togood use.Beef up your buying power. While

stocks continue to hit record highs, take

some profits from your winners and builda cash reserve. When the market finallysinks, scoop up bargains.Prepare a shopping list. Jot down a

list of stocks you’d like to acquire at lowerprices. Wasatch Funds chairman SamStewart said he likes healthcare and wouldstart to nibble at Walgreens (symbol WAG,$71) if it fell to the high $50s. Scott Klimo, director of research at Satur-

na Capital, which manages the Amanafunds, would use a 10-percent correction toadd to a stake in search engine giant Google(GOOG, $585) and BorgWarner (BWA,$66), a leading maker of turbochargers.Don’t miss a stealth correction.

Broad measures such as Standard &Poor’s 500-stock index have been march-ing to new highs, but a closer look at themarket shows that some sectors have al-ready taken big hits and are starting to re-

cover. Two examples: Internet servicesand biotech stocks.Turn off the TV. If a decline starts to

snowball, you’ll hear about it — over andover. “Don’t become your portfolio’s worstenemy by allowing yourself to get caughtup in the negative hysteria,” said Sam Sto-vall, chief stock strategist at S&P Capital IQ.Instead, remind yourself that the markethas experienced 20 drops of 10 to 20 per-cent since World War II (plus 13 bear-mar-ket tumbles of at least 20 percent). Even so,large-company stocks have returned 11.1percent annualized since the war’s end.Have a strategy. You’ve probably heard

of dollar-cost averaging, a strategy of in-vesting a set amount in the market at peri-odic intervals. Consider a correction-market twist:

Invest periodically, but use decline thresh-olds instead of time intervals to determinewhen. For example, you might put a setamount into stock funds in your 401(k)after every 5-percent dip.Anticipate better days: The effects of

corrections don’t last long. After a drop of10 to 20 percent, it typically takes just fourmonths to break even, said Stovall.

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

Survive, even thrive, in market correction24 Law & Money | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

EXPLORE MUSEUMS ON THE MALLWith tourist season over, the National Gallery of Art, Air andSpace Museum and other Smithsonian museums are all an easy

and uncrowded walk from the bus drop off point for a day trip to D.C. on Tuesday,Sept. 30. Sponsored by the Department of Recreation & Parks, the bus leaves at9 a.m. and returns at 4 p.m. Cost is $45, with lunch and itinerary on your own.To register, call (410) 313-7275 or for further information, call (410) 313-7279.

BEACON BITS

Sept. 30

ALL ABOUTADVANCE DIRECTIVES

Howard County General Hospital isoffering a free program on advancedirectives — who needs them, howto get them and how to completethem — on Friday, Sept. 26 from 6 to7 p.m. at the Wellness Center,10710 Charter Dr., Columbia. Formore information or to register, call(410) 740-7601 or visitwww.hcgh.org.

HOW TO DECLUT-TER YOUR HOMESonal Anderson, a

professional organizer, will discussremoving excess clutter in the homeat a free program on Wednesday,Sept. 24 at 11 a.m. at the EllicottCity Senior Center, 9401 FrederickRd., Ellicott City. Call (410) 313-1400 to register.

PROGRESSIVELUNCH TOUR INCARROLL CO.

A full day of historic sights andrestaurants in Westminster andUniontown is scheduled for a triporganized by Recreation & Parks onMonday, Oct. 6, leaving at 9 a.m. andreturning at 6 p.m. For more informa-tion, call (410) 313-7279 or to regis-ter, call (410) 313-7275.

BEACON BITS

Sept. 26

Sept. 24

Oct. 6

By Anne Kates SmithEvery week, it seems, brings news of a

corporate coupling (or at least an invita-tion). Buyouts are brisk in industries rang-ing from technology to healthcare, from fi-nance to consumer goods.Halfway through 2014, U.S. companies

had announced more than 9,000 deals(counting minor ones, including those forparts of businesses), with a collectivevalue of more than $771 billion. “We’re ontrack for the first trillion-dollar year since2007,” said Richard Peterson, who tracksmerger activity for S&P Capital IQ.A number of factors are behind the

boom. Firms have an abundance of cashon corporate balance sheets — some $2trillion for nonfinancial companies in Stan-dard & Poor’s 500-stock index. Credit iseasy, with interest rates low and demandfor corporate bonds robust. And with stockprices at record highs, companies can payfor acquisitions with inflated shares.

High U.S. tax rates play a roleTaxes are also playing a part. Some U.S.

companies are bidding for overseas firmsso they can change their country of incor-poration in a quest for more-favorable in-come tax rates. For instance, Minneapolis-based Medtron-

ic recently announced that it’s buying Covidi-

en, another medical device maker, for $43 bil-lion in cash and stock. Covidien has offices inMansfield, Mass., but the company is regis-tered in Ireland. In addition to the tax advan-tage, the companies have complementaryproduct lines.Shareholders, sometimes spurred by

activist investors, support the takeovertrend. Companies that made an acquisitionin 2013 saw their stock increase by an av-erage of 48 percent for the year, said Bankof America Merrill Lynch.

[Editor’s note: President Obama andsome members of Congress are criticizing themergers, noting they seem primarily de-signed to reduce the companies’ U.S. tax bill,which in turn will add to budget deficits here.

Others point out that U.S. corporate taxrates are the highest in the developed worldand that corporate income is taxed twice,both at the company earnings level andwhen paid to stockholders as dividends.]

Trends of successInvestors looking to cash in on the

merger boom might consider investing instocks of companies with a track record ofsuccessful acquisitions. For example, Valeant Pharmaceuticals

(symbol VRX, $126) recently garneredheadlines for its hostile bid for Allergan(AGN, $169), the maker of Botox. The firm

has executed an aggressive acquisitionstrategy, almost flawlessly, for years, saidMorningstar analyst David Krempa, thusboosting profit margins and reducing therisk of expiring patents. Danaher Corp. (DHR, $79), which man-

ufactures everything from industrial toolsto dental supplies, is a master at consoli-dating businesses, achieving synergiesand maximizing productivity. Danaher ac-quired 14 businesses in 2013; roughly 75percent of its sales growth during the past

five years has come from acquisitions.Deal adviser Lazard (LAZ, $52) could see

double-digit-percentage revenue growththis year as its investment-banking unitprofits from a pickup in dealmaking, saidS&P Capital IQ, which rates the stock a“strong buy.”Finally, consider Merger Fund (MERFX),

a member of the Kiplinger 25. The fund in-vests in stocks of announced takeover targets.

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

How you can profit from the merger surgeHOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Law & Money 25

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26 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

By Glenda C. BoothLENOX, Mass. — A century ago, writer

Edith Wharton wrote of this town in Mas-sachusetts, “Lenox has its own tonic effecton me, and I feel like a new edition, revisedand corrected.”

Wharton’s guest at the time, novelistHenry James, concurred: “I am very happyhere, surrounded by every loveliness of na-ture and every luxury of art, and treated witha benevolence that brings tears to my eyes.”

Lenox, in the heart of the BerkshireMountains in western Massachusetts, haslong attracted writers, artists, performersand vacationers.

The Berkshires, part of the Appalachianmountain chain, still intoxicate and rejuve-nate, whether you are meandering alongthe Housatonic River, climbing 3,491 feetup Mount Greylock, poking around 32quaint towns, admiring fall foliage or en-joying the arts.

The Berkshire region stretches fromConnecticut’s northern border to Ver-mont’s southern border and 40 to 50 milesfrom west to east. If you drive without stop-ping, you can travel from bottom to top inan hour and a half — but you’ll want to stop.

Here you’ll find a gentle melding of thebucolic and the cultural. En route as Irounded a curve on Route 23, I was star-tled by a black bear standing on its hindlegs, front paws planted on the guardrail,evidently poised to cross the road.

Only seven percent of the region is con-sidered to be developed, and half of that isresidential. The area is particularly famousfor its outstanding performance venues, likeTanglewood and Jacob’s Pillow, as well astheater, art, yoga retreats and fine cuisine.

A little over two hours from New YorkCity and Boston, the Berkshires were a fa-vorite summer retreat and playground forthe aristocracy in the Gilded Age, when thebarons of business erected multi-roomed be-hemoths that they called “cottages.” ThinkCarnegies, Vanderbilts and Westinghouses.

These lavish, late 19th century mansestoday offer a glimpse into how the rich gotaway from it all — all except conspicuousconsumption, that is.

Today, you too can get away by exploringpicturesque towns, visiting the mansions,hiking verdant trails, imbibing mountainair, and mellowing out on a local gin, namedEthereal.

Great BarringtonGreat Barrington, population, 7,000, ex-

udes small town charm. It’s a compact,walkable village of cafes, boutiques andeclectic architecture, including a GothicRevival church, a Queen Anne-style man-sion, a 19th century storefront and a salt-box house. Friendly staff at the visitor cen-ter, at 362 Main St., will load you up with awalking tour brochure and local lore.

A marker in front of the courthousehonors the first open resistance to Britishrule in America. Here in 1774, 1,500 un-armed men obstructed court business toprotest British edicts, according to theGreat Barrington Historical Society(www.gbhistory.org).

The town was also the first in the worldto enjoy electric streetlights and electriclights in homes, another historic markerstates. In 1886, William Stanley demon-strated how to use alternating current forcommercial purposes and proceeded to

light 20 businesses on Main Street. Hiselectrical products manufacturing busi-ness evolved into General Electric.

Another first: a statue fronting town hallhonors Mum Betts, the first slave to success-fully sue for her freedom. She was awarded30 shillings in damages in 1781 and helpedend the slave trade in Massachusetts.

Her great-grandson, William EdwardBurghardt (W.E.B.) Dubois (1868-1963),the famous civil rights activist, scholar andcofounder of the NAACP, is honored by amidtown garden near his birthplace. Hewas the first African American to graduatefrom Harvard.

The Housatonic River Walk along the westbank of the river offers atouch of the wild right intown. Dubois wrote thatthe Housatonic was “thelifestream of the town.” Healso wrote, “That river ofmy birth was golden be-cause of the woolen andpaper waste that soiled it.The gold was theirs, notours; but the gleam andglint was for all.” It stillgleams and glints today.

Passenger trains oncebrought New York per-formers to the Mahaiwe

Performing Arts Center, a 1905, restoredvaudeville theater known for goodacoustics. It’s hosted Broadway shows,silent movies, “talkies” and concerts.

StockbridgeStockbridge, another picture postcard

town, is immortalized in the 1965 ArloGuthrie song, “Alice’s Restaurant.” You mayremember the 18-minute musical monologueabout a hippie and his friend, who dump aVolkswagen minibus-load of trash off a cliffnear Stockbridge before falling prey to Offi-cer Obie. The actual Alice’s Restaurant isnow in a new incarnation called Theresa’s.

Trinity Church, where Alice and Ray ac-tually lived and hosted the Thanksgivingmeal in the song, is now known as theGuthrie Center. Arlo performs there sever-al times a year. He says he sings his famoussong every 10 years, and he’ll sing it againin 2015, the song’s 50-year anniversary.

Today, Stockbridge is more artsy-prep-py than counterculture. But it still lacksstop lights and strip malls. It’s an iconicNew England village — steeples, picketfences and all — truly Rockwellian.

In fact, Norman Rockwell was himself alocal. He painted Main Street in 1967, andthe town looks just as it did then. Rockwell

An overview of the 9/11 Memorial Mu-seum and other NYC commemorativesites. See story on page 29.

Writer Edith Wharton designed her home in Lenox, Mass., built in 1902 and calledthe Mount, using the principles in her book, The Decoration of Houses. It featureshardware imported from France and marble baseboards from Italy. The house andgardens are open for public tours.

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Live it up like the rich in the Berkshires

See BERKSHIRES, page 27

Norman Rockwell lived the last 25 years of his life in the quintessential New England village of Stock-bridge, MA. This wintertime panoramic photo of main street (also painted by Rockwell) shows theRed Lion Inn (just to the right of center), which dates back to 1773.

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lived in Stockbridge for the last 25 years ofhis life, and died in 1978.

The Norman Rockwel l Museum(www.nrm.org) houses the world’s largestcollection of his original art, including 321Saturday Evening Post covers, 100,000 pho-tographs, letters and other mementos.

A chronicler of 20th century Americana,Rockwell produced 60 years of art depict-ing the everyday and the ordinary withpainstaking attention to detail. Visitors canlearn more by visiting his studio behindthe museum.

To learn how the wealthy vacationed inthe Gilded Age in those summer “cottages”— some with 75 to 100 rooms and acres ofmanicured gardens — take a house (and/orgarden) tour of Naumkeag. It was the ele-gant summer home of the Choate family.

Joseph Choate was Ambassador to Eng-land and built the house in 1885. It featuresrare Chinese porcelain, family portraits byJohn Singer Sargent, and gardens.

Source of literary inspirationThe scenic beauty and tranquility of the

Berkshires inspired several American lit-erary giants, including Herman Melville,William Cullen Bryant and Edith Whar-ton. Touring their homes invites you intothe psyches of those engaged in “a disqui-eting profession,” as Wharton described it.

At Wharton’s home in Lenox, theMount, you’ll learn that in the summersfrom 1901 to 1911 Edith Wharton wrote byhand, perched up in bed all morning, be-fore becoming sociable around the man-sion and grounds she designed.

Born into wealth, she created what shecalled “a spacious and dignified house,” in-corporating hardware from France, marblebaseboards from Italy, and electricity fromGeorge Westinghouse next door. Her threeacres of gardens reflect her passion for Eu-ropean landscape design — a series of out-door “rooms,” which, as she directed, pos-sess “a charm independent of the seasons.”

The Mount is one of the few National His-toric Landmarks dedicated to women. OnSundays and Thursdays, visitors can learnabout those who made the mansion tick on“backstairs tours” a la “Downton Abbey.”

Herman Melville finished Moby Dick atArrowhead, an 18th century farmhouse inPittsfield (www.mobydick.org). “I have asort of sea-feeling here in the country,” hewrote “...I look out of my window in themorning when I rise as I would out of aporthole of a ship in the Atlantic.”

Ever wonder how and where DanielChester French designed and built the 19-foot statue of President Abraham Lincolnin Washington’s Lincoln Memorial? Theanswer: at Chesterwood (www.chester-wood.org), the sculptor’s country homeand studio near Lenox and Stockbridge.

The final Lincoln monument was shipped

in 28 pieces to Washington, D.C., for assem-bly. At Chesterwood, you can see a minia-ture Lincoln monument, models and tools.

Also worth visiting in the region:Tanglewood (www.bso.org), in Lenox,

is the region’s famous outdoor musicalvenue, home to the Boston Pops in thesummer. The last performance this yearwas Tony Bennett on August 31. You canstill drop by and imagine throngs captivat-ed by world-famous performers.

Hancock Shaker Village (www.hancock-shakervillage.org) in Pittsfield, honors the350 brethren and sisteren who lived therein the 1870s and practiced “hands to work,hearts to God.” Today, it’s a living historymuseum of crafts, heritage breeds of live-stock and historic buildings (20 in all).

Think big when visiting MassMOCA(www.massmoca.org) in North Adams. Amuseum of contemporary art in a 19thcentury factory, it features very large artworks in spacious galleries.

If you goDriving distance to the Berkshire region is

about 350 miles from downtown Baltimore.The closest airports are in Albany, N.Y. (45miles), and Hartford, Conn. (90 miles). Inearly October, roundtrip flights from BWI toAlbany start at $207; rates to Hartford start at$166, both on Southwest Airelines.

Berkshire locals love to tout their culi-nary “trails”— beer and cider, cheese andcharcuterie (www.berkshirefarm andtable

.com/taste-trails). You can sample hor-mone-free chevre, Berkshire blue cheese,nose-to-tail sausages and solar-brewed beer.

Other foodie adventures: • The Berkshire Mountain Distillers in

Great Barrington handcrafts spirits likeEthereal Gin, Berkshire Bourbon andRagged Mountain Rum.

• In Great Barrington, the Castle StreetCafé specializes in small plates, localcheeses and calves liver glazed with pearlonions. The Neighborhood Diner servesnotable lamb burgers, eggplant fries andfried green beans.

To experience the decadence of life in theGilded Age, consider staying at Blantyre(www.blantyre.com), in Lenox. The 117-acre,former summer estate was built to resemblea castle. The least expensive room is $600 anight.

In Stockbridge, consider the Red LionInn, a prominent town fixture since 1773,and host to six U.S. presidents. The inn has100 individually-decorated rooms. Roomprices in October start at $155 for two. Visitwww.redlioninn.com.

Other options:• Rookwood Inn (http://rookwoodinn

.com, Lenox, B&B in a Victorian house, a for-mer tavern. Rooms, $185 and up.

• Racebrook Lodge (www.rblodge.com),Sheffield, a rustic getaway. Rooms, $110 andup.

For information see Berkshires VisitorsBureau, www.berk shires.org.

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 27

BerkshiresFrom page 26

28 Leisure & Travel | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

By Beth J. HarpazOut-of-towners and locals alike have

shown enormous interest in New YorkCity’s sites connected to the Sept. 11, 2001terrorist attacks.

More than 700,000 people from all 50states and 131 countries have been to theNational Sept. 11 Museum in New YorkCity since it opened May 21. More havecome from New York than any other state,but the museum also hosts so many inter-national tourists that you can’t even identi-fy all the languages being spoken.

In addition, nearly 15 million peoplehave visited the Sept. 11 Memorial since itopened three years ago on the footprints ofthe twin towers. That’s 1 million more ayear than visit the Statue of Liberty.

And yet the very idea of 9/11 tourism re-mains controversial to some. Some NewYorkers are still so traumatized they’veavoided the area. Others think 9/11 tourismis unseemly, however respectful the intent.

Indeed, the memorial plaza could nowbe mistaken for a leafy urban park, withvisitors taking smiling selfies or leaning onbronze parapets that bear the names of thedead. And yet, one could argue that recre-ating a sense of normality downtown ispart of the 9/11 story, too.

“There’s this tension between a nicepark where you can come out and haveyour lunch, but you might be sitting nextto a family member paying respects to aloved one,” said Brenda Berkman, a re-tired fire lieutenant who was there on Sept.11, 2001, and worked on the recovery ef-fort. Berkman now leads guided toursfrom the 9/11 Tribute Center.

For those who do want to visit, pay re-spects or learn more about the events of 13years ago, here are some options.

9/11 Memorial The memorial’s waterfalls and twin re-

flecting pools are set deep in the twin tow-ers’ footprints. The pools are surroundedby panels inscribed with the names of thenearly 3,000 people who perished in the at-tacks, including those who died at the site,on the planes and at the Pentagon. Alsolisted are six who died in the 1993 TradeCenter bombing.

Hundreds of oak trees line the plaza, but besure to find a tall, callery pear tree called theSurvivor Tree, grown from an 8-foot stumpfound in the rubble of the fallen towers.

The memorial is free and open daily, 7:30a.m. to 9 p.m.; http://www.911memorial.org/visit-911-memorial. Visitor passes andsecurity checks are no longer required.

9/11 Memorial Museum The museum tells the definitive story of

the World Trade Center, from constructionto destruction to rebirth. Artifacts largeand small include tower beams, the Sur-vivors’ Stairs used by hundreds to escape, awrecked fire truck, and shoes worn by aphotojournalist who was injured that day.

You’ll hear phone messages left by peo-

ple trapped in the towers, and if you darepeek behind an exhibit labeled “disturb-ing,” you’ll see photos of those whojumped. Numerous videos and photosshow Lower Manhattan before the attacks,as the planes hit, while the towers burned,and after they fell, as enormous debrisclouds covered downtown.

Tissue boxes around the galleries testifyto the museum’s visceral, emotional impact.But some of the simplest exhibits are amongthe most memorable. Blue squares repre-sent an artist’s effort to remember the skycolor that day. And a massive wall bears thisquote from Virgil: “NO DAY SHALL ERASEYOU FROM THE MEMORY OF TIME.”

The museum is open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.,with the last entry at 7 p.m. through Sept. 21(after Sept. 21, 7 p.m. closing). Get timedtickets online in advance to avoid long waits.Admission, $24; http://911memorial.org.

9/11 Tribute Center and tours In contrast to the large, formal exhibits of

the Memorial Museum, the 9/11 TributeCenter is a small, intimate, low-key place.The walls are covered with victims’ photosand missing posters; handmade papercranes — a symbol of peace — hang over astairwell. It’s like looking through some-one’s scrapbook and sharing memories.

The Tribute Center also offers terrificguided tours of the memorial led by individ-uals with a connection to Sept. 11th — firstresponders, survivors, those who lost lovedones. The tours offer personal memoriesand insights as well as an informed appreci-ation of the memorial’s design and symbol-ism. “We try and bring you to that day basedon what we witnessed,” Berkman said.

The Tribute Center at 120 Liberty St. isopen Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.;Sundays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., with walking

tours at 11 a.m., noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3p.m. Center admission, $15; tours, $10;combined admission plus tour, $20;http://tributewtc.org.

One World Trade Center The observatory at One World Trade

Center won’t open until next year. But thegleaming skyscraper itself, with its trade-mark spire and graceful angles, can beseen from all over the city.

Two free, official apps can help you ex-plore the memorial and museum in personor virtually: the 9/11 Memorial Guide and9/11 Memorial Audio Guide.

Access the 9/11 Museum via Liberty andGreenwich streets, or Fulton and Weststreets. Nearby subways include the Cham-bers and Fulton Street stations, which areserved by many lines. The E train has aWorld Trade Center stop — AP

The Big Apple’s 9/11 sites pack a punchHOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Leisure & Travel 29

www.ParkViewSeniorLiving.com

Professionally managed by The Shelter Group. www.thesheltergroup.com

Call the community nearest you to inquire about eligibility requirements and to arrange a personal tour or email parkviewliving@sheltergrp.com.

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By Michael ToscanoMenahem Pressler’s schedule is daunting.

There is globe-trotting travel and perform-ance as a concert pianist — both solo andwith the world’s leading orchestras. Plus, hehandles a full-time teaching position at a uni-versity, and practices four hours a day.

Even so, he finds a few moments to talkabout his upcoming visit to Columbia,where he will play at the Horowitz Perform-ing Arts Center on Oct. 18, at the seasonopener for the Candlelight Concert Society.

The maestro is especially excited as helooks forward to the Columbia concert, be-cause, he said, he will be playing some-thing new to his repertoire.

“The Mozart Rondo is wonderful. Every-one always told me, ‘You’re too young toplay it.’ But then when I became 80, I de-cided I’m going to play it now. Now ornever!”

And he laughs. Not a guffaw, but amirthful chuckle, a pleasant sound richwith appreciation of life’s many ironies.

Pressler is now 90. Whether it took him10 years to get around to playing theMozart piece for an audience, or if he con-siders something he has been playing for

ten years something “new,” he does not say.He simply exudes joy at sharing an exqui-site and timeless musical jewel with people.

Yes, he is 90. And with a schedule thatwould exhaust a 30-year old. His life is a longand vivid tapestry of challenge and reward,of family and music and discovery. He has aplayful wit and an engaging manner.

One imagines he is a popular teacher atIndiana University in Bloomington, wherehe holds the rank of Distinguished Profes-sor. He has been a fixture there for sixdecades, and it has been the place he andhis wife Sara make their home.

Escape from Nazi GermanyBefore that, before the applause that has

filled the great halls of the world and thehonors and accolades, there was child-hood in Magdeburg, Germany, where hewas born in 1923. His family made an ar-duous escape from the Nazis in 1939, withthe sounds of Kristallnacht, the shatteringglass of Jewish homes and businesses, stillringing in his ears.

The family ended up in Israel, wherePressler recovered physically and re-turned to his great love: the piano.

“Certainly, the fact that I wasa refugee, that I suffered physi-cally…” and he trails off for amoment before continuing.“The music was a healing as-pect in my life. And then, youknow how life turns. Germanyawarded me their highest civil-ian award [the Bundesverdien-stkreuz or Cross of Merit]. Andthe city I had to run away fromhas made me an honorary citi-zen. It’s a complete reversal.”

“Everything forms you,” hesaid. “You are made by your ex-periences. There’s not onethat’s more or one that’s less.Everyone makes an impact.And every one is a line on yourface.”

Renowned pianist takes on new challenges

World-famous pianist MenahemPressler, 90, will take the stageduring the Candlelight ConcertSociety’s first concert of theseason on Oct. 18.

Arts & StyleJohn McCoy demonstrates watershedprotection methods. See story page 31.

30 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

TOBY’S DINNER THEATRE OF COLUMBIA • CALL 410-730-8311

D inner & Sho wTobysDinnerTheatre.com

RESERVE YOUR SEATS TODAY!

Based on availability. Due to the nature of theatre bookings, all shows,dates and times are subject to change.

A Regional Premiere You Won’tWant To Miss at Toby’s!

NOW PLAYING!From the underground dance clubs of 1950’s

Memphis, Tennessee comes a hot new Broadway musical that bursts off the stage with explosive dancing, irresistible songs and a thrilling tale

of fame and romance.

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See PIANIST, page 32

By Anne BallThe skies darken, thunder crashes, and

an inch of rain cascades onto the roofs andparking lots of the Columbia Mall. As near-ly 2.5 million gallons of water hits the mall,it gathers litter and motor oil along theground, then tumbles directly into the Lit-tle Patuxent River, eventually flowing intothe Chesapeake Bay.

Every time a parking lot or developmentlays down asphalt or concrete, we lose na-ture’s filter system: soil into which stormwater can soak, leaving residues behindand replenishing local groundwater. In-stead, the water gathers pollutants andruns off into creeks after causing erosion.

Fortunately, there is a dedicated cadre ofHoward County residents working to pro-tect the local watershed. Volunteers withthe Howard County Watershed StewardsAcademy (HCWSA) search for and sharesolutions to disperse rainwater at a slowerrate and over a longer period of time, help-ing the soil that remains do its job better.

Terry Matthews, 62, coordinator of theAcademy, has been working in public drink-ing water and wastewater management since1973, chairing the Maryland State WaterQuality Commission from 2010 to 2014.

Matthews says he was drawn to the vol-unteer program last year because he feelsstrongly that while watershed protection

hasn’t gotten as much attention as otherpollution issues, such as toxic waste, “thestorm water issue is the new enemy.”

Classes resume in OctoberThe Academy is a University of Mary-

land Extension Service program. Startingin October, it will offer a year-long volun-teer education course covering a widerange of storm management techniques atits headquarters in Ellicott City.

Classes meet weekly, with lectures byenvironmental professionals scheduledfor the first several months. Towardspring, participants will move out into thefield for hands-on experiences with an “ac-tion project” of their choosing.

The project is the student’s contributionto a local water concern. Projects rangefrom planting trees, to mucking outdrainage areas, to participating in socialmarketing campaigns to heighten publicawareness of the concerns.

This season’s course begins Oct. 9. Lec-turers, who are specialists in their fields,volunteer their time. The course costs $250,and scholarships are available. Upon com-pletion, graduates are given the designationof certified master watershed steward.

A current steward, Mike Calvert, 67, haslived in Columbia for 40 years, and has beenan Academy volunteer for four years. A for-

mer technical writer and data communica-tions specialist for Cisco and Source Fire, heserves as web master for the Academy site.

Intergenerational opportunitiesCalvert notes that classes usually are

held weeknights. He said most attendeesare over age 50, many of them retirees.

However, there are occasional projects onweekends open to everyone, when chil-dren and young people can join their par-ents and grandparents in the work.

He recalled one tree-planting last yearthat had been scheduled as an all-day

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 31

CA’s Community Building Speakers Series

HEALTHTO YOUR

COMMUNITYDESIGNCANHO

W

PROMOTE HEALTHY LIFESTYLES

FeaturingMarkFenton,a nationalexpert in public

health, transportationand planning, who will discuss how thephysical design ofcommunities canhelp promote healthylifestyles, startingwith the creation of“complete streets.”Complete streets are built to safely and comfortablyaccommoda te allusers, includingpedestrians, cyclists,drivers, and thoseusing transit.THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2 •7-9PM

OaklandMills MeetingHouse5885 Robert Oliver PlaceColumbia, MD 21045

To RegisterRSVP and see who else is attending at:caspeakerseries.eventbrite.com.Registration is appreciatedbut not required.This event is free and open to the public

This event is brought to you through a partnership of ColumbiaAssociation and the HorizonFoundation.

Learn how to protect Howard’s watershed

Sabrina Fu and Barbara Schmeckpeper teach new volunteers with the Howard County Watershed Stewards Academy how to plant rain gardens with native plantsthat retain water. The next session of classes, projects and field trips starts Oct. 9.

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See WATERSHED, page 33

Forming the Beaux Arts TrioPressler was already famous by 1955, a

familiar visiting star with orchestras inPhiladelphia, New York, London, Paris,San Francisco, London, Brussels, Oslo,Helsinki and numerous others.

But in that year, he cemented his placein music history with the formation of theBeaux Arts Trio, with Daniel Guillet andBernard Greenhouse. They played a hun-dred concerts a year until 1988, recog-nized as an iconic cultural institution.

The retirement of the Trio did not slowhim down, however. To understand why, oneonly has to hear Pressler speak reverently ofthe music created by the great composers:

“Their music is my bible. And the greatcomposers, themselves, are my gods. Andmy prayer house — my synagogue, mychurch, my mosque — is the concert hall.And I am the prophet who is trying tobring you the message of these great com-posers. The message that is the richness,the beauty, the drama, and the love.”

All that beauty. How much belongs to thecomposer, and how much of it comes fromthe hands of this pianist, the messenger? “It

is the message of the composer, as seenthrough my eyes. It is me bringing to youthat message the way I understand it,” heexplained, adding, “And the way I love it.”

“I feel imbued with the beauty of thatmusic. For me, the joy is to transfer it tothe one who can listen,” he said after a fewmore moments of reflection.

Pressler rigorous daily practice sched-ule is an act of love, not discipline. Afterthe concert in Columbia, his travels willtake him to Paris and other concerts in Eu-rope, before heading back to the UnitedStates to play a few dates here.

Then he returns to Europe, wherePressler’s year will culminate with one ofthe highest honors a classical musician canachieve: soloing with the Berlin Philhar-monic on their New Year’s Eve broadcastto the world. And for that, he plans to addyet another Mozart piece to his repertoire.

“It is a Mozart aria for orchestra, voiceand piano,” he said. “I know the piece. I haveheard it and I love it. Now I have to learn it.”

So what is it like to bask in the warmthof an appreciative audience and soul-stir-ring music?

“When you sit in front of the world’sgreatest symphony orchestras, you feelquite alone,” he reflects. “That never goesaway. You always are worried that you’renot showing your work from your best side.

“You have to be prepared, of course. Butyou have to love it. You have to give ofyourself and give the best that you can, themessage to the audience. Why is thismusic so beautiful? What does it do foryou? To make life complete, music is oneof the most beautiful arts there is.”

Teaching a new generationPressler said he teaches because he

feels an obligation to share what he haslearned. “I feel an obligation to make it eas-ier for them, to stand on my shoulders anddo it better than me,” is how he describesit.

And is this treasured music safe in thehands of tomorrow’s musicians?

“It is not only in safe hands, when theystudy with me, it had better be in safehands,” he said, dissolving once again intogentle laughter. “When they study withme, they are my spiritual children.”

The teacher may be learning somethingfrom his children, too. When asked what hewould tell readers of this interview what theyshould seek out to familiarize themselveswith his music, he begins by mentioning tworecordings he has made within the past year.They include his beloved Schubert sonatasand that new Mozart Rondo.

But then he catches himself and notes,“Of course, when you open YouTube, thereare at least 50 performances you can see.”

Going strong as 91 approaches, Mena-hem Pressler said he still has a hungerto make music. After all, music kept himsane during the bad times, and has givenhis life the impulse to do somethinggrand.

Pressler will perform Saturday, Oct. 18at the Smith Theatre of the Horowitz Per-forming Arts Center, 10901 Little PatuxentPkwy. in Columbia. There is free parking.The performance is at 8 p.m.

Adult tickets are priced at $32 ($30 forthose 60 and older), and $12 for students(age 18 to 24). Senior and adult ticket buy-ers are also entitled to a free youth ticket(age 9 to 17). For tickets and information,visit www.candlelightconcerts.org or call(410) 997-2324.

For information on the artist, visit mena-hempressler.org.

32 Arts & Style | More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

M O O N F L U I D B A MA I D E R O T O R S A L AS L O W L Y S A W A Y F I GS Y R I A S H A G S F B I

S P A I T A L I CI N T H E B O F A N E Y ET E A L I N E R M E N L OC R I B T I L E S S O U PH O L E S C O N E D A X E

G E T S E N T T O T H E CS T A T I C S I RH A T G R I T S N O V A SR B I M I S S I N G L I N KE O N A B L A Z E L A N ED O G E A R E D S L A W

ANSWERS TO CROSSWORD

FROM PAGE 34

2014-2015 Chamber Music SeriesSaturdays 8 pm, Smith Theatre, HCC

www.candlelightconcerts.org 410-997-2324

Menahem Pressler,piano October 18

David Finckel, cello& Wu Han, piano

November 15

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Texas Hold 'Em Sponsor: Deborah L. Herman, CPA

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Diamond Sponsors: Howard County Office on Aging, AARP of Maryland

Smile! Photography Sponsor: The Bob Lucido Team of Keller Williams Select Realtors

Sapphire Sponsors:Copper Ridge - EMA, Oasis Senior Advisors, Visiting Angels

Media Sponsor: The Howard County Beacon

PianistFrom page 30

PUBLIC ART TALKDavid Friedheim, oneof the featured

artists in the ArtSites outdoor sculp-ture installations around the county,will speak about public art and hissculpture “Big Red” currently on dis-play the Arc of Howard County in aprogram on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 6p.m. at the Arc, 11735 HomewoodRd., Ellicott City. Light refreshmentsand a tour of the Arc facility will beavailable. Due to space limitations,RSVPs are requested by registeringat Lkawata@archhoward.org or byphone at (410) 730-0638.

HOWIE AWARDS NOMINATIONS SOUGHT The Howard County

Arts Council is seeking nominationsby Thursday, Oct. 30 for people whohave made noteworthy contributionto the arts in the county —Outstanding Artist, Outstanding ArtsEducator, and Outstanding Businessor Community Support of the Arts.Winners will be presented at theCelebration of the Arts in HowardCounty gala on March 28. For moreinformation, visit the Getting Involvedpage at hocoarts.org or call (410) 313-2787.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 15

Ongoing

event starting at 10 a.m. “There were 200trees to be planted, but so many stewardsbrought their grandkids and neighborsthat we finished by noon,” he said.

“It’s just such a good feeling to see theintergenerational interest and enthusiasmat work. And what a wonderful experiencefor those kids to remember!”

Steward Barbara Schmeckpeper, 69, en-rolled in the Master Gardener course of-fered in Howard County by the Universityof Maryland Extension in 2009, then dis-covered the Extension’s Watershed Stew-ards Academy course in Anne ArundelCounty and signed up for that in 2010.

For her class project, she chose to inves-tigate what interest there might be in a wa-tershed stewards organization in HowardCounty. Her self-described “small marketingcampaign to environmental groups” yielded10 county resident volunteers, mostly re-tirees, Schmeckpeper recalled. That was the

beginning of the Howard County chapter.The Howard academy is one of several

watershed stewards program across thestate. In addition to Anne Arundel County,there is one in Cecil County and one calledthe National Capital WSA, which encom-passes Montgomery and Prince George’scounties as well as the District of Columbia.

This fall, Schmeckpeper was invited towork with the Howard County School Con-servancy to train county 9th graders as vol-unteers at all 12 county high schools. Thestudents will assess the paved and un-paved areas of their school yards for water-shed problems, and then discuss and im-plement solutions.

Creating rain gardensLast year, Schmeckpeper and another vol-

unteer, Sabrina Fu, a science professor atthe University of Maryland’s University Col-lege, supervised volunteers creating a 500-square-foot rain garden at First Presbyteri-an Church of Howard County in Columbia.

Rain gardens are built at a somewhat

lower elevation than the surrounding terrainso rainwater can run off and percolate intothe soil rather than down storm drains.

But projects need not be of such largedimensions. Watershed Academy partici-pants learn techniques to make smallerback yard rain gardens using rain-absorb-ing native plants.

They also learn how to construct andplace rain barrels to capture roof waterfrom a downspout during a rainstorm. Thewater can be stored until it’s needed towater a lawn or wash a car.

Students work closely with the Acade-my’s volunteer professionals, who contin-

ue to offer support after the volunteershave completed the course.

That helps empower the new stewardsto move onto whatever problems may beplaguing their neighbors or others whohave become more aware thanks to theAcademy’s outreach programs One of thethose programs offered a free residentialproperty assessment to help provide solu-tions for excessive rain water runoff.

For more information about the HowardCounty Watershed Stewards Academy, in-cluding how to get help assessing youryard, visit www.howardwsa.org or call(410) 313-2711.

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 Say you saw it in the Beacon | Arts & Style 33

Visit the all new HOWARD COUNTY SHOWCASE in Exhibit Hall B and enter our drawing for YOUR chance to win a Big Screen TV!

See additional EXPO details in this month’s issue of the Senior Connection in this copy of The Beacon!

Don’t miss the keynote address and these dynamic seminars to help you discover YOUR NEXT CHAPTER:w Life Reimagined (KEYNOTE PRESENTATION IN THE ROUSE THEATRE)

Anne Herbster, Director, Life Reimagined Live Experiences, AARP

w Anatomy of a Scam - How to Detect & Avoid the Latest Cons Rebecca Bowman, AdministratorHoward County Office of Consumer Affairs

w Sleep from A to Zzzzz’s - How to Sleep Well as You Age Raya Wehbeh, M.D., NeurExpand Brain Center

w Designing Your Life’s Next Chapter Candy Spitz, L.C.S.W., P.C.C., B.C.C., Unlimited Paths Coaching

w Wisdom Through the Ages Leah Turner, M.Ac., L.Ac., and Molly Dearstine, M.Ac., L.Ac.WisdomWell Family Acupuncture & Wellness

w Eat This, Treat That Brooks Wuerdermann, M.Ac., M.Q.P.WisdomWell Family Acupuncture & Wellness

410-313-6410 (VOICE/RELAY) • www.howardcountyaging.org/50plusexpo • www.facebook.com/hococitizen

Friday, October 17 • 9 AM - 4 PMWilde Lake High School, 5460 Trumpeter Road, Columbia 21044

If you need accommodations to attend this event, please call MAP at 410-313-5980 at least one week in advance.

WatershedFrom page 31

FREE CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT

The Chamber Ensemble of the Columbia Orchestra will perform in

a free concert Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church, 6800

Oakland Mills Rd., Columbia. Visit columbiaorchestra.org or call (410) 465-8777

for complete information.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 11

Puzzle Page

Scrabble answers on p. 32.

Crossword PuzzleDaily crosswords can be found on our website:

www.TheBeaconNewspapers.comClick on Puzzles Plus

Answers on page 32.

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 68

69 70 71

Down1. Gather together2. Slick3. It’s down at the dumps4. Fairly recent5. Make onion rings6. Setback7. Its largest city is named for a lake8. Its largest city is named for a river9. Present something unpleasant (as a cat)10. Board the ark out of sequence11. Plausible excuse12. Witchcraft15. Gambler’s strategy18. Boutonniere target24. “To the left ___”26.Approvals27. Constant desire28. Roman Emperor for XIII years29. Throwing a pre-game party30. Standing by31. Serious criminal32. ___ we so clever36. Elegance37. Cartel founded 1960 in Baghdad39. Paragon of redness41. Prepares the agenda44. Black mark46. Getting off the couch49. Note-taker50. Stupid creatures, in Harry Potter’s

world51. Tiny bit of evidence52. Prohibited56. Cuba, por ejemplo57. Russian ruler58. Key decision at Ben and Jerry’s60. Potion bottle61. Palindromic girl62. Manipulate the results65. Homer’s nextdoor neighbor

Ape-Man by Stephen Sherr

Across1. Setting in 2001: A Space Odyssey5. Unstable10. “Kapow!”13. Senator’s assistant14. Copter’s spinners16. In the style of17. Execute the escape plan19. ___ leaf (Eve’s first wardrobe decision)20.Arab nation with two stars on its flag21. Catches flies22. Fed. org. with motto “Fidelity,

Bravery, Integrity”23. Relaxation location25. Like most of the clue to 1 Across27. Quick as lightning33. ___ and crumpets34. Passenger ship35. ___ Park (Home of the Thomas

Edison Center)38. Babe’s bed40. Bath store supplies42. Borscht or bisque43. Golfers’ goals45. Funnel-shaped47. Distribute pink slips48. Receive a guilty verdict51. Background noise53. “Yes, ___!”54. Fedora or Fez55.Alternative to home fries59. Stellar explosions63. Slugger’s stat.64.Ape-man (or the condition of each of

this puzzle’s key phrases)66. Long, looong, loooooog time67. Burning68. Byline in The Daily Planet69. Used, as a book (with 70 Across)70. See 69 Across71. Picnic side dish

34 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com OCTOBE R 2 0 1 4 — HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON

HB10/14

HOWARD COUNT Y B E A CON — O C TOBE R 2 0 1 4 More at TheBeaconNewspapers.com 35

KIND, DEPENDABLE, EXPERIENCEDcaregiver for live-out care or live-in care for aflat rate. Hygiene care, Meal preparation,Housekeeping, Errands, Appointments, Med-ication reminders. Call 301-490-1146.

PROBLEM WITH YOUR PC/MAC OR NET-WORK? Computer Systems Engineer willcome to you with help. Call: David G at 301-642-4526.

ACCOUNTING, BOOKKEEPING, TAXES– conscientious CPA, 37 years experience, rea-sonable rates, looking for additional business,personal and eldercare clients. Call 410-653-3363.

QUIET, COUNTRY APT. IN GLENWOOD.Pets welcome. Separate entrance. 1 bedroom, 1bath, kitchen, living room and sitting room.$1050 + security deposit + utilities. 410-908-9490.

CHOLESTEROL SPINACH and other medic-inal plants for diabetes, hypertension, high cho-lesterol and triglycerides, kidney problems, etc.(propagate and grow your own easily). Email:alpong@verizon.net. 301-854-9969.

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

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).

SANFORD & SON HAULING & RECY-CLING. Trash + Junk removal, house & estatecleanouts, garage+ basement cleanouts. Demo-lition – Shed, deck fence + pool removal. Li-censed + insured. Free estimates over thephone. Call 7 days a week, 7 am to 7 pm. 410-746-5090.

LEARN ENGLISH – SPANISH – ITALIAN –FRENCH – PORTUGUESE Conversational.Grammatical. Private lessons. ReasonableRates. Tutoring students. 443-352-8200.

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

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.

MILITARY ITEMS Collector seeks: helmets,weapons, knives, swords, bayonets, webgear,uniforms, inert ordnance, ETC. From 1875 to1960, US, German, Britain, Japan, France,Russian. Please call Fred 301-910-0783, Thankyou. Also Lionel Trains.

FINE ANTIQUES, PAINTINGS AND QUAL-ITY VINTAGE FURNISHINGS wanted by aserious capable buyer. I am very well educated[law degree] knowledgeable [over 40 years inthe antique business] and have the finances andwherewithal to handle virtually any situation. Ifyou have a special item, collection or importantestate I would like to hear from you. I pay greatprices for great things in all categories from ori-ental rugs to Tiffany objects, from rare clocks tofirearms, from silver and gold to classic cars. If itis wonderful, I am interested. No phony promis-es or messy consignments. References gladlyfurnished. Please call Jake Lenihan, 301-279-8834. Thank you.

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; Mis-cellaneous; Personals; Per son al Services;Va ca tion Opportunities; and Want ed. Forsub mis sion guide lines and dead lines, seethe box on the right.

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

ob scene, of fen sive, harmful, or fraudulentadvertising. How ev er, we do not in ves ti -gate any ad ver tis ers or their prod ucts andcan 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 should al ways use cau tion andtheir best judg ment. EMPLOYMENT & REAL ESTATE ADS: We will not knowingly or intentionally ac-

cept ad ver tis ing in violation of federal, state,and local laws pro hib it ing dis crim i na tionbased on race, color, national origin, sex, fa mil -ial sta tus or handicap in connection with em-ployment or the sale or rental of real estate.

TO PLACE A CLASSIFIEDDeadlines and Payments: Ad text and payment is due by the 5th of each month.Note: Only ads received and prepaid by the deadline will be included in the next month’sissue. Please type or print your ad carefully. Include a number where you can be reached inthe event of a question.Payment is due with ad. 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 particular items, or place apersonal ad. Each ad is $10 for 25 words, 25 cents for each 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 the Beacon, to:

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

For Sale

Home/Handyman Services

For Rent/Sale Real Estate

Financial Services

Caregivers

Computer Services

Personal Services

Wanted

Wanted

ENJOY THE OLDIESDoo wop, Motown and classic rock ‘n roll are on the menu alongwith dinner before the show on the Recreation & Parks bus tour

to Bethesda’s Blues & Jazz Supper Club on Friday, Oct. 10. The bus will leave at 4p.m. and return at 11 p.m. Cost is $125 per person. For ages 18 and older. Call(410) 313-7279 for more information or, call (410) 313-7275 to register.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 10TIME TRAVEL TO THE 1980sThe Howard County Historical Society is throwing an ‘80s themeparty on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 7 to 9 p.m. in its newly renovated

auditorium at 8328 Court Avenue, Ellicott City. Punk and new wave music and‘80s fashions will be featured. Single tickets are $15, $25 for a couple. To pur-chase online, visit www.hchsmd.org/events or call (410) 480-3250.

BEACON BITS

Oct. 18

Clinical ResearchStudies

NeurExpand Brain Center . . . . . .13Ideal Health Study . . . . . . . . . . .13UM Elderly Falls Prevention . . . .13

EventsBaltimore Baby Boomer/

Senior Expo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Beacon 50+ Expos . . . . . . . . . . . .28COGS Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22COGS Fall Fest . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32Calendar of Events . . . . . . . . . . . .18Columbia Association Speaker

Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31Howard County 50+ Expo . . . . . .33Walk to End Alzheimer’s . . . . . . .27

Funeral Services Harry H. Witzke’s Family Funeral

Homes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Going Home Cremations . . . . . . .25

Sol Levinson & Bros., Inc. . . . . . .9Witzke Funeral Homes . . . . . . . .22

Home Health CareA-1 Action Nursing Care . . . . . . . .8Homewatch Caregivers . . . . . . . .12Options for Senior America . . . . .15Right at Home of Central Maryland . .4

Housing Alta at Regency Crest . . . . . . . . . .6Brooke Grove . . . . . . . . . . . . .11, 36Charlestown Independent

Living/Erickson . . . . . . . . . . . .23Heartlands of Ellicott City . . . . .25Homecrest House . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Paradise Assisted Living . . . . . . .15Park View . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29Shangri-La Assisted Living . . . . .15Shriner Court/Quantum . . . . . . . . .6Somerford Place/5 Star

Senior Living . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Vantage House . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Housing ReferralService

Care Patrol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Legal Services Carney Kelehan Attorneys at Law

Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23Frank, Frank & Scherr Law Firm .23

Medical/HealthAudiology First, LLC . . . . . . . . . .4Low Vision Specialists of Maryland

& Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Dr. Taylor & Associates Vision and

Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Maryland Relay Dial 711 . . . . . . . .6Medical Eye Center . . . . . . . . . . . .7Neighborhoods at St. Elizabeth . . .9

PharmaciesCVS Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Ellicott City Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . .9

Howard Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . . .5Rite Aid Pharmacy . . . . . . . . . . . .24

RecreationColumbia Association . . . . . . . . . .3

RetailColumbia’s Village Centers . . . . . .4WOW Computer! . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Senior Services Senior Connection . . . . . . . . . . . .17

Theatre/Entertainment

Candlelight Concert Series . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Columbia Orchestra . . . . . . . . . . .33Columbia Pro Cantare . . . . . . . . .30Toby’s Dinner Theatre . . . . . . . . .30

Tour & TravelEyre Tour & Travel . . . . . . . . . . .27

ADVERTISERS IN THIS ISSUE NEW!

Discover the casual elegance & comfort of The Cottages independent living.

Explore Westbrooke Clubhouse, its restaurant and fitness center.

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

because what surrounds you really matters.

BROOKE GROVE RETIREMENT VILLAGE CORDIALLY INVITES YOU TO ATTEND AN

OPEN HOUSEThursday, October 30, 2014

11 a.m. - 2 p.m.Westbrooke Clubhouse

18310 Slade School Road • Sandy Spring, MD 20860

RReessiiddeennttiiaall CCoottttaaggeess AAssssiisstteedd LLiivviinngg SSkkiilllleedd NNuurrssiinngg CCaarree

MMeemmoorryy CCaarree RReehhaabbiilliittaattiioonn

Please RSVP to Toni Davis at 301-388-7209 or

tdavis@bgf.org by October 27.

INDEPENDENT LIVING

18100 Slade School Road Sandy Spring, MD 20860

301-260-2320 or 301-924-2811

www.bgf.org

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