Two weeks after more than 20 Libbey High School alumni and supporters documented 370 pieces of memorabilia stored by Toledo Public Schools (TPS), the Libbey High School Alumni Association will host a public meeting at 6:30 p.m. April 9. The group plans to discuss possible placement of the school’s trophies, medals, paintings, photos, portraits, plaques, newspapers, yearbooks and other assorted memorabilia.

The meeting will take place in the Believe Center inside the Aurora Gonzalez Community Center, 1205 Broadway St.

In response to Libbey preservation project spokesperson Sue Terrill’s comments to the Board of Education (BOE) at its March 26 meeting, board member Larry Sykes expressed his support of the alumni association’s mission.

“I am sympathetic to the people of Libbey,” Sykes said. “We can work with them as they attempt to find a home for those artifacts. And I don’t want to see [Terrill] back here because she is complaining that she needs something in the Libbey High School alumni project.”

Speaking directly to the superintendent Jerome Pecko, Sykes said, “Whatever she needs, let’s make sure she gets it.”

‘Too little, too late’

Libbey High School’s original gym at the time of its 2012 demolition. (Bill Albert)

Preservation project volunteers said that although they appreciated Sykes’ vocal support, it is simply too little, too late. They said they needed that support from all board members in 2012 when the BOE voted to demolish the South End high school, leaving the 1200 block of Western Avenue bare.

“It’s just a great big hole, a bare space,” said 1963 graduate Sharon Barton Hamilton. “It will probably grow over in weeds in a couple of years if they don’t find another purpose for it. It will become just another empty lot with weeds.”

Sierra Hines, a 2010 graduate, said she is offended by the BOE’s previous lack of support.

“They already got rid of our school,” Hines said. “It’s adding insult to injury when you just dump the trophies into a storage room and not do anything with them. It’s like all my memories have been taken from me.”

Larry Farren, a 1966 graduate, questioned where the BOE’s support was during the first two years of the preservation project committee’s efforts.

“We’ve tried to save as much of the legacy as we could,” Farren said. “We tried to take as many photographs as we could. The exterior was easy. It was still up. But we had a hard time getting inside Libbey to take pictures.”

Farren said he has “no idea” why committee members were required to wait more than a year before being allowed access to the shuttered building.

“Maybe they were worried about insurance, maybe that we’d get hurt,” Farren suggested. “Or maybe they thought if the documentation got out there, their decision would be reversed. That is a possibility.”

Jean Murphy, a 1966 graduate, called it a “disgrace” that Libbey was demolished within two years of being closed while DeVilbiss and Macomber high schools have stood for 22 years since closing.

Fred Crabtree, a 1963 graduate, agreed with Murphy.

“It bugs the hell out of me that after going through all that information we went through, I couldn’t find a single reason why when they closed DeVilbiss and Macomber [in 1991], they didn’t tear them down. All these years later, both are still standing. But with Libbey, they closed it [in 2010] and they tore it down to the ground in less than two years.”

Bill Albert, a 1966 graduate, was harsher in his assessment of the BOE, calling its actions immoral.

“Now the South End is totally, absolutely deficient in education and everything else,” Albert said. “What they’ve done to those kids’ education down there is criminal.”

A public display

Demolition crews at the Libbey High School site on March 8, 2012. (Bruce Taylor)

Volunteers universally agreed that their work documenting the memorabilia should lead to the establishment of a facility where the items would be on public display.

Hamilton said she would like to see a museum for all closed TPS schools “so that everything could be under one roof to make it feasible.” She suggested the South branch of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library at 1736 Broadway St. as a possible location.

Larry Noyes, a 1963 graduate, also supports the establishment of a museum.

“Those items are already recorded,” Noyes said. “We have documentation. I would like to see that put into some kind of museum to where somebody can go there and say, ‘Oh, yeah. My grandfather — he was part of that team.’ It would be nice.

“I think that for the amount of effort that went into earning those trophies and awards, we owe something to those people that worked very hard to bring that honor to the school — not so much for themselves, but for the sake of Libbey High School. There were a lot of them over all the years, and I think that should be preserved.”

Jean Murphy, a 1966 graduate, suggested that the memorabilia could be displayed in several buildings, including the Area Office on Aging on Arlington Avenue and the Lyman W. Liggins Senior Center and the Veterans Outpatient Clinic, both on South Detroit Avenue.

“The people of South Toledo could go and see, or take their grandchildren to see, the World War II memorial for the teachers and students lost in World War II,” Murphy said. “They could take their families to see some of the important things in their lives.”

Eddie Auerbach, a 1950 graduate, said he’d like to see the City of Toledo establish and maintain a citywide Sports Hall of Fame to honor athletes from area high schools as well as The University of Toledo.

“It’s just too bad that they had to do what they did to Libbey,” Auerbach said. “It’s gone now. It’s just too bad.”

Public auction

James Hines, a 1984 graduate, said he’d like to see TPS sell the memorabilia to interested citizens.

“I wish there was some kind of way to auction them off,” Hines said. “I know people who they are valuable to would go after them. People would pay a lot of money just to have them. There’s a lot of people that fought with sweat and blood over trophies.

“Auction them off. Give them away. Put them online for people to see them. Do something. To leave them packed up in a warehouse somewhere — and later on probably trash them — is a crime.”

The South Toledo site where Libbey High School stood from 1923 to 2012. (Bruce taylor)

‘Give people pause … ’

Farren said it’s important to save as much of Libbey’s legacy as possible.

“Maybe we’re being pie-in-the-sky, but this is part of the history of Toledo,” Farren said. “We’re hoping that by saving as much as we can, we can give people pause to think about what Toledo once was and can be again.”

Farren said even citizens with no connection to Libbey should take notice of TPS’s demolition of its unused buildings.

“In a way, this goes to the heart of Toledo,” Farren said. “We did not maintain Libbey the way it should have been maintained. Now we have these new schools. We’ve been to the OSFC (Ohio School Facilities Commission) Building Committee meetings, and we’ve heard about problems with the new schools.

“And you have to wonder, are the people of Toledo going to repeat the mistakes of the past? Are they going to maintain these new buildings? Or in 40 years, or 50 if we’re lucky, are these buildings going to have to be replaced and millions of dollars will have to go into the process again?”

‘A piece of history that’s gone’

Noyes said the demolition was, “kind of like they’re tearing down a part of your life. It’s a piece of history that’s gone. It’s just like a lot of other things that are gone. Eventually, it loses its impact. Time has erased a lot of that memory.

“I don’t think you have to save everything. I just don’t understand why Libbey had to be the school to be gobbled up in a steam shovel. There’s a lot of feeling involved. I look at that piece of property now, and I just don’t know what to say about it. They have a big rock out there, almost like a tombstone. When I first saw it, it was kind of like a gravestone for Libbey.”

Albert refuses to even drive by the site of the former high school.

“That’s one part of Western Avenue. I will never go down,” Albert said. “I saw Libbey as it was, and I didn’t see it being torn down. I refused to see it, and I refuse to go onto that section of Western Avenue.

“When I went that way to get to the Frederick Douglass Building for a couple of meetings, I had my left hand over the left side of my face so I wouldn’t even approach Libbey, seeing it. That’s how I am with that. I have my memory and my sight of Libbey, and that’s how I’ll look at it.”

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Aurora Gonzalez Community Center, Jerome Pecko, Larry Sykes, Libbey High School, Libbey High School Alumni Association, Lyman W. Liggins Senior Center, Sue Terrill, Toledo Public Schools, University of Toledo, Veterans Outpatient Clinic

This entry was posted on Friday, April 5th, 2013 at 7:26 am and is filed under Community, Education.
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When 104-year-old Stella Bailey died Oct. 9, she was exactly where she wanted to be — at her Rossford home of 90 years, with her husband and family close by.

“She didn’t suffer none. That’s the good part,” said 96-year-old Jay Bailey, Stella’s husband of 60 years.

Family members had visited just before she died, Jay said.

“She was laughing and joking with the little baby,” he said. “She lived a ripe old age.”

Stella was able to remain at home with the help of PASSPORT, a state Medicaid waiver program funded through the Ohio Department of Aging and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The program, administered in Northwest Ohio by the Area Office on Aging of Northwestern Ohio (AOoA), links Medicaid-eligible seniors with long-term care services, such as home health aides, home-delivered meals, medical equipment, medical transportation, adult day care and more.

PASSPORT services usually supplement care provided by family members, said Pam Wilson, AOoA’s vice president of long-term care.

“Many of the people we serve do have families who are dedicated to keeping them at home and are actively participating and assisting with the care,” Wilson said. “Our services wrap around that family unit and provide support in places where the family may be struggling.”

Stella started using PASSPORT in 2003. Home health aides assisted Jay in caring for Stella seven hours a day, seven days a week.

“She’s been real good,” Jay said of primary aide Lori Kott of Maumee-based Nursing Resources. “I wouldn’t have made it without her.”

Most older adults prefer to stay home as long as possible, Wilson said.

The PASSPORT program helped 104-year-old Stella Bailey stay at home until she died. Also pictured is her husband, Jay Bailey, and home health aide Lori Kott.

“It’s often where they’ve lived for many years and a place where they are comfortable and want to stay,” Wilson said. “Being in the home lets you feel more a part of your family and a part of your community. It’s just that familiarity. Every time someone makes a physical move, it’s disruptive to the person, it’s disruptive to their health. It’s very common that people become disoriented, even though they may not have been disoriented in the past, if they end up in the hospital or they go from hospital to a nursing home. It’s trauma.”

PASSPORT also helps the health and well-being of caregivers, Wilson said.

“If you have those supports in place, families can often be caregivers for longer periods of time because they have the support and don’t burn out as they may if they were doing all the care themselves,” Wilson said. “It’s not uncommon that we hear, ‘Gosh, I wish I knew about you a couple years ago.’”

If the primary caregiver is a spouse, PASSPORT gives them more time together, Wilson said.

“A lot of times it’s stressful on the caregiver to make those regular trips to the nursing home when they want to go every day and stay for hours,” she said.

PASSPORT services are also cheaper than a nursing home, saving taxpayers money, said Justin Moor, AOoA’s vice president of planning and program development. A year of nursing home care in Ohio costs about $62,000 on average, whereas a year of PASSPORT services costs about $21,000, Moor said.

“PASSPORT is about a third of the cost to taxpayers, so for each senior that gets their care through PASSPORT, the savings to taxpayers is about $40,000 a year,” Moor said.

When PASSPORT started in July 1990, about 90 percent of Medicaid dollars for long-term care went to nursing homes and 10 percent to home care services. Today, it’s closer to 60-40, Moor said.

“It’s working well. It’s been growing every year,” Wilson said. “We do feel it’s one of those cost-saving options to help with state budget issues.”

About 2,800 Northwest Ohioans participated in PASSPORT in 2011 and the program has served more than 20,000 Northwest Ohioans since 1990, Wilson said. Statewide, more than 31,000 Ohio seniors participate in PASSPORT each year.

To qualify, applicants must be 60 or older, need help with at least two daily living activities such as bathing, dressing or walking, and meet Medicaid’s financial eligibility guidelines, which include an income of no more than $2,090 per month and no more than $1,500 in assets, not including their home.

AOoA’s nurses and social workers oversee the service plans and perform the initial eligibility assessment. The services are provided by more than 120 contracted agencies.

PASSPORT does not negate the need for nursing homes, Wilson said.

“We certainly support the need for nursing homes. We know we can’t do all the care in the community,” Wilson said. “We want people to get the care they need and nursing homes are doing a wonderful job with rehab after illnesses and surgeries, but we don’t want them to feel like they are going to be stuck there.”

Wilson said too many people don’t know about PASSPORT and the AOoA.

“Our goal is to make sure people know we’re here and not to wait to call for help,” Wilson said. “A lot of people don’t look for the kinds of services we offer until they need help and then generally they need it immediately. Having a little support in place lets us be able to add some additional supports when something happens. Whether Medicaid-eligible or not, we’re always willing to help connect people with those community resources that can help a person stay at home.”

For information, visit www.areaofficeonaging.com or 2155 Arlington Ave., or call (419) 382-0624.

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Medicaid, Ohio Department of Aging, Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, PASSPORT, Sarah Ottney

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 2:09 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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On June 27, the Area Office on Aging in Northwest Ohio published a warning to caution senior citizens about the dangers of extreme heat. This warning follows a prediction of “dangerously high levels” of heat index this week, the news release stated.

Older persons are the most vulnerable to heat-related illnesses, which are dramatically less apparent than violent weather conditions that cause physical destruction to the community. According to the news release, over 750 people died in Chicago in 1995 of heat-related deaths, and most of the victims were seniors.

The Office also cautions people about the danger pets encounter in extremely warm weather. In fact, a report from The Humane Society of the United States states pets are more susceptible to overheating and are much less efficient at cooling themselves than humans. According to the report, leaving a pet inside a parked vehicle even for a few minutes can increase the animal’s risk of heatstroke.

To combat the heat, the Area Office on Aging has published a list of cooling centers for seniors to use to cool down and remove themselves from potentially harmful situations, which is included below. They have also published tips for reducing the onset of heat-induced illness, such as avoiding heavy meals and caffeine, planning outdoor activities before noon and in the evening and drinking lots of water before thirst occurs.

The news release distinguishes between heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Heat exhaustion’s symptoms include headache, fatigue, thirst, blurred vision and nausea, while heatstroke is a more serious condition, identified by the symptoms of heat exhaustion plus disorientation, seizures, hallucination, rapid heart beat, hot, dry skin and loss of consciousness.

Citizens are advised to call 911 immediately if heatstroke symptoms occur and if heat exhaustion symptoms are not improved with air conditioning and water.

Lucas County, June 28-29

East Toledo Senior Center, 419.691.2254

J. Frank Troy Senior Center, 419. 255.6206

1001 White Street, Toledo

1235 Division Street, Toledo

Open TH-F: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Open TH-F: 9:00 am – 6:00 pm

Friendship Park Senior Center, 419.936.3079

Zablocki Senior Center, 419.936.3090

2930 131st Street, Toledo

3015 Lagrange Street, Toledo

Open TH-F: 9:00 am – 7:00 pm

Open TH: 7:30 am – 7:30 pm

Open F: 7:30 am – 7:00 pm

Margaret Hunt Senior Center, 419.385.2595

Sylvania Senior Center, 419.885.3913

2121 Garden Lake Pkwy, Toledo

7140 West Sylvania Avenue, Sylvania

Open TH-F: 8:30 am – 3:30 pm

Open TH-F: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Eleanor Kahle Senior Center, 419.476.2745

Community Development Center, 419.865.4700

1315 Hillcrest Drive, Toledo

330 Oak Terrace Blvd. (Western Lucas Co.), Holland

Open TH-F: 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Open TH-F: 9:00 am – 1:00 pm

Senior Center Inc., 419.242.9511

Maumee Senior Center, 419.893.1994

2308 Jefferson Avenue, Toledo

2430 South Detroit Avenue, Toledo

Open TH-F: 8:00 am – 4:00 pm

Open TH-F: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm

Mayores Senior Center, 419.242.1144

Hancock Senior Center, 419.698.7078

Two Aurora Gonzales Drive, Toledo

5760 Bayshore Road, Oregon

Open TH: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Open TH-F: 9:00 am – 4:00 pm

Open F: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

East Toledo Family Center, 419.691.1429

1020 Varland Avenue, Toledo

Open TH-F: 8:00 am – 6:00 pm

Defiance County

Defiance County Senior Center M-F 7:00-3:00

Hicksville Area Senior Center M-F 9:00-3:00

Erie County Senior Center, Sandusky M-F 8:00-4:30

Fulton County Senior Center, Wauseon M-F 8:00-4:00

Henry County Senior Center, Napoleon M-F 8:00-4:30

Ottawa County

Danbury Senior Center, Lakeside-Marblehead M-F 9:00-2:00

Elmore Senior Center T, TH 10:00-2:00

Oak Harbor Senior Center M, W 10:00-2:00

Port Clinton Senior Center T, TH, F 10:00-2:00

Put-In-Bay Senior Center M-F Call for hours: 419.285.5501

Paulding County Senior Center M-F 8:00-4:00

Sandusky County

Sandusky County Senior Center, Fremont M-F 9:00-2:30

Clyde Senior Center M-F 10:00-2:00

Woodville Senior Center M-F 10:00-2:00

Gibsonburg Senior Center M-F 10:00-2:00

Williams County

Bryan Senior Center M-F 8:00-4:00

Edgerton Senior Center M-F 9:00-2:00

Edon Area Senior Center M-F 8:00-2:00

Montpelier Senior Center M-F 8:00-4:00

Pioneer Senior Center M-TH 9:00-3:00

Stryker Senior Center M-F 9:00-2:00

West Unity Senior Center M-F 8:00-4:00

Wood County

North Baltimore Area Senior Center M-F 8:30-4:30

Northeast Area Senior Center, Walbridge M-F 8:30-4:30

Pemberville Area Senior Center M-F 10:00-2:00

Rossford Area Senior Center M-F 8:30-4:30

Wayne Area Senior Center M-F 10:00-2:00

Wood County Senior Center M, TH 8:00-5:00; T, W 8:00-7:00; F 8:00-4:00

Perrysburg Area Senior Center M-F 8:30-4:00

Tags: Area Office on Aging

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2012 at 11:11 am and is filed under Community, Seniors, Weather.
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When Dorothy Gackstetter attended Genoa High School in the late 1940s, she was told track and field was too hard for girls and not good for their health.

“It was a ridiculous excuse because we were county champions every year and probably would have gone to state,” Gackstetter said.

As the Ottawa County resident approaches her 80th birthday, she will compete in the 50+ Sports Classic at St. Francis de Sales High School on June 9. Gackstetter has participated in the event for nearly 30 years, competing in the 100- and 200-meter race along with longjumping, shot put, discus and javelin.

While Gackstetter was denied the opportunity to attend the state meet as a teenager, she qualified for the Senior Olympics’ state meet in Dayton four years ago and hopes to qualify for this year’s state meet in Cleveland.

“I belong to our health and wellness club, but I don’t go to a gym,” said Gackstetter, who said she once tied former Toledo Mayor Carty Finkbeiner in the 100-meter dash. “I have a bicycle and weights and I do practice lunges at home. I have a horse so I do all those chores, so there’s always something to do to keep me active.”

Gary Kidd plays basketball during the 2011 50+ Sports Classic.

To train, Gackstetter said she runs around her horse track and uses a sawdust pile as her long-jump landing. She throws a homemade javelin and uses an old cooking stone her mother used while making sauerkraut as a shot put.

“(The Sports Classic) keeps me motivated to do exercises and keep limber,” Gackstetter said. “I look at some people in their 70s and I see how important it is to stay limber and keep active. I like to go to the nursing homes and get more people involved.”

Justin Moor, vice president of planning and program development at the Area Office on Aging, which organizes the event, said there are competitors in every age group, although the highest bracket, 90+, has the fewest. Moor said the oldest recent participant was a 92-year-old man who bowled and competed in track and field.

“It’s really inspiring. Some are out there just to have fun and get exercise. Some are out there to compete with others and improve their times from last year,” Moor said.

Gary Kidd, 65, of Toledo has participated for about four years, usually competing in javelin, shot put, discus and basketball events, which include a three-on-three tournament and foul-shooting contest.

“You end up sharing with and coaching the people you compete with. You’re not just out there to win; it’s more socialization. You learn from other people because you are never too old to learn,” Kidd said. “A lot of my friends have seen me compete and want to be involved because it seems fun.”

Kidd played basketball at Bowling Green High School and competed in track and field at Bowling Green State University. In his first year competing in the foul-shooting contest, Kidd shot 25 for 25 and last year went 23 for 25.

“I know how to go about it psychologically. As we get older we aren’t as fast or jumping high, but we can still do it and we can still function,” said Kidd, who officiates high school baseball, basketball, football, volleyball and lacrosse in the area.

“I keep myself rather active. Part of living a good life is being able to enjoy it, by living an active lifestyle,” Kidd said.

Moor said the number of spectators has increased in recent years, as more and more competitors have been bringing spouses and family members to watch, making it more of a family outing.

Terry Mohler, 82, of South Toledo said, for him, running is a family affair.

“My wife does occasionally [come to watch me] and there are five or six in the family that participate in the road races in the area,” Mohler said. “My wife is a good runner too and I’ve tried to get her to [participate].”

Mohler said he’s been participating in the Classic for about a dozen years. He competes in the shot put and all the running events, adding that he would like to do basketball and table tennis, but it would make for too long of a day.

Mohler ran track and cross country at Central Catholic High School and was on a practice football squad at John Carroll University. He coached track, football and cross country at Macomber High School in the ’50s and ‘60s and has been a member of the Toledo Roadrunners since shortly after its founding in 1976.

“I did 49 marathons,” Mohler said. “On my bucket list was 50, but I couldn’t make that 50. My last one was four years ago, the Glass City Marathon. I just didn’t have the stamina or time to condition anymore. It was fun and I met a lot of people.”

About 220 people competed in last year’s Classic and 200 have already preregistered for this year’s event. The cost to register is $30, and participants get a T-shirt, lunch and a goodie bag that includes a month-long membership to the YMCA. The day begins with golf at Ottawa Park at 7:15 a.m. and continues with events all day until bowling at 5 p.m.

For more information or to register, call (419) 382-0624 or visit areaofficeonaging.com/sports.pdf.

Tags: 50+ Sports Classi, Area Office on Aging, St. Francis de Sales High Schoo

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2012 at 4:45 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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Charlotte Shaffer is slowing down.

The Toledo woman who co-founded the Area Office on Aging once balanced forging a path for Toledo social work with the presidency of an international women’s service organization, Quota International.

Later, she was vice chairman for her Lutheran denomination’s Northwest Ohio synod.

Today, at 85, all she can manage is full-time volunteer work for Olivet Lutheran Church, the Area Office on Aging (AOoA) and The Salvation Army.

“When I was in the Community Planning Council, I could do four meetings a day,” she said. “I can’t do over two right now.”

For her years of service, Shaffer was one of 19 Ohioans recently inducted into the Ohio Senior Citizens Hall of Fame by the Ohio Department of Aging in Columbus.

Inclusion is based on achievements and contributions toward the benefit of humankind after age 60, or for a continuation of efforts begun before that age.

Shaffer, an only child born in 1926 in North Toledo, was raised during the Great Depression.

“I suppose our lives were different than young people growing up today,” she said.

Her mother served as a church volunteer and her father worked at a meatpacking plant.

“I was fortunate my father always worked,” she said. “But I didn’t know how fortunate I was.”

Early in high school, Shaffer knew she wanted to work with people in need. Upon graduation from Whitney High School in 1944, she took a job at Lutheran Community House helping at-risk children and decided to study social work at the then-Toledo University.

“I can remember my father questioning me, ‘Why would you want to go to college? Why would you want to get a job?’” she said. “I like challenges. I like to start programs.”

At college, Charlotte met a science student named Harold Shaffer. After graduate school — she at University of Michigan and Case Western for social work, he at Toledo for biology — the couple married and settled in Toledo.

Harold became a professor at their alma mater, where he would teach for 40 years — the last 10 for free when the university ran out of money to pay him.

“[He stayed] because he loved it, and students wanted him to,” Charlotte said.

After Harold died in 2005, she found letters from grateful students tucked between the pages of old textbooks in his library.

“Students loved him, just loved him, because he was so good, and they liked how he taught,” she said.

The Shaffers never had children; instead, the community became her family, Charlotte said.

Her first position after school was director of the Toledo Volunteer Bureau. Organized, structured volunteerism was a new concept in the ’50s, she said, as was a woman at the helm.

“I believe in this community,” she said. “I wanted to do things with it, not for it. I wanted to be a part of this community.”

Around her was a diverse group of citizen leaders from all walks of life, rooted in solid, active families.

“There were some very strong people whose children aren’t here any more, or grandchildren,” she said.

Former colleague Billie Johnson said Charlotte taught her to work with eclectic groups.

“She just taught me to get along with people and engage others,” she said.

Charlotte moved next to the Toledo Council of Social Agencies — now the Community Planning Council — where she would work for 40 years.

Of all her projects there, the dearest to her is the AOoA, which she founded with Johnson, the current president and CEO, after several years laboring for state and federal support. Today, the AOoA serves 2,200 seniors in Northwest Ohio.

“That’s my baby,” she said. “That’s mine.”

Charlotte officially retired in 1992, but has worked as a volunteer for the past 19 years. She’s worked so hard for so long, she suspects she missed some enjoyment along the way.

“I loved every minute of it, but there were lots and lots of minutes,” she said.

But she’s not second-guessing her choices.

“It’s my way of life,” she said — a life led hand-in-hand with Harold, who volunteered at St. Vincent’s Hospital and the Red Cross after leaving UT as professor emeritus.

“I had the support of my husband to do all these things,” she said. “I’m not sure every husband would have had his wife out there doing everything.”

The community has supported her as well. Charlotte is one of three people to be made an honorary member of the Junior League of Toledo, a women’s service organization.

To Charlotte, the concept of community remains vital and full of potential for Toledo.

“We can’t live alone,” she said. “We can’t be isolated. … This is a good community, and I know as well as anybody the strengths and weaknesses of it. I don’t think there’s any difference now in the need to be involved, the need to respect people.”

Part of her contribution has been preparing others to take her place.

“She is someone who has served as a mentor and a guide for others who were coming up in the field,” said Pam Howell-Beach, executive director of the Stranahan Foundation.

Her last gift to the community will come at her death, when UT will establish an endowed chair in the Shaffers’ name in the Department of Biological Sciences.

“You can see I’ve been busy,” she said. “You probably think ‘Doesn’t that lady ever stay home?’ But I’ve slowed down some. It’s been a wonderful life.” O

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Charlotte Shaffer, Patrick Timmis, Seniors

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 9th, 2011 at 7:22 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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Janice Diolon has dystonia, a neurological muscle disorder. She suffers from a heart problem, a seizure disorder and diabetes. She can’t cook her own meals, bathe herself, clean her house or do her laundry.

A caseworker provided through the Area Office on Aging (AOoA) does those things for her.

Diolon, 68, loves the freedom the AOoA has given her to stay out of a nursing home.

“It’s right for seniors to be at home if we so choose,” she said.

That freedom may be in jeopardy if the governor’s proposed budget passes.

Gov. John Kasich’s proposed budget includes a $9.6 million cut over two years to Medicaid funding for the Area Office on Aging for Northwest Ohio, said Pamela Wilson, the AOoA’s vice president of long-term care.

The majority of the AOoA’s budget goes to PASSPORT, an umbrella program of more than 100 providers of services such as transportation, personal care and home-delivered meals to 2,200 seniors in the region.

Erik Poklar, director of communications for the governor’s office of health transformation, said that number — $9.6 million for the region and $160 million for the state — was misleading unless viewed as a cut to a spending trend rather than an actual budget.

The mystifying part of the cuts for the AOoA team is that PASSPORT is a cost-saving program. Each senior who transfers from a nursing home to the program saves taxpayers an average of 40 percent, said Justin Moor, the AOoA’s vice president of communications and operations.

The average yearly cost for a PASSPORT patient is $14,000, about one-third of the cost for a Medicaid-funded nursing home patient, Moor said. So any budget that would force seniors back into nursing homes is self-contradictory and counterproductive, said Joseph Wells, a doctor of occupational therapy and co-owner of provider AmeriCare.

An applicant for PASSPORT must make $2,100 per month in income or less with no more than $1,500 in assets to qualify, so there are few non-Medicaid options. Chardell Russell, a caseworker for PASSPORT, said she recently spoke with a woman living on $300 a month.

For the AOoA, Wilson said, the cuts mean a smaller staff with greater responsibilities — a case manager with 65 clients today, for instance, might have to take on about 100 in the future. For seniors on PASSPORT, cuts could mean fewer hours of personal assistance and the loss of services such as food, adult day care and assistance with bathing.

Wilson said even the process for approving applicants for PASSPORT would become much less efficient, as the screening process could take weeks longer for an overburdened staff. Wilson said that is unacceptable for most applicants, who may be forced to enter a nursing home while the long process runs its course.

“For the most part, people can’t wait,” she said.

‘I promised I’d keep her’

Pam Feichter, 54, said she doesn’t know how she could care for her 80-year-old mother, Mary Jackson, without the AOoA aid. Jackson has chronic heart disease and receives 25 hours of care per week through Comfort Keepers, a PASSPORT provider.

“I promised her I’d keep her,” Feichter said. “I don’t want to put her in a nursing home.”

Kasich’s budget, Wilson said, includes an 8 percent cut in 2012 and a 15 percent cut in 2013 to the management and case assessment funds and a 3 percent cut to providers. Wilson said the cut could prove devastating for some providers already among the most poorly reimbursed in the state, forcing them to withdraw from PASSPORT.

Wells said seniors who want to stay home will return to hospitals and nursing homes as a result, which increases the pressure for providers. AmeriCare, Wells said, serves 150 clients in the area, and is already challenged by factors such as inflation, rising minimum wage and gas prices.

Cut costs, serve more

In addition to the cuts, the governor has proposed that the AOoA expand the number of its clients by 15 percent in the next two years.

Richard Marion Witcher

While the office’s chief goal is to make at-home care possible for nursing-home level patients — in the past 20 years PASSPORT has pushed the number of nursing-home level seniors from 10 percent at home to 40 percent — Wilson is concerned the staff will be unable to maintain current service levels, particularly as the office has already been operating on a shoestring in recent years.

“We’ve cut the fat and now we’re to the point of cutting the bone,” Moor said.

Poklar from the governor’s office said the cuts to PASSPORT are part of an attempt to rebalance long-term care in a budget facing an almost $8 billion hole. Medicaid, he said, makes up about 30 percent of the state’s total budget. He said the lack of federal stimulus funds is putting pressure on the state.

Some hope

There is a hint of better news for the AOoA. The bill passed the Ohio house with a softened cut of $145 million, down from the $160 million statewide cut proposed by the governor. That’s not enough to solve the problem, but Wilson said the AOoA is communicating with the state about its concerns and needs, and Poklar said PASSPORT administrators have made a good case.

“We’re hopeful,” Wilson said.

The result of those discussions will be immense for legally blind Richard Marion Witcher, 71. Before PASSPORT, he frequently cancelled doctor’s appointments because no one could drive him, so keeping the service is vitally important to him.

“We could survive,” he said, “but it would be difficult.”

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Community, Government, Ohio, PASSPORT, Patrick Timmis

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 26th, 2011 at 4:36 pm and is filed under Community, Cover Story, Featured.
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While summer may seem far off for some, the Area Office on Aging (AOoA) is gearing up for its fifth annual 50+ Sports Classic in June.

The AOoA encourages anyone older than 50 to sign up and participate in the day’s events.

“Exercise is one of the best ways for seniors to stay healthy and live long healthy lives,” said Justin Moor, vice president of communications and operations for the AOoA. “This event really provides an opportunity for seniors to have fun and meet people who enjoy doing the same activities they do, so they can continue doing them throughout the year.”

Competitions are divided among age groups so individuals may compete against their peers. Brackets for competition are ages 50-54; 55-59; 60-64; 65-69; 70-74; 75-79; 80-84; 85-90; 90+.

The classic will feature a wide range of events for individuals to choose from, including track and field, swimming, tennis and table tennis, bowling, softball, 3-on-3 basketball, horseshoes and golf. Participants can sign up for as many sports as they wish.

Winners will receive medals for their events.

The 50+ Sports Classic is June 11 at St. Francis High School, 2323 W. Bancroft St., with the opening ceremony starting at 9 a.m. Early registration is $20.

Those interested in signing up can fill out the form on page A19 of the Feb. 13 issue of Toledo Free Press and mail it to the AOoA. More information about the event can be found online at www.areaofficeonaging.com.

Tags: 50+ Sports Classic, Area Office on Aging

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 11:05 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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“Vengeance Valley,” a 1951 Western starring Burt Lancaster and Robert Walker, kicks off the Rave Cinema Classics series Sept. 27 at Rave Motion Pictures at Levis Commons. Based on a novel by Luke Short and directed by Richard Thorpe, the 83-minute film was filmed in Canon City, Colo.

Tickets are $2 for the Cinema Classics series, which runs Mondays at 1 p.m. The lobby opens half an hour before the show.

The Rave Motion Pictures Cinema Classics series is sponsored by Toledo Free Press Star and the Area Office on Aging.

There will be special veterans promotions for the Dec. 13 showing of “White Christmas,” sponsored by Columbia Gas of Ohio. A FOX Toledo charity event will take place at the Dec. 20 showing of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” JB’s Sarnie Shoppe at Levis Commons will join Toledo Free Press Star in a social networking promotion that will award a weekly winner with free lunch for two.

For more information, call (419) 874-2154 and watch www.facebook.com/toledofreepress for contest and weekly promotion details.

• Sept. 27, 2010: “Vengeance Valley”
• Oct. 4, 2010: “His Girl Friday”
• Oct. 11, 2010: Holiday –No Showing
• Oct. 18, 2010: “Big Trees”
• Oct. 25, 2010: “Africa Screams”
• Nov. 8, 2010: “My Dear Secretary”
• Nov. 15, 2010: “The Time Of Your Life”
• Nov. 22, 2010: “Royal Wedding”
• Nov. 29, 2010: “Angel On My Shoulder”
• Dec. 6, 2010: “Scrooge – A Christmas Carol”
• Dec. 13, 2010: “White Christmas”
• Dec. 20, 2010: “It’s A Wonderful Life”
• Dec. 27, 2010: Holiday Week –No Showing
• Jan. 3, 2010: “Gung Ho”
• Jan. 10, 2010: “Heartbreak”
• Jan. 17, 2010: Holiday – No Showing
• Jan. 24, 2010: “Mc Clintock”
• Jan. 31, 2010: “The Stork Club”

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Columbia Gas of Ohio, FOX Toledo, JB's Sarnie Shoppe, Levis Commons, Rave Motion Pictures, Toledo Free Pres Star

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 21st, 2010 at 12:55 pm and is filed under Film, Rave Cinema Classics, Star.
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Construction on a new senior service center in central Toledo will begin this month.

The Warren AME Senior Services Center will be located on the corner of Indiana Avenue and City Park Avenue, on land donated by the Warren AME Church. The center will be more than 11,000 square feet and house the J. Frank Troy Senior Center and Senior Independence, an adult daycare, in addition to the one other tenant, said Reverend Otis Gordon of Warren AME Church.

“The church has always had the vision of doing something for seniors — something long-term and substantial,” Gordon said.

In addition to providing land for the center the church has also supplied some funding, Gordon said.

From left, Dick Kreiger, Ann Heringhaus, Billie Johnson, Sylvester Gould, Marty Turner, Pastor Otis Gordon, Phil Walton, David Arnold and Karen Harris at the Warren AME check presentation ceremony.

A 501(c)(3), the Warren AME Vision Empowerment Board, was founded to run the senior center, Gordon said. The board includes members of the church, the J. Frank Troy Senior Center, the Greater Toledo Urban League and the community, Gordon said.

The new senior services center is possible through a collaboration among the Warren AME Vision Empowerment Board, Senior Independence, the Area Office on Aging (AOoA) and others.

“It’s a community collaborative effort. We tried to include everyone in the community that we could,” Gordon said.

Having the J. Frank Troy Senior Center and Senior Independence in the same facility will better serve central Toledo seniors, said Billie Johnson, president and CEO of AOoA.

“We’ll have a full complement of daycare services and day treatment services for seniors.  In addition to full-fledged nutritional, outreach, transportation and health and wellness education programs a new facility where we can serve more people and do a better job than we are doing now. These partnerships will help us do that,” she said.

The AOoA has committed $745,000 from its capital facilities fund as long as funding for the rest of the building has been acquired, Johnson said. The funds will be given to Waterford Bank to administer, she said.

Senior Independence presented the AOoA with a $75,000 check on July 25 that will go to the Warren AME Senior Services Center. The AOoA serves as a vehicle to pass the funds along, said Ann Heringhaus, executive director of Senior Independence.

“The center fits our mission and allows us to expand and serve more people then we currently can,” she said.

Johnson said she is proud of the partnership that has formed to build the center and hopes it can be a model for future collaborations.

The Warren AME Senior Services Center will cost an estimated $1.3 million to complete.

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Warren AME Senior Services Center

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 5th, 2010 at 1:48 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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Hot weather can be a silent disaster, especially for seniors, said Emilie Owens, emergency coordinator for Area Office on Aging (AOoA). When it’s hot and humid for a sustained period of time, death rates rise significantly for seniors, Owens said.

The best way to stay hydrated is to drink water and sports drinks. Seniors should avoid alcohol, caffeine and drinks with a lot of sugar.

Outdoor activities should be limited to early morning or late evening when it’s cooler.

Appropriate clothing is also important. Lightweight and light-colored clothing, wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses and sunscreen can help keep the heat away.

Seniors should not be left in a car, where temperatures can rise dangerously high, even with open windows, Owens said.

“Within a matter of minutes, that can be deadly,” she said. “An open window is not enough to protect someone from the dangers of the heat.”

The two most serious problems caused by heat are heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

A person with heat exhaustion feels dizzy, has a headache, might vomit or sweat profusely and has clammy, pale or flushed skin and a normal body temperature. Those affected should lie down and take a cool bath or shower and drink a lot of water.

More dangerous than heat exhaustion is heatstroke. A person with heatstroke might have difficulty breathing or a change in consciousness — they might be confused or pass out. A person with heatstroke will have either a rapid or a weak pulse and body temperature can reach 105 degrees.

If this happens, “you need to call 911 or emergency assistance right away,” Owens said.

Seniors should stay indoors during the hottest part of the day. Owens said fans can help, but air conditioning is far better, and seniors should try to spend at least a few hours a day in an air-conditioned location. If their homes are not air conditioned, they can go to a public air-conditioned location, like a mall or library.

AOoA has identified eight emergency cooling centers in the Toledo-Lucas County area, where seniors can play cards, have lunch, discuss books, play bridge, quilt or take computer classes, Owens said. Cooling centers are owned individually, but most receive some funding from AOoA.

Owens said AOoA started calling on the senior centers after a 1995 heat wave in Chicago. About 750 people died in two or three days, she said, and two-thirds of them were seniors.

“We decided that we have to be advocates to our elderly,” Owens said.

For information, call (419)382-0624 or visit www.areaofficeonaging.com.

Tags: Area Office on Aging, Weather

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 8th, 2010 at 1:14 pm and is filed under Community, Seniors.
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