Office On Aging

School board deals punishment unevenly Let me get this straight, Howard County School Board ("School officials win on appeal," May 25). Apparently, two county administrators who have been independently investigated are less likely to be disciplined than an Oakland Mills High School football coach who hasn't been proven guilty of anything and yet has been forced from his position. This whole situation smacks of good-old-boy politics and undue influence of the parties involved. I wonder if this situation occurred with an average classroom teacher whether the same courtesies would be afforded to them to clear their name.

A free conference for those who care for the elderly will be offered from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. April 3 at McFaul Activities Center, 525 W. MacPhail Road, Bel Air. Workshops being offered are: "Elder Law: What You Should Know"; "Caregiver Training - Basic Techniques for Safe Care-giving"; "Coping with the Progression of Alzheimer's Disease"; "Communicating with Your Physician"; and "Finding Tranquillity Amidst the Chaos." Sponsor exhibits providing resource and service information for caregivers and their loved ones are also planned.

Like dancers in a backstage chorus line, participants kicked and turned to every command. While some giggled or caught their breath amid the intricate steps of the Bump, the Hustle and the New Jersey Skate, the group held steadfast as Shirley Duncan instructed them to "bump to the left, bump to the right." Although closer in generation to Fred Astaire than to John Travolta, the 23 eager participants are members of Urban Line Dancing, one of many programs offered at Florence Bain Senior Center in Columbia.

"If you ask young people what old people fear the most, they always guess dying. But they're wrong. What older people fear more than anything else is losing their independence," said Carol Lienhard, the director of the Harford County Office on Aging. The Office on Aging held a public hearing recently on its Area Plan for Services for the Elderly for 2004 to 2006. The plan outlined a number of services available to Harford's senior citizens and emphasized areas likely to need improvement.

After four years as Harford County Council administrator, James Massey has accepted a position as a management analyst with the county's Office on Aging. Massey's last day with the council is officially Feb. 28, but he will be out on medical leave until then recuperating from recent surgery. Massey, 50, became administrator in 1999, after more than two decades with the Harford County Public Library. He will join the Office on Aging on March 3, he said, and looks forward to the change in roles.

A datebook item in this month's Senior Connection seemed innocent enough - a free lunch at the Elkridge Senior Center on July 22 with state Senate candidate and Howard County political institution C. Vernon Gray. But the event listed in the free publication of the county Department of Citizen Services' Office on Aging has been canceled, and the notice has become a lesson for county employees on walking the nonpartisan tightrope between public service and political advantage this election season.

As a brand-new town catering to young families, Columbia boasted swimming pools, playgrounds and schools galore. Hardly anybody noticed what was missing: a cemetery, nursing homes, senior housing. "Who needs a cemetery when you're 30?" said Marshall Donley, 69, who moved to the planned community 30 years ago as the father of two preschoolers. Thirty-five years after it was conceived as a young person's paradise, Columbia is growing grayer by the day. And the unmet needs of its surging senior population - set to more than triple during the next 25 years - suddenly are on a lot of people's minds.

Contributions sought for fund that helps aged in time of need A community fund set up by Vivian L. Reid, former director of the Howard County Office on Aging, is designed to meet personal emergencies of elderly people who may need help with food, utilities, rent or medicine. The Vivian L. Reid fund is administered by the Office on Aging. Reid contributes $1,000 annually to the fund and is reaching out to the Howard community for additional help during the holidays. The fund is intended to fill any gap in services provided by local government programs for vulnerable senior citizens.

At 70, Berdina Williams of Columbia is worried about how much she will have to pay for health insurance when her health maintenance organization ends coverage for Medicare recipients in six weeks. Richard Tennant, 76, of Ellicott City wonders if treatment begun under an HMO will continue once it closes shop in Maryland on Dec. 31. They aren't alone. About 2,300 seniors in Howard County are covered by HMOs, and many of them are working to sift through the confusing thicket of rules, regulations and sales pitches to choose care they can afford in 2001.

A major study of the skills of older drivers is falling short of its goal in Howard County, with too few elderly motorists willing to participate.Only 150 people -- of the 650 hoped for -- have volunteered for the 20-minute screenings since they began at county senior centers in March, making officials question whether such a program can work in community-based settings. So Howard County, which is playing an important role in the statewide study, plans a mass mailing to senior citizens to increase participation.