Respite Care

For Dave Tracey, his wife, Debra, and their family, the weeklong vacation in Ocean City last August was one to remember.They give much of the credit to Carroll Haven Inc.'s Stepping Out program, which encourages families with developmentally disabled members to take a break through respite care and asks businesses to help out with discounts."

The Women's Giving Circle of Howard County has granted $5,600 of its 2011 grants budget in emergency funds to local nonprofits serving women and girls. Emergency Grants are provided to selected nonprofits organizations on an annual basis to be used throughout the year toward immediate relief of emergencies in the lives of women and girls they serve. Recipients for 2011 are Bridges to Housing Stability, Community Action Council, Domestic Violence Center, Family and Children's Services and Howard County General Hospital for the Healthy Families program, FIRN, and Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center.

THE ARC of Howard County's respite care home is a place where people with developmental disabilities can stay when those who care for them need a break -- for an afternoon, overnight, even an occasional weekend.But the home, off Sunny Spring in the village of Hickory Ridge, has needed some care of its own, said Sherrie Nolan, director of family support services for the local ARC.Now, with labor donated by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and materials donated by the Vertical Connection, three bedrooms in the home are getting a bright new look.

Pam Matheson was a young special education teacher when she first went to the Rosewood Center in Owings Mills for training, and before long, she'd fallen in love with Matthew, a 7-year-old boy with Cornelia de Lange Syndrome, a set of conditions including small size, gastrointestinal problems, heart defects and other symptoms - often, as in his case, some degree of mental retardation. She arranged to get him admitted to the School for the Blind in Parkville, and when she learned the school would not take someone who lived in an institution, she agreed to become his foster parent.

`Pick your car' raffle offered by health care planner Catastrophic Health Planners Inc. of Finksburg is holding a "Pick Your Car and Color" raffle to raise money to assist families facing large medical bills. Tickets are $5 and will be sold until the $25,000 fund-raising goal is reached. The winner will receive a pre-owned vehicle valued at $10,000, or $10,000 cash that must be applied toward a new or used vehicle at Heritage of Westminster. Tickets are available at Catastrophic Health Planners, the Finksburg BB&T branch, New York J&P Pizza, Finksburg Liquors, Palette & Page, and Vaughn's Hometown Video.

ANNAPOLIS -- Maryland got federal approval yesterday for a program that provides community-based services to developmentally disabled people who would otherwise be in institutions.The action gives the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene access to $12 million in federal funds this fiscal year for programs to wipe out the state's waiting list of 5,000 disabled people. Services provided will include case management, respite care and assistive technology.Pub Date: 11/03/98

Secretary of Higher Education Shaila R. Aery has recommended to Maryland community colleges that they charge a registration fee for continuing education courses taken by senior citizens.The recommended $20 fee would help defray the cost of offering continuing education courses to seniors, who by law may take courses without paying tuition.During the 1988-1989 academic year, there were more than 134,000 senior citizen registrations in Maryland's community college system.In a memo to community college presidents, Aery pointed out that demand for community college courses increases during economic slowdowns.

Anne Arundel County Department of Aging is holding its annual Law Day for Older Adults from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Jan. 15 at Anne Arundel Community College.Law Day focuses on issues of interest to older adults, their caregivers and relatives, with workshops on probate and alternatives, financial powers of attorney, Medicare changes, Medicaid eligibility for long-term care, and wills and trusts. Lynne A. Battaglia, U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland, will speak on "Older Adults: A Healthy Look at the Laws Affecting Us."

WTTR-Radio morning show host Jeff Adams and afternoon show host Brian Beddow will take part in the United Cerebral Palsy's Starathon '91 Saturday and Sunday on WJZ-TV.The telethon is hosted nationallyby John Ritter and other celebrities and features special appearances from New Kids on the Block and others.Locally, WJZ-TV reporter Richard Sher and Rhea Feiken will hostsegments.The telethon begins at 11:30 p.m. Saturday and runs until 8 p.m. Sunday. The telethon raises money to maintain and expand the services provided by United Cerebral Palsy of Central Maryland, including UCP-managed residences, respite care, camp and referral services in Carroll County.

Gordon Mumpower to lead the Arc's Chocolate Ball Gordon M. Mumpower Jr., owner of Commercial Insurance Managers, will be chairman of the Arc of Howard County's Chocolate Ball for the seventh year. The ball will be from 7 p.m. to midnight March 20 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's Kossiakoff Center. The event includes an auction, dinner catered by Putting on the Ritz and dancing to the music of Opus One. Tickets are $100. Mumpower's team for the Chocolate Ball includes Walter von Rauzenkranz, Chip McAuliffe, Kari Meachum, Pam Guzzone, Anne Ryan and Nancy McLay of the Arc. Last year's Chocolate Ball raised more than $75,000 for the Arc, which provides vocational and residential support and services, respite care, educational advocacy, and other programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

A white stone rancher in a quiet neighborhood within a few miles of downtown Westminster opens today as Respite Inn, a comfortable haven that will allow families to take a short vacation from the demands of caring for their developmentally disabled offspring. Change Inc., which recently celebrated 35 years of offering support services to the developmentally disabled and their families, bought the home last year and adapted it for its clients. The inn's first guests are booked for this weekend, with 14-year-old Megan Will among them.

A white stone rancher in a quiet neighborhood within a few miles of downtown Westminster opens today as Respite Inn, a comfortable haven that will allow families to take a short vacation from the demands of caring for their developmentally disabled offspring. Change Inc., which recently celebrated 35 years of offering support services to the developmentally disabled and their families, bought the home last year and adapted it for its clients. The inn's first guests are booked for this weekend, with 14-year-old Megan Will among them.

In Baltimore City City to vote on plan to pay synagogue $150,000 for land The city Board of Estimates is scheduled to vote this morning on a proposal to pay $150,000 to a synagogue in the Evergreen neighborhood of North Baltimore to buy 2 acres to create a public park. The money would go to the Bolton Street Synagogue, which recently completed a move from 1131 Bolton St. to a renovated building on Cold Spring Lane just east of Wilmslow Road. As part of negotiations with the Evergreen Neighborhood Association, the synagogue agreed to sell to the city parks department the adjacent 2-acre meadow on Alpine Road.

Gordon Mumpower to lead the Arc's Chocolate Ball Gordon M. Mumpower Jr., owner of Commercial Insurance Managers, will be chairman of the Arc of Howard County's Chocolate Ball for the seventh year. The ball will be from 7 p.m. to midnight March 20 at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory's Kossiakoff Center. The event includes an auction, dinner catered by Putting on the Ritz and dancing to the music of Opus One. Tickets are $100. Mumpower's team for the Chocolate Ball includes Walter von Rauzenkranz, Chip McAuliffe, Kari Meachum, Pam Guzzone, Anne Ryan and Nancy McLay of the Arc. Last year's Chocolate Ball raised more than $75,000 for the Arc, which provides vocational and residential support and services, respite care, educational advocacy, and other programs for children and adults with developmental disabilities.

`Pick your car' raffle offered by health care planner Catastrophic Health Planners Inc. of Finksburg is holding a "Pick Your Car and Color" raffle to raise money to assist families facing large medical bills. Tickets are $5 and will be sold until the $25,000 fund-raising goal is reached. The winner will receive a pre-owned vehicle valued at $10,000, or $10,000 cash that must be applied toward a new or used vehicle at Heritage of Westminster. Tickets are available at Catastrophic Health Planners, the Finksburg BB&T branch, New York J&P Pizza, Finksburg Liquors, Palette & Page, and Vaughn's Hometown Video.

Seminars offered for care givers of dementia patients The National Family Caregiver Support Program and the county Health Department's Aging Respite Care Program will offer a series of free seminars from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. every other Friday at O'Malley Senior Center. The series includes: Nov. 15, "And in this Corner," on managing behaviors of a loved one who is afflicted with dementia. Dec. 6, "Down and Dirty," on managing incontinence. Dec. 20, "Is It Time?" on placement issues. Information: 410-222-6227.

June Mileo of Laurel is resting a little easier now that her 85-year-old mother lives in the special care unit for Alzheimer's patients at the Bon Secours Extended Care Facility."

You (wrote) that we could sidestep the problem of having to pay excess federal tax at the end of the year by having withholding taken out of our Social Security benefits. As far as I know, Social Security will never withhold any kind of tax. I've been using Social Security for nine years and they will not take a penny out, so I have to pay a little estimated tax. Effective last year, you may direct the Social Security Administration to withhold federal income tax from your benefit payments, according to agency spokesman Kurt Czarnowski.

LINTHICUM's American Cancer Society Relay for Life is a bit more than five months away, but planning for the June 15-16 event at Lindale Middle School is under way, and the committee working on it invites volunteers from the community to join the effort. The next meeting will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Dr. John Gigliotti's dental office, 809 N. Hammonds Ferry Road. Sue McDonald, project manager at the American Cancer Society's Anne Arundel County unit in Gambrills, said the overnight team event is dedicated to cancer patients and their families and friends.