The Citizen, 2001-05-23, Page 18Volunteer Appreciation
Celebration
Thursday, June 07, 2001
5:30 pm hors d'oeuvres
6:00 p.m. - dinner (call for reservations)
7:00 p.m. - keynote speaker: Mr. Eugene Dufour
from Stratford Palliative Care Unit
8:00 p.m. - Volunteer recognition
8:30 p.m. - Annual meeting for Palliative Care
Tickets $12 - reservations and info. Call 357-2720
ALL WELCOME
Sponsored by: Wingham & Area Palliative Care Services Inc.
Al RR II II IIII
OMMUNITY
ERVICES
P.O. Box 100
Phone:
26 Jordan Drive (519) 357-3010
Belgrave, Ontario
Fax:
NOG 1E0
(519) 357-3143
We Deliver Your Freedom
with:
IN Home Oxygen .
• Wheelchairs
• Electric Scooters
I Hospital Beds
• Bathroom Equipment
• Electric Reclining
Lift Chairs
MEDICHAIR Canada's
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1793 3rd Avenue W
Owen Sound, ON N4K 6Y2
Tel. (519) 371-8001
Fax (519) 371-5951
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selenium on a regular basis, take a
reputable daily multivitamin .
Women often take a more active
role in the family's overall health.
By encouraging the members of
your household to eat a proper diet,
exercise regularly and maintain an
overall healthy lifestyle you can
reduce their risk.
- IsThws Canada
Check out our
WEBSITE
at www.northhuron.on.ca
PAGE 18. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2001.
Seniors
Sound too good to be true? It probably is
By Carol
McDonnell
She lived in a
two-bedroom
apartment, proud
of her independ-
ence, though an
octogenarian. Tile
floors were kept
spotlessly clean
with a small vacu-
um.
Remember this flooring.
/ Sue, well call her, received a
phone call informing her that she
had won a prize and someone would
like to come by to deliver this prize.
Toting a vacuum cleaner, a glib sale-
man appeared at her door.
After demonstrating the superb
qualities of this vacuum, Sue was
told that the original $3,000 prize
would be reduced to $2,000 for her
with the trade-in of her old vacuum.
This would be put on her -Visa
account right away and the new vac-
uum would be hers.
Remember the flooring and space
to be cleaned?
Scams are tricks or swindles — and
according to statistics 80 per cent of
the scams committed are against
middle or elder seniors (65 years+).
Single, (often widowed) lonely, kind
and trusting, these seniors remember
a time when door-to-door salespeo-
ple could be trusted.
Sr. Const. Don Shropshall of the
Goderich Detachment of the .OPP
notes that at this time of year, home
repair scams are frequently reported.
Work will be suggested, paid for in
advance, then not done or poorly
done. Later these contractors might
return saying they hadn't been paid
or suggesting further work which
should be done.
Telemarketing can be legitimate,
but it' someone is lying to the victim
this is fraudulent too. That free
cruise in Florida may be on a rusty,
leaky freighter with all kinds of extra
costs thrown' in — maybe stretching
the truth or mining some details?
Banks don't phone to ask you to
help them catch a suspected employ-
ee. And you shouldn't give your
credit card number or bank account
number to secure a prize which you
are supposed to have won.
Everyone feels upset when they
have been a victim of fraud. I still
blush when I think how easily I
myself was duped. Rest assured doc-
tors, lawyers even police officers
have also been defrauded.
By reporting to the police any sus-
pected fraud you might help some-
one else avoid this hardship.
Sue's story had as somewhat
happy ending. She told her family,
who went to the local OPP office.
They in turn phoned the vacuum
company who refunded her money
and picked up their pricey machine.
However, she wasn't able to recover
her old perfectly good machine.
Sue considers herself lucky, and
won't be so trusting in the future.
FRAUD-PROOFING YOUR-
SELF
• Don't be bullied or intimidated
into having work done.
• Don't be rushed into a decision.
• Get other estimates for the
work.
• Ask family members, or neigh-
bours for assistance in dealing with
a contractor.
• Demand proper identification for
all service people, and phone to see
if the identification is valid.
• Get written estimates and refer-
ences specifying work to be done.
• Be wary of strangers going door
to door. Try to deal locally if pos-
sible.
Call the police if you suspect
someone has taken advantage of
you.
You can never have too much security
Every year, as many.as two mil-
lion homes are broken into across
Canada and it often happens when
people are at home.
It helps to know that home intrud-
ers generally look for two elements
when selecting a home. They have to
be able to get in and out quickly, and
they must 'remain unseen. If either
one of these conditions do not exist,
odds are they will move on to the
next house. Deadbolt locks on every
door make a major statement to
thieves and are a crucial first line of
defense.
Maximum security deadbolts
"The deadbolts you use on your
home should be Grade 2 or higher,"
says Greg LaVigne, specialist in_
locks and home security products.
"Deadbolts and locksets are tested
and graded by the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Three grades are established with
Grade 1 providing the very best res-
idential security available; Grade 2
exceeding residential security
requirements; and Grade 3 providing
minimal residential security. It may
be important to note that currentlyt it
is only Schlage that manufactures
Grade 2 Maximum Security locks to
offer Grade 1 security features."
Another effective way to slow
down or expose an intruder is at the
property line. Consider these addi-
tional steps:
Perimeter lighting
If your property is well lit, you
force intruders to find another target.
Make sure your lights illuminate
darker areas like back doors and _
windows, shrubbery, walkways and
entrances to your garage and base-
ment.
Motion sensors
When linked to your outdoor light-
ing system, motion sensors will star-
tle intruders by instantly drowning
them in light. You can set the sensi-
tivity of most motion sensors so that
lights go on when necessary.
Timers for interior lights
If you're going away on vacation,
put timers on your interior lights. To
prevent a pattern from being estab-
lished, look for timers that stagger
when your lights go on from day to
day.
Security cameras
Cameras, similar to those used in
business settings, can be linked to
your VCR, or to a monitoring com-
pany that will send help immediate-
ly.
Strong perimeter security is
intended to make an intruder's job as
hard as possible.
- News Canada
The link between vitamins and menopause
plement with vitamin D, women can accompany menopause.
- News Canada
As we age, good nutrition plays an
even a bigger role in maintaining our
health. Several nutrients are critical
to the health of menopausal women
such as vitamins D, C, B6, B12, and
folic acid as well as minerals such as
calcium and zinc.
Calcium and vitamin D are of par-
ticular importance due to their
impact on bone density. Due to hor-
monal changes, calcium is rapidly
depleted from bone during
menopause. Optimal intake of calci-
um and vitamin D are especially
important for menopausal women as
these nutrients can help reduce the
risk of osteoporosis, a debilitating
disease.
It is generally recommended that
women who are on Hormone
Replacement Therapy (HRT) also
take a calcium supplement. Calcium
supplementation not only reduces
the risk of osteoporosis but has also
been shown to add to HRT's benefits
for bone health.
Most women in their 40s and 50s
know they are at potential risk of
heart disease. What some women
don't know is that certain vitamins
can play a role in prevention of heart
disease. Homocysteine is recognized
as a significant risk factor for coro-
nary heart disease. Homocysteine
blood levels increase as we age.
However, recent research ..,has
shown that folic acid, vitamin B12
and vitamin B6 may help to keep
homocysteine levels in check.
Research has also shown that
although it is possible to reduce
homocysteine levels somewhat by
maintaining a good diet, a daily sup-
plement containing these B-vitamins
can be even more effective.
By focusing on a balanced,
healthy diet and taking a daily mul-
tivitamin, along with a calcium sup-
minimize some of the effects that
Reduce the risk of prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is the most com-
monly diagnosed cancer among men
and the second deadliest cancer. One
in eight men will develop it within
their lifetime and one in three of
these men will die from it. As the
incidence of prostate canter increas-
es with age, most cases of prostate
cancer are diagnosed among men
over the age of 65.
In order tee reduce the risk of get-
ting —Prostate cancer, men should
exercise regularly and eat according
to Canada's Food Guide, which
includes lots of fruits and vegetables
that contain the antioxidant seleni-
um.
Recent research studies have
shown that selenium and vitamin E
may reduce a man's risk of develop-
ing prostate cancer. Foods that are
rich in selenium are seafood, meat,
grains and certain types of nuts.
It can be difficult to get the rec-
ommended amount of vitamin E
through diet alone, however it can
be found in vegetable oil, nuts,
whole grains _and wheat germ. In
order to ensure an adequate intake of