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OLEAN TIMES HERALD fRIDAy, october 19, 2012 PAGE 1
Kate Day Sager/olean times Herald
Jim Baker, a master weaver at the McKean County Historical Society’s Old Jail Museum in Smethport, Pa., demonstrates
weaving on a loom he built several years ago.
Smethport man’s craft
manages to loom large
By Kate Day Sager
Olean Times Herald
SMETHPORT, Pa. —
When Jim Baker
returned home from
the U.S. Army Air
Forces following World War
II, he became interested in
his mother’s weaving skills
and decided to take a shot at
learning the craft.
Mr. Baker not only
learned how to weave on
a loom, but mastered all
aspects of the craft. Now,
60 years later, he is actively
serving as master weaver
for the McKean County
Historical Society’s Old Jail
Museum on King Street in
Smethport.
During a tour of his work
areas on the second floor
and basement of the museum,
Mr. Baker spoke of how
the craft not only is enjoyable
for him but literally
keeps him going because of
its physical aspects. His routine
at the museum includes
climbing a steep set of steps
to the second floor where
the looms are located, and
back down two flights to
the basement where he
uses sewing and cutting
machines to cut strips of
denim for his rag rugs.
“I’m 93. I got to be doing
something. I can’t sit still,”
Mr. Baker said after climbing
up to the second floor of
the old jail where the Loom
Room is located. An iron
door with bars is found at
the bottom of the staircase.
The Loom Room is located
in what had once housed
the women’s jail cells when
the facility served as the
McKean County Jail. The
room has nine barred windows
and a corrugated
metal ceiling.
The sunlit room, which
once contained four separate
cells for imprisoned
women, provides plenty of
light for weaving. Mr. Baker
said he requested the room
for weaving for that reason.
Mr. Baker said he began
weaving for the historical
association when it was
located in the basement
of the McKean County
Courthouse close to 20 years
ago. His late wife, Carolyn,
had worked at the museum
and encouraged him to
work on the loom and spinning
wheel at the facility.
When the museum
moved to the old jail in
2003, Mr. Baker, who is
now a board member, made
sure a weaving room and
an antique loom from the
Hudson River region would
be included. Later, an ash
loom made by Mr. Baker
was added to the room.
He noted he has made
other large and small looms,
and repaired a number of
the items.
Mr. Baker said he was
intrigued by weaving after
watching his mother work
on a loom at their home following
his military service
in the Pacific Theater. He
continued on with the craft
after marrying and raising
two sons with his wife.
Over the years, he
worked in the oil fields as
a roustabout and pumper,
and later worked for Airco
Spears in Bradford. That
was followed by work as a
driver with the Intermediate
Unit 9, which serves school
districts in the region.
After he was laid off
from that job, he concentrated
on weaving at his home.
He also took spinning and
weaving classes to improve
his craft.
While he regularly makes
rag rugs out of denim strips
Please see LOOM, page 2
Here are the five
biggest money
mistakes retirees
frequently make
Avoid these pitfalls and you won’t
compromise your financial future
By David Pitt
AP Personal Finance Writer
Live long and prosper.
We should all be so lucky
to fulfill this blessing made
popular in the television
series “Star Trek.” For
retirees to maintain their
desired lifestyle without
a paycheck, possibly for
decades, they need have a
solid financial plan. They
also need to steer clear of
serious mistakes that could
AARP warns: Beware
when buying energy
in deregulated sector
New Yorkers are paying
some of the highest electricity
prices in the nation,
with the costs making up
a considerable and everincreasing
portion of household
budgets.
In particular, older consumers
are vulnerable to
increases in energy prices.
Although they consume
approximately the same
amount of energy their
younger counterparts do,
older adults spend a higher
percentage of their income
on residential energy costs.
AARP is very concerned
about recent media reports
of data showing New
York residential customers
who bought energy from
energy service companies
(ESCOs) paid $413 more for
electricity and $235 more
for natural gas over the
past two years, on average,
compared with what they
compromise their future
income.
Here’s a look at some
common pitfalls retirees
encounter and ways to
step around them to avoid
financial disaster.
HELPING CHILDREN
TOO MUCH
® Problem: Retirees
with children or grandchildren
are often too willing
See RETIREES, page 3
would have paid National
Grid, said Marilyn Pinsky,
AARP’s New York president.
ESCOs are alternative
suppliers of natural gas and
electricity that consumers
contract with, oftentimes
with the promise of lower
prices.
“On behalf of our 2.7
million members in New
York, we sincerely hope this
is not a widespread occurrence
affecting customers
of electric and gas service
in other parts of the state.
AARP is recommending
our members in New York
be extremely cautious when
switching to an ESCO for
their gas and/or electric
service. Consumers should
always take care to compare
rate plans. However,
until the New York Public
Service Commission (PSC)
See ENERGY, page 2

PAGE 2 frIdAy, friday, OctOber 19, 2012 OLEAN TIMES HErALd
RETIREES
Continued from page 1
to help out financially; sometimes at the risk
of their own well-being. Even though many
baby boomers worked to put themselves
through college and the experience developed
good financial skills, they don’t want
their kids to struggle as much, says Wayne
Copelin, president of Copelin Financial
Advisors in Sugar Land, Texas.
If you try to tell parents that it’s a mistake
to bail adult children out of credit card debt
or help them with other financial mistakes,
they get very mad, says Copelin. “They just
won’t hear that.”
® Solution: Don’t underestimate your
longevity. Make sure you have enough
money to last the rest of your life by laying
out a financial plan. With a plan in hand,
you can then determine how much you can
afford to spend on children and grandchildren.
If you don’t take this step, you could
very well run out of money and need to turn
to your children for help.
Also be very careful about co-signing
loans because any default or late payments
can hurt your credit rating. What’s more,
be aware that significant gifts could be considered
taxable — this year’s limit is up to
$13,000. Read the IRS rules at: http://tinyurl.
com/4uncnxx .
UNDERESTIMATING
HEALTH CARE COSTS
® Problem: One of the biggest pitfalls
facing the retirees of the next few decades
is unanticipated and unplanned health care
costs.
According to various experts, a healthy
couple in their mid-60s will need around
$300,000 to cover health care in retirement.
A couple in their mid-50s should plan on
spending around $500,000 in out-of-pocket
health care costs.
Most retirees will not have saved anywhere
near that amount. The average 401(k)
account balance for 55-year-old workers
contributing for at least 10 years is $234,000,
according to Fidelity Investments.
® Solution: One way to be prepared is
to purchase long-term health care insurance,
which can help cover the cost of home care
or nursing home care, should the need arise.
Couples in their 50s and in good health likely
can buy a policy for an annual premium of
around $2,500 if they shop for the best rates.
Waiting until their 60s to buy is expensive
with premiums rising to as much as $4,000 to
$5,000 a year.
To look at options for long-term care planning,
check out this site provided by the federal
government: http://www.longtermcare.
gov/LTC/Main_Site/index.aspx .
TAKING SOCIAL SECURITY
BENEFITS TOO SOON
® Problem: No one knows exactly how
long they’ll live and these days it’s very com-
ENERGY
Continued from page 1
has had a chance to examine
this apparent price discrepancy
in the marketplace, consumers
should exercise extra
diligence when evaluating
gas and electric rate plans,”
she said.
Furthermore, “We believe
the PSC should, at a minimum,
provide more effective
tools to allow consumers
to make price comparisons
between ESCOs and their
local utility company so they
can gauge how much money
they may or may not save if
they switch service providers,”
she said. In addition,
“We suggest re-examining
their Power to Choose web-
Meals on Wheels
gets high marks,
survey indicates
Did you know that over
500 Meals on Wheels are
delivered weekdays throughout
Cattaraugus County?
Did you know more
than 150 older adults enjoy
meals at the county’s Senior
Wellness and Nutrition
(SWAN) sites?
According to a recent satisfaction
survey conducted
by the Cattaraugus County
Department of the Aging’s
Senior Nutrition Program,
meal recipients and congregate
diners continue to
be highly pleased with the
quality of the meals.
In August, surveys were
sent out to all Meals on
Wheels recipients and congregate
diners at the SWAN
sites. The survey return/
response rate was 56 percent,
Please see MEALS, page 3
site and instituting a bill calculator
that allows for price
comparisons.”
According to a recent
AARP survey of New
Yorkers who are 50-plus,
over 40 percent said they
found it “difficult” to pay
their utility bill, with 18
percent finding it “very difficult.”
Across the nation and
in New York, AARP has a
long history of advocating
for residential ratepayers,
including supporting laws
mon to outlive our own expectations. About
one in four 65-year-olds today will live past
90. One in 10 will live past 95. It’s difficult to
know how much to set aside for retirement.
It’s equally difficult to know whether to take
Social Security as soon as one is eligible or
wait a few years and get a fatter check.
® Solution: A worker at the full retirement
age of 66 will be entitled to a monthly
Social Security benefit of $1,000. That’s
reduced to $750 a month if benefits begin at
62, the earliest one can begin to draw checks.
However, the same worker waiting until age
70 will get $1,320 a month.
Deciding when to take benefits depends
on age, health, how long you’ll keep working,
how much is saved and other factors.
The Social Security Administration offers a
benefits calculator at: http://www.ssa.gov/
oact/anypia/index.html.
FAILING TO ASK
FOR GUIDANCE
® Problem: Trying to handle retirement
savings and investments without help.
® Solution: Many retirees and those
nearing retirement who manage their own
money often micromanage their accounts by
watching the market’s movement every day.
They tend to pull money out when they get
scared and keep it out until too late, missing
any chance for recovery when the market
picks up. This happened to millions of retirement
savers as the market collapsed in 2008.
Many 401(k) accountholders lost a third of
their money.
The reverse is also true as many put their
investments on auto pilot.
A financial planner can help make sure
a portfolio is properly diversified and that
risk is adequately reduced as retirement
approaches. With such low interest rates
today, it’s difficult to make any money in
cash investments, so a strategy of using
bonds with varying maturities, mixing in
dividend paying stocks, and looking at
newly designed annuity products are important.
INVESTING TOO
CONSERVATIVELY
® Problem: Retirees want to protect their
savings from losses, but also need to be sure
their money is working for them. Investment
returns are a vital part of their balance sheet.
® Solution: Retirement can last for
decades. It’s important to recognize that
inflation will cause expenses to rise over
time, all while retirees are living on a fixed
income. Also it’s a mistake to assume that
total expenses will decline in retirement.
With more leisure time, expenses can rise,
and medical costs will certainly increase.
This means that it would be a mistake
for retirees to invest solely in fixed-income
securities. Instead they need to continue to
maintain a diversified portfolio, with a strategy
that gradually limits their risk of losses
as they get older.
that provide consumer protection
to ESCO customers
and, more recently, supporting
the ESCO Bill of Rights
law in New York.
AARP strongly believes
that consumer options and
competition will make for a
stronger and more transparent
ESCO marketplace in
New York, but consumers
must be empowered with
information so that they can
make informed choices for
themselves and their households,
Ms. Pinsky said.
Kate day Sager/Olean times Herald
Jim Baker is shown cutting strips of denim that are used in the weaving of denim rugs at
the Old Jail Museum.
LOOM
Continued from page 1
cut from old jeans, he also
has woven rugs, placemats
and scarves out of plastic
bread wrappers, T-shirts,
sweatshirts and wool.
He has special pride for
a rug that he hand-carded,
spun and wove by using
a Navaho saddle blanket
weave. He weaves as many
as 60 to 70 rugs a year,
either at his home or in the
museum.
He has taught classes in
the past and is always available
to offer help to other
weavers.
Museum volunteer
Marjorie Windsor said she
and the other staff appreciate
Mr. Baker and his talents.
“What he does is a lost
art,” Mrs. Windsor said. “We
do have a couple of women
trying to learn this and he’s
a good teacher.”
Eileen McKean, president
of the historical association,
said Mr. Baker also was
recognized by the Weaver’s
Journal for his skills as a
master weaver.
“He’s taught so many
people, not just from the
United States, but from
other countries,” Mrs.
McKean said. “He works
with the young and old.
He’s the main pillar of this
place — not only in his mannerisms,
but his talent.”
For more information on
Mr. Baker or the museum,
which is open through the
end of October for tours, call
the facility at (814) 887-5142
or visit online at www.mchsmuseum.org.
(Contact reporter Kate Day
Sager at kates_th@yahoo.com)

OLEAN TIMES HERALD fRIDAy, october 19, 2012 PAGE 3
Wrinkles of Wisdom Original pOetry and prOse by seniOr citizens frOm the twin tiers
By Joan Pettit
A lot of thing bother me:
® Like when parents let their noisy,
bratty kids run around at a restaurant when
you are trying to enjoy your meal that cost
you too much to begin with.
® They keep taking from the working
man to help pay for benefits that go to illegal
aliens who don’t work. I mean, hello,
what part of illegal don’t they understand?
Then they go take a vote and raise their
own wages and benefits.
® I hate getting a cold sore about the
time I’m going to do something special like
going to the doctor or the grocery store.
They seem to last forever and you know
everyone is staring at you.
® I get very upset with people who look
me in the eye and lie to me, thinking I am
too dumb to realize it.
® I don’t like listening to parents who
say they aren’t going to make their kids
go to church. They are going to wait until
the kids are of age and let them make their
own decision. They won’t go then even if
they would like to. They are the same kids
that will grow up and say they aren’t going
to make their kids go to church ... blah,
blah, blah.
By Betty Lundberg
Ever since I was a little girl
I’ve liked naps. After lunch, I
took as many books as I could
carry and went to bed.
I read, slipped books under
by pillow and went to sleep
dreaming of my favorite characters.
Unlike my friends, I liked
naps in kindergarten. I curled
meals
Continued from page 2
and the surveys boasted the
following positive feedback
percentages (indicating the
response listed was either
satisfied “all of the time” or
“most of the time”):
® Are you satisfied with
the way the food tastes? 85
percent;
® Are you satisfied with
the way the food smells?
92 percent;
® Are you satisfied with
the appearance of the meal?
91 percent;
® Are you satisfied with
the variety of meals served?
81 percent; and
® Are you satisfied with
the temperature of the food?
89 percent.
Depending on their location,
some Meals on Wheels
recipients receive chilled
or frozen meals, and when
asked if they are satisfied
with these meals, the positive
feedback percentage
was 85 percent.
Comments recorded
on the surveys frequently
included statements such
as, “I enjoy all my meals.”
“They always taste good.”
“We really appreciate these
meals.”
Meal recipients and diners
were also given the
opportunity to voice their
opinions about the meals
being offered in the upcoming
menu cycle, which
includes the months of
October, November and
December.
The survey listed 17
menu entrees and survey
participants were asked
to rank the entrees. After
review of the results,
low-ranking entrees were
removed from the upcoming
menu cycle and/or
substituted. This shows that
the menus are consumer
driven said officials from
the Cattaraugus County
Department of Aging.
The Meals on Wheels
program in Cattaraugus
Things That Bug Me
County is operated by the
Department of the Aging.
Meals are delivered to
elderly, frail, homebound
seniors by a core of volunteers,
many of whom have
been delivering meals for
years.
Meals on Wheels volunteers
are needed all
across Cattaraugus County,
but especially in Olean,
Allegany, and Salamanca.
It takes just over an hour of
your day to deliver between
® I don’t like listening to people I don’t
know talking on their cell phones. Do they
think I’m deaf?
® It disturbs me with some of our
young kids who spend most of their time
lounging on a couch with the television,
video games or cell phones and complain
there is nothing to do. So go clean your
room. My kids used to hate to hear that but
they quit complaining to me. These kids
probably don’t know how to clean their
own rooms or even make their own beds.
® I really hate it when people say they
don’t visit friends or relatives at a nursing
home or go to the visitations at funeral parlors
because it makes them uncomfortable.
Do they all think we go because it is a lot
of fun? We do it because of our love and
respect for the friend, relative or surviving
friends or family members.
® I don’t like going into a restaurant or
store and having whoever waits on me call
me honey or sweetie, like I was a child.
® And I really have to laugh at parents
who say their kids wouldn’t do this or that.
I thought that about my kids a long time
ago, too, but keep finding out to this day
how wrong I was.
® I feel sad for the parents that let their
little girls wear those teeny, little bikini
on my rug next to my friend,
Helen, and whispered about
books. Sometimes our teacher
separated us for whispering.
Fast forward to the busy
years of mothering a daughter
and son. I welcomed nap time.
While they napped, I read,
sewed, and talked to other
young mothers.
As our children grew older,
their friends outgrew naps, but
Naps
10 and 15 meals to frail,
vulnerable adults, possibly
living right next door.
If you, a family member
or even a neighbor has
been touched by Meals on
Wheels, consider volunteering,
said county officials.
Contact the Department of
the Aging at (716) 373-8032
or 800-462-2901 and ask for
David Rodkey, RSVP coordinator,
or Lisa Swaciak,
home-delivered meal coordinator.
not in this yellow house.
For one hour, they were on
their bed with a book, doll or
truck. I set the stove timer, and
confess there were afternoons I
reset it so I could read another
chapter or finish my sewing
project.
During my working-outsidethe-home
years, I often thought
about naps. I especially longed
for a nap on long winter after-
bathing suits. What are they thinking of?
® And don’t you wonder if little kids
think their parents are silly when they tell
them they had better behave by the time
they count to 10? Or how about this one?
“Just wait until your father gets home.”
You just have to know when to say no.
Even little kids know what it means but get
mixed signals about when they have to pay
attention to it.
® And how about when you’re sick and
laying on the couch — I mean feeling lowdown,
mean-dog rotten with a big scabby
sore — and someone comes tripping in and
with a big smile asks you how you feel.
Don’t you just want to throw something at
them?
® Or how about when they say you
don’t look a day older. A day older than
what? Do they think I don’t own a mirror?
® And some of you young folks — and
some not so young — please pull up your
pants. I don’t want to look at your behind
or your belly button, either, even if it does
have a gaudy ring in it.
® This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Better not really get me going. I am 80
years old and feeling a little bit crabby
today. So don’t bug me.
(Joan Pettit lives in Bolivar.)
noons.
I knew retirement would
come and naps were a part of
retirement.
Now that I’m retired, I
welcome a nap almost every
afternoon. After lunch I curl up
under the afghan my mother
crocheted, sleep and wake
refreshed.
(Betty Lundberg lives in Olean.)
AARP
Foundation
Tax-Aide
program seeks
volunteers
NEW YORK — AARP
Foundation Tax-Aide,
the nation’s largest
free, volunteer-run tax
preparation and assistance
service, is seeking
volunteers across the
state to help New York
taxpayers who are seeking
assistance preparing
and filing their 2012 tax
returns.
Volunteers do not
need to be an AARP
member or retiree to
participate. AARP
Foundation Tax-Aide
volunteers receive free
tax training and are
reimbursed on a limited
basis for qualified program-related
expenses.
They help taxpayers at
sites around the state,
learning new skills while
giving back to countless
communities.
“This year, we’ve
assisted thousands of
people in preparing and
filing their tax returns,”
said Marilyn Pinsky,
AARP’s state president.
“We could not do it without
our volunteers, who
make an indelible mark
on the communities they
help.”
Last year, more than
1,800 Tax-Aide volunteers
helped over 113,000
taxpayers across the
state. They join the more
than 35,000 Tax-Aide volunteers
across the country,
helping millions of
taxpayers each year.
For more information
on how you can join the
AARP Foundation Tax-
Aide team, go online at
www.aarp.org/tavolunteer8.
AARP Foundation
Tax-Aide is offered in
conjunction with the IRS.

PAGE 4 friday, OctOber 19, 2012 OLEaN TiMES HEraLd
Associated Press
In this Aug. 31 photo, a couple strolls through a
park by the harbor in Camden, Maine. The small
coastal town is often cited in lists of best retirement
places to move for people interested in
cooler climates.
Some retirees
are heading to
unconventional
destinations
By Clarke Canfield
Associated Press
CAMDEN, Maine — When Peg Davis was
ready to find a retirement community to
move to, she looked north — not south
— for a place to spend her later years.
Rather than set her sights on Florida, Arizona
or some other warm-weather locale, she packed
up and moved from Big Flats, N.Y., to the small
coastal Maine town of Camden.
Davis, 73, was in search of the slow pace of a
small town with natural beauty, cultural opportunities
and “a sense of place.” She hasn’t been
disappointed since arriving in 2010.
“I wouldn’t go south of Pennsylvania,” said
Davis, who vacationed here for years before
making the move. “My mind operates like a
Mainer. It doesn’t operate like people who
escape to Southern comfort.”
The idea of people who uproot and move
when they retire conjures up images of warm,
sunny Florida or Arizona. But some of the older
members of the baby boom generation, the 78
million Americans born between 1946 and 1964,
are looking elsewhere, and a number of towns in
cooler climates from Maine to Washington have
become popular retirement destinations.
Camden is frequently cited in lists of best
places for retirees. Others that have merited
mention include Asheville, N.C.; Ruidoso,
N.M.; Durango, Colo.; the San Juan Islands in
Washington’s Puget Sound; St. George, Utah;
Medford, Ore.; Coeur d’Alene, Idaho; Kalispell,
Mont.; and towns along lakes Superior and
Michigan in northern Michigan.
“Boomers and retirees these days are considering
a much wider range of destinations
for retirement, often choosing states that don’t
commonly come to mind, such as Maine and
Montana,” said Mary Lu Abbott, editor of Where
to Retire magazine. “Yes, the Sun Belt remains
popular, but many people prefer a four-season
climate and enjoy the changing of seasons. They
seek towns that are safe and have active, appealing
downtowns and good hospitals nearby, and
increasingly they’re looking for places with a
lower cost of living and lower overall tax rate.”
Maine doesn’t have a low income tax rate
and housing prices are high in Camden. But the
town fits the bill in most other regards, drawing
more and more retirees over the years, many
of whom have some previous connection to the
town, spending summers or vacations in the
area.
Camden, with a population of 4,850, has
a picturesque harbor that is home to historic
windjammers in summer and fall. Nestled at the
base of the Camden Hills, the town has its own
ski mountain. The downtown has stores and
restaurants that are locally owned. Crime is low
and incomes and education levels are high.
In 1990, about 33 percent of residents were 55
and older, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
By 2010, nearly half were 55 and over. By last
count, Camden has more people in their 60s
than in their 20s and 30s combined.
Camden’s median age is 53, which is old even
by Maine standards. The Pine Tree State, with
the nation’s oldest residents, has a median age
of 42.7 years.
Smaller, far-flung places aren’t for all retirees,
of course.
For a time, it was a flash mob scene at Olean Center Mall.
By Stacy Lockwood
OLEAN — On Sept. 21,
the Olean Center Mall was
a mob scene. — a flash mob
scene, that is.
The Cattaraugus County
Falls Prevention Coalition
held a falls prevention
awareness event to raise
awareness of the incidence
of falls in older adults and
to provide education on falls
prevention.
Approximately 50 people
attended the event and were
given the opportunity to
learn creative and effective
ways to reduce their risk of
falls.
The highlight of the
event was a Tai Chi “flash
mob,” which was led
by Stacy Lockwood of
the Cattaraugus County
Department of the Aging
and Sharon Noecker of
Healthy Community
Alliance.
Seniors from Total Senior
Care, The Linwood Center,
the Springville Concord
Elder Network (SCENe),
and members of the public
were part of the flash mob
experience, with help from
WPIG’s mascot, The Big Pig,
who also participated in
the five-minute, low-impact
activity.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control and
Prevention’s National
Center for Injury Prevention
and Control:
® One out of three adults
age 65 and older falls each
year;
® Among adults age 65
and older, falls are the leading
cause of injury death.
They are also the most common
cause of nonfatal injuries
and hospital admissions
for trauma; and
® Many people who fall,
even if they are not injured,
develop a fear of falling.
This fear may cause them to
limit their activities, which
leads to reduced mobility
and loss of physical fitness,
which in turn further
increases their risk of falling.
The Falls Prevention
Coalition focuses on four
specific areas to reduce fall
risk, represented by the
acronym MAVE:
® Medication review
and management —
Medications are reviewed to
identify those that can cause
side effects or interactions
such as dizziness or drowsiness;
® Assessment of home
safety — The home environment
is reviewed to identify
tripping hazards, improve
lighting, and install grab
bars and railings as needed;
® Vision evaluation
— Seniors are encouraged to
have their vision checked by
an eye doctor at least once a
year and update their eyeglasses;
and
® Exercise — Exercises
that focus on leg strength
and improving balance are
especially helpful for seniors
at risk for falls. The Falls
Prevention Coalition members
provide Tai Chi instruction
because Tai Chi focuses
on strength and balance.
Since the formation of
the coalition in 2010, its
members have conducted
81 home safety assessments
for county seniors. Of the 81
assessments conducted, 218
fall hazards were identified
and 155 hazards were targeted
for change.
In addition to identifying
potential fall hazards in
homes, the coalition team
members have provided
education to senior groups
and area professionals, and
introduced Tai Chi to area
seniors as a low-impact
way of improving balance
and strength in an effort to
reduce falls.
If you would like more
information regarding the
Falls Prevention Program,
contact Stacy Lockwood
at the Cattaraugus County
Department of the Aging by
calling 373-8032 or 1-800-
462-2904.
The Cattaraugus County
Falls Prevention Coalition
formed in 2010 to identify
Photo submitted
Falls prevention awareness was focus
of recent event at Olean Center Mall
seniors at most risk for falls
and to provide education
and tools for prevention.
The coalition consists of
members from the following
organizations: Cattaraugus
County Community
Action Inc.; Cattaraugus
County Department of
the Aging; Cattaraugus
County Department of
Health; Cattaraugus
County Department of
Social Services; Healthy
Community Alliance;
Interfaith Caregivers; Total
Senior Care; and Upper
Allegheny Health System.
(Stacy Lockwood is with
the Cattaraugus County
Department of the Aging.)