Category: Featured

August quiz: Give us some directions, please?

July 31, 2023 | By Nancy Wheeler

Identify these items that have one of the four cardinal directions (North, South, East or West) in their title. 1. Separated by the demilitarized zone, this country’s capital is Seoul, home to almost ten million people. 2. This breed of dog hails from Scotland and is closely related to the Cairn Terrier. 3. John Steinbeck […]

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August Theatre

| By Diana Morton

Kechi Playhouse, 100 E. Kechi Road, Will You Still Love Me in the Morning? by Jan Clements and Dennis Spooner. Jeremy and Celia return a week early from their unsuccessful honeymoon to find that both of Jeremy’s partners have accepted his offer to stay in his house while he is away. The only problem is […]

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Senior centers play important role

| By Monica Cissell

Senior centers are known for the education, wellness and recreation programming they offer adults 55 and older. But they may not be as well-known for the connections and support they provide. According to the Administration for Community Living, an agency of the federal government, community centers are a focal point for the delivery of many […]

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Never too late to try something new

| By Susan Armstrong

When was the last time you did something for the first time?  Was it too long ago to remember? Or so significant you will never forget? I explored this question with a group of friends recently with interesting results. We all agreed “firsts” happen more frequently when we are young. It is only logical that […]

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Botanica

Donate for chance to win Botanica family membership

| By The Active Age

Donate at least $50 to The Active Age, and you could win a family membership to Botanica. The Active Age will hold a drawing for a family membership each month for the next six months from among people on our “Honor Roll” list of donors. This month’s winner is Delilah Nitcher. Donations may be made […]

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Municipal Court Implements Yondr Bags in Courtroom

July 27, 2023 | By The Active Age

Beginning Monday, July 31, Wichita Municipal Court will begin requiring the use of Yondr bags in its courtrooms. According to a news release from the city, the usage of the Yondr bag technology is aimed at enhancing the safety or attendees and ensuring a distraction-free environment in Municipal Court. The bags are soft, lockable pouches […]

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City offers relief from high temperatures

July 26, 2023 | By The Active Age

With the Wichita area facing high temperatures for the next week, the City of Wichita has announced some relief measures for residents in need. Beginning Wednesday, July 26, residents may ride Wichita Transit for free until the end of the day on Saturday, July 29. The air-conditioned Q-LINE currently runs Monday through Saturday from 6:15 a.m. […]

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Southside polling place changed

| By The Active Age

Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater has changed a polling site for the Tuesday, Aug. 1 Primary Election that will affect voters in several precincts.  Cedar Point Church, 9221 E. 31st St. South, will no longer be used as a polling place on Primary Election Day; instead, those voters are now assigned to Wichita Southeast High […]

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Salvation Army closing emergency homeless shelter for women and children; longer-term ‘recovery home’ to take its place

July 21, 2023 | By Celia Hack/KMUW

One of Wichita’s key resources for unhoused women, Salvation Army’s emergency shelter, will close Aug. 11. The announcement comes while most of Wichita’s homeless shelters are already at capacity, said Angie Prather, vice president of marketing and chief community engagement officer for United Way of the Plains. “This decrease will strain the system,” Prather wrote in […]

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Is the state holding your money? Visit new kiosk at tag office to find out

July 12, 2023 | By The Active Age

The Kansas state treasury currently holds about $50 million in unclaimed money and property from Sedgwick County, and officials say they are trying to track down its owners. The state already has a website, https://unclaimedproperty.ks.gov, where residents can see if the state is holding money or other assets that belong to them. Citizens can search […]

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Park City to get tag office two days a month

July 5, 2023 | By The Active Age

Sedgwick County Treasurer Brandi Baily is opening a new tag and tax office that will operate two days a month from the Park City Administration Building, 1941 E. 61st St. North. On the second and third Wednesday of each month, beginning July 12, a tag/tax clerk will work on-site and serve customers by appointment only from […]

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Sculptor specializes in art people can touch

June 27, 2023 | By The Active Age

NORTH NEWTON—Sculptor Conrad Snider doesn’t mean to sound rude, but if people want to hire him to make pieces to their exact specifications, he has a customary response. “I usually tell them they need to take a ceramics class and make it for themselves,” he said. “I don’t have enough time left in my life […]

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Sweet honored by med school

| By Joe Stumpe

Dr. Donna Sweet is known for a number of things: training hundreds of physicians as a faculty member at KU School of Medicine-Wichita, pioneering care of AIDS/HIV patients in Kansas and serving at the highest level of national medical organizations. Then there’s the leg wrestling party she hosts for medical residents each winter. “It’s a […]

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These Wichitans want to be your mayor. Read what they have to say

| By The Active Age

Four Wichitans have emerged as leading candidates to become the city’s next mayor. In the Aug. 1 primary, incumbent Mayor Brandon Whipple will be challenged by Bryan Frye, Celeste Racette and Lily Wu. Unless one receives a majority, the top two vote-getters will face off in the November general election.  Whipple is a former state […]

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Go native for a better planting option

| By Amy Geiszler-Jones

When it comes to dealing with droughts in garden beds, Connie Fletcher echoes the advice of Kansas planting experts and other gardeners. “You want to go more for your native plants because they’re used to the weather here,” said Fletcher, whose home in Valley Center was part of the June garden tour organized annually by […]

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Things to do in July

| By The Active Age

AARP safe driving classes Several AARP Drive Safety classes have been added to the upcoming schedule. Participants must pre-register with the locations.  The dates and locations are: July 19, Mulvane Senior Center, (316) 777-4813; July 21, Clearwater Senior Center, 316) 584-2332; Aug. 10, Downtown Senior Center, (316) 267-0197; Sept. 7, Park City Senior Center, (316) […]

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How I increased the value of my donation to The Active Age

| By Paul Inman 

Many major companies match donations their employees and retirees make to approved organizations. As a Boeing retiree, I take advantage of that company’s gift-matching program to help The Active Age and other nonprofits that I want to support. For Boeing retirees, the company matches 50 cents on the dollar donations made to approved organizations, up […]

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AWOL flyboy given plenty to chew on after capture

| By Ted Blankenship

I began my four years in the U.S. Air Force on Sept. 1, 1950. I was assigned to a supply room at San Antonio’s Lackland Air Force Base.  Lackland was the largest air force base in the world at the time. It trained all of the airmen who joined. Additional bases were opened later when […]

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July quiz: Find these fictional places

| By Nancy Wheeler

Match the fictional place with the work which made it famous. The answers appear below. 1. Tara 2. Lilliput 3. Neverland 4. Hogwarts 5. Avonlea 6. The Shire 7. Pemberley 8. The Emerald City 9. Darrowby 10. King’s Landing 11. Gotham City 12. Lake Wobegon 13. Shangri-La 14. The 100 Acre Wood 15. McDougal’s Cave […]

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July Theatre

| By Diana Morton

By Diana Morton Crown Uptown Theatre, 3207 E. Douglas. Hansel & Gretel, presented by the Once Upon a Time Summer Series, July 13-15, 10 am and 12 pm daily. Tickets can be purchased through the Wichita Children’s Theatre & Dance Center, starting at $9, 316-262-2282  Kechi Playhouse, 100 E. Kechi Road, Flaming Idiots. A comedy […]

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Cut your Medicare prescription drug costs with ‘Extra Help’

| By Monica Cissell

There is some good news that may help you cut prescription drug costs. Thanks to a new prescription drug program that’s part of the Inflation Reduction Act, next year people with Medicare may qualify for additional savings through Medicare’s Extra Help program. This program helps people who are eligible pay their Medicare drug coverage (Part […]

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Donate for chance to win Botanica family membership

| By The Active Age

Donate at least $50 to The Active Age, and you could win a family membership to Botanica. The Active Age will hold a drawing for a family membership each month for the next six months from among people on our “Honor Roll” list of donors. This month’s winner is Dennis Degenhardt. Donations may be made […]

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Miller named Hart Award winner

| By The Active Age

Robert Miller has received the 2023 Irene Hart Award from the Central Plains Area Agency on Aging. The award, named for a former longtime executive director of CPAAA, recognizes contributions to the field of aging and older adults in the community. Miller, a Wichita native, was part of the first graduating class of Wichita State […]

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History lives at Larksfield Place

| By The Active Age

Larksfield Place and Wichita State University recently collaborated on an Intergenerational program called “I Witness to History.” WSU freshmen in a class called Connecting Generations spent the second part of their spring semester collecting life stories from independent living residents at Larksfield Place. The time together also broke stereotypes that crop up between generations. “This […]

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Savvy Senior

| By Jim Miller

Best meal delivery services for seniors who don’t cook How to handle Social Security benefits when a loved one dies Tips and tools for coping with vision loss Elder mediation can help families navigate thorny caregiving issues The hidden danger of untreated heartburn Best meal delivery services for seniors who don’t cook Dear Savvy Senior, […]

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