August 1, 2024 | By Tim Carpenter Kansas Reflector
A national coalition’s report says one-fourth of Kansas’ 300 nursing homes were categorized as problem facilities due to substandard care and persistent compliance issues. The Long-Term Care Community Coalition’s latest summary, based on the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ five-star quality rating system, showed 24.6% of nursing facilities in the United States were […]
| By The Active Age
Here are the most recent overall ratings of nursing homes in The Active Age’s primary service area of Butler, Harvey and Sedgwick counties, as determined by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Five stars is the highest possible rating and one star is the lowest. For more detailed information about nursing homes, including […]
July 31, 2024 | By Joe Stumpe
The journalism industry is in crisis, and there aren’t nearly enough reporters around to cover all the public meetings they used to attend. So what if a small army of citizens could be recruited to attend and make a record of those meetings? That’s kind of the idea behind Wichita Documenters, a program launched earlier […]
| By Joe Stumpe
EL DORADO — They called themselves “The Magnificent Seven.” At least when no one else could hear. In truth, the group of seven friends from El Dorado High School’s class of ’67 weren’t the type to wind up in the headlines or principal’s office. “We weren’t the wild bunch, and I guess that’s a lot […]
| By The Active Age
Old time radio back EL DORADO — The Kansas Oil Museum is reimagining a live radio broadcast of the 1930s with a production called “Oil Town Jamboree!” Written by Ken Spurgeon, the show features music, drama and comedy along with guest stars Orin Friesen and Annie Wilson. The show takes place at 7 p.m. Saturday, […]
| By Ted Ayres
“Love & Whiskey: “The Remarkable True Story of Jack Daniel, His Master Distiller Nearest Green, and the Improbable Rise of Uncle Nearest” by Fawn Weaver (Melcher Media, 2024, 355 pages, $28.00) As a young man, beer was my adult beverage of choice. In the autumn of my life, I am an inveterate whiskey drinker, […]
| By Ted Blankenship
Editor’s note: After taking a couple months off, Ted Blankenship reports that he is feeling much better and plans to resume his column on at least an occasional basis. The guy in charge of maintenance where we live is a nice guy (he changes light bulbs too high for us to reach), and […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
Wichitans take pride in the city’s aviation heritage. Take this test to see how far and wide your knowledge of aviation extends. The answers appear below. 1. What brothers are best remembered for making the first successful powered airplane flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903? 2. Who flew the Spirit of St. Louis […]
| By Joe Stumpe
As you might have noticed, The Active Age is in some ways an old-fashioned newspaper. For one thing, we still print and distribute many copies each month (about 57,000!) at a time when many publications are going online exclusively. Another way in which we are traditional is by keeping our editorial and advertising sides separate. […]
| By Garry Winger, Pastor
There is tremendous irony in The Active Age for June 2024. On the front page is the Spangles grannies article about the alcohol advertising. It makes it appear that alcohol is a good thing for seniors. On page 8 is the article about Myra Warren (McHenry) and the Kansas temperance movement. I have special interest […]
| By Jim Miller
How to Hire a Caregiver for In-Home Help How to Prevent and Treat Age-Related Macular Degeneration Kitchen Ideas for Aging-in-Place How Extreme Heat Affects Seniors: Tips to Stay Safe Dear Savvy Senior, My wife and I had our estate plan – including a will, power of attorney and advance directive – drawn up about 10 […]
| By The Active Age
For Donna and Arlin Connell, the best day of summer is the first day they find okra at the farmers market. That means it’s time to whip up a batch of Fried Okra Salad. “We have this for lunch the very next day and never admit to anyone the two of us ate the whole […]
July 30, 2024 | By The Active Age
For Donna and Arlin Connell, the best day of summer is the first day they find okra at the farmers market. That means it’s time to whip up a batch of Fried Okra Salad. “We have this for lunch the very next day and never admit to anyone the two of us ate the whole […]
| By The Active Age
The first three of 12 total solar benches have been installed at three parks and neighborhood resource centers in Wichita. According to a news release, this is an initiative by the Wichita Public Library to expand wireless access to residents. The solar benches are located at: Evergreen Park, 2700 N. Woodland Atwater Neighborhood Resource Center, […]
July 1, 2024 | By Bonnie Bing
Visit the Heskett Center on the Wichita State University campus, and you may come across a group of radicals. They’re the ones wearing colorful T-shirts with a slogan on the back — “Not Today Parkinson’s” — along with smiles and determined looks that prove they believe it. They’re also walking, taking aquatic classes, doing yoga […]
| By Joe Stumpe
Eighty years ago this spring, the Little Arkansas River spilled out of its banks in a way that spelled big trouble. Swollen by heavy rain, the river and nearby Chisholm Creek drove an estimated 5,000 Wichitans from their homes, washed out bridges and covered much of downtown. In Riverside Park, the historic Park Villa building […]
| By The Active Age
When Ann Enix saw a pine needle basket at the Kansas State Weaving Conference, she was fascinated enough to buy a book and teach herself how to make them. She collected pine needles from around her cabin in Colorado and, later in California, found the long, fine needles needed to make tiny baskets like her […]
| By Tammara Fogle
With area farmers markets hitting their prime, the hunt is on for recipes that use their produce and other products to best advantage. This recipe from the Tuscan Women Cook program does just that. You can find tomatoes, fresh herbs, artisan bread and cheese, prepared presto and specialty oils and vinegars at many local markets. […]
| By Susan Armstrong
During the summer, when I was a young girl, I peddled my bicycle to the city pool every day to escape the sweltering heat of the Kansas sun. From mid-July through the end of August, the world moved in slow motion. I would lie on my back and watch the clouds drift overhead or bury […]
| By Thomas Welk
When Jimmy Carter was taken under the care of a hospice program in February 2023, there were multiple news reports practically announcing that he had died. As of this writing, our nation’s 39th president is still alive. Electing hospice care is not a death sentence. Hospice takes care of someone who is living. Physical, social, […]
| By Nancy Wheeler
Think you know your American history? Try these questions about various important historical locations. 1. In what city would you find the Sixth Floor Museum, Dealey Plaza, and the grassy knoll where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated? 2. Pillaging the countryside and destroying property, Sherman’s March to the Sea in 1864 began in what […]
| By Diana Morton
Guild Hall Players, St. James Episcopal Church, 3750 E. Douglas. Hello, Dolly by Jerry Herman. Matchmaker Dolly Levi is a widow, a matchmaker, and also a professional meddler — but everything changes when she decides that the next match she needs to make is to find someone for herself. 8 pm July 18-20 and 7 […]
| By The Active Age
Master Gardeners Sought The Sedgwick County Extension Master Gardener program will hold new training classes starting in September. Interested parties are encouraged to attend an informational meeting 2-4 p.m. July 18 at the county Extension Center, 21st and Ridge. Applications for the training program will be available at the information meeting and must be returned […]
| By WSU Strategic Communications
Shielding the earth from the sun seems like a good idea, in theory, to fight climate change, Wichita State University’s Dr. Nickolas Solomey and graduate student Kelly Kabler agree. Good ideas, they also agree, must be grounded in science. In early February, the New York Times reported that Asher Space Research Institute Physics Professor […]