Senior Services to Offer First Senior Academy

The Palm Beach County Division of Senior Services (DOSS) will hold its first Senior Academy from Oct. 19 to Nov. 23. The academy is a unique program offered to seniors 55 and older covering a variety of topics from elder law and substance abuse/depression to senior health and elder abuse. The academy was created to educate seniors and to introduce them to local senior services.

The academy is a six-week course, held each Monday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Mid-County Senior Center, 3680 Lake Worth Road, Lake Worth. The academy will present educational topics specifically designed to foster and support senior quality-of-life learning. A celebratory event will be held at the end of the six-week program. Registration is free. Call 355-4746 to register.

The Division of Senior Services provides seniors with every stage of assistance needed for their continuum of care through the senior years. Provided are comprehensive in-home and community-based programs that relieve emotional, physical and financial hardships for seniors and caregivers. From DOSS’s active senior centers to the more structured adult day care programs and in-home services, DOSS provides accessible, high-quality services to help seniors and their caregivers.

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County Implements Social Media Plan

Palm Beach County’s Public Affairs Department recently implemented several social media applications on its homepage, pbcgov.com. In order to offer additional outlets for public information, the county now has RSS (really simple syndication) feeds for all news releases, as well as Twitter and YouTube accounts.

 

Twitter is being used to post county government news releases and media advisories, while video clips and programs produced by PBC TV Channel 20 are posted on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/pbcgov20).

 

This pilot effort was researched and created by Public Affairs with assistance from the county’s Information Systems Services (ISS) Department.

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Volunteers Remove 1,140 Pounds of Trash from Juno Dunes Natural Area

 

On Sept. 19, more than 20 volunteers braved mud, thigh-deep water and rain showers to participate in the Department of Environmental Resources Management’s (ERM) International Coastal Cleanup at Juno Dunes Natural Area in Juno Beach. 

 

Volunteers included local high school and college students, and concerned residents. The volunteers did not have an easy job – they went after debris lodged within tangled mangrove forests along the Intracoastal Waterway and Ellison Wilson Road.

 

After four hours of work, the volunteers removed a total of 1,140 pounds of trash. Some of the more unusual items fished out of the mangroves included a hula hoop, a hard hat, a mini refrigerator, several vehicle seats (car and boat) and two twin-sized bed box springs.  The most common trash items collected from the Juno Dunes Natural Area were:  glass beverage bottles (172), beverage cans (132), plastic bags (126), plastic beverage bottles (105) and building materials (98).  Volunteers recorded the amount and type of trash removed on data cards.

 

The data cards are forwarded to the Ocean Conservancy in Virginia to be tabulated along with tens of thousands of other cards sent in from all over the world. This information serves to educate the public on marine debris issues and to encourage positive changes that will reduce debris in waterways and enhance aquatic environments.

 

For more information on the Ocean Conservancy and trash totals from previous cleanups, go to www.oceanconservancy.org.

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Consumer Trap & Tip:  Complete This Survey & Get Paid!

Trap

Maria in Delray Beach received an unsolicited e-mail from a fast-food restaurant chain.  It offered her an opportunity to participate in a customer satisfaction survey.  All she had to do was complete the online survey, provide her bank account number, hit the send button, and $80 would be transferred to her account!  Six weeks later, Maria had received no payment and also noticed unauthorized charges on her bank statement.  Alarmed that she might have been a victim of identity theft, she wondered what to do next. 

Tips

Here are some warning signs to consider before completing an online survey:

• Beware of promises to pay large amounts of money for little effort.  Most online surveys don’t pay you $250 to answer a few simple questions.  If they pay you at all, it will probably be $5 - $20.

• Bogus survey sites use well-known companies or sound-a-like names to get your personal information.  Never provide your bank account, credit card, or Social Security number in response to e-mail surveys or solicitations.

• Reputable companies don’t ask for your personal information over the Internet.  If you receive suspicious e-mails, alert your e-mail provider’s “Spam” department.

• Contact your bank immediately if you notice unauthorized access to your accounts.  If you are a victim of identity theft, contact your local law enforcement agency to file a report and to ask for an ID theft kit.

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Consumer Trap & Tip:  MVP = Consumer Confidence

Trap

The Thompsons recently moved to Palm Beach County.  They purchased a 1950’s-style home that was in foreclosure and desperately needed remodeling. The expensive project will include new kitchen cabinets, painting, tile floors and upgrades to the old plumbing and electrical systems. They plan to save money by dealing directly with various contractors. They’re new to the area and apprehensive about which businesses to use. Here are some tips they should consider:

Tips

• Participants in the program can easily be recognized by the MVP logo. The list of MVP members can be obtained from the Consumer Affairs Web site at http://www.pbcgov.com/mvp or by calling 561-712-6MVP (6687).

• Consumer Affairs also maintains a data base that in 2009 had over 1.2 million “look-ups” of its Business Information Reports which provides detailed information about 20,000+ companies. 

• Extensive renovations require a licensed or certified contractor. Contact the Florida Department of Business & Professional Regulation by calling 850-487-1395 or checking its Web site at: http://www.myfloridalicense.com. To determine if a business needs to be certified, check the Palm Beach County Contractor’s Certification Web site at http://www.pbcgov.com/pzb/contractors or call 561-233-5525.

For more information, call Palm Beach County Consumer Affairs at 561-712-6600 (Boca/Delray 1-888-852-7362), or visit http://www.pbcgov.com/consumer.

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Landscaping Tip:  Grow Your Own Backyard Veggies

 

October is the best month to begin your vegetable garden. Everyone else in the country is done harvesting most of their garden veggies, and we are just at the beginning of our growing season.  Start a vegetable garden to experience the fresh air, sunshine, mental therapy, knowledge, and of course, supply family and friends with fresh food that’s packed with vitamins. 

 

Choose a location near the house where the soil is well drained and receives six hours of sunshine and is close to the water spigot.  Draw up a plan of the vegetables you want to plant, and always choose varieties recommended for South Florida.  South Florida vegetable varieties recommended by the University of Florida include Cherokee wax (snap bush bean), red kidney (shell bush bean), Ashley cucumber, galaxy pickler cucumber; Big Bertha (sweet pepper), Hungarian Wax (hot pepper), Floradel or Solar Set or Better Boy (large tomatoes) and Sweet 100 (small tomatoes). 

 

Plant on whatever soil type you have, but it is usually worthwhile to improve your garden soil with organic matter such as compost or composted manures. Spade the plot at least three weeks before planting and smooth the soil at planting time. Fertilize with organic or inorganic fertilizers per the manufacturer’s recommendations to keep plants growing vigorously.  Mulch the plants with pine straw to help keep plants moist, and weed and disease free. Scout the garden twice a week for pest and disease problems. Learn to recognize beneficial insects such as praying mantis and lady beetles that prey on pest insects. Don’t forget to weed in and around the vegetable garden. Record notes on pest problems and performance of the different vegetables.  This information will be invaluable for your next vegetable installation.

 

Stop by the Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service, 531 North Military Trail, West Palm Beach to pick up the publication “SP 103 Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide” Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Vegetables suited to Florida gardens, leading varieties, seed or transplants needed, planting distances and depths, best time for planting by areas, hardiness, days to harvest and expected yields are shown in this publication.  For more information, call 233-1750.

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