Sixty Seconds Newsletter 
A Monthly Update from Senior Resources of West Michigan  
An Area Agency on Aging Serving Muskegon, Oceana & Ottawa Counties
In This Issue
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National Area Agencies on Aging
 

 
Family Caregiver Classes Offered
Free caregiver classes are offered Fridays from 1-2:30 p.m. at Tanglewood Park.

Classes will provide caregivers information on:
* managing demands of caregiving
* providing personal care
* home safety
* managing medications
* advance directives
* caring for someone on bed rest
* coping with dementia
* respite
* Alzheimer's Disease
* nutrition

For more information, call Virginia at 231-733-3531, or Robbi at 231-733-3567.

 


Speak up! Anytime day or night. Report abuse and neglect.
855-444-3911

Senior Resources' Elder Care Specialists are available to assist with Options for Long Term Care
Call: 231-733-3585
or Toll Free:  1-800-442-0054
January 2017
Muskegon County seeking volunteers for Senior Activities Committee
Interested in helping decide how Muskegon County senior millage funds are used? Muskegon County Commissioners are seeking members of a Senior Activities Committee to assist in awarding funds from the senior millage that was approved in August 2016. Below is the description of the committee:

Senior Activities Committee (All residents of Muskegon County)
(1) Grant-Writing Background slot
(2) Persons over age 60 slots
(3) At-large slots. At least one shall reside in rual area (rural being defined as an area with less than 13,500 residents) 
 
The Senior Activities Committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners; and makes recommendations relative to the expenditure of funds collected pursuant to the Activities or Services for Older Persons Act, Public Act 39 of 1976, as amended, including the appropriation of funds to public or private nonprofit corporations or organizations for the purposes of planning, coordinating, evaluating, and providing services to older persons. The Committee may also obtain citizen input regarding issues facing older persons; review program proposals and reports; recommend strategies and draft guidelines around common goals in providing services and activities for older persons throughout Muskegon County. 

Interested applicants can obtain an application either by calling the County  Administrator's Office at 231.724.8883; or obtain an application from the county website www.co.muskegon.mi.us by clicking on the link to the Board of Commissioners. Applications should be sent to:  Muskegon County Administration, Attn:  Admin Coordinator, 990 Terrace, Muskegon, MI 49442 or by email to ChalkoLi@co.muskegon.mi.us.

DTE Energy Foundation funds 120 personal care bags
Thanks to a grant from DTE Energy Foundation, 120 Senior Resources participants received bags filled with personal care items such as shampoo, soap, shaving supplies, dental care items, lotion, non-slip socks and night lights. Members of the Senior Resources Service Committee packed the bags. Staff who delivered them before the holidays in December reported some very grateful participants!

State lawmakers overhaul energy laws
In Lansing in early December . . . legislators passed a sweeping overhaul of the state's energy laws in a marathon lame duck session that ended on Dec. 15. After Governor Rick Snyder stepped in to broker a compromise, Senate Bills 437 and 438 passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan votes. The Governor is expected to sign the bills. What will they mean for older Michiganians?

 Electric bills are not expected to go down. A major purpose of the new legislation is to make sure Michigan has all of the electricity it needs, even though several, old coal-fired plants are closing. New plants will be costly to build.

 Customers leaving Consumers Energy and DTE for alternative suppliers will not face a penalty. However, if they decide to go back, they will be required to stay with the major utility for at least six years.

 A proposal called decoupling was dropped at the urging of AARP and the Michigan Senior Advocates Council (MSAC). (MSAC is a group of senior volunteers, appointed by Area Agencies on Aging, who travel to the State Capitol to advocate on aging issues.) Decoupling would have allowed utilities to raise their rates to compensate for falling revenues due to energy efficiencies.

 Utilities will be required to increase the percentage of electricity generated from renewable sources from 10% to 15% by 2021, and utilities will get more incentives to reduce waste. (A significant portion of the electricity generated is wasted.)

A last-ditch effort to pass no-fault auto insurance reform failed. The Michigan Hospital Association broke with other groups and negotiated a compromise bill with insurance companies, but legislators didn't buy it.

*Published with permission of Area Agencies on Aging Association of Michigan.

Senior Resources of West Michigan Inc