This Month's Local Features

APRIL 2018 • Volume 3, Issue 43 home • health • lifestyle community • news this month’s LOCAL FEATURES Model Airplanes Still Amaze Retiree Pages 2-3 Pickleball Anyone? Pages 8-9 Advertising supplement brought to you by Kenosha News and Kenosha County Aging and Disability Resource Center LOCAL FEATURE MODEL AIRPLANES STILL AMAZE RETIREE SPECIAL REPORT- KENOSHA NEWS: BY KAREN MAHONEY he 86-year-old retired ophthalmologist is as amazed Tby airplanes today as he was when he was a child. Dear Readers, He just wishes a few more people In this edition you can read about a sport called would join him in competing with the Pickle Ball and meet two very enthusiastic players, lightweight model planes he and a Mark Montemurro and Dick Guenther. Curious? handful of other Midwesterners like I was too. I conjured up an image of a prickly to race. green ball being thrown around a gym, which As a boy, Dr. James Ferwerda, of of course, made me laugh a bit. Interested in Kenosha, would gaze at planes in the learning more? See page 8 and learn about one sky or at the airport. of the fastest growing sports in Kenosha. Next, fly a plane with Dr. James Ferwerda as he takes The love of those planes led him to us down memory lane and into the skies with his start building the simple, inexpensive PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL SIEL, KENOSHA NEWS rubber band model airplanes. model airplanes--the ones powered Jim Ferwerda with model airplanes he’s built. This one is a Lamb’s by rubber band propellers. Climber, a design from 1941. Enjoy the read, and remember; if you have an idea for My Life, contact me. I’d love to hear from “There were small plans that I saw Richard Bong Recreation Area, but last year, officials you! when I was a little boy, plans that were in maga- from the DNR said they were no longer welcome. zines,” he said. “I made some back then, but as I “They told us that we can’t fly here unless we are Paula J. Clark, Kenosha County ADRC got older and became busy with the rest of my life, I flying radio control airplanes,” he said. “This is so 262-605-6616 [email protected] didn’t do it.” frustrating as we have been flying here for over 50 8600 Sheridan Road, Kenosha, WI 53143 After he married, had his practice, the children grew years and we were kicked out. We are trying to fight and life slowed a bit, Ferwerda revived the hobby of it, but meanwhile, we go to Muncie, IN, where they his youth, building the planes by hand, adding the have the National Academy of Model Aeronautics 20-strand rubber band to the propeller, tossing them Museum. We go down there several times a year, fly in the air hoping to catch a thermal. In the beginning, our planes and enter contests.” he used a pair of binoculars to watch the plane with Jim enters in the free-flight division in Muncie. There hopes of seeing where it landed. are two divisions, one is gas powered and the other “I used to lose a plane a year because you need to uses rubber-band powered motors. When he first watch them closely with the binoculars to see where started participating, there were several hundred • Give or Take? they landed, such as in a field or a swamp in order to enthusiasts racing their planes in each division, but find it again,” he said, adding, “If you were not fast the numbers have dwindled to about 100 participants • Harbingers of Spring enough with your binoculars, you lost the plane.” in each division. • Choosing Wellness with Laura: Choosing Nutrition Now Jim’s planes are fixed with an antenna that will “Visiting Muncie is great as they have a lot of planes • Diabetes: What You Should transmit a signal, similar to the transmitters placed on that were flown pre-WWII as well as after WWII and Know birds and fish. people have the same fun today as they did 50 or 60 years ago,” he said. • Pickleball Anyone? “I haven’t lost nearly as many planes now with the In the quest for perfection, the current free-flight • Adventures in Lifelong antennas, he said. “The number of us using rubber Learning (ALL) band model planes has dwindled a lot due to people model plane enthusiasts often cut their own balsa • Hospice – What exactly is it? using remote control planes and drones, which is the wood, from Ecuador, or uses Gampi tissue paper new deal. That’s where the population seems to be from Japan, the kind also used for book binding. • Need Help Paying Medicare Costs? going and there also aren’t as many fields that we For big competitions, hobbyists might even contact a can use for our rubber band model planes.” high-tech materials company in California for boron, • New Medicare Cards Are Coming Soon Jim belongs to the Bong Eagles model airplane club; a material stronger than steel, yet lighter than the group would frequently fly and have contests at aluminum. Continued on page 3 2 MY LIFE I KENOSHA NEWS I MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2018 LOCAL FEATURE Model Airplanes Still Amaze Retiree, continued from page 2 Most of Jim’s 20 some models are motor, a torque meter. The bands are around 3 feet in width. He builds wound about 600 times, so this is not them in the winter to relax and has a just a rubber band but the big daddy workshop and display area in his of rubber bands. Then, of course, you basement. don’t want them to go too high, so you add a dethermalizer, which is a little “Certain things appeal to certain fuse that you light and after a couple of people,” he said, “There is no purpose minutes, the fuse burns the little rubber to this but enjoyment in watching these band, which makes the airplane pop up brightly colored little airplanes in the and the plane descends like a feather sky and in the creation and knowing coming down.” they wouldn’t be there if you didn’t know how to fly them.” It’s a fun hobby for Jim as he doesn’t participate in golf or tennis, but rubber Possibly the most important material band model airplanes fit the bill. in each plane is its rubber band that is attached to a tiny 3-ounce rubber “I just like this,” he said. “I like motor. PHOTO COURTESY OF BILL SIEL, KENOSHA NEWS being outside, it is relaxing and takes Jim Ferwerda carefully stores model airplanes he’s built. yourmind away from all the problems Good rubber bands can store of the day. You are in nature, 3,600-foot-pounds of energy. Winding is a risky business, as the “You wind them up with a winder winder tries to build up as much like a hand drill,” said Jim. “There is getting fresh air and free from any While the right rubber is important, energy as possible without blowing up a gauge at the end that tells you how present problems.” the winding might be even more so. a model’s fuselage. much and how tight you wound the Many thanks to one of our readers who called to say that we were featuring too many canned foods and not enough fresh fruits and vegetables in our featured recipes. She was concerned we were promoting canned vegetables which tend to be higher in sodium since salt is often used as a preservative. SALT AND YOUR HEALTH Research has linked high-sodium diets to high blood pressure, stroke and other heart conditions. A public education campaign during the 60’s in Japan found that a 50% reduction in salt in the diet was associated with an 85% reduction in mortality caused by stroke. Although there is not a definitive link between high sodium intake with poor cognitive health, many experts agree that reducing high levels of salt is likely to have a positive benefit on brain health through its effects on blood pressure. The majority of salt in most western diets comes Choose the best. through processed foods and baked goods rather than added table salt. When you do use canned vegetables, wash and drain them with water to decrease the sodium content or choose low sodium varieties. Of course, fresh fruits and vegetables are usually best. MONDAY, MARCH 26, 2018 | KENOSHA NEWS | MY LIFE 3 GIVE OR TAKE? n December congress approved a massive tax bill that increased the federal deficit, decreased corporate taxes and has mixed impact on taxes of Iaverage citizens. GRAY In February Congress passed a continuing resolution that repeals the cap on physical, occupational and speech therapies, closes the Medicare Part D “donut hole” in 2019 instead of 2020 and continues funding of most federal MATTERS! programs until March 23. Then the president proposed a 2019 budget that would, among other cuts: • Eliminate several provisions of the Affordable Care Act that help moderate-income people obtain health insurance, and low income adults obtain Medicaid. • Impose a per capita cap on Medicaid funding for seniors, people with disabilities and low income families. • Let states eliminate protections for people with pre-existing conditions. • Reduce food, housing and energy assistance for families. • Slash many other programs that would impact seniors and families. Soon congress will again have to agree on another continuing resolution or permanent 2018 budget. Stay tuned. What is a Continuing Resolution? When is the last time your A continuing resolution is a temporary measure by Congress to fund the federal nancial advisor and tax government for a limited time to avoid a shutdown and give lawmakers time to preparer had a conversation? agree on funding for the year.

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