The Community Word

After Frankie became cute enough to take to Chinatown, we became almost inseparable friends. On Saturday nights we went to the early movie, window shopping, then grabbed that 15 cent tenderloin before going home. Certainly our childhood was a place far flung from today’s “mad world.”

After school during the week, we often went to our local drugstore soda fountain. Drugstore soda fountains arrived about the same time as prohibition. Frankie and I arrived during prohibition. Read the rest of this entry »

Well, I, along with millions of others watched the debate last night, and I find it so interesting how we each are able to support the views of one because of our own background and involvement. I, of course, strongly support Obama, not just because I’m a Democrat, but I also really truly feel that he has the character and integrity that I think has been lacking in the Bush Administration. McCain scares me. His military experience, rather than making him more humble and compassionate, seems to have made him more militant and ready to go to war. He has supported Iraq and has said “Bomb, bomb Iran.” We need some very strong diplomatic skills to get out of the hole in the Middle East, and I think Obama can look at it with fresh eyes. So many politicians say we can’t even talk to other nations without pre-conditions, and I think that is crazy. Maybe that’s why the world is such a mess. Many carry strong prejudices from the past and can’t think outside the political, sanctions-only box. Read the rest of this entry »

By Jon M. Knapp, CFP

The telephone call came at 2:00 a.m. on that Saturday morning. Dan’s 80-year old father was stopped by the police as he was aimlessly driving around Charlotte, not knowing who he was, how he got there, or where he was going. Early dementia had arrived. For the next week Dan fed him, bathed him, dressed him and helped him in the bathroom. All privacy vanished.

“What do we do now?” Dan asked. “What would Dad want us to do? Where does he need to go? Is there a Power of Attorney signed? Where is his money and how do we get to it? Should we move him in with us?”

So many questions and so few answers came at a very critical time. Dan asked “Why didn’t we talk about this with Dad when he could understand and guide us? Why didn’t we have a conversation?”

“If you think talking about the ‘birds and bees’ with your children was difficult,” said Dan Taylor, of Charlotte, N.C., and Founder of the Parent Care Solution, “wait until you talk to your aging parents about their care and well being.”

The Dilemma

Soon nearly 80 million people will be senior citizens and will deplete and disable the entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

Many seniors will spend all of their retirement assets, and therefore inheritances meant for their children will be nonexistent.

Providing attention and care for aging parents can be emotionally stressful, affecting both your professional and family life.

How will our children maintain their lifestyle, educate their children, fund their retirement and pay for our care and well being? They may not be able to!

The Solution

The solution is not to rush out and select a nursing home or an assisted living facility. It’s not to buy a long-term care policy, sign a healthcare power of attorney, or select a healthcare provider.

Most people put the cart before the horse.

The most important action is to first have a conversation with your parents regarding their care and well being as they age. These conversations may allow you as well as your parents to discover their dreams, concerns and expectations.

Senior parents are so consumed with being a burden, running out of money and/or their next doctor’s appointment they simply may not think and talk about anything else. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if they would talk and think about their future in an exciting, positive manner? These conversations will help them do just that!

It sounds very SIMPLE and it is. It is just not easy! I have found having this conversation with your parents is so difficult that families simply put it off. Many families wait until the crisis strikes, when everyone is at their maximum stress level before they begin asking these questions.

The Facts

You may have this conversation, either by design or default. There are six critical conversations that I recommend you have with or on behalf of your parents.

Having the answers to these questions can help you know what to do which can make it easier to buy the products, sign the agreements, pick out the facility, etc. These conversations are not a cure for what can’t be cured, and they will not make 100% happy what is sometimes 1000% sad, but they can strengthen, build, or rebuild relationships with the most important people in our lives, our parents.

Jon M. Knapp, CFP has been trained by the Parent Care Solution and is available to answer your questions at 309-699-9100.

When it comes to the issues at hand, Congressional candidates believe they have the answers to help America thrive economically, educationally, and in the war on terror.

Autumn will be heralded with red, white, and blue this year as Election Day approaches and voters begin taking a close look at candidates’ platforms in contested races across the Peoria area. The race for the 18th District Congressional seat soon to be vacated by Republican Congressman Ray LaHood has drawn much voter attention since LaHood announced his retirement and three viable candidates stepped up to the plate. Read the rest of this entry »

One in four veterans in the United States are homeless; and, with the early presence of Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans showing up at shelters, veteran’s affairs directors are expecting a “tsunami of homeless veterans” in the near future.

That’s why Bob Johnson is starting a shelter for veterans at 416 N.E. Jefferson Street which he hopes to have opened sometime in 2009. The new shelter is located next door to the current Salvation Army Shelter for homeless men at 414 N.E. Jefferson where Johnson works as the volunteer veteran’s coordinator. He has worked diligently towards getting this venture going for two years in partnership with the Salvation Army.

“All this is a trial run,” says Johnson, since the new facility will initially only house 12 – 15 veterans. He hopes to catapult it into something bigger later. Read the rest of this entry »

Domestic abuse is a significant national problem and is prevalent among American households. Abuse can happen to both men and women, but about 73 percent of family abuse victims are female. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, about one in every four women in the United States will experience some type of violence in her lifetime, and each year an estimated 1.3 million women nationwide receive physical abuse by an intimate partner.

Abuse is even scarier when it’s in your own backyard. In 2006 there were 114,921 reported cases of domestic violence in Illinois, and 44 percent of those cases were committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, or common-law spouse. In the same year, Illinois had 3,798 reported violations of court-ordered protection restrictions. Read the rest of this entry »

The contest between Republican Darin LaHood and Democrat Kevin Lyons for Peoria County state’s attorney became a hot topic of political discussion after it was revealed LaHood attempted to talk to the father of an alleged rape victim. The revelation was made by Lyons, who’s seeking re-election. The story was widely covered by the PJS and the local electronic media. Who benefited?

Supporters of Lyons believe the story helps the current state’s attorney because LaHood, they believe, used poor judgment in trying to talk to the victim’s father without first getting his permission. LaHood’s supporters feel the Lyons’ news conference actually helped LaHood bring attention to his campaign issue that many in police enforcement feel Lyons is soft on crime. LaHood has been endorsed by every police organization in Peoria County. Read the rest of this entry »

Candidates to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ray LaHood (R- Peoria) from the 18th Congressional District are, in alphabetical order, Colleen Callahan (Democrat), Sheldon Schafer (Green), and Aaron Schock (Republican). Below are responses to questions sent to all three campaigns, questions derived from the nonpartisan Project Vote Smart – supported by the late U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater (R-Ariz.) and former President Gerald Ford, a Republican, as well as retired U.S. Sen. George McGovern (D-South Dakota) and ex-President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat.

In mid-July, Schock explained to me that he refused to reply to Project Vote Smart’s questionnaire, but “if anyone wants to know my positions, they can come to where I’m talking and ask me.” Then he promised me that he’d respond to my written questions. However, multiple calls to his office, chats with helpful staffers and emails all resulted in no response.

Still, here are 15 issues, presented in alphabetical order, and candidate responses (Colleen Callahan =CC, Sheldon Schafer = SS, Aaron Schock= AS).) Read the rest of this entry »

Chris took the plunge this year (perhaps a holdover from his days on the swimming and diving teams at Peoria Central High). Our son transferred to Northern Michigan University at Marquette from Western Illinois. It’s a significant transition, trading the rolling hills and farm fields of Macomb for the wild and windy shores of Lake Superior in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Dropping him off at school was a novel experience. After hauling belongings, books, and mementos five hundred miles to a new apartment, and after meeting a new semester’s roommates, we set out to explore the immediate area.

A nearby hiking trail put me in mind of Longfellow’s “Evangeline.” Read the rest of this entry »