Mountain Views News          Saturday, September 17, 2011

17

THE GOOD LIFE

 Mountain Views News Saturday, September 17, 2011 

SENIOR HAPPENINGS

YOUR HEALTH MATTERS

Today’s Subject: 

STRESS REVISITED

RECIPES OF THE WEEK

SEPTEMBER IS SENIOR 

CENTER MONTH

NCOA’s National Institute of Senior Centers 
has designated September as Senior Center 
Month

“It Happens at My Senior Center”

Even though the Hart Park House Senior 
Center is under renovation, things are still 
“happening” at the center’s temporary home 
in the Community Recreation Center (611 
E. Sierra Madre Blvd.)so please join us:

September 2nd - The Senior Lunch Café is 
serving a special menu of Cheese Burgers 
with all the fixings & apple pie for dessert in

celebration of Labor Day; Noon . $2 donation- 
advance reservations required by calling 
355-0256.

September 7th - Community meeting regarding 
the proposed assisted living facility 
being built in Sierra Madre. Come to the

Recreation Center at 6:30 pm to hear more 
or to ask questions.

September 15th - Senior Excursion to the 
Historic Graber Olive House (see below for 
more details).

September 21th - Lunch & Learn; 12:20 pm. 
Join us for this special presentation by Lending 
a Paw, Therapy Dogs & meet some of 
their certified dogs. A special dry dog food 
collection will take please so please bring a 
bag to donate to families facing financial difficulties 
(donation not required to attend).

September 24th - Wellness in the Park; 9 am 
to 12 noon in Memorial Park. Free information 
including hearing & osteoporosis

screenings and flu shots (Medicare participants 
- $25 for others) plus the Senior Commission 
will be handing out the File of Life

medical information packet to residents.

Come early and enjoy the Kiwanis Pancake 
Breakfast 7 am to 11 am at $5 per person

September 30th - The Final Scoop - come 
build your own ice cream treat as we end our 
month of activities; 12:30 pm

For more information about the activities 
listed, please call the Senior Desk at (626) 
355-7394.

QUICK AND EASY 

CHICKEN AND SAUSAGE GUMBO

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb light smoked sausage, cut into 1/2 inch thick 
slices 

1 -3 tablespoon vegetable oil 

5 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

1 cup coarsely chopped onion 

1 cup chopped celery 

2 garlic cloves, pressed 

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped 

2 cups chicken broth 

1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes 

1 -2 teaspoon creole seasoning 

4 cups chopped cooked chicken 

hot cooked rice 

DIRECTIONS:

Cook sausage over high heat in Dutch oven 5 
minutes, stirring often.

Remove sausage with a slotted spoon.

Drain on paper towels.

Add enough oil to drippings in Dutch oven to equal 
3 tablespoons, and whisk in flour; cook over medium-
high heat, whisking constantly, 5 minutes.

Add onion and next 3 ingredients; cook 5 minutes, 
stirring often.

Stir in broth and next 2 ingredients.

Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 
minutes.

Add sausage and chicken; simmer, covered, 5 
minutes.

Serve over rice.

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/quick-easy-
chicken-sausage-gumbo-109348#ixzz1Y9Me1OzI

In his seminal work, The Stress of Life, Dr. 
Hans Selye laid the groundwork for modern 
stress research. His model, termed “the general 
adaptation syndrome,” is as helpful today as it 
was in the 1940’s when it was first developed. 
His findings pointed out three major stages 
of response to threats: alarm, adaptation, and 
exhaustion. To understand how this works, let 
me offer this example:

One of my first cars was a 1956 Pontiac. Aside 
from the fact that it was a gas guzzler (12-13 
mpg), it had a problem with the idle. Every time 
I would pull up at a stop sign, it would stall. I 
developed a way of coasting up to the stop, 
putting it in neutral, and while applying the 
brake, I would rev up the engine. Voila! No 
stalling. After a time, I realized that it would be 
effective to simply adjust the idle high enough 
to avoid stalling in the first place. As you can 
well imagine, the increased engine activity soon 
caused the brakes to fade, the trans to slip, and 
the radiator to boil over. I’ve always felt this was 
a great example of the alarm, adaptation, and 
exhaustion model (or GAS).

The principle hormone involved in stress is 
cortisol and, like my Pontiac’s idle, its presence in 
the system causes increased activity. In the long 
run, negative changes result, which ultimately 
lead to disease. Cortisol can continue to rise 
even after the initial stress is resolved. Soon, the 
body becomes used to functioning this way and 
automatically defaults to cortisol-based activity. 

In Closing 

 We must be careful in our understanding 
of how the body works. By using Selye’s model, 
it is easier to see that disease develops over 
time. Because of this progressive adaptation, it 
is entirely possible to reverse some of the effects 
of stress. Being open to this idea allows us to 
take control of the process and contribute to our 
healing. 

Have a healthy week!

Dr. John


Dr. John Talevich, D.C. has practiced in Sierra Madre 
for thirty years. His clinic, LifeWorks! Chiropractic, 
offers patient-specific approaches to the alleviation of 
pain and individually tailored wellness programs. 

September Birthdays

Yvonne Osti, Edwina Garcia, Donna 
Anderson, Teresa Chaure, Cathy 
Gunther, Esther Macias, Sheila Pierce, 
Nancy Shollenberger

John M. Talevich, D.C. 

CHIROPRACTIC: Simple, Elegant, Effective

31 S. Baldwin Avenue Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

626-355-4710


HOW TO HELP FUND YOUR GRANDKIDS RETIREMENT

Meals-On-Wheels

Dear Savvy Senior:

Is there a way that we can put some money in 
a Roth IRA account for our young grandkids 
to use for retirement?Curious Granddad 

Dear Curious:

There sure is! Funding Roth IRAs for your 
grandkids when they’re young is a smart 
move and an incredible gift to their financial 
future. And you don’t have to be rich to do it, 
either. Here’s what you should know.

 Roth RulesThe Roth IRA is a fabulous 
savings tool for your grandkids. A Roth 
can literally turn a few hundred dollars a 
year now, into tens of thousands of tax-free 
dollars for your grandkids when they retire 
by using the powerful combination of time 
and compounding.

 But in order for you to open and fund a 
Roth IRA for a grandchild, one primary 
requirement will need to be met. The child 
will need to have earned income from some 
type of work – allowances don’t count. So, 
if your grandkid made a few bucks this 
year mowing lawns, babysitting, delivering 
newspapers or working an after-school or 
weekend job, he or she qualifies. Just be sure 
you keep good records including a log of the 
dates and hours worked and amounts paid, 
as well as any W-2 forms from employers or 
1099s.

 If your grandkids meet the earned income 
requirement, there’s nothing in the rules that 
says the child’s own money has to go into the 
Roth. It’s perfectly legal if your grandkids 
keep the money they earned and you make 
the contributions for them. The key is 
that you can’t contribute more than your 
grandchild earned in any given tax year, up 
to the limit of $5,000. 

 And to give you an idea of how these early 
contributions can add up, consider this. Let’s 
say, for example, that you contribute $500 a 
year to your grandchild’s Roth for nine years 
from the ages of 10 to 18 (a total of $4,500). If 
that money grew an annual rate of 7 percent, 
that $4,500 would accumulate to around 
$144,000 by the time he or she reaches age 65. 
And with a Roth IRA, the full amount will be 
tax-free when it’s withdrawn in retirement.

 It’s also doubtful that your grandkids 
would be on the hook for income taxes. 
Children who work as employees generally 
don’t need to file a tax return unless their 
income exceeds the standard deduction 
amount, which was $5,700 for the 2010 tax 
year. They should, however, file if they’re 
due a refund for any withholdings. But a 
child who has net earnings of $400 or more 
from self-employment is required to file. For 
information on IRS filing requirements for 
children, visit www.irs.gov and search for the 
page titled “Taxable Income for Students.”

 FlexibilityYou also need to know that 
opening a Roth for your grandkids doesn’t 
automatically lock up the money for decades. 
Like it or not, your grandkids, at age 18, can 
withdraw the principle contributions (but 
not earnings) any time, tax free and penalty 
free. 

 Roth IRAs also offer special withdrawal 
rules for higher education expenses. So if 
your grandkid needs money for college, 
contributions can be withdrawn tax and 
penalty free, while the earnings can also be 
dipped into without penalty, but they will owe 
taxes on it. And when it comes time to buy a 
first home, your grandson or granddaughter 
can withdraw up to $10,000 (contributions 
and earnings) tax and penalty free. 

 Savvy Tip: For more information on Roth 
IRAs, see IRS Publication 590 at www.irs.
gov/pub/irs-pdf/p590.pdf, or call 800-829-
3676 and ask them to mail you a free copy. 

 Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, 
P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit 
SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor 
to the NBC Today show and author of “The 
Savvy Senior” book. 

 


Meals are delivered to home-bound 
seniors by volunteer drivers through 
the YWCA Intervale Lunch Program 
M-F (with frozen meals for the weekend.) 

Meals are delivered to the home-bound seniors 
by drivers through the YWCA Interval Lunch 
Program M-F (with frozen meals for the 
weekend.) 

 

 Call the YWCA at (626) 214-9460 for more 
information. 

EXCURSIONS

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15th - 

Historic Graber Olive House in Ontario. 
Participants will get a short tour 
& history of the Graber Olive as well as 
learn more about how they are harvested. 
After the tour you will venture to 
a local restaurant to have lunch before 
heading back to Sierra Madre.

 The bus will leave the Community 
Recreation Center at 10 am and return 
around 2 pm. Cost is $8 per person 
(transportation & tour only) so please 
bring additional money for lunch.

SAVE THE DATES

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22ND - Big Bear 
Oktoberfest ; $36 per person. Registration 
begins September 7th online or in person.

*THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17TH - 

Historic Castle Tour & Lunch at the Mission 
Inn, Riverside.

*THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15TH - 

Candlelight Pavilion Christmas Show

in Claremont. Reservation for this excursion 
will start on September 26th either by 
visiting the Recreation Center in person 
or going online at www.cityofsierramadre.
com/onlineregistration


LUNCH & LEARN 

Join the Senior

Community Commission

at the 

Sierra Madre Recreation 
Center

 for a FREE presentation. 
Lunch is available for a 

$2 donation 

Call (626) 355-0256 by 

12 noon the day before. 

DIAL - A - RIDE 

TICKETS

Tickets can now be purchased at:

Sierra Madre City Hall

Sierra Madre Recreation Center

Sierra Madre Library


Pasadena Highlands, an independent and assisted 
living community, is proud to provide a 
special gift basket on the first Tuesday of each 
month. Accredited In-Home nursing care will 
provide a special prize on the 4th Tuesday of 
each month. Bingo takes place every Tuesday at 
1:30 pm at the Sierra Madre Recreation Center 
while the Hart Park House is under remodeling. 
The game begins at 1:30 pm but those wishing 
to play must arrive 10 minutes before to secure 
your Bingo cards. Join us on the 1st & 4th 
Tuesday of each month 

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