VOL. 11, NO. 8
FROM DALE'S DESK
The June 23, 2010 election of the Board of Directors of the Mallard Landing Council of Unit Owners ran smoothly and efficiently once again. The Inspector of Elections, Kay Hutchinson, handled things very capably and she was assisted by the four tellers who manned sign-in sheets and counted ballots. A special thank is offered you to the entire slate of candidates who ran for open positions.
Results of the 2010-2011 General Election are as follows:
Bob Curtis
Carol Sherwood
Phyllis Weitzel
Rachel Collier (filling unexpired term)
The new Board then held a reorganization meeting immediately following the general election, at which they voted for the following officers:
Ralph Chapman, President
Peggy Pruitt, Vice President
Carol Sherwood, Secretary
Jack McAllister, Treasurer
Thanks again to all those who participated in the 2010 election. Your involvement is vital to ensure the smooth transition of governance by your representatives, the duly elected Mallard Landing Council of Unit Owners Board of Directors.
Dale
THE GRANDVIEW
The Grandview Board of Directors met in the Clubhouse on Tuesday, June 22. The current Board members are Greg Stevens, Interim President; Sue Simms, Vice-President, Dale Loebe, Secretary; Greg Stevens, Treasurer; and Harry Hopkins.
The Annual Meeting will be held in December, 2010, when election of officers will take place.
Mallard Landing Library
The Mallard Landing Library Committee expresses gratitude on behalf of all our book lovers to the family of Dottie Bailey for designating our library as the recipient of memorials to our late friend and chairperson. To date, the Library Fund established in Dottie’s memory contains $590. The committee soon will make a decision as to how to use this money.
Meanwhile, the shelves are being cleared of books that are old and never taken out, to make room for new donations. The committee also reminds us that we have a growing collection of Large Print books and, for both the sighted and the visually-impaired, a collection of books on audiotape, to be found in the left hand drawer of the shelf containing our biographies, to the right after ascending the stairs.
Books removed from the library are now being placed in the two top drawers of the chest near the outside entrance to the Pub. Residents are welcome to take one or more of them –and we don’t want them back!
Schumaker Pond
The Schumaker Pond Association reports that the City of Salisbury plans to treat the pond for hydrilla early in 2011.
This association was formed on Sept. 13, 2000, here at our Clubhouse by a group of residents surrounding Schumaker Pond. One of the most active founders was Donna Forgash, who lives across the pond, and she continues to put pressure on the city to live up to its promises of the early days.
The major objective of the group, as stated in its first meeting announcement, is to increase the natural beauty and recreational use of the pond, for both residents and visitors alike. From the beginning, the organization was supported both monetarily and in other ways by the Mallard Landing Community Association and many of our individual residents.
The association undertook a study of the pond, hiring experts to examine its ecology, and were informed that the major problem is a noxious weed named hydrilla. They then were able to persuade the city to set up a program of treatment, with members donating funds to start the process and the city appropriating the remaining cost.
Although no meetings of the association have been held recently, Mrs. Forgash has promised to keep us informed of future developments and urges everyone to remind the city fathers, whenever possible, of their commitment to the health of Schumaker Pond.
For Our Pun Lovers (Groan…)
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan
Island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but he loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from an algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
Exercise! The Anti-Aging Weapon
The following article is reprinted from Duke Medicine Health News, with permission from that publication to publish it exclusively for Mallard Landing residents. Louise Morgan has obtained that permission for us and we will print it in two installments.
Four new studies affirm the multiple benefits of exercise—at any age, even starting in midlife.
It was only 25 years ago that researchers in geriatrics realized that increased physical activity promoted healthy aging and began to study the role of exercise. It’s been recognized since then that almost all diseases and conditions that lead to physical disability—morbidity, even—in older adults are a result of physical inactivity. Inactivity impacts cognition and executive function as well.
A cascade of evidence continues to pour forth on the manifold benefits of exercise—on bone health, cognition, longevity, disease prevention and general well-being--at any age. If we haven’t gotten the message before, here it is again: The entire Jan. 25, 2010 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine is given over to studies of the benefits of exercise and diet in older people.
In a commentary on that journal, Drs. Jeff Williamson and Marco Pahor write that “higher quantities of physical activity (PA) have beneficial effects on numerous age-related conditions, such as osteoarthritis, falls, hip fracture, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, low fitness and obesity and decreased functional capacity—all conditions that greatly increase the risk of reduced independence in late life.” What message could be more clear? We look at four of those studies.
SUCCESSFUL SURVIVAL IN WOMEN OVER AGE 70.
In at 15-year study of 13,535 participants in the Nurses’ Health Study, researchers found that the subjects who were physically active at midlife (in this study, age 60), had increased odds of exceptional health at age 70, regardless of body weight. Of the group, any participant who survived to at least 70 years of age with no chronic disease, impairment in cognitive function, or physical disabilities was deemed a “successful survivor.” Almost 11 percent made the cut. Walking was the activity of choice, with “moderate” walking pace associated with a 90 percent increase in the odds of successful aging and “very brisk” walking increasing the odds 2.68 fold.
FRACTURE RISK AND FALLS. In another, smaller, five-year study of 227 women, the group assigned to an 18-month exercise program that included endurance, resistance, and balance exercises had improved bone mineral density and fall risk. The weekly programs consisted of two 60-minute supervised group classes emphasizing aerobics, strength and balance training, and two 20-minute home training sessions that focused on strength and flexibility. A control group followed a low-frequency, low-intensity program for 60 minutes weekly for ten weeks, followed by ten weeks of rest. In the higher-exercise group, there was a 50 percent lower fracture incidence vs. the control group. But both groups significantly reduced their ten-year coronary heart disease risk, which scientists attributed to exercise’s positive effects on blood pressure.
Next month—COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT and QUALITY OF LIFE.
July Is….
Family Reunion Month – Help plan a reunion and get together with all of your family members.
Outdoor Living Month – Get out and enjoy the outdoors. Bring a chair or blanket down to the City Park on Sunday evening and enjoy a concert put on by the Salisbury Community Band.
Picnic Month - Take a lunch out on the patio and enjoy the new tables, chairs and the view.
Recreation and Parks Month – Enjoy our City Park or drive down to Assateague. There are picnic tables under the trees right beside the water.
Wild About Wildlife Month – If you haven’t been to the City Zoo in a while, spend an afternoon enjoying the animals.
Freedom Month – Freedom Week is celebrated July 4-10.
Hot Dog Month, Cupcake Month, Ice Cream Month and Peach Month – I think we can figure out how to celebrate those.
Tomato Month – Many stands sell local tomatoes. Don’t miss out on the chance to eat a fresh ripe tomato sandwich.
--Joan Allling
Another Binebrink
(Last month, we featured an article about Miriam Binebrink’s brother-in-law, a distinguished artist. Wilson Binebrink’s father, Miriam’s father-in-law, was well-known in his own right, and here we tell his story.)
William Binebrink was born on St. Patrick’s Day in 1889 on a farm near Centreville, MD. He and his siblings were interested in writing and acting in skits from their childhood.
Before his marriage in 1916, he left the farm to perform at “Jack Flood Beer Park” in Curtis Bay, Anne Arundel County, each summer until Prohibition. He performed the “soft shoe,” played the saw and violin, did some ventriloquism, and acted as “end man” in minstrels, then in their last years as a popular form of entertainment.
Bill Binebrink later operated a dance hall of his own just outside Ridgely, known as the Golden Eagle. Miriam still treasures two chairs from that establishment.
In 1938, Franklin Delano Roosevelt came to Caroline County, leaving the train at Downes Station, site of the Golden Eagle. Miriam’s husband, then 11 years old, tap danced for the president before he went on to a speaking appearance in Denton. Miriam at that time had never met or heard of the Binebrink family, but she remembers her father taking her to Denton and putting her on his shoulders to get a view of FDR.
Welcome to Ripples
The Newsletter Committee welcomes a new member, Treva Hopkins, who will be our reporter for the Grandview Building. If any residents of the other apartment buildings would like to volunteer to be the reporter for their building, please call any member of the committee.
RIPPLES
Is published monthly by the Mallard Landing Newsletter Committee:
Kay Hutchinson, Joan Alling
Lisa Murphy, Dale Loebe, ex-officio
Deadline: third Monday in the month
We welcome contributions of news items and other information. Call any committee member.
NEXT DEADLINE: Monday, July 19th |
