October 7, 2009
FAIRFIELD - When one of Carol Harless' students was afraid she couldn't go to science camp because she didn't have the money, Harless said as long as the student tried, Harless would help.
Peggy Bassford Byrd was sent to the schools and helped children start up savings accounts when she worked as a teller, and now baby-sits her great-grandchildren.
Jeff Jewell not only devoted his professional life to helping veterans 'but spent countless hours of off-duty time helping veterans and their families,' said friend and fellow vet Lou Derfuss.
Harless, Byrd and Jewell were three of 13 Vacaville seniors who were honored Wednesday for their commitment to the community at the Tribute to Seniors.
The event also honored Kathleen Keeter, Mary McCallum, Lee and Virginia Kloppenburg, Aldea Sharp, Helen Vinson, Leanna Wieser, Dianne Lee and Sister Lynne Wanberg.
Several dozen local senior-oriented businesses such as law offices that specialize in trusts and estate planning, hospitals such as Kaiser Permanente, and restaurants such as Tahoe Joe's set up booths.
Orthopedic surgeon Dr. Franklyn Seabrooks was one of several physicians and health care workers who answered a host of questions from local seniors.
'This is a great thing,' said Seabrooks, who works for Solano Regional Medical Group. 'We are getting the information out that people need.'
Part of that came from NorthBay Healthcare Cardiologist Milind Dhond who was the keynote speaker and talked about what is being done to better treat peripheral arterial disease, a common circulatory problem.
'We treat more than a million people a year for this,' Dhond told listening seniors at the Vacaville Center for the Performing Arts. 'There are 4 million more who go untreated and more than 4 million more who don't know they need treatment.'
Advances in the use of stints and now lasers have allowed cardiologists to better treat the disease, but Dhond said the key is still prevention by living a healthier lifestyle.
A dozen nonprofit organizations such as the Vacaville Commission on Aging were present to let themselves get better known.
'We are trying to get more visibility,' said Skip Thomson of the Vacaville Commission on Aging. 'We want to make sure more issues that have an impact on seniors get addressed.'
Seniors such as Carol Carrier liked the event, calling it 'very, very nice.'
Craig and Bobbie Jean Cannon said Dhond's presentation and all the booths were very informative and allowed them to pick up a lot of good information.
'It is very worthwhile,' Craig Cannon said. 'We come here every year.'
Reach Ian Thompson at 427-6976 or at ithompson@dailyrepublic.net.
