| License of Huntsville assisted living facility suspended
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. An emergency order of license suspension was issued for a Huntsville assisted living facility today after investigators found that some of its elderly residents were severely underweight and there had been reports of abuse by staff members. Officials with the Alabama Department of Public Health began investigating Pine Crest Estate in January and also found that cognitively impaired residents have left the facility's secured perimeter without supervision on at least two instances. W. Joe Hacker, owner and administrator at Pine Crest, said the investigation resulted from a familial dispute involving one of the residents and her family members who were suing each other for custody of her. He said the facility was "caught in the middle." Hacker said he learned of an evacuation order at 10 a.m.
Ironing can be more complicated than an oil change
In the days before my business trip, my to-do-before-I-leave list grew like that plate of endless spaghetti that seems to grow with every bite. At least you can wrap up the leftover spaghetti and eat it for lunch the next day, or, better yet, use it to make a delicious plate of gooey, cheesy baked spaghetti. Unfortunately, there is no plastic wrap for a list of tasks, and paperwork can't be repackaged into something better like a saucy, romantic novel. There was nothing to do but plug away until it was all finished. Three hours after the time I planned to leave for Atlanta, I finally sent my last e-mail. I still had not packed, and Hubby was getting anxious about me being on the road into the night. To save time, he started pulling out business suits and, bless his heart, counting out pantyhose.
Katrina Aid Today Partners Focus on Affordable Housing
Katrina Aid Today case managers have assisted more than 37,500 families as of Jan. 31 (roughly 97,000 people), up nearly 10,000 cases since Oct. 31, according to a report released today. "Hurricane Katrina survivors are facing many challenges, but our case managers continue to create inventive ways to help them," said Jim Cox, interim executive director of Katrina Aid Today. Housing is one of the most important steps in recovery, but often it is the most difficult to obtain or maintain, according to the report. Bob Lowery, a Katrina Aid Today case manager and the director of the Realtor Relief Fund for the Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi (LESM), witnessed the rise in housing costs along the Gulf Coast first hand and knew something needed to be done.
Jury gets Robinson nursing home case
An Allegheny County this afternoon began deliberating the fate of a former Robinson nursing home administrator charged in connection with the October 2001 death of an elderly resident with Alzheimers disease. Martha Bell, 60, of West Mifflin, headed the Ronald Reagan Atrium I Nursing and Rehabilitation Center when Mabel Taylor, 88, wandered outside during the night and was discovered dead in a courtyard. Bell is charged with involuntary manslaughter and attempting to cover up how Taylor died, among other charges. The nursing home and its parent corporation, the Alzheimer's Disease Alliance of Western Pennsylvania, are also on trial. Assistant District Attorney Thomas Merrick urged jurors in his closing argument to convict Bell because she had been warned repeatedly about danger risks at the facility and chose to reap financial gains instead of investing money to hire the necessary staff.
Sac County's rural life rates No. 7 in America
Sac County is one of the best places to live in rural America, especially if you think the sound of a combine rolling through a soybean field has "a mechanical magic to it," writes Progressive Farmer magazine in its February issue.
The 650,000-circulation magazine of rural living tabbed Sac County No. 7 out of 3,500 counties in rural America based on personal economics, education, crime, health care resources, taxes and climate statistics.
"Sac County is as Iowa as Iowa gets - corn and soybeans as far as the eye can see. Cows and hogs. Clapboard farmhouses and big barns."
An abundance of farm animals and row crops might not spur hundreds to pack up the moving van and head for the county in northwest Iowa, once known for the world's largest popcorn ball on display in Sac City.
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