Fit and trim, 69-year-old Ned McNamara is the epitome of active retiree — teaching yoga and fitness at the Spokane Valley YMCA and for ACT 2 classes. McNamara also stays busy as a Spokane County Search and Rescue volunteer, teaches rescue skills, and operates a home-based fitness business.
A high percentage of people with intellectual disabilities are obese, based on national body mass index data. Special Olympics Washington, the state-level organization, began a focus this year to increase community wellness approaches and reduce obesity rates among its athletes.
Spend some holiday time recording family stories, as festivities bring far-flung generations together. That’s the advice of Beryl Pielli, of Newport, who years ago taped interviews with her mother, Alice Pruett Bell, about life in the farming town of Wilbur, Washington.
Spokane has a high occupancy rate for senior housing units, close to 96 percent based on recent data, compared with a national average of about 90 percent.
YMCA of the Inland Northwest plans to open a South Hill branch by mid-December, after agreeing to buy the business assets of a Gold’s Gym operation from Dave and Alethea McCann.
Jeff Edwards, 37, started as new director at Corbin Senior Activity Center on Oct. 1. He joined Corbin after previous youth nonprofit work and a stint doing marketing and ad copy writing. He believes his first job is to introduce the center’s programs and social offerings to more people in the community.
Another commercial building will rise on the south side of Summit Parkway in Kendall Yards. It’s designed to have two restaurants and other retail spaces and expected to open in summer 2017. Greenstone affiliate North Gorge Commercial Partners LLC plans to start within two weeks on the $2.2 million project for the Kendall Yards Bluff Building, 1323 W. Summit Parkway.
Chuck and Janet Boehme are regular American Red Cross volunteers, so on Oct. 9 the active retirees agreed to drive one of its specially-equipped feeding vehicles from Kennewick to a flooded region of the East Coast after Hurricane Matthew.
While recent studies nationwide show many Americans aren’t saving enough for retirement, a newly released AARP survey for Washington found nearly half of statewide respondents had less than $25,000 saved for retirement. More than a quarter had less stocked away.
Video chats are becoming part of everyday life, also providing a way for grandparents to visit regularly with grandchildren who live remotely. They read bedtime stories or watch baby’s first steps.
This fall, the 54-year-old Kevin Connell has returned to help regularly at Gonzaga Prep, four years after he left as longtime principal and just over two years since suffering a major stroke in Portland.
Senior driver safety courses cover new traffic laws, refreshers on old rules, defensive driving techniques, vehicle technologies, and hazards of impaired and distracted driving.
Schweitzer Mountain Resort plans to complete its $5 million summit lodge in December. Construction began July 2015 at the top of the Great Escape Quad lift.
The professional networking group, Spokane Elder Resource Team, aims to provide information for smoother transitions with elder planning, before serious illness or spouse’s death forces a stressful reality.