Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
Wednesday, November 3, 2021
B5
SENIOR LIVING
Navigating Medicare Open Enrollment? Help is available
Senior
Living
Scott
During Medicare Open
Enrollment you may be
searching for objective
and helpful information
to decide whether your
current plan is still the
best one for you. There are
several options. There are
local insurance brokers who
understand the complexities
of Medicare and can help
you choose the best plan. Or
you can call 541-288-8341
to speak with a SHIBA vol-
unteer counselor who’s not
trying to sell you anything
and can guide you through
the Medicare maze.
Another option is to
search for Medicare plans
online. But as with anything
online, be cautious. For
example, when I searched
for Medicare plans the
first site listed was at
Ken Kramer 744
TEAM OF THE WEEK:
Ken Kramer
744
Patrick Olson
725
Ken Thornton
685
John Riggleman
684
Bill Whetstine
682
3,520 total pins
H
AVE YOU EVER HAD
an out of body experi-
ence? Experts say it’s
like you feel you’re outside
yourself, looking at your
physical being from another
perspective. Could it be
linked to a state of extraordi-
narily intense concentration
which is way more than
normal? Is this another way
to describe “being in the
zone?” We’ve often heard
that phrase but few of us
have experienced it.
Ken Kramer was definite-
ly “in the zone” in the last
ehealthmedicare.com. And
then when I searched for
Advantage Plans in my zip
code, no Advantage Plans
were listed even though I am
currently enrolled in one.
Another site listed was
Medicare Advantage 2022
where you can “Compare
plans, prices, and star rat-
ings online. Some premiums
as low as $0/month.” That
sounds good, so I click on
that link where I learn ,“By
entering my contact infor-
mation and clicking ‘Next’
above, I consent to receive
e-mails, telephone calls, text
messages and artificial or
pre-recorded messages from
…” Well, forget that website.
I don’t need any more un-
wanted phone solicitations
— I have enough!
But to avoid the sales
pitches and misinformation,
the best website to visit
for unbiased and accurate
Medicare information is
Medicare.gov.
You can tell it is an official
federal government website
because the website address
ends with .gov. And remem-
ber only to share sensitive
information on official,
secure websites. How do you
know? If you see https://
(not http://) or a symbol of a
lock, it means your connec-
tion to the website is secure.
•••
Did you notice last week
I mentioned the “Through
the Eyes of an Elder” column
written by Susan Hess? It’s
embarrassing (which hap-
pens way too often!) because
it’s actually in this week’s
paper. I know which day
of the week it is, although
Monday holidays can mess
me up, but knowing which
week? That’s a little more dif-
ficult. So once again, check
out “Through the Eyes of an
Elder” in today’s paper.
•••
Because you can’t have
words without syllables and
syllables without vowels,
vowels are known to be rath-
er arrogant— believing they
are indispensable; belonging
at the top of the alphabetic
food chain. So see if you can
read these two short quotes
with the vowels removed
and see how indispensable
they really are.
And to keep you from
running out of the house
screaming, I kept the vowels
in the most difficult word of
each quote. Good luck!
“_’m _ t a pl_c_ _ n my
l_f_ wh_r_ errands _r_
st_rt_ng t _ c_ _nt _s g_
_ng _ _t.”
“_t’s weird b_ _ng th_
s_m_ _g_ _s _ld p_ _pl_.”
•••
The name of the popular
1952-1956 comedy series
starring Eve Arden as the
sardonic high school teacher
and Gale Gordon as the
blustery high school prin-
cipal was Our Miss Brooks.
I received correct answers
from Susan Ellis, Claire
Zumwalt, Jeannie Pesicka,
Doug Nelson, Lana Tepfer,
Mike Nagle, Kim Birge, Pat
Kelly, Mike Yarnell, and Elva
Codino, this week’s winner
of a quilt raffle ticket. Last
week I missed Susan Ellis
and Mike Nagle and for
some mystical reason, I’ve
missed Carol Earl several
times.
This week’s “Remember
When” question is about
a song released on Jan. 27,
1956, that reached the top
five on the Country and
Western, Rhythm ‘n’ Blues,
and Pop charts simultane-
ously. What was the name of
the song that included the
chorus, “You make me so
lonely baby/ I get so lonely/
I get so lonely I could die”?
Email your answer to www.
mcseniorcenter@gmail.com,
leave a message at 541-296-
4788, or mail it with a picture
of Alvin Krolik, the man who
“walked a lonely street”.
•••
Well, it has been another
week watching soap bubbles
dance in the wind. Until we
meet again, enjoy all the
small things that make life
worth living.
•••
“As you journey through
life take a minute every now
and then to give a thought
for the other fellow. He could
be plotting something.”
— Hagar the Horrible
•••
Nutritious home-deliv-
ered meals and pick-ups are
available for anyone over
sixty. For more information,
you can call the meal site in
your area.
Hood River Valley Adult
Center at 541-386-2060 —
open for in-person dining;
Sherman County Senior
and Community Center
at 541-565-3191 — open
for in-person dining; The
Dalles Meals-on-Wheels at
541-298-8333 — open for
in-person dining Tuesday
through Thursday; Klickitat
County Senior Services
— Goldendale office at
509-773-3757 or the White
Salmon office at 509-493-
3068; Skamania County
Senior Services at 509-427-
3990; Seniors of Mosier
Valley — call 541-980-1157
at least one day in advance
to order a Grab-N-Go meal.
Monday and Wednesdays
from 11-11:30 a.m.
Monday night Industrial
league at Hood River’s
Orchard Lanes. Bowling on
lanes 9 and 10, Ken started
out with a nice scratch 200
in his first game, then he
went off into another realm,
racking up huge 278 and 266
games for a mind boggling
744 series. As far as we can
recall that is Ken’s first ever
700 series and his all-time
career high. A three game
set of that magnitude is
simply awesome, it works
out to a 248 average for the
night and it ended up being
a whopping 201 pins over
Ken’s average. Ken, who
was a long-time baseball
umpire, may have thought
he knew all about strikes
but he turned the table on
things, delivering 20 of them
himself in those last two
great games.
Our team of the week
features two other relatively
new faces, Ken Thornton and
John Riggleman. Ken fired a
685 set in the Industrial and
John was just one pin back
with a 684 that he notched
in the Wednesday night
Fraternal league. These two
are talented bowlers so it
comes as no surprise to see
them in the limelight. A cou-
ple weeks ago we welcomed
Ken back into league
action after a long absence,
expecting big things from
him. We’re only a couple of
months into league action
and he delivered just as we
thought, topping his average
by 130 sticks. John is not only
a darn good bowler, he’s a
heck of a golfer. We’d like
to see him compete in our
summer Bolf league, where
we bowl one week and golf
the next. He may just be the
best bowler-golfer in the
Gorge!
Our other team of the
week stars, Patrick Olson
and Bill Whetstine, are
practically regulars in the big
scoring department. They
really need no introduction
as they are charter members
of the bowling elite in Hood
River.
There were a couple of
near misses to making the
Fab Five who definitely
deserve honorable men-
tion. Chris Huff burst out
of his normal routine with
a fantastic scratch 679
series that was highlighted
by a big-time 279 game.
Chris was 178 sticks over
his average, so if it weren’t
for Ken Kramer’s big night,
Chris would be the big man
on campus. Ace Hardware
staffer Woody Eskildsen has
really put his game together.
He’s raised his average so
much in the Fraternal that
he’s knocking on the door
of that magical 200 mark.
Last week Woody beat his
average by 101 pins, rolling
a super scratch 677 series in
the Fraternal that keyed his
Hood River Supply trio to a
23-2 point shellacking of the
powerhouse 6th Street Bistro
crew.
Now, for an update on
league action. There are
only two weeks left in the
first round of the Industrial
and it’s looking like a two
team race for first as Collins
Aerospace has a 7 point
lead over Ol’7-10. Last week
Collins Aerospace was paced
by Ken Thornton’s 685 set
which boosted them to a
23-2 point wipe over Randy’s
Painting. And, Ol’7-10 also
had a big night but only
gained a point on Collins by
blasting powerhouse Wild
Giant Studio 24-1.
The highly competitive
hot-shot Fraternal league
also has just two weeks left
in round one. It looks like
five teams still have a chance
to take first and since this
league features a position
round in its last night, things
could get really intense by
then. Currently, Hood River
Supply jumped into first
with a eight point lead over
Electronics Assemblers and
The 3 Pendejos who are tied
for second. Folks, this is what
league bowling is all about,
things are starting to get real-
ly interesting, good bowling
everyone!
WEDNESDAY
AFTERNOON SENIOR
COLTS AND FILLIES:
Bernie Keys: 228,210, 615
Tony Teschner:
212
Jesse Flores:
206
Dick Sherrell:
204
Mick Sherrell:
202
Lynn Spellman:
202
HRV speech, debate team looks
to upcoming season
Fundraiser Saturday supports students
India Hargrave
■ By HRVHS
Speech and Debate member
Ann McDonald
■ By HRVHS
Speech and Debate coach
Last season, while most
sports teams were on the
benches due to COVID,
the Hood River Valley High
School Speech and Debate
Team continued to meet and
compete virtually, attending
more than 16 tournaments,
many of them spanning
two days and with weekend
commitments. The team
went on to become the 2020-
21 5A State Champions and
competed in the National
Tournament.
Speech and Debate
provides an opportunity for
students to develop skills in
research, critical thinking,
organization, persuasion
and communication. In
debate, students are given a
topic to research and devel-
op cases with arguments in
favor and in opposition of
the topic. Debaters flex their
analytical muscles, cross-ex-
amining their opponents’
arguments for weaknesses,
challenging their opponents’
assertions and strengthening
their own arguments with
constructive criticism from
judges. Debate categories
include Lincoln Douglas,
Public Forum, Policy
and Parliamentary. In
Parliamentary debate, de-
baters don’t know the debate
topic ahead of time!
Speech involves more
performance aspects than
debate. Speech events are
divided into two catego-
ries: Public Address and
Interpretation. Public
Address events involve
professional speaking in
event categories such as
Extemp, Original Oratory,
Informative, and Radio
Broadcasting; Interpretation
events have categories such
as Humor, Drama, Poetry,
and Prose.
Tournament days start at 8
a.m. and end at 8 p.m., with
students competing between
three and eight times in a
tournament or event, and
most students competing
in two to four events. In
addition to student commit-
ment, parent involvement
and commitment is also
required. Each school that
participates in a tournament
are required to send parent
judges, often requiring four
to nine team parents per
tournament.
This year will be a mix of
virtual and in-person tour-
naments and the team is in
full gear, having already at-
tended several tournaments.
Fundraiser Nov. 6
The Speech and Debate
team is holding this fund-
raiser in partnership with the
LEO club to help with costs
associated with participating
in Speech and Debate that
are not covered by the school
district such as National
Competition entrance fees,
nice presentation clothes for
students (their “uniforms”),
travel expenses for in person
tournaments, and other es-
sential items. Come out and
brings those empty cans and
bottles in front of Rosauers
Nov. 6 from 9 a.m. to noon,
and support the Hood River
Valley High School Speech
and Debate Team. Those
unable to bring their cans
and bottles but would still
like to donate should contact
Coach Ann McDonald at
ann.mcdonald@hoodriver.
k12.or.us.
LEAGUE HIGH
SCRATCH GAMES
AND SERIES
MONDAY NIGHT
INDUSTRIAL:
Ken Kramer: 278,266, 744
Ken Thornton: 248, 685
Chris Huff:
279, 679
Patrick Olson:
255, 651
Woody Eskildsen:
264
Paul Dethman:
247
Lynn Spellman:
245
TUESDAY NITE MIXED:
Jeremy Bloom:
652
Ken Espersen:
247
Joey Sheirbon:
240,236
Chad Mason:
235
Ciena Brittle:
223,202
HOME and
GARDEN
hg
Columbia Gorge News
Available last weekend of the month.
WEDNESDAY NIGHT
FRATERNAL:
Patrick Olson: 268,235, 725
John Riggleman: 247, 684
Bill Whetstine: 248,236,
682
Woody Eskildsen: 259, 677
Bernie Keys: 222, 201, 614
COUNTY LEAGUE:
Rod Pratt: 253,214, 644
Mark Bakurjian: 200
WKO-High Cascade Mills
Buying Logs
& Timber
Douglas Fir
White Fir
Pine
Jon Paul Anderson
360-921-1541
Mill: 509-427-8413
2022 Wind River Hwy • P.O. Box 8
Carson, WA 98610