TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely

As Tennesseans enjoy the cooler temperatures and changing leaves of fall, TDOT Maintenance forces across the state are focused on the winter months ahead. Although we don’t typically see severe winters in the southeast, even small amounts of snow or ice can cripple our transportation system and create dangerous conditions for motorists. And, the wet weather pattern we’ve seen for much of 2009 makes one wonder if this could be a winter to remember.

When battling a winter weather event, time and resource limitations can be as formidable an opponent as the snow and ice that may be falling. This year, TDOT is testing a number of new weapons that all have the potential to save valuable time, manpower, and money.

One piece of equipment TDOT will test this winter is a 14 foot snow plow, which has the ability to clear an entire travel lane in one pass. Our current 10 foot plows force operators to make two passes to clear a lane. On multi-lane roadways, this wider plow shows great potential for improving productivity and cost savings. We also plan to add an underbody scraper snow plow to many of our regular snow plows. This piece of equipment essentially doubles the efforts of one truck, and also applies pressure to break snow and ice that has become packed on the roadway. In the Memphis area, TDOT will also test what’s known as a tow plow, which allows one truck to push snow and ice from two travel lanes simultaneously.

Equipment is only part of the equation. In addition, we are looking at environmentally friendly products that will add to the proven success of our salt and brine road treatments. One such product is designed to enhance salt or brine applications by bonding them to the roadway for longer periods of time, reducing the need for reapplication during a prolonged snow or ice storm. TDOT will also use new technology that can be pre-set to control the amount and accuracy of products applied to the pavement.

Past experiences also present opportunities for improvement in our snow and ice removal operations. In February of this year, we saw a long traffic back-up on Interstate 40 in West Tennessee after more than a foot of snow fell in a matter of hours. Following that event, TDOT initiated internal changes that we believe will greatly improve our communication, notification, training, and quality control procedures during winter weather or other emergencies.

As we move through the winter months, TDOT will evaluate the effectiveness of the new tools and our own methods. We are focused on one goal this winter – to clear Tennessee’s roads as quickly as possible and keep our transportation system in motion.

About Gerald Nicely

Gerald Nicely is the Commissioner of Transportation for the State of Tennessee. He serves on the Board the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He was a Founding Board member of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and a Charter Board member of the Nashville Housing Fund. He is an alumnus of Leadership Nashville.  Nicely has received numerous awards for public service including: Tennessee Association of Public Administration’s Public Administrator of the Year in 2006, the Nashville Kiwanis Club’s co-Nashvillian of the year in 2001 (his wife Donna was the co-recipient), the Nashville Chapter of the American Public Relations Society’s Apollo award in 2006 and the Nashville Engineering Center’s Distinguished Builder Award.

The first is for our community economic preparedness by the Department of Economic and Community Development, as a certified member of the Three-Star Program. This initiative, a Five-Year Asset-Based Strategic Plan, recognizes the importance of successful community development and its impact on sustaining economic growth. Montgomery County is certified as a Benchmark Level III recipient. This designation brings grant opportunities as well as reductions in the local match for the Fast Track Grants.

Two others awards received recently were from the Greater Nashville Regional Council. The first was an Economic Development Award for the County’s commitment and efforts that helped bring Hemlock Semiconductor, LLC to the County’s mega-site. This project will have significant economic impact and the County worked hard with many entities to make this project come to fruition. Second is a Public Facilities award for the creation of Civic Hall in Veterans’ Plaza. This multipurpose event space was much needed for Montgomery County and serves as a source of revenue for the County.

We are very proud of these recent accomplishments and continue to work hard for the citizens of Montgomery County!

Former District 18 Commissioner Mark Kelly

For those who may not already know, at the September County Commission meeting, commissioners appointed Glen Demorest to fill the District 18 seat. The seat was vacated by Mark Kelly, who is moving out of the district.

Demorest is a Principal Mission Planning Support Engineer at Fort Campbell and will serve in the District 18 seat until the election in August when he must run for reelection.

You may reach him at 931-647-3784 or by email at .

Please join me in welcoming Commissioner Demorest to the Commission and thank you for your interest in staying updated on the news of Montgomery County Government.

Sincerely,
Carolyn Bowers
County Mayor

About Carolyn Bowers

Montgomery County's Mayor Carolyn Bowers

Prior to becoming Mayor of Montgomery County, Mayor Bowers served two terms as County Trustee. As Trustee, she earned twenty million dollars through prudent investment of idle county funds. Mayor Bowers has utilized integrated accounting for all County departments by implementation of the MUNIS® system. MUNIS® integrates the mass of county accounting data making it possible to continuously monitor the budget and maximize efficiency for all users.

In many states, insurance companies can still discriminate on the basis of gender — and not just on costs. In some states, maternity care is not covered because pregnancy can be seen as a “pre-existing condition.” It’s even legal in some states to deny a woman coverage because she’s been a victim of domestic violence!

That’s not right. Nobody in America should be treated that way. That’s why First Lady Michelle Obama is standing up for women and families in this newest video. Take a look:

Click here to view the embedded video.

With health insurance reform, the days of discrimination based on gender will be over. Insurance companies will be banned from denying coverage because of a pre-existing condition, or dropping your coverage when you get sick and need it most. They will have to cover preventive care like mammograms and pap smears. And they will be forced to abide by yearly caps on how much they can charge you for out-of-pocket expenses.

But we can’t make health insurance reform a reality without your help. As the First Lady says, talk to your family, your friends, your neighbors. Share this video with them and help get the word out about what’s at stake. It’ll take all of us working together to deliver the change we need on health care.

Nancy-Ann DeParle
Director, White House Office of Health Reform

TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely

As heavy rains fall on Tennessee, TDOT’s bridge inspectors await notifications from an automated program called “Bridge Watch.” Flooding can undermine the structural integrity of certain bridges in the state, so TDOT utilizes this program to alert the department of any potential problems with bridges due to heavy rains.

The most common cause of bridge failure is the undermining of a bridge structure because of scour. Scour is the erosion of a stream or river bed due to excessive stream flow. TDOT has classified 897 bridges in Tennessee as scour-critical, which means bridges could experience a catastrophic failure or become structurally unstable as a result of a destructive flood event.

TDOT’s “Bridge Watch” program monitors weather events through the National Weather Service and rates them based on the possible severity of flooding that could result from a rain event. The program then continually monitors weather mapping, weather radar, and stream gauges from the internet, and compares the information to a map of designated bridges in the state. It then predicts which bridges might be affected by potential flooding.

A bridge inspector performs an inspection of a steel girder as part of the visual inspection study.

State bridge inspectors are notified via text message, e-mail, and fax to check structures that are experiencing or could experience high water conditions. TDOT bridge inspectors visit these structures to check the bridges for any added substructure exposure (scour), continued structural stability and alignment, and streambed movement. Photos are occasionally taken of the conditions that are present at the time of the alert.

The “Bridge Watch” program is then updated to show that the bridge was inspected and the photos of the structure are attached to maintain a record of the event for future use.

Once the rains have passed, a follow up inspection is completed to ensure no permanent damage was done to the substructure. If there is evidence of bank or sediment removal from under the bridge, measurements are taken of the streambed and compared to notes taken from previous stream profiles to see how much material was lost. If any damage is found immediate action is taken to repair the areas that are damaged so that the bridge will remain safe for travelers.

During the recent heavy rains and flooding in Tennessee, bridge inspection crews in the Chattanooga, southern middle Tennessee and west Tennessee regions responded to a number of scour alerts and in one instance in west Tennessee, closed a bridge and initiated a number of repairs to ensure the bridge remained safe for traffic.

The “Bridge Watch” program is just one part of a larger overall inspection and review process that ensures the bridges in our state are safe for motorists. Tennessee is consistently recognized for having one of the best bridge inspection programs in the nation and this program is certainly one of the reasons.

About Gerald Nicely

Gerald Nicely is the Commissioner of Transportation for the State of Tennessee. He serves on the Board the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. He was a Founding Board member of the Frist Center for the Visual Arts and a Charter Board member of the Nashville Housing Fund. He is an alumnus of Leadership Nashville.  Nicely has received numerous awards for public service including: Tennessee Association of Public Administration’s Public Administrator of the Year in 2006, the Nashville Kiwanis Club’s co-Nashvillian of the year in 2001 (his wife Donna was the co-recipient), the Nashville Chapter of the American Public Relations Society’s Apollo award in 2006 and the Nashville Engineering Center’s Distinguished Builder Award.

Ask any woman what disease she’s most afraid of, and chances are she’ll say breast cancer. “Almost everyone knows someone who did everything ‘right’ and still got breast cancer,” says Victoria Seewaldt, MD, who is co-leader of the breast and ovarian cancer program at the Duke University Comprehensive Cancer Center. “That can make women feel like they have no control.”

While you can’t control your genes, there are powerful steps you can take to protect yourself. But experts say there’s a lot of confusion about what really matters. Here’s what they want you to know about…

Lifesaving Screenings

1. Clinical breast exams are as important as mammograms. Mammograms starting at age 40 are crucial (get them earlier if you have a family history of the disease), but they’re an imperfect screening tool, especially in women who have dense breasts. That’s why an annual clinical breast exam from a doctor is a must. “This is especially important for detecting inflammatory breast cancer [a rare but aggressive type that can make the breast swollen and red], which often doesn’t show up on mammograms,” explains Katherine B. Lee, MD, a breast specialist at the Cleveland Clinic Breast Center. On the other hand, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), the earliest form of breast cancer, which is limited to the milk ducts, is most often found on mammograms. So both screenings are equally important.

2. Breast self-exams really can help. It’s good to do them at the same time every month, but don’t stress out if you don’t have them penciled into your planner. What self-exams do is help you become familiar with what’s “normal” for your breasts. So when something’s off, you’ll know and can bring it to your doctor’s attention. After all, you know your body better than any doctor does.

3. Don’t panic if you get called for a mammogram “redo” or have calcifications. Many women over 40 have calcium deposits (calcifications) in their breasts, and most of them are benign. “It’s part of the aging process of the tissue,” explains Dr. Lee. These can show up as white spots on a mammogram—they tend to be harmless if they’re large, coarse, solitary spots but suspicious if the tiny flecks cluster together in a linear pattern. Most radiologists can distinguish between the two, and only the suspicious ones warrant a biopsy. Although the period between the initial and follow-up mammograms can be anxiety-filled— a common reason some women delay their followups, says research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston—most of the time the callback turns out to be nothing.

How Diet and Exercise Lower Your Risk

4. Active women are less likely to develop and die from breast cancer. Regular exercise has consistently been associated with a lower risk of breast cancer. “Any type of exercise is likely to help by lowering estrogen levels,” Dr. Seewaldt explains. What’s more, a new study from the University of South Carolina suggests that women with high aerobic fitness levels (based on their endurance on a treadmill exercise test) have a 55% lower chance of dying from breast cancer than their less-fit peers. So get moving!

5. Get your folate. While experts say that an overall healthy diet may help prevent breast cancer, a growing body of research suggests that getting enough of the B vitamin folate (in leafy green vegetables, beans and fortified cereals) may help mitigate the increased risk associated with drinking alcohol. (Having two or more drinks a day ups breast cancer risk by about 25%.) Go easy on the alcohol, but “if you have one drink daily, getting plenty of folate from your diet or a multivitamin may help,” says Claudine Isaacs, MD, director of the clinical breast cancer program at Georgetown University Medical Center.

6. Being overweight is riskiest after menopause. Of course, staying at a healthy weight throughout your life lowers your risk of just about everything, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes and arthritis. But when it comes to breast cancer, it’s the postmenopause pounds that are particularly dangerous. “In postmenopausal women, one of the most significant sources of estrogen comes from body fat,” explains Dr. Isaacs. “So if you’re overweight, you have higher amounts of circulating estrogen, which could stimulate breast cancer growth.” And it doesn’t take much: Losing even 10 pounds may help lower your risk.

7. Steer clear of soy supplements. Soy contains isoflavones, which can act like estrogen in your body and potentially stimulate the growth of certain types of breast cancer, explains Seema A. Khan, MD, a professor of surgery and coleader of the breast cancer program at Northwestern University in Chicago. Supplements usually contain more concentrated doses of isoflavones, so experts recommend avoiding them. But soy foods— edamame, soy milk, tofu—are fine.

How Your Breasts Look and Feel

8. Lumpy breasts don’t mean a higher risk of cancer. Many women have cysts in their breasts that come and go throughout their menstrual cycles (which are also known as fibrocystic changes). Feeling any kind of lump or bump can be scary, but these types of cysts don’t typically lead to cancer, Dr. Seewaldt points out. Still, it’s especially important for women who have fibrocystic breasts to do breast self-exams and get annual clinical breast exams so any lump that is out of the ordinary can be thoroughly checked out.

9. Pain isn’t usually a sign of breast cancer. If you have pain in one or both breasts, rest assured: It’s probably due to hormonal changes, a benign cyst, a ligament strain or another condition, says Dr. Isaacs. More common warning signs of breast cancer include a palpable lump, a change in the size or shape of the breast, puckering of the skin, nipple changes (like scaling or discharge), or increased warmth—changes you should bring to your doctor’s attention ASAP.

10. Women with very dense breasts are four times more likely to develop breast cancer. “When breast tissue is dense, the cells grow and multiply at a faster rate, which means there’s more of a chance for some to become abnormal or cancerous,” explains Dr. Lee. Ask your doctor if you have dense breasts; she should be able to tell you based on a clinical breast exam and a mammogram. Since mammograms aren’t as effective at detecting cancer in very dense breasts, if yours fall into this category you may benefit from getting regular MRI scans or ultrasounds plus mammograms.

Your Odds

11. Breast cancer risk is not 1 in 8 for all women. That stat applies to lifetime risk, assuming you live to 85 or beyond. At age 40, the average woman has a 1 in 69 chance of getting breast cancer in the next 10 years; at 50, the risk rises to 1 in 42; at 60, it’s 1 in 29; and at 70, it’s 1 in 27. Which means that statistically speaking, women are at most risk for breast cancer in their 70s and 80s—but that’s when breast cancer has the highest cure rate because women in that age group usually get a less aggressive and more treatable form of the disease, says Dr. Seewaldt.

12. A family history doesn’t mean you’ll definitely get it. Only about 20% to 30% of people who develop breast cancer have a family history of the disease, and an even smaller number—5% to 10%—carry a BRCA1 or 2 mutation (the so-called breast cancer genes), Dr. Isaacs explains. So rest assured: Biology isn’t destiny.

13. If it’s caught very early, breast cancer has more than a 90% survival rate in the U.S. “The majority of women who get breast cancer in this country don’t die from it,” says Powel Brown, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist at the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and a member of the scientific advisory board for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. At stage 0 (which means the cancer’s confined to the milk ducts) and stage I (a tumor is 2 cm or less and hasn’t spread beyond the breast), the five-year survival rate is now 100%, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS). Five years may not sound like much, but “if you get to the five-year benchmark without a recurrence, your prognosis for leading a long, healthy life is good,” Dr. Seewaldt says. At stage II (the tumor is between 2 and 5 cm or the cancer has spread to one to three lymph nodes), the five-year survival rate is 86%. Thanks to better screening, most breast cancers in the U.S. are now caught in the early stages.

14. Many factors affect your risk. Family history isn’t the only thing that matters: Other factors come into play, including when you first got your period, if or when you have children and how active you are. Discuss all the details of your lifestyle and medical history with your doctor so she can make sure you’re getting the right screenings at the right time.

15. A father or brother with prostate or colon cancer can raise your risk. These are signs of possible BRCA1 or 2 mutations, Dr. Lee says. These gene mutations can run on your dad’s side, so be sure to ask if any of his female relatives had breast or ovarian cancer.

If You’re at High Risk

16. Get an MRI and a mammogram. Doing both will increase the odds of picking up small tumors in women who are at high risk (if you have a strong family history of breast and ovarian cancer and carry the BRCA1 or 2 mutation). However, an MRI should only be ordered under the care of a breast specialist, says Anne Wallace, MD, a team leader of the Moores Cancer Center breast program at the University of California, San Diego.

17. If you have the BRCA1 or 2 mutations, removing your ovaries lowers your risk by nearly 50%. “Your ovaries produce hormones, so taking them out changes the hormonal mix,” explains Dahlia Sataloff, MD, a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Integrated Breast Center at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.

18. Taking certain medications can help. Tamoxifen and raloxifene are drugs that can block estrogen’s ability to promote breast cancer. They lower the chances of developing the disease by about 50% in women who carry the BRCA1 or 2 mutation, says Dr. Brown. “These medications can be used for five years and the risk reduction continues for 10 years after stopping them. Yet most women who are candidates for the drugs aren’t taking them.” Of course, there are side effects: Both drugs can worsen hot flashes, and tamoxifen increases the risk of uterine cancer. But for some women, those risks are considered worth the benefit. “These meds are much less invasive than using prophylactic mastectomy [having both of your breasts removed before there’s any cancer] to reduce your risk,” says Dr. Brown.

Treatment

19. Breast cancer is not a single disease. What’s helped doctors and scientists develop more effective treatments is realizing that there are different types of breast cancer with different causes. Among the primary ones: estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancers, whose growth is fueled by the hormone estrogen; HER-2-positive breast cancers, which contain a protein called HER-2/neu; and triple-negative breast cancers, which don’t have receptors for estrogen, progesterone or HER-2.

20. Chemotherapy isn’t always a given. These days, doctors do genetic profiling on a breast cancer tumor (using advanced tests like the Oncotype DX or MammaPrint) to gauge a woman’s risk of a recurrence. If chances are low, doctors may not advise chemotherapy. “We’re being more selective about using chemotherapy to help women avoid unnecessary toxicity and having to go through unnecessary suffering,” says Dr. Wallace.

About Woman’s Day Magazine

Woman’s Day captivates 21 million readers* by inspiring them to Live Well Every Day. Woman’s Day is designed for how we live now – with a strong voice that serves up simple, but sound ideas about health, food, family, relationships, home and style. A streamlined look and integrated media capabilities reflect both the sensibility of our readers and our editorial commitment to fresh thinking. Woman’s Day is truly an indispensable guide to living the best day possible.

Woman’s Day Magazine is published by Hacette Filipacchi Media U.S. A Lagardère Active Company

This article was republished here with their gracious permission.

• Over 30 vendors
• Pumpkin Chunkin’
• Cake Walks
• Photo Booth
• Loads of children’s games, some with prizes
• Face Painting
• Food (Home Made Brunswick Stew!
• a Silent auction

And much more.

Many years ago, Trinity Episcopal Church had a huge annual craft fair that many made sure to schedule on their calendar each year for their early Christmas gift shopping. Now, over a decade later, the members of the Trinity fund raising committee have decided it is time to resurrect this exciting event. Not to be out done by the previous event coordinators, we have all kinds of new plans in the making!

First, we start with PUNKIN’ CHUCKIN’! It turns out this is a fad that is HUGE, but we had no idea until we Googled it. Go ahead… give it a try! You will get thousands of images, articles and instructions on how to make your own catapult for your pumpkin. For those who have never heard of this new funomenon here is what Wikipedia says, “Pumpkin chunking (or Punkin’ Chunkin’ or pumpkin chucking) is hurling a pumpkin by mechanical means over great heights and distances in an attempt to hurl the pumpkin the farthest.” Sounds fun right? Ok, and a bit messy! We will have a mini version of these catapults so the kids can watch their pumpkins fly!

Next, we have a huge cauldron that we are going to boil up some Brunswick stew! The recipe we are using is an original from Brunswick County, Virginia, and has the ability to keep away the chill on those nice
fall evenings. You can pre-order a take home container for $7 per quart or purchase a bowl to enjoy that day while walking around the festival and craft fair.

We will have lots of children’s games to play, all sponsored by Clarksville Family Magazine! We will have bobbing for apples, a fishing game, ball toss, face painting, and more! And you know the saying, “It
isn’t a cakewalk”? Well, this time it is! We have three cakewalks scheduled with more cakes to give away than you can shake a spatula at! The walks will be at 10:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

A photo booth is also going to be set up for everyone to get their fall photos taken by local photographer, Ashley Richardson. Ashley is planning on a great fall display for these photos and will print some
photos for you immediately. You will also be able to order more for later delivery.

We will have a silent auction with all different themes, including scrapbooking, University of TN, Spa & Bath, Hodgepodge basket, Trinity photos and many more.

So come give this family event a try. Bring your family, your checkbook, your appetite and your friends!

For more information, call 645-2458

About Kendall Welsh

Kendall Welsh is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, a mother of two, the owner of BTR Designs, and is the Manager of the ARTifacts Emporium in Downtown Clarksville.

About Clarksville Family Magazine

This originally appeared in the October issue of Clarksville Family Magazine and was republished here with their generous permission. Their high quality magazine is aimed at parents and families, and the businesses which want to reach them. Clarksville Family Magazine is published by Carla & and Cliff Lavergne. They started publication in April of 2007, and currently publish and distribute 10,000 issues a month, which are available free of charge at various locations around Clarksville.

When we all get busy and preoccupied with other things, it is easy to forget the things we need to do for ourselves, including the tests and other measures that help catch and prevent breast cancer.

Most of us know those who have beaten breast cancer. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 2 million breast cancer survivors. This may give some a false sense of security, making it less likely they will take preventative measures.

The fact remains, however, that when breast cancer is caught at its earliest stages, the survival rate is 98 percent. A number like that should be motivation to get a regular mammogram and other screenings.

Almost 200,000 Americans will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and, sadly, more than 40,000 will die from the disease. In Tennessee alone, almost 4,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and more than 900 will die from the disease.

As October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is a great time to recommit to your breast health, as well as remind friends and family to have their screenings.

The combination of monthly breast self-exams, yearly clinical breast exams, and regular mammograms beginning at age 40 is the best way to detect breast cancer in its earlier and most treatable stages.

• Breast Self-Exam (BSE): Every woman should check once a month for physical changes. If you are unsure of how to perform a breast self-exam, ask your health care provider to demonstrate and explain the ideal time to conduct one. It is very important for women aged 20 and up to learn what feels normal.
• Clinical Breast Exam (CBE): Be sure to ask your health care provider to give you a clinical breast exam each year. The exam consists of checking for any changes, lumps or other possible warning signs of breast cancer through physical touch and appearance. You should begin having clinical breast exams in your 20’s and 30’s.
• Mammography: Beginning at age 40, all women should have an annual mammogram. It is a good idea to have a baseline mammogram at age 35. The mammogram is an “x-ray” of the breast and is the most effective method of detecting breast changes that may be cancer, long before physical symptoms can be seen or felt.

It is also important to know that while all men and women are at risk, some women are at higher risk. Age itself is a risk factor for breast cancer; about 77 percent of the women diagnosed are over the age of 50. Also at higher risk are women with family histories of breast cancer, women with inherited abnormal genes, women who have previously had cancer in one breast, and obese women with sedentary lifestyles.

Breast cancer is often detected in its earliest stage as an abnormality on a mammogram before it can be felt by a woman or by her health care provider. The following may occur when a cancer has grown to the point where physical signs and symptoms are present: breast lump or thickening; swelling, redness or tenderness; skin or nipple changes in color or texture; dimpling or puckering of the skin; nipple pain, discharge, scaliness or retraction; and, lumps under the armpit area. If you experience any of these symptoms, see your health care provider immediately.

Some other common-sense prevention tips – for breast care and general health – are to eat a low-fat diet, exercise regularly, and not smoke. If you suspect you are at high risk for the disease, talk to your health care provider. With the strides being made in prevention, there are drugs available to help prevent breast cancer, even for those in higher-risk categories.

Don’t let complacency get to you: talk to your doctor about your risk for breast cancer, and any screenings you should be having.

If you would like additional information on cancer prevention, please visit www.preventcancer.org.

About Betty Ann Tanner

Betty Ann Tanner is the wife of Congressman John Tanner and a member of the Congressional Families Cancer Prevention Program of the Prevent Cancer Foundation. The organization recently recognized Betty Ann with its Congressional Family Leadership award.

Wyatt-Johnson Subaru & Hyundai in Clarksville Tennessee

The deduction is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and applies to taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price for qualified new cars, light trucks, motorcycles or motor homes. Generally, vehicles weighing 8,500 pounds or less qualify.  This means that most new cars and many new trucks will qualify. New motor homes qualify regardless of weight.

Buyers are entitled to a partial deduction if they earn between $125,000 and $135,000 ($250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers).  The deduction is eliminated for those who earn over these amounts.

To qualify the vehicle must be new and purchased in 2009 after Feb. 16 and no later than Dec. 31.  There is still time left but the clock is ticking.

More information is available at www.irs.gov/recovery

Editor’s Note: Image Car dealership image added by Clarksville Online.

Samuel P. Huntington

In his landmark study of the cultural and civilizational origins of conflict and war, the late social scientist Samuel P. Huntington concluded boldly that “It is human to hate.” He viewed this as an ineradicable feature of our basic human nature.

Hatred, as anyone who follows national politics in this country knows, shows no signs of going away soon. Much of it is directed against the president, though senators and representatives (and, less frequently, federal judges) are also targets of hate from time to time.

Earlier this month, President Jimmy Carter stated that “the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man, that he’s African American.” Not surprisingly, his comments angered many and led to accusations of playing the so-called “race card” to denigrate those (presumably white) Americans who are fiercely opposed to Pres. Obama’s policy goals in health care, the economy, and other issue areas.

Jimmy Carter

Alleged assertions of racism, which are empirical claims, should not be given or received lightly. Carter has a responsibility to substantiate his claim, which he has done only in rather general and vague terms. It appears that Carter can only conclude that the raw hatred directed against Pres. Obama at some protests and town hall meetings around the country and, more disturbingly, on blogs and in chat rooms on the Internet is due to racial bias. There is much in American history to make such a conclusion a plausible one. However, it should not be seen as inevitable or the only conclusion.

Expressions of hatred tend to demonize and distort their targets with varying degrees of exaggeration. George W. Bush was vilified by many as being grossly incompetent in dealing with domestic affairs and as relying too much, even blindly, on a rigid version of his evangelical faith to guide his foreign and national security policy. Bill Clinton, by contrast, was despised by many because of his deeply flawed moral character and expansive ego.

President Barrack Obama

Barack Obama is a very different type of person and politician compared to Bush and Clinton. Even his critics are quick to acknowledge his intellectual strengths and rhetorical skills. Moreover, he has, at least to this point, avoided the sort of personal scandals that plagued Clinton before and during his presidency. All of this means that haters of Obama must demonize him in other ways, such as by shouting him down as a liar, branding him as a communist, or comparing him to Osama bin Laden (the “Obama bin Lyin’” displayed on the signs of some protesters) or Adolf Hitler (whose image has been combined with the likeness of Obama in some posters). Still others continue to claim that Obama, who is really a closet Muslim, was not born in the United States and therefore his presidency is illegitimate.

Mayor Johnny Piper

What, we might ask, is fueling these distorted characterizations of the president, especially those that are both erroneous and hateful at the same time, such as the recent e-mail message stereotyping Muslims forwarded by Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper to city employees?

If it is not racial bias, and I still cling to the hope that it is not, then it is incumbent upon those of us most opposed to this president to frame our opposition to him in terms that are at once rational and respectful. In his two books, Obama gives us a standard by which to judge him and other leaders on the basis of their ability to distinguish between fact and opinion, to develop sound reasons in support of policy, and to argue persuasively about how citizens in a democracy can best respond to social challenges in specific contexts.

This strikes me, frankly, as a reasonable standard and one we can apply with greatest effectiveness if we lower our sights by not striving for love or hatred with respect to our political leaders.

Clearly, it is human to hate, just as it is human to love. History has shown that both of these passions can lead to dangerous and violent outcomes when mingled with politics.

Fortunately, it is also human to reason. In the realm of politics and especially during these uncertain times, it is best call on reason and to keep our passions in check.

About Matthew T. Kenney

Matthew T. Kenney is an associate professor of political science at Austin Peay State University. The views expressed here are entirely his own, and do not represent those of his employer.

He recently did this video essay on the Health Care debate.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The logo of the Correctional Corporation of America

In 1997 the Tennessee branch of the AFL-CIO made an agreement with the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) to support the privatization of Tennessee’s state prison system. This opened the door for Tennessee’s prison labor being used to compete with private industry.  Currently the highest-paying prisoner in Tennessee earns 50 cents an hour to produce jeans for K Mart and JC Penney, among other things.

Of all the states, Tennessee unions should have been the last ones to support prison labor. The reason lies more than a century in the past, in the days following the end of slavery.

Worse than Slavery

Use of convict labor in Southern industrialization prompted criticism

With the end of the Civil War, employers all over the south were confronted by the reality of the end of free labor. They appealed to their state representatives for help and their representatives responded by finding a pool of free labor previously untapped – prisoners. It was called Convict Leasing. The prisoners would work for companies during the day outside of prison, and then return to their cells at night. Neglect, brutality, and abuse of the prisoners were rampant, as was official corruption. The conditions were so harsh that prisoners rarely survived longer than 10 years, but everyone was making money from it (except for the prisoners, of course) so the system remained.

In fact the system was so successful that there was a need for more labor. In many states simple assault carried sentences of seven and eight years of hard labor. Larceny could get you twenty years in prison. Stealing five dollars worth of goods could net you twelve months. Even the theft of a rail fence could put you in prison stripes.

Of course, this reality wasn’t true for everyone (read: white people). If it was then there would be a political backlash. Instead these inhumane laws fell disproportionately on the recently freed black community.

Image of a Cumberland Plateau coal miner, 1875, from the TSLA Blue Book Collection, RG

At Tennessee’s main prison in Nashville, African-Americans represented 33 percent of the prisoners in October of 1865. In 1866 Tennessee passed it’s convict leasing law. By 1869, 64% of the prison was African-American, and it kept climbing in the following years. The benefits of this new slavery fell on a select few – the rich. Poor whites workers found themselves at a disadvantage in this system when their interests conflicted with the upper-class.

In January 1871, free white miners in Tracy City struck for higher wages against the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company (TCI). TCI brought in convict labor as strikebreakers. The strike ultimately failed and was broken.

By 1889, TCI was contracting, or sub-contracting out 60 percent of all of Tennessee’s prison population for over $100,000 a year. Strikebreaking of this sort would pop up several more times in the following twenty years. Whenever the miners tried to organize for better wages and working conditions, the companies would use the threat of convict labor. In the words of TCI company vice-president A. S. Colyar, “an effective club to hold over the heads of free laborers.”

This stalemate ended in 1891.

The New South Rebellion

“Kill a man, get another; kill a mule, buy another.”
- a familiar phrase in the mines the convicts worked

In 1866, right around the end of the War between the States, coal began to be mined in an area of Anderson County known as Coal Creek. By 1870 this sparsely populated area contained 10 businesses, three of them saloons.

Governor John Buchanan

In 1890 John P. Buchanan become governor of Tennessee with the Farmers’ Alliance and Laborers’ Union party.

This labor-friendly political environment emboldened the miners of Coal Creek Valley to make two demands. One demand was the end of company script. The miners wanted to be paid in cash rather than being forced to pay for overpriced goods at the company store. The other demand was to be able to elect their own checkweighmen – the specialist who weighed the coal the miner produced, and thus determined the miner’s wages – rather than the checkweighmen the company hires.

Since state law already barred scrip payment and company-hired checkweighmen, most of the coal companies agreed to these demands. However, the Tennessee Coal Mining Company (TCMC) rejected the demands, and on April 1, 1891, they shut down their mine near Briceville. Two months later they demanded the miners agree to a yellow-dog contract before working in the mine. The miners refused.

The Coal Creek Mine

On July 5, TCMC reopened the mine with convict labor. The company had torn down several houses in order to build the stockade for the prisoners. On Bastille Day, 300 armed miners surrounded the Briceville stockade. After the guards surrendered without a fight, the 40 convicts and the guards were marched to Coal Creek where they were loaded onto a train and sent to Knoxville. The miners then sent a telegram to Governor Buchanan, stating their actions were taken to defend their property and wages, and asked for his intervention. The Governor responded by accompanying three state militia companies, and the prisoners, back to Briceville.

Free miners waiting at Thistle Switch near Fraterville for the arrival of Governor Buchanan on July 16, 1891

At Thistle Switch several hundred angry miners confronted the governor. He assured them he was a champion of labor, but as governor he was obligated to enforce state contracts. He didn’t mention the state laws concerning cash wages and checkweighmen. The governor left 107 militiamen to guard the stockade and fled the area.

On the morning of July 20, 2,000 armed miners again surrounded the Briceville stockade. Their numbers had been bolstered by union miners from surrounding regions, including Kentucky, which had removed their own convicts from mines several years earlier.

The militia, seeing the futility of resistance, surrendered. Once again the convicts and guards were marched to Coal Creek and put on a train back to Knoxville. The miners then marched to the nearby Knoxville Iron Company mine, which also used convict labor. Just like at Briceville, the guards surrendered and they were all put on a train to Knoxville.

The following day the governor met with a committee of local leaders friendly to the miners, especially United Mine Workers organizer William Webb. He convinced them to agree to a 60-day truce while he called for a special session of the legislature where he recommended the convict leasing law be repealed. The miners agreed.  Much to the chagrin of the miners, the only action the legislature took was to make it a felony to interfere with the leasing system. A court challenge of the system was also defeated in October.  On October 28, 1891, the committee representing the miners resigned and denounced the legislature. The path to violence was now open.

The Coal Creek War

The Coal Creek War

On October 31, a large group of armed miners surrounded, and then burned down the convict stockade at Briceville. The prisoners were supplied with food and civilian clothing and then turned loose into the surrounding woods after being urged not to commit any more crimes. The Knoxville Iron Company stockade was also seized that day, and several company buildings were destroyed in the process. All told 300 prisoners were released by the miners. On November 2, another prison stockade at the Cumberland mine in Oliver Springs was burned and another 153 prisoners were released. Another truce was negotiated which allowed the return of the convicts to Coal Creek and Oliver Springs, but not to Briceville (TCMC president B.A. Jenkins had grown disenchanted with convict labor).

The state dispatched an 84 man militia detatchment under the command of J. Keller Anderson. Anderson constructed Fort Anderson, equip with a gatling gun, atop “Militia Hill” to guard the stockade at Coal Creek. The convicts returned on January 31, 1892.

Looking up at Militia Hill

In the following months miners and soldiers at Coal Creek shot at each other indiscriminately. Both sides blamed the other.

The Revolt Spreads

The use of convict labor, and the violence associated with it, had given the practice a bad name. Most coal companies were moving away from convict labor, with one major exception – TCI.  When Cumberland Coal decided against using convict labor at the Oliver Springs mine, TCI purchased the mine lease. TCI then began minimizing the use of free labor.

On August 13, 1892, free miners tore down the stockade at Tracy City and freed hundreds of convicts. On August 15, convicts from the TCI stockade at Innman were also freed.  On August 17, a group of miners attacked the TCI stockade at Oliver Springs, but were beaten back by the guards. However, the miners regouped and enlarged their numbers. The guards then surrendered. The stockade was burnt down and the convicts and guards were put on a train to Nashville.

Coal Creek in 1899

The following day in Coal Creek, militia commander Anderson was captured by the striking miners. The miners then sent a demand to Fort Anderson’s second-in-command, Lieutenant Perry Fyffe, to surrender. When Fyffe refused the miners charged the fort and a fierce firefight ensued. The miners failed to capture the fort, but two militiamen were killed by snipers.

Governor Buchanan declared martial law in the Coal Creek region. He dispatched 583 militiamen under the command of General Samuel T. Carnes. He also ordered sheriffs in effected counties to organize posse.  Most of the sheriffs ignored the command, however volunteers in Knoxville organized themselves and marched on Coal Creek to relieve Fort Anderson. As the volunteers descended Walden Ridge they were ambushed by a group of miners and two of the volunteers were killed. The rest fled back to where they came.

Carnes arrived on August 19 and quickly restored order. He negotiated the release of Anderson, and then conducted a sweep of the entire Coal Creek region.  Carnes arrested hundreds of miners, which in effect ended the Coal Creek War.

Aftermath

The Coal Creek Mine in Tennessee

Some 300 miners were put on trial, but the jurors only convicted two – D.B. Monroe and S.A. Moore, for conspiracy. Neither of which served more than a year in prison. Most of the violence associated with convict labor was spent, although there was a failed attack on a stockade in Tracy City in 1893. Buchanan was attacked by both miners and mine owners for indecisiveness. He failed to win his party’s nomination for governor in 1892. The legislature proved more willing to address the subject of convict leasing in their 1893 session. They agreed to construct a new state penitentiary and abolish convict leasing at the expiration of the lease contract in 1896.

About Garrett Johnson

Garrett Johnson is a free-lance writer who’s been published in the San Francisco Independent. He is a political activist, economics enthusiast, history buff, and a frequent contributor to such blogs such as the Daily Kos and Economic Populist. In his spare time he is an IT Specialist, beer drinker, pool player, backpacker, and all-around geek. This article is republished here with the generous permission of the author.

Secretary of State Tre Hargett

Tennessee is set up for an election debacle, thanks to the states’ reliance on paperless electronic voting. Currently 93 out of 95 counties in Tennessee use these machines.

Unless the Secretary of State Hargett takes swift and certain prompt action, thousands of votes will be at risk in the 2010 election. Computer scientists agree that any electronic voting machine can fail without warning. SOS Hargett should pay attention to the lessons learned by other states.

North Carolina found out the hard way that paperless voting machines can lose thousands of votes. In the November 2004 Presidential Election, 4,400 votes were permanently lost by “state of the art” computerized voting machines. The AP described that election as “A Florida-style nightmare …with thousands of votes missing and the outcome of two statewide races still up in the air.” On top of that, the outcome of one statewide election contest was too close to call. There would have been a $3 million dollar “do-over” election if one of the candidates hadn’t voluntarily withdrawn. (See North Carolina Ballot Blues)

So why take a chance? Tennessee has time to act now and protect the 2010 election from mishaps. North Carolina adopted a paper ballot law in August 2005 and had new voting machines running an election in April 2006. Thanks to these paper ballot optical scan machines, North Carolina saw a our undervote rate for President cut in half in the 2008 election. (An undervote occurs when for some reason a ballot is cast but no vote is registered for the candidate.)

Tennessee already has warning signs of an election meltdown to come:

In the past two years, Tennessee voting machines have flipped votes, disappeared votes, cut off candidate names, omitted candidate names; run out of memory mid-election, and one voting machine even went up in smoke and perhaps votes with it.

Tennessee’s election problems will not be that easily remedied. These disasters show that many election workers are in over their heads.

Problems with voting machines, central tabulators using outdated and secret software, registration confusion, poll worker training, provisional ballots and absentee ballots are not easily remedied.

Even federally certified voting machines can be unreliable: today’s machines meet federal standards as long as they do not exceed a 9.2% failure rate in a 15-hour election day.

Add to all this the lack of a voter-verified paper ballot and you have no disaster recovery plan.

This is the case with counties using touchscreen or “dial a vote” machines

The security of their votes depends on the software, source code and hardware of the voting machines. Election workers’ ability, or lack thereof, to operate and troubleshoot the machines can affect the security of the votes as well.

The perfect election storm brews

A Diebold voting machine was smashed in Allentown, PA during the Primary Election on 04/22/08

• Nov 4, 2008 Shelby County. 100 voters disenfranchised. The Barlett municipal ballot did not load onto the machines in some polling places, preventing many Barlett voters from being able to vote in the city election. http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8132
• Oct 25, 2008. Davidson County. Disappearing vote. 1 voter never saw her vote on the paperless machine. An iVotronic touch screen malfunctioned and didn’t let a voter see her ballot, the voter said “I didn’t see the ballot to actually choose anything.” http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8052
• Oct 22, 2008. Knox County. Candidate names chopped off. The eSlate electronic voting machine displayed only the first three letters of the selected candidate’s name on the review screen. This caused confusion and likely disenfranchised many voters. People voting for Barack Obama saw a review screen said they voted for “Electors for BAR”. http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8022
• Oct 21, 2008. Davidson County (Nashville). Vote-flipping on the iVotronic paperless voting machine. Patricia Earnhardt pressed the button for Obama multiple times, yet it didn’t highlight. …The third time the poll worker pressed the button, the box beside Cynthia McKinney lit up — several rows down. http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=8004
• Nov 9, 2006. Knox County. Votes up in smoke. Circuitry in a Hart InterCivic eSlate fails, calling into question over 2600 e-ballots. Knox County Election Commission Chair Pamela Reeves explains what happened to the machine. “Apparently, what it did was it smoked. http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6805
• Nov 7, 2006. Williamson County. Broken machines. Only two ES&S iVotronic touch screens worked in Grassland precinct. http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6763
• Nov 7, 2006. Hawkins County. Most machines not working. ES&S iVotronic touch screens didn’t work. Most of the voting machines were down until noon, http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6763
• Nov 3, 2006. Shelby County. Missing memory cards. These cards are the equivalent of ballot boxes. Several electronic voting cards, used to cast ballots on Diebold touch screens, are missing from a polling place in Memphis, according to the Tennessee Republican Party. http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/local/article/0,2845,MCA_25340_5115699,00.html
• Nov 2, 2006 Sullivan County. Not enough memory in machine. The control device (Judges Booth Controller – JBC) for Hart InterCivic eSlate voting machines shut down after 10,000 ballots were cast in early voting. The JBC would hold no more ballots in its memory. http://www.votersunite.org/article.asp?id=6701

Secretary of State Hargett must do his professional best to implement Tennessee’s paper ballot law in time for the 2010 election

Save Tennessee from the “perfect storm” that is brewing. Avoid the kind of fiasco that happened in Carteret County, North Carolina in November 2004, where 4,438 votes were lost — giving North Carolina “the worse election problem in the country,” according to David L. Dill of Stanford University.

Watch this video, learn to what Carteret County, North Carolina voters had to say about losing their votes on a paperless machine in the November, 2004 election. This could very well be Tennessee voters in 2010:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Several states have enacted paper ballot laws successfully

North Carolina saw increased transparency and lower residual vote rates. Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist took the bold step to restore integrity to Florida’s elections by swiftly banning paperless voting and implementing paper ballot optical scan systems across the state, increasing confidence in the system and lowering costs to administer elections. New Mexico banned paperless voting and also saw their undervote rate decrease.

Despite the citizens’ overwhelming support of Tennessee’s paper ballot law, the law has not been implemented. There is funding and time to enact the law. $37.1 million in HAVA money is still available according to Tennessee’s Office of Legislative Budget Analysis. Of this amount, only $25 million will be needed to purchase the necessary equipment. Despite the fact that Tennessee needs to move now to get ready for the 2010 elections, nothing has been done. Enough is enough.

Tennessee voters should tell Secretary of State Hargett to implement the paper ballot law in time for the 2010 elections. Tell him that you want an election system free from inaccuracy, malfunction and fraud. Contact Secretary of State Hargett by email at tre. or better yet, call the SOS office at (615) 741-2819

About Joyce McCloy

This article was written by Joyce McCloy of NC Coalition for Verified Voting and also Voting News Blog.

Phone: 336-794-1240
Email:

Dr. Greg Rabidoux

The recent comment by Marsha Blackburn on the floor of the US Congress that she hoped that lawmakers would agree that “We’re not going to cry ‘emergency’ every time we have a Katrina, every time we have a tsunami, every time we have a need for extra spending” was incredibly insensitive, uninformed and embarrassing. Her comments also strongly suggest she is very disconnected from the plight of so many fellow Americans as a result of the billions of dollars of destruction caused by the very real emergency called Hurricane Katrina.

In fact, her comments are especially troublesome given that the Congresswoman is originally from Mississippi, an area so severely damaged by Katrina and considering that so many middle Tennesseans recently were victims of a tornado that ripped through the state. I join the Tennessee Democratic Party in calling upon Blackburn to apologize for such irresponsible comments and invite all Tennesseans regardless of party to demand she makes this apology in the name of simple courtesy. As Tennesseans, we don’t expect our lawmakers to cry over emergencies as Blackburn suggests just to simply call a real emergency an emergency and then do the right thing.

Blackburn’ has responded to the calls for her to issue an apology, brought by the TNDP, the Rabidoux campaign, and others, by claiming that her thoughts simply moved ahead of her speech in a statement released through a spokesperson, seems merely to suggest that what she said was truly what she meant just that maybe. Regardless, the many victims of Katrina and other all too real emergencies, including those families who have suffered through such emergencies right here in Tennessee deserve more respect, understanding and responsible leadership from their elected officials. What was needed was a real, heartfelt apology from Blackburn not a “so-called” apology.

About Greg Rabidoux

The Rabidoux Family

Dr. Rabidoux is the youngest of three children. He and his wife Mara have one son, Valentin. Dr Rabidoux is currently a professor at Austin Peay State University where he teaches politics and law, and heads up the university’s pre law program. His wife Mara, a former NCAA Division I All-American tennis player, teaches Spanish at APSU.

For most of his adult life, he worked full-time while attending school at nights. He received his B.A. from the University of Connecticut in political science and journalism, his Masters degree from American University in Washington DC in public policy. He earned his PH.D from the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee in American Government, and his JD from Marquette University Law School. He has practiced law and is a certified professional mediator, having mediated for the US EEOC. After completing his M.A. degree he worked for a US House of Representatives Member and later for the United Nations in New York.

Rabidoux  writes a regular weekly column on politics for The All State Newspaper and on-line editions, and has been published in such publications as The National Jurist, USA Today and Reader’s Digest. He is a lifelong Democrat and currently a member of the Montgomery/Clarksville Democratic Party and State of Tennessee Democratic Party. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Arts and Heritage Development Council of Clarksville, Tennessee which sponsors this year’s (Summer 2009) Writers Conference and Tobacco Heritage Tour. Greg and Mara are Christian, and members of the Clarksville YMCA.

Contact the campaign

You can find more information on the Rabidoux campaign at his web site. You can email him, follow his campaign via twitter, or facebook, and make campaign contributions via his Act Blue Page. You can also contact them via postal mail:

My father had always been 90% great, but boy that temper was a doozy. He’d never turned it on me before, but then again I’d never gone against his wishes either. When my mother nearly died from an infection caused by his inability to continue to care for her, I flew from southern California to San Francisco to try to save her life—having no idea that in the process it would nearly cost me my own.

Early signs of dementia?

I spent three months nursing my 82-pound mother back to relative health, while my father said he loved me one minute, but then get furious over some trivial thing, call me nasty names and throw me out of the house the next. I was stunned to see him get so upset, even running the washing machine could cause a tizzy, and there was no way to reason with him. It was so heart wrenching to have my once-adoring father turn against me.

I immediately took my father to his doctor and was flabbergasted that he could act normal when he needed to! I could not believe it when the doctor looked at me as if I was the crazy one. She didn’t even take me seriously when I reported that my father nearly electrocuted my mother, but luckily I walked in three seconds before he plugged in a huge power strip that was soaking in a tub of water—along with my mother’s feet! Much later I was furious to find out my father had instructed his doctor (and everyone) not to listen to anything I said, because I was just a (bleep-bleep) liar and all I wanted was his money! (I wish he had some.)

Then things got serious. My father never laid a hand on me my whole life, but one day nearly choked me to death for adding HBO to his television, even though he had eagerly consented to it a few days before. Terrified, I dialed 911 and the police took him to the hospital for evaluation. I was so shocked when they released him right away, saying they couldn’t find anything wrong with him. What is even more astonishing is that similar incidents occurred three more times.

Caregiver catch 22

I was trapped. I couldn’t fly home and leave my mother alone with my father—she’d surely die from his inability to care for her. I couldn’t get healthcare professionals to believe me—my father was always so sane in front of them. I couldn’t get medication to calm him and even when I finally did—he refused to take it, threw it in my face, or flushed it down the toilet. I couldn’t get him to accept a caregiver and even when I did—no one would put up with him very long. I couldn’t place my mother in a nursing home—he’d take her out. I couldn’t put him in a home—he didn’t qualify. They both refused Assisted Living—legally I couldn’t force them. I became a prisoner in my parents’ home for nearly a year trying to solve crisis after crisis, crying rivers daily, and infuriated with an unsympathetic medical system that wasn’t helping me appropriately.

Geriatric dementia specialist makes diagnosis

PET Scan of Alzheimer's Disease Brain. (Credit: NIH/National Institute On Aging)

You don’t need a doctorate degree to know something is wrong, but you do need the right doctor who can diagnose and treat dementia properly. Finally, I stumbled upon a neurologist specialized in dementia, and under threat of living out his days at “Shady Pines” my father finally consented to go. The doctor performed a battery of blood, neurological, memory tests, and CT/P.E.T. scans. He reviewed my parents’ medications and ruled out reversible dementias such as a B12 or thyroid deficiency. And then, you should have seen my face drop when he diagnosed Stage One Alzheimer’s in both of my parents—something all their other doctors missed entirely.

Trapped in old habits

Lon Chaney as Mr. Hyde, in Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde (1932)

What I’d been coping with was the beginning of Alzheimer’s (just one type of dementia), which begins intermittently and appears to come and go. I didn’t understand that my father was addicted and trapped in his own bad behavior of a lifetime and his habit of yelling to get his way was coming out over things that were illogical… at times. I also didn’t understand that demented does not mean dumb (a concept not widely appreciated) and that he was still socially adjusted never to show his “Hyde” side to anyone outside the family. Even with the onset of dementia, it was amazing he could still be so manipulative and crafty. On the other hand, my mother was sweet and lovely as she’d always been.

Balancing brain chemistry

I learned that Alzheimer’s makes up 60-65% of all dementias and there’s no stopping the progression nor is there a cure. However, if identified early there are medications that in most people can mask/slow the symptoms of the disease, keeping a person in the early independent stage longer, delaying full-time supervision and nursing home care. (Ask a Dementia Specialist about: Aricept, Exelon, Razadyne and Namenda.)

After the neurologist treated the dementia and the depression (often present with dementia) in both parents, he prescribed a small dose of anti-aggression medication for my father, which helped smooth is his temper without making him sleep all day. (How I wish we’d had that fifty years ago.) It wasn’t easy to get the dosages right and not perfect, but at least we didn’t need any more police intervention! Once my parents’ brain chemistries were better balanced, I was able to optimize nutrition, fluid intake, and all their medications with much less resistance.

Creative behavioral techniques

An Alzheimer's patient

With balanced brain chemistry, I was also finally able to implement techniques to cope with the bizarre behaviors. Instead of logic and reason—I used distraction, redirection and reminiscence. Instead of arguing the facts—I agreed, validated frustrated feelings and lived in their realities. I learned to just “go with the flow” and let nasty comments roll off. And if none of that worked, the bribe of ice cream worked the best to get my father in the shower, even as he swore a blue streak at me he’d just taken one yesterday (over a week ago)!

Then finally, I was able to get my father to accept a caregiver (he’d only alienated 40 that year—most only there for about ten minutes), and with the benefit of Adult Day Care five days a week for them and a support group for me, everything started to fall into place. It was so wonderful to hear my father say once again, “We love you so much, sweetheart.”

Alzheimer’s/Dementia often overlooked

What is so shocking is that no one ever discussed the possibility of dementia with me that first year. I was told my parents’ “senior moments” and odd behaviors were just old age and a “normal part of aging”. Since one out of eight by age 65, and nearly half by age 85, get Alzheimer’s—I should have been alerted. Had I simply been shown the “Ten Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s”, I would have realized what was happening and gotten my parents the help they desperately needed. If any of this rings true for you or someone you love, I urge you to seek a Dementia Specialist—immediately!

Ten warning signs of Alzheimer’s

(Reprinted with permission of the Alzheimer’s Association)

1. Memory loss
2. Difficulty performing familiar tasks
3. Problems with language
4. Disorientation of time and place
5. Poor or decreased judgment
6. Problems with abstract thinking
7. Misplacing things
8. Changes in mood or behavior
9. Changes in personality
10. Loss of initiative

Expanded Descriptions: www.ElderRage.com/Alzheimers.asp

About Jacqueline Marcell

Jacqueline Marcell is a former television executive whose caregiving experience resulted in “Elder Rage”, a Book-of-the-Month Club selection. The addendum by renowned dementia specialist, Rodman Shankle MS, MD, makes it also valuable for healthcare professionals and required text at numerous universities for courses in geriatric assessment and management. Over fifty endorsements include Hugh Downs, Regis Philbin, John Hopkins Memory Clinic, and the National Adult Day Services Association who bestowed their Media Award. Jacqueline also received Advocate of the Year from the National Association of Women Business Owners at their Remarkable Women Awards. She also hosts the “Coping with Caregiving” radio program at www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving and is an international speaker including to the National Security Agency and Florida House of Representatives. Jacqueline is also a breast cancer survivor who advocates that everyone (especially caregivers) closely monitor their own health. Her website is located at www.ElderRage.com