Edna Turnbull (left) and Senior Services Caregiver Advocate Sally Friedman erupt in gales of laughter at laughing yoga at the Mt Si Senior Center. (Laura Geggel)

Every Monday morning, caregivers and senior citizens gather at the Mount Si Senior Center for another session of laughing yoga.

They make funny faces, cavort and shake each other’s hands, laughing the whole time while Sally Friedman leads them through continuous bursts of giggles.

“My job is wonderful,” said Friedman, Senior Services caregiver advocate. “I learn a lot about life.”

Friedman works for the Senior Services Family Caregiver Support Program. She listens to caregivers’ stories and gives them advice about how to help their ailing parents, spouses, siblings or partners.

Laughing yoga is one of many programs she runs when she visits the Mount Si Senior Center on Mondays. Although it is open to everyone, laughing yoga is aimed at caregivers, reminding them to take time for themselves and laugh with their friends.

“Care giving has become a much longer part of life than ever before,” she said. “In the past, people would move in and take care of their parents for a couple of years, and then they would die.

“Now, we’re slowly adding on more care for our parents or our partners, where we’re doing nursing care, physical therapy and hospice, and that can take 20 years,” she said.

After a fun session of laughing yoga, caregivers can visit Friedman in her office and share their stories. Or, they can call the senior center at 888-3434, email her at sallyf@seniorservices.org or ask her to visit them at home.

Marge Bliss, of North Bend, consulted with Friedman about how to better care for her mother-in-law, Dorothy Bliss-Leingang, who had Alzheimer’s disease until she passed away June 2.

Her mother-in-law lived down the street from her, and her son agreed to move in four years ago and take care of his grandmother. Even with Bliss’ son acting as a full-time caregiver, taking care of Bliss-Leingang was a family affair.

“She needed 24-hour care,” Bliss said. “She could feed herself, but she couldn’t make her own food. Everything had to be done for her.”

They enjoyed caring for her, but sometimes it could be overwhelming, Bliss said.

Looking for more ideas for how she, her husband and her son could care for Bliss-Leingang, Bliss called Friedman at the senior center. Friedman connected them with Medicare resources and, in turn, Bliss got in-house hospice care for her mother-in-law.

With hospice care, a nurse and a social worker visited Bliss-Leingang weekly to see how she was doing. They offered the family tips, including how to better transfer Bliss-Leingang from a chair to her wheelchair and how to put her to bed without putting strain on her body.

“It made her passing so much easier for her and for us,” Bliss said. “Sally gave me all of the numbers and all of the information I would need to make our life easier with taking care of my mother-in-law,” she said. “Another piece is making sure the caregivers are taking care of themselves, so you can focus on your own goal of a healthy life.”

Friedman also offers resources for long-distance caregivers.

Barbie McQuai, of Snoqualmie Pass, provides long-distance care for her 82-year-old mother, who lives in Arizona. Her mother was widowed six years ago, and has deflected any help that McQuai offers her, stubbornly continuing to drive and live by herself, McQuai said.

“It was very hurtful,” McQuai said. “She wouldn’t want to talk to us about stuff.”

She contacted Friedman, who put her in touch with resources in Arizona. If her mother needs transportation, a physician recommendation, exercise programs or a network of friends, Friedman can find the means to make it happen.

“I know that I have the tools available to me if and when my mother ever changes her mind,” McQuai said.

For caregivers hesitant to accept help, Friedman reminds them that she can help them be more independent by clueing them in to resources they were unaware of before.

“If we can accept help, that will keep us healthy,” she said. “We’re all in this together. We’re not alone. By getting help, we will become more independent and survive long enough to take care of the person we’re taking care of and live a healthy life.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 241, or lgeggel@isspress.com.

Every Monday morning, caregivers and senior citizens gather at the Mount Si Senior Center for another session of laughing yoga.

Herman Shey (left), Juanita Erwin, Cleo Krenzler and Oksun Cave rub each other’s shoulders during laughing yoga at the Mt Si Senior Center. The free class targets caregivers, allowing them time to loosen up and have fun, but anybody can attend.

They make funny faces, cavort and shake each other’s hands, laughing the whole time while Sally Friedman leads them through continuous bursts of giggles.

“My job is wonderful,” said Friedman, Senior Services caregiver advocate. “I learn a lot about life.”

Friedman works for the Senior Services Family Caregiver Support Program. She listens to caregivers’ stories and gives them advice about how to help their ailing parents, spouses, siblings or partners.

Laughing yoga is one of many programs she runs when she visits the Mount Si Senior Center on Mondays. Although it is open to everyone, laughing yoga is aimed at caregivers, reminding them to take time for themselves and laugh with their friends.

“Care giving has become a much longer part of life than ever before,” she said. “In the past, people would move in and take care of their parents for a couple of years, and then they would die.

“Now, we’re slowly adding on more care for our parents or our partners, where we’re doing nursing care, physical therapy and hospice, and that can take 20 years,” she said.

After a fun session of laughing yoga, caregivers can visit Friedman in her office and share their stories. Or, they can call the senior center at 888-3434, email her at sallyf@seniorservices.org or ask her to visit them at home.

Marge Bliss, of North Bend, consulted with Friedman about how to better care for her mother-in-law, Dorothy Bliss-Leingang, who had Alzheimer’s disease until she passed away June 2.

Her mother-in-law lived down the street from her, and her son agreed to move in four years ago and take care of his grandmother. Even with Bliss’ son acting as a full-time caregiver, taking care of Bliss-Leingang was a family affair.

“She needed 24-hour care,” Bliss said. “She could feed herself, but she couldn’t make her own food. Everything had to be done for her.”

They enjoyed caring for her, but sometimes it could be overwhelming, Bliss said.

Looking for more ideas for how she, her husband and her son could care for Bliss-Leingang, Bliss called Friedman at the senior center. Friedman connected them with Medicare resources and, in turn, Bliss got in-house hospice care for her mother-in-law.

With hospice care, a nurse and a social worker visited Bliss-Leingang weekly to see how she was doing. They offered the family tips, including how to better transfer Bliss-Leingang from a chair to her wheelchair and how to put her to bed without putting strain on her body.

“It made her passing so much easier for her and for us,” Bliss said. “Sally gave me all of the numbers and all of the information I would need to make our life easier with taking care of my mother-in-law,” she said. “Another piece is making sure the caregivers are taking care of themselves, so you can focus on your own goal of a healthy life.”

Friedman also offers resources for long-distance caregivers.

Barbie McQuai, of Snoqualmie Pass, cares for her 82-year-old mother, who lives in Arizona. Her mother was widowed six years ago, and has deflected any help that McQuai offers her, stubbornly continuing to drive and live by herself, McQuai said.

“It was very hurtful,” McQuai said. “She wouldn’t want to talk to us about stuff.”

She contacted Friedman, who put her in touch with resources in Arizona. If her mother needs transportation, a physician recommendation, exercise programs or a network of friends, Friedman can find the means to make it happen.

“I know that I have the tools available to me if and when my mother ever changes her mind,” McQuai said.

Friedman also organizes classes close to home for Snoqualmie Valley caregivers. She invited guest speaker Kate Wren to teach a class about mobility and fall prevention June 20 at the senior center.

Eighty percent of elderly people who fall never return home from hospitals or rehabilitation centers, Wren said.

Her class will help caregivers learn how to prevent falls and if somebody does fall how to best help them. If the person is injured, the caregiver should call 911. Otherwise, the caregiver should get down on the floor and slowly help the person rise.

For caregivers hesitant to accept help, Friedman reminds them that she can help them be more independent by clueing them in to resources they were unaware of before.

“If we can accept help, that will keep us healthy,” she said. “We’re all in this together. We’re not alone. By getting help, we will become more independent and survive long enough to take care of the person we’re taking care of and live a healthy life.”

If you go

Laughing Yoga

11:30 a.m. every Monday

Mount Si Senior Center

411 Main Ave. S., North Bend

Admittance is free.

If you go

Mobility and fall prevention class

1-2 p.m. June 20

Mount Si Senior Center

411 Main Ave. S., North Bend

Admittance is free.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 241, or lgeggel@isspress.com.

Ruth Tolmasoff

On any given day, Ruth Tolmasoff might find herself writing a grant, changing the toilet paper in the restrooms or chatting with senior citizens during lunch.

This August, after 21 years of working as the executive director at the Mt. Si Senior Center, Tolmasoff is hanging up her hat and heading toward the land of retirement.

“With Ruth, she’s always ready to listen and she always has an answer,” thrift store volunteer Sharon Posey said.

In her years of service, Tolmasoff has left a legacy for the seniors who continue to use the center. She helped staff members re-establish the center after the devastating flood of 1990, jumpstarted the transportation program, spearheaded the hot meals program and encouraged the growth of the thrift store — the senior center’s main money maker.

Getting her feet wet

Tolmasoff grew up in Southern California, but she and her husband chose Snoqualmie as the ideal place to raise their three daughters. They moved in 1975, two years before the Mt. Si Senior Center opened its doors.

Tolmasoff started working at the center in 1988 as the activity director, and when she became the fourth executive director in 1990, she hired Janet Fosness to replace her at her old post.

All these years later, Fosness still values her friendship — both professional and personal — with Tolmasoff. The two women helped start the PTA at Snoqualmie Elementary School and also knew each other through Girl Scouts.

“The joke was we just changed from little kids to seniors,” Fosness said. “We value the same core values. We really put the seniors first and that’s mainly what we’ve based everything on.”

Tolmasoff began working as executive director in October, and one month later the 1990 flood swept through Snoqualmie Valley.

“The building had 18 inches of water in it,” Tolmasoff said. “We spent the next several years recovering from that.”

The center didn’t have flood insurance yet, and ended up relying on the Federal Emergency Management Agency for money. The former director had begun the grant process to elevate the building, and when Tolmasoff took over, she continued writing grants not only for an elevation, but also for an expansion.

In the end, they had the building elevated three feet and added a multipurpose room, a ramp and extra entrance.

Senior citizens immediately began using the extra space. In the 1980s, upwards of 100 people came to lunch on Thursdays, and “the truth was, you could not get a hair appointment Thursday morning because all of the ladies were getting their hair done to come to the senior center,” Tolmasoff said.

The senior population dipped shortly after because fewer people had children during World War II, but now that baby boomers are reaching senior-hood, the center will likely be bustling even more, Tolmasoff said.

Snoqualmie Valley Transportation

The senior center has always had transportation, but Tolmasoff helped expand it with the assistance of the Snoqualmie Tribe.

“Our goal is for people to be able to move around freely in the community,” she said.

With the help of Senior Services, the senior center acquired its first van in 2003, and soon bought a second van with United Way funds. At first, the vans only served seniors, but drivers found themselves helping neighbors and friends — people with limited transportation who needed rides.

In 2007, the Snoqualmie Tribe partnered with the senior center to form the present day Snoqualmie Valley Transportation, serving the upper and lower Valley with six vans. It charges 50 cents for a ride (25 cents for seniors). Rides must be scheduled one day in advance by calling 888-7001.

“She’s been very instrumental in the transportation program,” senior center board member Susan Hankins said. “That was a real undertaking and something we had tried for years, and finally, under her guidance, it happened.”

Serving hot meals

For years, the senior center relied on Senior Services to bring lunch. The nonprofit organization would prepare the food in Spanaway and deliver it frozen.

When the contract with Senior Services expired at the end of 2008, Tolmasoff applied for a contract to receive federal money from The Older American Act. Thanks to her efforts, the center began making weekday meals in house for the low price of $3 per meal for seniors and $6 for nonseniors. If that price is too expensive, seniors can eat for free.

“We want people to come to lunch, and we don’t care if they pay or not,” Tolmasoff said. “We want them to come in and eat a hot, well-balanced meal,” and socialize with their friends.

“The meal program is really great,” board President Elmer Sans said. “Now we’re in charge of the menu ourselves. That was one of Ruth’s recommendations.”

The center also has a meals-on-wheels program for seniors who are unable to leave their homes.

Thrift store dollars

The senior center used to have a closet full of women’s clothing, but Tolmasoff expanded it in 2003 into a thrift store.

“It kind of happened by accident,” she said.

Word got out that the center was thinking of starting a thrift store, and donations began pouring in. The center either needed to have a giant garage sale or start a thrift store. Tolmasoff decided to go for the store.

Now, a cadre of 15 volunteers sell about $80,000 worth of merchandise a year. Last summer, they remodeled the store, which is busier than ever.

“She’s the one who keeps it all going,” store volunteer Maggie Buglewicz said. “She has been the backbone of the program because she has a wealth of information. She’s leaving big shoes to fill.”

The next director

The new director will need an array of skills, including developing the budget and writing grants, hiring staff, developing programs, and maintaining relationships with seniors, community members, government agencies, elected officials and nonprofits that could help the senior center.

“One of the things we’re looking for is someone who does know the different agencies and how to interact,” Hankins said.

The board will sift through the résumés and choose the top candidates for interviews. Three members of the board will perform the interviews.

“I just hope the new director really understands everything that Ruth does,” Fosness said. “We’re not operated by the city, so the director is really the person in charge.”

The job also requires the director to have a master’s degree in a field related to aging and at least three years of experience in a management or supervisory role.

Learning the ropes might take some time, and Tolmasoff expects the board to hire a replacement before she leaves, so the new director can learn from her on the job.

One of the most important parts of her job, and her favorite, is talking with seniors.

“My door is always open,” Tolmasoff said. “If a senior comes in and says, ‘Do you have time to talk to me, I say yes. Our primary job is to be a service to the seniors.”

During retirement, Tolmasoff plans to travel with her husband Alan, study her family’s genealogy, quilt and spend time with her four grandchildren.

Working with seniors has caused her to reflect on her own life and experiences.

“The things that the people here have done in their lives are incredible,” Tolmasoff said. “That’s the real joy of my job is to work with the people.”

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 241, or lgeggel@isspress.com.

MyCakes sweetens senior center

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Strawberries deck half of the custard-filled tarts while the other half wait to be topped with the red fruit. (Photo by Laura Geggel)

It was snowing powdered sugar on the strawberry tarts as 7-year-old Caitlyn Golpe lightly tapped a sieve filled with the sweet stuff over the desserts.

Across the counter, her mother, Cynthia Golpe took a break. She had just baked 36 tarts for the Mount Si Senior Center.

The Snoqualmie mother of four had found some spare time on her hands and decided to fill it by volunteering her bakery expertise for the lunch program at the center.

Seniors have met Golpe’s volunteering verve with ravishing appetites.

After a lunch of French dips and apple cake, many tummies were satisfied.

“I had two pieces,” said Herman Schey, who lives on the Wilderness Rim. “I loved the cake.”

“It’s beautiful, wonderful,” said Juanita Erwin, of Riverbend. “I ate a lot of my lunch, but I ate the whole cake.”

Cynthia Golpe has not only mastered desserts but also design. She grew up in the Philippines, the third of five children.

Her parents owned a bakery with 100-plus employees to mix batter for the flourishing business.

Often, her parents would put her and her siblings to work, decorating cakes, delivering orders and working with customers in the front of the store.

“The best memory for me is not actually decorating or baking, it’s more about selling and being in front of customers,” Cynthia Golpe said. “My dad put me in front of the store and I was just so little, but I was selling.”

Her family also owned a jewelry business, and between her high school and college years, she visited designers in New York to hear what they wanted in their seasonal collections.

She loved the Big Apple, and later attended The Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.

“It was really all about drawing,” she said. “I love to doodle. If someone’s talking, I draw clothing, I draw cakes.”

She worked with her aunt designing clothing, with clients including Anne Klein, Randolph Duke, Isaac Mizrahi NY and more.

Later, she started her own jewelry company, working with stores like The Limited, Woolworths and Afterthoughts.

In 1991, she met her future husband Eric Golpe on a bus and the two tied the knot in 1993.

“When we met, she told me she sold costume jewelry,” Eric said. “I guess I just naturally assumed she did door-to-door jewelry. She told me ‘not really.’”

Eric had been working as a paramedic, but after the two married, they moved to the Philippines, where he helped manage the family’s bakery business.

He said baking was challenging and that he preferred the business side of things.

Before they married, the two attended the American institute of Baking.

From 2000-2007, they participated with the United States Agency for International Development, traveling to countries in Europe and Russia, where they trained cooks and bakers.

“We were almost ambassadors to the United States, because we represented the United States,” Cynthia Golpe said.

The trip helped both Russians and Americans shed their stereotypes of the other, she said.

After a few moves across the U.S., the couple moved to Snoqualmie in 2008 with their children.

Now, Eric works at Microsoft and Cynthia bakes wedding cakes — and treats for the senior center.

Center chef Jimmy Lee said everyone enjoys Golpe’s creations, especially him because it reduces his workload.

“I think it’s fantastic and very generous of her,” he said.

Pam Whittington, president of the senior center board agreed, although for different reasons.

“I had the lemon cake,” Whittington said. “I’m still dreaming about it.”

Golpe researches each of her recipes, cutting back on sugar and using nonfat milk when she’s able.

“So far, they love it, so I’m happy,” she said.

With the strawberry tarts ready for eating, she planned her next menu, contemplating tiramisu and berry cheesecake.

Anything, she said, that would give a sweet end to lunch and to people’s palates.

Got dessert?

• Lunch is served from noon – 1 p.m. weekdays at the Mount Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend. Call 425-888-3434.
• Lunch is $6; seniors pay $3.

Find MyCakes online

• E-mail: cgolpe@hotmail.com
• Website: www.myspace.com/cakes_n_decors
• www.facebook.com/cgolpe

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

More than 150 people toured Mt Si Senior Center March 10 for its open house, playing dominos, participating in exercise class demonstrations or just plain socializing.

“We wanted to be able to have over people in our community who supported us through all of our remodeling disruptions,” said Ruth Tolmasoff, director of the center.

Using federal and local grants, the senior center remodeled its kitchen, replaced the floor in its multipurpose room and added an art display wall.

The center also got a soundproof partition wall for its multipurpose room, so more than one activity can be held in the room.

She thanked the Rotary Club of Snoqualmie Valley, which awarded the senior center a $25,000 grant for armchairs.

“It’s much easier to get out of an arm chair than it is from a chair without arms,” Tolmasoff said.

Laura Geggel: 392-6434, ext. 221, or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.

The cold-weather kits are assembled by members of the Mount Si High School Key Club and the Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis Club. (Photo by Dan Catchpole)

Members of the Mount Si High School Key Club and the Snoqualmie Valley Kiwanis Club made cold-weather kits—or blizzard boxes—for older Snoqualmie Valley residents just in time for last week’s cold snap.

In all, 100 kits were assembled. They include hand warmers, glow sticks, first aid kits, snacks, water and clothing, such as a hat or socks.

“It felt good to help,” said Emily Cruz, a freshman at Mount Si.

Her friend and classmate, Christine Stapleton agreed.

“It gets really cold in the winter,” she added.

Fifty of the kits will be kept at Mt Si Senior Center.

“The senior center often gets people who come here who have nothing,” Kiwanis member Debby Peterman said.

Dan Catchpole: 392-6434 ext. 246, or editor@snovalleystar.com.

Volunteer Sharon Posey counts money after a bake sale to benefit the Mount Si Senior Center, which will receive nearly $25,000 less from King County in 2010 than in 2009. The sale was held Dec. 5 in conjunction with the annual holiday country store fundraiser at the center. (Photo by Tara Ballenger)

NEW — 9:55 a.m. Dec. 9, 2009

When the dust around the county’s contentious 2010 budget had settled, Mount Si Senior Center’s funding was spared the chopping block, but it did not escape unscathed.

Next year, the center will get $24,500—only half what it has received from the county in years past. And in 2011, that sum will disappear altogether as King County Council members are tasked with trimming more and more off the budget, said Kathy Lambert, District 3 councilwoman who represents Snoqualmie Valley.

“The general fund for the county has been reduced by $150 million in two years,” Lambert said. “We’re going to back to funding only what’s mandated, because that’s all we can afford.”

Last month, days before the Council was planning on voting on the budget, King County Executive Kurt Triplett proposed cutting off the center’s funding completely as one way to help reduce the budget by an additional $6.5 million after other efforts fell through.

“I fought hard to keep the money in for Mount Si,” Lambert said. “It’s hard to convince people, because there are lots of senior centers, people think ‘what about mine?’”

Cuts a few years eliminated funding to nearly all senior centers. Mount Si Senior Center is one of only a handful of centers in the county still receiving money, mostly because it serves people in rural and unincorporated areas who would not be able to access similar services elsewhere, said Lambert.

Ruth Tolmasoff, director of the center, said she’s happy that the county didn’t cut support entirely, but staying in the black with only half the expected funding isn’t going to be easy.

“We’ll be treading water and keeping afloat until we can find a way to raise the money we need,” Tolmasoff said. “We’re not going to be making any rash cuts—the board is really thinking hard about how to approach this.”

Founded in 1977 as a grass roots effort led by seniors, the center employs two full-time staff members and offers classes, activities. transportation and free hot meals to seniors five days a week. It serves between 750 and 1,000 people each year.

The center’s $285,000 budget for 2010 had already factored in the full $49,000 from the county, said Tolmasoff.

North Bend and Snoqualmie maintained their funding levels for the center in their 2010 and the thrift store has been more profitable each year since it opened a few years ago, bringing in over $63,000 in 2009, Tolmasoff said.

She said hopes that revenue stream will continue to grow, but other fundraising will still be necessary, and that will be a challenge—grants for operating budgets are hard to come by and donations are flagging in the down economy.

“This is a time when we should be expanding our services and offering more and more programs,” Tolmasoff said. “Most of our members are people who are living on fixed on incomes, and they need the kind of services we provide.”

Tara Ballenger: 392-6434 ext. 248 or tballenger@snovalleystar.com.

Susan Hankins used to get her exercise through swimming and aerobics. These days, however, she’s found a better way to keep in shape.

Hankins has joined S.A.I.L. — an acronym for Stay Active and Independent for Life — a program coordinated by the Mt Si Senor Center and the Snoqualmie Valley Hospital.

“I’m still really active, but my aerobics wasn’t doing it,” said Hankins, who battles rheumatory arthritis.

The program was developed by the Northwest Orthopedic Institute in Tacoma after examining the results of a three-year project called the Washington Department of Health Senior Falls Prevention Study. Snoqualmie Valley Hospital became involved with S.A.I.L through a grant from the Washington Health Foundation in 2006.

 “We are interested in preventing falls for the elderly,” said Nancy Rickerson, director of Rehabilitation Services at Snoqualmie Valley Hospital. “The whole point is for fitness and to remain independent.”

The hour-long class is held at Mt Si Senior Center, 411 Main Ave. S., North Bend every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 10 a.m. Classes cost $3 and are led by Carla Orellana, who also teaches yoga and belly dancing in North Bend. The next class will be Jan. 5. To learn more, call the senior center at 888-3434. 

North Bend resident Cathy Brumbaugh began taking the classes when they first started in June 2007. 

“Before we moved here, I did a jazzercise class,” Brumbaugh said. “Then I had arthroscopic knee surgery and had to hold back on all of my exercises.”

A friend alerted Brumbaugh to S.A.I.L., and now she attends three times a week, often with her husband Harley. 

“There’s no embarrassment if you can’t do something,” Brumbaugh said. “Over the years, people have come who have just come out of surgery or illness. (The instructor) was very good at saying ‘when you start, don’t overdo it.’”

S.A.I.L. exercises are aimed at keeping older adults fit and independent. Approximately one-third of older adults fall at least once a year and one in ten of those results in an injury requiring hospitalization.

With faltering vision and hearing, some older adults need an extra boost to stay in shape. Weight-bearing exercise also slows bone loss and helps keep osteoporosis at bay as participants strengthen their muscles and improve their balance.

The class consists of a warm-up period to gradually increase both heart rate and circulation. before the 20-minute aerobics portion. Adults get in the zone as the music pulsates. 

“I’m really excited because I have a huge variety of music,” Orellana said, describing her collection of swing, rock and roll, fun fifties and melodies from around the world.

During aerobics, participants can walk briskly around the classroom, swing their arms, touch their elbows to their knees and step-kick to the rhythm.

Next, the instructor combines the balance workshops with the cool down process.

“The balance work is really great,” Hankins said. “You walk heal toe and sometimes we use balls. We pretend like we’re walking over logs.”

Hankins admitted she initially felt skeptical about the class, thinking it would be too easy and not worth her while.

“But that is not the case, it’s very rigorous,” Hankins said. “It’s as rigorous as you want it to be.”

The class concludes with strength training and flexibility workouts. An education component at the end teaches participants how to stay safe at home. Bright lighting, hand railings, clear pathways and shoes with good tread can help prevent falls and injuries. 

“It’s a fun, low-impact class to improve flexibility, coordination and self confidence,” Orellana said. “It’s a great way to have fun and get oxygen in your lungs and make some new friends.”

Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.