Hearing Loss Linked to Depression, Social Isolation in Seniors…If Left Untreated

Jacob Burrows, Au.D., Doctor of Audiology

Untreated hearing loss has serious emotional and social consequences for older persons, according to a major new study by The National Council on the Aging (NCOA). The study was conducted by the Seniors Research Group, an alliance between NCOA and Market Strategies, Inc.

James Firman, EdD, president and CEO of The National Council on the Aging reports "This study debunks the myth that untreated hearing loss in older persons is a harmless condition". The survey of 2,300 hearing impaired adults age 50 and older found that those with untreated hearing loss were more likely to report depression, anxiety, and paranoia and were less likely to participate in organized social activities, compared to those who wear hearing aids.

Statistics show that hearing loss is one of the most prevalent chronic conditions in the United States, affecting more than 9 million Americans over the age of 65 and 10 million Americans age 45 to 64. But about 3 out of 5 older Americans with hearing loss do not use hearing instruments.

This study reveals that hearing instrument users reported significant improvements in many areas of their lives, ranging from their relationships at home and sense of independence to their social life. In virtually every dimension measured, the families of hearing aid users also noted the improvements but were even more likely than the users to report improvements.

At Advanced Hearing and Balance Specialist we offer hearing solutions for all ages and hearing loss types. Come visit one of our Audiologists and learn how we can enrich your life. 435-688-8866
Article information derived from: Audiology Today, Vol. 11:4, 99.

Tonaquint Networks Announces Gigabit Internet in St. George

St. George, UT, AUG 24, 2015  — Tonaquint Networks has announced construction of its fiber to-the-home gigabit network build out of St. George with plans to offer the network to all residential and business properties within the City.  Tonaquint Networks is the first fiber optic network in St. George to deliver a fiber-to-the-home data connection of 1 gigabit per second.  The average American broadband speed is 11.5 Megabits per second with gigabit service being about 100 times faster.  Construction will commence on selected neighborhoods within the City.

According to Matt Hamlin, Manager of Tonaquint Networks, each identified neighborhood selected for this technology is referred to as “fiberhoods”. Shadow Mountain has been selected by Tonaquint Networks as its first gigabit fiberhood in St. George with construction already underway.  To celebrate the announcement, Tonaquint Networks will host a celebration and ribbon cutting on Thursday, September 3, at 5:30PM at the Shadow Mountain St. George City Park, 305 North Stone Mountain Drive.  Utah’s Lt. Governor Spencer Cox and St. George Mayor Jon Pike will be the featured speakers.

According to Hamlin, “Tonaquint Networks is more than a typical broadband or television service provider. Gigabit technology provides Internet speeds not previously available to residential customers in St. George. You will be amazed at the speed of downloads and the digital quality for watching movies, live sporting events, video games and soon to be live television programming. We have had a great deal of interest and enthusiasm from St. George residents—even to the point of some offering to canvas neighborhoods and sign up potential customers!   We are also working with several major home builders who want to have gigabit technology available in their development to offer to new home buyers—this gives the builder a competitive edge.”

According to Hamlin, “Tonaquint Networks owns its own fiber infrastructure providing 100% redundancy with 24/7/365 local support.”  The Tonaquint Network team of network professionals has been doing business as a fiber optic carrier and provider in Southern Utah for more than 12 years providing data network services to governments, educational institution, and many large and small corporate customers with one of the fastest and most reliable data networks in the U.S.  Tonaquint Networks is a Kay H. Traveller Company.  For more information contact Matt Hamlin, Manager, Tonaquint Networks at (435) 772-8282 or go to http://www.tonaquintnetworks.com/


About Fiberhoods 1 Gigabit Internet Service
Your Internet service can now be 100 times faster providing a care free Internet experience. With gigabit speeds right to your home, you’ll never have to worry about movies buffering, slow song downloads, or multiple people dragging your Internet speed while using the same Internet connection in your home.
Fiber optics is a technology where laser-generated pulses of light are transmitted over hair-thin strands of glass fiber at the speed of light. Fiber is vastly superior to radio transmission over copper. Because traditional copper lines focus much of their available bandwidth on sending signals out, they’re extremely limited when it comes to uploading new information. Fiber optics, however, are capable of producing upload speeds that are just as fast as download speed. Uploading/downloading, image quality and phone clarity are all improved by the use of fiber optics. And when it comes to upload speeds, fiber optics cannot be matched.

About Tonaquint
Tonaquint has been building fiber and providing IP solutions in southern Utah for the past 10 years. Now Tonaquint is positioned to provide services directly to businesses throughout the region. With redundant fiber lines throughout St. George and the surrounding areas, Tonaquint is poised to provide your business the most secure and true business grade IP services in town, with the local support to match. Tonaquint is also a partner with Tonaquint Data Center, providing the most secure environment for resources to your business. Tonaquint is the only provider that can offer a true “Fiber to Customer” experience all over the region.

Why should you choose Tonaquint fiber?
Much faster upload speeds, Better image quality, Improved phone clarity, Enhanced Security, and we don’t use outdated phone technologies (copper wires). We only provide dedicated fiber optic services with flexible plans to fit your needs. With options to choose from in both residential and business applications, we provide a variety of speeds and installation options to best fit your unique situation.

My children are irresponsible and cannot handle money. What can I do to insure they will not waste their inheritance?

Phillip G. Gubler and Thomas J. Bayles, Attorneys at Law

My children are irresponsible and cannot handle money.  What can I do to insure they will not waste their inheritance?

You worked hard all your life, lived frugally, saved money and invested wisely.  As you start the estate planning process, you may have concerns related to your children’s ability to manage money.  You may worry that providing your children with a cash distribution will encourage them to stop working hard; the very thing you did to gain your wealth.  You may worry your child, who has a drug or alcohol addiction, will use his inheritance to fuel his addiction.  Obviously, these are legitimate concerns and should be considered in estate planning.

If you are concerned how your child might handle a cash distribution, you could consider testing them by making some distributions now.  You can gift up to $14,000 (2015) per year to whomever you would like with no gift tax consequence.  If you are married, you and your spouse can give $28,000 per person.  You could consider gifting your children with no restrictions on how they use the money and watch what happens.  Will your child spend the money, apply it towards debt or invest?

You could skip the step where you test your children and make a gift by paying down a debt, such as mortgage principal or student loan.  This will provide some relief of financial obligations without putting the cash in their hands.  Since mortgages and student loans are significantly higher than when you were young, this can be a tremendous help to your children.  You should always make sure there are no negative consequences or pre-payment penalties.

The distribution portion of your Trust can be linked to age and life events.  For instance, you can create your trust so your children receive a distribution when they reach certain ages, such as 35, 40, or 45.  You could direct the distribution to pay for college tuition, down payment on a home, or other major life events.  You can also construct your Trust to allow distribution when your child reaches a certain point in his sobriety, such as anniversary events at 5, 10 and 15 years.   

It is reasonable to worry how an inheritance will affect your children.  With  proper planning, you can put some of your concerns to rest. 

Exchange Club of St. George to Hold Yard Sale Fundraiser

N E W S   R E L E A S E

News Release: Immediate

For more information contact:

Contact:  Neal H. Smith
Committee Chairman
St. George Exchange Club
Ph: 435-634-5605
C: 435-632-5456
nsmith@sbhcutah.org

Exchange Club of St. George to Hold Yard Sale Fundraiser


St. George, UT, July 31, 2015  — The St. George Exchange Club is hosting a GIGANTIC YARD SALE on Saturday, August 8, from from 7AM to 1PM, in the back parking lot of the Independence House located at 960 North Dixie Downs Road. The purpose of this event is to raise money to be donated to the Sunday Feast and Friday’s Food Pantry sponsored by Solomon’s Porch Foursquare Church here in St. George.

The Church recently moved from the center of St. George to the South edge and have anywhere from 50 to 150 homeless people attend their small church each Sunday for a meal. According to Neal Smith, Exchange Club Committee Chair, "It is amazing what Solomon’s Porch Foursquare Church has been able to do with the Sunday Feast each week with limited funds and staffing. Pastor Jimi Kestin regularly seeks community volunteers to help with the Sunday Feast and he also accepts donations by calling him at (435) 669-9070.”

The St. George Exchange Club is a community service club that regularly seeks to assist the community in providing this type of event. Please come out support the Yard Sale that will have appliances, baby clothes, desks, dishes, a pool table, and much, much more for sale from 7AM to 1PM in the parking lot behind the Independence House located at 960 North Dixie Downs Road on Saturday, August 8.

Washington County School District to Premier Documentary Celebrating its 100-Year Anniversary

St. George, UT, July 22, 2015  — In conjunction with the 100-year anniversary of the Washington County School District, a variety of activities at each school location throughout the district are being planned during the coming 2015-2016 school year. Bob Sonju, Executive Director K-12 Student Learning for Washington County School District announced the kick off event will be the premier showing of the documentary film "On Dreams of Dixie", celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the founding of the Washington County School District. Sonju stated, “We are committed to helping viewers understand that education is vitally important. As demonstrated in this heartfelt film, education weaves lives together, prepares us for life and demonstrates that through school, work and play, communities grow and prosper.”

The Washington County School District Foundation assisted in funding the documentary film, "On Dreams of Dixie", which was recently accepted to DOCUTAH, a Southern Utah International Film Festival presented by Dixie State University. According to DOCUTAH executives, "On Dreams of Dixie" will be one of the featured films at this year’s festival.

Pam Graf, Foundation Director for Washington County School District said, “From a once barren desert to a flourishing, vibrant community, southern Utah demonstrates the value that comes from keeping education a top community priority. We invite you to help us continue the legacy of education in southern Utah by purchasing your personal copies of this film. You may also offer a donation to the Washington County School District Foundation, which is dedicated to helping our students and teachers.”

Sonju stated, “We realize that while this film features a handful of personal stories, there are many not told here. We all remember a favorite teacher or experience and we would love to hear yours.”

To provide a personal remembrance of your days in the Washington County School District visit our stories page and post at ondreamsofdixie.com/stories.  You can also share them on social media using the hashtags #WCSD100 and #dixiedreamsmovie.

The public is invited to attend the World Premier of "On Dreams of Dixie" to be held on August 1, 2015, at Desert Hills High School, located at 828 East Desert Hills Drive, St. George, Utah. The general public showing of the premier will begin at 8:45pm and be on a first come, first serve basis. Theater seating is limited to 900 occupants. If the first showing is sold out a second public screening will be held immediately after.

To purchase DVD copies of "On Dreams of Dixie" go to ondreamsofdixie.com and click on the green Support WCSD Foundation button. A single copy of the documentary is $20, and all proceeds benefit Washington County School District Foundation. DVD's will also be available for purchase at the Premier and during DOCUTAH.

In association with its 100 Year Celebration, the Washington County School District launched a fresh looking website on July 14, to help parents, students and community members easily navigate and find information regarding their schools and district activities. It is located at www.washk12.org. The site was designed and developed by Cody Plumhof, Web Master and Developer, Design Specialist for Washington County School District. Cody was also the executive director for the documentary.

Cody said of the experience, “Working on this film has been a great opportunity to tell the history of WCSD through the eyes of those who lived it. Each story in the film is only a glimpse of the past 100 years, and there is so much more that could be said if time permitted. We are truly thankful for those who dedicate their lives to educating the children of Washington County - from the support staff to the teachers and administrators - and I believe they truly help our students work towards their dreams and futures.”

About "On Dreams of Dixie," a Documentary Film

It was 1861 when tattered pioneers began arriving in southern Utah's red, barren desert. Amid sacrifice and loss, many had traveled across wide oceans and unforgiving plains for a place they could call their own.

Committed to education, school classes were first held in the back of covered wagons and in the areas first church houses. In 1915, the state of Utah issued an order for the area's scattered schools to join together as one and Washington County School District was formed with 1,833 registered students.

Through heartfelt interviews and stories found in the archives of county history, 'On Dreams of Dixie' gives viewers a multi-dimensional experience and character-driven look at what it was like attending school in southern Utah's early settlement communities.

More than 28,000 students are now enrolled in Washington County schools with students learning skills that prepare them for life. Looking back over the shoulder of history, it is important to acknowledge that life in southern Utah started out at a much slower pace, when times were simple. Written and produced by Melynda Thorpe, narrated by Wilford Brimley, with an original score by Keith R Owen, "On Dreams of Dixie" provides a powerful viewer experience.

If you would like to see behind the scene experiences, photos and documents used in the making of this documentary go to facebook.com/ondreamsofdixie.

ESTATE PLANNING: A COMPETENT ATTORNEY IS ESSENTIAL

Phillip G. Gubler and Thomas J. Bayles, Attorneys at Law

Many people have a misconception about estate planning.  For example, many will avoid doing their estate planning because they believe their assets “aren’t worth much” and think estate planning would be a waste of time and money.  The reality is that estate planning is necessary for everyone -- no matter the value of their assets.  Completing your estate planning now with an attorney that regularly practices in the estate planning area to clearly define your intentions is an investment which will likely save your family financial and emotional heartache in the future.

While you may want to live forever, there is a strong likelihood that you will not make it out of this life alive.  Estate planning allows you to clarify what is to happen with your assets once you have passed away.  As you think about your estate planning there are a few things to consider:  1) Beneficiaries who will receive assets from you, i.e., spouse, children, other close family members and friends, or charities; 2) Property that will be affected by the planning, such as real property, family business, personal property, as well as financial accounts and investments; and 3) Distribution of the properties to the beneficiaries. 

The decisions made in the estate planning process are very important, and it is essential that the attorney you work with has experience drafting trusts, wills and related documents in order to properly plan with the least risk of contention at death.  The experience an attorney gains through continued work in the estate planning area will help that same attorney provide specialized solutions for the client’s planning goals.  Several years ago, I read an Associated Press article about United States Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Berger and the problems he left behind because he wrote his own Will.  The point in bringing this up is not to disparage the Chief Justice who was a renowned jurist and a smart attorney, but to point out that even a smart attorney who does not regularly practice in the estate planning area should seek competent assistance from an attorney who does. 

A qualified estate planning attorney can help guide you through the estate planning process and avoid the pitfalls of ambiguous language and directions.  Whether you want to divide your estate equally between beneficiaries or leave a little something extra to someone special, your estate planning attorney can craft documents allowing you to be as creative as you wish -- while adhering to the basics of what is required and making sure you are clear in your directions. The last thing you want to leave is a legacy of internal strife among family members who challenge your estate planning documents.

JensenBayles, LLP provides a broad spectrum of legal services.  Thomas J. Bayles has been actively providing advice in the areas of trusts, wills, probate and tax planning in the St. George market for over 15 years. Please visit our web site www.jensenbayles.com or call 435-674-9718 and ask for Thomas J. Bayles or Phillip G. Gubler. The information in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be construed as legal advice.

Reunion Memories. Advanced Hearing & Balance Specialists

Eric Maxwell, Au.D., FAAA
Doctor of Audiology
Board Certified in Audiology

The start of each summer causes me to reflect on a number of items.  One of those items is that I’m glad that I live in Cedar City and not St. George.  Growing up in St. George the heat didn’t seem to affect me as much as it does now. It does make me grateful for technology and how it allows us to have things that the pioneers didn't have...Such as air conditioning.

Another thing that summer brings to mind is family reunions.  Especially this summer we seem to have a number of family reunions that we are attending. It is always fun to gather with family members that I may not have seen for many years.  I remember growing up and having our extended Maxwell family reunions with Grandma Maxwell. They were always really fun, as we would go camping up in the mountains somewhere to get away from the heat.  We would go hiking, play games, sit and talk, and of course go snipe hunting. As the Maxwell family is pretty prolific there was always a new generation of Maxwell’s that hadn’t ever been snipe hunting. One of the most memorable snipe hunts was when one of my older cousins had tied a piece of cloth or fur onto a twine (or fishing line) and attached it to the back of his belt.  After leading the younger cousins on the hunt and seeing something twitching he finally took off running, screaming at the top of his lungs while the snipe was “chasing" him. It was definitely one for the memory books.

Another memory was the homemade root beer that grandma would make every year and bottle for us to drink at one of the family dinners. All those bottles of root beer became a prime target for my delinquent cousins to take every opportunity to “steal" the root beer from grandma. Of course, I never participated in such activities. Grandma went to great lengths to hide and secure the root beer and we went to greater lengths to steal it.  Of course, as grandma became older the root beer started to have a bigger "kick" to it as it became fermented. That was a whole set of experiences in itself, as we had to find ways to tell grandma that we liked her root beer without lying about it.

We definitely enjoyed our time together, being with each other, creating bonds, talking and listening, laughing and crying.

As I have thought about those family reunions they have made me reflect on how grateful I am to have my senses working correctly.  I’m glad that I could see the beautiful mountains, feel the wind in my hair (which I had more of at that time), taste the fermented root beer (and other good food), and be able to hear my ornery uncles yelling at us or telling TALL tales.

To sum it all up, if you are having troubles hearing don't let it affect all those good memory making times. Like the change in technology that caused living in St. George bearable during the summertime (air conditioning) hearing instrument technology has also changed and can make reunions not only bearable but also enjoyable. Come to our office and see what you have been missing. Until next time...here is to better hearing. (The preceding thoughts are solely the opinions of Dr. Eric L. Maxwell. Other Maxwell's may have different recollections.)


Eric Maxwell, Au.D., FAAA
Doctor of Audiology
Board Certified in Audiology

Advanced Hearing and Balance Specialists
1870 N. Main St., #202
Cedar City, UT  84721

1-435-867-0714
www.HearingAidDoctor.com

Dr. Eric L. Maxwell, Au.D, FAAA, was raised in St. George and spent a lot of time in the Cedar City in his youth. He studied Audiology at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah and earned a Master’s of Science degree in Audiology from the University of Utah. Upon graduating, Dr. Maxwell and his family moved to Tucson, Arizona where he practiced Audiology for five years. When an opportunity came to move to Cedar City, Dr. Maxwell jumped at the chance and have been back in Cedar City for the past 8 years. He loves the beautiful scenery, friendly people, and the community. Dr. Maxwell specializes in:

• Digital Hearing Aid Sales, Service and Counseling Specialist
• Ear Mold and Hearing Protection Specialist
• Diagnostic Medical Hearing Assessments for Adults and Children
• Industrial Hearing Conservation Specialist