May 2007 AACOG Region Newsletter

The AACOG Regional Review Committee recently released the results of the scoring meeting for the 2007-2008 Texas Community Development Block Grant Program. These results have been submitted to the Office of Rural Community Affairs for the state final review portion of the process. When the combined final scores are available from the state, AACOG will post them on our website. To view the results of the AACOG RRC scoring meeting, please click here. If you have any questions, please contact Joe Ramos at (210) 362-5212.

For 44 years, our nation has paused to honor older Americans during May. During this special month, the ongoing contributions of our older citizens are highlighted with a national proclamation issued by the President of the United States, and activities and events planned in communities across America.

The theme for Older Americans Month 2007, Older Americans: Making Choices for a Healthier Future, encourages people to think differently about health and long-term care, and work to rebalance and modernize current systems to plan for and address the needs of current and future generations. Click here to read the entire article about Older Americans Month 2007.

Come support healthy alternative modes of transportation by walking, riding your bicycle, carpooling or busing to the Metropolitan Planning Organization's 11th Annual Walk & Roll to Work Rally from 8 to 9 a.m. on May 4 at HemisFair Park (600 Hemisfair Plaza Way). There will be speakers, vendors and door prizes.

One week later, join the MPO and our transportation partners at Joske Pavilion in Brackenridge Park, 3910 N. St. Mary's St., for the MPO’s Walk & Roll Fest on May 12, from 8:00 a.m. to noon. There will be a 5K and 10K walk and a bike ride of approximately 25 miles. Attendees can also walk and bike through the park trails at their own leisure. Vendors will discuss healthful living and refreshments will be available.

Also, May 14-18 is National Bike to Work Week. Show your support for cycling and walking as alternatives to driving in a motorized vehicle. To find out more about upcoming Walk & Roll Events in May, click here.

Today, the number of products made from recycled materials continues to rise. Buying these products helps close the recycling loop by putting the materials collected through recycling programs back to good use as products in the marketplace.

The 7^th Annual South Texas Resource Recovery Roundtable, to be held on Friday, June 8, at the San Antonio Central Library, will address the education and promotion of these green purchasing habits. This free workshop is supported by a grant awarded the Recycling Alliance of Texas by AACOG. For more information about registering for this roundtable, click here.

Nearly 50% of Texans who are eligible to apply for Medicare’s Extra Help or Low-Income Subsidy (LIS) that can help pay for Medicare prescription drug coverage have yet do so. In an effort to address this, AACOG’s Bexar and Alamo Area Agencies on Aging have been selected from among more than 100 grant applicants to participate in a demonstration program designed to help identify effective and efficient strategies for reaching those most in need.

My Medicare Matters™, the community-based education initiative sponsored by the National Council on Aging (NCOA), and Access to Benefits Coalition (ABC) with support from AstraZeneca, awarded the grant. The announcement was made at the 2007 Joint Conference of the American Society on Aging – National Council on Aging in Chicago in March. To read this entire press release, click here.

The Alamo Regional Law Enforcement Academy uses modern technology to help make attending in-service training a little easier. Officers in the northern part of our region wishing to attend select training, but who may not have time to travel the distance to Bexar County, may attend our distance learning satellite location located at the Kerr County Sheriffs Office.

Plans are in the works to eventually have another distance learning satellite location in one of the counties south of Bexar. Having such a system allows in-service classes to be taught simultaneously across the region. Courses offered through distance learning can be found by clicking here. To read the academy quarterly newsletter, click here.

The Polish Plymouth Rock kaleidoscope colors in stained glass windows, catfish swimming lazily in a basement, museums, a ghost town—victim of a father’s revenge, missions, battlegrounds, brush country, railroad stories, ranchlands and a “hotbed of Texas history”—all are on the schedule for more than 25 area car clubs participating in AACOG’s Classic Cruise Along the Corridor on May 5, 2007. Many members of the Alamo Area Council of Car Clubs have been participating in the Classic Cruise Along the Corridor for more than 15 years! Reasons for participating range from "the folks are so friendly" and "a beautiful drive," to "It's just plain fun."

On Saturday, May 5, 2007, between 8 and 9:30 a.m., the car clubs will depart from the San Antonio Botanical Gardens’ parking lot and journey down the historic Alamo-La Bahia Corridor. For more information about the Classic Cruise, click here.