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Over the Back Fence By HANK HENRY Advisory groups assist seniors When I retired more than five years ago, I volunteered for the Seniors Advisory Committee, a group that serves Jackson and Josephine counties. Back when I was in office, I had served on the same committee for 12 years and knew the vital work it does on behalf of the elderly. More than 90 percent of retirees have retirement funds to carry them into old age, but many will just scrape by. The real tragedies happen when seniors have strokes or other debilitating conditions. Suddenly, they are no longer capable of such adventures as cruising the Caribbean in the "Love Boat," but instead find themselves in the category of the institution-bound. Seniors and disabled people have to pay for their treatment and housing costs � such as nursing homes or adult foster care � until they spend down to less than $2,000 in assets. At today�s prices for a nursing home of $35,000 to $45,000 a year, living in such a facility can bankrupt most people in a few short years. Disabled people have been served by the same agency since 1981, when the Legislature determined that seniors and the disabled share common problems. It allowed counties to manage services for both groups out of the same office. The disabled have their own advisory committee that makes recommendations to the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, the local agency made up of elected officials from Jackson and Josephine counties. Senior and Disability Services provides valuable resources for both groups of people. It can be reached by calling 779-6785 in Medford, 664-6674 in Central Point. Oregon Senior and Disabled Services may be reached by calling 1-800-282-8096. Its Web site is www.sdsd.hr.state.or.us . A P.S. from last week�s column. That�s the one where I was a patsy for a suede-shoed operator, a fast-talking man who tried to sell me some sort of service as a supplement to my AT&T universal card. The caller said he represented "Connections," a company offering some sort of supplemental service to my card. I tried to juggle the guy on the line, local news on the TV and family conversations in the kitchen. After about 15 or 20 minutes of being assured that I could cancel at any time, the guy had me signed up � figuratively speaking. Later, I felt buyer�s remorse for saying yes to something I didn�t understand and probably didn�t need. A few days later, after the last column was written and turned in, a woman called and identified herself as being with the AT&T universal card. She asked me if I had earlier talked to someone representing "Connections." I told her that I had, but now I had changed my mind and didn�t want whatever the man had sold me. The woman said something like "OK" or "good," and assured me that she would remove the item from the card. My card company probably reviewed the sales of the affiliated company, and when they read that the order was for me, a 77-year old, they must have decided I bordered on gullibility, and they called me to prove it. I appreciate how they monitor things. (Hank Henry is a retired Jackson County commissioner and a former radio and television announcer. Call him at 772-9055.) Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.