The Senior

VOICE November 2008

Local Attractions • Scenic Places • History • Money • Health • News

Indian
Ghost
Attack
Town
On the
Overland Trail
In Northern
Colorado
Fort
Saint
Longs
Vrain
Peak
Near Greeley
Pioneer
New
Climbers
Local
Outlaws
History
In Early
Book
Colorado
North
Colorado
Skiing
Money,
Steamboat
Springs
Health and
News
2 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice

Question About Inheritance Tax

By Ron Rutz, Attorney
Legal Correspondent
Q:I have not heard much about the
“death to death taxes” movement
lately. Has the matter gone away?
A: Not really. There are two
different kinds of death taxes. An
inheritance tax occurs when the
receiver is taxed at a rate that
usually varies with how closely
related the beneficiary is to the
deceased and the value of the
inheritance received.
An estate tax occurs when the
size of the deceased’s taxable estate
is taxed regardless of who inherits
it. A few states like Nebraska have
an inheritance tax. The federal
government and most states like
Colorado have an estate tax.
Since Colorado basically
follows the federal rules, the plan-
ning techniques used to minimize
federal taxes are also used to
reduce the state tax bite.
How much can be passed on tax
free? Any amount can be left to a
surviving spouse. Otherwise, this
year a total of $2 million can be left,
regardless of who inherits or how
many beneficiaries are included.
Next year the amount increases
to $3.5 million, followed in 2010
by no tax on any amount. But in
2011, the exemption drops back
down to $1 million.
in place for your own personal
“death to death taxes.” Yet I see
people who refuse to spend even a
thousand dollars to eliminate a
million dollars of taxes.
What makes up the taxable
estate? Anything owned by the
deceased needs to be included.
Thus, items such as the face
amount of insurance, certain retire-
ment accounts, annuities where
payments are payable to a non-
spouse that survives death, etc.,

snow
In addition to having tax wills, must all be added.
planning devices such as the use of Therefore, it is important to
a limited liability company (LLC) come up with a ballpark estimate

BIRD
can cloak from tax exposure up to
40 percent of what is placed inside.
So $1 million of estate value might
only be counted as low as
$600,000 for taxable purposes.
MOVE IN FOR THE Probably less that 3 percent of
the population, even including
WINTER! farmers, need to fear death taxes if
proper planning is done.
Even if the current law is not
changed, the cost to do the plan-
ning usually ranges from a few
hundred dollars to several thou-
sand to have the proper documents
of the taxable estate and then have
the proper estate documents put in
place.
Death taxes are still with us and
may be around for a good while
longer. But like a bad neighbor,
co-existence is possible without
being overwhelmed.
________________
Attorney Ron Rutz will answer
questions sent to 2625 Redwing
Road, #180, Fort Collins, CO
80526; email rutz@ronaldrutz.com.
Or call 970-223-8388. I

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Indian Attack in the 1800s
(Editor ’s Note: The following
account of an Indian attack in 1865
on the Overland Stage Line near
Saratoga, Wyoming, was written by
Joe J. Hurt, who was involved in the
attack.)
By Joe J. Hurt
T he Overland stage station occu-
pied ground on the North Platte
River several miles below Saratoga.
I was there in June, 1865, when the
station had been cut off (by Indians)
with Sulphur Springs west of us for
three weeks.
Mail after mail came in for the
west until a great pile of it accumu-
lated. One day our superintendent
decided to make a night run and get
the mail through. That night three
big coaches were piled full of mail
sacks, and six horses were hitched to
each coach.
There was a lady in camp on her
way to join her husband in San
Francisco. When all was ready, she
begged so hard to be allowed to go
that the superintendent finally
permitted her to crawl on top of the
mail in one of the coaches.
It was 11 at night when we
started out...I was a youngster at the
time but was one of a party of eight
detailed to accompany the expedi-
tion as a guard.
Nothing had happened to us as
day began to break, and we began to
be hopeful we would make it
without trouble. Vain hope!
We had as a driver of one of the
coaches a man who went by the
name of Heenan on account of his
great strength. There wasn’t a man
in the camp who could handle him...
Our road went up through a
narrow canyon several miles
long...As we were driving through
this just after daybreak, the Indians
opened fire on us.
At the first volley, two or three of
our men were killed, and it was a
running fight from there to the top of
the canyon. At one time, it looked as
if Heenan’s outfit was gone.
I saw an Indian with a Colt
revolver in his hands, lying prone on
the bank of the canyon, his elbows
resting on the ground, taking aim at
Heenan. He fired five shots in quick
This pioneer cabin still stands south of Saratoga at the Encampment
Museum. Senior Voice photo.
succession, all of which struck the
box just behind Heenan.
The Indian saw he had not made
enough allowance for the motion of
the stage and mended his aim suffi-
ciently that the sixth bullet broke
Heenan’s right arm above the elbow.
It fell helpless at his side. But not
daunted, he caught all the reins in
his left hand and never slackened his
pace...
The sun was just rising as we
gained the head of the canyon and
drove out onto the level prairie. We
formed a corral of our coaches,
placed the horses inside it, piled the
mail sacks into a circular breast
work, and prepared to sell our lives
as dearly as possible...
What a horrible day that was!
A hot broiling sun, no water or
shelter, and our little party
surrounded by yelling (Indians) who
all day long without intermission
rode around us, raining arrows and
bullets on us.
When any of our men were
killed, their bodies were piled on top
of the mail sacks to help keep out
the bullets. It was hard, but it was
necessary.
I have forgotten the lady’s name,
but she had nerve. She was busy all
day loading guns and carrying
ammunition...Before night, the men
worshipped her for her courage and
assistance.
About sundown, the devils
pulled off...Heenan said, “Up now
and let’s get out of this. Hitch up the
horses, throw in the mail and we’ll
make another try at getting to
Sulphur Springs”...
How we drove! And how our
nerves tingled! We were all nerves,
hopes and fears...and we drove like
the wind...
The Indians did not attack again
until we were about a mile and a half
from Sulphur Springs station, when
they opened another bombardment.
It was down hill to the station,
and we kept going as fast as we
could. The men at the station heard
the fighting, and when they rode out
to take part, the Indians retreated.
We drove the last mile to the
station as fast as our horses could
run. Strange to say, we did not suffer
even a scratch from the last
bombardment.
And our brave lady did not suffer
injury in all the fighting, and lived to
join her husband safely in San
Francisco.
________________
COVER PICTURE: Cowboy on a
horse, courtesy the Wyoming
Tourism Office. For more photos,
see www.wyomingtourism.org. I
The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 3
Published Locally Since 1980
VOL. 28, NO. 12
email thevoice@frii.com
www.theseniorvoice.net
PUBLICATION INFORMATION
The Senior Voice newspaper has been
published locally the first of each month
since 1980 for residents age 50-plus.
ADVERTISING
Ad deadline is 20th of month.
For rates, call 970-229-9204;
or see www.theseniorvoice.net.
Wolfgang Lambdin
Advertising Director
Associate Publisher
Fort Collins
(970) 229-9204
SALES OFFICES:
Ft. Collins and Greeley
(970) 229-9204
Loveland and Estes Park
(970) 482-8344
EDITORIAL DEADLINE
Announcements and stories must be
received by the 10th of the month.; ads by
the 20th of the month.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The Senior Voice welcomes readers' letters
and contributions. Enclose a self-addressed
envelope and return postage to: The Senior
Voice, 1471 Front Nine Drive, Fort Collins,
CO 80525, or email thevoice@frii.com. The
Senior Voice assumes no responsibility for
damaged or lost material submitted by
readers.
© Copyright 2008
The Senior Voice
EDITORIAL OFFICE:
1471 Front Nine Drive
Fort Collins, CO 80525
(970) 223-9271
email thevoice@frii.com
www.theseniorvoice.net
No material may be reproduced by any
means without permission of the publisher.
Dr. William Lambdin, Publisher
44 •• November
November 2008
2008 •• The
The Senior
Senior Voice
Voice

New Local History Book

By Bill Lambdin woman—attractive, independent and All three people came from poor
determined to have a ranch of her families, but Josephine’s ranch was

“R abbit Creek Country” is a

new local history book on
northern Colorado. It follows the
lives of three people born in the late
1800s: rancher John Elliott, his wife
Ida, and country school teacher
Josephine Lamb.
They lived in what is still a back-
country area called Rabbit Creek 20
miles north of Fort Collins—about
six miles northwest of the old
Livermore Hotel that stands on the
Red Feather Lakes road.
One of the unusual things about
their lives was that Josephine Lamb
lived with John Elliott and his wife
Ida for 42 years, sharing their house
and, according to some people,
probably sharing John’s bed.
Authors Jon Thiem and Deborah
Dimon are not sure Josephine and
John had a conjugal relationship, but
several of the 100 people they inter-
viewed for the book said they did,
including relatives and neighbors.
Such a relationship would have
been unusual in those days, but
Josephine Lamb was an unusual
own, which John helped her acquire.
Born in 1897 near Fort Collins,
she was valedictorian of her 1916
high school class. She was offered a
four-year scholarship to the
University of Colorado but couldn’t
afford to attend and instead took
enough classes at the Greeley teach-
ers’ college to become a grade
school teacher.
When in high school, she won
first place at a statewide livestock
judging contest, beating 18 boys and
becoming the first young woman to
win the honor. That was just one of
the things that showed her determi-
nation. She completed a bachelor’s
degree at age 63 when she retired
from teaching.
She taught mostly in one-room
schools in the ranch country of
Livermore and the Laramie River
valley south of the Wyoming state
line. In 1918 she went to live with
John and Ida to teach their eight-
year-old son, and that’s when the
affair might have started. She was
22; John was 40.
worth $1 million when she died in
1973. John and Ida eventually
owned one of the largest ranches in
the area.
The conjugal relationship is not
the primary focus of this book, and
I’ve dealt with only a small part of
the story. Author Jon Thiem spent
nearly 10 years researching the book
and told me he wanted to capture the
lives of the people and give readers
a sense of the time in which they
lived.
It was a time different from ours,
and the history of it needs to be told
so we can understand how the West
and our area were settled. “I wanted
to show the quality of their lives,”
said Thiem, “the epic struggle of the
people and the challenges they Josephine Lamb. From the book
faced.” “Rabbit Creek Country.”
I think he succeeded, and I’m ________________
glad he captured part of our history Bill Lambdin is the author of
that is fast disappearing. The book is “Doublespeak Dictionary,” about
available at local bookstores for $30 American politics, and publisher of
or from the University of New The Senior Voice newspaper
Mexico Press, call 800-249-7737, (www.theseniorvoice.net). He lives
email custserv@upress.unm.edu. in Fort Collins. I

Donald Murphy, MD, Geriatric Medicine – Englewood, Colo.

“Rocky Mountain goes above and beyond to
help us provide quality care to our patients.”
Exceptional Medicare Service
Dr. Donald Murphy counts on Rocky Mountain’s attentive service
for his Medicare patients, saying “You can always get a live person on
the line if you have questions. We like the focus that Rocky Mountain
has on seniors and their medical needs.”
Rocky Mountain was founded in Colorado, so talking to us is like
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As Dr. Murphy says “Rocky Mountain provides excellent support
and benefits.”

For medical benefit questions, we are open 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Mountain Time, Monday
Call us today
through Friday.
888 - 251-1330 • If you are hearing impaired and use TTY equipment, call 800-704-6370.
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Mountain Time, Monday through Friday. From November 15 through March 1, we are also
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To request more information
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 The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 5

Mental Health Law “When I moved to Fort

Collins, I wanted a dentist
By who uses the latest
U.S. Senator techniques for pain-free,
Ken Salazar
quality dental care. I found

A mericans who seek treatment for

a mental health condition often
find that the insurer who will cover
co-payments and treatment limitations
are not more restrictive for mental
health services than they are for general
this with Drs. Missirlian
and Ferguson.”
the cost of treating a broken bone will medical services.
refuse to cover treatments for bipolar This is the second mental health “They are excellent.”
disorder or depression. When a parity battle we have won this year. In
mental illness is covered, deductibles July, thanks to our work on the Senate – Peggy Lambdin
and co-payments are usually higher. Finance Committee, we enacted a Fort Collins
As a result, many families have to mental health parity law that applies
pay exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses to Medicare. Now we are extending it
for mental health care. Mothers and to private insurance with a national
fathers wipe out their savings to get law that complements the mental
help for their children. Many families health parity laws of states like Where Compassion
go bankrupt. Colorado. Meets Integrity
Finally, thanks to the tireless By putting benefits for mental New Patients Welcome
efforts of many, Congress recently health services on the same footing as
passed the Paul Wellstone and Pete those for physical health, we are
Domenici Mental Health Parity and ensuring that 113 million people
Addiction Equity Act. across the nation will have access to
This new law will require that non-discriminatory mental health
mental health benefits covered by coverage.
group health plans be as accessible and ________________ 3950 John F. Kennedy Parkway
Alissa R. Ferguson, D.M.D.
Fort Collins • 970.267.0993
affordable as other health services You can call Sen. Salazar ’s Fort www.fortcollinsdentalarts.com
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HJJVYKPUN[VMLKLYHSZ[H[LHUKSVJHSSH^Z(SSMHP[OZHUKILSPLMZ^LSJVTL*VW`YPNO[;OL,]HUNLSPJHS3\[OLYHU.VVK:HTHYP[HU:VJPL[`(SSYPNO[ZYLZLY]LK. 
6 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice
Loveland’s Early Days
Editor’s Note: Early-day Loveland resi-
dent Althea Shields wrote the following
remembrance years ago.
By Althea Shields
M y father, Alvin Shields, came to
Colorado the year of the Meeker
Indian Massacre in l879. Pa knew
Meeker.
I have always maintained Meeker
was to blame. He tried to get the Utes to
plow up their ground and farm. The
Please join us to learn about
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6:00 PM
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sible to lose money by investing. • Waddell & Reed, Inc. (10/08)
Utes had never farmed and didn’t intend
to start.
The Utes were around Loveland a
good deal. They camped at the end of
West 8th Street. This was elevated ground
and they could see for miles around.
Pa never spoke of any trouble with
the Utes. They did not seem to be as
warlike as the Sioux, Arapahos and
Cheyennes.
I taught school on Bald Mountain at
the Pinewood School. I roomed and
boarded with the Browns. The house
was built of logs. I had the second floor
of the house.
There was no heat and there were
cracks between the logs. One night it
turned bitter cold and snowed. I had put
my clothes on a chair when I retired. The
snow blew in and covered my clothes.
I shook the snow off my clothes,
dressed and went down to breakfast,
which that morning was not much but dry
corn flakes. Apparently the Browns had
run out of government cow (elk meat).
Alice Grange was also teaching up
on Bald Mountain when I was there. She
was in the cattle business.
One day the superintendent decided
to go up to the school. Upon his arrival, The Alice Grange mentioned in
there were no kids, nor Alice. this story. Loveland Public
Alice had a dead cow, and she had Library.
dismissed school so the kids could help
with the skinning job. The superintendent writer, but the book is not altogether
wasn’t pleased, and Alice nearly got fired. authentic. She was from England.
Her second husband was an uncle of She stayed with a family that in the
“Red” Grange. When she got married to book goes by the name of Chalmers.
him, the neighbors decided to chivaree The Chalmers actually were the
them. Alexanders and were related to me. In
Alice apparently did not approve. the book, she depicts them as lazy,
She went out with a shotgun and meant shiftless and ignorant.
business. The crowd left in a hurry. This was not true of the Alexanders.
There is a book by Isabella Bird, “A They were intelligent and industrious.
Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.” They could tell some stories on Isabella
Isabella undoubtedly had ability as a that weren’t very complimentary. I
Federal Employees & Retirees:
National Active and Retired Federal
Employees Association
Estes Park: (970) 586-4713
Fort Collins: (970) 221-5190
Greeley: (970) 339-9734
Loveland: (970) 613-0399
 The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 7

Rocky Mountain Travel King

Colorado Crosswords By Tony Donovan
Book With Experience! 42 Years, 1966-2008

Princess Cruises Best Buys:

#1 – 10 DAY PANAMA CANAL
December 14-24, 2008. Aboard the Island Princess.
Rt. trip Ft. Lauderdale. Cruise only fares.
BALCONY (BC-BH) $999 PP
#2 – 14 DAY CARIBBEAN CALYPSO
December 9-23, 2008. Aboard the Royal Princess.
Rt. trip Ft. Lauderdale. Cruise only fares.
INSIDE (JJ-N) $1,169 PP • BALCONY (BB-BH) $1,569 PP
#3 – 10 DAY EASTERN CARIBBEAN
December 10-20, 2008. Aboard the Emerald Princess.
Rt. trip Ft. Lauderdale. Cruise only fares.
OUTSIDE (E-G) $799 PP • BALCONY (BB-BG) $999 PP
#4 – 7 DAY WESTERN CARIBBEAN
December 13-20, 2008. Aboard the New Ruby Princess.
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BALCONY $786 PP
ACROSS 55. Berth place? #5 – 12 DAY CAPE HORN SOUTH AMERICA
1. Fed. Agency created in 1953 to grant or 56. Fall guys January 5-17, 2009. Aboard the Star Princess.
guarantee loans to Mom and Pop enter- 57. Info Cruise only fares.
prises, primarily (abbr.) 58. Atty. Gen. under JFK OUTSIDE (H) $890 PP • BALCONY (BE) $1,320 PP
4. County seat of Jackson County and source
of supplies for hunters and fishermen in
North Park
DOWN
1. ___ Springs
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Book with the expert – Sylvia Mucklow (over 75 times
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12. Snitched 5. Three term Colorado governor whose last 13 DAY ALASKA WILDERNESS-COPPER RIVER EXPLORER
14. Group of musicians who perform at the term lasted just 66 days June 1-13, 2009. Aboard the Coral Princess.
Denver Center for Performing Arts, briefly 6. Hippies’ drug, briefly 7 day cruise plus 2 nts. Copper River, 2 nts. Denali,
15. See #8 across 7. Scooby ___ 1 nt. McKinley Princess Lodge, 1 nt. Anchorage.
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17. Mount of the Holy ___, near Vail sheep grazing in the area
18. Summer coolers 9.
10.
Make smaller in size, as a beach
60’s political gp.
7 DAY VOYAGE OF GLACIER CRUISE
20. Clear or free of something (with “of ”) June 1-8, 2009. Aboard the Coral Princess. Cruise only fares.
21. Fairchild’s players 11. Purported author of “Don’t count your
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24. Tide type 13.
15.
A doctor prescribes this
Media room device, briefly
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26. 1950 Oscar winning role for Jose’ Ferrer
27. Woodwind 19. VanBuren and Scorsese * Air fare/taxes/insurance/fuel surcharge add’l – applies to all cruises listed.
30. Sophia Loren’s hubby, Carlo ___ 22. Denver mayor Hickenlooper opened this Princess Ship’s Registries — Bermuda & Gibraltar
31. Empire State Building climber, in film microbrewery, Denver’s first, in 1988: ___
Brewery All rates are per person based on double occupancy and may change without notice.
33. Its capital is Vienna (abbr.) Fares are cruise only unless listed as all inclusive. Fuel surcharge additional.
34. Buffalos’ coach or quarterback 23. ___ Mother Cabrini was the first American
35. Meaning, often, of a “thumbs up” motion one
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45. Holliday or Hawpe state (abbr.) tion of over 20,000 keys
47. Heavenly music maker 38. Religious chess piece?
49. Former Bronco kicker and Family 39. Clint of the Rockies
51. Where a cruise ship might be when not in 40. Founder of The Rocky Mountain News
port and namesake for an Arapahoe County
town
53.
54.
Colorado’s governor before Owens
Greeting in the ‘hood 41.
43.
44.
Bailey of the Broncos
Ault neighbor
Mr. Arafat
TIRED OF BEING RETIRED?
ANSWERS 46.
48.
50.
Russian acronym, once
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Mauna ___ is an active volcano on Hawaii
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8 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice
Massacre at Early Fort Near Greeley
(Editor’s Note: Greeley historian
Hazel E. Johnson wrote the
following story years ago.)
By Hazel Johnson
A Fort Saint Vrain marker can
be found about four miles
west of Gilcrest (south of
Greeley), where the fort was estab-
lished as a fur trading post in 1837
by Ceran St. Vrain.
Many years ago, pioneer
Marshall Cook wrote a manuscript
about an incident at the fort.
According to him, an old Indian
used to make an annual visit to the
fort.
“He would paint his face black,
sit on the old adobe walls, and
mourn and cry in a deplorable
manner,” wrote Cook. “At times
he would tear his clothing to
pieces and rave like a maniac.
“At other times, he would sway
his body from side to side and
howl like a wolf in agonizing
An Indian family on the plains of Colorado in the 1800s. Photo Hazel E. Johnson Collection.
lamentations. Eventually I learned
from him the cause of his sorrow.
“When Ceran St. Vrain would
go to St. Louis to sell buffalo
robes, he would leave his squaw
and child at the fort. Once some
Arapahos assembled near the fort
and discovered them.
“The Arapahos considered
them members of an enemy tribe,
and they killed the squaw and
child.
“St. Vrain returned and sized up
the situation. He kept a plan secret
and invited all his Arapaho
customers to a feast.
“He had cannons mounted in
the fort, plus 75 armed men. As the
Indians ate, the gates of the fort
were closed, and the tables were
placed in a line of fire.
“So sudden was the surprise
that very few Indians escaped the
massacre. Among those who did
was the old Indian, but his entire
family was killed.
“St. Vrain cast the bodies into a
well until it was full, and piled the
rest in a corral. He and the men
gathered up the livestock and
vacated the fort, wasting no time
heading for Bent’s Fort far to the
south.
“Other warriors later attacked
the fort to take revenge, only to
find the place abandoned. This
explained the old Indian’s
pilgrimage to the fort,” wrote
Cook.
No one knows if that story is
true, but strange things happened
on the frontier. I
 The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 9

Local Events and Exhibits

Greeley Model Railroad Museum
One of the world’s largest working,
model railroad displays, recently
completed, has drawn visitors from 11
foreign countries and 38 states. It has
over 5,000 feet of HO gauge tracks,
1,100 railroad artifacts, hundreds of
buildings, and more. Fully functional,
located at 680 10th Street, phone 392-
2934, www.gfsm.org.
Red Feather Lakes Library
Writing workshop by local writer
Kerrie Flanagan, November 1.
Travelogue “Song of Ireland” by Bette
Sailors, November 13. Holidays craft
workshop by Debbie Joncas, November
15. Class on making greeting cards on a
computer, by Sarah Myers, November
19. Holiday craft table and Santa visit for
children, December 6. Call 881-2664.
A Christmas Boutique with Santa
visit, quilt raffle, silent auction, crafts
and lunch at the Johnstown Town
Hall. A Christmas crafts fair and bake
sale at Faith Lutheran Church. Call
587-5251.
Fort Lupton Museum
Exhibit of buffalo soldiers’ uniforms
and equipment from the 1800s,
November and December, 453 Denver
Avenue, Fort Lupton, 303-857-1634.
Wyoming Historical Calendar
The Wyoming Historical Society’s
calendar for 2009 is available by calling
307-322-4237 or emailing linda@
dancewyoming.com. This year ’s
calendar depicts historical photos and
information about the state’s boom-and-
bust cycles.

Loveland Christmas Concert Cheyenne Concert

The GunnPoint Band will perform
Christmas music December 2, 7:30 pm,
at the Rialto Theater in Loveland. The
group has performed with Wynonna,
Diamond Rio and other famous people
as well as at the Ryman Auditorium in
Nashville. Call 420-8237.
Johnstown Senior Center
Two events December 6 at 9 am:
Canadian Brass star trumpet player
Brandon Ridenour will perform
November 15, 7:30 pm, at Cheyenne’s
East High School Auditorium. A
Juilliard graduate, he will perform with
his father, Rich Ridenour. The two also
use comedy. Brandon won the
International Trumpet Guild competition
in 2006 and has performed with famous
orchestras. Call 307-634-8606. I

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10 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice
See Your Best...
MEDICAL
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Jennifer Cecil, MD, LLC
669-8998
2902 Ginnala Drive
Loveland, CO
Across from the Post Office

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Think it’s expensive
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Come see us today to learn about
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gas, wood and pellet stoves,
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6617 College Ave. • Fort Collins • Just South of Trilby
970-226-4090
Medicare Plan Changes
L ow-income Medicare partici-
pants will have fewer Part D
drug plans to choose from in 2009,
according to researchers at Avalere
Health.
Participants in Nevada will have
only one private Part D plan avail-
able. Those in Arizona will have
two. Five plans will be available in
Florida, Hawaii, New Hampshire
and Maine.
Approximately 1.3 million low-
income Medicare participants will
have to find a new Part D plan in
ROUTINE EXAMS
CONTACT LENS
2009 because numerous insurance
companies chose not to offer the low
deductibles and low monthly
premiums the government requires
of plans for low-income people.
Humana will not offer any plans
for those people in 2009. Cigna will
offer such plans in only 14 states; it
offered plans in 29 states in 2008.
But UnitedHealth Group will
Jennifer Cecil, MD increase the number of states in
Board Certified
Ophthalmologist which it offers such plans, from 30
in 2008 to 42 in 2009.
Federal Medicare officials said
Margaret Rado, OD
Contact Lens 97 percent of all Part D participants
Specialist (not just low-income) will have
Change in Medicare Payments
A new Medicare rule recently
went into effect that will deny
payment to hospitals for what
Medicare terms “reasonably
preventable” medical errors.
Medicare will no longer pay
hospitals to treat patient falls,
urinary tract infections caused by
improper use of catheters, pressure
ulcers, blood incompatibility, objects
left in the body during surgery, and
several other things.
Medicare officials say hospitals
will not be allowed to charge patients
$500 FREE gas
Social Security Increase
rebate card with
stove/fireplace
S ocial Security benefits will
increase 5.8 percent for 2009,
according to government officials.
purchase The increase also applies to people
receiving SSI (Supplemental
WITH THIS AD Security Income).
SV1108 This is the largest increase since
1982. It is more than double the 2.3
percent increase of last year.
The average retiree will receive
$63 more per month in Social
Security than last year—$1,153
instead of $1,090. The average
couple will receive $103 more per
access to drug plans that cost the
same as or less than they paid in
2008. But Sen. Henry Waxman (D-
Calif.) believes that information is
incorrect.
Waxman said his staff
researchers found that 92 percent of
Part D participants will pay higher
premiums in 2009 if they stay with
the same drug plan they had in
2008.
Average premiums in 2009 will
be 22 percent higher than 2008, he
said. Part D premiums have
increased nearly 50 percent since
the drug program began. That’s
considerably more than the rate of
inflation, and such increases make it
difficult for fixed-income retirees to
pay for medicines they need, said
Waxman.
Medicare officials insist that
people can find lower premiums if
they shop around among insurance
companies participating in Part D.
But critics like Waxman point out
that many retirees do not have
access to computers and information
needed to compare the many plans
available in some states. I
for such things either. The change is
expected to save Medicare about $21
million a year, not a large amount in
Medicare’s total expenditures of
$110 billion a year. But officials say
the change sends a message to
hospitals and other providers that
some common, easily preventable
errors will not be tolerated.
American Hospital Association
officials say some of the things are
unfair, such as falls caused by a
patient getting out of bed when told
not to. I
month.
The average SSI payment for
one person will be $674 per month
instead of $637, said officials. The
average SSI payment for a couple
will be $1,011 per month instead of
$956. For a disabled worker, the
average monthly payment will be
$1,064 instead of $1,006.
More than 55 million
Americans receive Social Security
payments. The annual increase is
determined by how much the
Consumer Price Index rises. I

Horsetooth Lake
By
Arlene
Ahlbrandt
Horsetooth in 2000 when drained. Photo by Harry Ahlbrandt.
H orsetooth Reservoir west of Fort
Collins has provided water for
northern Colorado for almost 60
years. Engineers diverted water from
Colorado’s west slope through a
tunnel beneath the Continental Divide
to several lakes on the east slope.
Horsetooth is 6.5 miles long,
with an original depth of 188 feet
that has been deepened. The shore-
line is 25 miles.
The dams holding back the
reservoir’s water are named Spring
Creek, Dixon, Soldier Canyon, and
the northernmost dam Horsetooth.
In 1998 the water was lowered to
begin a project to modernize the
dams. The northern dam was
leaking 200 gallons per minute.
Congress appropriated over $110
million for the project. Some sink
Tell ADVERTISERS
You saw them in
The Senior Voice.
THEY MAKE IT HAPPEN.
The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 11
Locally Owned and Family Operated
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November 20th, 2008, 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
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8426 S. Hwy 287 • Fort Collins
holes were found that suggested
water was flowing in limestone
under the north dam.
970-667-0202
The water level was drained to
1.2 percent of capacity, and the
bottom revealed many objects and
artifacts. Remnants and old building
foundations were exposed. Even an
old car body, which was a mystery,
was discovered at the bottom.
Volunteers cleaned out trash and
animal bones.
In 1820 explorer Stephen Long
(for whom Longs Peak was named)
said, “Water is essential because you
must remember this is an arid land.”
Years later in 1985, former
Colorado Governor Dick Lamb said,
“Without dams, without reservoirs
and without the ability to store
water, Colorado cannot survive.” I Our professional staff is ready to -
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12 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice
Treatment for Keratoconus

“Dr. Colvin will forever

Conflicts of Interest
By Bill Lambdin lose millions of dollars in research
be my eye doctor. His funds if that happened.

dedication allows me
to have excellent and
F inancial ties of university
researchers to drug companies have
prompted criticism from people like Dr.
Catherine DeAngelis, editor of the
comfortable vision while Journal of the American Medical
Association.
I work and play.” She recently said, “The influence
that the pharmaceutical companies, the
— Joan Creed, Loveland for-profits, are having on every aspect
of medicine...is so blatant now you’d
have to be deaf, blind and dumb not to
see it.”
Jerome Kassirer, former editor of
the New England Journal of Medicine,
said “Universities have been treading
on dangerous ground with their increas-
ingly complex financial ties to
industry.”
Recent media attention is apparently
prompting some universities to reveal
financial ties that have been hidden for
years. “They are worried that these
things could ultimately affect their tax-
free status,” said Kassirer.

Joan Creed is a busy working mom, who loves

watching her children participate in football, volleyball
and basketball.
Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa)
has asked major universities like
Harvard and Stanford to reveal their
Some local doctors are beginning to
refuse even small gifts from drug
companies. But it is unlikely that major
When Joan went back to work, she needed a better contact financial ties to drug companies that research centers at universities will
prescription for close-up work on the computer. She came could prompt conflicts of interest. completely cut financial ties.
to Dr. Colvin and asked for his help. Keratoconus, a Recent reports have shown that “Industries’ dealings remain fraught
thinning of the cornea, keeps Joan from good vision with some academic researchers accept with potential conflict because the
John D. Kirk, MD, FACS glasses and makes contact fitting difficult.
& John W. Colvin, OD money from drug companies to publish sectors depend on each other so
“He took the time to fit my contacts more comfortably bogus articles in medical journals much—medicine on drug makers’
and made sure that my vision was the very best it recommending drugs. This misleads research dollars and drug makers on the
could be. My specialized soft contacts are expensive consumers and health practitioners— credibility researchers give them,” said
and he worked with my prescription for the best fit and amounts to bribes. Associated Press researchers.
and vision possible.” Grassley has asked the govern- People like Sen. Grassley don’t
3650 East 15th Street
Loveland, Colorado If you’d like to see your future more clearly choose Kirk Eye ment’s National Institutes of Health to want to cut off all funding for research,
669-1107 Center as your eye care provider. You’ll be glad you did. withhold grants from universities that but they do want honesty from profes-
refuse to disclose such financial ties. sors and others who receive such
w w w. K i r k E y e C e n t e r. c o m Some university medical schools could funding. So does the public. I

I am now carrying Medicare

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Humana®. Call me today to
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about what’s right for you.
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13 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice
Laughter Is the
Best Medicine
E xplanation of the recent govern-
ment bailout on Wall Street:
Once upon a time in a village, a
man appeared and announced that he
would buy monkeys for $5 each.
The villagers, seeing that there
were many monkeys around, went to
the forest and started catching
monkeys.
The man bought thousands at $5.
As the supply of monkeys started to
diminish, the villagers stopped their
effort. The man announced that he
would now buy monkeys for $10.
This renewed the efforts of the
villagers until the supply diminished,
and the people stopped collecting
monkeys.
The man increased his offer to
$50, and the supply of monkeys
decreased so much that it was difficult
to find them. But a few were sold.
Then the man went to the city on
other business and told the villagers
his assistant would now buy on his
behalf.
The assistant told the villagers,
“Look at all these monkeys the man
has collected. I will sell them to you
at $35 each, and when the man
returns from the city, you can sell
them to him for $50.”
The villagers gathered all of their
savings and bought the monkeys. But
they never saw the man or his assis-
tant again.
A little boy asked his father, “How
did humans get started?”
His father said, “God made Adam
and Eve. They had children, and all
other humans came from them.”
Later the child asked his mother
the same question and she said,
“Millions of years ago, monkeys
evolved from earlier forms of life;
and humans evolved from the
monkeys.”
The boy found his dad and said,
“You said humans were created by
God, but Mommy said they came
from monkeys. Which was it?”
His dad said, “I told you about
my side of the family. Your mother
was talking about hers.”
Bubba walked into a doctor’s
office, and the receptionist asked,
“What do you have?”
MORRISON’S By
Gaylord
MEDITATIONS Morrison
• Highway I-25 through Denver is a psycho-path.
“Shingles,” he said.
She gave him several forms to fill
out, and he sat waiting. • Cultivate good behavior. The bad kind grows wild.
A half hour later, a nurse came out
and said, “What do you have?”
“Shingles.” • Made any trips lately, such as meeting someone half
She took his blood pressure,
weighed him, gave him a blood test way? I
and told him to go into the exam room
and take off his clothes. COMPASSION & EXPERIENCE
He sat there for nearly an hour WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST
before the doctor came in and said,
“What do you have?”
“Shingles.” • Home Health Aid/Nursing
“Where?” asked the doctor. Assistant Care
“On my truck outside. Where do • Skilled Nursing Care
you want them?”
• Physical & Occupational Therapy
• Hospice-Trained Caregivers
The redneck governor’s mansion
burned down when a fire destroyed • Visits, 24-hour, and Live-In Care
the entire trailer park. The library was
CALL (970) 232-3329 TODAY!
a total loss; both books went up in
flames, and the governor hadn’t SERVING WELD AND LARIMER
COUNTIES & SURROUNDING AREAS
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Available at these local bookstores:
•Alpine Arts
112 North College Ave.,
•The Book Rack of Fort Collins
1801 South College Ave.,
•CSU Bookstore
Lory Student Center,
•Fort Collins Museum
200 Mathews St.,
•JAX Outdoor Gear
1200 North College Ave.
•or call: (970) 484-7137
info@hlchospice.org Patterson House
970.663.3500 | 305 Carpenter Rd.
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Book Publishing
121 North Grant Ave. • Fort Collins, CO 80521

Pioneers in the Fort Collins Area
By Bill Lambdin
“B azille Provost was the fourth
child of nine children born to
John Baptiste Provost and his Oglala
Sioux (or Cheyenne) wife, White
Owl...
“He was born on February 17,
1862, four years after his parents
settled along the Cache la Poudre
River. He lived only one summer and
died when he was nine months old...
“Bazille Provost had the distinc-
tion of having the oldest known
gravestone in Larimer County.”
That’s how Rose Brinks began the
story of northern Colorado settler
John Provost in her book “History of
the Bingham Hill Cemetery.”
The book tells many interesting
stories about some of northern
Colorado’s earliest settlers. “It is not a
morbid necrology but a celebration of
ordinary lives,” said Brinks.
It is a book about pioneers, not
just a cemetery; and it contains excel-
lent research.
Since Brinks’ first book on the
subject was published in 1988, more
SHOP WEDNESDAYS, WHEN THE
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PREVIOUS WEEK’S AD OVERLAP.
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Phone 282-8003
than 10,000 people have visited
Bingham Hill Cemetery north of Fort
Collins, and some have been able to
trace their ancestors back to the early
1800s, thanks to Brinks’ research.
To reach Bingham Hill from the
village of LaPorte (north of Fort
Collins), go south on Overland Trail
from Highway 287 for six-tenths of a
mile to County Road 50E. Turn west
and drive about one-tenth of a mile.
Park on the side of the road when you
see a small sign and old grave stones
off to the right. There is no parking lot.
Walk through a small metal gate
with a wooden sign that says
Bingham Hill Cemetery. Follow a
path along an irrigation ditch for
about 100 yards to the east edge of the
cemetery.
Brinks’ house was built immedi-
ately east of the cemetery. That’s why
she became interested in it.
Her story about John Provost,
founder of the cemetery, is especially
interesting. She said he was born in
Canada in 1822 and came to Colorado
with a small group of French-
Canadian fur trappers around 1858.
Another Healthcare Scam
S ome hospitals and other healthcare
providers ask millions of patients
across America to pay more than they
should through a practice called
“balance billing”—charging the
patient for the balance their insurance
company does not pay.
The practice is illegal in most
states, but providers get by with it
because patients are often confused by
bills, few contest them, and states are
slow to take any action.
Providers use the practice when
HMOs and other insurers are slow to
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The group founded the little settle-
ment of LaPorte, and Provost took an
Indian wife called White Owl.
When their infant son, Bazille,
died in 1862, they buried him in a
pasture where they could see his grave
from their house. That was how the
cemetery began.
Later in 1865, their 10-year-old
daughter was also buried there, in
Indian style with all her possessions
placed in the grave.
One of their sons, Charles, fought
in the Battle of Wounded Knee and
later rode for several years with
Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West show.
Of the other Provost children,
Brinks wrote:
“Two committed murder, two
committed suicide, one died in jail,
four sons led fairly normal lives for
half-breeds...”
John Provost was called “one of
the old French trappers” by early
newspapers, and some reports referred
to him as the “founder of LaPorte.”
He was the only trapper who did
not leave LaPorte when sentiment
turned against the Indians and “squaw
pay or pay lower amounts than
providers want. Providers simply bill
patients for the difference even though
patients are supposed to pay only their
deductibles and co-payments.
Some consumer advocates esti-
mate that patients pay over a billion
dollars annually for such illegal
billings, according to a report
published in Business Week maga-
zine.
Researchers emphasized that not
all hospitals and other healthcare
providers use balance billing. I
The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 14
John Baptiste Provost. Photo
from Rose Brinks’ book.
men” after the Custer massacre in
1876. The other trappers felt pressured
either to leave their Indian wives or
accompany them to reservations.
Brinks said, “This 1878 exodus
explains why there are no continuous
French-Canadian-Indian families
living in the area today. Their only
reminders are the French names of
our town (LaPorte) and our river
(Cache la Poudre).”
Provost’s wife went to a reserva-
tion with most of their children, but he
stayed in LaPorte and owned a
popular road house and saloon for
many years. That old log building,
with dirt floors, stood for 50 years and
was known as the oldest building in
LaPorte when it burned down in 1928.
John Provost became well known
as the last remaining old trapper here.
An 1880 newspaper said, “Mr.
Provost is known from one end of
Colorado to the other as a genial,
warm-hearted gentleman, and all
persons favoring (his road house)
with their patronage may expect right
royal treatment.”
When he died in 1904 at age 81,
Provost’s obituary referred to him as
“the first permanent white settler in
Larimer County...He was one of the
landmarks of this county...The old
pioneers feel his passing with special
regret.”
Provost’s story was just one of
many that Brinks told in her book,
which is available at the Fort Collins
Museum gift shop, Vern’s Cafe,
Overland Foods in Laporte, or by
calling 970-221-4261. I
15 • November 2008 • The Senior Voice
Aspirin and Heart Attacks
A spirin does not reduce the risk of
an initial heart attack or stroke in
people who have no heart problems,
according to a report in the journal
BMJ.
It also does not reduce the risk of
an initial attack in people with
diabetes or peripheral arterial disease
(partial blockage of leg arteries).
But aspirin does reduce the risk of
a second heart attack in people who
have already had an attack.
“It works if you’ve already had a
Improving Brain Function
R egular exercise can actually
reverse brain decline in mature
people, according to research reported
in the British Journal of Sports
Medicine.
That’s especially true if the exer-
cise involves aerobic activity that
makes you somewhat breathless. This
increases the speed and sharpness of
thought. It also increases the volume
of brain tissue and the way in which
the brain functions.
Researchers found that six months
of aerobic exercise reversed what they
called “age-related decline” in brain
Only
10
ain!87
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heart attack, but there is no proof for
primary prevention,” said Dr. Jill
Belch, one of the researchers at the
University of Dundee in Scotland.
She and others said their conclu-
sions were supported by six other
studies, and the researchers said the
American Heart Association and
U.S. government should stop
recommending low-dose aspirin for
people who have not yet had a heart
attack or do not have any heart
problems. I
activity. The brains developed the
ability to grow again, and thinking
became sharper.
Such exercise also improves the
brain function of women going
through menopause, regardless of
whether or not they have hormone
replacement therapy.
The research was conducted prima-
rily by University of Illinois professor
Art Kramer. He concluded that
moderate aerobic exercise can
“improve cognitive and brain function,
and reverse the neural decay frequently
observed in older adults.” I
Homes from 1171 sq. ft. to 1586 sq. ft.
Retirement Question
By Scott Burns
Financial Writer
Q: I am 56. I retired after 30 years
of teaching at the age of 52. I plan
to take Social Security at age 62.
My understanding is that for the 10
years I will have been retired and
have not contributed to Social
Security, the benefit I will get will
be decreased a small percent each
of those 10 years.
A friend told me that something
has changed and that my amount
will be based on the average of my
30 years of salaries and not my last
five highest years. And there will be
no yearly decrease for each of
those 10 years I have not been
working. Is this correct?
A: Your Social Security benefit
is based on your earnings record up
to a maximum of 35 years. If you
work more than 35 years, the calcu-
lation is based on the highest 35
years of earnings. If you work less
than 35 years, the no-earnings years
will count as zero and will lower
your average and, hence, your
benefit.
If you visit the Social Security
Web site, you will find that it offers
three calculators to help you figure
out what your benefit is likely to
be. The link you want to use is
www.ssa.gov/planners/calculators.
htm; and the calculator you should
use is No. 2, the Online Calculator.
It will ask you to select when
you want to start benefits and to
enter your earnings record. Then it
will estimate your future benefit.
You’ll find your complete earnings
history on the annual statement you
receive in the mail each year from
Social Security.
Given the importance of Social
Security for all but the wealthiest
people, I think one of the best
“investments” we can make is to
take the time to become familiar
with this very useful and well-
managed Web site, www.ssa.gov.
I
 The Senior Voice • November 2008 • 16

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