Members Only

To better serve its clients, Neighbor Ride is pleased to announce the start of Saturday office hours.  Beginning March 6th, Neighbor Ride's office will be open from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturdays, in addition to weekdays from 9 am to 2 pm, for requesting and scheduling rides.
 
Neighbor Ride is a volunteer-based nonprofit committed to helping Howard County seniors maintain their independence by providing friendly and reliable transportation for medical appointments, social outings, religious services, volunteer activities, shopping and other personal needs.

Neighbor Ride’s service is easy to use.  Howard County residents, age 60 and over, may register as passengers by calling the Neighbor Ride office at (410) 884-7433 to request a Registration Package or by visiting our website, www.neighborride.org, clicking on the Transportation tab, and then selecting “New Passenger Registration” from the left-hand menu. Once registered, passengers may request up to 12 rides a month by calling Neighbor Ride; or by using the online Transportation Request form.  At least three days advance notice is required when requesting rides in order to allow time for matching rides with Volunteer Drivers.

Contact Colleen Dumais Konstanzer at (410)884-7433 or community@neighborride.org  for more information.

Anne Arundel Community college will be offering a four course Beginning level sequence in nine languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian,  and Spanish starting this fall.  We will be adding a four course Intermediate level sequence in the same languages starting in Fall, 2010.   The attached link provides more information about the new program:

http://www.aacc.edu/worldlanguage/pathways.cfm
 
All of the courses are offered in the evenings from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m. on either Monday – Wednesday or Tuesday – Thursday.     Courses in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese and Russian are offered in 40 hour blocks of instruction (5 hours per week for 8 weeks).   Courses in French, Spanish, German, Italian and Portuguese are offered in 30 hour blocks of instruction (5 hours per week for six weeks).  Students successfully completing all four courses at Beginning or Intermediate levels will receive a Continuing Education and Workforce Development certificate in that language, as well as Continuing Education Units (CEU’s).
 
The courses are designed so that students completing all four courses at Beginning level should be able to demonstrate proficiency at the A2 level in the Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) – see attached.  Students completing all four courses at Intermediate level should be able to demonstrate proficiency at the B1 level in the CEFR.

 The 30 hour courses are $200 each (including a $5 in county registration fee).   Out of county students will pay an additional $5 per course for out of county registration. The 40 hour courses are $275 each (including a $5 in county registration fee).  There are special rates for Seniors, which are outlined in the non-Credit Fall 2009 schedule of classes.

The following information is believed to be accurate based on information provided by the agency. However, all questions regarding these new benefits should be directed to OPM.

The new Federal Employees Dental and Vision Insurance Program (FEDVIP) will be available to eligible Federal and Postal employees, retirees, and their eligible family members on an enrollee-pay-all basis. This new Program allows dental and vision insurance to be purchased on a group basis which means competitive premiums and no pre-existing condition limitations. Premiums for retirees will be withheld from your annuity. Enrollment will take place during the upcoming FEHB open season Monday, November 13 through Monday, December 11, 2006. Coverage will be effective December 31, 2006.

To assist you in comparing the different plans, the following directions for on-line assistance may be helpful:

1. Go to www.OPM.gov/insure

2. In the center column, FED VIP Open Season. Select Plan Comparison Tool. You will then be asked to select comparisons for Dental, Vision or Both.

3. Then enter your zip code and select "Search".
You may do a comparison of up to 4 plans. (It may be simpler if you do dental and vision comparisons separately.)
On this screen, you will also have the opportunity to go to the insurance company website for more information.

4. Select "Compare Selection Plans"

5. On the next screen Select "Monthly" and then "Next".

TO ENROLL IN THE DENTAL AND/OR VISION PLANS go back to the first screen, center column, and select ENROLL IN BENEFEDS and follow the sign-up instructions.

The Phoenix Staff

The Fall lineup has 6 shows: The Daily Apple, a one hour show that explores wellness; The Art of Living, a 30 minute show on people living extraordinary lives doing what they love; The Prudent Advisor, 30 minutes on financial issues; Healthline, insight and advise on medical issues; The Informed Citizen, issues that directly impact the 62-plus crowd; The Voice, an interview based talk show targeted to the mature adult. It's on from 1200 to 4:00 daily.

You need to register the first time you log on and you will be issued a one-time password. Then you can change it to a password of your choice.

After you register, you will receive detailed instructions about how to log in and navigate the Web site.

You will also receive a technical support telephone number if you have problems accessing your information.

Features the web site offers:

--You can view the status of your Medicare Part A and Part B claims

--You can order a duplicate Medicare Summary Notice if you need one

--You can order a replacement Medicare card

--You can look at Medicare enrollment information, including some limited details on your prescription drug plan for Medicare Part D