By LaBetha Casey
The quarterly Senior Fun Day sponsored by the DeSoto Parish Council on Aging and the DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office was back in full swing Wednesday, January 25, after being restricted from activities for the past couple of years. The event was held at the DPSO Training Facility near Grand Cane. There were about 80 in attendance besides vendors and sponsors. This number was down from the usual number of just more than a hundred who attended the fun days in the past.
Among the speakers was Tiffany Lafall with DPCOA who gave information about influenza, RSV, and COVID. Then Laura Gauthier, LPC, who is the program director for Alzheimer’s & Dementia Resource Center with The Bridge in Shreveport, shared information about their organization. There are about 6 million persons in the United States who are affected with memory issues, and 85,000 live within 75 miles of Shreveport. Because of donations and grants, they are able to provide free services for not only the patients but for the caregivers. Included among the services offered by The Bridge are memory screening, counseling, workshops for caregivers and activities for the patients. At present there are ten caregiver support groups and hopefully twice that many groups will be available by the end of the year. Their office serves persons in several parishes in the Shreveport area.
Brian Williams, who is the training officer for DeSoto Parish Fire District #8, stated that their fire district responded to about 1700 calls in 2022. The other fire districts in the parish have also had an increase in calls. Among the calls were fires related to citizens using their stove for keeping warm during cold weather. Open flames that could catch other items on fire, and carbon monoxide poisoning are among risks. Free smoke alarms are available through state funds to those who can’t afford them. Whether one buys their own smoke detectors or acquires them from the fire department, the fire department personnel are available to properly install them in homes. Other warnings given were against plugging heavy duty appliances and even electric heaters into power strips which could overheat and catch fire. Also, charging cell phones while in bed could cause an explosive fire if the lithium battery were to overheat and explode.
DPSO Public Relations Deputy, Mark Pierce, explained the phone app available with the sheriff’s office and offered to help the seniors download this app onto their phones. The app offers information such as severe weather alerts, road closures from accidents or storms, and alerts for missing children among other helpful information related to the sheriff’s office.
Matthew McKee, who is a representative from Congressman Mike Johnson’s office, advised the fun day attendees that they could contact the congressman’s office for help in resolving issues with federal government agencies.
Richard Fuller gave an inspirational message and a lively presentation using puppets with some songs.
Scattered through the morning, door prizes were awarded, and prizes were given for the winners of bingo and other games. Handouts and other freebies were made available by the vendors in attendance.
At the end of the activities, a tasty lunch was provided by DPSO. Roast beef, chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, macaroni and cheese, various desserts, tea and lemonade were on the menu.
Photo credit DeSoto Sheriffs social media