Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/103721
The Best Gift of All: A Free College Education by MARY SCHMID who, like the rest of us, aren't sure yet what they want to be when they It's official: the holidays are over. You have run yourself ragged trying grow up. to find just the right gift for everyone you know, spending next month's Now, as parents, you are probably jumping for joy at the thought of paycheck and tightening your grocery budget. Wouldn't it be nice to be giving your kids a head start on their post-graduation plans; the sooner able to give something to your kids that wouldn't cost you any money? they have job training for the "real world," the less likely they are to live Instead of getting them the latest gadget, which will undoubtedly be on your couch forever. Past CTE students who have completed certificate outdated within six months, wouldn't you like to do something that might programs via HSC have been able to find work after their high-school positively affect the rest of their lives? graduation, either full-time or part-time as Fayetteville Technical Community College has they pursue further education. Students who the solution for you, and we feel that it is one of take college transfer courses can complete Fayetteville's best kept secrets. as many as 34 credits by the time they For years now, local high school students have graduate from high school, which can take a been invited to take classes at FTCC through the healthy bite out of that four-year degree cost. High School Connections program. This exciting Financially, our smartest students are those opportunity provides students with both high who begin their college education with HSC, school and college credit tuition — free. According then enroll in FTCC to complete an associate's to money.cnn.com, the average cost of public degree, and then transfer on to a four-year university tuition for the 2012-2013 school year is university if needed. about $8,655. Add to that the expense of books, Hopefully by now, you are wondering how to housing, fees, food and your child's version of get your child involved in our program. In that "spending money," and you've probably got some case, we encourage you to speak first with your heavy financing to do. When it comes to total cost student's high school counselor; each Cumberland of attendance, College Board gives a "moderate" County high school has a designated HSC contact budget estimate of $22,261 at a public institution to help you get started. FTCC will also host an and $43,289 at a private one. open house for HSC on Feb. 12, from 5:30 to The HSC program can help alleviate these 7:30 p.m. for interested students and their parents. financial worries for many local families. Eligible The HSC program can help alleviate these financial For more information about requirements, a junior and senior high school students can worries for many local families. list of available programs, and how participate in a variety of programs, and although to contact us, visit our website at they will incur textbook and fee costs, the tuition www.faytechcc.edu/highschool_connections/default.asp. itself is paid in full through the state's Career and College Promise They say the best gifts in life are initiative. Sample career and technical education programs include DemiMARY SCHMID, Contributing free; why not let your gift be your Chef, Plumbing, Graphic Design, Nursing, Medical Coding and many Writer, COMMENTS? Editor@ child's college education? more. FTCC even offers general college transfer classes for those students upandcomingweekly.com. SENIOR CORNER If Your Senior Won't Let Go by MARTHA OWEN AND SUSAN GUY 5. Consider The Control Issue. Getting rid of stuff is actually a two-step process: sorting and deciding, on the one Clutter is all about control, but so is being the one to decide where stuff hand, and disposing on the other. That's according to University of Kansas Professor goes. Remind your loved ones if they don't decide where something will go, Dr. David Ekerdt, who is coordinating a "household moves" project to determine the someone else will. role that possessions play in older people's housing decisions. But convincing seniors For more information, contact the National Study Group on Chronic to start that process can be a challenge. Disorganization (NSGCD) at www.nsgcd.org or visit www. Following are strategies if your loved one doesn't want to let homeinstead.com. For tips on talking to a loved one about go from Katherine "Kit" Anderson, CPO-CD, president of the sensitive subjects, go to www.4070talk.com. National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, and Vickie If you notice these characteristics about your senior loved Dellaquila, certified professional organizer and author of Don't ones or their homes, clutter could start creeping up on them. Toss My Memories in the Trash. 1. Piles of mail and unpaid bills. 1. Arrange And Cheer Small Victories. 2. Difficulty walking safely through a home. Suppose you spend a short time helping your loved one clear 3. Frustration trying to organize. off a table. Celebrate the accomplishment together. 4. Difficulty managing activities of daily living. 2. Conduct An "Experiment." 5. Expired food in the refrigerator. If your loved one has 150 empty margarine tub containers, 6. Jammed closets and drawers. suggest donating 15 of those to a school for a painting project. 7. Compulsive shopping. Allow some time to go by and ask how she felt giving those up. 8. Difficulty deciding whether to discard items. Cluttered drawers are a sign that Chances are she won't feel as awful as suspected. 9. A health episode such as a stroke or dementia. 3. Gently Approach The Idea Of Health And Safety. your senior might need help. 10. Loneliness. Remind your loved ones that too much clutter can actually When family members are not able to keep them from being safe in their homes, which could jeopardize their ability to stay at home. They could trip over papers on the floor or lose assist with decluttering activities, consider hiring professional caregivers who can take on the sorting projects slowly and bills and medications. methodically. For more information, call 910-484-7200 or 4. Draft An Agreement. visit www.homeinstead. Agree to box up unused clothing or tools. Carefully list what's in the box and track MARTHA OWEN & SUSAN GUY, Owners com/647. that for six months. If your loved one does not use the items in that time, suggest they of Home Instead Senior Care, Editor@ donate them to a charity. upandcomingweekly.com. WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM JANUARY 16-22, 2013 UCW 9