Glad to see proposal for dementia plan

BOUQUETS>> To state Sens. Steve Wilson, R-Maineville, and Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, who announced steps toward creating a state plan for Alzheimer’s and other dementias this week. The bill calls for developing a task force to begin the planning process.

Such a plan could help the 220,000 Ohioans like Tom Tucker who currently live with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and the estimated two or three caretakers like Janis Baylog-Tucker they each have.

The Eastlake couple are working to cope with the challenges brought on by dementia.

“I went to a number of Alzheimer’s (Association) caretaker meetings, which they put on, thank God, because that is very helpful in learning how to deal with this,” she said. “This is a very hard caretaking type of situation and it goes to not only your personality with each other, but your intimacy and how you’re able to keep yourself as a caretaker healthy enough to deal with this because it’s very, very trying.”

According to data from the 2016 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 16 percent of Ohio’s Alzheimer’s caregivers report frequent poor physical health. Nearly 11 percent report frequent poor mental health and almost 14 percent have a history of depression.

Ohio’s population is getting older, Yuko said in a statement, but the state is “not prepared to support people with Alzheimer’s, their caregivers and their family.”

“Unless we improve services for them, this public health crisis could be devastating to our communities and public support systems. An Alzheimer’s state plan will help us improve the lives of the nearly one million Ohioans who are directly affected by this disease.”

Wilson originally introduced the legislation in December, the very tail end of the legislative session.

“Remarkably, Ohio is the only state in the nation that has not established a process for creating an official, comprehensive plan to confront this growing public health crisis,” Wilson said in a statement in December. “I find that embarrassing and unacceptable.” We concur and look forward to following this process.

BOUQUETS>> To the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency for hosting a series of meetings to give community members the chance to weigh in on the new Lake County Bike Maps.

The meetings have taken place in Mentor, Painesville and most recently Willowick.

Input on the bike friendliness of the roads, destinations riders want to see included and other safety tips and resources, are among the issues being discussed, according to Andrew Stahlke, transportation planner for NOACA

The maps currently include destinations such as libraries, parks, campgrounds and bike shops. Many people have mentioned that public restrooms and sources of water for drinking should be included.

Participants also were asked to rate roads based on whether they would bike on them or not and to point out any hazards such as blind corners, a lot of truck traffic, or frequent speeding.

We applaud NOACA for taking the time to actually talk to the folks who are out there on the bike routes and get their input.

BRICKBATS>> To Ronnell Smith, the 25-year-old Cleveland man who was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison for selling a fatal dose of heroin and fentanyl to a Chardon Township man.

Smith pleaded guilty to third-degree felony reckless homicide, stemming from the Nov. 26, 2016, death of Brandon Sherman, who was found dead in a Kirtland Road home.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled the cause of death was acute intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and heroin.

Geauga County Public Defender Bob Umholtz argued to Common Pleas Judge David M. Ondrey that the maximum sentence of three years sought by prosecutors was not warranted in Smith’s case.

“...Ronnell did not expect to cause physical harm to any person although the decedent did ingest the drugs that subsequently caused his death,” Umholtz wrote in a sentencing brief filed with the court.

We can’t imagine what he expected would happen when he sold such deadly drugs, but he’ll have a long time to think about it.

“... this public health crisis could be devastating to our communities ...” State Sen. Kenny Yuko