The Spark

Coming up on this week's edition of The Spark Weekly:

October 9 is commemorated as National Ageism Awareness Day. The National Center to Reframe Aging works to end ageism by advancing equitable and more complete story about aging in America according to the Executive Director, Trish D’Antonio.

The PA Council of Aging provides advice to the governor and department on suggestions on how to plan and provide service for older adults. Velma Carter-Dryer is a member of the PA Council of Aging. She also is a retired social worker.

Also on the program,

Adam Zurn has always had a passion for history. He is the founder of Uncharted Lancaster, a website that offers self-guided scavenger hunts.

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RSV is a common infectious respiratory virus that usually causes cold-like symptoms but can lead to serious illness or even death. Sue Peschin, CEO and President of the Alliance for Aging Research and Dr. Robert Hopkins, Jr., Medical Director for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases share information about the virus.

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Jaxon White of LNP | Lancaster Online, Jordan Wilke, WITF’s Democracy Reporter and Katelin Mentz, Program Manager for the civics education group Project Citizen discuss final report on the Franklin and Marshall College Deliberative Forum on Voting and Elections

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Asia Tabb interviews author Dr. Richard Smith, who tells us everything we need to know about coral reefs, sea creatures, and his new book "The World Beneath: The Life and Times of Unknown Sea Creatures and Coral Reefs"

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A new self-guided walking trail has opened at Gettysburg Historic Daniel Lady Farm. Chris Jones, Lady Farm Facilities Manager, and Lauren Wilmoth, Museum Curator says the trail has been in the works for years.

“When the idea was presented to Chris and I, we jumped at it because it gave us the opportunity to really do a lot of deep digging into what we knew about the farm, to get more information as far as the things that we didn't know to weed through the apocryphal versus the factual, “said Wilmoth.

The new trail has 14 markers with details of the property from the 1700’s when it was first settled.

“It covers about a quarter mile. And it can take somebody 30 to 60 minutes, depending on how in depth they want to read. There's also a a brochure that that Lauren and I made that you can get at the building by the front entrance. And that's kind of a walking trail companion. So that'll give you a little bit more information on each marker. So that tells you things like looking to your front in the field, you will see where and describing what happened around that specific spot, “said Jones.

The new walking trail adds a more informative experience at the Gettysburg Historic Daniel Lady Farm. Those looking to explore the trail can have the opportunity to visit on the weekends.

“Because we're not open during the week for the private tours, it gives any visitors and guests the opportunity to come anywhere between 10 and 5 any day and walk through the property to be able to see just how expansive the property is and to really be able to stand at these markers and notice the landmarks around them so they get a true feeling for what it was like, who was where at what time, and what the family went through, “said Jones.

The address to the Daniel Lady Farm is 1008 Hanover Rd, Gettysburg, PA.  The events at the Historic Daniel Lady Farm also includes house and barn tours, as well as enactments.

“I just hope it is a more in-depth understanding of what this family went through. And you have to remember, this is the tale of only one family that was affected by this enormous, basically catastrophe that happened all around their properties. You know, the town of Gettysburg had 2400 people at the time of the battle. That's the borough itself. That's not counting the hundreds of farms that surrounded that were used for hospitals. Whenever the armies left, they left behind, like 27,000 wounded men to be cared for by 2400 people. It's just an astronomical task. So for people to get a little more a little more acquainted with the family, you know, the Daniel Laney family is not a they're not somebody you read about in every history book. So this gives us an opportunity to introduce the family and talk about their struggle and what they endured and how they persevered through it, only the way that Americans can.”

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October 9 is commemorated as National Ageism Awareness Day. The National Center to Reframe Aging works to end ageism by advancing equitable and more complete story about aging in America according to the Executive Director, Trish D’Antonio.

“What's most important here is that we're raising awareness, because one of the things we've learned in our work, in our research, what we learn is that people aren't aware of ageism. It's one of those things that people just accept. And one of those things that it's not only how people we talk about how we define ageism, it's not only how people might interact with others, “said D’Antonio.

The PA Council of Aging provides advice to the governor and department on suggestions on how to plan and provide service for older adults. Velma Carter-Dryer is a member of the PA Council of Aging. She also is a retired social worker.

“There's always had always been a bias regarding older adults seeking help in a behavioral health field. Well, a lot of times they didn't hear about different treatment options. They weren't involved in clinical trials. I mean, there were a number of things that we could see. People were always didn't have always had access to even preventive care in that field. And I saw that in health care as well. So, I know that there are many things that we can be doing. And I think the work we're doing with the state plan, what aging the aging in our way, is one of those opportunities to really focus in on ageism and how we can do things better, “said Carter-Dryer.

Through experience and research, D’Antonio and Carter-Dryer also learned ageism can occur in every age group.

“people have heard comments like, she's too young to run that program. She just finished college. Yeah, well, that's not true either. She might be like a really great leader in a room, Right? And she can run that program just as much as we hear he's too old. He'll never pick up that technology. And it's like him. If you teach him, he will learn just like everybody else does. So like, think thinking about that and that intergenerational work. We know that that's a way to really combat ageism across the life course, “said D’Antonio.

“The students learned a lot about what life experiences have been for the older adults that they connected with and these students also. Many of them decided that they wanted to work in the field of gerontology because they had such a positive experience. That doesn't happen all the time, but we really need to capitalize on those opportunities because you will find what's unfortunate is one of those other ageism issues is that geriatrics, gerontology are not those areas where people get paid a lot of salary. They're not a specialty. So people drive too. But that's where we need more people working in the areas. Things will be different, “said Cater-Dryer.

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Adam Zurn has always had a passion for history. He is the founder of Uncharted Lancaster, a website that offers self-guided scavenger hunts.

“I think when you live somewhere your whole life, you kind of take that local history for granted.”

The idea for the scavenger hunts came into fruition about six years ago while Zurn was walking his dog.

“A friend asked me this question that really forever changes my life. And she says, well, have you ever been to the cemetery in in Shanks Ferry? Because I walk my dogs on, you know, a low grade and then often into Shanks Ferry. If it's hot, they'll get in the creek and cool off. And I hadn't. And I said, well, where is it exactly? And she's, you know, I don't remember. It was like 20 years ago when I was there. But these tombstones date back to the 1700s. And a lot of them are German. And I was like, okay, you know, that's cool. I'm going to I'm going to find it.”

The scavenger hunts are usually based around hiking trails, so participants can get some exercise while learning about local history.

“I had such a neat experience looking for it and learning all of these neat little local history pieces in that area that I thought maybe other people would like to have a similar experience. And so, I kind of wrote up what I learned and created like my first self-guided, like scavenger hunt. And so, they would kind of go from place to place and they would answer a question or two or what kind of unlock the clue to go to the next place. And then at the end, I hit a box full of like plastic gold coins, and people go out still and find these plastic gold coins and, and have a fun little adventure over an afternoon, not over the course of weeks like I did it, but just over an afternoon, which is probably little more palatable for people.”

Halloween is just a few weeks away, and Zurn already has plans to incorporate the spooky season into the adventures.

“So pretty much every night on my Facebook and Instagram, like typically five and seven, I'm sharing at least two local ghost stories from around the area. And we have such a big, long list of though some very unique to the area and some, you know, that every area has like we have our own Headless Horseman story. You know, I think every community has one of those.”

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College is a time where students realize their interests in the future careers. Trinity Johnson is a senior at Millersville University. Trinity is studying Media Arts and produces a weekly news show on campus.

“I actually started thinking about media arts back in high school. I did a broadcasting class in the high school, which was basically the same thing as what I'm doing now, where it's like we do the morning announcements every single day and we try to run it as close to a news station as we could. And I just absolutely fell in love with the structure. I fell in love with just the act of filming. And I decided I wanted to pursue that later in life. And I've really enjoyed it so far. I absolutely love media arts, and college has really given me an awesome opportunity to find out what all media arts can cover, which is really cool, “said Johnson.

Tylee Stauffer is a student at Lebanon Valley College. Tylee as the Associate Editor for La Vie Collegienne a student run newspaper.

“I kind of so it's we kind of run it through like a class sort of. So you take class and like you do assignments, write stories and all this kind of stuff for the class. And I kind of did that as it's part of a requirement for my major on the course. And then I kind of just fell in love with doing it, “said Stauffer.

Kate Barrelle is in the Mass Communications program at the York College of Pennsylvania. Kate is involved in being the current news director and former program director of WVYC 88.1 on campus.

Listen to the podcast to hear more from this conversation.

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Psychology Today released a report in 2020 that research suggests that when an NFL team lose, domestic violence increases. Dr. Rafat Omar, clinical psychologist with UPMC says several factors goes into how sports can intensity a domestic violence relationship.

“Sporting events can often be high stress situations for fans who are really into it. You know, that kind of pressure of. Is my team going to win, especially in a more meaningful games can lead to people feeling. A little bit more on edge. And, you know, when people are on edge, they can be more aggressive. I also think the increased use of alcohol at some of these events can lead to some of it, too. I mean, as we know, when people are drinking, their inhibitions get a little bit lower, too. How about to say if there's anything wrong with, you know, kicking back and having a drink or two within reason? But sometimes that can tip the edge for people. You know, psychologically. One of the biggest factors that I think needs to be considered is how a lot of times people who are really avid sports fans, not only the casual watcher, but someone who really is into it, can tie their favorite teams to their identity. And when. That identity is. A sports team on the loose. That can lead to a lot of negative emotions and a lot of deep frustration or even anger. And they're not using a healthy outlet, so they turn to the violence. You know, it's unfortunate, but it can happen that way. People really invest a lot of time, resources and sometimes even money into these things. And unfortunately, this is the result.”

Domestic violence can include physical, emotional, mental, and financial abuse. According to Dr. Omar, even if a sports team wins, that could also trigger an abuser. Dr. Omar says recognizing the signs of an abuser early is very important.

“Recognizing the signs early and set in. Those limits to keep yourself safe is really important before it escalates to know, I guess, sort of peak of what it might be. I mean, if you start seeing those warning signs early, then, you know, trying to put a stop to it or getting out of the situation before it gets out of hand. But most importantly, you know, your safety is paramount. So, if you are feeling unsafe in any situation, coming up with a plan to get somewhere safe. If you feel as though the person, especially with sports as a sporting event as occurring, the positive thing here is that their plan. So, it's not like it's something that's spontaneous. If it's, hey, every time someone so watches whatever sport it is, these things tend to happen, then starting to create a contingency around that. Don't be around for that beat elsewhere. Or if the problem only seems to happen when alcohol is involved. Having that discussion beforehand, hey, let's not drink during this event or limit it to one whatever the person feels safe doing. But you know, also reach out to your resources. Utilize any resources you can do not allow yourself to be isolated. In these situations.”

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The Lancaster airport is the third busiest airport in the State of Pennsylvania.  Ed Foster is the Executive Director of the Lancaster Authority Airport, says more changes are underway to the airport.

“We are ramping up for our launch of the nonstop service with British Airways. This coming Tuesday, we have an exciting time lined up, the flight is we have bookings, we have people coming inbound from Orlando, which is great. And we have about 60 people confirmed on the outbound. So, bookings are looking good.”

The airport is also adding a baggage screening area, a secure passenger line, while adding a restroom. Foster believes these new additions to the airport will impact passengers in a positive way.

“I think it will make travel easier for the passengers that normally would have to drive an hour and a half or two hours to competing airports. Puts a lot less time on the road for those passengers that choose to fly out of here.”

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