Classes

Where and when to cut are perennial questions for gardeners throughout the seasons. How you choose to cut away dead, overgrown or end-of-season branches and stems can affect the health of your plants and trees. Join professional landscaper Darrin Wright who will show you basic pruning methods and proper use of pruning tools around your property.

Register by Dec. 2

Instructor Darrin Wright has worked in the horticulture field for 26 years and in arboriculture for 16 years. Darrin is a certified Kansas arborist, nurseryman and landscaper. He is a past president, board member and current member of the Kansas Nursery and Landscape Association. Darrin enjoys helping others by sharing his knowledge and experience with those wanting to create their own landscapes.

With an ever-changing climate and uncertain water issues, now is the time to rethink how and why the standard status symbol of a “green fescue lawn” is not appropriate and costs your time, money and precious natural resources. Let instructor Darrin Wright help you start a new way of thinking and landscaping the space around you and your home. The best part is you can make a difference by planting using this new, improved and efficient way to landscape. Topics covered will include planning and design, soil preparation, irrigation, mulches, plants and plant zones, turf areas and maintenance.

Register by Jan. 21

Instructor Darrin Wright has worked in the horticulture field for 26 years and in arboriculture for 16 years. Darrin is a certified Kansas arborist, nurseryman and landscaper. He is a past president, board member and current member of the Kansas Nursery and Landscape Association. Darrin enjoys helping others by sharing his knowledge and experience with those wanting to create their own landscapes.

Navigating Long-Term Care is a class that is intended for anyone interested in learning more about assisted living and long-term care. We will discuss the terminology used in the industry. We will learn the differences in Medicare and Medicaid and how to use these to your advantage when choosing long-term care. This class will also offer some helpful advice when it comes to empowering you and your loved ones, ensuring they are receiving the best care possible, taught by Paul Myers director of Dignity Care Home.

Register by Jan. 16

Paul Myers is executive director, adult care home operator and a licensed practical nurse at Dignity Care Home in Salina. He has more than nine years of experience running his family-owned residential health care facility. Paul is knowledgeable about Medicaid, specifically the HCBS program, and helps families with the difficult application process. He also runs admissions, tours, HR, family relations and helps with the spenddown process.

For thousands of years, families have taken care of their loved ones at home after death. Over the course of the past century, funeral care became professionalized, resulting in a practice that is now culturally unfamiliar to most of us. By choosing to reclaim the tradition of caring for our own loved ones at death, we provide not only a final act of love for the departed but a first step toward healing for those who remain. In this workshop instructor Sarah Crews will teach the practical logistics of what after-death care involves, legal requirements and the importance of planning. We will also explore natural (green) burial options and what is available in Kansas. The workshop will include a hands-on demonstration/activity of caring for the body.

Register by Jan. 4

Instructor Sarah Crews holds a Master of Arts in end-of-life care. She is a member of the National Home Funeral Alliance, a nonprofit organization providing education to communities and families about in-home, after-death care. She is also the director of Heart Land Prairie Cemetery, an all-natural cemetery in Central Kansas. Sarah has assisted people in filling out advance directives since 2011.

Advance Directives are legal documents which allow you to share your own decisions for end-of-life care. In this course, we will review the documents to complete your living will and consider who to appoint as your “agent” or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions. We will provide information on how to have conversations about the topic with your family, your agent and your physician. You’ll learn about the Transportable Physicians Orders for Patient Preferences (TPOPP), another important document to ensure that your wishes are respected as “doctor’s orders” if you are in a medical setting at the end-of-life. Other topics of discussion will include understanding the Do Not Resuscitate order and when to complete it, and making informed decisions about medical interventions. Funeral planning forms will be provided. Bring your questions to one of these informative sessions for instructors Sarah Crews and Lea Borst.

Register by Jan. 22

Instructor Sarah Crews holds a Master of Arts in end-of-life care. She is a member of the National Home Funeral Alliance, a nonprofit organization providing education to communities and families about in-home, after-death care. She is also the director of Heart Land Prairie Cemetery, an all-natural cemetery in Central Kansas. Sarah has assisted people in filling out advance directives since 2011.

Lea Borst has been a nurse for 24 years working mostly as an Emergency Nurse. She is currently the Director of Care Management at Salina Regional Health Center and is passionate about patients’ rights, including the right to make informed decisions about their care and the need to make these decisions for themselves while they are able to.

Advance Directives are legal documents which allow you to share your own decisions for end-of-life care. In this course, we will review the documents to complete your living will and consider who to appoint as your “agent” or Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions. We will provide information on how to have conversations about the topic with your family, your agent and your physician. You’ll learn about the Transportable Physicians Orders for Patient Preferences (TPOPP), another important document to ensure that your wishes are respected as “doctor’s orders” if you are in a medical setting at the end-of-life. Other topics of discussion will include understanding the Do Not Resuscitate order and when to complete it, and making informed decisions about medical interventions. Funeral planning forms will be provided. Bring your questions to one of these informative sessions for instructors Sarah Crews and Lea Borst.

Register by Jan. 7

Instructor Sarah Crews holds a Master of Arts in end-of-life care. She is a member of the National Home Funeral Alliance, a nonprofit organization providing education to communities and families about in-home, after-death care. She is also the director of Heart Land Prairie Cemetery, an all-natural cemetery in Central Kansas. Sarah has assisted people in filling out advance directives since 2011.

Lea Borst has been a nurse for 24 years working mostly as an Emergency Nurse. She is currently the Director of Care Management at Salina Regional Health Center and is passionate about patients’ rights, including the right to make informed decisions about their care and the need to make these decisions for themselves while they are able to.

Have you always wanted to do your own taxes or help others with theirs but don’t know where or how to start? Join experienced VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) IRS certified volunteers in this informative 9-hour intensive class that will help you learn how to prepare basic tax forms. Using free software provided by the IRS, TaxSlayer, instructors will walk you through sample tax returns and show you how to check your work while introducing the software. They will cover basic form categories, including the main information section, income section, expenses section and finishing a return. Finally, there will be time to go over testing through Link & Learn to become IRS certified, making participants eligible to be VITA volunteers for the 2019 tax season.

Register by Dec. 30

Have you always wanted to do your own taxes or help others with theirs but don’t know where or how to start? Join experienced VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) IRS certified volunteers in this informative 9-hour intensive class that will help you learn how to prepare basic tax forms. Using free software provided by the IRS, TaxSlayer, instructors will walk you through sample tax returns and show you how to check your work while introducing the software. They will cover basic form categories, including the main information section, income section, expenses section and finishing a return. Finally, there will be time to go over testing through Link & Learn to become IRS certified, making participants eligible to be VITA volunteers for the 2019 tax season.

Register by Nov. 25