Page 22 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE–Friday, August 16, 2019 By tradition, Senate President Karen Spilka (D-Ashland) does not vote on most roll calls so her figures are not included. 2019 SENATORS’ ROLL CALL ATTENDANCE RECORD THROUGH AUGUST 9 The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes for which the senator was present and voting. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed. Sen. Sal DiDomenico 100 perSUBSCRIBE TO MASSTERLIST – IT’S FREE! Join more than 17,000 other people from movers and shakers to political junkies and interested citizens who start their morning with a copy of MASSterList! MASSterList is a daily ensemble of news and commentary about the Legislature, Politics, Media and Judiciary of Massachusetts drawn from major news organizations as well as specialized publications selected by widely acclaimed and highly experienced editor Jay Fitzgerald. Jay introduces each article in his own clever and never-boring, inimitable way. Go to: www.massterlist.com/ subscribe and type in your email address and in 15 seconds you will be signed up for a free subscription. With no strings attached. THE HOUSE AND SENATE. There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week. This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2019 session through August 9. The Senate has held 91 roll call votes so far in 2019. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator was present and voting and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record. In the 40-member Senate, 36 senators (90 percent) have 100 percent roll call attendance records. The senator who missed the most roll calls is Sen. Adam Hinds (D-Pittsfield) who missed 7 roll calls, (92.3 percent attendance record). “Sen. Hinds did miss seven roll calls on June 27, 2019 because he was appointed by the Senate president to attend the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Budget and Tax Academy in Washington DC,” said Bethann Steiner, Hinds’ chief of staff. Two senators missed one roll call each and have a 98.9 percent record: Sens. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton) and John Keenan (D-Quincy). “I was unable to be present for a single roll call due to attending my brother’s U.S. Army Aviation graduation from Fort Rucker in Alabama,” Fattman told Beacon Hill Roll Call. "I was unable to be recorded in the first procedural roll call vote of the year because I was in Lesvos, Greece working in the Moria Refugee Camp at the time,” said Keenan … "Since then, I have maintained a 100 percent voting record on all legislation this session.” cent (0) HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? Beacon Hill Roll Call tracks the length of time that the House and Senate were in session each week. Many legislators say that legislative sessions are only one aspect of the Legislature's job and that a lot of important work is done outside of the House and Senate chambers. They note that their jobs also involve committee work, research, constituent work and other matters that are important to their districts. Critics say that the Legislature does not meet regularly or long enough to debate and vote in public view on the thousands of pieces of legislation that have been filed. They note that the infrequency and brief length of sessions are misguided and lead to irresponsible late-night sessions and a mad rush to act on dozens of bills in the days immediately preceding the end of an annual session. During the week of August 5-9, the House met for a total of one hour and 13 minutes while the Senate met for a total of one hour and 10 minutes. Mon. Aug. 5 House 11:02 a.m. to 11:07 a.m. Senate 11:21 a.m. to 11:31 a.m. Tues. Aug. 6 No House session Wed. Aug.7 No House session Fri. Aug. 29 No House session No Senate session No Senate session Thurs. Aug 8 House 11:01 a.m. to 12:09 p.m. Senate 11:13 a.m. to 12:13 p.m. No Senate session Bob Katzen welcomes feedback at bob@beaconhillrollcall.com Savvy Senior How to Help an Aging Parent with a Hoarding Problem Dear Savvy Senior, My 70-year-old mother has become somewhat of a hoarder. Since my father died a few years ago, her house is so disorganized and messy with stuff that it’s becoming a hazard. What should I do to help her? Troubled Son Dear Troubled, Clutter addiction is a problem that effects up to five percent of Americans, many of whom are seniors. The problems can range anywhere from moderate messiness to hoarding so severe it may be related to a mental health disorder like obsessive-compulsive disorder. Here’s what you should know, along with some tips and resources that can help your mom. Why People Hoard The reasons most people hoard is because they have an extreme sentimental attachment to their possessions, or they believe they might need their items at a later date. Hoarding can also be a sign that an older person is depressed or showing early symptoms of dementia. Common problems for seniors who live in excessive clutter are tripping, falling and breaking a bone; overlooking bills and missing medications that are hidden in the clutter; and suffering from the environmental effects of mold, mildew and dust, and even living among insects and rodents. What to Do To get a handle on your mom’s problem, the Institute for Challenging Disorganization offers a free “Clutter Hoarding Scale” that you can download off their website at ChallengingDisorganization.org. If you find that your mom has a moderate cluttering problem, there are a number of things you can do to help. Start by having a talk with her, respectfully expressing your concern for her health and safety, and offering your assistance to help her declutter. If she takes you up on it, most professional organizers recommend decluttering in small steps. Take one room at a time or even a portion of a room at a time. This will help prevent your mom from getting overwhelmed. Before you start, designate three piles or boxes for your mom’s stuff – one pile is for items she wants to keep-andput-away, another is the donate pile and the last is the throwaway pile. You and your mom will need to determine which pile her things belong in as you work. If your mom struggles with sentimental items that she doesn’t use, like her husband’s old tools or mother’s china for example, suggest she keep only one item for memory sake and donate the rest to family members who will use them. You will also need to help her set up a system for organizing the kept items and new possessions. Find Help If you need some help with the decluttering and organizing, consider hiring a professional organizer who can come to your mom’s home to help you prioritize, organize and remove the clutter. The nonprofit group National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals has a directory on the website at NAPO.net to help you locate a professional in your area. If your mom has a bigger, more serious hoarding problem (if her daily functioning is impaired, or if she is having financial difficulties, health problems, or other issues because of her hoarding) you’ll need to seek professional help. Antidepressants and/or talk therapy can help address control issues, anxiety, depression, and other feelings that may underline hoarding tendencies, and make it easier for her to confront her disorder. To learn more and find professional help see the International OCD Foundation which provides a hoarding center on their website (Hoarding.iocdf. org) that offers information, resources, treatments, self-help groups, and more. Also see HoardingCleanup.com, a site that has a national database of qualified resources including cleaning companies and therapists that can help. Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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