Newspapers / The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, … / July 11, 1985, edition 1 / Page 5
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j unde Qrvcvin I P^rr/%n JptXlUI I V^l OUI 8 BY TERRY POPF. I A sign on the gray door reads "Special Populations," a title that can stir one's curiosity and also keep Dorene Vereen very active. Kilt cho Hnocn't pU.'J ?41 * ?. v nuiiu. one u rainer De oui wonting anyway, traveling with senior citizen groups or organizing activities for Brunswick County's mentally and physically handicapped students, who make up the persons that fall into the "Special Populations" category. Behind the gray door in the Brunswick County Parks and Recreation Department in Bolivia is a small office stacked with Special Olympic materials and senior citizen arts and crafts kits. Several medals recently received in Charlotte during the state Special Olympic games are tacked to a bulletin board in the square, windowless office. Behind the desk, wearing a wide smile, is a package of heavy duty energy, so much energy that it leaves one wondering how the small office has been able to contain it all since last September, when Ms. Vereen first joined the staff. As she starts to discuss her job and experiences since joining the department, her hands and arms add to the conversation, like a conductor's arms that stab and flow to the rhythm of the music. "I have a lot of energy," Ms. Vereen said. "People say all the time, 'You act just like the kids whenever you're around them.' But I'm the same way around senior citizens. You have to keep them motivated, both I 1 APPLIAI ~ ggiaRE1! l <r>J iitu ro Tft ?9H MOM I I HUH | ^ ^ Modnl IBX - jl y Wo?3r' W\V*S600H Mo4?) flDC SJCMI 1/ (WOCyC*M *9 '? ? <.I TMrf-^cMt ! 11 pWIMnvntpitu .HVM ??.>?? _ : L? Tf?, ?nj,. 'Mf,. *n?m? , *!?' Cu^p.npl.Qi.* m>\t. Up 130' "Ul? t n#<j /TiflflA wv-gtny?<!f. C>CI? Miction* fj^io-ciMnup-hont VWlOlJl So??i*ci* G Kii Junc,'on Hwy 17 < MlTQitu N KING OVt f ' 7 VI APS IxPIWUfK i We're aluminur more cc than Recycling with Reynolds convenient as it is now. ' brand new recycling cen WVCB-AM on Highway Tuesday and Friday, fror, by and see us. Bring this i Donus on every pound ol s 5s ? more on every poui W m M\ Present thiS coupon w>!h your ^0? |*S I recyclable cans and 5^ ^ Reynolds eriJI pay you Our regu 5 price plus 2C more per pound 2?- I ?he cans you bring in Ony one coupon per transacton ? 0*?' e?p*es Aogu? 'S '965 2 Reynolds 2 au* a Aluminum I f^^G35xnttzy. 9K ArArlY; A;AvA;l IY1 lit Twill |l||llllllllllll'llllllllllllll'llllllll'llllll (Questions f 1-800-2 v' t the : Dl/tnr i iui 10 lvui no i ui groups. And they keep me motivated, too." As Special Populations director, Ms. Vereen is constantly planning and coordinating activities for the county's mentally handicapped and senior citizens. Exercises, arts and crafts and traveling help keep the two groups motivated. It takes an active person to show the two groups how to become more active themselves, she said. Whenever the senior citizens travel, Ms. Vereen is often the driver of their van to such places as historic Charleston, S.C., New Bern, the Charlotte spring show, the state zoo in Asheboro and Williamsburg, Va. But to Ms. Vereen, traveling is fun, more than just a part of the job. "A lot of them ask if I mind driving, but 1 always tell them that driving relaxes me," she added. "I enjoy it." Working with handicapped students and senior citizens was Ms. Vereen's goal when she entered college at UNC-Wilmington. The Bolivia native graduated last year with a degree in recreation administration, specializing in therapeutic work, and returned home to work with residents in her own county and community. Traveling with the senior citizens and helping them exercise may be viewed by some as "no work and all play," but it is an often complicated job for both Ms. Vereen and the number of volunteers who help carry out the activities. Sometimes the special people need more than just NCESALE ~ 18AG Model JET235 POTSCR'JBBER! /i?_^]i5iytm^WrSSfJ; -Temperature Sensor System *//flf 'Klv** additional water heating j""" I when you need It. even It Incom/ Ing water temperature ts as low / as 120 degrees / -7-cycle selections Including / I'oLvTubber cycle. ^ -No-heat energy saver drying opV II ?-u | tlon. low energy convection dry? ?? ? . 1 -2-level washing action. ^( I -Reversible color panels. -Sound Insulated. lag's # yjw.i j *]^F1JfHMori Sot 7 5 30 .,>.,.,NOP. A t','1' ^ ...ro,, -a maKing n recycling mvenient l ever! i has never been as easy and That's because we've opened a ter in Shallotte, next to 17 South. We're onen everv n 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. So come ; coupon, and we'll give you a cans. mmmwummummmmmv*# Here's where we are: | Highway 17 South ( B tiesday and gP ? 00 o m ID 4 30 p r? | i S IW Phone 1M0 228 M2S | | S f?' Commercial atcounS a.. I t JB excluded ~r fj7( ? Prttei iu#)ecl la '-yJ S change wttkasl notice. i*m Even/ones a winner in Reynolds easy money giveaway U Askkxdtf Call toll-free 528-2525 THE 81 sun jpCVIU I I CU|JIC directions or instructions on how to rmrv out?task Thpv often need care, love and understanding or perhaps just a view of Ms. Vereen's smiling face as she tells them, I "Sure, vou can do it. I did it so von o?n too " "It's not play," she adds. "I take it very seriously. It 1 is hard work that benefits me, the athletes and the senior citizens." It is the kind of job that often sends Ms. Vereen back to her Bolivia home with enough energy left over to relate the day's events to her mother. Or at least she tries to. "Sometimes when I return home my mother has to tell me, 'Just calm down!' " she said. "I really get into what I'm doing. A lot of times, that's what it takes to keep the senior citizens going." For many of the senior citizens, getting together and exercising or working with their hands whife doing arts and crafts can be vitally important as therapeutic work. Arts and crafts activities often include sandpainting, making corn shuck wreaths or canvas painting, anything that puts mind and hand coordination together. "I try to work with things that they can do in one session, because they like to be able to see their finished product," Ms. Vereen said. "They like to be able to carry something home with them." Several Brunswick County senior citizens recently participated in the Senior Games held in Wilmington and came away with gold medals. Many of the senior citizen groups throughout the county gather for group exercises and try to keep pace with Ms. Vereen. "They enjoy that," she adds, "because how many of thpm nrp Point? to p*prriso alnno of hnmn'i d..* together in a group and they'll do it when they see others around them exercising." Ms. Vereen hopes to get more senior citizens involved in the various Senior Games activities next year. Many participated this year, with most just in one sport. By increasing individual activities, the county should have more athletes to qualify for the state games next year, she said. "I want to see them more involved," she said. "Sometimes they'll tell me, 'I used to bowl, or I used to go swimming when 1 lived in Ohio or New York,' and they can still do those tilings here. If they let me know what they want to do, I can get something worked out where they can still do those activities here." A group of senior citizens will travel at the end of July to Asheville and Cherokee to sec the outdoor drama, "Unto These Hills" and the "Horn In The West" drama in Boone. They will also tour the Biltmore House in Asheville and the Daniel Boone Native Gardens. "l.ike I tell a lot of people, the joy comes in being able to work with children and then turn right around and work with senior citizens," Ms. Vereen sutd. "You huve to apply different things to different groups and you don't have to work in the same environment all the time." Her work involving children often comes in organizing special events for the county's mentally and physically handicapped youths. On Wednesday, July 10, a Brunswick County Special Olympics athletes' day was held where nearly 30 students boarded a bus and went bowling, toured the Fort Fisher State Historic Site and ended with a cookout at one of the county's parks. "It lets thein do things that they normally don't get to do," she said. I,ooking back, the trip to the state Special BTTZTZTZZz SpWIP toimnnaaCiI HnSHIU ^ VVVV VkS. VVVVVVvVVVVVVvW % SPECIAL BASS 5 PACKAGE W 4^=1 8 H ^ 15' Angl?r Hy Perloraunct ^ lOOO lb. CHlvaniiftd Co* Traitor ^ 50 hp. Evlnrode Motor J 24 lb. Trolling Motor v SCO Hummingbird Depth Sounder C ? *. Rotoll $8925.OO ^ Super Sate Price $8485.00 ^ Save!!!! $2440.00 p1 P WE'RE YOUR BASSIN' HEADQUARTER! y with Itw latast In bu-CdcMni y boats by Parformanca and motors y by Cvtnruda. Ws hava all Ova , lotast luras and hablna accaaaortaa. y BEST OF ALL TIL JULY 21st WE'RE OfFI y FINANCING. y Wa'ra casting out soma irast daals, so tar Vz LlT y 1 ? A at? . > a*. S y /p ?y wmki Muiriorizea L>eau ? 1985 1986 HUMTINl \ The Gore / Op?n 6 A J H?y 130 East I "??p< Whiteville f ^^\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\^\\\ U \ ? \ ?? ' r t 4 J S. m 1 MJNSWICK BEACON, Thursday, July II, 1985?Page 5-A *SKY r?MAH PHOIOBy Tf* V Port DORENE VERF.EN Is the special person in charge ot Special Copulations for the Brunswick County Parks and Recreation Department. Senior citizens and mentally handicapped athletes are her subjeets. Olympics in Charlotte last month was as "big a thrill for me as it was for the kids," she added. Ms. Vercen hopes that Brunswick County will have an athlete or athletes to participate in the National Special Olympics in '9B3. The program will be held In South Bend, Ind., on the campus of Notre Dame University The nine days of activity could include four county athletes who must be chosen in 1987, but should begin training now, she said. "It's not really that fur off," she added. "When you get your choices narrowed down and find out wlilch parents arc willinit to semi their children, two years is a Hood startinK point." To participate bctorc thousands oi tuns would benetit the athletes tremendously, she sold, as she described what the moment would probably be like for the special athlete. ' "You walk in the stadium filled with 5,000 screaming funs and it's just like your day," she said. It's far, fur uwuy from baiting hooks on the Ocean ( Crest Pishing Pier or tourini; the mounds at Fort Fisher. Hut it's still an event planned by a special person for a Special Population mmtmmdZM \ SUPER BUY!' gj Hummingbird w? 1 NT$9995 F,NDER | KING 12.*8% JL a y a id Of? today! S Q ?r For Cox Boat Trailers jjJ i b FISHING LICENSES NOW ON SALE <f, Company5 M 7PM y Saturday | ? M. p^n & | \ I 6424464 J ?
The Brunswick Beacon (Shallotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
July 11, 1985, edition 1
5
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