Senior Scams
The Volusia County Sheriff's Office seized on the new movie Thelma as an opportunity to educate seniors about scams as elder fraud increases in the county and nationwide. In the film, the 93-year-old seeks revenge after getting fooled by a con artist. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has formed a financial fraud unit and gives presentations to senior groups. Central Florida Public Media's Joe Byrnes tells us, the 140 plus seniors at the free movie in Port Orange last week were the biggest group yet.
Death With Dignity
For people diagnosed with a terminal illness, end of life decisions become a reality for both the patients and the people who care for them in all ways. Eleven states have provisions allowing medical staff to aid a terminal patient in ending their own life with dignity. Florida is not one of those states. Last year, Vermont joined Oregon in becoming the only two states to legally allow out-of-state adult residents to come to end their lives. Certain conditions must be met including the following: diagnoses from multiple doctors, the medication must be self-administered, and multiple requests must be made over time for approval. Rita Mannebach traveled from Florida to Vermont to bring an end to her life following a painful and terminal diagnosis.
Rita was born in Pittsburgh and spent most of her life in Virginia. She retired to Marion County and lived a rich life dedicated to serving her community. In the last week of June, Rita Mannebach flew to Vermont with some family members. She met with some doctors, moved into a small apartment, and enjoyed a dinner with about a dozen close friends and family members. She attended a memorial service in her own honor. Then on July 11, Rita swallowed a handful of life-ending pills and died. She had been diagnosed with terminal respiratory disease, and it had created a quality of life that was untenable. Rita's son, Michael Mannebach joins Engage to talk about his mother both in life and about her decision to end it. Tony Ray also joins Engage. He is the founder of Florida Death with Dignity, a right-to-die non-profit advocacy organization.
The Liberty Counsel is a Maitland-based non-profit legal advocacy organization that promotes conservative, Christian policies. Jonathan M. Alexandre, Vice President of Governmental Affairs for the Liberty Counsel, joins Engage to parse out his organization’s opposition to medically assisted suicide.
Country Bear Musical Jamboree
The Country Bear Jamboree is one of the original Magic Kingdom attractions. After shutting down in January for an animatronics upgrade and transformation, the new Country Bear Musical Jamboree debuted yesterday at Grizzly Hall. Seth Kubersky is an arts and culture journalist, attractions podcaster, and co-author of The Unofficial Guides series. He joins Engage to explain why the Country Bears have stood the test of time while other classics have closed.
Correction: Rita Mannebach consumed a powder mixed with a beverage, not pills. And Mannebach spent most of her life in Connecticut, not Virginia.
