After a year of research, experimentation and box building, the Northeast Oregon Area Health Education Center is ready to announce the release of Heart In A Box as of May 15.

Geoff Robinson, the center’s education director, said that he is currently putting the finishing touches on lesson details.

“I’ve seen the potential of this project from the beginning. The vision for a project like this comes easy,” Robinson said.

Heart In A Box is the latest installment of a seven-box set that is available for loan to educators all over Oregon at no cost. The boxes are on sale nationwide at a low cost considering the many expensive models and tools each box contains.

Heart In A Box will be released to the public on May 15 to give in educators the summer and early fall to consider how they can integrate Heart In A Box into their existing curriculum. Watch for more information to come on the center’s website.

Presentation on dementia and agnosia at Wildflower Lodge

Kaylena Townsend, expressions director at the Wildflower Lodge, will present “Dementia and Agnosia” at the Wednesday dementia support group meeting at the Wildflower Lodge, 508 16th St. in

La Grande.

Agnosia is the loss of the ability to recognize objects, faces, voices, or places and it is a rare disorder caused by brain lesions. The lesions may be caused by dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

People with agnosia still show some cognitive skills like thinking, speaking and interacting with the world normally, but because agnosia may affect one of the five senses, there is often a disruption of the information pathway in the brain for that sense.

For more information on dementia and agnosia, attend the public presentation which begins at noon Wednesday at Wildflower Lodge.

Aging Oregon population slowing economic growth

PORTLAND – A state economist says Oregon’s economy will slow because of its aging population.

A senior economist with the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, Josh Lehner, says projections call for growth to slow to 10 percent in future years, because aging baby boomers will spend less money.

During times of economic expansion, state revenue usually grows 16 percent during each two-year budget cycle.

The Oregonian reported the aging trend is expected to affect state income taxes and other taxes and fees, including hunting licenses, tuition, gas taxes, and alcohol and tobacco sales. That could affect Oregon’s ability to pay for education, transportation and social services.

Lehner says seniors 65 and older spend 27 percent less than 55-to-64-year-olds in all categories except health care, reading, and gifts and donations.

– WesCom News Service staff