News You Can Use

 
 

From Senate Republican Policy Development & Research Office

November 21, 2008

Let's Talk Turkey -- Tips for Your Holiday Feast

If turkey is on your Thanksgiving dinner menu, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers a series of fact sheets to assist with food selection and preparation. 

"Let's Talk Turkey" begins with helping you decide which will best fit your needs — fresh, frozen, or frozen pre-stuffed and what is considered an appropriate portion size for each.  Judge time available for thawing if you choose a frozen turkey.  Fresh turkeys should be purchased only 1 to 2 days prior to cooking. 

Address the perennial question safely – to stuff or not to stuff.  While "Turkey Basics: Stuffing" points out that a home-stuffed turkey is riskier than cooking one not stuffed, the fact sheet offers tips for safe preparation, stuffing, roasting, and serving. 

Select "Turkey Basics: Safe Cooking" for time and temperature recommendations for stuffed and unstuffed turkeys.  Key considerations affecting roasting time include, among others:

  • The oven may heat food unevenly. 
  • Oven temperature may be inaccurate. 
  • Dark roasting pans cook faster than shiny metals. 
  • Depth and size of the pan can reduce heat circulation to all areas of the turkey. 
  • Rack position can have an effect on even cooking and heat circulation. 

When you are considering turkey croquettes to use the leftovers, the FSIS points out that leftovers can be frozen and for best quality should be used within 2 to 6 months.  Consult FSIS fact sheets for questions related to alternate cooking methods including smoking, grilling, deep fat frying, pressure cooking, and more. 

Take the Surprise Out of Holiday Driving

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is ready to help you take the surprise out of your holiday travel plans. 

Turn to PennDOT's travel information page for valuable tools including links to department traffic cameras and current weather-related travel conditions and closures, which are updated every 15 minutes for all Pennsylvania interstates. 

Clearly identified icons will help you select from among the following tools: 

  • Interstate Travel Advisories
  • Interstate Road Conditions
  • Non-Interstate Travel Advisories
  • Traffic Cameras
  • Interstate Road Closures
  • Weather Information

For travel along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, motorists will find similar information broken into the western, central, northeastern, and southeastern regions of the Commonwealth. 

If you have not yet prepared for winter driving, PennDOT offers a Winter Driving Guide, a Winter Operations Guide, and Maintenance First – Winter Operations with driving tips, vehicle checklists, and a list of items to include in an emergency travel kit. 

Local Enrollment Meetings Set to Help Select Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Plan

Older Pennsylvanians and other Medicare beneficiaries are being encouraged by the Pennsylvania Department of Aging to attend local enrollment meetings designed to help them choose a federal Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.  

Whether you will be choosing a Medicare drug plan for the first time or switching to a different one, APPRISE counselors will participate in meetings across the state to assist seniors in understanding the various options and determine which plan will best meet their needs. 

When comparing plans consumers are encouraged to consider the 3 C's: 

  • Coverage:  Check to see if your medications are covered on the plan's formulary. 
  • Cost:  Compare your current prescription costs to those of other Medicare drug plans and be certain to factor in premiums, deductibles, and co-payments. 
  • Convenience:  Determine if your current pharmacy works with the plan and if it offers a mail order option.  Some plans may require Step Therapy, which means you could be required to first try a certain drug to treat a medical condition before a different drug will be covered. 

The free, unbiased health insurance counseling to Medicare beneficiaries is sponsored by the Department of Aging and the 52 Area Agencies on Aging.  Counselors can assist with comparisons, associated costs, tips on saving money during a coverage gap, and help with online enrollment.  The open enrollment period for Medicare Part D ends Dec. 31.  Go to the provided map and click on your county of residence to locate a convenient meeting.  

Hunters Urged to Share the Harvest

As hunters prepare for this year's deer hunting season, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) is urging them to participate in the state's venison donation program.  Nearly 200,000 meals are annually delivered to food banks, churches, and social services feeding programs for meals to needy Pennsylvanian's through the Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH) program, according to the PGC. 

Hunters take a deer to a HSH participating meat processor and identify how much of their deer meat - from an entire deer to several pounds - that is to be donated to HSH.  Hunters donating an entire deer are asked to contribute a $15 tax-deductible co-pay, and HSH will cover the remaining processing fees.  However, a hunter can cover the entire cost of the processing, which is tax deductible as well. 

Obtain a list of participating meat processors and county coordinators to help you get involved with the program.  Visit the PGC's website and select Hunters Sharing the Harvest for more information.

Confirming Food and Product Recalls

Do the myriad food and product recalls leave you uncertain about items in your home?  Do you find yourself flipping through newspapers and TV channels for reassurance your products are NOT the ones being recalled?

Find the answer to your recall questions at www.recalls.gov.  Six federal agencies with vastly different jurisdictions have joined together to create a "one stop shop" for U.S. Government recalls.  Streamlined communications improve interagency information sharing in order to enhance public security. 

Recalls.gov also provides direct methods of access.  You may choose to link to Recent Recalls or Search for Recalls.  The new website includes the cooperative efforts of the following six government regulatory agencies: 

Don't wait for the details from newspaper or TV; sign up to receive emails alerts of new recalls and safety information. 

Start a New Holiday Tradition

You can start a new holiday tradition for your family and never leave the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, according to the PA Tourism Office. 

Start in western PA on November 21, 2008 with Pittsburgh Light Up Night where carolers, lights, and seasonal window displays brighten the holiday.  Catch a concert at Station Square or take in the fireworks from atop Mount Washington. 

Head for PA's Great Lakes Region between November 21 – December 7 for one of the most beautiful and creative Christmas displays you will ever see.  The Baldwin-Reynolds House Museum, a National Registry property owned and operated by the Crawford County Historical Society, will be adorned with beautiful, live and uniquely decorated trees in each room.  Enjoy live music and the popular Christmas Boutique stocked with many unusual handmade items priced for any budget. 

Altoona's Lakemont Park will celebrate the season from November 22 through January 6 with Holiday Lights on the Lake featuring an impressive 51-acre display of lights and animation sponsored by the Blair County Chamber. 

Christmas Magic continues from November 28 through December 31 in the Dutch Country Roads region of PA.  Take a half mile stroll along the walking trail through York's Rocky Ridge Park featuring more than 400,000 lights, holiday scenes, and five heated pavilions.  Christmas Magic was named the top special event in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Recreation and Parks Society. 

Travel to Bucks County from December 2 through January 4 for Victorian style decorations and themed trees adorned for Winter Wonderland: Holiday Decorations at Fonthill.  The Doylestown Castle of Henry Mercer, known as Fonthill Museum, was designed by Mercer and constructed from reinforced concrete in 1908-1912.  The Castle boasts 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces and more than 200 windows of varying sizes and shapes.  The interior walls, floors and ceilings are elaborately adorned with an incredible array of Mercer's original handcrafted tiles. 

Head northeast between November 28 through December 28 for the Festival of Lights and a celebration at Phifer Dam Park in Leighton.  The park takes on a magical holiday glow as more than 400,000 lights and the sounds of the season fill the park. 

You'll find "A Dickens of a Christmas" on December 6 in Wellsboro when "A Christmas Carol" comes to life featuring carolers in Victorian-period dress, horse-drawn wagon rides, and tours of historic Victorian homes.  The Victorian era will also be alive from December 12 through 14 in beautiful downtown Bellefonte, Centre County, where ladies ride in horse-drawn carriages and men tip their hats to visitors. 

From meals to museums, don't miss coupons and discounted packages offered through the State's tourism website.  For more information about Pennsylvania's tourism industry, go to visitPA.com, or call (800) VISIT PA.