Officials urge elderly to prevent falls

Falls are some of the most preventable injuries, but they routinely lead to the death of hundreds of elderly residents. Now Massachusetts health officials say they are making a new push to help prevent falls. In 2006 alone, 340 Massachusetts residents age 65 and older died after falls. Another 20,000 needed hospital stays, and 37,000 required emergency room visits. Hospital charges for fall-related visits in the state were almost $500 million in 2006. Health officials say there are a few relatively simple steps that can help prevent falls, including getting regular eye exams, eating food rich in calcium and vitamin D, exercising to improve balance, and installing railings and grab bars where needed. (AP)

A ship that is a neighbor to the USS Constitution was damaged by a small fire that broke out on its lower deck yesterday around 10 p.m. The blaze broke out in the boiler room of the retired World War II-era destroyer USS Cassin Young, which is kept open year round in the Charlestown Naval Yard to host visitors’ tours. The Constitution was not affected by the fire because it lies several hundred yards away from the Cassin Young. The Fire Department was on the scene for one hour. Damages are estimated at $25,000, said Stephen MacDonald, spokesman for the Fire Department. No injuries were reported.

Part of a concrete panel landed on a tractor-trailer yesterday morning after the driver struck an underpass on Route 9 in Newton, State Police said. Around 9 a.m., state troopers and Newton police found parts of the Chestnut Street Bridge atop the trailer unit, Trooper Eric Benson said. The vehicle was a 2005 Volvo tractor-trailer. The operator was not injured, and the scene was cleared around 10:30, Benson said. The Massachusetts Highway Department sent engineers to inspect the bridge, he said.

Governor Matt Blunt of Missouri will be joining a private equity firm led by the son of failed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Blunt, a Republican, leaves office on Jan. 12. The next day, he will start as a senior adviser for Solamere Capital of Lexington. The company announced the hiring yesterday. Blunt will be responsible for helping to evaluate new investment areas for Solamere, the company said. Tagg Romney, a managing partner for Solamere Capital, worked on his father's presidential campaign. (AP)

One of the last people in New Hampshire without electricity has power for the first time in more than two weeks. Terri Stewart and her family were forced to leave their home in Farmington, N.H., after a tree fell and damaged a utility poll during the Dec. 11 ice storm, knocking out power. Because the pole is on Stewart’s property, repair was her responsibility. Stewart said Public Service of New Hampshire told her the power could not be restored until she paid someone to fix the pole. Unable to find anyone to do it and short of money, Stewart appealed to Governor John Lynch, US Representative Carol Shea-Porter, and the news media. By Monday night, her power had been restored. (AP)

A Vermont man who threw out a lottery ticket he had been given for Christmas pulled it out of the trash and cashed it, winning $650,000. Steven LeClair of Richford got the ticket for the Dec. 24 Tri-State Megabucks drawing as a gift from his mother, but it was in a gift bag that LeClair threw away, not knowing the ticket was inside. Vermont Lottery spokeswoman Hadley Melendy said that LeClair's wife found out two days later that the only winning ticket had been sold at Mac's Richford Market, so LeClair went through a trash receptacle in his home and found it. (AP)