Editor, Gazette-Journal:

Cindy Hogwood, a home health care aide with Bay Aging, is the woman for the moment when caring counts. Right now, Cindy has five clients on her weekly tour of duties which frequently involves “a little bit more than light housekeeping,” she says.

On a recent day, Cindy was raking out the ditch next to the road in front of her client’s house to help deter mosquitoes and snakes. Each of Cindy’s clients cannot easily get about and so Cindy does these kinds of extra chores. “I love my ladies,” Cindy said. “If my client does come out to sit on her porch, I don’t want her to be eaten by mosquitoes.”

Mosquitoes are only one of the extra kinds of problems that Cindy takes care of for her clients. Whatever problem a client is enduring, Cindy finds a solution. For one lady, it is fixing the malfunctioning toilet tank; for another, a special trip to find bird seed; and for another shopping for groceries. She also enjoys what she learns from each person she cares...