State Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Poulsbo) of the 23rd Legislative District was appointed this week to serve on the Washington Council on Aging, a panel established by the Legislature to advise the governor, the Department of Social and Health Services and the state’s office on aging.

She was asked to serve on the Council by Speaker of the House Frank Chopp.

According to its Web site, the Council has the following powers and duties:

• To serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor, the Secretary of Social and Health Services and the State Unit on Aging on all matters pertaining to policies, programs and services affecting older persons;

• To create public awareness of the special needs and potentialities of older persons;

• To provide for self-advocacy by older citizens of the state through sponsorship of training, legislative and other conferences, workshops and such other methods as may be deemed appropriate; and

• To establish bylaws to aid in the performance of its powers and duties.

“I am very excited about the chance to serve on the Council,” Appleton said. “Both as a haven for retirees from around the country and as a state where our own citizens want to stay once they reach retirement age, Washington is fortunate to have a growing population of elders. In everything from health care and long-term care to maximizing the immense benefits these seniors can provide to the state as a whole, the Council on Aging can play a key role.”

In addition to her new seat on the Council on Aging and her work in Olympia as a veteran legislator, Appleton serves on the Public Defense Advisory Committee and the Washington State Sentencing Guidelines Commission.

She currently chairs the SGC’s Juvenile Sentencing Committee, is a former longtime member of state Commission on Judicial Conduct and was appointed by two U.S. presidents to sit on the Washington Advisory Committee to the United States Civil Rights Commission.