The Information Cache of the Stevens Point Area Retired Teachers' Association
The purposes of this Association are to:
The purposes of this Association are to:
A. Promote and protect the interests, rights, and welfare of the retired educators of the Stevens Point area in conjunction with the Wisconsin Retired Educators’ Association (WREA).
B. Monitor and work to improve the benefits for retired educators and other members of the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS).
C. Encourage Association members to maintain membership in the Wisconsin Retired Educators’ Association (WREA).
D. Develop working relationships with local service organizations whose main emphasis is on aging groups and with organizations sharing goals similar to those of the Association.
E. Inform Association members about and advocate for educational and other relevant societal issues.
F. Inform members of activities in the area provided for senior citizens.
G. Encourage Association members to be active participants in community affairs on an individual basis.
She's quoted in an article written by Hugh Delehany in AARP Bulletin:
What gives you hope now?
"I'm hopeful about young people because they're taking an interest in the future of the planet. And I'm also hopeful about America, at a time when some Americans are not, because I don't think it's over for America yet. I think America is an ornery and diverse enough place that it would be very hard to get everybody to line up and do some kind or weird salute, even though the country has had a fascist undercurrent since the 1930s or so. I'm counting on Americans' crankiness and orneriness to keep things from going too far in either extreme."
I like that; crankiness and orneriness. We certainly are that.
I'm on my third week of trying to sort out my computers after sort of being hacked (no one succeeded in getting through.) The more I try to fix things, the more messed up it becomes. I had hoped that my computer geek nephew could rescue me, but the app we use to enable him to take over my computer won't run on my current OS system. When I tried to upgrade the system, my laptop doesn't have enough memory, and my desktop is too old to upgrade.
I also keep loosing my Blogger (Google) editing access to this blog. I've somehow reconnected three times now, and I hope it sticks. As not-so-great as I have been at maintaining this blog, the thought of recreating it is too much. (POST SCRIPT: I finally realized that I have access to two Google accounts, and our blog is under the SPARTA google account run by Jack. My apologies to Jack if this caused him any problems.)
It looks like my best way out of this is to get over to Best Buy and get a new MacBook Pro WITH LOTS OF MEMORY. You'll never regret paying more for more memory. I'll see if I can get anything for my 2013 iMac Pro desktop, my mom's 2011 iMac desktop, and my 2015 MacBook Pro.
I was wondering what to do with my Christmas money. I'm soooo glad I'm a Mac person so I can spend three times as much money. Oh, well, too late to change now. It's a little like religion; you're kind of stuck with the computer theology you've embraced.
Years ago, I realized that I had given more than I had planned to several of the charities I support. Many of these NFPs (Not-For-Profits) send out multiple mailings, some even monthly. I wasn't keeping track.
Now I save all the renewal letters, sit down in January, and write checks (or go online) to most of the organizations I donate to. I have a spread sheet that lists all the organizations. The list includes the donations I've made in the past, this year's donation, the check number, and the date. There's a section for monetary donations to NFPs and a section for in-kind donations (food donations, Goodwill, mileage for volunteer work, school supplies).
There's a third section for non-tax deductible donations. This would include organizations that work for political causes: Greenpeace, political parties, ACLU, WREA, SPARTA.
The rules for getting credit on your taxes have changed, but that's only one reason to keep track of your giving. The bigger one for me is that I give what I budgeted. That doesn't preclude me from giving extra as the year progresses, but just helps me keep track of what I've given so far.
This list is updated as the year moves forward. Some people prefer to do this at year's end, when many organizations are trying to balance their budgets. They can also count the donations on the current year's taxes.
It's a good idea to run the charities you support through Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator does an excellent job of reporting which organizations are utilizing your money most effectively. For example, Doctors Without Borders has earned 4 stars, and has a 93.5 out of 100 score for financial and accountability/transparency. Charity Navigator offers a great deal of data on each organization it rates.
Santha suggested that I do a weekly article on financial tips. Well, I can think of two; after that I'll have to steal from some other blog.
My first tip is to update and change all your passwords on a regular basis. I was hacked on six accounts last week: Amazon, Spectrum, ebay, Walmart, Google, and PayPal. I contacted all my money accounts (and my mom's) and made sure that they were secure. I didn't loose any money.
The nightmare began.
I've now changed my password on Amazon over ten times since Monday. I would change it once, and then it wouldn't accept the new password. Or the new one would work on my desktop but not on my phone. Then my amazon prime video kicked me off my phone, then one TV, then another.
Another problem was that my original passwords had been reasonably easy to understand and remember, as in "Oscarevil14". As they suggest, I used more "secure" passwords like "CghJ87^fboi))8jwh902i". Now this may be secure, but two problems exist. The first is that it's impossible to remember, so if you loose your list of passwords, too bad. The other problem is that I could rarely type the mess of letters and numbers in correctly.
Needless to say, all this activity caught the eye of the computerized security eye of Amazon. I was shut out several times.
And this was just one account. I went over my list of passwords and accounts, changed what I could, actually contacted companies to cancel accounts, and deleted, deleted, deleted.
I've discovered nooks and crannies on my computer and phone with lists of websites and passwords that go on forever. I have yet to tackle all the different passwords for my desktop, laptop, phone, Apple ID. iTunes, iCloud, system preferences: users and groups, key-chain, computer account-printer, Airport, network code, Microsoft account, and on and on. One problem is that I don't really know what most of these are so I hesitate to touch them.
Oh, and I lost the SPARTA blog a few times. It still existed, but I couldn't access it to edit. My editor's version was blank. But, abracadabra, it has reappeared. For now.
So I can attest that all those anti-scam warnings you receive and know you should be following through on are nothing compared to the headache you'll have to go through if you wait for trouble to happen. I was lucky and didn't loose any money. But the time and vexation could have been avoided if I had followed the suggestions given by law enforcement, senior organizations, and the government.
In the end, I'm going to take my desktop, laptop, and phone into the experts and have them sanitize all devices.
As you may have heard, Mary Ann Krems has passed away. She was our President from 2012-2015 and a force in the community. We'll forward information as we receive it.
From WREA, a directive that local meetings are suspended until further notice. We'll hope that we can meet in November. Our October book sale is canceled, and there will be no book take-ins until further notice.
The Executive Committee accepted a temporary budget for 2020-2021 until the membership can meet and vote. The budget assumes no book sales in October and April, and we will be holding off on grants for now. Like everything, there's a "one day at a time" outlook.
There is a great concern that membership will drop at the local and state level. Just a reminder, that WREA is THE watchdog for our pension fund. They were experiencing a dramatic drop in membership last year, so that trend is likely to continue. If there's ever a time to advocate for public schools, teachers, and the ETF, it's now. Let's not let this break our organization.
With that said, dues can be sent in for 2020-2021. You can download the application from the sidebar and send it with a $12 check to: Jan Langton, 2010 Aspen Lane, Plover, WI 54467.
National Archives
Here's what it says:
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a
satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to
attack at this time and place was based upon the best information
available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that Bravery and
devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt
it is mine alone."
What
a nice start I had to my day! I was on my way home from my daily hike
to and through the Schmeekle Reserve (ninth day of my new routine of
getting up earlier and going straight out to hike first thing-but who-s
counting?!})There was a woman walking on the other side of Michigan as I
headed back to my house. I planned to take the “students’ path” through
on Fourth Avenue and come in my back door. To my surprise, the woman
turned on to the student path as well, so I spoke up to ask if she is my
neighbor! She was surprised-we all are these days if anyone speaks, and
said that she lives up by SPASH. Then she told me she’s a teacher in
the District. I was amazed and told her that I am a retired teacher and
very active in our Retired Teachers’ Group, and she was delighted. What
do you suppose was the first thing she mentioned? “Oh, you’re the ones
who have those terrific book sales!” We continued to visit-from a safe
distance, of course) and I found out she is a first year teacher
teaching second grade at Roosevelt. No wonder she knows all the student
paths toward the UW. I loved having the friendly contact, especially
with a Roosevelt teacher, as that is where I volunteered with the United
Way’s Learn for Life program this semester, so she is someone I can
hopefully keep in touch with! She feels that the on-;ine instruction is
particularly hard for the high school teachers. I shared the reports
from my daughter and granddaughter who are working from home and trying
to supervise their kids’ school work, how much their appreciation for
teachers increases by the day! So I’m smiling and feeling blessed to
have such a positive start to my day. I wanted to share it with you!
Elbert Rackow shared the sad news that Hulda, his
wife of 71 years, passed away on Sunday, March 15. Boston Funeral Home
here in Point is handling the arrangements. There will be a visitation
for her on Friday, the 20, at Boston’s from 1-2PM followed by a brief prayer service at 2 . A private burial service will be held at Forest Lawn Cemetery.
You may view her full obituary on the Boston website. Several of our members have asked for their address in Marshfield. It is 1100 East Heritage Drive, #10, Marshfield, WI 54449 The
family asks that memorials to be directed to our SPARTA Scholarship
Fund in care of the Community Foundation, 1501 Clark Street, Stevens
Point.
Elbert emphatically
stresses that in light of the current situation with the virus, the
family will understand perfectly if you choose not to attend. He does
not have email, but would appreciate cards or later phone calls, I’m
sure.
In line with the recommendations from the Governor and health officials, we are canceling the April Book Sale. There will also be no Monday take-ins for now.
We hope that the sale can be rescheduled for later this summer. We will post information as things develop.
If
you are concerned about the Corona Virus (COVID-19), the LIFE Class is
hosting a presentation on Monday, March 16, by a doctor from the
Marshfield Clinic at 7pm in Rm 333 in the building next to the
University Center (Com Arts Bldg). You don’t have to be a member to
attend but this might interest you in signing up for other LIFE
classes.
Speaker Information Stephanie Inman, CSW, has worked in long term care since 2003 when she started her career as a social work intern at Portage County Health Care Center. After graduating from UWSP, she obtained ger social work license and worked at Portage County Health Care Center for 10 years as the Director of Social Services. In 2015 Stephanie took a job working with Ministry Home Care as a Home Care Coordinator educating on the benefits of home health and hospice services For the last 2 years she has worked specifically with hospice helping patients and families to understand the benefits of its services and how we can assist. She works with nursing homes, clinics, and facilities in the area as well as reviewing these services.
Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment
When Molly Ivins died 13 years ago this week, the
world lost one of its great wits, social commentators, and fighters for
civil rights and social justice. The void she left was huge, which is
why we’ve been posting our “Molly Ivins Moment” in C&J every
Thursday since she passed. I think now more than ever we could use a
good dose of Molly, so here's a Texas-size handful of her greatest hits…
Janice Engel’s documentary “Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins,” which opened to Texas-sized rave reviews, is now available via streaming and DVD.» “Although it
is true that only about 20 percent of American workers are in unions,
that 20 percent sets the standards across the board in salaries,
benefits and working conditions. If you are making a decent salary in a
non-union company, you owe that to the unions. One thing that
corporations do not do is give out money out of the goodness of their
hearts.” » “How can you not love Texas politics? You pick up the paper in the morning and it's kind of like finding Fidel Castro in the refrigerator.”
»On Pat Buchanan's culture-war speech at the 1992 Republican convention: "It probably sounded better in the original German." » “We get so scared of
something—scared of communism or crime or drugs or illegal aliens—that
we think we can make ourselves safer by sacrificing freedom. Never
works. It's still true: the only thing to fear is fear itself.” » “My friend Mercedes Pena made
me get in touch with my emotions just before I had a breast cut off.
Just as I suspected, they were awful. ‘How do you Latinas do this—all
the time in touch with your emotions?’ I asked her. ‘That's why we take
siestas,’ she replied.” » “I have been attacked by Rush
Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a
newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on
your ankle.” » “Keep fightin' for freedom and
justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let
your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats,
rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get
through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be
sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was.”
(I have the DVD if anyone would like to borrow it.)
Ruth Steffen passed away in early December. Her visitation and service will be held on January 11, 2020. Use the link below to read her obituary. She was an extraordinary woman.
Mark of the Tiger: So you want to be a writer;
what would your mother say? Marc Thwaits was a general science
teacher at SPASH and Ben Franklin Jr. High, retiring in 2008.
He is a
prairie farmer, falconer, and has banded falcons in Greenland. He also has
worked with
the
Madison Geology Museum studying fossil mammals in South Dakota. Marc was a
zookeeper in the Vilas Zoo in Madison. He went to China in 2010 and taught
English.
