RFArea REA Newsletter--August 2016

FIRST FALL MEETING—SEPTEMBER 8, 2016

Even though we no longer have to attend in-service meetings, prepare lesson plans, ready our classrooms, or create syllabi, teachers always start thinking of the new academic year when August rolls around, when we start seeing school supplies replace patio furniture at the big box stores.

We retired teachers, administrators, and support staff may miss it all a little bit, but most of us are way too busy to get too nostalgic—though a few of our members are still subbing full or part time.

River Falls Area REA members are ready for meetings to begin again.  Our first meeting of the fall will be held on Thursday, September 8^th at 11:00 a.m. at the West Wind Supper Club.  We hope that everyone is ready for a year of interesting, informative, and fun meetings with old and new friends.

2016-2017 MEETING SCHEDULE

We will be meeting at 11:00 a.m. on the second Thursday of each month September through June.  Unless otherwise indicated, we will be meeting at the West Wind Supper Club. 

September 8 Welcome; Guest speaker        Superintendent Jamie Benson, RFSD	February 9 Business and social meeting
October 13 Installation of new officers; business	March 9 Special programming
November 10 Special programming	April 13 business
December 8   Holiday celebration; business	May 11 Special programming
January 12 Special programming	June 8 End-of-the-Year Outing

Board meetings will be held at 10:00 a.m. at the West Wind on above dates in November, January, March, and May.  All members are invited to attend board meetings. 

We’ve Come A Long Way, Baby—Or Have We?

By Bernie Brohaugh, President

By the mid-1960s, Americans could look forward to a way of life that might not be quite utopian but that promised to be better for most people than in any era in our nation’s past.  A strong economy showed no signs of weakening, the Civil Rights Bill (1964) had put an end (legally, at least) to racial discrimination, and the Equal Pay Act (1963) acknowledged the fact—even if it did little else—that women were being unfairly treated in the market place.  To be sure, as S. Z. Sakall, the Hungarian character actor, used to say, not everything was “hunky-dunky.”  For example,

homosexuals, atheists, and socialists were still thought perverse by a majority of Americans, and prejudices of other types still held sway in many people’s thinking.  But progress had obviously been made in our trek towards enlightenment, and optimists like me were certain we would get there some day.  It would take just a little more time.

Here we are, 50 years later, with still a long way to go:  (1) Since Obama’s inauguration in 2009, we have been learning that racial prejudice is far more pervasive and robust than we had thought; (2) we must sadly admit that women are still not paid according to the same protocols as men; and (3) the middle class is being strangled by a greedy elite whose portion of the national wealth and yearly income (gross domestic product) increases every year.

Why?  What is the matter with us anyway?  Mainly greed, arrogance, insecurity, and bigotry.  Greed is mainly responsible for the outrageous imbalance between the enormous wealth of the favored few and the more modest resources of the rest of us.  Both arrogance and the bigoted conviction that women are naturally inferior to men--and thus deserving of less power and responsibility in most, if not all, societal activities--accounts for their inequitable compensation and meager share of authority in the business world.  Racial discrimination, which many of us thought was gasping its last breath, is spasmodically reasserting itself because arrogant white folks fear they might lose sway and recompense in various human undertakings.

The cause of racial and sexual discrimination--the selfish, often pathological thinking of mostly white men--will probably be with us for some time, and I suppose we can do little more than wait patiently until these causes are gone. But we can do something about the growing income gap between the hoi polloi and the rank and file.  But let us first review what seem to be the main causes.

Many economists believe that the chief cause of the top-heavy distribution of wealth is a “wealth-begets-wealth’” circumstance.  The earners of the highest wages—let’s say the top ten per cent—have much more money to spend than they need to live on, so they invest it—usually in stocks and various other financial devices that bring a higher return than could be achieved by starting new businesses which, incidentally, might provide a livelihood for other people.  Because workers in the lower echelons of the pay scale earn little if any savable income—a circumstance due to the parsimony of management and the helplessness of workers to negotiate for higher salaries—they get only a tiny sliver of the pie that is the yearly measure of our nation’s income while the hoi polloi get the rest of it.   Aggravating this situation is the fact that changes in the tax regulations since 1964 have overwhelmingly favored the rich. The highest personal income tax rate has plummeted from 91% to an official rate of 39.6%--though various tax dodges and creative reporting of income often reduce that figure substantially.   Some rich folks pay nothing.   In addition, the death tax, corporate taxes and capital gains taxes are lower than they used to be, and some huge corporations, like GE and Verizon, pay no tax at all.  The verdict is still out on the influence numerous trade agreements have had on wages and the distribution of wealth.  The range of opinion goes from hardly to blame to mostly responsible.   At any rate, for the last 30 years or so, the top10% have been making out like bandits while everybody else has been getting nowhere. 

What can be done to put an end to this inequity?  Obviously, since our economy is largely controlled by Congress, it is absolutely essential that we elect legislators who represent everybody and not just the hoi polloi.   In light of the huge support for Bernie Sanders in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, this exigency may begin to happen very soon.  And if and when the numbers in Congress favor the rank and file, the following changes need to be imposed: (1) an increase in the tax rates of the wealthy, together with the termination of loopholes, (2) elimination of the Fed, which does hardly anybody any good except the super-sized financial institutions, (3) a substantial increase—at least 15%-- in the minimum wage, (4) a more rigid enforcement of the Equal Pay Act so that women are no longer discriminated against on payday, (5) a subsidization of college education costs for students, (6) the imposition of a cap on the remuneration of executives in publically owned companies, and (7) either the repeal of most free trade agreements or the institution of large tariffs on goods made abroad by American-owned companies.

That a change in our sharing of wealth can happen seems more possible now than in many years.   But we need to put our greed, our insecurity, our arrogance and our bigotry behind us—a task that will be challenging, but , beyond question, worth the effort.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

By Glenn Potts, Legislative Chair

From the Capital Times 8/16/16, Trump’s chances in Wisconsin are dim. “His chances in Wisconsin don’t look promising at the moment. Not only did he lose to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz here in the April primary, but the latest Marquette University School Law Poll showed Clinton with a 15-point lead among likely voters and a 10-point lead among registered voters. A major reason for this gap is that Trump is lagging in the northern and western suburbs of Milwaukee.

Republicans have traditionally won this area — Waukesha, Washington and Ozaukee counties — handily. In 2012, Mitt Romney won by 14 points and in 2004, Bush won by 18 points. The latest Marquette poll shows Clinton with a 2-point lead in the area.”

In an August 15, 2016 news release Sen. Jon Erpenbach and Senator Barca criticizes Wisconsin funding of public schools.

Sen Erpenbach: “Wisconsin Cannot Afford Republican Priorities of Tax Breaks for the Wealthy Over Education

Madison – More bad news for Wisconsin’s schools as a memo released today shows the reality of state funding cuts to schools all over Wisconsin. Governor Walker and Legislative Republicans have cut hundreds of millions of dollars from school budgets all over Wisconsin. A new memo from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows that schools have seen their budgets cut below real dollar funding levels in 2010, with 49 school districts losing more than half of their general state aid support since the current leadership was elected.

“Our schools are struggling because of the lack of support from Governor Walker and Legislative Republicans. This is really about misplaced priorities. Shifting more and more public funds to private schools and signing a blank check for high cost tax breaks for Wisconsin’s most wealthy is a failed agenda,” said Erpenbach. “More than 2/3 of the school district serving the people of the 27th Senate District have had significant losses in state support in real dollars since 2010. The reality for our communities is loss of educational opportunities.”’

Sen. Barca: “Since Governor Walker and legislative Republicans have been in power, they have shown time and time again where their priorities lie when it comes to Wisconsin’s schools—they have put special interests and GOP campaign donors before educating our kids.

“Right now, our K-12 schools are hurting from the loss of over $1 billion in lost state aid while taxpayer-funded private schools are booming. There is nothing more important for the future of our state than quality education for all children, yet the Republicans in power continue to sell out public schools for their own interests.”

Eau Claire Leader Telegram reports on August 14, 2016 regarding the small UW System Budget request coming after major cuts.

“Years of budget cuts under both Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his predecessor, Democrat Jim Doyle, have made for a lean UW System.
It’s also meant that there’s little left to trim from a higher education system considered among the best in the nation. And, after a $250 million cut in the past two years, the UW System is requesting a $42 million bump in its next biennial budget.”

THE LEAKES ARE OFF TO AFRICA—AGAIN

RFArea REA members Ann and Don Leake are returning to the continent where they first met.  Forty years ago as Peace Corps volunteers, they met in Zaire (now the Republic of Congo).  As retirees, they are off to a new adventure in Sierra Leone.  Ann—an ELL teacher in Minnesota and then an instructor at UW-River Falls’ English Language Transition program—will serve as a Literacy Teacher Trainer and Don, a longtime math professor at UWRF, will be a Math and Science Specialist teaching university students majoring in elementary and secondary education.

Don and Ann don’t know quite what to expect, but they do know that, unlike their previous experience, they will be living in a city with only intermittent electricity and water scarcity.  When Sierra Leone suffered from the recent Ebola outbreak in 2014, all Peace Corps volunteers were evacuated but returned in 2015.  Nine volunteers, including Don and Ann, will be serving in the country this year.

After packing books and clothing (including rain panchos for the rainy season and bandanas to protect their faces during the Harmattan—a wicked wind bringing fine sand from the Sahara), the Leakes also obtained a solar-powered battery charger for their electronic devices, headlamps, solar-powered lanterns, and water filtration kits.  Their 25-hour journey on August 21^st took them from Minneapolis to New York to Accra, Ghana to Monrovia, Liberia, and finally to Lungi, Sierra Leone.

On August  23^rd,  they met instructors and 15 regular Peace Corps volunteers at the Port Loko Training Center.  They are now in the midst of their training and a home stay with a Sierra Leone family.

If you would like to follow Ann and Don’s adventures, Don is keeping a blog at http://leonkade.blogspot.com/.  The newsletter will highlight some of their experiences in the upcoming months.

MEMBER NEWS:  “What They Did on Their Summer Vacations”

Kathleen Drecktrah, retired instructional technology staff member at UW-River Falls:   “In May I traveled to Duluth to help my daughter Annie move into her newly purchased home. Later in the month, my sister JoEllen and I took a road trip to Richland, Washington, to attend a performance in which my daughter Molly sang Poulenc's "Gloria" with
the  Mid-Columbia Mastersingers and the Mid-Columbia Symphony. We visited Yellowstone, Devil's Tower, and Mount Rushmore on the way home.

Husband Lou and I marched in the River Falls, Hudson, New Richmond, and North Hudson parades to support Diane Odeen for state senate. Along with golf two or three times a week, a few trips to Black River Falls to visit cousins, and a trip to Illinois in July for my sister 's birthday, I've managed to have a very enjoyable summer!”

Gorden Hedahl

Retired Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at UW-River Falls Gorden Hedahl was featured in the August 4, 2016 River Falls Journal, providing an account of Gorden’s busy life since retirement.  Not only do he and wife Jean Louden travel internationally (they have visited 30 countries), but they spend time in their trusty camping trailer to nearby campgrounds and parks.  Gorden and Jean seem to see every theater production in the Twin Cities and surrounding area.  This summer’s plays included some at the Guthrie Theater, the Minnesota Fringe Festival, the Jungle Theater, and local productions around the area.  Gorden is also very involved with the River Falls Rotary, the Community Arts Base, and continues to direct plays whenever he gets the chance.  He and Jean also sneak off to the Washington D.C., area as often as possible to visit children and grandchildren.  Their granddaughter and her friend came west earlier in the summer for some fun G & G (Grandma and Grandpa) time.

Roger Hulne, former Superintendent of the Prescott School District:  “I spent time with my grandkids from California ages 3 & 5.  We visited them in California plus they stayed with us for 3 weeks.  Started a raised garden and harvested a lot of green beans and some buttercup squash.”

Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn, newly retired English teacher from Prescott High School, spent a week with her daughter traveling all around Iceland.  She has spent a number of weeks and weekends at her family’s cabin and is still feeling a bit disoriented at not having to attend orientation for the new school year (but is grateful to be missing it, though she is experiencing withdrawal pains from her students).  She and her husband will spend more than two weeks in September visiting Prezlau, Germany exploring ancestry and relatives.  Then they are off to Poland to visit friends.

Evelyn Klein, retired English and German teacher at Hudson High School:  “Early this summer, as new editor of the Minnesota Independent Scholars Forum journal, I edited and published my first edition of The Minnesota Scholar.  It also includes my essay, ‘The Driving Force.’"

Curt Larson, retired physics professor at UW-River Falls:  “I will leave for Haiti at 3:00 am Wednesday morning [August 24] to attend the funeral of a dear lady we have worked with for 14 years.   Dee and I are heading for Norway on Sept. 9.  We will be there a month.

Cheryl Maplethorpe, artist, retired Director of Financial Aids for Minnesota Office of Higher Education, employee of Globe Education Network, (and many other positions):  “It has been a busy summer for me.  I am working with Westside Elementary to create a pollinator garden behind the school. They are working with a designer from the University and the new addition will have places to play and learn in addition to pollinator plants for the kids to study. I am working on a list of suitable plants.  I belong to American Association of University Women (AAUW) and produce their newsletter and take care of their website.  I am the Vice President of the Community Arts Base (CAB), which produces several events for River Falls. I show my own art at the Orange Dragon in Prescott and sometimes at Art's House in River Falls.  I attend River Falls Chamber meetings and volunteer for Chamber events.  I belong to Rotary and have served as the fry cook for the Rotary food booth on River Falls days and helped install the new city park signs for the Kinnickinnic River paths paid for by Rotary.  Recently, I was appointed to the Chippewa Valley Tech College Board and attend board meetings in Eau Claire once a month.  I will also volunteer to work at the polls on election day since the lines will be long for that election, and they will need the help.  All of you should also volunteer to help at the polls.”

Tony Pedriana retired elementary school principal in the Milwaukee public schools, author of Leaving Johnny Behind:  Overcoming Barriers to Literacy and Reclaiming At-Risk Readers, and founder of Jumpstart to Literacy:  “My son got married last month in Madison.  He is a professor of sociology at UW-Whitewater.  We took our granddaughters - Sophia and Rosa - to see The Lion King at the Orpheum and will attend a performance of  Beauty and the Beast at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater to celebrate Rosa's birthday on the 26th.   That day also marks the 49th wedding anniversary to my wife, Mary Jo.  And I am currently working on a writing project dealing with early literacy.”

Marylin Plansky, retired elementary school teacher in Marshfield:  “In April, my sister, who flew in from Washington state, and I spent a week in New York City, seeing the sights and attending Broadway shows.  I participated in the ALS Walk-a-thon on June 12th for the Northwest Wisconsin ALS Association, and held at the Chippewa Falls Fair Grounds.  I went on a trip to southern Wisconsin with Valley Tours, which included Janesville, Milton, House on the Rock, and the Fireside Theatre for Singing in the Rain.  Additionally, I saw Andrea Bocelli, Million Dollar Quartet, and a Saint Paul Saints game in the Cities.  I also attended Minnesota productions of South Pacific, and Paint Your Wagon.  I also enjoyed productions of Richard III, Death of a Salesman, and King Lear by the American Players in Spring Green, Wisconsin.

Gail Possley, retired speech and language pathologist, reading teacher and reading specialist in Johnsburg, IL, Manitowoc, and Pittsville, and Tom Possley, retired secondary business education teacher and football and basketball coach in Pewaukee and Pittsville, write:  “Our 7-year-old grandson came to visit in July for one week and again this month.  After his visits we rested.  Tom joined a golf league at Glen Hills Golf Course.  We spent a week staying at Fox Hills Resort in Mishicot and visited family and friends on the east side of Wisconsin.  Gail devoted many days to planting and weeding all sides of our home.  It looks beautiful, and she has a nice tan after spending so much time outside.  She was really motivated by the master gardener who spoke to our organization.  We are taking our son and his family to Disneyworld in September.”

  

From the River Falls Journal

Tom Westerhaus

Retired River Falls School District Superintendent and RFArea REA member Tom Westerhaus was featured in the July 6, 2016 edition of the River Falls Journal for his newfound passion of bicycling.  He participated in the 420-mile RAGBRAI (Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa) at the end of July.  The training required him to ride 10-15 miles a day during the week, and 40-75 miles on the weekends.  Coincidentally, the Iowa trip took him through the town of his birth, Shenandoah, where he hadn’t been since his family left when he was a small boy.

TIMES—AND RFAREA REA LEADERS—ARE CHANGING

RFArea REA needs members to step up and be willing to assume leadership positions.  Bernie Brohaugh and Marylin Plansky have served this group in a variety of offices for at least a decade.  But they are tired!  Other officers are facing personal health or family issues and have had to step down.  Still others who have been longstanding members are no longer able to attend meetings or cannot assume the leadership roles they once performed.

Successful organizations depend on the energy, ideas, and enthusiasm of its members.  So, we are asking our members, new and old, to raise your hand and volunteer for an RFArea REA office.  Here’s what we need:

President—to set the agenda for monthly meeting, along with the programming chair; to conduct monthly meetings; to chair Board meetings every other month

Vice President—to step in when the President isn’t available; to attend Board meetings; help to set up the agendas.

Programming Co-Chair—Ruth Wood is willing to continue in this position, but she needs someone to co-chair with her.  Someone with some ideas, contacts, creativity, and energy would be perfect for the job.

Secretary—Gorden Hedahl has filled in on a temporary basis as unit secretary but would like to relinquish the job to someone else given his frequent travels and other demands on his time.  The position requires notetaking  at both Board meetings and regular meetings.

Legislative Chair—If you read lots of news online—the Wheeler Report, Wispolitics, Capital Times, Milwaukee Journal, Wisconsin State Journal—and keep apprised of state and national news that affects Wisconsin education, retirement, government, and politics, particularly those issues that influence the quality of our lives as retired educators, then this is a job for you.  Glenn Potts done a great job filling over the past few months.  The position requires that you provide the newsletter with an update every other month and that you give a report to members at business meetings.

Membership Committee Members—Every summer we need to assemble a list of new retirees in the districts represented by our unit (we get some help from WREA regarding public school districts, but they have no access to university and technical college retirements).  We then need to contact those people—letters first to introduce ourselves and then subsequent postcards and phone calls to invite them to meetings.  These are labor-intensive activities that take more than one person.  We need several people willing to help with these matters but also a major regional informational meeting for area teachers and staff who are considering retirement.  This year is our year to once again host the Wisconsin Retirement System spring meeting, conducted by consultant Roger Byers.  This meeting takes quite a bit of planning and coordinating throughout the year.

Community Participation—Now that Don Leake is off to Africa, someone will need to replace him to gather volunteer hours information and forward it to WREA.  The hardest part of this job is getting members to report accurately all the good they do and time they spend doing it.

WREA CONVENTION—SEPTEMBER 27-28

Every fall, WREA holds its annual convention.  You should have received information about the convention.  But just to remind you, it is being held at the Hotel Mead in Wisconsin Rapids on the 27^th and 28^th of September.  See the WREA website at www.wrea.net and open the Events tab to find more information.

IT’S TIME TO RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP

It is once again time to renew your membership to WREA and to RFArea REA.  Membership runs from October to September of every year.  While you can belong only to our local unit, membership in the state organization is very important since our dues helps to support the people who represent us in Madison.  They are our direct connection to state legislators and agencies in matters that affect our pension, our health care, and public education. 

Annual dues are $50 for WREA membership and $10 for RFArea REA membership (for people who receive WRS/ETF pensions).  For associate members (spouses, friends of Wisconsin education), dues are $35 for WREA and $5 for our local unit.

A few people have paid state dues in 3-year increments.  If you aren’t sure whether you owe dues this year, contact laura.w.zlogar@gmail.com, and she will check the records for you.

Membership Drive 

This summer we have sent out 98 letters and 52 follow up postcards to prospective new members. We have contacted newly retired teachers, administrators, and staff from Baldwin-Woodville, Ellsworth, Hudson, New Richmond, Prescott, River Falls, St. Croix Central, Spring Valley, and UW-River Falls. You may be tapped soon to contact some of these potential members. We are told that it takes five “touches” to get a person to join an organization. So, we have quite a few more cards to send and phone calls to make complete the process. Please let Laura Zlogar know if you are willing to help.