April 11 Meeting: The Creation and Mission of a Local Nonprofit
RFAreaREA member Bonnie Jones-Witthuhn will lead a
conversation on April 11th at 11:00 a.m. at St. Croix Lanes in River
Falls about Among Friends, a social respite program for individuals with memory
loss and their caregivers, located in River Falls. This program meets the needs of Pierce and
St. Croix counties, providing a quality respite program run by a single paid
staff member, terrific volunteers (many of whom are RFAreaREA members), and a
committed board of directors.
Bonnie will talk about the creation of this nonprofit
program, its mission, and the people at the center of the program. Among Friends may provide a model to address
unmet needs in our local communities. It has found support among a wide range
of community members, local churches and businesses, and grants.
 |
| Chair Yoga, one of the many activities enjoyed at Among Friends |
Upcoming Meetings
May 9 Karyl Rommelfanger, author of The
Model Elementary School at River Falls:
A History, has had to reschedule her appearance until
September. Our May meeting will focus on
the unit’s business and announcements, election
of new president and treasurer, a pub quiz, socializing, and lunch.
June 13 Members are researching area breweries
and wineries to find the perfect locale for our end-of-the-year gathering. Larry Harred is still seeking suggestions for
possible locations for this event.
President’s Corner—May Election of Officers
By Roger Hulne
Nominating Committee members
Marilyn Plansky and Bernie Brohaugh are seeking recommendations of candidates
for the election to be held at the May 9, 2019, meeting. New officers will assume their duties as of
the October 2019 meeting. The three offices to be filled are President, Vice President, and Treasurer.
I have served as President
for three years and will not accept another term. This year was an extension of
my initial two-year term because no one came forward willing to assume the
office. I have enjoyed working with and
getting to know members while working to improve our organization, but I have
leadership positions in Prescott that no longer permit me to continue as RFArea
REA President. I will, however, continue
to be active as past president on the Board.
The President’s term will be for one year to finish out this two-year
rotation.
The duties of the President
are, according to the RFArea REA By-Laws:
“The President shall preside over
meetings of the Board of Directors and meetings of the general membership;
appoint the chairpersons and members of committees; and serve as executive
officer of RFAreaREA. The President shall represent the Association before the
public in person or shall appoint a delegate to do so. The President shall perform all other
functions usually associated with a president’s office.”
Jane Harred has served as Vice President and wishes to step down. The duties of this two-year office are: “The Vice President shall assist the
President at the President’s behest. The
Vice President shall assist the Program Chair in the planning and arrangement
of programs. The Vice President shall
perform all functions of the President should the President be unable to do so.”
Laura
Zlogar has served as Treasurer for
six years and wishes to step down since she is also Membership Chair and writes
the newsletter. She will continue with
the latter two duties but wants someone else to assume the duties of
Treasurer. The duties of this two-year
office are: “The Treasurer shall report
receipts and expenditures to the general membership and Board of Directors
regularly. The Treasurer shall arrange
for an annual audit of the books.”
Tom
Possley will continue as Legislative Chair.
Gail Possley will continue as Secretary.
I
know we have talented members who served their schools and the university in a
number of positions. The work is not hard and is, in fact, very rewarding. I hope you will consider serving since the
future of our group may hinge on your willingness to assume a leadership
role. An organization’s strength depends
on the commitment of all of its members to contribute to its success.
Guest Speaker Mary Conroy Johnson Informs Us
About Local Free Clinic
By Jane Harred
On the
way home from a mission trip offering medical services to people in Mexico,
Mary Conroy Johnson asked her husband, Dr. Bob Johnson, “Why can’t we give some
medical help to folks closer to home?”
Her question led to the Johnsons’ founding the Free Clinic of Pierce and
St Croix Counties in 2007, which Mary Johnson spoke about at our March meeting.
The free
clinic serves people who have no medical insurance and are not eligible for
Medicare, Medicaid, veterans’ assistance, or BadgerCare. Located in Unit 2 at River Falls’ Vibrant
Health Family Clinics, the free clinic offers medical services to large numbers
of low-income individuals in our area.
 |
| Mary Conroy Johnson, River Falls Free Clinic |
Johnson
told us that the Affordable Care Act helped many; after it was implemented, the
free clinic’s patient numbers declined.
But numbers have risen again just recently.
Doctors at the free clinic see
patients on Tuesday evenings, providing treatment for acute illnesses such as
strep throats or ear infections, as well as diagnosing and treating chronic
medical problems. Johnson said that,
like doctors in other medical clinics, those at the free clinic most commonly
diagnose and treat hypertension, diabetes, and depression. In addition to doctors, the free clinic uses
or refers patients to the services of nurses, lab technicians, pharmacists,
physical therapists, and volunteers.
Last year, the free clinic saw over 1200 patients and dispensed
medications whose retail value was over half a million dollars.
The free
clinic’s staff aim to treat to the person, not just the symptoms. Many of the free clinic’s clients need not
just medical attention but other kinds of help, and clinic staff often provide
information about other resources, such as food shelves and providers of good,
used clothing, that can help improve these patients’ lives.
Dental
and mental-health treatment are much-needed services that the free clinic
cannot provide. The free clinic is also
unable to do some medical imaging, such as MRIs, and does not offer
immunizations, birth-control services or pregnancy testing, treatment for STDs,
or prescriptions for controlled substances.
How can
you help the free clinic? First, you can
also spread the word. Johnson finds that
many people in our area, particularly those in Hudson and other parts of St
Croix County, have not heard about the free clinic. So talk it up!
In
addition, you can donate. The free
clinic will accept donations of some unused medications.
You can
also donate money, either by attending one of the local fundraising events or
by sending a check to
Free
Clinic of Pierce and St Croix Counties
P.O. Box
745
River
Falls, WI 54022
It’s a
worthy cause that provides essential services to many in our communities. Thanks to Mary Johnson for informing us about
it. For more information, go to
www.freeclinicpiercestcroix.org
It’s That Time of Year to Contribute
for Outreach Initiatives
April Scholarship Fund Event
A couple years ago, we opted for a
“Bakeless Bake Sale” rather than a literal bake sale to support our scholarship
program. Each year RFArea REA invites
high schools seniors in our district to apply for two $500 academic
scholarships. Districts are divided into
two groups, making students in those districts eligible every other year.
Tony
Pedriana chairs our Scholarship Committee and has been working with this year’s
eligible schools to encourage students to apply. The committee will be reading applications
and awarding scholarships during April.
Please be
generous and send your contributions to the scholarship fund to RFArea REA at
729 River Ridge Ct, River Falls, WI 54022 or bring your checks to April’s
meeting.
May River Falls Food Pantry Drive
The
RFAreaREA Board agreed that we would collect money and/or food contributions
for the local Food Pantry at our May meeting.
As we have mentioned before, Pierce County has a significant number of
residents who face food insecurity each month.
Our Education Outreach activity this year, contribution to the Food
Backpack Program, addressed some of this need. We would now like to do more and to contribute
to the local food bank.
Please
bring your contributions to the May meeting or you can mail checks to the
address above. If you would like to
contribute to both initiatives at the same time, please include a note about
the amounts you would like to donate to each.
WE NEED YOU ON MAY 6TH TO
HELP WITH WREA RETIREMENT MEETING
Every two
to three years, units of WREA host retirement information meetings for all of
the employees of the public schools, technical colleges, and the university in
our area. We will be hosting such a
meeting at River Falls High School on May 6th, and we need your
help.
We will
need folks to direct people into the Media Room/Library at the school, to help
with signing each person in, to distribute information packets, to help set up
the tables, hand out the cookies and other treats, and do whatever else is
needed to make the meeting successful.
Last time
we had over 100 people in attendance.
This is RFAreaREA’s opportunity to introduce itself to people
considering retirement and perhaps recruit future members.
Jane
Harred is leading the planning for this event.
Please contact her at the April
meeting if you are willing to help or write her at jane.harred@gmail.com.
Education News
TEACHER SHORTAGE--Rhinelander Newswatch 12 reports that some northern school districts are
finding it so hard to hire teachers that they wholeheartedly support a new
state initiative to allow districts to rehire retired teachers, effectively
allowing teachers to be paid twice. They
would be allowed to collect their pensions while being paid for their current
teaching appointment. Republican
legislators did away with so-called “double dipping” in 2013.
The
latest data available—for 2017—showed a net loss of teachers in the state at
1,600.
The plan
to allow the rehiring of retired teachers is part of Governor Tony Evers’
budget bill and is being considered by Republican legislators.
WESTERN WISCONSIN SCHOOLS SUPPORT
GOVERNOR--Public
school administrators in western Wisconsin “are encouraged by the proposed
state budget from Gov. Tony Evers for K-12 education,” according to WPR. Evers has proposed an additional $1.4 billion
for public schools, including $600 million more to fund special education in
the 2019-2021 budget.
Over the
past several years, local communities have had to go to local taxpayers through
referenda to support public schools.
Somerset School District has a measure on April 2 asking for $28 million
for new building and another for an extra $1 million per year for operational costs.
The
governor’s budget proposal faces opposition from the Republican majority in the
legislature.
Anne
Chapman, an education researcher with the non-partisan Wisconsin Policy Forum,
says, “School funding in general seems to be something that’s enjoying
bipartisan support right now. I think
what Republicans are pushing against is the amount [of money] Gov. Evers is
discussing to be somewhat difficult to balance with other priorities.”
A summary
of the governor’s budget proposal for K-12 education can be found on the
Wisconsin Budget Project’s website at http://www.wisconsinbudgetproject.org/summary-of-the-governors-2019-21-budget-for-k-12-education.
Pension News
As most of you have learned, the stock market roller coaster
ride of 2018 will have an effect on our annuity check this year and in the
upcoming years as ETF smooths out the effects over a five-year period from
2014-2018.
ETF reports that effective May 1, 2019, adjustments for WRS
retirees will be 0% for the Core Fund, which includes most WRS annuitants. The rate for the Variable Fund will be a 10%
reduction.
The WRS performance as of February 28, 2019 is 6.5% for the
Core and 11.6% for the Variable.
Legislative Report
By Tom Possley
“Over the course of his campaign for governor, and in the
short time he has served as our governor, time and again Tony Evers has
emphasized the importance of putting Wisconsin's children first. In his first
state budget, he does exactly that, with an unprecedented proposal to increase
funding for Wisconsin school children by $1.4 billion.”
This was in a press release from the School Administrator’s
Alliance. The leaders of the Republican party said they would make their own
budget and disregard the whole budget of Governor Evers.
Gov. Evers also said he would continue the tuition freeze,
but wants to give more money to the state university system. Evers also has
asked the DMV to develop a plan to get voter IDs more easily to voters who need
them.
Senator Patty Schachtner has completed a visit to all school
districts in District 10.
Health Report
By Tom Possley
Walking the dog can be great
exercise for seniors, but there could be one downside: bone fractures.
Fractures
suffered by elderly Americans while walking their dogs have more than doubled
in recent years, new research shows.
Can you
tell how long you'll live? Researchers found that the people who were most fit
were more than twice as likely to be alive a decade later than the least fit,
so get moving.
Health
plays a role in just how lonely someone was. Those with fair or poor physical
health/mental health or hearing loss were more likely to say they felt isolated
or lacked companions. So, get in good health and get out of the house.
In a new
study, middle-aged people who watched television for more than 3.5 hours a day
experienced a decline in their ability to remember words and language over the
next six years, British researchers found. What's worse, it appears that the
more TV you watch, the more your verbal memory will deteriorate, researchers
said. And if you watch Fox . . .
Meeting Minutes—March 14,
2019
Submitted by Tom Possley,
Secretary Gail Possley’s Husband and Loyal Assistant
Board
Meeting
The Board
met at the Kinni Café in River Falls.
Present were Bernie Brohaugh, Larry and Jane Harred, Roger and Patty
Hulne, Tom Possley, and Marilyn Plansky.
Minutes
from the Jan. 10th meeting
were approved. Our Community Service
projects are completed, including the School Backpack Program, Area Food
Shelves, and Funds for School Supplies Outreach, and the Satisfaction Survey.
Our membership goal to sign up 10 new members was a bit too ambitious.
The board
decided to ask for monetary donations for the River Falls Food Shelf at our May
meeting.
Roger
will be gone April 27-May 12. During
that time we will have an election and a WREA workshop on WRS for active
employees on May 8. A handout has been
prepared to be distributed to area schools.
We need
$1,000 for the scholarship fund.
Software training for the new website will be provided at the District
meeting May 6. Tom Possley will be attending.
The
Nominating Committee consists of Bernie and Marylin. Up for election in May are President,
Treasurer, and Vice President. Tom Possley has asked to stay as the Legislative
Chair. Committee Reports were given by
Tom Possley for Health and Legislative issues.
General
meeting
Fifteen members were present
for our meeting.
Mary Conroy-Johnson was our
speaker. She and her husband were the
co-founders of the Free Clinic of Pierce and St. Croix Counties, serving
residents with low income, no insurance, non-veterans and no BadgerCare. They are open Tuesday nights from 4-8. Two or three physicians are available along
with nurses, pharmacists, etc. With
three physicians they may see up to 25 patients a night. They are located at Unit 2 At the River Falls
Medical Clinic (Vibrant). The website is
www.freclinicpiercestcroix.org. They have 2 paid workers. The ACA helped reduce their numbers, but the
patient count is going back up again.
Mary feels everyone must help with healthcare: taxpayers,
hospitals, doctors, patients, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies,
etc.
Bernie handed out a Spring
Trivia Contest and Magdalena Pala provided the door prizes.
Our April
11th meeting will be a discussion of Among Friends by Bonnie
Jones-Witthuhn.
Membership
Supports Our Community and Public Education
We want to welcome new members Judy Schultz. Thank you so
much for rejoining RFAreaREA.
For those who chose not to renew their memberships, we are sorry
to see you go and hope you might reconsider.
Membership dues pay for local initiatives, like the Food Backpack
Program, the annual scholarships we grant to area high school students, and other
causes members identify as worthy of our support. Dues also pay for printing costs and postage
for those members without Internet access.
State dues help to support our voice in Madison, protecting our pensions
and advocating for issues affecting us a retirees and for public education in
Wisconsin. Ten dollars a year for local
dues and $50 annually for state dues are bargains. Please send dues for local and state
membership to RFAreaREA, 729 River Ridge Ct., River Falls, WI 54022.
In Memoriam: Marguerite Hoffman Barker
(15 April 1922-29 January 2019)
Marguerite Hoffman Barker, a longtime member and officer of
RFArea REA, passed away in January. Marguerite began her teaching career in Spring Valley and River Falls after receiving a two-year teaching degree from River Falls State Teacher's College in 1940. After raising a family, she returned to college and got her bachelor's degree in 1963. She was hired by the River Falls School District where she taught second and sixth grades until her retirement in 1990. She also receive a master's degree in teaching from UW-River Falls in 1981.
RFAreaREA will donate $50 to the River Falls Public Library in
memory of Marguerite and Bill Barker.
