Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XIV, No.2 October 2011 ntn1066@hotmail.com
October Meeting
When: Thursday, October 20, NOON,
$10, check made payable to Watauga County NCRSP
Where: Deerfield Methodist Church
Why: To share time with each other AND to learn from Clarissa Schmal about the current state of bullying education in the Watauga County Schools. Bullying is SUCH an important topic and preventing it will be our unit focus for the next year or two.
Please come!
With: lots of travel-size items for our soldiers (SEE
PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE FOR DETAILS)
We need
Plastic bags of all sizes
Aluminum can-tabs (NOT the cans) for Ronald McDonald House
all the lovely, noisy, loose change you’ve been collecting
for the Scholarship Fund
NO medicine bottles!!!!! Not this time. Nope, nada. Next time, maybe.
If your caller has not reached you by October 15, phone Margaret Sigmon, 264-2036, to make your reservation. Remember that we’ll be selling take-home meals for
$5.
Please remember that we still have a few of the cell phone trappers for keeping your phone safe and handy on your dashboard. Designed with our NCRSP logo, they’re $10 each and will make terrific holiday gifts.
In Memoriam The members of the Watauga Unit of North Carolina Retired School Personnel send their deepest sympathy to Sue Aldridge on the death in August of her sister, Mary Ann Lawrence, and to Barbara Moy on the death of her sister, Margaret. This month we also note with sadness the passing of Dr. Mary Moore, former ASU faculty member and longtime member of this organization, and Roby Triplett, widower of Appalachian Elementary School and Hardin Park legend Dee Triplett. We also acknowledge with appreciation the gifts to the Scholarship Fund from Ann Winkler in memory of Jessie Pease and from Barbara Moy in memory of her sister. If you would like to remember or honor a friend or colleague in this way, please give your check to Dot Barker along with the name of the person for whom you are contributing.
Go Back to Work!!!OK, that was a cheap attempt to get your attention.
Eula Mae Fox, our Community Participation Chair, has received a request from Beth Mueller, Watauga County Literacy Association Volunteer Coordinator, for experienced teachers with a little time to spare for an important cause. Read on…. Recently the Basic Skills Department at our branch of Caldwell Community College has added a new “offering.” They are accepting Watauga Opportunity clients for work in lower-level reading and math. The Watauga County Literacy Association is seeking volunteer tutors for these clients who will patiently devote time one-on-one with them for two hours a week at the Basic Skills Building located at the college. The hours are all in the middle of the day such as 10 to 12 or 1 to 3, etc. Many of the students come every day so devising a work plan convenient to the tutor should not be difficult. If you like to travel, don’t worry. Basic Skills is accustomed to taking over when someone is away; that’s expected of volunteers just as long as Basic Skills is notified. Basic Skills runs on the regular-class snow schedule for the college, too. For more information please call Beth Mueller, WLA Volunteer Coordinator, 828-265-2963.
Eula Mae’s latest gorgeous Christmasy tablerunner will be up for RAFFLING at our October meeting. $1 per ticket or $5 for 6 tickets. Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells! The season will be here before we know it! Remember that all the money goes to our scholarship fund.
President’s MessageWhile in Holland one year I visited the memorial to the American and English soldiers who fought and died there during World War II. I went to some of the graves and had no idea that our country had done so much for the Dutch people during and after the war. In fact, I do not have a realistic idea of what our armed forces have done in coming to the aid of countries around the world. Since visiting that memorial, however, I have never felt the same about the sacrifices our soldiers have made and are still making. I may not agree that we need to be fighting on several fronts but I do believe soldiers are out there who would give his life for each of us. As the Dutch would say, "If you have nothing worth fighting for, you have nothing". Today I am saying thanks on behalf of our organization to all those soldiers who are putting their lives on the line for a cause. May they be blessed with good judgment and protected from harm. May our politicians have the welfare of the working people in mind when making decisions and treat our fighting men as family.This month, we’re partnering with the NC State Employees Credit Union in collecting items for our soldiers serving abroad. Look in this issue of the Red Pencil for more information.
A wonderful bumper sticker says, “If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you’re free to read this, thank a soldier.” Thank you, soldiers!
La Verne Franklin
The Importance of Membership
If you have not renewed your membership in the Watauga Unit of NCRSP for this year, you will find the amount of your dues in the upper right corner of the mailing label on this newsletter. Your Horace Mann Accidental Death Insurance policy will end on October 31 if you do not renew your membership by that time. If you are newly retired and have not joined yet, please make your decision now to join this vital organization. You need us, and we need you, too! In fact, we need every retired educator to be on our membership roster in order to strengthen our position as advocates for retaining and improving benefits for all retired school personnel in this state. Together, we have strength. You can pay your dues at our October meeting or mail them to Dot Barker, 451 Poplar Hill Dr., Boone, NC 28607. If you are a new retiree, your dues are $106 and can be paid by check or you can join by Payroll Deduction and your dues will be deducted from your retirement check and will be spread out over the year. Both forms will be available at the meeting. If you have questions, please call Dot at 264-3521 or Barbara or Roland Moy at 264-8811.
This summer R.G. and Agnes Shipley and their daughter Janie attended a Sunday School class in Plains, Georgia taught by President Jimmy Carter. Mr. and Mrs. Shipley were seated on the front row and were treated to a personal visit with the former President and First Lady. The Shipleys have wonderful stories to tell. Ask, and they may also tell you about being recognized and honored at a performance of “I Do! I Do” at Lees-McRae as the longest-married couple in the audience (67 years, was it?).and desperately needed!
WANTED: Watauga Unit NCRSP members willing to help with tasks of the organization such as setting up and taking down room where meeting is held-no pay-little appreciation, no recognition, but a little act of kindness can go a long way. Please let La Verne (264-8596) or Margaret (264-2036) know if you can help. Heroes in the Making – Our Newest Members The Watauga Unit of NC Retired School Personnel is delighted to welcome (and welcome back) these new and nearly-new retirees. We’re happy to have you! Dian Edmisten Ardease Greene Lynn Greene, returning Candace Hall, returning Janice Hensley Thomas Jamison Martha Moretz , changing from associate to regular member Charlotte Ross
Also receiving her first Red Pencil is Wendy Nicholson, librarian at Valle Crucis and current president of WCAE, the Watauga Unit of NCAE. Wendy hasn’t retired yet, but she is our terrific new link to active members of our profession. If you know of retired school persons who would benefit from membership in our organization, and wouldn’t they all, please invite them to attend the next meeting with you. The Book Nook, a corner in which our members recommend a good book for you. Have you read Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons, about a little girl in eastern North Carolina who finds herself in the foster care system when her mother dies and her father becomes abusive? Well, Vanessa Diffenbaugh’s Language of Flowers isn’t about THAT foster care system. In this one, a foster child in San Francisco learns from a foster mother all about flowers and discovers that she can express herself through them when words won’t work. The novel is beautifully written and sensitively both heartbreaking and uplifting. For a retired teacher, it’s also an education.
For the sake of your healthDr. Lee Kennedy is a neurologist in practice with Dr. Jeffrey Crittenden in Boone. His area of expertise is Alzheimer’s and related conditions. In August, he spoke to a group at Hound Ears and what follows is a summary of his talk.
1. As we age, we become more and more subject to MCI, Mild Cognitive Impairment, a condition which does not prevent a person from doing what he/she normally does. Ten percent of us will develop MCI by age 65 and nearly half of us will develop it by age 85. NOT EVERYONE WITH MCI DEVELOPS DEMENTIA.
2. Dementia and delirium are often confused. Delirium is treatable/curable and is often caused by an infection, depression, or a dangerous combination of medications.
3. Diagnosis of classic dementia can be done in a number of ways, but the best first step is to make an appointment with a neurologist. The tests include a mental status exam (spelling words forwards and backwards, naming two or three recent events in the news, remembering a short list of words for 30 minutes), tests for B12 levels, imaging/scans/volumetric MRI/EEG exams, tests for electrolytes/liver/kidney function, and reports of REM sleep disturbance that leads to acting out dreams.
4. Alzheimer’s and dementia are not preventable, but the onset can be delayed.
·Vascular health – probably the most important thing we can do it to look after this one. Take a statin (Lipitor, Crestor, Zocor) if your doctor prescribes it.
·Sleep – an early indicator of a problem. If you have active dreams that involve hitting or sleepwalking, see your doctor.
·Walking – the best exercise in the world. Try to get in at least fifteen minutes a day.
·Education – probably a great way to delay the onset but not a prevention
·Social interaction – excellent. The busier you are, the better, and the wider your group of associates, the better. The theory here is that the more people with whom you interact on a regular basis, the more likely someone is to notice the very first signs of a problem and help you to get an early professional diagnosis.
·TOTAL MYTHS ABOUT THE DELAY OF ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIA: brain teasers, crossword puzzles, and any and all herbal supplements. In other words, Sudoku and gingko biloba won’t help at all.
5. Alzheimer’s was first described in 1906 and now affects up to 5.6 million Americans. The ten warning signs of Alzheimer’s: ·
Memory loss that affects job skills
·Difficulty performing familiar tasks
·Problems with language
·Disorientation to time and space (What day is it? Where am I?)
·Worsened judgment
·Difficulty with abstract thought
·Misplacing things (not “Where are my keys?” but “Where is my coat?”)
·Significant changes in mood or behavior
·Changes in personality
·Loss of initiative
We will be voting to approve this budget at our October meeting. Watauga Unit of NCRSP Proposed Budget for 2011 - 2012
Income
Local dues based on 80 members @ $8.00 640.00
Local dues based on 50 members @ $10.00 500.00
Total income 1140.00
Other estimated income 400.00 1540.00
Expenses
Newsletter printing (5 @ $100.00) 500.00
Other printing 25.00 Postage for newsletter (5 @ $70.00) 350.00
Other postage & supplies 50.00
Total printing, postage, & supplies 925.00
Officers’ expenses State Convention 300.00
Workshops, etc. 100.00
Total Officers’ expenses 400.00
Miscellaneous (Memorials, gifts, TLC) 150.00
Committee Expenses 65.00
Total Expenses 1540.00
From our Community Participation Chair:First let me give you a virtual pat on the back for your biggest donation of school supplies EVER. My car would hold only half of the things you brought to our August meeting. Lottie Downie carried her car full, too, and then it took four of us making four trips each to carry all those goodies into the Margaret Gragg Board of Education Building! The school board awarded us a framed certificate of appreciation at the September meeting and the local newspaper carried a story on the award.Now let me remind you again of our goals that 50% of our members report their volunteer hours and that 25% of those hours be in some kind of educational effort. I know you are out there doing many acts of kindness and selflessness; please be diligent in recording them. Eula Mae Fox Who’s Been Where Eula Mae Fox and Lottie Downie have just returned from the grand finale of the Ain’t Done Travellin’ Club, which is now “done,” unfortunately. The group’s farewell trip was a cruise to the Maritimes in September. Barbara Moy can tell you all about being in the Kansas in the summer heat wave and attending the International Barbershop Convention, and both La Verne Franklin and Janice Burns will be happy to share the exciting details of their recent trips to exotic Hickory, but perhaps that’s news for another time. The winners of our non-existent contest for “Most Adventuresome Members” this month are Dot Barker and Mary Hazel Mast, who spent part of their summer vacation white-water rafting on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. Just ask them! If you have news of trips, graduations, classes, activities, and other doings of our members, please send a note to ntn@skybest.com. Keeping Up with the Computer Age1.
Remember to check our local blogspot, http://wcrsp.blogspot.com/, for the latest issue of The Red Pencil, photos of the most recent meeting, news of the members, and links to important information.
2. Go to www.ncrsp.org for legislative updates, information about NC retirement, supplemental insurance, and lots of retirement links.
3. Send a quick note to your humble editor, Nanci Tolbert Nance, at ntn@skybest.com to insure that you receive The Red Pencil by email and save our unit more than $5 per year for your subscription.
Appalachian State University's Solar Homestead finished the national competition in Washington DC on Saturday, October 1, in 12th place and won the People's Choice Award. During the 10-day competition, the team's greatest achievements included a tie for first place in the hot water competition, second place in communications, a tie for third in home entertainment and a third place finish in architecture. The People’s Choice Award, based on 92,538 votes, shows the popular support for ASU’s Solar Homestead and reflects in large measure your participation in the voting process. Thank you, NCRSP members, and congratulations, ASU! Don’t Miss Out!!
Mark your calendar now for upcoming important events:
October 20 Watauga Unit NCRSP, 12.00 Deerfield Methodist Church
October 21 District Meeting, NCRSP, 10.30A Lenoir (please attend!)
December 15 Watauga Unit, NCRSP, 12.00P Deerfield Methodist Church
March 15 Watauga Unit, NCRSP, 12.00P Deerfield Methodist Church
March 21-22 NCRSP State Convention Marriott Hotel, Winston-Salem
May 17 Watauga Unit, NCRSP, 12.00P Deerfield Methodist Church
