The Red Pencil
Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XIII, No.5 May 2011 ntn1066@hotmail.com___
May Meeting
When: Thursday, 19 May 2010
Where:Deerfield Methodist Church
How much:$10, check payable to Watauga County NCRSP
What: Annual presentation of scholarship
Memorial service
Recognition of District 3 officer
Bring medicine bottles and any food staples you wish, especially powdered milk, canned soups, and cereals. Add a jar of peanut butter or two to your donation! The need at the Hunger Coalition has never been greater. And, AND, AND don’t forget our furry, hairy friends. Pick up a bag of cat or dog food for our four-legged friends in the animal shelter.
If your caller has not contacted you by the 15th of May, call Margaret Sigmon at 264-2036 or email her at margaretsigmon@bellsouth.net.
As a special donation this month, please bring first aid supplies (Band-Aids, Neosporin packets, alcohol rubs, gauze/pads, zinc oxide ointment and more) for use at OASIS, Boone’s shelter for battered women and children.
In a practice we began at our March meeting, we will have meals for sale for $5 after our meeting. If you are having a guest for dinner or eating alone for dinner or just love George’s wonderful food, place your order as you arrive or stay for a few moments after the meeting.
Most unusually, we are going to be putting out our little watering cans and collecting your scholarship “love offering” at our meeting. Because we were snowed out in December, we are considerably under our usual total for the scholarship fund and need to ask for your coin donations in May.
President’s Message
No one could be happier than I was when I took the last bean out of the snow-predicting jar this winter. So many members, friends and family members have had different ailments, especially during the cold temperatures. This had to be the year of the sinus infections. I think most of us got our gall bladders out during the year of the gall bladders. I'm wondering what will come next, but don't want to think about it.
Even though we lost some members through death, our numbers have remained steady. I think we all are realizing how important to be a part of the voice that reaches Raleigh. Our legislators are constantly in a tug of war and lots of times it has to do with us directly. Please let me encourage you to remain a part of our united voice and encourage other Watauga county school retirees to become an active part of that voice. I cannot thank the members who help see that things are done for us enough.
Have a great summer and may many blessings come your way.
LaVerne Franklin, President
We have so much for which to be grateful and so many people who work quietly behind the scenes to make our unit run smoothly and our meetings go well. This month, we’d like to thank George Wellington and his wife, Nettie, for feeding us as if we were kings and queens, Linda Harwood and her flower garden for making the tables so attractive, and Margaret Sigmon for making sure that the tables are up and set and ready for us as well as Margaret’s callers, who make sure we know when to arrive. George, Nettie, Linda, Margaret, and callers, we appreciate everything you do, even if we don’t shout it from the rooftops with trumpet accompaniment! And if YOU can stay after the meeting to help Roger Harwood and his crew return the tables to their proper storage and make sure the kitchen is ready for its next use, please do. We can use all the help we can get!
What I Love, a continuing series of personal essays from our members.
When I was a little girl, about 3 or 4 years of age, my grandfather would lift me up into the candy counter at his general store. I could have everything I could hold in my two hands as he pulled me out of the glass case. Back then, generally each piece of candy was not wrapped separately as it mostly is today.
Chocolate was the flavor I mostly went for and I created a love affair that has lasted most of my 68 years. Chocolate has been there when I celebrated happy times. It has been there when I was sad. It’s been there for holidays and celebrations and has made many days a little more special.
When I was a teenager, chocolate was a trusted friend. It asked nothing of me and accepted me every day through those difficult years. Chocolate always was a "giver".
When I was sixteen and had my driver's license, I would often go to the cemetery to “visit” my grandfather. I would remember those childhood trips to the store and I would sing to him. I wonder if he liked my choice of tunes. I was especially good at "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" and "Lady of Spain.” Being from our good Methodist family, I did throw in a few hymns I knew he would he approve of.
When I had children and grandchildren, I thought a little chocolate wouldn't hurt them, so I repeated my own history and gave them treats from brownies to fudge and more.
Now, I know what you are thinking! Candy is not good for your children or grandchildren, but a little can’t hurt.
I think chocolate is divine, a gift from heaven to multiply happiness and subtract sadness from our lives.
Today, give me a little chocolate, food of the gods, and a musical tune to hum or sing, and I think everything will be OK.
La Verne Franklin
Saying It with Poetry
Forgetfulness by Billy Collins
The name of the author is the first to go
followed obediently by the title, the plot,
the heartbreaking conclusion, the entire novel
which suddenly becomes one you have never read,
never even heard of,
as if, one by one, the memories you used to harbor
decided to retire to the southern hemisphere of the brain,
to a little fishing village where there are no phones.
Long ago you kissed the names of the nine Muses goodbye
and watched the quadratic equation pack its bag,
and even now as you memorize the order of the planets,
something else is slipping away, a state flower perhaps,
the address of an uncle, the capital of Paraguay.
Whatever it is you are struggling to remember,
it is not poised on the tip of your tongue,
not even lurking in some obscure corner of your spleen.
It has floated away down a dark mythological river
whose name begins with an L as far as you can recall,
well on your own way to oblivion where you will join those
who have even forgotten how to swim and how to ride a bicycle.
No wonder you rise in the middle of the night
to look up the date of a famous battle in a book on war.
No wonder the moon in the window seems to have drifted
out of a love poem that you used to know by heart.
Vials of Life – lifesavers for you and me
What is a Vial of Life? It’s a large pill bottle containing a sheet on which you will list your medications and medical conditions and a day’s worth of your medications. You’ll keep it in your fridge or next to your kitchen sink or by your bedside – or wherever you choose, notify a relative or put a note on the fridge to tell someone where it is, and if you find yourself in a medical emergency, the immediate responders will have everything they need at hand to help you.
The vials are free, a service of Boone Drug, and they will be available to us at our May meeting on the 19th. In fact, we hope to have enough vials at that meeting to be able to give you an extra for a spouse or a relative if you wish. If you cannot be at the meeting, you may pick up a vial at Boone Drug at Deerfield after the 19th. We thank Johnny Stacy and the rest of the Boone Drug team for their concern and generosity.
New faces at our meeting in March: Wynne Ayers, Barbara and Winston Kinsey, Leigh Garrard, and Claire Mamola. Yahoo (not the search engine) and welcome!
Scholarship Fund in Need
Because we missed our December meeting, we have had only 4/5 of our opportunities to contribute to the Scholarship Fund, and that is a very bad thing. We ask you to come to the meeting in May prepared to be generous with your noisy change, softly swishing folding money, and crinkly checks.
In addition, please think about donating to the Scholarship Fund in honor or in memory of a friend, a teacher, or a family member. This month we recognize contributions from Mary E. Moretz and Nanci Tolbert Nance in memory of Kate Peterson and from Mary E. Moretz in memory of Betty Martha Triplett.
If you like being in the know, check out our blogspot at http://wcrsp.blogspot.com/ for the latest local news about your NCRSP chapter and go to www.ncae.org to sign up for daily political briefings about legislation that affects retired school personnel. Other helpful sites include www.ncrsp.org for our NC Retired School Personnel and www.ncga.state.nc.us/ for the NC General Assembly. To share news of our own unit, please get in touch with Nanci Tolbert Nance, ntn@skybest.com.
Important Information about Your NC State Health Plan,
an update from Angie Miller, Associate Director, Benefits and Employee Assistance, Human Resource Services, ASU
The State Health Plan has announced annual enrollment dates for the 2011-2012 plan year. Beginning Monday May 9th, 2011 employees may go on-line and complete the annual enrollment process. The annual enrollment site will automatically close at midnight on June 8th, 2011. Enrollment Kits are being placed in the mail today, but due to the delayed enrollment dates Human Resources wanted all employees to have access to the on-line enrollment kits immediately. To access and download the annual enrollment kits please go to:
http://www.shpnc.org/hbr-enrollment-matls/ae-kit-2011.pdf
Important Points:
• All premiums, co-payments, and deductibles remain the same until further legislation is enacted. At the time of any legislative changes a separate annual enrollment will be announced.
• This enrollment is online ONLY. No paper forms are accepted. Information on how to access the on-line system is outlined in the annual enrollment kit
• All employees and retirees who are not on Medicare will automatically be placed in the 70/30 Basic Plan effective 7-1-2011. Any employee wishing to move up to the 80/20 Standard Plan will be required to complete the on-line enrollment and complete the comprehensive wellness initiatives attestation questions that will be prompted in the on-line enrollment. For employees wishing to remain in the 70/30 Basic Plan you do not have to complete the on-line annual enrollment unless adding or taking off dependents.
Assistance Sessions
Human Resources will be offering Annual Enrollment Assistance Sessions for non-ASU employees and any NC state retiree in the Amber Room of the Broyhill Inn and Conference Center on the following dates and times:
Tuesday May 24th, 2011 4-6P Broyhill Conference Center (Amber Room)
Wednesday June 1st, 2011 1-5P Broyhill Conference Center (Amber Room)
If you have any questions, please call Angie Miller in the Benefits Office in Human Resource Services at 262-6769.
A Little of This, a Lot of That, and Everything Important,
Being a quick look at information you really need about a number of subjects1. We are still collecting old cell phones for use at OASIS. Your old phone will be wiped clean of your information and programmed to dial only 911. Please remember to include the chargers when donating phones.
2. We note with sadness the passing of Dr. Ben Horton on 2 May 2011. Ben and Libby were two of our dearest and most loyal members.
3. Advice from the Boone Police Department: if you have a handicapped-driver placard for your car, DO NOT drive with it hanging from your rearview mirror, where it causes a ticketable offense: an impairment to vision. Wait until you park the car to hang the placard from mirror.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
March Newsletter-- Red Pencil-2011
The Red Pencil The Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XIII, No.4, March 2011
Nanci Tolbert Nance, editor
ntn1066@hotmail.com
963-8892
March Meeting
Noon, Thursday, March 17, 2011
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, check payable to
Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Program: Christmas in March. Since we missed our annual Christmas entertainment, we’ll be celebrating the holiday twice as much when we add a little St. Patrick to St. Nick. Wear something green AND your NCRSP apple and come prepared to tap your toes!
Also, we will be voting for NEA-R/NEA delegates to the NEA National Convention at the March meeting.
Janice Burns is donating one of her fabulous coconut pound cakes to a raffle to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Tickets are $1 apiece or $5 for six.
Please bring as much non-perishable food as you can manage for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, cans of soup, oatmeal and pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANYTHING non-perishable, will be acceptable. Remember those empty medicine bottles, too; each one of them saves the Hunger Coalition at least a nickel. And plastic bags. And Box Tops for Education. And yourself, of course.
Important note: Those books you bought to bring to the December meeting for Santa’s Toybox? Bring them in March! We’ll get them to Gene Swift and be one step ahead for the coming season!
Very important note: If your caller has not phoned you by the 12st of March, call your caller if you plan to attend. If you change your mind at the last minute about attending, call Margaret Sigmon at 264-2036 immediately and come ahead! As usual, Margaret thanks her team of callers who generously volunteer their time doing important work for our organization.
AND remember: After our lunch, you will be able to purchase a second meal to take home for $5. As good as George’s food is, imagine how much you’ll enjoy sharing with a friend or spouse or having your own dinner already prepared! Let one of your officers know as quickly as you can at the meeting so that your meal will be ready for you to take home.
President’s Message Blame it on la nina, el nino, global warming, Mother Nature or Old Man Winter, but this winter has really been something, hasn’t it? Soon we’ll come to the end of it and I know we’ll all be grateful.
Our March meeting will be our first time together since fall and we will have to try to get our scholarship funded for our recipient in May.
I am receiving mail from Raleigh each day with updates on what our legislators are doing or thinking of doing. I will try to pass on any information of which you need to be aware. We can expect many changes in the near future on the state and national level and we can't afford to be complacent. Your officers will try to stay abreast of developments and we may sometimes ask you to send your input to the state or national politicians. Remember that together, we can make our voices heard.
Look for the snow crocuses and daffodils soon.
Your President,
La Verne Franklin
In Memoriam
The Watauga Unit of NCRSP extends its sympathy to the families and friends of these members whom we have lost, Lovely Danner, Miriam Darnell, Kate Peterson, Jane Robinson, Betty Martha Triplett, and Dot Tugman.
NCRSP Scholarship Fund in Need
Each May, our chapter of NCRSP awards a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating high school senior who plans to become a teacher. Our generosity to the scholarship winner depends entirely on each NCRSP’s generosity to the Scholarship Fund. Because we missed getting together in December, we are behind in collecting loose change and the other donations that come in at that meeting.
First, PLEASE bring all your spare change for the little watering cans on your table and plan to make an enormous noise when you pour those nickels and dimes and quarters into the pots.
Second, if you haven’t made your annual gift to the Scholarship Fund, please do so at the March meeting or mail a check to Watauga County NCRSP Scholarship Fund to Dot Barker, 451 Poplar Hill Dr., Boone NC 28607.
Third, if you have already contributed to the fund, please consider doing it again, this time in memory or in honor of a deceased member of our chapter, a colleague, or a favorite teacher. Write the name of the honoree on your check and we’ll make a point of including it in the next Red Pencil.
And don’t forget the cake raffle!
BRAIN WORKS; DOING SOMETHING WONDERFUL FOR YOURSELF EVERY DAY
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html is the address for a most challenging game of identifying the countries in the politically volatile Middle East and North Africa. Try it yourself before passing it along to your children and grandchildren.
http://bremco.maps.sienatech.com. Purely as a matter of interest, when power goes out in Watauga County – and yours is still on – you can log onto this site to see where the problems are. Little power trucks will show you precisely where your BREMCO folks are at work!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ways by which we communicate are changing. Don’t be left behind!
We hope you aren’t tiring of hearing this message, because we can’t tire of saying it: every member of our unit who receives The Red Pencil by email saves the unit nearly $1 per issue. If you do not currently receive the newsletter by email and would like to do so, please send an email to Nanci at ntn@skybest.com with your name and email address in the body of your message. Use the same address if you would like to contribute to The Red Pencil.
AND, AND, AND, here’s a reminder that the web address for our Watauga County NCRSP blog is http://wcrsp.blogspot.com. Put that address in your Favorites column and keep up with the activities of our unit, including a copy of The Red Pencil and photos from meetings, courtesy of our webmaster, Lee Stroupe.
Volunteer Hours Fall Short of Goal
Last year, in an effort to entice more of us to do more of our volunteer hours in educational activities, our state officers set their goals for us. We’re asked to have at least 50% of our members to report their volunteer hours, with at least 25% of those hours in educational activities and we’re asked to create a group project in a school or in our community.
In 2010, we were far short of achieving the goal of 50% reporting. Only 42 people turned in a report, and we would have needed at least 60 to meet that goal. We came VERY CLOSE to achieving our aim of putting at least 25% of our hours into education, the one goal I thought would be hardest for us to meet. We had 1874 hours of school-related activity out of a total of 8197 hours! Way to go!
We did not attempt to meet that third goal, creating a unit project in a school or the community, but your Executive Board is at work on that one right now and may have exciting news soon.
At the risk of sounding like the proverbial broken record, PLEASE let me encourage you to keep an accounting of the time you spend volunteering in a school or in a community. We are a very active group; we just need to keep records to show it!
Eula Mae Fox, chr., Community Service Comm.
“What I Love” is our continuing series of personal essays. This contribution is anonymous – but it’s wonderful.
The History of 'APRONS'
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, shy kids could hide behind it.
And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Young wives and mothers today would probably go crazy trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...
What’s New that You Need to Know:
v The State NCRSP Convention is happening in Durham March 15-16. Representing our unit will be Beth Carrin, Eula Mae Fox, and Bill Winkler.
v Our unit currently has 121 members. Every single member is important, yet we obviously need to grow. If you are aware of current members of the education community who are nearing retirement, please begin now to explain the value of their membership in NC Retired School Personnel.
v If you are newly retired, this is the first Red Pencil you have received because we have just learned of your retirement and we welcome you. We hope that you will come to our luncheon meeting on March 17 at 12:00 at Deerfield Methodist Church. If you can attend, please call Margaret Sigmon at 264-2036 by Saturday, March 12.
Vol.XIII, No.4, March 2011
Nanci Tolbert Nance, editor
ntn1066@hotmail.com
963-8892
March Meeting
Noon, Thursday, March 17, 2011
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, check payable to
Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Program: Christmas in March. Since we missed our annual Christmas entertainment, we’ll be celebrating the holiday twice as much when we add a little St. Patrick to St. Nick. Wear something green AND your NCRSP apple and come prepared to tap your toes!
Also, we will be voting for NEA-R/NEA delegates to the NEA National Convention at the March meeting.
Janice Burns is donating one of her fabulous coconut pound cakes to a raffle to benefit the Scholarship Fund. Tickets are $1 apiece or $5 for six.
Please bring as much non-perishable food as you can manage for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, cans of soup, oatmeal and pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANYTHING non-perishable, will be acceptable. Remember those empty medicine bottles, too; each one of them saves the Hunger Coalition at least a nickel. And plastic bags. And Box Tops for Education. And yourself, of course.
Important note: Those books you bought to bring to the December meeting for Santa’s Toybox? Bring them in March! We’ll get them to Gene Swift and be one step ahead for the coming season!
Very important note: If your caller has not phoned you by the 12st of March, call your caller if you plan to attend. If you change your mind at the last minute about attending, call Margaret Sigmon at 264-2036 immediately and come ahead! As usual, Margaret thanks her team of callers who generously volunteer their time doing important work for our organization.
AND remember: After our lunch, you will be able to purchase a second meal to take home for $5. As good as George’s food is, imagine how much you’ll enjoy sharing with a friend or spouse or having your own dinner already prepared! Let one of your officers know as quickly as you can at the meeting so that your meal will be ready for you to take home.
President’s Message Blame it on la nina, el nino, global warming, Mother Nature or Old Man Winter, but this winter has really been something, hasn’t it? Soon we’ll come to the end of it and I know we’ll all be grateful.
Our March meeting will be our first time together since fall and we will have to try to get our scholarship funded for our recipient in May.
I am receiving mail from Raleigh each day with updates on what our legislators are doing or thinking of doing. I will try to pass on any information of which you need to be aware. We can expect many changes in the near future on the state and national level and we can't afford to be complacent. Your officers will try to stay abreast of developments and we may sometimes ask you to send your input to the state or national politicians. Remember that together, we can make our voices heard.
Look for the snow crocuses and daffodils soon.
Your President,
La Verne Franklin
In Memoriam
The Watauga Unit of NCRSP extends its sympathy to the families and friends of these members whom we have lost, Lovely Danner, Miriam Darnell, Kate Peterson, Jane Robinson, Betty Martha Triplett, and Dot Tugman.
NCRSP Scholarship Fund in Need
Each May, our chapter of NCRSP awards a $1,000 scholarship to a graduating high school senior who plans to become a teacher. Our generosity to the scholarship winner depends entirely on each NCRSP’s generosity to the Scholarship Fund. Because we missed getting together in December, we are behind in collecting loose change and the other donations that come in at that meeting.
First, PLEASE bring all your spare change for the little watering cans on your table and plan to make an enormous noise when you pour those nickels and dimes and quarters into the pots.
Second, if you haven’t made your annual gift to the Scholarship Fund, please do so at the March meeting or mail a check to Watauga County NCRSP Scholarship Fund to Dot Barker, 451 Poplar Hill Dr., Boone NC 28607.
Third, if you have already contributed to the fund, please consider doing it again, this time in memory or in honor of a deceased member of our chapter, a colleague, or a favorite teacher. Write the name of the honoree on your check and we’ll make a point of including it in the next Red Pencil.
And don’t forget the cake raffle!
BRAIN WORKS; DOING SOMETHING WONDERFUL FOR YOURSELF EVERY DAY
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/just_fun/games/mapgame.html is the address for a most challenging game of identifying the countries in the politically volatile Middle East and North Africa. Try it yourself before passing it along to your children and grandchildren.
http://bremco.maps.sienatech.com. Purely as a matter of interest, when power goes out in Watauga County – and yours is still on – you can log onto this site to see where the problems are. Little power trucks will show you precisely where your BREMCO folks are at work!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The ways by which we communicate are changing. Don’t be left behind!
We hope you aren’t tiring of hearing this message, because we can’t tire of saying it: every member of our unit who receives The Red Pencil by email saves the unit nearly $1 per issue. If you do not currently receive the newsletter by email and would like to do so, please send an email to Nanci at ntn@skybest.com with your name and email address in the body of your message. Use the same address if you would like to contribute to The Red Pencil.
AND, AND, AND, here’s a reminder that the web address for our Watauga County NCRSP blog is http://wcrsp.blogspot.com. Put that address in your Favorites column and keep up with the activities of our unit, including a copy of The Red Pencil and photos from meetings, courtesy of our webmaster, Lee Stroupe.
Volunteer Hours Fall Short of Goal
Last year, in an effort to entice more of us to do more of our volunteer hours in educational activities, our state officers set their goals for us. We’re asked to have at least 50% of our members to report their volunteer hours, with at least 25% of those hours in educational activities and we’re asked to create a group project in a school or in our community.
In 2010, we were far short of achieving the goal of 50% reporting. Only 42 people turned in a report, and we would have needed at least 60 to meet that goal. We came VERY CLOSE to achieving our aim of putting at least 25% of our hours into education, the one goal I thought would be hardest for us to meet. We had 1874 hours of school-related activity out of a total of 8197 hours! Way to go!
We did not attempt to meet that third goal, creating a unit project in a school or the community, but your Executive Board is at work on that one right now and may have exciting news soon.
At the risk of sounding like the proverbial broken record, PLEASE let me encourage you to keep an accounting of the time you spend volunteering in a school or in a community. We are a very active group; we just need to keep records to show it!
Eula Mae Fox, chr., Community Service Comm.
“What I Love” is our continuing series of personal essays. This contribution is anonymous – but it’s wonderful.
The History of 'APRONS'
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress underneath because she only had a few. It was also because it was easier to wash aprons than dresses and aprons used less material. But along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming oven.
When company came, shy kids could hide behind it.
And when the weather was cold Grandma wrapped it around her arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables.
After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the men folk knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that 'old-time apron' that served so many purposes.
Young wives and mothers today would probably go crazy trying to figure out how many germs were on that apron.
I don't think I ever caught anything from an apron - but love...
What’s New that You Need to Know:
v The State NCRSP Convention is happening in Durham March 15-16. Representing our unit will be Beth Carrin, Eula Mae Fox, and Bill Winkler.
v Our unit currently has 121 members. Every single member is important, yet we obviously need to grow. If you are aware of current members of the education community who are nearing retirement, please begin now to explain the value of their membership in NC Retired School Personnel.
v If you are newly retired, this is the first Red Pencil you have received because we have just learned of your retirement and we welcome you. We hope that you will come to our luncheon meeting on March 17 at 12:00 at Deerfield Methodist Church. If you can attend, please call Margaret Sigmon at 264-2036 by Saturday, March 12.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Dec 16th Christmas Luncheon is Cancelled
We’re having a bah-humbug moment, members of the Watauga Unit of North Carolina Retired School Personnel. You’ve probably noticed that the snow is falling (along with the temperatures!), the wind is blowing, and the roads are largely impassable. What’s more, the forecast doesn’t look encouraging.
While we still can, before George orders our food and begins preparing our meal, your executive board has voted to cancel the December meeting scheduled for this Thursday at noon. Stay in, stay warm, and stay safe – and plan to gather in March.
AND, AND, AND, while the weather may have stopped our getting together, it doesn’t affect our responsibility to report volunteer hours to Eula Mae before her state-mandated deadline. Fill out your form now, please, and mail it to: Eula Mae Fox, 199 Watauga Dr., Boone NC 28607. If you have a question, call her at 264-3066. This little task won’t take long and it is SO important!
Finally, we know that we have a number of members who do not receive unit emails. Please phone your non-email friends in our group and let them know that our next meeting is in March, not this Thursday.
And from your executive board – a Merry and a Happy and all good wishes for a healthy, safe holiday season and new year.
Nanci
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Dec Red Pencil
The Red Pencil
Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XIII, No.3 December 2010 ntn1066@hotmail.com
December Meeting
Noon, Thursday, December 16, 2010
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, payable to Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Program: Music from the Blue Ridge Vocal Ensemble, with, perhaps, a little help from you.
To make your reservation: Respond to your caller or call Dot Barker (264-3621) by December 12. Please note that you’re calling Dot this month, not Margaret. Unfortunately, Margaret has been under the weather for several weeks and Dot is filling in for her. We’re all eagerly awaiting Margaret’s healthy return.
To bring: as much non-perishable food as you can for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, soup, oatmeal, pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANYthing non-perishable will be acceptable. Don’t forget those medicine bottles, either, and this month, please include all those annoying little plastic bags from the grocery store and Wal-Mart and every other shop in town. We can recycle them!
Also to bring: a new or gently read children’s book for distribution to the children in this county through the Santa’s Toy Box Program.
DO NOT bring books that have been marked in. We’re honoring the legacy of Dr. Seuss and the Read Across America program he loved. On that subject, if you would like to volunteer to read to kids, select an appropriate volume, put the first week of March on your calendar, and call your favorite elementary school.
NEW THIS MONTH:
After our lunch, you will be able to purchase a second meal to take home for $5. As good as George’s food is, imagine how much you’ll enjoy sharing with a friend or spouse or having your own dinner already prepared!
President’s Message
Holidays always remind me that I am not the best cook in the world but I plug along at it and hope the results taste good. I can remember my first cake when I was about 5. I couldn't figure out what made cakes smell good, so I put my older sister's "Evening in Paris" in it. Needless to say, the house had to be aired out for a while. Another time I used maple flavoring making syrup for my children's pancakes. This was about the time I was sneaking whole wheat and other healthy ingredients into their food. My spoon set up in the brew and I had to throw away the spoon and the pot. Soaking for days wouldn't get the mixture out. So here I am again, trying to cook for Thanksgiving and as soon as the kids get here, they will say, "What have you burned today?"
Putting aside my personal challenge for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I am thankful for the knowledge that I know so many famous people. You may not be athletes or tv or movie stars, but when I think of your contributions to school children and all the other kind things that you have done , you all go to the top of the list of people who deserve to be famous for their generosity and warm hearts. I am so grateful to you and for you, and I am proud to know each of you.
Gentle blessings to you and your loved ones.
La Verne Franklin
News of Our Members
We’re delighted to welcome Jane Arrington to our happy band.
As noted, Margaret Sigmon has been having a rough, rough month and has spent some time in Watauga Medical Center. We all wish her a quick recovery.
Your Executive Board was comparing travel notes the other day. Janice Burns is headed to Cancun, Beth Carrin is off to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in the new year, and Billy Ralph Winkler has been to Greensboro on official business, accepting the Commissioners of the Year Award from the NC Association of School Boards on behalf of the Watauga County Commissioners.
La Verne Franklin is delighted to share that she has been to Toys R Us, and your humble newsletter editor has spent time in exotic Foscoe.
Billy Ralph Winkler, Watauga Unit Vice-president, has been nominated for District 3 Vice-president.
??????????????----------------------------------------------------------------------- In Memoriam
Kate Peterson died on October 24, 2010 at 100. In her memory, we have made a donation to the Watauga Unit Scholarship Fund, of which she was a generous supporter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas Recipe
A really great website for foodies is www.southernplate.com, the website of Christy Jordan, author of Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family and Alabama’s answer to Paula Deen.
For an easy, perfect seasonal snack and little giftie item, too, Christy suggests Candy-coated Peanuts.
You’ll need 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of water, and 2 cups of raw peanuts (skin on).
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the peanuts and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the peanuts are completely sugar-coated and no syrup remains, about 30 minutes. Pour out onto an ungreased cookie sheet and separate the peanuts with a fork. Bake for for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Allow to cool on a cookie sheet and store in a sealed container.
Computer Talk
ü Our fabulous and informative Watauga County NCRSP blogspot is http://wataugacountyretiredpersonnel.blogspot.com/. Lee Stroupe updates this site often with new photographs and copies of The Red Pencil and other goodies you’ll want to read.
ü For NCRSP, the website address is www.ncrsp.org. If you are trying to reach Pam or Dave Deardorff, their numbers in Raleigh are 800-662-7924, extension 244 for Pam and 242 for Dave.
Membership Matters!
Membership is a topic that just won’t go away, and it shouldn’t. We need every single member we can attract and we need new and present members to be aware of the benefits of their membership and participation. At present, we have 127 members in our unit, 85 of whom are on payroll deduction and 39 of whom pay their dues by check, and 8 new members this year.
In a change in policy, NEW members only, not present or past members, may join NCRSP on a pro-rated basis if they are on payroll deduction. If you have colleagues who have been thinking of joining us but did not come to the August or October meetings, please let them know that they can join now or at any time during our year by paying the pro-rated sum. Call Dot Barker, 254-3621, for specific details.
What I Love – another in our continuing series of personal expressions from our members. If you would like to contribute to this feature, please send your brief essay to Nanci Tolbert Nance, ntn@skybest.com, or give her a written copy. This month’s piece comes from Leota Cloyd.
What I love? Books.
I grew up on a farm five miles north of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was depression years so there was no money for luxuries such as books. The little country school that I attended had no library. We were allowed to borrow books from the State Library in the capital.
Receiving a book at Christmas was the most exciting present. I managed to collect several Louisa May Alcott books over the years and reread them many times.
Keith and I both love to read and our biggest extravagance is buying books. We just can’t pass up a bookstore, a library book sale, or any other book sale without purchasing a precious volume for our bulging book shelves. We wonder about a time when books become extinct. Will our collection be valuable – or burned?
Business:
At our December meeting, we will vote on the budget presented in October. We will also have our NCRSP cellphone trappers for sale for $10.
Community Participation
Eula Mae Fox
At our August meeting, I announced a challenge that has been issued by the state organization to all local units in regards to our community participation. They gave us three goals:
(1) that 50% of our members will report their volunteers with
(2) 25% of the hours in educational activities and
(3) that we have a group project in a school or in the community.
I feel that many more than 50% of our members do good works (without pay) every month; if you will report them (few or many), achieving one third of the goals will be easily accomplished. We need to have some conversations in order to set our plans for reaching the other two goals in 2011.
Please, please understand that reporting your community participation time is NOT patting yourself on the back. It is NOT bragging. It is your own way to make a very valuable contribution to the impression we make on our legislators and to help our lobbyists to safeguard the benefits we receive as retired school personnel. Your community participation and your report have never been more important than they are now.
Bring your completed form to the December meeting or mail it to Eula Mae Fox, 199 Watauga Dr., Boone NC 28607, by December 31.
Total Hours in All Categories ________
Remembering Some Good Advice from Nima Burns
If you missed our October meeting, you missed a really, really good one as Nima Burns, the fraud and identity theft specialist in the NC Attorney General’s office, spoke to us about being proactive in protecting ourselves from some of the dangers of this world. Among other important pieces of advice from Nima were these reminders:
1. Never carry your Social Security card with you. Make a Xerox copy of it, make a copy of the copy, and black out the last four digits of your number. Carry that. Do the same thing with your Blue Cross/Blue Shield card and Medicare card.
2. Make Xerox copies of the front and back of your credit cards and file those papers in a safe place.
3. Take advantage of the free credit reporting services from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by scheduling your annual report from each one every four months, i.e. Equifax in January, Experian in May, and TransUnion in September.
4. If you’re expecting checks in the mail, have them sent to your bank, especially if your mailbox is some distance from your home.
5. If you’re putting checks in the mail, take them to a post office rather than put them in your mailbox and alert a potential thief by raising the red flag.
Newsletter of Watauga County Retired School Personnel
Vol.XIII, No.3 December 2010 ntn1066@hotmail.com
December Meeting
Noon, Thursday, December 16, 2010
Deerfield Methodist Church
Cost per meal is $10, payable to Watauga Unit, NCRSP
Program: Music from the Blue Ridge Vocal Ensemble, with, perhaps, a little help from you.
To make your reservation: Respond to your caller or call Dot Barker (264-3621) by December 12. Please note that you’re calling Dot this month, not Margaret. Unfortunately, Margaret has been under the weather for several weeks and Dot is filling in for her. We’re all eagerly awaiting Margaret’s healthy return.
To bring: as much non-perishable food as you can for the Hunger Coalition. Powdered milk, soup, oatmeal, pasta products, canned fruit and vegetables, ANYthing non-perishable will be acceptable. Don’t forget those medicine bottles, either, and this month, please include all those annoying little plastic bags from the grocery store and Wal-Mart and every other shop in town. We can recycle them!
Also to bring: a new or gently read children’s book for distribution to the children in this county through the Santa’s Toy Box Program.
DO NOT bring books that have been marked in. We’re honoring the legacy of Dr. Seuss and the Read Across America program he loved. On that subject, if you would like to volunteer to read to kids, select an appropriate volume, put the first week of March on your calendar, and call your favorite elementary school.
NEW THIS MONTH:
After our lunch, you will be able to purchase a second meal to take home for $5. As good as George’s food is, imagine how much you’ll enjoy sharing with a friend or spouse or having your own dinner already prepared!
President’s Message
Holidays always remind me that I am not the best cook in the world but I plug along at it and hope the results taste good. I can remember my first cake when I was about 5. I couldn't figure out what made cakes smell good, so I put my older sister's "Evening in Paris" in it. Needless to say, the house had to be aired out for a while. Another time I used maple flavoring making syrup for my children's pancakes. This was about the time I was sneaking whole wheat and other healthy ingredients into their food. My spoon set up in the brew and I had to throw away the spoon and the pot. Soaking for days wouldn't get the mixture out. So here I am again, trying to cook for Thanksgiving and as soon as the kids get here, they will say, "What have you burned today?"
Putting aside my personal challenge for Thanksgiving and the holiday season, I am thankful for the knowledge that I know so many famous people. You may not be athletes or tv or movie stars, but when I think of your contributions to school children and all the other kind things that you have done , you all go to the top of the list of people who deserve to be famous for their generosity and warm hearts. I am so grateful to you and for you, and I am proud to know each of you.
Gentle blessings to you and your loved ones.
La Verne Franklin
News of Our Members
We’re delighted to welcome Jane Arrington to our happy band.
As noted, Margaret Sigmon has been having a rough, rough month and has spent some time in Watauga Medical Center. We all wish her a quick recovery.
Your Executive Board was comparing travel notes the other day. Janice Burns is headed to Cancun, Beth Carrin is off to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in the new year, and Billy Ralph Winkler has been to Greensboro on official business, accepting the Commissioners of the Year Award from the NC Association of School Boards on behalf of the Watauga County Commissioners.
La Verne Franklin is delighted to share that she has been to Toys R Us, and your humble newsletter editor has spent time in exotic Foscoe.
Billy Ralph Winkler, Watauga Unit Vice-president, has been nominated for District 3 Vice-president.
??????????????----------------------------------------------------------------------- In Memoriam
Kate Peterson died on October 24, 2010 at 100. In her memory, we have made a donation to the Watauga Unit Scholarship Fund, of which she was a generous supporter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christmas Recipe
A really great website for foodies is www.southernplate.com, the website of Christy Jordan, author of Southern Plate: Classic Comfort Food That Makes Everyone Feel Like Family and Alabama’s answer to Paula Deen.
For an easy, perfect seasonal snack and little giftie item, too, Christy suggests Candy-coated Peanuts.
You’ll need 1 cup of sugar, ½ cup of water, and 2 cups of raw peanuts (skin on).
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Place over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add the peanuts and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the peanuts are completely sugar-coated and no syrup remains, about 30 minutes. Pour out onto an ungreased cookie sheet and separate the peanuts with a fork. Bake for for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. Allow to cool on a cookie sheet and store in a sealed container.
Computer Talk
ü Our fabulous and informative Watauga County NCRSP blogspot is http://wataugacountyretiredpersonnel.blogspot.com/. Lee Stroupe updates this site often with new photographs and copies of The Red Pencil and other goodies you’ll want to read.
ü For NCRSP, the website address is www.ncrsp.org. If you are trying to reach Pam or Dave Deardorff, their numbers in Raleigh are 800-662-7924, extension 244 for Pam and 242 for Dave.
Membership Matters!
Membership is a topic that just won’t go away, and it shouldn’t. We need every single member we can attract and we need new and present members to be aware of the benefits of their membership and participation. At present, we have 127 members in our unit, 85 of whom are on payroll deduction and 39 of whom pay their dues by check, and 8 new members this year.
In a change in policy, NEW members only, not present or past members, may join NCRSP on a pro-rated basis if they are on payroll deduction. If you have colleagues who have been thinking of joining us but did not come to the August or October meetings, please let them know that they can join now or at any time during our year by paying the pro-rated sum. Call Dot Barker, 254-3621, for specific details.
What I Love – another in our continuing series of personal expressions from our members. If you would like to contribute to this feature, please send your brief essay to Nanci Tolbert Nance, ntn@skybest.com, or give her a written copy. This month’s piece comes from Leota Cloyd.
What I love? Books.
I grew up on a farm five miles north of Lincoln, Nebraska. It was depression years so there was no money for luxuries such as books. The little country school that I attended had no library. We were allowed to borrow books from the State Library in the capital.
Receiving a book at Christmas was the most exciting present. I managed to collect several Louisa May Alcott books over the years and reread them many times.
Keith and I both love to read and our biggest extravagance is buying books. We just can’t pass up a bookstore, a library book sale, or any other book sale without purchasing a precious volume for our bulging book shelves. We wonder about a time when books become extinct. Will our collection be valuable – or burned?
Business:
At our December meeting, we will vote on the budget presented in October. We will also have our NCRSP cellphone trappers for sale for $10.
Community Participation
Eula Mae Fox
At our August meeting, I announced a challenge that has been issued by the state organization to all local units in regards to our community participation. They gave us three goals:
(1) that 50% of our members will report their volunteers with
(2) 25% of the hours in educational activities and
(3) that we have a group project in a school or in the community.
I feel that many more than 50% of our members do good works (without pay) every month; if you will report them (few or many), achieving one third of the goals will be easily accomplished. We need to have some conversations in order to set our plans for reaching the other two goals in 2011.
Please, please understand that reporting your community participation time is NOT patting yourself on the back. It is NOT bragging. It is your own way to make a very valuable contribution to the impression we make on our legislators and to help our lobbyists to safeguard the benefits we receive as retired school personnel. Your community participation and your report have never been more important than they are now.
Bring your completed form to the December meeting or mail it to Eula Mae Fox, 199 Watauga Dr., Boone NC 28607, by December 31.
Total Hours in All Categories ________
Remembering Some Good Advice from Nima Burns
If you missed our October meeting, you missed a really, really good one as Nima Burns, the fraud and identity theft specialist in the NC Attorney General’s office, spoke to us about being proactive in protecting ourselves from some of the dangers of this world. Among other important pieces of advice from Nima were these reminders:
1. Never carry your Social Security card with you. Make a Xerox copy of it, make a copy of the copy, and black out the last four digits of your number. Carry that. Do the same thing with your Blue Cross/Blue Shield card and Medicare card.
2. Make Xerox copies of the front and back of your credit cards and file those papers in a safe place.
3. Take advantage of the free credit reporting services from Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion by scheduling your annual report from each one every four months, i.e. Equifax in January, Experian in May, and TransUnion in September.
4. If you’re expecting checks in the mail, have them sent to your bank, especially if your mailbox is some distance from your home.
5. If you’re putting checks in the mail, take them to a post office rather than put them in your mailbox and alert a potential thief by raising the red flag.
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