« AREA News - October 2025

Welcome to the AREA Newsletter for October 2025

Next Meeting -

November 12, 2025

10:30 AM

Green Ladle

Lewiston High School

President's Message

I can’t believe it’s almost November and after this meeting, we won’t see each other for a while.
Many thanks to all of you for bringing in wonderful items to be auctioned off and then your willingness to bid on all kinds of items. Also thanks to Ruben as always he did a terrific job and we all had fun. Last but not least thanks to Cindy and Gina for taking care of the finances so we wouldn’t have to worry about it. I’ll let Gina tell you in November how much money we raised for scholarships.  And many thanks to Crystal Ward for her work on the Day of Caring Project to benefit The Store Next Door.  

Thanks again!!
Dave

Reservation Form

Pay with The Exchange

Go to this link - The Exchange

Choose Product - Meal

Choose Organization - AREA

Proceed to Payment. - $22.00 per person

Really, this is easy.  No form, no envelope, no stamps - Just easy.

Downloads Folder

Treasurer's Message

Please note:  November Luncheon is at Lewiston High School where the meal is a bit more expensive.  They charge the same room rental but the meal is $ 18.25 with a 20 % tax so we need to charge $ 22 to cover the meal..    The room rental will be paid from our treasury.

 AREA members are Outstanding , Awesome ! Wonderful!!     Our Project to help feed homeless students in Lewiston and Auburn  was a great success !  The final tally was $850 or $425 for each School Departements Homeless Student Program.   

Members donated $525 , AREA budgeted $200 and MEA Retired granted $100.   Both Natasha Trucottte ,Lewiston Homeless Student Program and Sasha Anastansoff ,Auburn Homeless Student Program  were very appreciative of the donation.   

Very well done AREA !!

From the State House

from Crystal Ward

The Lewiston Education Association (LEA) represents teachers and other educators in our local public schools. We care deeply about the quality of our local public schools and the quality of life in our community. Members of the LEA thoroughly vetted the candidates for local office in this November’s election and we encourage MEA members in Lewiston to please consider supporting the following candidates:

City Council:

Ward 3 – Scott Harriman

Ward 5 – Iman Osman

School Committee:

Ward 2 – Melanie Gould

Ward 4 – Julia Harper

Ward 6 – Benjamin Daley

At Large – Luke Jensen

These candidates are best positioned to help lead our city and our local schools. LEA members reviewed their responses to questions about our city and feel strongly they will help Lewiston grow and thrive, especially for the students in our city.

Please Vote On November 4, 2025  or before by absentee and early voting

Vote No on Question #1. 

This 28-page document is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.  While masquerading as a Voter ID law, hidden inside is pages of rules and restrictions that could harm  40% of Maine voters and a higher percent of AREA and MEA Retired  members who vote absentee or early voting to cast their ballots.

VOTE YES on Maine Question #2 

Maine Question #2 the Extreme Risk Protection Orders to Restrict Firearms and Weapons Access Initiative, aims to add a red flag law to Maine's legal framework. This law would allow courts to temporarily prohibit individuals from having dangerous weapons if law enforcement, family, or household members show that the individual poses a significant danger of causing physical injury to themselves or others.  . This does not replace the Yellow Flag Law ,it will still be on the books.

November 4 elections are critical with over 200 school committee and municipal seats in contest. Please be sure to consider pro-public education candidates!

The new session of the Maine Legislature will start in January 2026, it is the short session and MEA Retired has several bills that were carried over to this session. We are currently working to see what we believe we have hope to get passed because they all cost millions. 

Down in Washington they have fired all the people in Special Education in the DOE which was in Project 2025 to be removed.  Some in Washington want Special Education to be taken out of the schools??!!!   Terrible Medicaid cuts are going to harm housands of Mainers and the largest group is the Elderly, disabled, nursing homes.  Insurance cut for those in ACA are going UP! UP!

Scam Alert

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month – a great time to remind ourselves just how much of our lives take place online and the potential threats that exist in the digital world. Any device that stores information or connects to the internet could become a target for cybercriminals seeking to steal your data. Here are four important ways to help stay safe online.

First, always use strong, unique passwords for each online account you own. Even better, investigate options for getting a free or low-cost password manager such as Bitwarden, Dashlane, LastPass, and others. Newer to the marketplace are passkeys that offer hope that we can move beyond passwords. They verify a user with a biometric (like facial or fingerprint recognition) tied to the device being used to gain access. You can read more about them at aarp.org/personal-technology/passkeys-future.

Second, set up multi-factor authentication when available as added security that goes beyond your username and password to verify that it’s you using your account or device.

Third, turn on automatic software updates to keep your devices up-to-date and secure.

And finally, know that it's no longer safe to click on links from emails, texts, and online ads. Instead, type web addresses into your browser to ensure you aren’t sent to a copycat site and stick to sites you know and trust.

Let's all be safe out there in cyberland

To Your Health

This is from the All Senior Foundation - The All Seniors Foundation is dedicated to providing practical guidance and resources that empower seniors to lead vibrant, independent lives. In this comprehensive guide, we explore the top 10 healthy habits for seniors—each habit is actionable, easy to follow, and designed to promote longevity, physical well-being, mental wellness, and social connection. Whether you’re a senior or supporting an older loved one, these habits will help you embrace healthy aging and independent living.

Top 10 Healthy Habits for Seniors

EEEZEEE KWEEZEEN

Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal

This recipe is from All Recipes - and can be found at this link - Overnight Oats

They really have some great ideas here.. check it out.

It's fall, time for warm oats and cozy mornings.  

Ingredients

• 2 ½ cups water

• 2 cups almond milk

• 1 cup applesauce (Optional)

• 1 cup steel-cut oats

• 1 cup dried cherries, or more to taste

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar (Optional)

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

So many thanks to those who make this possible - David, Mona, Crystal and Gina.  Every month, the endure my nagging.