« September 2022

Here's the newsletter for AREA for September 2022

Welcome to the AREA NEWSLETTER - September  2022

Androscoggin Retired Educators Association - Many thanks to Crystal Ward, Mona Ervin, Rosita Friel, and Gina Fuller for the contributions this month. Lots of news this month.

NEXT MEETING - October 12, 2022

From the President - Rosita Friel

What are the signs of stroke in men and women?

• Sudden numbness or weakness in the face, arm, or leg, especially on one side of the body.
• Sudden confusion, trouble speaking, or difficulty understanding speech.
• Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes.
• Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance, or lack of coordination.
• Sudden severe headache with no known cause.

Call 9-1-1 right away if you or someone else has any of these symptoms.

Read More at -  https://www.cdc.gov/stroke/signs_symptoms.htm

Senior Citizen Health Tips

 The following is information we can all use to help keep us safe and healthy

How can I make my home senior friendly?

Low-cost safety tips

1. Add textured, no-slip strips in the bathtub and shower.
2. Apply nonslip wax on floors.
3. Place a waterproof seat or chair in the shower.
4. Put nonskid treads on steps.
5. Remove throw rugs.
6. Replace standard doorknobs with lever handles.
7. Replace toilet with a raised or high-profile toilet.

The Senior's Guide to Staying Healthy Year-Round

• Get active. Physical activity is an immune system booster.
• Take supplements as necessary. Be sure to do this under a physician’s supervision.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Wash your hands frequently.
• Learn how to manage stress.
• Get plenty of rest.
• Take steps to prevent infections.

Schedule annual physicals.

Here is a quick checklist to help maintain good health as you age.

• Don't forget your well visits and recommended screenings.
• Exercise and stay active.
• Maintain strong bones.
• Don't let joint pain slow you down.
• Take care of your eyes.
• Make sure your hearing is loud and clear.
• Keep a skip in your step.
• Wear sensible shoes.

Treasurer's Report

by Gina Fuller

Newsletter Notes!

Please feel free to contribute to your newsletter.  You can send contributions to me by emailing them to - rfuller@mainenet.org

Please note - MEA Retired now has a Facebook page - You can follow us there. 

MEA Retired - Facebook

AND, AREA has a group page... feel free to join this group.

AREA - Facebook GROUP

NOTE - The PAGE is viewable by everyone (everyone in the world). The GROUP is private - only AREA Members are pemitted to join.

Legislative Update

by

Crystal Ward - John Kosinski

VOTE    VOTE    VOTE   IN  NOVEMBER 2022 !!!

AREA ----ELECTIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!! 

Hello AREA,
September is going very fast !

November Elections
The November Elections are very important to retired teachers.

As I have said many times, elections have consequences and often they are not pleasant for retired. This November Vote for friends of the Retired. If you want to know the voting records on retired and education issues contact: jkosinski@maineea.org

Two BIG issues for Maine Retired are : Retired in the MainePERS pension system need to reverse the terrible changes made in 2011 that are driving more and more closer to poverty. As I have stated the legislation passed by only Republicans, pushed by Poliquin and LaPage and signed into law by Gov. LaPage in 2011 has caused retired to lose thousands of dollars from 2011-2022. These are not your friends .

Social Security Offset Legislation - Federal
The WEP/GPO Social Security Offset that strips benefits from people who have earned them after paying into Social Security for years. Both Rep. Pingree and Rep. Golden from Maine are co-sponsors of the Social Security Fairness Act HR82 that would get rid of the WEP and GPO and is up for a vote in the US House of Rep. soon. Here is what happened in Washington DC on 9/20/22—“As you may recall, today the House Ways and Means committee held a markup to consider H.R.82, the Social Security Fairness Act. They voted to move the bill without a recommendation. Although this does not kill the bill, it does delay the process a bit because it will not be moving to the House floor for a vote at the moment. There is still a chance that the bill could move during the lame duck after the election. Oh the games they play.” Meg Gruber, NEA Retired Legislative Chair

HR82 has 300 (91 republican) co-sponsors and only needs 217 votes to pass if brought to the floor of the House for a vote. Even this bipartisan bill cannot get to the floor !!! So disappointing.

The Democrats lead the charge to increase the percent of our health insurance paid by the state from 45% to 55% and Gov. Mills signed the bill into law. Democrat Representative Jan Dodge and leadership worked hard to get more of our pensions, State income tax exempt--- working to get to the same amount that Social Security exempts from Federal taxes. Gov. Mills signed this into law. Both Democrats and Republicans worked together to pass the State Budget.

New Property Tax Law for Homesteads of Senior Residents
The Maine Legislature passed L.D. 290 - “An Act To Stabilize Property Taxes for Individuals 65 Years of Age or Older Who Own a Homestead for at Least 10 Years.” You DO NOT have to live in the same house for 10 years and they do not have to be 10 consecutive years, just any combination of places in Maine that add up to 10 years. You will have to provide the addresses and years. This new law allows certain senior residents to stabilize, or freeze, the property taxes on their homestead. An applicant must be at least 65 years old, a permanent resident of the State, and must have owned a Maine homestead for at least ten years.

As long as the individual files an application each year, the tax on their homestead is fixed at the amount assessed in the year prior to the initial application; however if the tax goes down you bill will go down, it just cannot go up. Eligible residents may transfer the fixed tax amount to a new homestead, even between municipalities. The State will fully reimburse municipalities for lost revenue. The law went into effect on August 8, 2022, and applies to property tax years beginning April 1, 2023. Interested taxpayers will need to apply with the municipality where their homestead is located on or before December 1,2022.

Contact the Maine Revenue Services or your local municipality for the application. I have received and filled out the application and it is NOT long or complicated! For additional questions, please contact the Property Tax Division at (207) 624-5600 or prop.tax@maine.gov

You can apply for an absentee ballot and vote in person early. You will need to contact your town/City offices for information. All Candidates need help of some kind , volunteer to write a letter to the editor, help in mailings, driving the candidates around, lawn signs , phone banks and more just contact the candidate to want to help. VOTE VOTE VOTE

Property Tax Stabilization Form

by

Mona Ervin

ATM Robberies

Here  is the latest scam being perpetrated on seniors in particular.  It is called “jugging.”  The crime known as  "jugging,”  is when a robber waits at a bank, check-cashing store or ATM for someone to withdraw paper money.  They will then follow the individual who withdrew the money and attack.  Our seniors are most at risk.  With the holidays approaching this crime will only increase in scope and violence.   Do not use an ATM if possible, when in a bank or check cashing store notice  your surroundings. Make sure no one follows you out of the building.  If you feel that you are being followed go to the nearest police department or call 911.

Election Scams

With elections just a few months away please be aware of the following election scams that have occurred in Pennsylvania and may occur here in Maine.  Attorney General Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania explains some of the reported election scam in his state.

• Donating Money
  Political Campaigns often call their supporters to ask for donations. Technology available on the internet makes it possible for scammers to impersonate a political campaign phone number through a tactic known as “spoofing.”
• Election Surveys
  The caller may claim to be conducting an election survey and asks for minute of your time. After the survey is complete, the caller offers you a gift card or some other incentive, but wants your personal information, such as a credit card, date of birth or social security number to send you the gift.
• Registering to Vote
  The caller tries to convince the victim that they are not registered to vote and offers to register them over the phone. Voter registration is not something that can be done over the phone.
• Voting
  The caller claims to be from a government entity and offers an absentee ballot for people who cannot or do not want to get to the polls on Election Day. The deadline to request an absentee ballot has already passed. If you have an absentee ballot, it needs to be postmarked by Friday, November 2.

Attorney General Shapiro offered the following tips to help consumers avoid election scams:

• Don’t donate on the phone
  Donations can be made over the phone, but be wary of callers asking for donations. Ask the caller for other donation options and don’t let them pressure you.
• Don’t rely on Caller ID
  Scammers can “spoof” the phone number of legitimate business to make it appear as though the call is genuine.
• Never give out personal information
  Don’t provide personal or credit card information to anyone calling you, especially someone claiming you can win a prize. Candidates rarely use prizes as an incentive.
• Voter registration can’t be done by phone
  Voter registration and voting in any Election cannot occur over the phone

QUIZ

This month's quiz is all about dance crazes. How well can you two-step through this quiz?

Questions -

1. This dance’s name is very similar to a game where the players contort their bodies on colored circles.
2. This dance shares a name with a meal side dish.
3. This dance is associated with the phrase, “how low can you go?”
4. Popularized by country music. Dancers are arranged in lines facing the same direction.
5. Jazz dance popular in the 1920’s. Associated with the freedoms and rebellions of women of the era.
6. Dance that shares a name with a geometric shape.
7. Dance popularized by a late year, popular children’s evening of fun.
8. Ballroom dance, set to its own distinctive music.  Began in Argentina and Uruguay.
9. The movie “Saturday Night Fever” staring John Travolta introduced this dance to mass audiences.
10. This dance craze was introduced In 1979 on Bandstand. Its moves and name are from a male organization. Now popular at sport events.
11. Historians consider this to be the world’s oldest dance.  It began about 6000 (yes) ago.
12. Introduced in 2012 by Psy. Celebrates South Korean and Maori (New Zealand) relations.
13. This dance originated in Cuba by Haitians. Noted for its sexual hip movements
14. An energetic style of street dancing that involves intricate body and foot moves.
15. Now considered a romantic dance it was once banned due to the closeness of the dance partners bodies and faces.

Answers:

1. The Twist and Twister.  Hank Ballard wrote "The Twist", which became the B-side of Hank Ballard and The Midnighters' 1959 single "Teardrops on Your Letter".   Dick Clark, having noticed the dance becoming popular among teenagers, recommended to Cameo Records that the more wholesome Chubby Checker rerecord the song, which was released in 1959 and became a number one hit in 1960.  The game Twister was invented for Milton Bradley in 1966.

2. The Mashed Potato is a dance move which was a popular dance craze of 1962. The dance move and mashed potato song were first made famous by James Brown in 1959 and used in his concerts regularly. It was also a dance done to songs such as Dee Dee Sharp's "Mashed Potato Time"

3.  Limbo is a popular game, based on traditions that originated on the island of Trinidad. The aim is to pass forwards under a low bar without falling or dislodging the bar. The dance originated as an event that took place at wakes in Trinidad. It was popularized in the 1950s by dance pioneer Julia Edwards

4. A line dance is a choreographed dance in which a group of people dance along to a repeating sequence of steps while arranged in one or more lines or rows. These lines usually face all in the same direction, or less commonly face each other. Line dancing is commonly practiced and learned in country-western dance bars, social clubs, dance clubs and ballrooms.  Line dances have accompanied many popular music styles since the early 1970s.

5. The Charleston was a very popular dance of the 1920s enjoyed by both young women (flappers) and young men of the "Roaring '20s" generation. The Charleston involves the fast-paced swinging of the legs and big arm movements. The Charleston became popular as a dance after appearing along with the song "The Charleston," by James P. Johnson, in the Broadway musical "Runnin' Wild" in 1923.  In the 1920s, young men and women shed the stodgy etiquette and moral codes of their parents' generation and let loose in their attire, actions, and attitudes. Young women cut their hair, shortened their skirts, drank alcohol, smoked, wore makeup, and "parked." Dancing also became more uninhibited.

6. Square Dance. A square dance is an American folk dance form that involves four couples in a square formation dancing to a specific sequence or series of steps announced or cued by a caller. 

7. "Monster Mash" is a 1962 novelty song by Bobby "Boris" Pickett. The footwork of Monster Mash is similar to that of the Mashed Potato but with Frankenstein-style monster gestures made with the arms and hands.

8. The Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was frequently practiced in the brothels and bars of ports, where business owners employed bands to entertain their patrons with music.^] The tango then spread to the rest of the world.  Many variations of this dance currently exist around the world.

9. The Hustle is a catch-all name for some disco dances which were extremely popular in the 1970s.  It was created by Puerto Rican teenagers in late 1972 as a direct result of Puerto Rican Elders objecting to young teenagers doing a grinding slow dance known as the 500.

10. YMCA is also the name of a group dance with cheerleader Y-M-C-A choreography invented to fit the song. One of the phases involves moving arms to form the letters Y-M-C-A as they are sung in the chorus: Y — arms outstretched and raised upwards. The letters are for the Young Men’s Christian Association.

11. The Belly Dance is a dance that has its origins in Egypt.  It features movements of the hips and torso. It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with the Egyptian styles and costumes being the most recognized worldwide due to Egyptian cinema.

12. Gangnam Style, the song and its music video went viral in August 2012 and have influenced popular culture worldwide. In the United States, "Gangnam Style" peaked at number two on Billboard Hot 100. By the end of 2012, "Gangnam Style" had topped the music charts of more than 30 countries including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Psy's dance in the music video itself became a cultural phenomenon. In September 2012, "Gangnam Style" was recognized by Guinness World Records as the first YouTube video to hit 1 billion views.

13. The Mambo originated in Cuba in the 1930s. Mambo is enjoyed throughout the world at both the social and competitive dance levels. The mambo is a favorite of ballroom audiences because of its high energy level and infectious rhythms. The Mambo dance originated as a mixture of Afro-Caribbean and Latin American cultures.

14. Break Dancing, also called breaking and B-boying is an  energetic form of dance, fashioned and popularized by African Americans and Latinos, that includes stylized footwork and athletic moves such as back spins or head spins. Break dancing originated in New York City during the late 1960s and early ’70s, incorporating moves from a variety of sources, including martial arts and gymnastics. Break dancing is largely improvisational

15. The Waltz. Shocking many when it was first introduced, the waltz became fashionable in Vienna around the 1780s, spreading to many other countries in the years to follow.  The objections to waltzing were due to the fact that it allowed partners an immodest degree of physical contact, and encouraged licentious thoughts in men when they placed their hands on a woman's body.

Recipe -  EZ-CUISINE  - EEEEEE-Z  KWEEEZEEN