The Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital will be holding its monthly Euchre Marathon for all individuals of the community interested Thursday, January 18. Men and women are welcome to attend, even if not an Auxiliary member. The Euchre marathons are held the third Thursday of each month at the Senior Citizens Room at the Waukon Wellness Center.
The Auxiliary’s Euchre Marathons begin at 11:30 a.m. with dinner, if chosen. Call Northland Agency on Aging at 877-838-8077 if choosing to eat dinner. Card playing will follow at 12:30 p.m. until approximately 2:30 p.m. Anyone wishing to stay and play cards following the Senior Citizens meal is more than welcome to do so. Proceeds go towards the Auxiliary of Veterans Memorial Hospital. Prizes will be awarded.
Anyone interested in attending but preferring to play Bridge is also welcome to join in. It is asked that they come with their own table of four players, however.
The Veterans Memorial Hospital Diabetes Support Group will hold its next meeting Thursday, January 18 at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held at Veterans Memorial Hospital in the Large Conference Room, located on the lower level of the hospital.
This diabetes class is open to everyone who has diabetes or has a friend or loved one with diabetes. For more information on the Diabetes Support Group, call Angie Mettille, RN at VMH at 563-568-3411.
Medicare recipients with limited income and assets may qualify for money-saving programs called Extra Help and Medicare Savings Program through Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEIA3). Through these programs, additional help may be available to assist with the cost of premiums, coverage gaps, co-pays and annual deductibles. Individuals may also qualify for other forms of financial assistance such as food assistance, rental assistance or a form of Medicaid.
For more information or assistance with Medicare Extra Help, Rent Rebates, or Food Assistance attend one of the enrollment events coming up in the local area or call LifeLong Links at 866-468-7887 to schedule an appointment. The enrollment events are scheduled at the following locations, dates and times:
Memorials were recently received by the Veterans Memorial Health Care Foundation in memory of Dave Schoeberlein by Fred and Geralyn Smith and George Pickett, in memory of Ann Renae Peake by Jerry and Linda Siegrist, in memory of Joe A’Hearn by JoAnn Welch, in memory of Wayne Darrington by Waukon State Bank, and in memory of Dianne Straate Blankenship by Jerry and Linda Siegrist and Larry and Nancy Straate.
Memorials were also received in memory of Brian Zimmerman by Jerry and Linda Siegrist, Ernie and Donnalee Osland, Theresa Lyons, Yvonne Brandt, Nancy Schoh and Robert and Kristi Campbell.
Darrel Koozer of rural Harpers Ferry will be celebrating his 80th birthday Tuesday, January 30. In celebration of the occasion, cards and well wishes can be sent to him at the following address: 521 Buckskin Road, Harpers Ferry, IA 52146.
Pat and Hannah Kelly of Fort Atkinson announce the birth of their twin sons, Collin Patrick and Clayton William, born September 17, 2017 at the Mayo Clinic, Methodist Hospital in Rochester, MN. Collin weighed 2 lbs. 14 ozs. and measured 15 inches in length and Clayton weighed 5 lbs. 5 ozs. and measured 19 inches in length at the time of their births.
Grandparents are Wayne and Barb Kelly and the late Elaine Kelly of Waterville, and Becky and the late Merlin Gesing of Waukon. Great-grandparents are John and Sheryl Prestemon and Leona Gesing of Waukon. Marcie Opfer of Waukon is a great-great-grandparent.
... that I have not watched any of the award shows on television for years, and this week’s Golden Globes was not an exception.
But listening to or reading reports next morning mentioned some things worth comment.
As with so many things these days, the media are guilty of yet another case of overkill. It appeared that most of the nominated performances dealt with strong women overcoming someone or something. I am not familiar with any of them and don’t plan to become so. The sole exception might be Gary Oldham’s portrayal of Winston Churchill, a strong man!
Photos show most women wore black, no doubt in mourning for the millions of extra dollars they earned or will earn as a result of the current mania to draw attention to predatory males in Hollywood, politics and business. Not that that isn’t a story and a problem. But it isn’t the only topic worth discussion.
The future of IPERS continues to be in the news and as Chair of the joint House-Senate Public Retirement Systems Committee. I’d like to put to rest any concerns or fears about rumored changes during this year’s legislative session.
IPERS members and other public pension beneficiaries have nothing to worry about. There will be no changes to IPERS or any of the other Iowa pension systems in the upcoming session.
Over the last several decades, thousands of Iowans have counted on the Iowa Public Employee Retirement System (IPERS) for their retirement security once they’ve left public service. They spent years contributing to the system and have earned their pensions.
Mid-December, our rural electric company installed a smart meter. We were never directly informed of this. We the customer should have received a written notice in the mail that the company was going to do this type of change. That did not happen. We were never personally informed or given the written opportunity to decline this. It may have been in the newsletter or another public form of media, but not everyone has the time to read the newsletter or other forms of media. Plus, my check is not written out to the other media or to the media department of the electric company.
Ultimately, it was done without us knowing it, which is what the utility companies are doing. They want to get this accomplished as quickly and discreetly as possible. That is the norm for the wireless industry.
