President's Message
Winter Snows, Power Loss, Cancellation
Wasn’t February something else? It started with a record-breaking storm that smothered Lake of the Woods and our surrounding area under two feet of snow. Then 95% of LOW and many of the nearby residents lost power/heat/light for at least three days.
Then just as we were digging out, we were hit by another storm that dumped an additional foot of snow on us…and we were forced to cancel the AARP February 15 meeting.
And then the LOWA Board of Directors and General Manager suddenly instructed the meeting scheduling staff to start charging Chapter 5239 for its monthly meetings at the LOW Clubhouse. They said a $25. “room and audio set-up charge” was needed for our meetings, plus another $25. “room and audio take-down charge”—plus 5% tax!
Many of you emailed the Board and GM to protest these charges, and I made a similar statement at the February 17 Board meeting, but we received no positive response from our exalted leaders. In fact, one Board member chided AARP for expecting the thousands of non-AARP LOWA members “to pay for your monthly meeting room arrangements.”
This problem was scheduled to be Discussion Point Number One at the March 1 AARP Board meeting. We’ll report the discussion results in the Business portion of the March 15 meeting.
Meanwhile, let’s look forward to March and the coming warmer weather. Please consider volunteering your talents and abilities to a Chapter 5239 Committee or Service Group that interests you.
Bring food items and/or cash to the March 15 meeting to donate to the Wilderness Food Pantry, and Sheltering Arms. If you thought your February weather woes were unbearable, think of those individuals and families whose money-earners have been jobless for months. The food supplies we donate each month can be the difference between feeding their kids…or having “empty dinner plates”. Think about it.
One last word: An old man goes to a Wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse he has been living with for the past 40 years. The Wizard says, “Maybe, but you have to give me the exact words that were used to put the curse on you.”
The old man says, “I now pronounce you man and wife.”
Dick Martin, President
March Meeting to Focus on
Polio History and OC Relay for Life
by Carolyn Wray, Publicity, AARP Chapter 5239
The next meeting of AARP, Chapter 5239, will take place on Monday, March 15, at the LOW Clubhouse. Former resident, Jody Zogran will speak about her nursing experiences with polio victims at the Municipal Hospital in Pittsburgh taking care of polio patients. Dr. Jonas Salk and his research team were working in the basement of the same hospital striving to isolate the polio virus, which led to the development of the polio vaccine.
JoAnn Tolbert will speak about the establishment of the Orange County “Relay for Life.” After returning to Maryland for 11 years to participate JoAnn decided, in 2008 to get a team together at her church. When she called the Chamber of Commerce in Orange to see when they had their Relay for Life Walk, she was told they did not have one. JoAnn decided to start a walk at the Orange County High School. The first one occurred on June 13-14 2009, and raised $40,491 for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life, Orange County.
The older generation can remember when there were no polio shots and knew people who suffered from it. Also, most of us have friends and relatives who have suffered from cancer. We also know how far the cure for cancer has progressed.
MARCH BIRTHDAYS
(Pisces and Aries)
Joan Bealby, Francis Buttimer
Joann Buttimer, Diane Capps
Pete Cassese, Arlene DeSimone
Norma Ervin, Mar Fisher, Kathy
Thomas Hamilton, Joyce Haring
Anne Hartzel, Gale Henderson
Lee Huminik, Phyllis Jones
Robert Jones, John Lacey
Bill Lanier, Violet Liberti
Sally Lyddane, Philip McCann
Jean M. Molinari, Maurice Moody
Karen Mueller, Pam Nalls
Joe Nolan, Millie Nowers
Jim Ogletree, Doris Parmelee
Shirley Pfile, Phyllis Pulice
Barbara Ridge, Joseph Sandleitner
Elizabeth Scheuermann, Haag Scott
Robert Sherba, Sue Sillman
Sue Simmons, Stephanie Sloan
Elsie Smith, Janet Terry
Corky Thomas, Paul Tobin
Ralph Watterworth, Audrey Weeder
NEW MEMBERS
No new members due to the cancellation of the February meeting.
SUNSHINE REPORT
A sympathy card was sent to Paula Hornady on the death of her husband Richard.
If you know of a member who needs cheering up, contact Carolyn Durphy at 972-3306.
NOTES, BITS AND PIECES
Membership Renewal Now Due Please note that if you joined for the first time from September to December of 2009, your 2010 dues are paid. Also, several people paid twice last year, so they do not owe 2010 dues. Check with Linda Wight/Dick Durphy. You may pay your $7 dues at the March meeting or mail a check made payable to “AARP Chapter 5239” to AARP 5239, P.O. Box 945, Locust Grove, VA 22508
Monthly Silent Auction
The Storehouse Is Nearly Empty! We had a good sale at the January meeting, but now we need new items to replace the old for the silent auction on March 21. Raid your closets and cabinets—even those of your friends and neighbors. Now is the time to clear out the nice things you no longer need and your children don't want. You know the money we take in from the auctions goes to good causes, so you can feel good about helping. Please let us have your donations by March 9 as preparation for the auction will take place on March 10. PLEASE give them to us clean and in good shape—new or gently used. Contact Patti at 972-1370, Carla at 972-3436, or Roxanne at 972-836 for pickup. Many, many thanks.
Meeting “Sweets” Needed
Donations of pastries and other “sweet-tooth” items are needed for the Coffee and Sweets social hour before each AARP monthly meeting. If you can provide something for this member fellowship time, please let our Food Refreshments Chairman Alice Grgas know what you’ll be bringing, and for which month. Contact Alice at Algrg517@AOL.com or 972-6199.
Pictures Needed
by Nola Davidson, Scrapbook Editor
To keep the Chapter Scrapbook up-to-date, pictures taken on the various AARP trips are needed. If you don't want to share, I will make copies. Just identify the event and the people featured. See me at the meeting, call 972-8403 or email ndavid51691@verizon.net
Free Income Tax Filing Assistance
Free Tax Preparation and E-filing through the AARP Tax-Aide Program will be available February through April 15, 2010.
· Lake of the Woods Holcomb Building through April 10. Appointments may be made by calling 972-0350 for Fridays, 10 AM to 2 PM, or Saturdays, 9 AM to 2 PM..
· Orange Extension Office, 146 Madison Road, Suite 102, Orange (Across from McDonald's), through April 15. Appointments may be made by calling 540-672-1361 for Wednesdays, 10 AM to 2 PM, or Thursdays, 1 to 5 PM.
Requirements include: Social Security card(s) or appropriate alternative(s), an official ID with picture, ALL W-2s and 1099 Forms, any other 2009 tax-related material and a copy of your 2009 tax return.
Legislative Report
by Pat Berry
The Virginia General Assembly is confronting a major budget shortfall for the coming year and finds itself between the proverbial rock and a hard place: either increase taxes or cut services—education, transportation, public safety, health care, and more.
In the effort to keep police on the street, teachers in the schools, and roads cleared of snow some local leaders find hiking real estate taxes a possible alternative to cutting the budget for schools or safety.
There are hundreds of bills being discussed, but two issues are of special interest to homeowners: 1) tax assessments and 2) property rights. Assessments determine your taxes; and the less restrictive Virginia's property laws are, the more attractive Virginia's real estate markets become.
Here are five of the strongest bills currently being considered and a brief explanation of their content:
· House Bill 570: Putting the burden of proof on assessors, not homeowners. Today, if an assessor overvalues your home (and raises your taxes), you have to prove he made a mistake. This bill will shift the burden of proof from the homeowner to the assessor;
· House Bill 552: Preventing local governments from changing their minds about zoning. Imagine having your local government approve a zoning change so you can improve your property. But after you begin work, the locality reverses its decision, and you're forced to tear down what you've done.
· House Bill 191: Making sure HOA complaints are handled fairly. Today, if you have a complaint about your homeowners association, an ombudsman at a Virginia government agency called the Common Interest Community Board can help resolve it. But different HOAs have different complaint procedures. This bill allows the ombudsman to set a single procedure for all home- and property-owners associations.
· House Bill 205: Requiring insurers to pay for the complete repair. If your home is damaged, your property insurance will pay to fix that damage, but the repair could look very different than what's already there. This bill will require insurers to make the repaired area blend in better with the existing structure, so your property is not only fixed, but looks like it should.;
· House Bill 430: Increasing fairness in the real estate assessment process. Some more education for the people in charge of real estate appraisals can only make our system better. If this bill passes, it will require additional education for real estate assessors, and ensure that members of the board that hears your appeal have expertise in appraisal and home valuation. It will also make the appeals process friendlier for homeowners: Upon request, the assessor must disclose information about your assessment, and the homeowner's standard of proof will be lowered.
The General Assembly meets for two months, unless a special session in called, and legislators have their plates full trying to shrink government services in the face of a $4 billion shortfall. The five bills listed above will warrant the attention of homeowners throughout the state as the budget debate continues.
