Stratford
COMMUNITY LIVING
Send Stratford news to: RR@tpprinting.com phone: 715-223-2342 fax: 715-223-3505 P.O. Box 677 103 West Spruce Street Abbotsford, WI 54405 MAREA meets
Members of the Marshfield Area Retired Educators (MAREA) met on June 20.
The meeting began with a speaker, detective Rockley Gross, a 17-year member of the Marshfield Police Department who is a father of five children and a native of Eau Claire, who was introduced to speak on the topic of scams.
Gross began by stating if something sounds too good to be true it is a scam, with the scammer playing on the victims emotions. He defined fraud as criminal deception for financial gain. There was 45.8 billion dollars scammed in 2020-2021 in the U.S. Of this, he said $48 million was scammed from Wisconsin victims. This number increased during the pandemic.
Gross said any time money is involved it is important to report it to the authorities, tell others and don’t be embarrassed because it happens to so many and by talking about what happened, others can be alerted.
Examples of scams include tech support services, robo calls, lottery and sweepstakes fraud, posing as government employees such as IRS, medicare etc, email scams, tax filing, ATM fraud, gift card scams, romance scams and the latest is door-to-door scamming. The dollar amount of the average scam is $340.
Gross provided tips on protecting yourself against scammers to include awareness of financial statements, never sending money to someone you do not know, use updated security software; never give credit card, bank, Medicare and Social Security number and other identifiable information over computer or phone unless you initiated the contact.
He spoke about the safety of information placed on Facebook. Most scammers, but not all are from out of the U.S. A question and answer period followed the presentation.
After Gross’ speech, the MAREA June 20 meeting was called to order by president Cindee Loos, with 17 members and one guest, Linda Nugent, present.
Following the Pledge to the Flag, the secretary report was approved and the treasurer report was placed on file. President Loos noted that shoes are still being collected for Soles for Jesus so African children can attend school and adults can walk to work.
The following are the MAREA committe reports: Under Community Action, Cheryl Eckert reported August donations will go to the Stratford Food Pantry, delivered by Carol Ballerstein. June donations will go to St. Vincents in Marshfield, with Ruby Thomas delivering them.
Regarding Health Issues, Kathleen Hasenohrl reported on safe food handling measures, especially in the hot summer weather.
Under Legislative Issues, Doreen Schultz reminded members of the important August 9 primary election. Absentee ballots are available July 26 and due back by August 5.
Regarding Pension, Carol Subera reported on WEA Trust Insurance discontinuing medical insurance and the declining stock market trend.
Regarding Sunshine and Shadows, Carol Ballerstein reported a get well card was sent to Joan Zoellner. A get well card was circulated for JoAnn Brusky.
About the Scholarship/Brat Fry, mRuby Pinter noted the two recipients of this year’s MAREA scholarships were from Stratford and Loyal. A thank you note was read from Hailey Chapel of Stratford. Pinter reported that brat fry profits were $552.91 which included $117.50 in a donation jar. A banner identifying our group will be prepared by Ruby Thomas for next year’s brat fry.
Regarding the WREA Foundation, Dorothy Dietsche circulated the WREA Foundation box. September will be the next request for donations.
The following old and new business was discussed: Ruby Pinter was thanked for serving as the June meeting greeter.
Reports on the April 27 spring WREA meeting were given by those attending.
Outstanding Volunteer Awards were given to Doreen Schultz for 2020 and Karen Winkler for 2021.
Farm Technology Days volunteer opportunities were shared by president Loos.
Cheryl Eckert announced she will be resigning from the Community Action committee, so a new person will need to be named.
The July meeting is for officers and committee members. The focus will be on development of officer descriptions. The June meeting concluded with door prize drawings Program committee volunteers stayed after the meeting adjournment to plan program/speakers for future meetings in August of 2022 through September of 2023
Summer reading
Throughout the summer, children can earn free books by participating in the Marathon County Public Library’s (MCPL) Summer Reading Club.
Children can stop by any MCPL location until Wednesday, July 31, to pick up a summer reading review sheet, or track their reading online with the free Beanstack app.
Parents can call the MCPL headquarters in Wausau at 715-261-7220 to gain more information on the children’s summer reading program.
Badger State girlsStratford junior Olivia Seitz, left, and senior Mei Bean were selected to represent Stratford School District as American Legion Auxiliary Badger State girls at the government and leadership confence, which began at UW-Oshkosh on Sunday and lasts until this Friday, June 24.PHOTO BY CATHY SEITZ
