Beacon Sept 2023

More documents

Info

Page 4A THE BEACON September 2023 Retired Teachers Continue to Give, Volunteer, Support Continued from page 1A Sunman Dearborn School District at North Dearborn Elementary. Judy Mosier taught second, third, and fourth grades in the Lawrenceburg School District. Mr. Nicholson taught high school English in the South Dearborn School District for twenty-two years. After South Dearborn, he began teaching at Ivy Tech. Formed in 1972, DCRTA is an organized group of retired teachers who have taught in the U.S. and live in Dearborn County. DCRTA aims to give a voice to retired teachers, support education, provide community service, and help active teachers prepare for retirement. DCRTA celebrated its fiftieth anniversary last year! Mrs. Mosier elaborates, “Last year was our Golden Jubilee, our fiftieth year of existence for DCRTA. It was started in 1972 for the purpose of concerns for pensions and proposed legislation. Which is so ironic because fifty-one years later, we are still concerned about the same things.” DCRTA is an all-volunteer organization and has always been at the local level. Mrs. Mosier Patient Satisfaction 2021 Statistics Healing Rate explains what DCRTA is all about, “We are a local association, we cover all three Dearborn County school corporations, and we are affiliated with Indiana Retired Teachers Association (IRTA), they are our state organization. They speak for all retired teachers in Indiana. Every retired teacher in Indiana has an association that they can join so it is truly state wide. IRTA is our voice with the legislators and the senators.” Mrs. Mosier continues, “Teachers can receive a COLA (cost of living adjustment) and in past years we have received a stipend, it is like a bit of a bonus. The legislature has to approve a COLA for us. One of the ways that we lobby the legislators is with our volunteer hours. That is huge because it says to the legislators these retired teachers are not just taking their pension and rocking. They are indeed making a difference in the lives of Hoosiers.” Indeed they are as Dearborn County is number one in the state for volunteer hours. They had the most volunteer hours in the whole state this past year. This trend is not new; it has been the norm for Median Days to Heal 96% 95% 28 Healing Can’t Wait Call the Dearborn Wound Care Center (812) 496-7730 DCRTA Sewing Group members several years. Volunteer hours are reported to the Indiana Retired Teachers Association (IRTA). Volunteering is a vital part of the organization. Mrs. Mosier elaborates on membership, “We have two types of members, regular members who are retired teachers drawing a pension but there are also associate members. Associate members could be spouses, they can be friends of teachers, and they can be anyone interested in education. We report our hours to our association and then they are submitted to the state.” DCRTA volunteers shine their light in area hospitals and in area schools where they help in the classroom or tutor students. DCRTA members are active in the Think Smart and Stay Safe Program which helps children learn how to protect themselves against predators. DCRTA also has a dress and shorts project where the clothing items are made out of pillowcases, sheets, or fabric and are donated to children across the world. Over twelve hundred shorts and dresses are donated each year. DCRTA members volunteer at the local animal shelter, PAWS, the Dearborn County Recycling Center, local churches, The Good News Club, local food pantries, and a plethora of others. This huge effort shows legislators that these teachers and their associates are giving back to their community in extraordinary ways. Mrs. Mosier, Mrs. Moder, and Mr. Nicholson all clearly demonstrated that one teaches because he or she loves it; it’s a calling. They are three of the most positive and humble people I have ever met. They represent the teachers who are raising our future. Too many teachers have stories of students whose school lunch might be the only meal they get for the day. Imagine how that weighs heavily on one’s mind before a weekend or school break, which is why we can credit a teacher with starting programs where children in need can get backpacks full of food to take home with them so they don’t go hungry. What about the student who has no place to call home, the student that has no structure or adult figure to lead them, the student who has no safe place to go after the bell rings? Our teachers see it all. Being a teacher is not an easy job, and it is not just a job that begins at 8:00 A.M. and ends at 3:00 P.M. Jim Pierce receiving his clock for volunteerism from Mark Guard. The Dearborn County Retired Teachers Association works very hard to get retired teachers to join the Indiana Retired Teachers Association because there is strength in numbers which will enable them to be heard. DCRTA is not only working hard for retired teachers but also active teachers because legislation affects them as well. In addition to DCRTA and IRTA, teachers have formed the Dearborn County Retired Teachers Foundation, DCRTF, (there will be a quiz later ha). DCRTF is a nonprofit organization established to offer grants to active teachers on an annual basis. In August eleven grants will be awarded. The teachers who have requested funds send their applications out in January, explaining how they would use their funds for future projects. Mr. Nicholson shares, “It’s so neat to see it. They come to the meeting and they get a little bit of recognition. They get a little bit of money to do something new and creative, which is where they get excited. They are so hemmed in by a lot of the standards and those kinds of regulations on what they cannot teach that I think when they get these opportunities to spread their wings a little, you can see it in their eyes. There are things that they want to do for their kids that they may not have been able to do, and this allows them to.” Active teacher grants are available through IRTA as well. A free retirement workshop is held on the first Thursday of each November for any teacher in the five counties of Continued on page 5A The BEACON - Great News for Great People.
September 2023 THE BEACON Page 5A DCRTA Helps Shape Education Through Teacher Grants The DCRTA Sewing Group creates clothing items from repurposed fabric. The items are donated to children around the world. Continued from page 4A Ohio, Switzerland, Dearborn, Ripley, and Franklin. Any active teacher can attend that would like to learn more. A financial advisor presents the workshop at the Lawrenceburg Library. DCRTA also recognizes active teachers by celebrating them through teacher appreciation. Mrs. Mosier says, “This past February each teacher in Dearborn County received a candy bar, which is a big deal if you love chocolate!” Mrs. Moder elaborates, “I was the chairman for that one, and we wrapped lots of full-size candy bars!” The teachers were also given the opportunity to sign up to win one of fourteen raffle baskets that were given to each school. DCRTA and DCRTF worked together on this to help make teachers aware that this wonderful organization exists and is looking out for them. Mrs. Moder shares, “We did it in the third quarter of school because that is the toughest quarter for teachers and students so we picked a Valentine’s theme specifically because we have all been By Jake Moore, LPLD Director Denise Freitag-Burdette A mother of five kids tries her best to turn in all of those books and DVDs on time, but her hectic life sometimes makes it impossible. A teen who wants to read the new book by her favorite author but finds out she has late fees from when her little brother used her library card to check out Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir Stinks-a-Lot. The man who loves reading historical biographies but got distracted when he had a minor medical emergency that had to be addressed before the books could be returned. Hate library late fees? So do we! That is why starting in September 2023, the Lawrenceburg Public Library District officially has stopped charging late fees. And those teachers and we know how it is.” Mrs. Mosier says “DCRTA is a shining light in the state, and I don’t say that because I am president, because that’s just this much time in a fiftyone-year span. We have been strong in the state for a long time. Each year our community service chairperson submits a nomination for an outstanding volunteer award and since 2005 we have had eleven winners!” Just in the past six months alone, Mrs. Mosier has had three hundred and twenty-seven volunteer hours herself! This is not unusual, as some volunteers can have a thousand volunteer hours a year! Mr. Nicholson shares, “I think when you think about the kind of people that go into teaching, they are already people with a lot of energy and a lot of teachers are extremely empathetic people. If you are not when you go in, with what we see in the classroom, you can’t help but become that way because it becomes so important. Some of it is heartbreaking, and it motivates you to want to do LPLD Goes Fine-Free more.” DCRTA does a community service project each year and has been recognized by IRTA for its outstanding service projects. This year they won outstanding in all three areas, website, newsletter, and news article. They were the only association to do so in the state. Another example of important community service performed was during COVID, the DCRTA sewing group, sewed eighteen hundred masks which were distributed free of charge. I could go on and on about how impressed I am with what good teachers do. I know during COVID when my daughter’s fourthgrade teacher called me to check in, I got teary-eyed because I was in over my head trying to help four children with E-Learning and trying to keep up with my job. She reassured me that we would get through it together, and you know what, we did. So here is to Mrs. Mary Hamburg, my first-grade teacher who wrote my name on the chalkboard because I past late fees? All gone. Your library card is free of them. (It is OK to dance. We will wait! Did you learn some new moves while watching Tik Tok? They are fantastic!) Now that does not mean all fees go away. All items do need to be returned in the same condition they left. But if you are a little late, no worries about accumulating late fees. To celebrate, Lawrenceburg Public Library District is planning special programs for September. The national theme, presented by the American Library Association, is Get in Your Element this September- Sign Up for a Library Card. They will receive a little help from the characters in the movie Elemental. At the Lawrenceburg Main Library and North Dearborn Branch, each week in September will be dedicated to a different element. Week One is Air/Wind. The kick-off week will include a visit from a storm chaser (this is going to be exciting) and mobile library crafts creating your own windsock and wind chime. Even the preschool story times will be themed based on the four basic elements. The following weeks will feature water, land/ Earth, and fire. Sign up for the Lawrenceburg Public Library District newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram to find out more details! (Pssst. The library forecast shows favorable conditions that patrons using their library card, or signing up for a new one, could be eligible for prizes!) Do you have questions about LPLD going fine-free? More information can be found at www.lpld.lib.in.us. wouldn’t stop talking. Even my giant crocodile tears could not convince her to relinquish my punishment to write one hundred times, “I will not talk during class.” She taught me respect. Here is to Mrs. Debbie Brodbeck who awarded me Student of the Month in gym; she told me that even if I wasn’t the strongest at something, I always gave my best. She taught me to believe in myself. Here is to Mr. Dick Horton who always made history class fun and interesting with his storytelling. He taught me passion. Here is to Dr. Judith Trent who made me present my research paper first in the class even though I thought I could finagle my way into getting more time… she declined and told me to get my whole self to the front of the class ASAP. She taught me discipline and accountability. There aren’t enough pages in this newspaper to thank all of the teachers who have in some shape or form impacted my life. Were they all easy? Of course not. Was I? Definitely not! But, those teachers made me better. A better student, a better person, and they helped prepare me for life by giving me the tools needed to be successful. I look at my kids; the aspiring firefighter, the possible landscaper, future athletic trainer, and budding mechanical engineer (after he wins America’s Got Talent first,) and I think, continue to dream, dream so very big.” Then I think of their teachers who I want to thank so very loudly for their incredible gift to inspire. To learn more about DCRTA and all that they do you can check out their website, www.dearborncountyrta. org www.GarrettBacomLaw.com 204 Short St. Lawrenceburg, IN 47025 812.260.8154 FREE Junk Pick-Up Before you pay for this service, let us take a look at what you have. Don’t fret - Call Chet! THE BELEW’S BROTHERS 812-744-3257 A BETTER WAY TO GET THE MONEY YOU NEED. The team at FCN Bank is ready to help you find a better way to get the money you need. Instead of high-interest credit card debt, FCN Bank offers better options such as home equity loans, personal loans, home refinancing and more. fcnbank.com Get it All at www.goBEACONnews.com
Page 1 and 2: INSIDE The BEACON Go Fish! HVL’s
Page 3: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 3A T
Page 7 and 8: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 7A B
Page 9 and 10: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 9A F
Page 11 and 12: By Jack Zoller beaconsports @live.c
Page 13 and 14: debbystutz.thebeacon@yahoo.com Sept
Page 15 and 16: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 3B Y
Page 17 and 18: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 5B S
Page 19 and 20: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 7B L
Page 21 and 22: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 9B G
Page 23 and 24: September 2023 THE BEACON Page 11B

Beacon Sept 2023

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?