Good Day Post #57 Member!
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMANDER:
The American Legion
has introduced new “Support Our Troops” merchandise. Items include car magnets of the Blue Star
Service Banner; yellow and red, white and blue ‘Support Our Troops’ ribbons;
and magnet ribbons for each branch of the service with one for all
veterans. They also have the new
‘Support Our Troops’ yellow bracelet that stretches to fit all sizes. It’s reminiscent of the POW bracelets so
pervasive during the Vietnam War. Best
of all, these items are all under $2!!
Call Barry Sharp at the Post during business hours to place your
order. Proceeds support The American
Legion’s veterans and youth programs.
Douglas Gorniak
Commander
POST NEWS:
Our post meeting was on 14 February and our next meeting is
7 March at
Attention all Bridge Players! Bob Eimar, one of
our newest members is looking for Bridge players. If you play and want to get some games going,
call him at
Tickets are on sale for the Fourth of July 50/50 raffle. Winner will be drawn at the BBQ and need not be present to win. Tickets are on sale now at $1 each or 6 for $5. They will be sold any time the Post is open (except during Bingo).
LADIES AUXILIARY:
MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT:
Dear Auxiliary Sisters,
Lucy Kreutzer earned the great honor of being name Citizen of the Year for Yavapai County. Way to go Lucy—we’re proud of you!!
On a sadder note, on January 29th, one of our
newest members was called home. Though she
was a member for less than a year, we will all miss her. Dorothy Zettler was
born on
Our prayers also go out to Maxine and Dick Bowling. Maxine’s mother is ill.
A very special thank you to Bernadine Sydow for standing in for your MIA President on February 14th. That darn flu but bit.
We should have a date for the Craft Show later this
month. Our next meeting is March 7 at
Remember our troops and veterans.
Peggy Gasdorf
Auxiliary President
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR:
We are having a Blood Drive on 26 March from 12:30-5pm. I know that many of you may think you can’t
give blood because of your age, medications you might be on or a specific
medical condition. While I am not saying
everybody can give blood, I am saying that a lot of the rules have changed to
give blood. Basic rules are: 18 or older (17 with parents
permission)—there is no upper age limit and a minimum weight of 110 lbs. Having diabetes does not prevent you from
giving blood. It depends on what
treatment you are on. Having had cancer
does not prevent you from giving blood.
The type of cancer, the type of treatment and how long ago you were on
that treatment are some of the determining factors. Bottom line, if you would like to give blood
but are unsure if you are eligible to, sign up and come to the Blood Drive and
be interviewed by the United Blood Services staff to find out. Many find out they are able to give
blood. It takes a little bit of time,
costs you nothing (except the blood) and you may save a life. Call me at
MONTHLY TRIVIA: February Newsletter: How often are the guards changed at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier? Answer: Guards are changed every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year.
This month’s question: Who designed the Arizona state flag and what do the symbols mean?
ITEMS OF INTEREST (if interested in an item listed,
contact the Post for further information)
IMPORTANT TAX INFORMATION: Property Tax Refund Credit. Are you over 65 or receiving SSI Title 16 Payments? Is your total household income less than $3,751 (if you lived alone) or $5,501 (if you lived with someone)? Were you a resident of Arizona for the entire year of 2004? Did you pay property taxes on your main home in 2004? If you answered YES to all of these questions—YOU QUALIFY FOR THE PROPERTY TAX CREDIT. This property tax credit is also available if: you rented the entire year of 2004 or you were a resident of a nursing home in Arizona in 2004. The following items are not considered income for this credit: Social Security benefits, Railroad Retirement benefits, Worker’s Comp “Loss of Time” insurance payments, Arizona Unemployment payments, Veteran’s Disability Pensions, Welfare payments, surplus food, or other relief provided by a Government Agency. The following items are considered in the household income: salaries, wages, dividend and interest income, business or farm income, gain or loss for sale or exchange of property, pension and annuity income, rent and royalty income, and alimony. You will need the following: Copy of Tax bill, receipt from assessor or copy of cancelled check (front and back). Thanks to Karen Rockhold for this important information!
Are you a military retiree and haven’t received your
1099R? There could be a few reasons
why. The 1099R were sent in the same
envelope as the annual Retired and Annuitant Statements and you may have missed
it. Check the envelope. Secondly, if you
are a user of myPay, the DFAS online service, you had
to request it be sent to you in paper form.
If you didn’t, you can get it online at the site. Thirdly, did you move? Did you make sure they got your new
address? And finally, of course, with
them sending out hundreds of thousands, it’s possible it didn’t make it to your
mail address. If you still don’t have
it, call
Thunderbirds (The US Air Force Demonstration Squadron) Air Show schedule: 12-20 March 2005, Luke AFB; 2-3 April, Davis-Monthan AFB.
Is it a Stroke? Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke. Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions: Ask the individual to smile. Ask him or her to raise both arms. Ask the person to speak a simple sentence. If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 911 immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher. After discovering that a group on non-medical volunteers could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers urged the general public to learn these three questions. They presented their conclusions at the American Stroke Association’s annual meeting. Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of the stroke and prevent brain damage. Remember, if they can’t smile, raise their arms and speak a simple sentence, CALL 911. [Information provided by Bobby Reyes, Post 3, Flagstaff—thanks Bobby!]
Fire Hazard. I
received an email with this information and while I can’t verify this is true
but it’s something to be aware at the very least. The original message was written by a lady whose
brother and his wife learned a hard lesson this past week. Their house
burned down.... nothing left but ashes.
They have good insurance so the home will be replaced and most of the
contents. That is the good news. However, they were sick when they found out
the cause of the fire. The insurance
investigator sifted through the ashes for several hours. He had the cause of
the fire traced to the master bathroom.
He asked her sister-in-law what she had plugged in the bathroom. She listed the normal things.... curling
iron, blow dryer. He kept saying to her,
"No, this would be something that would disintegrate at high
temperatures". Then her
sister-in-law remembered she had a Glade Plug-In in the bathroom. The
investigator had one of those "Aha" moments. He said that was the cause of the fire. He said he has seen more home fires started
with the plug-in type room fresheners than anything else. He said the plastic they are made from is a
The American Legion Riders of Arizona need your help
to sponsor the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Traveling Wall. It’s currently scheduled to be set up in
Scottsdale on April 1-10. They can have
the Traveling Wall stop and set up in Tucson on April 14-17 but they need
$8,000 to sponsor the event. If you
would like to help with a donation, make checks payable to: American
Legion Riders Post 109, 15921 S. Houghton Rd.
Corona, AZ 85641.
Credit Card
Scam. Another email (thanks Gerry Erman!) with a
warning info I haven’t been able to verify but having received a call from my
credit card company while we were gone to the American Legion College regarding
our credit card being flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, I know for a
fact they don’t ask for that three digit code on the back so take heed to the
following: Please read this
information on a current VISA & Master Card Telephone Credit Card
Scam. By understanding how the scam
works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself. The story goes as follows: The scam works like this: Person calling says, "this is , and I'm
calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My badge number is XXXX. Your card has been flagged for an unusual
purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify.
This would be on your VISA card, which was issued by bank. Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device
for $497.99 from a marketing company based in Arizona?" When you say "No", the caller
continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been watching and
the charges range from $297 to $497, just under the $500 purchase pattern that
flags most cards. Before your next
statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that
correct?" You say
"yes". The caller continues...
"I will be starting a fraud investigation.
If you have any questions, you should call the 1-800 number listed on
the back of your card (1-800-VISA) and ask for Security. You will need to refer
to this Control #". The caller then
gives you a 6-digit number. "Do you
need me to read it again?" Here's
the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works.
The caller then says, "he needs to verify you are in possession of
your card". He'll ask you to
"turn your card over and look for some numbers. There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are your
card number, the next 3 are the 'Security Numbers' that verify you are in
possession of the card. These are the
numbers you use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. Read me the 3 numbers". After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll
say,"That is correct. I just needed
to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have
your card. Do you have any other
questions?" After you say no, the
caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back if you do",
and hangs up. You actually say very
little, and they never ask for or tell you the card number. But after this couple was called, they called
back within 20 minutes to ask a question.
Are they were glad they did! The
Vehicle Theft Prevention Warning. The original email I got said that it’s possible for a thief to take a vehicle’s VIN number to a dealer and get a duplicate key or even the keyless device without any other verification. The thieves can get your VIN by looking through your windshield and getting it from the VIN label on the dash. I called the Hyundai dealer in Prescott and while they said it was possible for a dealer to do it but unlikely that they wouldn’t ask for proof of ownership. So what do you do? Cover your VIN number to play it safe. Cover it with a dash mat, a piece of tape (electrical or duct tape) or cover it with something else so it can’t be seen. Thanks to Maria Greolynskyj for sending me the email!
Family member 75 and older to receive indefinite ID cards. Starting with the next software release, expected this summer, family members and survivors of military retirees who are 75 years and old will get ID cards without an expiration date. In the past, many Medicare-eligible family members simply let their ID cards expire if they were not near an installation to use shopping privileges. But since enactment of Tricare for Life and Tricare Senior Pharmacy coverage several years ago, older family members who have Medicare A & B now have a medical benefit and must have a valid ID card to use the benefits. [Source: Afterburner, February 2005]
RAO Bulletin, 1February 2005, contains the following
articles: CRDP Update 31 (100% Disabled
w/IU chances now 50-50); Budget Shortfalls Blamed on Retirees by Pentagon;
Legislation of Interest Update 04; VA Compensation Levels Inconsistent (Award
levels by state differ); BRAC 2005 Update 03 (Latest proposed base closings);
Depleted Uranium. (Compensation for exposure);
RAO Bulletin Update, 15 February 2005, contains the
following articles: CRDP Update 32 (100%
Disabled w/IU chances remain 50-50);
Congressional contact data base;
Legislation of Interest Update 05;
Navy Drawdown Announced; VA
Budget Proposal 2006; Veterans Tax
Assistance (No charge options); Retiree
Mobilization Update; Illinois Veteran
Home Tax Donation; Vet Cemetery
Montana; Diet Slim Chance 2004 Awards
(Worst diet gimmicks); Tricare MTF Locator;
Fourth Cliff Recreation Area (Family recreation area in Humarock MA)
UPCOMING EVENTS TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR: (all events at Post 57 unless otherwise noted.)
25 February, Post Social,
26 February, no Post Social
27 February 2005, Bingo, doors open
7 March 2005, Post and Auxiliary
Meeting,
11-12 March 2005, Post Social,
12 March 2005, Easter Feed the Town
Meal, 3-6 pm
13 March 2005, State Commander’s
Brunch, 10:30—correction in month
13 March 2005, Bingo, doors open
19 March 2005, District Picnic at
Bullhead City,
25-26 March 2005, Post Social,
26 March 2005, Blood Drive, 12:30-5
pm
4 April 2005, Post and Auxiliary
Meeting,
8-9 April 2005, Post Social,
10 April 2005, Bingo, doors open
22 April 2005, Spaghetti Dinner, 5 –
22-23 April 2005, Post Social,
24 April 2005, Bingo, doors open
If you have an article or piece of information that you
think would be of interest to the whole Post, let me know and I will include it
in the first newsletter after receiving the information. You can get me the information by emailing
me, dropping it off at the Post or mailing it to the Post at P.O. Box 45 or
calling me at
Do you have an email address? Have you sent it to me? If not, please do so. My email address is rockin_g@netzero.com. Make sure you let me know who you are when you send me the email so I know whom the email address belongs to.
Yvonne Gorniak
Yvonne
Gorniak
Editor
Post 57