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May 1, 2002; Vol. 4; Issue
#2; Mail Address: PMB 44, 12819 SE
38th St., Bellevue, WA 98006-1326
Voice Mail: 206-232-5892;
Classroom: Phantom Lake Elementary at Bellewood School, Bellevue
For Detailed Information,
Class Schedules: www.seniornetps.org
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FIRST DAY OF CLASSES AT BELLWOOD SITE: Monday, April 15th
was a busy, happy day when wide-eyed Phantom
Lake Elementary School students -yes, and SeniorNetters--explored their new temporary home at the old
Bellewood School off Main St., between 148th Ave. NE. and 156th
Ave. NE. Turn north from Main, at 153rd Pl., and follow the winding
road to the school. As we all know, the original Phantom Lake School is being
torn down to make way for a sparkling new and larger school. Despite the rain,
there were periods of bright sun for the youngsters to race around during class
break. And for many there were some scary moments when they tried to remember
exactly where their classrooms were. But teachers and school officials were out
in force to help them get started on opening day. And it was equally exciting
for SeniorNet volunteers working to assemble the computer equipment, wiring,
projector, classroom equipment and desks in the larger classroom located in a
portable structure. Ken Crandall was
leading the enthusiastic volunteers, who had helped make ready for the move a
week earlier from the original school site, and now were wrapping up the
installation. With computer classes scheduled to resume in full force
Wednesday, April 17th, the final push was on to meet the deadline,
which was achieved.
VISIT OUR WEBSITE FOR INFORMATION ON EVERYTHING: Thanks to the magnificent efforts by Jay Schlechter, Hal Mozer and Chuck Goldstein, operators of the
SeniorNet website www.seniornetps.org
it was fairly easy to find our interim class site at the Bellewood Elementary School just east of
148th Ave., on Main St., Bellevue. In addition to written
directions, the site also included a map, in color, showing the streets around
the school. Plus Jay has installed streaming headlines of SeniorNet activities
taken from the monthly online newsletter. And yes, you can read the newsletter
by clicking on the Newsletter button. In addition, you can find class
registration forms, along with information on registration and classes. In
other words, our SeniorNet website has just about all the information on our
classes, learning opportunities, activities etc one could wish. Oh yes: you can
easily access the site by clicking on the URL/address in the newsletter
heading, or else the internet address included in this paragraph.
SEE YOU AT THE KAFFEE KLATCH: The regular first Tuesday
of the month SeniorNet no-host Kaffee Klatch is scheduled for Tuesday
morning, May 7th at 11 am, at the Crossroads Mall Food Circus,
156th Ave. NE, near 8th, Bellevue. Exactly where? Look
for a few tables pulled together and some interesting talking taking place, not
far from the top fast-food sellers there.
REMINDER: MEMBERSHIP MEETING NOW AT CROSSROADS MALL: Our next monthly SeniorNet Membership Meetings is
scheduled for Tuesday morning, May 21 at 10 am at the Community Room
at the Crossroads Mall, 156th Ave. NE, at 8th St.,
Bellevue. The Community Room inside the mall is adjacent to Bartell's Drug.
Pres. Helen Hesketh reports this key session will discuss and brainstorm
the goals and objective for the upcoming year. She urges: "Come out, join
us and become part of the planning process."
FIRE DAMAGES CLOSED PHANTOM LAKE SCHOOL: Police are investigating a
blaze that razed part of Phantom Lake Elementary School at the 500 wing, this
past week. The school was closed down several weeks ago to be demolished and
make way for a new, larger school on the same site. Students now attend the
Bellewood School during the razing and construction of the new Phantom Lake
structure. According to reports, a canine unit was patrolling the neighborhood
and saw flames coming from the school. The dogs were released and followed a
suspect through the park, with an officer reported seeing a person running
through the park. The police reportedly have a very strong lead in what they
now believe is an arson fire, and are confident that they will get their
suspect.
SENIORNET AIDS IN MICROSOFT MEDIA EVENT: A media event to
demonstrate how seniors are learning to use computers in their daily lives,
including using the word processing program, Microsoft Word, was scheduled for Tuesday,
April 30. Our own Word class was one of seven selected nationwide to
demonstrate how this program is being taught, and used by seniors. In turn,
Microsoft is donating Microsoft Works Suite, which includes Word, to all
SeniorNet Learning Centers. The session was part of the Older Americans Month
ceremonies and demonstrations. Pres. Helen Hesketh was scheduled to give the
welcoming talk.
HOW TO HELP
PHANTOM LAKE SCHOOL DUAL FUND DRIVES: All SeniorNet member are urged to support two fund
drives by our host school which include a
great cookbook for $8, now available, plus
a Silent Auction May 10th to which you can donate useful articles. The
cookbook was created from recipes collected from the Phantom Lake community, so
you know they have got to be special. If you wish to buy more than one, the
price is only $7.50 each. To order one or more cookbooks, stop by at the
Bellewood School office, our temporary home while the original Phantom Lake
School is demolished and replaced by a new, larger edifice.
Swing by when you attend classes, teach a class, help a class, serve as
a Granpal. You can place your order with the friendly office staff and the
cookbooks will be delivered to the school for easy pickup. Checks should be
made payable to the Phantom Lake PTA. And the fourth silent auction for the
Phantom Lake Elementary School takes place May 10 at the school's temporary
home at the Bellewood School. Please donate your article or two at the school
office by May 5, for the May 10 auction. And then attend the auction. The
Bellewood School is located between 148th Ave. NE, and 156th
Ave. NE, Bellevue. You can reach the school via Main St. From Main turn north
on 153rd Pl., and follow the winding road between the homes there
until you reach the Bellewood School entrance. And after you park, just ask
anyone for the office, which is in the center of the spread. To check
directions, see the color street map in our website via the URL shown in first
page.
COMPUTER TIPS
SECTION:
The free email Langa Letter by Fred
Langa has an interesting discussion on firewalls, designed to help protect
users from hackers and other unwelcome intruders, in its current issue. This
includes comments from users of ZoneAlarm, which comes in a free download
version, and the upgrade paid version. To access the site on the Internet, use
the following URL: http://www.informationweek.com/story/IWK20020412S0009. (Note: If the URL, a techy name for the
web site address, shows up in purple lettering, it is a live link. Which means
you can go directly to the site by merely clicking on the address. If it prints
in black-and-white, you can copy and paste the lengthy address right into your
browser address bar.)
KEEPING
INKJET-LASER PRINT COSTS UNDER CONTROL: The new computer printers
have dropped way down in cost but the cost of the print cartridges you have to
replace when the originals run dry, are still fairly high. Which is why, in
most cases, printer makers try to hold down the printer costs hoping to sure
you as serve as profit-making purchasers of replacement print heads. However many computer users have
sharply cut costs by re-filling the empty print cartridge via special refill
packages containing black ink, or bottles of black and color inks, including
the needle-nosed syringe etc. The current online newsletter, About, featuring About Computer Peripherals, with Nick Russell, has interesting tips on cutting costs, including
using refill kits. You can find it online at http://peripherals.about.com/library/weekly/aa022202a.htm
SEC. PATRICIA BRAUN: SeniorNet's newly elected
secretary has come a long way from the northwestern Iowa farm she was born on,
and where she lived until she was eight. The family then moved first to
Wenatchee, WA. and after a year her dad began working on the building of the
Grand Coulee Dam. This massive
project kept the family there for many years. Pat graduated high school in
Boulder City, Nevada, where the company her dad worked for was doing repair
work on the Hoover Dam. Pat decided she needed more career training, and moved
to the Los Angeles area, living with friends while she attended night school,
and worked days in an insurance office. Thanks to her training, she landed a
job as a secretary in the Chemical Division of Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co.,
and a year later, met future husband, Jim
Braun. As Pat describes it: "One thing led to another and a few months
later we were married." That
was 52 years ago, and the couple now has three children, and six grandchildren.
And, adds Pat: "We are still
going strong."
PUBLICITY
CHAIR BILL KYLE: As
with many of our newer members who sign on and immediately volunteer to take on
a key responsibility, Bill Kyle has
accepted the post of publicity chairperson. An Air Force pilot flying the famed
F-4 fighter with combat service in Vietnam, he has flown the T-38, was an
instructor and check pilot in the T-38 and the F-4. And in the Air Force tradition, he followed in the footsteps
of his father, a career USAF officer. After he left the Air Force, he entered
civilian life, first in Portland, OR, working in marketing for several
aviation-relation companies. He and his family later moved to Seattle where he
was associated with several computer software companies. While in college, he
married his high school sweetheart, Anne.
He completed his undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of
Montana, and later entered the AF.
Bill is the second Air Force
flyer to recently join SeniorNet. Ross
Roberts, a long-time navigator flying worldwide with the huge C-130 planes,
including Vietnam service also, now is another skilled and enthusiastic
SeniorNet class instructor. This makes for three known ex-Air Force flyers now
active with SeniorNet, with one elderly member going back to another era and
another war half a century ago when they used wound-up rubber bands to make the
props turn, instead of those noisy jet engines. The couple has two children.
RAY HANSEN: This veteran SeniorNet volunteer instructor and
former course coordinator, who began his long association with our organization
way, way back in 1991 at the old site on 116th Ave., in Bellevue,
has a very unique distinction: He is the guy who was in charge of closing down
part of Niagara Falls (Yeah, THAT
Niagara Falls) when the U.S. Corps
of Engineers had to check on the condition of the underpinnings of the mighty
waterfall. Ray was the chief engineer of this massive project, which, in
effect, dried up the American side of the Falls, which is adjacent to Canada,
to carefully examine the site. When no threatening erosion was found, Ray
ordered the water turned on again. No simple turning of a water tap, however.
This was done by removing huge barriers that had blocked the water flow,
diverting it to the Canadian side. Ray recalls with a chuckle, examining the
bottom of the dry waterfall, and finding lots of coins and other items tossed
in by viewers.
Ray's Army promotions took
him from private to colonel, via West Point and MIT. Postings included the Greenland Icecap, the Arctic Ocean's
T-3 Ice Island, the jungles of Panama (and the Pentagon), NATO, a year with the
Navy, and command of the largest engineer battalion in Vietnam. On the home
front, as reported earlier, he led the Corps of Engineers' three-year study of
whether and how the Niagara Falls might be crumbling. Post-Army he spent over a
decade with engineering firm CH2M Hill, doing port and ocean engineering,
designing container terminals up and down the West Coast. In 1991 he retired again, except that
the U.N. asked him to do a volunteer job for a small island in the Indian
Ocean, determine feasibility of a port for a small island community in the
Maldives. For many years he was a member of King County Library System's
Computer Advisory Group, helping KCLS develop, and give classes on, the system
so many of us now enjoy for searching and ordering books on-line. For getaways he and Mary travel to Europe, to explore
neolithic (Stone Age) structures and study languages. E-mail makes keeping in touch with their nine scattered
children a snap How he
got his first SeniorNet assignment is also interesting: One day in 1991 shortly
after joining, he groused to our then-president Gene Rauscher about the erratic class schedules he'd been
getting. Gene, a true executive
and a fast decision maker, gave Ray an on-the-spot promotion to class
scheduler, later added instructor coordinator, jobs Ray handled for several
years.
MARTHA SIMON: First of all, Martha makes plain "I am an
avid Mariner fan, " in addition to other hobbies of traveling, gardening,
theater, reading and crossword puzzles. Born in Cairo, IL, she grew up in
Paducah, KY. Martha has a long career in the science field with a Bachelor of
Science degree in Chemistry from Western Kentucky State; graduate work at the
University of North Carolina in English literature, and complete a major in
microbiology at the University of Washington. "Science was my career,
literature my pleasure," she comments. She has worked for the Federal Food
and Drug Administration in Cincinnati and Washington, DC; the Seattle-King
County Department of Health, and the Washington State Department of Health.
Martha moved to Seattle in 1968, and retired from her state position in May of
1999. When Martha moved here she says, "I fell in love with the beauty and
lifestyle of the area, and so, made this my home."
JO ANN TUTTLE: One of our very courageous SeniorNet members who
was stricken with cancer of the larynx in 1994 after smoking for some 50 years,
and required surgery, now is in charge of distributing nametags at our
meetings. Earlier, she was a Granpal to
the Phantom Lake Elementary School students, but now concentrates in giving
talks area-wide on the grim and tragic "Joys of smoking." Using an
electronic mike she presses against her throat in order to be heard, she warns
students against even taking that first puff. Her unusual and gripping story, in her own words: "I smoked for about 50 years and
in 1994 was diagnosed with cancer of the larynx and had a
laryngectomy. The laryngectomee
who visited me in the hospital had been speaking at schools on the "joys
of smoking" for many years. Unfortunately, his tour of duty was ending
with further cancer. He and another laryngeal speaker finally talked me
into speaking in the schools.
"For a couple of years
I would not speak in the schools because I still craved cigarettes even
after what I had done to myself with them and felt it would be hypocritical to
tell the kids not to smoke. Eventually I decided maybe it was more proof
of how severe the addiction was and since have been going into the schools in
the area. I stopped working with the kids as a Granpal since I no longer can
pronounce my "H's," and those little kids did a real good job of
sounding like little Limeys when I had helped them read, and it came out
sounding, ' 'Ave a 'appy day,'Arry.'
"As a result, since
working with Granpals and being listed in the Bellevue School District, I am
not only speaking in the Seattle and Mercer Island districts but am
speaking in The Bellevue area, including Phantom Lake, and being
asked to speak in several schools in Snohomish County. I speak anywhere
from 15- 20 minutes to a class, to spending the whole class period with them
showing a short video (I have several), speaking for part of the hour and
taking questions. This depends on the type of program we are giving.
Don't know for sure how much good I do but in some of the Thank You
letters I have received, kids say, after listening to me, they will not
smoke. I sure hope they are right. Am really trying to scare
the poor kids completely out of the idea of even trying to take that first puff
on a cigarette."
CAUTION NOTE: While all
computer-operating tips come from usually reliable sources, readers are
reminded they use them at your own risk. AGAIN,
IN CASE you have friends who are online, and may be interested in
taking classes to expand their skills, forward this newsletter to them by
clicking Forward when this message
is displayed. Then enter their address in the To box, and click Send. We welcome your personal news items
sent to the editor at b26flyer@attbi.com.
If you wish to receive this newsletter monthly, email your full name, phone and
email address to the above email address. And if you wish to unsubscribe, just send
a message to same email address.
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Pres.> Helen Hesketh;
Vice Pres.>Adella J. Granger; Treas.>Bob Swenson; Secy>Patricia
Braun; Registrar>Louise Flora; Immediate Past Pres.>Clif Wuesthoff;
Curriculum Coordinator> John Wise;
Facilities Coordinator> Ken Crandall; Member-at-Large>Delores Davis; Volunteers Coordinator> Delores Davis; Public
Relations & Online Newsletter Editor> Phil Scheier; Publicity>Bill
Kyle
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