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Fort – Harris Retired Educators

News and Notes

Editor: Eleanor Blain Volume 3, Issue 7 March 1, 2016

FBISD Board of Trustees Candidates FBISD Board of Trustees Positions 3 and 7 will be on the May 7 ballot. Those positions are presently filled by Jim Rice and Dave Rosenthal. Jim Rice, Position 3, has no opponent, but Dave Rosenthal has James Davidson and Laura Rameriz as his opponents for Position 7. We will host a forum for the candidates during our April 14 meeting. It is vital that our FBHRE members submit questions to ask during the forum. Therefore, just as FBHRE has done in the past, we will follow this protocol: At the March 10 meeting, you will collaborate with others at your table to write questions on note cards, and these questions will be given to Eleanor Blain and Kathy Aaron to use in preparation for the forum. If you miss that meeting, you still have an opportunity to submit questions via email to eleanor.blain@yahoo.com. You may also ask questions near the end of the forum, since we always turn to the audience to ask for any additional questions. You then have an opportunity to ask for clarification of something a candidate has said or to address a concern you may have that has not been addressed during the forum. We always depend on our members as our sole source to provide questions, so please follow through. The forum is only as good as the questions you provide. How do you get your questions? Become informed on the issues. Do your research. Ask active educators to to tell you their concerns. Read the newspaper articles in the Star or other publications that discuss issues FBISD is facing. Perhaps you are involved as a mentor, VIP, interceptor, or supervise new teachers. Take the opportunity to learn about issues facing FBISD. Formulate your questions and submit them. –Eleanor Blain

Reverse Diseases Through Lifestyle and Diet

Dr. Kota J. Reddy F.A.C.C., Founder of Reddy

Cardiac Wellness and Diabetes Reversal Center and

author of Eat This, Lose That and three other

books, explained at the FBHRE February meeting

how the body works and how the foods we eat

affect us. Dr. Reddy will hold sessions at our TRTA

covention in April, and those books will be available

for purchase.

Dr. Reddy is a prominent Sugar Land board

certified cardiologist who specializes in the

prevention and reversal of diabetes, heart disease,

and obesity. He has been featured several times on

the Debra Duncan Show. With the goal to teach

rather than treat, he instructed us to live by one

rule: Treat your food like medication and learn how

to use your grocery store as your pharmacy. He

listed what foods we should and should not eat to

help reverse diabetes and heart disease, as well as

help us get our weight under control and explained

the basics of diet and lifestyle so we will have the

tools to think for ourselves and can decide which

foods are good for us. He has also developed

Reddy Bread and guarantees that it will not raise

blood sugar.

Please click on this link to see how his 93-year-

old patient lost weight, reversed diabetes, got off

insulin, pills, and oxygen, and fulfilled her dream of

getting out of a wheelchair and walking without a

walker: https://www.youtube.com /watch? v=M6U

KttJTVJQ. –Mary Ann Dolezal

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Photo Ops During February Meeting

Rodeo Specials on Value Wednesdays If you plan to go to the rodeo, consider Value Wednesdays, which are March 2nd, 9th, and 16th, as advertised on the rodeo web site. You may purchase tickets on line at this web address:

http://www.rodeohouston.com/ Tickets/Value

Wednesdays.aspx .

$10 Value Wednesday Rodeo/Concert Ticket includes NRG Park admission plus the following:

Superstar entertainer: Chris Young on March 2,

Brett Eldrege,March 9; and Jake Owen, March 16,

Cham Championship rodeo action

Uppe Upper Level Stadium seating

Values on the grounds:

$5 Value Wednesday NRG Park Admission for general public (does not include rodeo/concert admission, but you may purchase a ticket at the gate). Free Value Wednesday NRG Park Admission for seniors, 60 and over, and children, 12 and under (does not include rodeo/concert admission) *$5 off a $25 or more purchase at any official Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo merchandize booth *Value Wednesday pricing at various food and merchandise vendors

* From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., all rides, games and special food items in Kids Country Carnival: $2.

Ongoing Projects

Please bring your donations to our meetings:

Food Pantry 2 lb. bags of flour or cornmeal*

Children’s Book Project Books for Mission Glen Elementary School* *Monetary donations are acceptable.

Pictured left to right are Mary Ann Dolezal, Dr. Kota Redding, and Carla Meuth. Our AMBA representative Michael Hames explained benefits available to TRTA members, and he especially promoted MASA, in the event a person would need ambulance or Medevac transportation.

Calendar of Events March 10, 1 P.M.: Boone Holladay, Tx AgriLife: “Save Water, Save $$.” April 10-12: TRTA Convention, Westin Galleria April 14, 1 P.M.: FBISD Board Candidates: Forum May 11: Potluck Luncheon, 11 A.M. Field Trip: April 16, 10 A.M.: Sugar Land Heritage Walking Tour. Visit Farmer’s Market before or after.

—Photo by Dr. Irma Rohatgi

--Photo by Dr. Irma Rohatgi

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Member Benefits TRTA members can access the endorsed benefits and discounts available to members by using the following link. http://trta.org/memberbenefits The benefits categories follow:

Insurance Benefits

Medical Benefits

Lodging Benefits

Security ‘Benefits

Travel Benefits

Entertainment Benefits

Credit Benefits All member benefits have been studied, recommended by the TRTA Member Benefits Committee and adopted by the TRTA Board. -- Ann Hauber

Farmers Market The Imperial Farmer’s Market is open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. rain or shine. Linda Russell recommends the food, so try the tamales when we have our walking tour on April 16. Linda says we will reschedule and walk on April 23 in the event of rain.

Legislative Notes If you missed early voting, please vote on March 1. Of utmost importance is to allow yourself to have a voice in electing candidates you think will represent your best interests in

your city, Texas, and the United States of America. Before next November, call or email the winners of the primaries and express your concerns, or congratulate them on their victory. Retired Eductors are effective when they make their voices heard loudly and clearly. Stay positive even though you know the person may have tod be persuaded to accept our requests. Some of us emailed Rick Miller to say that we voted for him, and he answered with a personal email thanking us for our support. Over time, he grew to be a strong supporter of funding our pension and TRS-Care. Other elected officials on both sides of the aisle have appreciated your words of encouragement, as well. Please ask your U.S. Senate and Representive candidates to support the repeal of WEP. --Eleanor Blain

Why You Should Consider

Freezing Your Credit Report

Freeze your credit reports before you get burned. That's the message from

security experts, consumer advocates, and some state attorneys general. But there are some downsides to a credit freeze to consider. It also blocks you from opening new lines of credit, so if you plan to take out a mortgage or apply for a new credit card, you'll need to remember to unfreeze it each time. How do I freeze my credit report? Contact each of the three credit reporting agencies:

Equifax: www.equifax.com/help/credit-freeze/ en_cp or 800-349-9960;

Experian: www.experian.com/freeze/center.html or 888-397-3742;

Trans Union: www.transunion.com/securityfreeze or 888-909-8872. Each agency will ask you for your Social Security number, name, address, and other details.

Will the freeze hurt my credit score? No. A credit freeze is the only way to stop criminals from opening new accounts in your name. You're entitled to get a free copy of your credit report from each of the three agencies once a year at https://www.annualcreditreport.com. When do I need to unfreeze my credit reports? Unfreeze when you're applying for a mortgage or auto loan or credit card. How do I unfreeze my credit reports? Unfreeze by contacting the credit agencies again. When you ask to freeze your credit reports, you'll get a number that you will need to save. That number will be your key to unfreezing your account, so keep it in a safe place. --Jerry A. Garrison, Informative-Protective Chair

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Thursday, February 18, Field Trip to Texas Heart Institute

Eighteen FBHRE members and guests carpooled to the Texas Heart Institute (THI)

at St. Luke’s Hospital in Houston on February 18. Guided by Mary Hamm, RN, they

visited the museum, observed an open heart surgery with heart pump implant,

witnessed the amazing advances in regenerating organ tissues, and visited the Stem

Cell Center.

Texas Heart Institute is pioneering the regeneration of organs, and one of the most

fascinating studies is the regeneration of the heart with the use of a ghost organ. The

photo at the left is an actual pig heart at THI that has been soaked and stripped. Dr.

Doris Taylor, Director of Regenerative Medicine Research at Texas Heart Institute,

calls the stripped heart a ghost heart. This is the procedure used to strip the heart:

1. Soak a pig’s heart in an ingredient commonly found in shampoo.

2. Wash away the cells, and you have a protein, decellurized scaffold analogous to a 2”x4”

framing for a building.

3. Inject the ghost heart with hundreds of millions of blood or bone-marrow stem cells from a

person who needs a heart transplant.

4. Place it into a bioreactor to allow artificial lungs and tubes to pump oxygen and blood into it,

and the ghost heart begins to regenerate into a new, beating bioartificial human heart.

FBHRE members were able to observe such a ghost heart beating in a bioreactor.

Dr. Taylor hopes someday to grow a bioartificial human heart that is transplantable. Already, her

department has grown rat and pig hearts. The same process can be used to regenerate lung, kidney, and

pancreas tissues. The aim is to decrease the number of patients who die before receiving an organ

transplant.

Research Scientist Maria da Graca Cabriera, PhD, and Assistant Director Jennifer Chambers, RN,BSN,

CCRC, used a PowerPoint presentation to explain how stem cells work. Stem cells are unspecialized cells

with the potential to remain a stem cell or develop into a multitude of different cell types. Found in body

fat, bone marrow, blood, an unbilical chord, and the organs, these cells are valuable in reversing tissue

damage. They divide rapidly and have been shown to repair heart tissue damaged by Infarction.

--Eleanor Blain

Are You Interested in Becoming an Organ Donor? Organ donors can be any age from newborn to senior citizen. Therefore, THI states that nearly everyone can donate organs. The transplant team of surgeons decide which organs are viable and which organs are not. An organ from a healthy senior citizen can be better than one from a young person who has health issues. Even if you have a medical condition, you may still be able to donate your organs. Doctors will evaluate the condition of your organs when the time arises. The transplant team's decision will be based on a combination of factors such as your specific illness and your physical condition to determine which organs and tissues can be donated. --Eleanor Blain

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Field Trip to THI

FBHRE members and guests gather to tour THI facilities and observe heart surgery

Mary Hamm, RN, explains Dr. Denton Cooley’s early inventions of heart pumps and successes. Cooley unvented his equipment, even using a coffee pot as part of one apparatus.

Displayed are devices used in heart surgery in the early part of Dr. Cooley’s career.

Research Scientist Maria da Graca Cabriera, PHD, demonstrates advances in stem cell research.

Assistant Director of Regernative Medicine Research Andrea Gobin, PhD, defines ghost hearts. She also allowed FBHRE members to see actual ghost organs.

--Photos submitted by Evelyn Smith

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Notes from our President If you missed our meeting on February 11, you missed an enlightening speaker. Dr. Kota Reddy, who provided our members with information to keep us healthier and thus happier. He answered members’ questions and shared the successes people can enjoy if they change the way they eat. Dr. Reddy will be a speaker at our TRTA State Convention in Houston. Each member can register and attend any of the speaker sessions he or she may enjoy. Go online to www.TRTA.org to see all the information about the speakers and sessions. Please let me know is you are a veteran, and would like to take part as a color

guard at our convention. Call, or email me today. There will be a special presentation of the colors at the opening session on Monday, 7:30 a.m. in which any members who are veterans will post the colors and be honored. There will be a gathering afterwards to celebrate those who have given us our freedom. Our unit has a great many members that are not coming to the unit meetings. Last year many complained about having the meetings in the morning; therefore, we moved the meetings to the mid-day. We average about 50 of our 300 members at the meetings. My questions are to the membership, “What would you like to see as our meeting times?” Would membership like meetings to change, such as one month, early, the next one later? We need to keep the meeting on the same day of the week because of the locations setup. We could do a Saturday meeting if there is a lot of interest for that day, but we may need a different location. The executive board reviews the programs of the past and those of other units each year. We need your voices to be heard as to what you would like to be heard for programs at our meeting. We must provide certain information of business from the state directives at the meeting, so we try to keep the programs to one hour and the business part 45 minutes. This is your unit, and as FBHRE President, I need your voice to ensure we are meeting your needs for the programs and field trips. Email me or call me, I’d be glad to speak with you about your ideas. Don’t forget you are the Heart of our Unit. If you need as ride to the meetings, contact another member or officer. and we will try to assist you in any way. If you know of a member who is ill or needs any assistance, be sure to let me or one of the officers or chairmen know. Don’t forget the “Each One, Bring One” could win you a $100.00, at the drawing at the State Convention. Call or email Mary Ann Dolezal for information. We are so grateful for Linda Simmons’ many years of service of as our Foundations Chair. She has provided us with great leadership and knowledge about the Foundation’s programs and scholarships. She is stepping down from her position and will be missed. She will be able to guide our next chair as her outstanding knowledge will be passed on to whoever steps forward to assume this position. The convention and District trainings are also provided. We will miss Linda, but know you will continue to support our unit. Thank you ever so sincerely, Linda. Don Simmons is also stepping down as our Web Master. He has set up our site and has done a wonderful job getting us on line. We appreciate his knowledge and hope the best for him in his next endeavor. As you can see from our information, we need new chairs for Web Master, Foundations, and also Membership. There will be trainings for these positions at the State Convention in April, as well as at the District leadership training in May. Please support our Unit by becoming a leader and support our efforts. Remember, “It takes a village.” Contact me if you are interested. --Carla Meuth