NPHA NewsletterHe who would do great things should not attempt them all alone. - Seneca March 2016

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

1 Upcoming ROSS Events

1 What’s New at NPHA

4 Maintenance Corner

3 Calendar of Events

2 NPHA Long-time Employee - Retiring

Newsletter 1

NPHA ROSS ProgramWatch for upcoming events to be held in 2016!!

ROSS/BOC/Tenant EventsNorthern Ponca Housing Authority (NPHA)

The NPHA ROSS program has been busy organizing events for 2016. Among those events are the

BOC/ROSS/NPHA/Tenant Meet & Greet

ROSS Empowerment Classes

Elder & Youth Events

The BOC/ROSS/NPHA/Tenant Meet & Greets will be held in all 5 service areas. We are inviting our tenants to come out and meet the Board member who represents your area and get to know him or her. We also want you to meet the NPHA staff and learn about what is new for NPHA and what is planned for future programs and strategies. These events will be held from 4-6pm. Please see the Calendar of Events in this newsletter for dates and locations!

ROSS Empowerment Classes – these classes are meant to help our tenants get motivated and live happy, productive lives. NPHA wants to see

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What’s New at NPHA?Meet our newest employees:

Shelby Avery Shawn CoffmanRecords Management Asst. Maintenance Tech.Shelby Avery is an enrolled member of the Santee Sioux Tribe and has a 7 month old son. Hobby Lobby is one of Shelby’s favorite stores! Shawn Coffman is an enrolled member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. One of his hobbies is working on his car.

NPHA Board of Commissioners:

Mark Peniska - Chair, Dist. 3

Pam Noyes - Vice Chair, Dist. 2

JoAn Ehlers - Secretary, Dist.1

Conceta Zephier –Treasurer, At Large

William Wright - District 4

The March BOC meeting will be held on Saturday, March 12, 2016 @ 9AM at the

Wilbur Aalfs Library(Sioux City) – Gleeson Room. Visitors are welcome to all Board of

Commissioner meetings. To be on the NPHA Board Meeting Agenda, contact Tara

Continued on page 3

Newsletter 2

Bev Wright is retiringNPHA Tenants;

April 29th will be my last day and I want to say that working here at the NPHA for 19 years has made me a better person. Getting to know all tenants in all service area’s has improved the relationship that grows with each year of working closely, that makes us a very tight nit family. At least I feel this way. I knew most of the tenants while I worked in maintenance, and then went on to having everyone as actual tenants. I just hope that the good relations can continue with whoever takes my place. I know most of your likes and dislikes and I will try to relay this to other staff members that I introduce to you. I really do want you to accept old and new staff members that come your way. It makes me sad as I won’t be seeing you for those inspections I know you all look forward to.

Just remember that our staff is here to help you. Do not ever feel like were picking on any one of you. Policies do change all the time and it is hard for us to try to accommodate everyone’s concerns at the spur of the moment, but it takes time to find answers. If you have any questions, please take the time to call our office; do not take anyone’s word if you are unsure of what you’re hearing. Call us.

Who knows, I might stop in and see you if I’m ever in the area. I have always appreciated your friendship and hope it continues. I’ll miss you all.

Respectfully,Beverly Wright

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our tenants thrive instead of just survive. Join us for these classes and learn how to get rid of worry, anger, confusion and depression. We will schedule these classes on the days and times that work for the tenants who are interested in them so you must call Maureen at NPHA to let her know which days and times work for you!

Elder Events – NPHA is sponsoring a Circle of Elders event with PTON in each one of our service areas. We will have a speaker come in and do a craft, too! Please see the Calendar of Events in this newsletter for dates, times and locations for those events.

Youth Events – NPHA has scheduled 2 youth events in April and hopes to schedule more in the summer, 2016. Jim Warne will be the featured speaker at both the April youth events. Jim is an Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribal member. He has worked with various Tribal programs including the Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Program. He has also worked with the Navajo Nation coordinating a Disability Needs Assessment Project through a contract with the Navajo Nation. He has been involved as a motivational speaker in “Indian Country” for his accomplishments in professional football (San Diego Chargers) and Hollywood TV and movie acting with coinciding academic and professional accomplishment. Jim will be in Sioux Falls, SD on April 18th for the screening of his newest film “7th Generation” at a symposium where he was invited to present. To learn more about Jim, please go to http://www.jimwarne.com/about.htm . Please see the Calendar of Events for dates, times and locations.

***Free Income Tax Preparation in Omaha –go to www.OmahaEITC.org or www.facebook.com/OmahaEITC or call 2-1-1 for more information on the location nearest you!!

Newsletter 3

C A L E N D A R O F E V E N T SELDER EVENT IN SIOUX CITY

SIOUX CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY - GLEESON ROOM FRIDAY, MARCH 11TH FROM 10:30AM – 12:30PM

Share a meal, make a craft and listen to a speaker.

ROSS EMPOWERMENT CLASSES

SIOUX CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY – GLEESON ROOM

FRIDAY, MARCH 11TH FROM 1-2:30PM

Learn how to get rid of Worry, Anger, Confusion and Depression

BOC/ROSS/NPHA/TENANT MEET & GREET – SIOUX CITY

HO-CHUNK BUILDING – 8TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM

FRIDAY, MARCH 11TH FROM 4-6PM Meet the NPHA staff and Board member from Sioux City area

BOC/ROSS/NPHA/TENANT MEET & GREET - LINCOLN

PTN OFFICE – GREAT ROOM

FRIDAY, MARCH 18TH FROM 4-6PM Meet the NPHA staff and Board member from the Lincoln area

BOC/ROSS/NPHA/TENANT MEET & GREET – NIOBRARA

PTN OFFICE – CONFERENCE ROOM

THURSDAY, MARCH 31ST FROM 4-6PM Meet the NPHA staff and Board member from the Niobrara area

BOC/ROSS/NPHA/TENANT MEET & GREET – NORFOLK

NPHA NORFOLK OFFICE – CONFERENCE ROOM

FRIDAY, APRIL 8TH FROM 4-6PM Meet the NPHA staff and Board member from the Norfolk area

BOC/ROSS/NPHA/TENANT MEET & GREET – OMAHA

NPHA OMAHA OFFICE - CONFERENCE ROOM

FRIDAY, APRIL 15TH FROM 4-6PM Meet the NPHA staff and Board member from the Omaha area

ROSS YOUTH EVENTS

SIOUX CITY – HO-CHUNK BUILDING – 8TH FLOOR CONFERENCE ROOM

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20TH FROM 5-7PMNORFOLK – NPHA OFFICE BUILDING – 1501 MICHIGAN AVE.FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND FROM 5-7PMFor all Native youth ages 6-30. Come out and hear a great motivational speaker, have fun and enjoy food and prizes.

Remsing at 402.379.8224 or email tara@poncahousing.org

In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.

1John 4:9

Save the Number, Save a LifeNational Poison Prevention Week

March 20-26, 2016According to the Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention (CDC), poisoning is the No. 1 cause of injury death in the U.S.

with most deaths due to drug misuse and

abuse. In 2014, America’s poison control

centers managed almost 3 million calls and the

Nebraska Regional Poison Center managed

over 40,000 of those calls.

Poison centers save lives and save

money. National Poison Prevention Week

allows centers to raise awareness and educate

everyone on how to prevent poisoning

accidents before they occur and what to do if

they occur. Most calls to a poison center will

help you avoid a costly trip to the emergency

room. Poison centers save Americans more

than 1.8 billion dollars every year in avoided

medical costs.

Poison centers are open 24/7/365. The

calls are managed by health professionals,

including registered nurses, pharmacists and

physicians. These health professionals all have

special training in poison management.

Anywhere in the country when people call 1-800-222-1222, they are connected immediately

to their poison center. Do something positive for

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Newsletter 4

If you have a TAR (Tenant Accounts Receivable) with NPHA, now is a good time to consider paying that off with your tax refund!!***************************************Down Payment Assistance Program: NPHA has set aside funding to help future homeowners purchase a home with this one-time down payment assistance. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a homeowner, please call NPHA to see if you qualify for the program 402.379.8224. If you are a veteran, there are special mortgage options for you if you qualify for the GI Bill. Call NPHA today and we will put you in touch with a professional loan officer who can answer your questions.

NPHA JOB OPPORTUNITIES ICDBG Project Assistant - Norfolk Office Services Assistant - Norfolk Admissions & Occupancy Counselor Painter/Drywall Specialist – Omaha

Please submit your completed application, found on the NPHA website, AND resume to NPHA Human Resources, 1501 W Michigan Ave., Norfolk NE, 68701 or via email to Tara Remsing at tara@poncahousing.org

Free MagnetsBe watching your mail for free magnets

from the Nebraska Regional Poison Center. These magnets have the number for the Poison Control Center to call in case of an emergency. Please put these

magnets on your refrigerator so it is easy to find when you need it!

M A I N T E N A N C E C O R N E Rwww.MIDAMERICANENERGY.com

PRACTICE HOME SAFETY

Keep anything that can burn at least 3 feet away from

any kind of home heating equipment.

Maintain a 3-foot, kid-free zone around space heaters.

Never use your oven to heat your home.

Turn space heaters off when leaving a room or going to

bed.

Test your smoke alarms every month.

Never store flammable liquids in your home.

Never remove or modify the round plug on a three-

pronged plug. It connects to a ground wire inside the

outlet so the electricity will travel to the ground and not to

you!

GFIs keep electricity traveling on a safe path to the

ground to protect you from shock

Spring Safety Tips Look up before you trim your trees.

Never use a metal ladder near overhead wires.

Do not trim branches that are close to power lines.

Remind kids to fly kites only in open areas where there

are not any power lines.

Don’t touch downed power lines. Wind, rain and lightning

can bring down trees and powerlines. Call them in

immediately! 800-799-4443

Appliance Safety Make sure cords are in good working condition.

Always pull the plug and not the cord.

Keep cords out from under rugs or furniture

Keep cords safely away from ledges where children and

pets can pull them down.

Teach children to never put fingers or objects into electric

outlets or appliances.

NPHA Newsletter 5