Family & Community
ADRC-CW 2021 Aging Plan Public Hearing
Join the Aging and Disability Resource Center of Central Wisconsin to discuss the aging plan which they use to decide which services to focus on for its customers.
Our working class heroes deserve financial stability
We lived in the community built by Mr. D.C. Everest. I saw first hand how great jobs with good health and retirement benefits can raise families out of poverty. But life wasn’t always so easy.
Paid family leave offers many benefits to society
For parents in the workforce who do not receive paid family leave, the important first months with baby can be cut short due to financial hardship.
Father’s day
Finding the perfect card for my dad has never been easy. He hates mushy sentiments expressed in a greeting card. He likes funny cards, so I ordered one that I thought he would like, but it was looking like it wouldn’t arrive in time, so I decided to write this for him.
Counting all the costs of war
On Memorial Day we remember the veterans who have made the ultimate sacrifice in our many wars. We should mourn the fallen. We should mourn because they did not die for their country.
The road to poverty is paved with good intentions
As a proposed increase to the minimum wage became part of the COVID Relief bill, then later scrapped, my subconscious pointed out a flaw in my thinking. I had a vivid dream where I was talking to numerous business owners who are a part of our vibrant local food scene. Many of these restaurateurs, farmers, and value-added food producers make $50,000 per year or less while paying the current minimum wage, or slightly more. Paying workers based on a wage ratio limit would not necessarily guarantee a living wage, so in the dream they were asking me what they should pay. What would be a competitive pay rate?
Grief, worry, hope, and kindness
At the end of January, Will and I suffered the loss of a beloved pet. After talking with friends, we found out that three of them also recently had pets reach the end of their lives. Some lost people in their family as well. Some, like me, are worried about family who are sick.
Wisconsin Legislature strikes mask order; Governor reinstates four hours later
Talk to your friends and neighbors; this is not a partisan political issue. It's an issue of what is right vs. what is wrong, and what is good vs. what is bad for the people in our communities and state.
How we grieve is who we are
Growing up in this environment made me better able to deal with grief. Some would say that I still am too stoic, I appear to uncaring. I am not, however I do grieve, and even cry. Just how I was raised was that we get the important things done first, then we deal with grief later.
Still fighting for $15 minimum wage
Wisconsin has been at $7.25 an hour since 2010 when the state made the increase to keep up with federal minimum wage.