CWURA NEWSCentral Washington UniversityRetirement Association Winter 2012

CWURA Winter Meeting

Armchair travel to Euskal Herria—TheBasque Country of France and Spain

Thursday, March 8, 2012

Lombard Room,

CWU Campus

4:00 p.m.

Social Hour at 5:00 p.m.

For our winter meeting, Warren Street, past president of the CWURA, will present an armchair expedition to the summer warmth of France and Spain. Warren will guide us through photos of his and Libby’s 2011 tour of Euskal Herria—the Basque country. We’ll see the major cities of the Basque country—Bayonne, San

Sebastian/Donostia, and Bilbao—as well as the smaller cities of Itxassou, St. Jean Pied-de-Port, Getaria, and Hondarribia. We’ll take a vicarious walk down one of the world’s oldest pilgrimage trails, the Camino de Santiago, dive into a San Sebastian pintxos crawl, and stroll the Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. A few themes will run through Warren’s presentation: Basque language and culture, Basque food and recreation, famous and should-be-famous Basques, what’s typically Basque, geography of the Basque region, and an attempt at understanding Basque nationalism. We’ll follow up the presentation with wine, snacks with a Basque flavor, and conversation. Come spend a winter afternoon with your Central Washington University friends!

The cloisters of Sainte-Marie de Bayonne, the city’s main cathedral.

Rolling fields in Spain between Uterga and Muruzabal on the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail.

A smile goes with every crepe at market day in Bayonne.

The River Nive runs through scenic St. Jean Pied-du-Port in the French Basque country.

2President’s Corner

CWU is an EEO/AA/Title IX Institution.For accommodation: CDS@cwu.edu

Central Washington University retirement assoCiation

Board of direCtors

Charles MCGehee, President 925-5219 chasm@elltel.net Connie roberts, President-Elect 925-1312 robertsc@cwu.edu Warren street, Past President 925-4304 streets@elltel.net PatriCk MClauGhlin, Secretary 925-2096; mclaughl@cwu.edu edna Madsen, Treasurer 925-1513 madsen@kvalley.com beCky baker, Retired Staff 968-3626 logcabin@elltel.net bob CarbauGh, Active Faculty 963-3443 carbaugh@cwu.edu Carol MellerGaard, Active Staff 963-1411 mellergc@cwu.edu

ex offiCio:

dale CoMstoCk, CWURA Webmaster 925-5614 comstd@elltel.net

Catherine sCarlett, CWU Advancement 963-3083 scarletc@cwu.edu

The view from my window is snow everywhere. But not to fret, spring looms and we will soon bask (pun intended) in Warren Street’s travel memoir from the Basque region of northern Spain. Warren and Libby traveled there in the summer of 2011 and armed with his digital, recorded for posterity the sights of this historic region. So, be sure to put it on your calendar, March 8, 4:00 p.m. in the Sue Lombard room. Refreshments will be served. There will be a no-host bar, as well. Duane Skeen and Barbara Hodges visited the CWURA Board seeking a new member for the CWU Federal Credit Union Board of Directors. They were hoping for a retiree for the Board, so if you are interested, please contact either the CWURA Board for more information or Barbara Hodges directly at hodgesb@cwu.edu or 963-1500. Willie Pride, who lives somewhere between Toppenish and Goldendale, is an avid hiker and wants to organize a hike with CWU retirees sometime in the spring when the weather is better. It’s beautiful country down there, so if you are interested in joining Willie, either contact the CWURA Board or Willie directly at dpride42@gmail.com. If there is interest, Willie will let us know of the time and place. And finally, our spring outing is beginning to take shape. We’re looking into a tour of the historic B-Reactor at Hanford. Now disabled and on the National Registry of Historic Sites, the B-Reactor, if you recall, provided the plutonium for the Trinity test at Alamagordo, New Mexico, as well as the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki. For more information on the site, go to www.b-reactor.org. We have Bob Carbaugh to thank for the inspiration and contact which has facilitated our plans. As it turns out, Bob’s brother-in-law, now retired, worked at Hanford and is active in promoting the site as a public museum. Don’t forget the First Friday Kaffeeklatch at the Dakota Café. Last time we had about twenty in attendance. It’s a good opportunity to connect with familiar faces and catch up on the gossip. The Dakota sticky buns are great, too, but if they’re not on your diet, that’s no problem either. So put it on your calendar—the first Friday of every month. See you then!

Central Washington University Retirement Association Board of Directors, 2011-12.

3Spring OutingManhattan Project B ReactorTour—Hanford, Washington The CWURA spring outing is planned for April 2012 to the Tri-Cities area. Highlights will include tours of the Manhattan Project B Reactor at Hanford, Washington. In August 2008, the United States Department of the Interior designated the B Reactor as a National Historic Landmark. The United States Department of Energy now offers public tours. B Reactor is one of the most historic buildings at Hanford, code named 105-B during World

War II. The B Reactor was the world’s first, full-scale nuclear reactor and produced the plutonium used in the “Fat Man” bomb dropped over Nagasaki, Japan, in August of 1945. Five days after that bomb was deployed, World War II ended. The B Reactor produced plutonium for more than twenty years. It was shut down in February 1968. The CWURA is tentatively planning the tour on Thursday, April 26. Details will be available soon with confirmed date and times.

Are you tired of being blown by the winds of a fluctuating market?

Find security through a Charitable Gift Annuity. With fixed income for life, you no longer need to watch the markets. Help charity and have security.

• Secure fixed income for life • Bypass of capital gain on gift• Higher income based on age • Tax-free income portion• Charitable deduction/tax savings • Remainder to benefit CWU

To learn more about Gift Annuities, feel free to visit our website at cwugift.org or give us a call at 509-963-3083.

Advice for Seniors

Mind Your Mouth The Washington Dental Service Foundation wants older adults to take steps to prevent and treat dry mouth. Through the “Mind Your Mouth” campaign, the WDSF aims to raise awareness among seniors, and medical and dental professionals about dry mouth and ways to effectively manage it. Dry mouth afflicts one in three seniors and can lead to significant tooth decay and eventually gum disease. For more information, please visit the campaign website at www.seniororalhealth.org or call 1-888-435-3377.

For more information on CWURA events and activities visit our website at: www.cwu.edu/~cwura

Visit the “Briefing Room” for updated information on legislative issues effecting higher education:cwubriefingroom.wordpress.com

Retirement Association400 East University Way . Ellensburg WA 98926-7507

March 1-3 Icarus, McConnell Auditorium, 7:30 p.m. Additional peformances on March 9-11. For tickets visit www.cwu.edu/~theatre/tix or www.cwu.edu/~wildcattickets.

March 4 Mozart’s Requiem Mass in D Minor, Jerilyn S. McIntyre Music Building Concert Hall , 4:00 p.m. For information or tickets visit www.cwu.edu/president/series.

March 7 Ted Wise, Anti-racist Educator, SURC Ballroom, 7:30 p.m. For information or tickets visit www.cwu.edu/president/series.

April 16 Ted Kooser, Former US Poet Laureate, SURC Theatre, 7:30 p.m. For information or tickets visit www.cwu.edu/president/series.

April 26 CWURA Spring Outing: Hanford, Washington. Date is still tentative. Details coming soon.

May 8 CWURA Spring Meeting: Armchair travel presentation, Lombard Room, 4:00-6:00 p.m.

May 17 CWURA Annual Dinner and Business Meeting.