Major Healthcare Forum Explains the New VT Health Exchange Sept. 10 in Ludlow

On Tuesday, September 10, at 6:30 PM, in the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium, FOLA (Friends of Ludlow Auditorium) and the Okemo Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce will jointly sponsor an important healthcare forum dealing with the new laws effecting healthcare in Vermont. The forum, open to small businesses and individuals, will be conducted by Vermont Health Connect. Below is a summary prepared by Vermont Health Connect.
“Vermont Health Connect will be a marketplace where individuals, families and small businesses in Vermont can compare public and private health plans and select one that fits their needs and budget.

Every plan offered through Vermont Health Connect must offer basic services. This includes checkups, emergency care, mental health services and prescriptions. Beginning in October 2013, Vermont Health Connect will offer easy-to-understand, side-by-side comparisons of each plan’s costs and benefits. Vermont Health Connect will simplify the health insurance world for many Vermonters by serving as the one place to access public programs and financial assistance, such as federal tax credits and cost-sharing subsidies.

Online, Vermonters will find all the Vermont Health Connect information they need. For those who are uncomfortable with the internet or want personal assistance selecting a health plan they can call the Customer Support Center or contact a Navigator.

Individuals, families and small businesses in Vermont will get their health coverage through Vermont Health Connect. This includes:

• Vermonters who do not have health insurance
• Vermonters who currently purchase insurance for themselves
• Vermonters who have Medicaid or Dr. Dynasaur
• Vermonters who currently have Catamount or Vermont Health Access Program
• Vermonters who are offered “unaffordable” coverage by their employers
• Small businesses in Vermont that provide coverage for their employees

Starting in 2014, many Vermonters will be eligible for tax credits and other forms of financial assistance to help pay for the cost of health care.

Also, small businesses with 50 or fewer employees will be able to use Vermont Health Connect to find coverage for their employees. In 2016, small businesses will include businesses with 100 or fewer employees.

Vermonters will be able to start using Vermont Health Connect in late 2013. The first open enrollment period will run from October 2013 to March 2014. For those who enroll by December 15, 2013, health coverage will start January 1, 2014. Starting in 2014, Vermont Health Connect will be the one place where individuals and small businesses in Vermont can get health insurance.

Small businesses who currently offer health insurance will be able to browse Vermont Health Connect starting October 2013, but their open enrollment date will vary depending on the anniversary date of their current health insurance plan. Small businesses will have 30 days prior to that anniversary date to enroll their employees through Vermont Health Connect.”

For information, call 802-228-7239 or 802-228-5830; information will also be posted at www.fola.us.

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Reverend Medoff to celebrate 50th anniversary

LEBANON —

"It is with warmest greetings that I say 'hello' to each one of you as your new pastor." This was the opening line from the November 1978 issue of the monthly newsletter, The Lamplighter, of the Lebanon Federated Church. It was written by Reverend Don C. Medoff, who joined the yoked parishes of Lebanon Federated Church and the Georgetown Baptist Church on Nov. 1, 1978.

"Rev," as he became affectionately known, stayed with the two churches for 16 years. During his tenure, he performed many Sunday services, baptisms, dedications, weddings, and funerals, Bible studies and was a spiritual influence with his enthusiastic youth group programs.

A graduate of Philadelphia College of Bible, Piedmont Bible College, Medoff has taken extra courses at various institutions of higher learning. Though he began his pastoral ministry in December 1956 at Mt. Holly Baptist Church, Mt. Holly, Vt., he actually preached his first sermon at the age of 13 in his home church in Surry, N.H.,where his grandmother was pastor of the Congregation Church.

In 1962 he moved to New York State to pastor the North Darien Baptist and West Bethany Baptist churches. He is an ordained minister of the American Baptist Churches/USA and was ordained in 1963.

Lebanon Federated Church will host an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 4, to honor the 50th Anniversary of Ordination of Rev. Medoff. All are welcome to come and share a past memory and a moment of congratulations with Rev and his wife AJ. The event will be held in the dining area of the church, located at 1494 Billings Hill Road, corner of Billings Hill and Lebanon roads.

"May God's blessing be yours as we work together for Him," wrote Medoff as he ended his first of many articles "From the Pastor's Desk."

The above article was submitted by Lydia Maltzan, a member of the Lebanon Federated Church.

Read more: http://www.uticaod.com/mid-yorkweekly/x997491169/Reverend-Medoff-to-celebrate-50th-anniversary#ixzz2bZlnvTGz

Not all thieves are stupid

> 1. Some people left their car in the long-term parking at the San Jose Airport while away, and someone broke into the car. Using the information on the car's registration in the glove compartment, they drove the car to the people's home in Pebble Beach and robbed it. So I guess if we are going to leave the car in long-term parking, we should NOT leave the registration/insurance cards in it, nor your remote garage door opener.
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> This gives us something to think about with all our new electronic technology.
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> 2. GPS.
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> Someone had their car broken into while they were at a football game. Their car was parked on the green which was adjacent to the football stadium and specially allotted to football fans. Things stolen from the car included a garage door remote control, some money and a GPS which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard. When the victims got home, they found that their house had been ransacked and just about everything worth anything had been stolen. The thieves had used the GPS to guide them to the house. They then used the garage remote control to open the garage door and gain entry to the house. The thieves knew the owners were at the football game, they knew what time the game was scheduled to finish and so they knew how much time they had to clean out the house. It would appear that they had brought a truck to empty the house of its contents.
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> Something to consider if you have a GPS - don't put your home address in it... Put a nearby address (like a store or gas station) so you can still find your way home if you need to, but no one else would know where you live if your GPS were stolen.
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> 3. CELL PHONES
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> I never thought of this.......
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> This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen. 20 minutes later when she called her hubby, from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I replied a little while ago.' When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.
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> Moral of the lesson:
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> a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc....
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> b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.
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> c. Also, when you're being text-ed by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.
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> 4. Purse in the grocery cart scam...
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> A lady went grocery-shopping at a local mall and left her purse sitting in the children's seat of the cart while she reached something off a shelf...wait till you read the WHOLE story! Her wallet was stolen, and she reported it to the store personnel. After returning home, she received a phone call from the Mall Security to say that they had her wallet and that although there was no money in it, it did still hold her personal papers. She immediately went to pick up her wallet, only to be told by Mall Security that they had not called her. By the time she returned home again, her house had been broken into and burglarized. The thieves knew that by calling and saying they were Mall Security, they could lure her out of her house long enough for them to burglarize it.
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> PLEASE PASS THIS ON

FOLA "Silent Movie Festival" Returns to Ludlow, Aug. 17

  

 

 

Silent film with live music returns to Ludlow Town Hall in August with 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' (1928), a classic comedy starring Buster Keaton, one of era's top performers. 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will be revived for one showing only at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m.

The screening, sponsored by FOLA (Friends of the Ludlow Auditorium), will allow audiences to experience silent... film in the way its makers originally intended: on the big screen, with live music, and with an audience. The show, like all movies at the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium, is free and open to the public.

In 'Steamboat Bill Jr.,' Buster plays the bumbling son of a riverboat’s rough captain. When a rival brings a newer boat to the river, the family is forced to face competition, just as Buster is forced to ride out a cyclone threatening to destroy the community. Can Buster save the day and win the hand of his girlfriend, who happens to be daughter of his father's business rival?

The film includes the famous shot of an entire building front collapsing on Keaton, who is miraculously spared by a conveniently placed second-story window.

The Keaton feature will be proceeded by a Buster Keaton comedy short feature. For this opening film short, Ludlow resident Glenn Brown will provide the musical background using the 1906 upright grand piano that he donated to the Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium.

'Silent Film Night' at Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium aimed to recreate the era before movies were made with synchronized soundtracks. From about 1900 to 1929, films had no dialogue, and were accompanied by live music at theaters across the country to around the world. Accompaniment could range from a small ensemble or just a single piano in small towns to full orchestras in big city theaters.

The screening of 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating music for silent film presentations.

Rapsis will create a score for 'Steamboat Bill Jr.' on the spot, making up the music as the movie unfolds to enhance the action on the screen as well respond to audience reactions. He will perform the music on a digital synthesizer, which is capable of producing a wide range of theatre organ and orchestral textures.

"Live music was an integral part of the silent film experience," Rapsis said. "Because most films at the time weren't released with sheet music or scores, studios depended on local musicians to come up with an effective score that was different in every theater. At its best, this approach created an energy and a connection that added a great deal to a film's impact. That's what I try to recreate," Rapsis said.

Keaton, who grew up performing with the family vaudeville act, was known for never smiling on camera, an important element of his comic identity. A trained acrobat who learned at an early age how to take a fall, Keaton did all his own stunts on camera in the era before post-production special effects.

Critics continue to hail Keaton’s timeless comedy as well as his intuitive filmmaking genius. In 2002, Roger Ebert wrote of Keaton that “in an extraordinary period from 1920 to 1929, he worked without interruption on a series of films that make him, arguably, the greatest actor-director in the history of the movies.” 

Keaton, who never attended school, did not think of himself as an artist but as an entertainer using the new medium of motion pictures to tell stories and create laughter.

'Steamboat Bill Jr.' will be screened as part of Silent Film Night on Saturday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. at Ludlow Town Hall Auditorium, 137 Depot St. in Ludlow, Vt. The screening is sponsored by FOLA. Admission is free; donations are encouraged. For more information about the FOLA and its events, visit www.fola.us or call (802) 228-7239. For more info on the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Sun Will Flip Its Magnetic Field Soon

The sun is gearing up for a major solar flip, NASA says.

In an event that occurs once every 11 years, the magnetic field of the sun will change its polarity in a matter of months, according new observations by NASA-supported observatories.

The flipping of the sun's magnetic field marks the peak of the star's 11-year solar cycle and the halfway point in the sun's "solar maximum" — the peak of its solar weather cycle. NASA released a new video describing the sun's magnetic flip on Monday (Aug. 5).

"It looks like we're no more than three to four months away from a complete field reversal," Todd Hoeksema, the director of Stanford University's Wilcox Solar Observatory, said in a statement. "This change will have ripple effects throughout the solar system."

As the field shifts, the "current sheet" — a surface that radiates billions of kilometers outward from the sun's equator — becomes very wavy, NASA officials said. Earth orbits the sun, dipping in and out of the waves of the current sheet. The transition from a wave to a dip can create stormy space weather around Earth, NASA officials said.

Sun's Magnetic Field to FlipPin It The sun's magnetic field is gearing up to shift, a once in 11 year event, according to NASA officials.
Credit: NASAView full size image
"The sun's polar magnetic fields weaken, go to zero, and then emerge again with the opposite polarity," Stanford solar physicist Phil Scherrer said in a statement. "This is a regular part of the solar cycle."

While the polarity shift can stir up some stormy weather, it also provides extra shielding from dangerous cosmic rays. These high-energy particles, which are accelerated by events like supernova explosions, zip through the universe at nearly the speed of light. They can harm satellites and astronauts in space, and the wrinkled current sheet better protects the planet from these particles.

The effects of the rippled sheet can also be felt throughout the solar system, far beyond Pluto and even touching the Voyager probes near the barrier of interstellar space.

"The sun's north pole has already changed sign, while the south pole is racing to catch up," Scherrer said. "Soon, however, both poles will be reversed, and the second half of solar max will be underway."

The current solar maximum is the weakest in 100 years, experts have said. Usually, at the height of a solar cycle, sunspot activity increases. These dark regions on the sun's surface can give birth to solar flares and ejections, but there have been fewer observed sunspots this year than in the maximums of previous cycles.

Special Weston Playhouse-FOLA presentation on how 'To Kill a Mockingbird' was created - mhnewsflash@gmail.com - Gmail