Archives

Dear Savvy Senior,

What are some financial factors to consider when retiring abroad? My husband and I will be retiring in a few years and are interested in living in a foreign country that's cheaper than the U.S.

Frugal Couple

Let's talk Medicare. We're not getting into the various parts of Medicare, but we are going to take a look at how fraud has continued to hit the Medicare system.

It used to be that when we heard about "organized crime", we pictured everything from 1930's machine gun toting bad guys to Ponzi schemes and illegal gambling. As with the rest of society, crime has kept up with cultural changes and relevant "opportunities".

Some may be surprised that Medicare is a huge target, and a while back, I read that approximately $60 billion has been scammed from Medicare---and that just in one year. Fraud runs rampant and where's there's money to be made, scammers will gather.

The first Winlock City Council meeting with Don Bradshaw as Mayor took place on Monday night, Jan. 8 at 6:30 p.m. with many in attendance. This was also the first meeting for new city council member, Connie Sneed, as well.

After the flag salute and approval of the agenda, Bradshaw discussed what he had accomplished for the week and also that he sent a letter of intent to the City of Toledo regarding the police contract. The letter states "this letter is to officially notify the city of Toledo of Winlock's intentions to pursue restoring the Winlock Police Department and the subsequent termination of the inter-local agreement with Toledo for law enforcement services. We will be presenting the information we gather to the City Council for a final decision." He also stated they are waiting for Toledo's response prior to discussing this in public. He stated, "we will do this, as I said, in accordance with the contract in an orderly fashion." As of Jan. 15, no response has been received by Toledo.

The Renegade Rooster in Winlock, owned by Roy Richards, will be on Seattle station KOMO TV on Jan. 17 at 6:00 p.m.

The Renegade Rooster houses a lot of Winlock history in his collection going back many generations.

Don't forget to set your recorder to watch the Renegade Rooster on KOMO.

Titus Oran Sickles was born on Monday, Jan. 8 and weighed in at 8 pounds 5 ounces and 20 inches long.

After over 110 years of family ownership Dennis Company has been sold to Westlake Ace Hardware based out of Lenexa, Kansas. Joining a company that owns and runs over 120 stores nationwide and continues to grow.

Speaking with Dennis Company President Brent Dennis about the sale he tells us, "for us it was just time. Randy and I are both the fourth generation of family ownership and none of our kids really want to run the family business and we don't want to work here forever. We've wanted to retire at some point and that time has come."

"It wasn't easy for us to decide," he continued. "But we looked for a company that shared our strong morals and values and would serve the public like we have for over 100 years."

The Willapa Hills Trail was a major topic not just at the Raymond city council meeting on Jan. 2, but also at the South Bend city council meeting on Jan. 8. At both meetings at least one council member brought to attention the progress and continued surge to get unkempt and neglected portions of the trail repaired.

Speaking with Jessica Porter, one of the driving forces behind the push to see the trail repaired, she tells us, "this past summer Cheryl Green and Rebecca Chaffee met with the Lewis County Community Trails folks to talk about what's been happening on the Willapa Hills Trail on their end and we ended organizing a meeting for folks here in Pacific County. We kind of timed it just right to start working with state parks on their next two year grant cycle."

The South Bend and Raymond School Districts are looking to combine forces to create an boys varsity and girls varsity soccer team and the prospect looks promising.

"Because we would have to combine they take into account the total student population from both schools which would make us a 1-A combined team," South Bend Superintendent Jon Tienhaara tells us. "I've already reached out to the closest league and they tell me they have a spot for us."