Saturday, May 18 th, Noon (Registration begins 11:30am) Daniele s at Valley View Country Club 620 Memorial Parkway, Utica

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1 Utica/Rome Voter Issue 47; April/May 2013 Newsletter of the League of Women Voters, Utica/Rome Metro Area P.O. Box 24 Washington Mills, NY (315) Officers Co-Presidents Dianne DiMeo ANNUAL LUNCHEON MEETING Lorrie Wasielewski st Vice-President Nancy Horvath nd Vice-President Currently Vacant Treasurer Nancy Agen Secretary Barbara Brookes WHEN: WHERE: TOPIC: SPEAKERS: COST: Saturday, May 18 th, Noon (Registration begins 11:30am) Daniele s at Valley View Country Club 620 Memorial Parkway, Utica Implementation & Impact of the Affordable Care Act in NYS Steven Z. Kussin, M.D., F.A.C.P. Physician/Patient-Advocate Gail Myers Special Projects Developer NY StateWide Senior Action Council $22 per member, $25 per non-member Phone Trudy for lunch reservations ( ) or e- mail: trewck@roadrunner.com by Fri, 5/3 NOTE: Please cancel your reservation by May 9 th or payment will be billed. Directors Karen McBride skiesprit@aol.com Sharen Barboza sharenb@gmail.com Shirley Hilts-Adams shadams10@roadrunner.com Off-Board Specialists: Action Alert chair: Lillian (Trudy) Kennedy Please make every effort to join us for our annual meeting. In addition to hearing about Health Care Reform, we will hold elections and vote on our annual budget, annual program plan and changes to our By-Laws. Details in this issue of the Voter. Shirley VanMarter Shirley32@roadrunner.com Dawn Laguerre laguerremedia@gmail.com Historian/Archivist: Donna Loomis Rubin Elizabeth Pattengill lizpattengill@yahoo.com Carole Torok-Huxtable / dchuxtable@windstream.net Lucille Argenzia luciluci@yahoo.com Lucretia Hunt Lhunt@bcce.MORIC.org

2 CO-PRESIDENTS CORNER As we depart our role as co-presidents, we want to thank all the members for your dedication to the League. We ve learned so much over the past 2 years about you personally, about how the League works at all levels, and about the impressive reputation that we have in the community. We will be ceremoniously passing the baton at our annual meeting in May; but as we know, the baton doesn t really get handed off. While the leadership changes, we all continue to have our handprints on the activities that we call the League of Women Voters. We look forward to seeing you at our Annual Meeting next month. It promises to be another fulfilling afternoon. -- Dianne DiMeo and Lorrie Wasielewski IMPLEMENTATION & IMPACT OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT IN NY STATE **** SPEAKERS **** Dr. Steven Z. Kussin Dr. Steven Kussin practiced in Utica for almost 30 years as the founding and managing partner at Digestive Disease Medicine of Central New York. His education was at Columbia College, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Following training he was an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia Presbyterian. After a motor vehicle accident he devoted himself to his book, Doctor, Your Patient Will See You Now, (Roman & Littlefield, August 2011). The book received a New York Times Review, a five star review on about.com and a starred review on Booklist. In December of 2011 the book was named a Top 10 Health Title for the year. Dr. Kussin is the founder of the Shared Decision Center here in Central New York. He is devoting himself to helping patients who want more information or who are confused, or skeptical about the medical recommendations they receive. Dr. Kussin appears regularly as the Medical Advocate on WFXV on Mondays at 10pm. He appears periodically on WKTV as a medical expert. He is an invited expert and contributor to five medical websites. He blogs to an international following on MedicalAdvocate.com. He spotted an uninhabited niche, positioned himself to fill it and, when he got that break, rode it for all it was worth. He will also sing tradition Yiddish music and do Kabbalistic magic at local Bar/Bat Mitzvot (not really). Gail Myers Gail Myers joined the staff of New York StateWide Senior Action Council in April 2011, with the title of Special Projects Developer. StateWide is a membership organization with a 40 year history of improving the lives of seniors and their families. Gail has more than two decades experience working to improve health and human service programs. Immediately prior to joining the staff of StateWide, Gail was appointed by Governor Spitzer to serve as the Special Assistant for Community Affairs and Public Participation at the New York State Office for the Aging. In prior years, she was the political director for the Medical Society of the State of New York, the principal lobbyist for the New York State Nurses Association, and legislative assistant to the Chairman of the NYS Assembly Ways & Means Committee Chair.

3 ISSUES FOR CONSIDERATION AT THE ANNUAL MEETING Proposed revisions to the By-Laws Adoption of annual budget Nomination of officers for Local LWV programming for 2014 PROPOSED BY-LAWS REVISIONS 2013 In the table below is a summary of proposed changes to the By-Laws. For a complete copy of the By- Laws with the proposed changes, please visit Article/Section Current wording Proposed change Rationale Article IV, Sec 4. The Secretary. Article V, Sec. 1. Selection, Qualifications and Term of Board of Directors Article V, Sec. 1. Selection, Qualifications and Term of Board of Directors Article V. Sec. 5 Attendance at Board Meetings Article VII. Sec. 1 Nominating Committee The secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings of the membership and the board. The board of directors shall consist of the officers of the Utica/Rome Metro Area League, six directors elected by the annual meeting and not more than six directors appointed by the elected members of the board. Vacancies other than the presidency or copresidency may be filled by vote of the remaining members of the board. Not in current by-laws The nominating committee shall consist of five members. The chair and two members, who shall not be members of the board, shall be elected by the annual meeting. Immediately after the annual meeting, the board shall appoint two of its members to the committee. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the board. The secretary shall keep minutes of the meetings of the board and the annual meeting. The board of directors shall consist of the officers of the Utica/Rome Metro Area League, and up to twelve but no fewer than six directors elected by the annual meeting. Vacancies other than the presidency or co-presidency may be filled by vote of the remaining members of the board and will be appointed to finish out the term of the vacant office Board members with three consecutive unexcused absences will be removed form the Board. An unexcused absence is one in which no notice has been provided to the co-president or a vice-president about not attending an upcoming, scheduled meeting. The nominating committee shall consist of five members. The chair and two members, who shall not be members of the board, shall be elected by the annual meeting to serve a twoyear term. The board shall appoint two of its members to the committee to a one year term no later than February of the fiscal year. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the board. To reflect need to take minutes at annual meeting To allow for flexibility on board size as well as have all board members elected (instead of half being appointed) To allow for clarification of filling vacancies To have mechanism to address nonattendance of board members To clarify terms and appointments of nominating committee

4 Income* League of Women Voters, Utica/Rome Metro Area Proposed Budget for Current Year's Budget Estimated Total of Current Year New Budget Dues 3, , , Contributions/Gifts Breakfast Meetings 2, , , Utica/Rome Voter Ads Election Reporting Raffles Interest from Savings & CD's Total Income 6, , $6, Expenses* Per-Member Payments to LWVUS 1, , , Per-Member Payments to LWVNYS 1, Meals 1, , , Voter Guides and Voter Services Utica/Rome Voter newsletter Use of space--nhpl & forum sites Website Conferences & Conventions** Miscellaneous Board Meeting Expense - - Gifts for Speakers/Promo items Membership Expense Photography Expense Admin expense incl postage Publicity & Advertising Vote 411 expense Youth Services Program & Education Total Expenses $6, $6, $6, Notes: * New line items have been added to further clarify income and expenses. These should help guide committee chairs and their members during the year when considering a particular expense. Also, some expenses have generously been paid by individuals within a committee. Our organization should strive to be self-sufficient and not be dependent upon these silent contributions. ** A $600 expense will be alternated between "Students Inside Albany" and the League State Convention each year. LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORT Nominations for : Co-President: Joann Byrnes Co-President: Dawn Laguerre 1 st Vice President: Shirley Hilts-Adams 2 nd Vice President: Lorrie Wasielewski* Secretary: Barbara Brookes Director: Carole Torok-Huxtable Director: Barbara Schuck Director: Karen McBride Director: Dianne DiMeo Director: Lucille Argenzia *Lorrie s term as 2 nd VP will be served from , filling the vacancy left with the sudden passing of Meg Pfeiffer Submitted by the Nominating Committee: Joann Jacobsen, Chair, Lucretia Hunt, Carole Torok-Huxtable

5 PROPOSED LOCAL PROGRAM ITEMS FOR 2014 The following are presented for consideration at the Annual Meeting on May 18, 2013: 1. Youth Civic Education & Voter responsibilities 2. Women s Equality Coalition Agenda (see: for more information) 3. Campaign Finance Reform/Election Reform 4. Smart Growth BOARD MEETING HIGHLIGHTS February 2, 2013 COMMITTEE REPORTS: MEMBERSHIP: Our newest member is Shirley Knop of Clinton. FINANCE COMMITTEE: Lucille Argenzia, Chair; Donna Goodwin, Liz Pattengill and Nancy Agen will prepare the budget. VOTER SERVICES: Karen thanked those who participated in the Feb. 1 st County Naturalization Ceremony. Out of 50 candidates for citizenship, 27 were registered. YOUTH: Students Inside Albany: Dawn received four outstanding applications. PUBLIC RELATIONS: Dawn has been sending press releases to area news media including Herkimer Telegram, Utica Phoenix, OD, WKTV and Facebook. OLD BUSINESS: REDISTRICTING: Liz will contact Redistricting Committee of the Oneida Co. Board of Legislators for mtg schedule. NOMINATING COMMITTEE: Board appointed Carole Torok-Huxtable and Lucretia Hunt to represent board on Committee NEW BUSINESS: BY-LAWS: Committee members Dianne, Barbara and Shirley H.A. will review Bylaws of Utica/Rome LWV as amended May VOTE 411: David LaGuerre Sr. will be sent for training in Albany. LOBBYING: Feb. 5, 2013 is LWVNY Lobby Day in Albany. Lorrie, Nancy A., Shirley H-A. and Carole volunteered to ANNOUNCEMENTS: Board member Donna Gillette has tendered her resignation. March 2, 2013 TREASURER S REPORT: A total of $ has been donated in memory of members who have passed recently. COMMITTEE REPORTS: HISTORIAN: Donna Rubin has 4 cu ft. of historical material including scrapbooks. Brian Howard, Director of Oneida Co. Historical Society is eager to accept and house these records of our League s history. VOTER SERVICES: Karen gave a summary report on VOTE 411 (Vote411.org) training in Albany on Sat., Feb. 23 rd. Other attendees were Nancy Horvath and David LaGuerre and son. YOUTH Students Inside Albany: Out of five applications received, the Committee Richard Barney, III of New York Mills High School to attend the Students Inside Albany conference 4/14 4/17/13. PROGRAM & EDUCATION: Liz P. mentioned the 3/1/13 from LWVUS announcing a new training manual for Engaging High School Voters. LOBBYING DAY: We discussed meeting with our legislators. LWVNY suggests we make appointments after the NYS budget is passed, which would mean early April. Visits will be set up as follows: Anthony Brindisi Shirley H-A; Marc Butler Carole T-H & Lorrie W.; Joseph Griffo Lorrie W., Karen M.; Claudia Tenney Liz P. We need to decide which issues to discuss. VOTER SERVICE AWARD APPLICATION: Lorrie stated that our League s application for the LWVNY s Voter Service Award is being submitted to the state League for review. -- Barbara Brookes (with support from Karen McBride) REDISTRICTING FINALLY! It's official! Beginning January 1, 2014 the Oneida County Board of Legislators shall be composed of 23 legislative districts (down from 29). The board voted at a special meeting on March 25, 2013 to make this change, amending the Oneida County charter. You can find the new district maps at -- Elizabeth Pattengill

6 NATURALIZATION CEREMONIES Participating in voter registration at Naturalization Ceremonies is one of the great joys of being a LWV member. If you are interested in being a part of this wonderful process, please contact Karen McBride ( ) or Barbara Brookes ( ). Oneida County-sponsored Naturalization Ceremonies 2013: County Office Bldg., 10 th Flr. Legislative Chambers Ceremony starts at 10:30 a.m. [Arrive no later than 9:30 a.m.] All Fridays 4/26/13, 9/27/13 & 11/1/13 [Nov.1 st ceremony at MVCC IT Bldg. Auditorium.] Federal-sponsored Naturalization Ceremonies 2013 Alexander Pirnie Federal Bldg., 10 Broad St., Utica, NY - 3 rd Flr. Court Room Ceremony starts at 11:00 a.m. [Arrive no later than 10:00 a.m.] All Thursdays 5/9/13, 6/20/13, 7/25/13, 8/15/13, 9/12/13 (Ft. Stanwix) and 12/5/13 Dues: Individual $60; Household $90 All member dues will be due by June 30, Consider paying your dues at the annual meeting May or mailing them to: Nancy Agen, LWV-UR Treasurer P.O. Box 24, Washington Mills, NY AREA CALENDAR Utica/Rome LWV Board meeting Annual Membership Meeting Oneida County Board of Legislators* Utica Common Council Rome Common Council Utica City School District Board 10 am, Saturday, June 1 st New Hartford Public Library, New Hartford 12 noon, Saturday, May 18 th Daniele s at Valley View, 620 Memorial Parkway, Utica Utica 2:00 pm, Wed. May 8 th Russell W. Williams Legislative Chamber 10th Fl., Oneida County Office Bldg, 800 Park Avenue, Utica 7:00 pm, Wed. Apr. 17 th ; May 15 th Utica City Hall, 1 Kennedy Plaza, Utica 7:00 pm, Wed. Apr. 24 th ; May 8 th & 22 nd Rome City Hall, 198 N Washington Street, Rome 7:00 pm, Tues. Apr. 23 rd & May 28 th Utica School District Admin Bldg, 106 Memorial Parkway, Utica 6:30 pm Wed. Rome City School District Board** Apr. 17 th Strough Middle School; May 15 th Staley Upper Elem. * Meetings can be seen on cable TV: Utica area - Chan 3 on the following Tues at 1:00 pm, Wed at 8:00 pm and Sat at 2:00 pm; Rome area - Chan 99 on the following Wed at 8:00 pm. ** Meetings are televised on Channel 99, on Tues at 9:00 p.m. and on Thurs at 7:30 p.m.

7 PLEASE VISIT AND SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS! 135 Clinton Street Whitesboro, New York Phone ~ (315) Fax ~ (315) info@hartshillinn.com * A Tradition of Excellence for over 45 Years

8 Interested in becoming a member of the Utica/Rome League of Women Voters? Name: Mailing Address: Phone Number: Send this form along with $25 for a student membership, $60 for a single membership or $90 for a household membership to or contact with questions: League of Women Voters Membership Chair PO Box 24 Washington Mills, NY 13479