District 30 of the RTO/ERO represents the retired teachers living in the County of Northumberland. This website is designed to share information about events and happenings of interest to retired teachers in the local area and to provide contact information for the District 30 executive and their various committees. It will also provide links that may be of interest to District 30 members and to retired teachers visiting our area.

E-Mail List

District 30 has recently established an e-mail list for members who would like to be updated about district events and/or urgent issues via email. If you would like to be included and are a member of District 30, please email the webmaster with your name, street address, and email address and you will be added to the list.

Dist. 30 Communications

To email the Webmaster, click on the folding envelope. Remove (remove-) from the address line and then send mail.

At the Fall 2008 Meeting

At our Fall, 2008 General Meeting we honoured all the Past Presidents of District 30. Those who were present are shown in the photograph above. Back row, from the left: Morris Tait, Marty Halloran, Dave Patterson, Tom Wilson, Fraser Carr, John Jackson, Claude Thompson, Cyril Peister, Bob Moorcroft. Front row: Ethyl Wright, Kay Durnford, Connie Poole, Fay Farmer, Mary Buchanan, Barbara Moorcroft.

Retirement Workshop of October 17, 2009

The workshop took place in CDCI, East, in the library. It was catered by the Dutch Oven. Treats arrived promptly at 8:l5, just before the participants arrived at 8:30. Anne Tryon registered the l4 participants and 4 spouses. All their responses had been sent to her via the secretaries at the board's schools. Unfortunately, the Catholic Board did not have as good a communication system, and therefore, many of our advertisements and notices went the way of the circular file. In future, we will have to find a way to make sure every school in the whole of Northumberland not only receives the notices, but has them posted. This may mean the recruitment committe will have to make many phone calls...those people are unsung heroes as it is!

As well, many people don't realize they qualify to become members of RTO, or at least, associate members. Again, our posters and notices are going to have to state that all board personnel are prospective members (or associate members): the more members, the better our rates for extended health and dental coverage.

That said, the workshop itself was excellent. Ron Poste presented the details around retirement in documented detail. He mentioned just about everything anyone anticipating or planning retirement needed to consider. Lori MacDonald-Blunden (mentoring Colleen Knox) presented a presentation from Johnson's Insurance. Morris Tait gave a short presentation on pensions and local questions/concerns. Although we started at 9:00, and had a break at l0:l5 till l0:30, we were finished by ll:30. Lunch wasn't till noon. People didn't seem to mind the break, and did some visiting and informal questioning.

Provincial Office provided cloth bags which we filled with a Retirement Planning Booklet, information on not only Johnson's but also on at least one other health plan, a tax table, an evaluation sheet, a pen, a frig magnet and a couple of other pertinent items I cannot recollect at the moment. They and Johnson's also provided prize items for draws: a pair of cocktail glasses, a sweatshirt, and a sports bag.

Lunch was lasagne and caesar salad, with garlic bread, with a fruit plate and cookies for dessert. There was lots of tea and coffee as well as juice and water. The food and treats were excellent, warm where needed and fresh, crisp and cold when appropriate.

The whole workshop was a great success. Next time, though, we could start at 9:30 instead of 9:00. John Christie, Jane McCaig, Anne Tryon and Morris Tait attended from the District. Jane emceed the meeting.

President Jane McCaig

Who Says There is No Free Lunch??

At the Fall, 2009, luncheon, six members of District 30 won a free lunch for the Spring, 2010 meeting. Enjoy!! Come to the Spring meeting and YOU may win a special prize as well! Download a copy of Applepress #32 for the details.

Changes in Rural Addresses

Canada Post now requires those who live in rural areas to have a fire number (or 911) as part of one's address. This has resulted in changes to street addresses and postal codes of many RTO/ERO members.
Dianne Vezeau, Administrative Assistant, Database, would appreciate being informed of these changed addresses, as it would reduce the number of Renaissance magazines returned due to improper or incorrect address labels. We want to ensure that all members receive their magazines on time. (This also affects the delivery of your copy of the Applepress because we use RTO-ERO's database for our mailing lists. - Editor)
If your home area has changed to the 911 addressing system, please report the changes to Dianne at the Provincial Office, by calling her at 416-962-9463/1-800-361-9888, ext. 223, or email dvezeau@rto-ero.org

Some Important Home Security Information

RTO/ERO has published an important document about ensuring that your home is as secure as possible. You can read and/or download this file by clicking on it in our Forms page.

Travel Advisory for RTO/ERO Plan Participants

This is the time of year that many of our members begin to travel to warmer destinations. Participants in the RTO/ERO Extended Health Plan enjoy the benefits of the best Out of Province/Canada health insurance available. Members and their dependents each have up to $1M of coverage for medical emergencies for each trip of up to 62 days. RTO/ERO members should be aware of a disturbing trend that is beginning to occur with some U.S. medical facilities. When a member's claim is approved by World Access Canada (WAC), they (WAC) guarantee payment with the health care provider. WAC has agreements with many providers to discount the charges. Some U.S. providers are now seeking payment of the difference between the original bill and the discounted payment through collection agencies. Any RTO/ERO member who is contacted by a collection agency in a situation such as this should contact WAC immediately. Members are advised to not pay any bills and to let WAC handle the matter.

Members should also be aware that their 62 day countdown starts when they leave Ontario -- even if they spend some time in another province before leaving Canada.

RTO Health Services Committee