LIVING HERE

Of all patriotic operations, of all time in the USA, what is the Veteran’s Administration doing?
It’s sending out letters to disabled veterans that would give them a new benefit.  Life insurance, all the way up to 85 years old.  This national organization, known for being pretty effective and great for vets, is recommending bogus life policies to vets, mostly living in situations where there’s not much extra cash around.  The VA has subbed the policy sales out to the same low-life insurance companies that try to sell policies to the aged using television advertising.

Globe and Mutual of Omaha come right to mind.  These predatory life insurance companies sell policies to ailing men and women in their eighties. Those policies pay nothing for the first two years…and you can imagine how many pays nothing out at all.  There are no health histories taken or questions asked, which is a big clue as to why these companies are in the business.  They want the sickest applicants who won’t likely last the two years.  A ten-thousand-dollar policy costs almost two thousand a year. Do the math.  These companies are taking in one massive profit and the Veterans Administration has been misled to believe that it should recommend such an awful benefit.

Call your state Veteran’s Services Officer. They are state employees not VA.  Nathan Bond is the one in Elkhorn for the area.  Ask him what he thinks (262) 741-4222, he’s a straight shooter.

Is southeast Wisconsin headed for a drought?
Summer has arrived early with unusually higher than normal temps. The average high temperature for spring is between 65 and 70 degrees. The last few weeks  been have been averaging right around 90 degrees, with extremely calm winds and very little precipitation. The warm sunshine has been welcoming however the lack of rain is leading to abnormally dry conditions. This means we could see drought conditions during the coming summer months. The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) has issued an early warning report showing that conditions have become drier and look to keep heading in that direction. A drought occurs when the state experiences a prolonged period of dryness, which reduces water levels. Droughts can put the health and safety of the public at risk, and increase the chances of disasters such as wildfires, flash floods and landslides.

With approximately over 14 million acres of farmland Wisconsin is most vulnerable to agricultural drought. Dryness can slow planting and growth of crops or pastures. The fire risk will also be above average. If this continues, areas of the state could be upgraded to moderate drought conditions. This means there could be some damage to crops and pastures, a high risk of wildfires, low reservoirs and wells, some water shortages developing or imminent and a request for voluntary water-use restrictions. All farmers are very reliant on the weather and can’t afford to water the millions of acres of farmlands Wisconsin has.

We will see the effects of this with grocery prices increasing if crops are damaged or unable to grow and blossom. The water level of the lake is also noticeably lower. If long term this could affect the lake life including the fish and plants. Let’s hope we get some rainy days to help us avoid a drought this sunnier and bring a great growing season to our local farmers.