DOTRA'S ... DotLine ...
ISSUE NO. 37 NOVEMBER 2001
By Dick Hobson
Since the Membership Committee is now naming the new Life Membership members, I won't do it. Remember as a Life Member you pay NO MORE DUES. Add your name to the list. There are now 84 Life members. When I was naming Life members, I missed one so I am adding the name of Nellie M. Hoffman to my list.
I want to thank all the members of DOTRA who sent me "GET WELL" cards. I feel like a new person. I can walk again.
DOTRA has over 60 Members who are delinquent in their dues. Now some of these delinquent members like to go on the bus trips and to the dinners and to other affairs that DOTRA runs. In the future when you sign up for a bus trip, dinner, or the picnic and your dues are not up to date, you will have to be put on a waiting list. Paid up dues members go first. Members who have trouble remembering when their dues are due should become Life Members and then they won't have to worry about their dues. Your copy of DOTLINE has on the address label when your dues need to be paid.
For the many DOTRA members who live out of the area or who haven't been able to come to our activities, I have DOTRA pins that I would like each member to have. If you would send me a self addressed envelope with a 34 cent stamp on it, I will send you one DOTRA pin. Send the envelopes to DOTRA's address.
HELP WANTED - ACTIVITIES CO-ORDINATOR NEEDED !!
Due to changes to assignments and responsibilities, DOTRA is in need of a member to oversee our Activities Events . While our Annual Social Calendar repeats the usual Luncheons and we hope to continue with several bus trips during the year, we need someone to make sure it is all going to happen as scheduled. It's an easy job now, just need a person who can come to our Monthly Meetings, at least occasionally, and likes to see people having fun. Contact our President or Dee Murphy for details. Please help !!
DOTRA's ANNUAL PICNIC IS HELD!!!
On Wednesday September 12th at the Valley Road Picnic Grounds in Lambertville a group of 70 DOTRA members and guests met on a glorious sunny day originally planned as a great day of food, fun and games. It was a more subdued gathering because of the tragic events of Tuesday, September 11th. All there agreed it was appropriate to share the day with old friends and former work comrades and remember some of the good days. The picnic was a catered affair complete with all the traditional summertime foods, and some of our picnic chefs looked like it was fun to leave the "cooking" to someone else.
DOTRA BOARD MEETINGS
DOTRA BOARD MEETINGS ARE HELD MONTHLY ON THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH.
DOTRA will hold its next regular Monthly meeting on Tuesday, December 4th.
First Tuesday of the Month
Eddies Eatery
628 Arena Drive, Hamilton Twp.
609-888-1414.
Dutch treat lunch at 11:30 - 12:30
Meeting starts promptly at 12:30 !
All members are welcome!!
HOLIDAY BUS TRIP TO NEW YORK CITY on November 29th !
Social Chairman Dolores Murphy has prepared a wonderful Christmas Holiday bus trip to New York City on Thursday, November 29th to see "A Christmas Carol" at Madison Square Garden, followied by a special dinner at the FLORENTINE GARDENS RESTAURANT in Westwood. Thanks to friends of Dolores who own the FLORENTINE, a special menu will be offered to the DOTRA group. Dolores reminds those going, that the Bus company no longer allows refreshments or drinks on the bus trip. Since the Show will be over about 1 o'clock and our arrival for dinner will not be until 2 PM or after, those planning to attend may want to plan to eat something during the show at Madison Square Garden.
WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 5TH IS DOTRA'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY PARTY AT GIOVI'S.
See the attached flyer for our 2001 Holiday Luncheon to be held once again at Giovi's in Yardville. Ticket price has been set at $24 ( for members in good standing) for a great menu selection. We hope to be entertained by the Giovi family again! Get your reservations in early to assure a seat. Last year was almost to capacity.
NEW MEMBERS
We welcome the following retirees who have recently joined our organization:
John P. Cree Sr. C&M
Albert Fischbach C&M
Jeffrey A. Harvey Design Services
Joanne Trageiser Holden Human Resources
Stephen J. Marchant Civil Rights
Dale Rice Various
These are familiar names to some of our members. John Cree spent 40 years with NJDOT/ C&M in then Region 1 field operations while Al Fischback worked 27 ½ years in Maintenance service in Region 2. Jeff Harvey spent 37 years mostly in the main complex, retiring from Design Services. Steve Marchant was in State service for 32 years, retiring from the Office of Civil Rights. Dale Rice and Janet Holden join us but we may not see them too often at our meetings. Dale , worked in many administrative positions in the NJDOT for 29 years, now lives in Greensboro, North Carolina. Janet Holden, retiring from Human Resources., is now residing in Covington Tennessee. Almost all pof our new members are "Internet" literate so if you wish to communicate, contact the DOTRA WebSite for their e-mail addresses. We hope to see you at our social functions and monthly meetings or at least hear from you for our DotLine newsletter.
WELCOME! LIFE MEMBERS
The following DOTRA members renewed their 2001 membership as life members.
Sue Alfano
Maxine Bailey
William Baker
Carmen Consiglio
Louis Coppola
Robert Gable
Frances Geurds
Cliff Heckman
Robert Innocenzi
George Keller
Bob Marks
Dale Rice
Linda Schooley
Joe Smith
Charlie Takacs
Bill Tansley
CHAPLAIN'S REPORT
by Guy LoBue
We would like to be informed of any retiree who is ill, those who are in the hospital, anyone confined to their home, or any retiree who needs help in one form or another. Please call or send a note to Guy at 609-585-4979 or write to 19 Mount Avenue, Hamilton, NJ 08620.
Recent Obituaries:
Thomas Procaccino (74) DOT 1989
Thomas Corcoran (73) DOT 1989
Carl F. LaBella (67) DOT 1996
Dorothy L. Green (75) MVS ?
Edward L. Sullivan ? MVS 1971
Madeline Marcello (76) MVS ?
Doris G. Billingsley (72) MVS ?
Joseph F. Hubbs (88) MVS ?
Helene. M. Kondash (63) MVS 2001
Donald Fell (68) MVS 1996
C. Bud Carnevale (80) DOT 1992
John Skivzynski (77) DOT ?
Joseph Kanda (82) DOT 1981
Genevieve E. Martin (81) DOT ?
Julia Anderson (78) DOT ?
Recuperating at home:
We often hear of someone having been ill and hopefully are well on the way to better health by the time we publish our quarterly issue of DOTLine. Warren Sunderland has written to advise us that NJDOT friend Ted Kiselewicz is now at St. Lawrence Rehab Center -Room 628- 2381 Lawrenceville Road, Lawrenceville NJ 08648.
Bette Blatchford is staying with her son at 7503 Candy Tuft Court, Springfield VA 27153.
Hurry up and get well . We are sure that they would like to hear some cheery news from their DOTRA friends.
DOTRA EXECUTIVE BOARD OFFICERS
PRES.-Dick Hobson
1st VP -Guy LoBue
2nd VP- Walter Gable
TREAS -Frank Herrera
REC.SEC-Hazel Rockhill
CORRES.SEC-Dee Wisneski
DIRECTORS
Joseph Bodnar Dolores Murphy
Mary Stafford Don Hutchinson
Wilma Gruzlovic Peg Wieger
Chet Andres Fran Geurds
Adrian Lincoln
COMMITTEES
CHAPLAIN - Guy LoBue
MEMBERSHIP - Chet & Dot Andres
BY-LAWS - Chet Andres
HISTORIAN - Wilma Gruzlovic
ACTIVITIES - Vacant
DOTLINE - Dot Andres & Dee Wisneski
WEBSITE- Kristina Erin Kaye 609-918-0603
DOTRA's DUES
CHECK YOUR MAILING LABEL!!
Many thanks to those who heard our request to check their mailing labels and who responded with their renewal checks. Even more thanks to those who were paid up currently and decided to join as Life members or pay ahead.
We are happy to report that our delinquency percent is down to 15%. Any anguish this may have caused If anyone feels that their membership status is incorrect, always notify us immediately. Check your mailing label now !
DOTRA's ON THE INTERNET!!
Our DOTRA Website can be accessed at: http://www.dotra.org
Dial in and let us know how you like it. We would like your input. Also, members have indicated a desire to contact DOTRA members via e-mail messages. Record your e-mail address with DOTRA via the Web Site.
EMPLOYEE MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
By Historian Wilma Gruzlovic
Information is being sought for the NJDOT Memorial. Because of record keeping problems in the NJDOT archives, there are a number of names of NJDOT employees who MAY HAVE been killed while on duty.If you can provide any information to assist in verifying that these employees died in the line of duty, please forward this information to DOTRA at our PO Box. If you wish to phone, call Wilma at 609-259-2349.
The employees names (no dates given) are as follows:
Burkowski, Ed
DiTillio, Dante (Red)
Everson, Brian
Feeney, Bernard
Gummary, Phil
Hazlett, George
Hutchinson, William
Kennedy, John
Ryan, Willie
Smith, Al
Takaki, Frederick
On October 24th a Memorial Service was to be held at the NJDOT Employee Memorial for the dedication of a memorial plaque for those Port Authority employees killed in the attack on September 11th. As NY/NJ Port Authority is an adjunctof the NJDOT, it was seen fitting by the Commissioner that they be included in such a tribute.
Fund raising efforts continue within the Department for the maintenance of the Employee Memorial.
MAKING PLANS FOR WINTER 2001-2002
INCLUDE THE FLORIDA DOTRA REUNION
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 12th, 2002
Mark your calendars now if you plan to be in the Florida area this winter. Kathy and Frank Wegel and Shirley Birkhead Pierce have already reserved the Rockledge CC for Tuesday, February 12th for DOTRA members. This popular event is one many of us look forward to each year - an opportunity to see DOTRA friends who have relocated to the Florida area as well as those perennial snowbirds who flee the North for a short time.
If you need information or want to be notified, contact
Frank Wegel
8060 142nd Street
Sebastian, FL 32958
TEL: 561-388-3991
but look how quickly it can be taken from you.
An accident, a murder, a drunk driver, a drug,
a rapist, a madman, or a simple street thug.
What's happened to our world, that was once beautiful and bright,
it's fallen into a pit, whose bottom is nowhere in sight.
Saying we care is just a ploy,
when everything we create is used to destroy.
Guns used to protect the home was the plan,
but what happens when they wind up in a child's hand.
Children, the greatest of God's many prizes,
but when a mother does drugs, it's the babe she jeopardizes.
A man killed for being black or gay,
did we really want our world to turn out this way?
Everyone is someone to somebody out there,
so how can we justify what we know is not fair.
Our very breath can be taken in the blink of an eye,
we must end the violence, we at least have to try.
We owe it to a daughter, we owe it to a son,
for each day above ground is a special one.
HERE AND THERE
By Dot Andres
Anna and Adrian Lincoln (ROW) have had a busy summer. First, they celebrated their 50th Anniversary with a trip to Bermuda. Then were busy new grandparents in Pittsburgh, welcoming new grandson Eliot Adrian Lincoln.
Mary and Carl Breccia (Const) and brother-in law Joe Bodner (Traff Eng) were in Eastern Europe from September 7th through late September. They heard the news of the villainous attack on the USA while on a bus from Bratislova to Krakow. While we here in the States were overwhelmed by the presentation of news events, they were starved for information. In spite of the tragic events, they went on with their trip, visiting relatives and enjoying their travel.
Our renewal mail brought us some Member news. Sue Alfano (Personnel) writes to say she looks forward to reading about her former co-workers in each DotLine issue. Moray Epstein ( Public Info) writes from California that he and wife Sylvia are getting along quite well in their retirement home in Hekmet CA. Moray has just published a 274 page book of poetry, titeled "LITTLE SONGS and Other Sounds of Poetry." It is available at local bookshops in California and over the Internet.
Jack Datz (Design) proudly informs us the grandson, Steven Datz has been awarded a scholoarship from the American Society of Highway Engineers - southern New Jersey Chapter. Steve's father, Jack Jr. also works with the NJDOT in the Cherry Hill Design office. Congratulations to all the Datz engineers as the dynasty continues !
Greetings from Bob Britton (Plant Engrg) who remains active as a realtor but still has time to wish his DOTRA friends hello.
Nice to see that our Monthly meetings bring out some new faces. Of course we see Jim Springstead (Graphics) as a regular for lunch. This summer we were happy to see Marty Potash (Security) and Frank Glancy(Electrical).
At our picnic, lots of envious eyes were happy to see Gary Gronroos (Field Survey) arrive in his Harley motorcycle. George Keller and Bob Ruth (C&M), Phil Vecere (Plant Engrg) and Frank Scarpatti (C&M) ssemed to enjoy not being the master chefs at the picnic this year. Good to see Jack Friedenrich ( Asst Comm) enjoying the good food and conversations. The Equipment Bureau was well represented by Pete Hollis, Ken Hey and Victor Migliorino. Also happy to see George and Peg Wieger (C&M) are back to normal activities. Bob Marks (Design) writes that he has settled down in The Villages in central Florida. There is a migration occurring as Jim Morrison (Design) picks up stakes in NJ and also heads for The Villages this fall.
This has been a great summer weather-wise and I'm sure lots of you have been or will be travelling to some great spots. Please share your adventures with us!! Send your comments to the DOTRA MailBox.
We always strive to protect our membership from "junk mail" or unsolicited mail and therefore never have distributed our Membership List. However, we know that you may want to re-connect with former coworkers and do not know how to contact them. Just send us your written request, along with person's name and last work location. We will do our best to locate them and we'll send your note to them to contact you directly.