Lots of Events for the New Year

Bill Harrison and photography exhibit –“Ancient Ruins of Arizona”

What happened to bring dozens of ancient cultures to this place called Arizona? Bill Harrison will be helping to examine the lives and dwellings of some of the bestpreserved ruins in the world. Come to the Wednesday, January 18 Premiere Speaker series to learn more.

Casa Grande Ruins was the very first to be granted protection by the U.S. Government in 1892 when it was designated a Cultural Reserve. It became a national monument in 1918.

Open daily 362 days per year, from May 1 to September 30, summer hours are 9 am to 4 pm, and back to extended hours of 9 am to 5 pm daily from October 1 to April 30. The visitor center contains a bookstore and museum, which includes a video presentation.

Another site to see is Montezuma Castle. Established December 8, 1906, Montezuma Castle is the third National Monument dedicated to preserving Native American culture. This 20-room high-rise apartment, nestled into a towering limestone cliff, tells a story of ingenuity, survival and ultimately, prosperity in an unforgiving desert landscape.

Montezuma Castle was nearly destroyed by careless visitors in the 1890s.

The ancient sites are easy to find and to visit. Both are

LW Foundation Donations

November 1 – 30, 2022

Friends Endowment Fund

George & Kristiane Flaskerud – in memory of Shirley Lake

Jay & Evangeline Olson – in memory of Shirley Lake

Undesignated Funds

Jerry & Nancy Grout – in memory of Leslyn Black

Mark & Ruth Pechmann

Library part of the National Park system and can be a day trip from Leisure World.

However, one of the ruins near Leisure World is so remote that few people have even heard of it. It is located at the top of the Superstition Mountains. Circlestone has baffled scientists for years. It’s a huge circle of heavy sandstone blocks that took thousands of years to create. Was it used for sacred ceremonies, recording the passage of time or perhaps to make celestial observations? Find out by attending this presentation.

The Wednesday, January 18 presentation by Bill Harrison will begin at 6:00 pm in the Hopi/ Pima Room in Rec 2. Refreshments provided by Desert Financial and the Recreation Department.

The LW Photography Club will also be displaying their members’ works to enhance the talk. Come to see what others have captured with the theme of Arizona’s picturesque ancient ruins.

Valentine’s Day Dinner Dance

Tuesday, February 14 is the big day to celebrate with plenty of hearts, music, and a good meal. All can come to enjoy the holiday with friends and family. The Foundations is hoping to make it a Valentine’s Day to remember. There will be photo opportunities and surprise activities to keep everyone in the mood.

The fun begins at 5:00 pm in the Hopi/Pima Rooms in Rec 2. Dinner will be served by Premier Catering and the menu is Brisket with Au Jus with Swedish meatballs, lemon herb chicken, green beans almondine, parsley red potatoes, rolls, tossed green salad, mixed fruit, and cherry crisp.

Music will be provided by Rhythm Editions. Silent Auction and 50/50 raffles will be available for additional fun.

Tickets will be $45/pp and available at the Rec Office. Just think! Your Valentine’s Day plans have been made, phew!

Valley Goldmine

Valley Goldmine pays cash for your unwanted gold, silver, platinum, and coins. 10% of sales is given back to your Leisure World Foundation. They are a highly reputable business known for treating clients fairly. They have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Date: January 26th, 2023

Time: 10:00 am to 5:00 p.m.

Location: Queen Card Room/Rec 1

By appointment only. Contact or text Laurie Quartermain at: 602-739-1190 to schedule your visit or email at laurie@valleygoldmine.com.

Lorain Nicholls charitable relief to help meet the needs of elderly, disabled and distressed persons in the Mesa, Arizona, and nearby East Valley areas, including the Leisure World community.

Name:

Address:

City:

Phone: Email:

DONOR INFORMATION

State: Zip:

Enclosed is my/our tax-deductible gift for: front desk or mail to Leisure World Foundation, 908 S. Power Rd., Mesa AZ 85206. Thank You!

Is a Tik Tok Ban in the Near Future?

By LW News Staff

Tik Tok has become a social media phenom here in the United States. There is not a social media platform where a 30 - second video of viral recipes, dance challenges, family pranks and well…just about anything is posted. It is fun entertainment that appeals to creatives, influencers and honestly people of all ages that enjoy a video platform. Leisure World had included the popular app into its social media portfolio.

However, within recent months, Tik Tok has become an interest of concern. Created by ByteDance Ltd. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray says the bureau has “national security concerns” about the U.S. operations of TikTok, warning that the Chinese government could potentially use the popular video-sharing app to influence American users or control their devices.

Upon further research in the owning company ByteDance, has created two versions of the Tik Tok app. In China, the Chinese version of the app, Douyin, children under 14 are blocked from the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. According to CNET, individuals under the age of 14 will only be able to access the app via Youth Mode where they are limited to 40 minutes a day. Although the Chinese version is identical to Tik Tok, politically sensitive and age-inappropriate clips are erased.

“In the youth mode, we have also prepared wonderful content for everyone, such as novel and interesting science experiments, exhibitions in museums and galleries, beautiful scenery across the country, explanations of historical knowledge and so on,” the ByteDance blog reads.

The FBI has cited numerous concerns including threats on Homeland Security. There are several warnings that the Chinese government could potentially use the popular video-sharing app to influence American users or control their devices.

“They include the possibility that the Chinese government could use it to control data collection on millions of users or control the recommendation algorithm, which could be used for influence operations if they so choose, or to control software on millions of devices, which gives it an opportunity to potentially technically compromise personal devices,” Wray said.

Lawmakers are in talks in regard to a bipartisan bid to ban the Tik Tok app. Some states such as Utah, South Dakota, and Maryland have executed executive orders to limit the use of Tik Tok on government devices.

If you are a social media enthusiast, the recommendation is to do your own research and proceed with caution, as with anything.

This is an ongoing developing story in which we will continue to inform our community.

Update: Tik Tok has since been omitted from the Leisure World social media portfolio.

Compliance Corner

We have had many complaints of roof rats throughout our community. Each complaint has started out with, “there is dead fruit, or ripe fruit in that tree, so the roof rats are now at my house”. With each call we investigate we attempt to encourage residents to clean up the dead/ rotten fruit that has fallen but also to educate them on the reasoning as to why this is important. When doing inspections, we notice that there are a lot of citrus trees with ripened fruit.

To stay in compliance with LWCA Rules & Regulations, 2-305 Manor Upkeep, we encourage you to pick the ripened fruit and to pick up any that have fallen on the ground, sooner than later.

According to www.AzCentral.com, roof rat season is here. They have provided some tips, from the Maricopa County Vector Control, that may help to keeping these obnoxious little critters from finding the pleasure of calling LW home!

Tips to keep roof rats away The website of Maricopa County Vector Control offers this advice on keeping the rats in check.

1. Starve them out

• Citrus is a source of food and water for roof rats. Pick fruit, even if it’s not ripe, and pick up any that falls to the ground.

• Don’t leave pet food out overnight and pick up dog feces.

• Limit use of bird feeders. Either stop filling them altogether or only provide the amount birds will eat in a day. Sweep up any spilled food before sunset. Store bird seed in sealed, rat-proof containers.

• Indoors, store bulk food in sealed, rat-proof containers.

• Keep garbage containers tightly covered.

2. Clean up your yard

• Rake under trees and shrubs.