“Community calendar - Dubuque Telegraph Herald” plus 4 more

Community calendar - Dubuque Telegraph Herald
While income changes, mortgage doesn't - Marion Star
Young professional turns hobby into career - Poughkeepsie Journal
Citigroup Hires Mr. Inside - The Ledger
Holiday closures - Olympian

Community calendar - Dubuque Telegraph Herald

Posted: 11 Oct 2009 07:34 AM PDT

ADULT EVENTS

TUESDAY

Holy Ghost Euchre, 1 p.m., Paraclete Hall, 2917 Central Ave. Everyone welcome.

Evening for Health Care Professionals: The Healing Power of Touch, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Shalom Retreat Center, 1001 Davis St., Presenters: Kay Forkenbrock and Pat Farrell. $15, includes beverages/hors d'oeuvres.

THURSDAY

Grieving the Loss of a Loved One, 7-9 p.m., Shalom Retreat Center, 1001 Davis St., Jim Swenson, TH features editor, will share his story about loss of his first wife Jane to breast cancer. No charge. Call to register. Walk-ins welcome.

BINGO

TODAY

Colts, 6:30 p.m. early games, 7 p.m. regular games, 1101 Central Ave.

MONDAY

Nativity, 7 p.m., 1225 Alta Vista. Early games begin at 6:15 p.m., regular games start at 7 p.m. Two jackpots, everyone welcome.

MONDAY AND THURSDAY

Ecumenical Tower, 1-3 p.m., Sixth and Locust streets.

TUESDAY

Holy Ghost, 5 p.m., 2921 Central Ave. Early games start at 6:10 p.m., regular games start at 7 p.m. All are welcome.

TUESDAY AND FRIDAY

Colts, 6:30 p.m. early games, 7 p.m. regular games, 1101 Central Ave.

THURSDAY

Knights of Columbus 510, 5 p.m., 781 Locust St. Early games start at 6:10 p.m., regular games start at 7 p.m. Refreshments, cold beer, mixed drinks and free popcorn.

St. Francis Xavier Basilica, 7 p.m., church basement, Dyersville, Iowa.

WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY AND SATURDAY

Tri-State Independent Blind Society, 6:25 p.m. pre-warm up, 7 p.m. regular games. $6 packs. Two jackpots: One pays up to $1,000 and one up to $2,500. Smoke-free.

CLUBS/MEETINGS

MONDAY

East Dubuque Lions Club, 6:30 p.m., Lions Den, Dunleith Park, East Dubuque, Ill.

Finley Hospital Retirees, 11:30 a.m., Ground Round, 50 Kennedy Road.

Clio Club, 1:30-3:30 p.m., Marge Nauman's Home, 2160 Woodland Drive, C-6.

TUESDAY

Rotary Club, noon-1 p.m., Dubuque Golf and Country Club, 1800 Randall Place. Details: www.Dubuquerotary.org.

Women's Midday Escape "Falling into Christmas" Lunch, noon-1:30 p.m., Holiday Inn Dubuque, 450 Main St. Penny Brown, of Ankeny, Iowa, tells the true secrets to a beautiful life. Tonya Steiner of Splinter's Flowers and Gifts, gives ideas for holiday decorating.

Bellevue Area Chamber of Commerce General Membership Luncheon, noon-1 p.m., Bellevue State Bank Meeting Room, Bellevue, Iowa. General update and discussion program by the Dubuque Chamber of Commerce on Customer Service.

Widow and Widowers Social Group, 5 p.m., Galley, 500 E. Third St.

Dubuque After 5 Women's Connection, 6:30 p.m., Holiday Inn, 450 Main St. Program: Fun and Games, with music by Ellen Berning and speaker Barb Gains of "What Part of Meow Don't You Understand?" Details: 563-556-8829.

Dubuque NAACP, 6:30 p.m., Multicultural Center, 1157 Central.

Dubuque CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder), 7-9 p.m., St. Peter Lutheran Church, 3200 Asbury Road. Families and individuals affected by ADD to gather information and learn about available resources. Details: Mark 563-582-2201.

Grant County Genealogical Society, 7 p.m., at the home of Helen Jentz, 955 Williams St., Platteville.

Dubuque Area Landlord Association, 7 p.m., Hills & Dales Lifetime Center, 3505 Stoneman Road.

Dubuque County Fair Asso-ciation Board Meeting, 8 p.m., Dubuque County Fair-grounds, 14569 Old Highway Road.

WEDNESDAY

Julien Dubuque Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, 9 a.m., Summit Congregational Church, 2885 Kennedy Road. Guest speakers: State Regent Susan Harris and her officers.

DAR, 9 a.m., Summit Congregational Church, 2885 Kennedy Road. Hosting the Northeast Iowa DAR, with speakers from Decorah, Iowa, Ames, Iowa, and other state officers will be in attendance.

BNI Tri-State Chapter, 11:30 a.m., Catfish Charlies, 1630 E. Sixth St. Details: Jeff Harrelson, 563-583-7480.

ICA Class of 1958, 12:30 p.m., Bishops, Kennedy Mall.

Dubuque County Key City Genealogical Society, 6 p.m., Carnegie-Stout Library, 369 11th St. 6 p.m. board meeting, 7 p.m. Membership meeting and program by Susan Hendricks: Genealogy Research at Carnegie-Stout Libary.

Tri-State Modelers, 7 p.m., Mount Pleasant Home, 1695 Mount Pleasant St. Discussion of club events. Visitors welcome. Free help building and flying radio-controlled aircraft. Call 563-564-0800 for information.

THURSDAY

BNI Tri-State Chapter Rapid Referral, 11:30 a.m., Bricktown, 299 Main St. Details: Jeff Harrelson, 563-583-7480.

Eisenhower Retired Staff Luncheon, 10:45 a.m., Breitbach's Country Dining, Balltown, Iowa.

Financial Peace University, 7-9 p.m., Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 1755 Delhi St. Learn how to handle money, live debt free and build wealth. Last group of five households paid off a total of $38,000 debt in 13 weeks.

SATURDAY

Mississippi Trails Hiking Club, meet at 2 p.m. at 22nd and Jackson streets for a hike at Mudd Lake Zollycoffers. Details: 563-581-2507

FAMILY EVENTS

TODAY

Cuba City Fire Department Annual Breakfast/Open House, 7 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Fire and Rescue Building, Cuba City, Wis.

29th Auto Parts Swap Meet and Cars For Sale Corral, 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Fairgrounds South Lot, Monticello. Buy, sell or trade. Details 319-465-5119 or visit www.autopartsswapmeet.net.

Flea Market and Antique Show, 8 a.m.-3 p.m., Dubuque County Fairgrounds. Admission is $1. Details: JFK Promotions, 815-747-7745.

Sherrill UCC Pancake Breakfast, 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Sherrill UCC Church, Sherrill, Iowa. Come enjoy all-you-can-eat pancakes, country sausage links, applesauce, rolls, coffee, juice, and milk. Cost is $6 adults, $3 for kids, under 3 free.

Galena Country Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Grant Park, Park Ave., Galena, Ill. More than 150 vendors selling original, handmade arts, crafts, and fine arts. Fair food, live entertainment, children's games, Farmers Markets. Donation $2. Call 815-777-0817. www.galenacountryfair.org.

Cattesse and Eagle Scout Trails/Wiederholt Farmstead Hike/Clean-up, 1 p.m., Cattesse Hollow Parking Lot, Old Massey Road. Join us for a hike in the Mines of Spain. Eugene Wiedholt will point out several features along the way. Bring snacks/water. Call 563-556-8163 .

Fall Pops Concert, 2 p.m., Dubuque Senior High School Music Department, Nora Gymnasium. Free-will donations. Desserts and refreshments will be sold.

Octoberfest Polka Festival, 2 p.m., Dubuque County Fair-grounds, 14569 Old Highway Road. Several bands will preform and dance on large wooden dance floor. Admission Charged.

Where Art and Music Meet, 3 p.m., St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 1199 Main St. Hourlong program includes is free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be taken with proceeds to benefit The Grand Opera House, a reception will follow. Music will be by soprano Megan Gloss accompanied by Jill Klinebriel.

Schusters Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., four miles south of Dubuque off U.S. 52 South, 7541 Schueller Heights Road. Includes wagon rides.

Bahl Family Pumpkin Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Bahl Family Farm, Asbury, Iowa. Weekend fun including corn and hay mazes, petting zoo, rope swing, corn pile and hayrides. Admission: adults $4, children $3 Details: 563-582-1097.

TUESDAY

Fairgrounds Farmers Market, 3-5:30 p.m., Dubuque County Fairgrounds, 14569 Old Highway Road.

WEDNESDAY

Soup and Sandwich Supper, 4 to 8 p.m. Community Building. Featuring a variety of soups, sandwiches, bars, and beverages. Carry-outs are available. Sponsored by the Belmont Seniors United for Nutrition (SUN) Program. For information, call 608-762-5114.

Scheckel and Company Ballroom Dance Lessons, Loras College Alumni Campus Center, Ballrooms A and B. 6:30-7:30 p.m. advanced; 7:30-8:30 p.m. intermediate; 8:30-9:30 p.m. beginners. Details: 563-659-5847.

THURSDAY

Book Exchange, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., M-Studios, Galena, Ill. Join us for our first monthly book exchange. Bring a book, take a book. We hope to see you there.

FRIDAY

Oktoberfest, 4-10 p.m., Black Horse Inn, Sherrill, Iowa. The Octoberfest tradition is brought back with an old style German Oktoberfest complete with heated Fest Tent, schnitzel, brats, beer, and with Polka Bands leading off the entertainment. Cover charge is $5. Visit www.blackhorse-inn.com.

Twenty Dirty Hands, 10 a.m. Tour some of the area's best-known pottery and sculpture studios located in and near Galena and Elizabeth, many of which are only open to the public during the tour. Maps are available at the Old Train Depot Visitor Information Center. Free. For more information, call 815-777-0644. www.twentydirtyhands.com.

Holy Rosary Church "Monthly Manna," 2-3 p.m., church parking lot, corner of Harriet and Wells St., Darlington, Wis. Mobile Food Pantry sponsored by Catholic Charities and Second Harvest. Details: 608-776-4059.

Honduras: Reflections from the side of the Poor, 7 p.m., auditorium, Mount St. Francis, 3390 Windsor Ave. Speaker John Donaghy pastoral minister for parish Dulce Nombre de Maria and associate director of Catholic Charities will present and share his insights into the present crisis in Honduras and the root causes of the unrest.

SATURDAY

Lancaster Farmers Market, 7 a.m.-1 p.m., Ryland Park, Lancaster, Wis. Fresh produce, baked items, plants, arts, crafts and more. New vendors welcome.

Dubuque Farmers Market, 7 a.m. to noon, 13th and Iowa streets area. Open air market selling home grown produce, baked goods, bedding, house plants and handmade arts and crafts. Details: 563-588-4400.

2009 Race Against Violence, 8:15 a.m. registration, 9 a.m. race begins, Heritage Trail at Heritage Pond, located off Rupp Hollow Road.

Grandview United Methodist Church Holiday Fair, 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m., 3342 John Wesley Drive. Craft items, food and drinks. Details: 563-582-8875.

St. John's Lutheran Church hosts "Open Closet," 9-11 a.m., 1276 White St. Open Closet provides clothing for anyone who needs it. For those wishing to donate please call 563-583-6572.

Leaf-color Kayak/canoe Trip, 11 a.m., D-61 Bridge, County Road D-61. Paddle from D-61 Bridge to Ozark Bridge on the Whitewater and Maquoketa. Approximately five hours. Details: Bill for directions, 563-852-7237.

FUNDRAISERS

TODAY

French Toast Breakfast, 7:30-11:30 a.m., St. Paul School gym, Worthington, Iowa. $7 adults, $3.50 ages 5-10.

Breakfast Buffet, 8 a.m.-noon, Asbury Eagles Club, Saratoga Road. Cost is $6 adults, $3 ages 10 and younger.

2nd annual Chili Feed, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., Swiss Valley Nature Center, Peosta, Iowa. Adults $5, and children 12 years and younger $3. Proceeds will go to Dubuque County Parks improvements. Details: 563-556-6745.

MONDAY

Monday Burger Night, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Dubuque Eagles Club 568, 1175 Century Drive (Behind Kennedy Mall).

Columbus Day Chicken Fry, 6-9 p.m., Kinghts of Columbus Council 930, Cascade, Iowa. $7 adult, $3 ages 6-10, free 5 and younger. Carryout $8.

TUESDAY

Pizza Night, 5-8 p.m., Asbury Eagles Club, Asbury, Iowa. $12 for large and $7 small, made from scratch pizza. Dine in or carry out.

WEDNESDAY

American Legion Post 6 Burger Night, 5-7 p.m., 1306 Delhi St. Burger and fries $4.

Chicken and Biscuit Fall Supper, 5-7:30 p.m., Earlville United Parish, Earlville, Iowa. All You Can Eat.

Happy Hour Cruise for the Alzheimer's Association, 5:30-7 p.m., American Lady Yacht Cruiser, 1630 E. 16th St., Cruise the Mississippi, silent auction, snacks. Proceeds to Benefit Alzheimer's Association Dubuque Memory Walk 09 .

THURSDAY

Burger Night, 5-8 p.m., Asbury Eagles Club, Asbury, Iowa. Fresh grilled burgers and sides. $6 adults, $4 ages 10 and younger. Proceeds to Opening Doors.

FRIDAY

Gas-A-Thon, 8 a.m., watch for posters at participating sponsors in Dubuque. Fill up and make a difference! Five cents per gallon of gas sold will go to benefit Camp Albrecht Acres.

Bellevue American Legion Fish Fry, 4-7 p.m., Bellevue American Legion Hall, Bellevue, Iowa. Fish fry benefits American Legion programs.

Friday Night Fish Fry, 5-7:30 p.m., Dubuque Eagles Club 568, 1175 Century Drive (Behind Kennedy Mall).

SATURDAY

Blue Cross Benefit Dinner, 5:30 p.m. cocktails, 6:30 p.m. dinner, Knights of Columbus Hall 510, 781 Locust St. Proceeds support the "Centennial Cross" a 75 foot-high lighted cross south of Dubuque. Tickets, $12. Details: 563-588-2011.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES

MONDAY

Hills & Dales Lifetime Center, 3505 Stoneman Road, 9-11 a.m., line dancing with Country Steppers; 10-11 a.m., senior fitness friends exercise; 11:30 a.m., lunch; 12:30-4:30 p.m., ACBL duplicate bridge.

TUESDAY

Hills & Dales Lifetime Center, 3505 Stoneman Road, 9-11 a.m., Dupaco line dancing; 10:30-11:15 a.m., Low-impact exercises with ManorCare Health Services; 11:30 a.m, lunch; 11:30 a.m. lunch with speaker Ron Iverson, "What's New in Diabetes?"; noon-3 p.m., open bridge; 12:30 p.m., Swedish weaving; 12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m., dominoes; and 12:30-3 p.m. duplicate bridge.

The Salvation Army, 1099 Iowa St., noon, dominoes.

Holy Ghost senior citizens euchre, 1 p.m., Paraclete Hall, 2917 Central Ave. All senior citizens welcome.

WEDNESDAY

The Salvation Army, 1099 Iowa St., 1 p.m. ballroom dance class video and VCR.

Hills & Dales Lifetime Center, 3505 Stoneman Road, 8:30 a.m. Wii Bowling, participation fee applies; 10-11 a.m. senior fitness friends exercise; 11:30 a.m., lunch; 12:15 p.m. open euchre; 5:30-6:30, ballroom dancing.

THURSDAY

Hills & Dales Lifetime Center, 3505 Stoneman Road, 10:30-11:15 a.m., low-impact exercises with ManorCare Health Services; 11:30 a.m. lunch.

The Salvation Army, 1099 Iowa St., noon, brown-bag lunch; 1 p.m. kitchen bingo; 1 p.m., Silver Stompers country western dancing.

FRIDAY

Hills & Dales Lifetime Center, 3505 Stoneman Road, 10-11 a.m., senior fitness friends exercise; 11:30 a.m. lunch; 12:15 p.m., Wii Bowling, participation fee applies.

The Salvation Army, 1099 Iowa St., 11 a.m. euchre program, drop in.

James Kennedy Public Library Senior Wii Bowling Tournament, 1:30-4:30 p.m., Dyersville, Iowa. Special prizes awarded for highest individual score, highest average, and most improved. Free of charge. Refreshments provided. Details: 563-875-8912.

SINGLES EVENTS

FRIDAY

Social Connections for Singles, 5-8 p.m., Courtside Sports Bar, 2095 Holliday Drive (across from Miracle Car wash). Socialize with singles from the tri-state area. Details: Dave at 563-552-2141 or Vicki at 563-599-4407.

SUPPORT GROUPS

TODAY

Overeaters Anonymous, 4-5 p.m., Community Building, Dickeyville, Wis.

Alcoholics Anonymous, 7 p.m., 12 Step group, sixth-floor, room 6D, Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque. Details: 563-557-9196.

MONDAY

Narcotics Anonymous, 1-2 p.m., Hillcrest Wellness Center, 225 W. Sixth St. Open meeting. Details: 563-690-1239.

Overeaters Anonymous, 5:30 p.m., Community Center, Dickeyville, Wis. Details: 608-568-3083 or 608-642-2237.

Alcoholics Anonymous, 6:30 p.m., Big book study, St. John's Episcopal Church Parish House, 14th and Locust. Details: 563-557-9196.

Sibling Class, 7-8:30 p.m., Mercy Health Center, 200 Mercy Drive. No fee.

Gamblers Anonymous, 7 p.m., Masonic Temple, please use 12th Street entrance.

TUESDAY

Alcoholics Anonymous, 9 a.m., Day at a Time Group, 1646 Asbury Road. Details: 563-557-9196.

Caregiver Support Group, 6:30-7:30 p.m., Alzheimer's Association, 5900 Saratoga Plaza Suite 11, C1. Caregivers of those with dementia.

Narcotics Anonymous, 7-8 p.m., Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque. Newcomers welcome.

Beyond Divorce, 7:30 p.m., board room, Dubuque Westmin-ster Presbyterian Church, corner of University Ave. and Loras Blvd. Details: Dave 563-556-3742 or Lori 563-556-4961.

WEDNESDAY

Dual Recovery Anonymous (DRA), 11 a.m., Hillcrest Wellness Center, 225 W. Sixth St. Details: 563-690-1239.

P.O.W.E.R praise our women embracing recovery, 3-4 p.m.,

every Wednesday, Nesler Centre group room 4, 799 Main St., support group for women recovering from addiction or other challenges. Details: 563-513-7965 .

Alcoholics Anonymous, 8:30 p.m., Keyway Lodge Group, GrandView United Methodist Church, 3342 John Wesley Drive. Details: 563-557-9196.

THURSDAY

Seize the Day, 11 a.m.-noon, Hillcrest Wellness Center, 225 W. Sixth St. Recovery oriented group. Details: 563-690-1239.

Suicide Support Group, 6 p.m., Hillcrest Wellness Center, 225 W. Sixth St. Details: 563-690-1239. All are welcome.

Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m., Founders speaker meeting, 1166 Main Details: 563-557-9196.

FRIDAY

Alcoholics Anonymous, 8 p.m.,

Vision for Hope group, sixth floor, Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque. Details: 563-557-9196.

SATURDAY

Alcoholics Anonymous, 9 a.m., Attitude Adjustment Group, 1166 Main St., lower level. Details: 563-557-9196.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

While income changes, mortgage doesn't - Marion Star

Posted: 11 Oct 2009 06:59 AM PDT

MARION - Melonie and Ryan Bumgarner have shed their tears for a lot of reasons in recent years.

But as 4-year-old Matthew, makeshift foam guitar gripped tightly, rocks out in front of a John Deere music video, his dad wears a smile as broad as the neighbor's beanfield that commanded the child's attention moments before.

"I was brought up to do the right thing," Bumgarner said, his attention back on the growing financial nightmare that has plagued his family for most of his son's life. "If you have a debt, you pay it off."

The LaRue-area couple has paid about $12,000 out of pocket and insurance has paid approximately $80,000 for surgeries and other treatment for their son, who was born with skeletal dysplasia, a progressive condition that causes abnormally developed bones and connective tissues.

Afraid, too, that if they didn't pay their doctor bills their son might not receive the medical care he needed, they tried to keep their payments current. Now, they face foreclosure on the only home their son and his 5-year-old sister, Mackenzie, have known.

Clouds gather

"We depleted our savings and ran on that for a while," said Melonie Bumgarner, who quit her job of 10 years at Whirlpool Corp. to be home with Matthew two months after he was born. "We didn't know the extent of his condition."

Ten surgeries later, her son faces several more, one about every 17 months, as doctors remove bone and lengthen tendons in his legs with the objective of preserving his ability to walk. Once he reaches age 17, the surgeries stop.

Two years after her son's birth, she went to work with Help Me Grow, a program that provides health and developmental services so children can start school healthy, but was laid off from the "wonderful place to work" last June. She receives unemployment insurance and is looking for employment.

"We've both worked since we were 16," she said.

Last October, the Bumgarners received a hardship packet in the mail from National City, which agreed to a 30-year, 6 percent fixed-rate mortgage for the purchase of their western Marion County home slightly more than six years ago. In the packet, the bank offered a payment plan that would not require them to make a lump sum payment in full on the mortgage they already owed, but would require the couple, already unable to afford its escrowed monthly payment of $1,065, to pay that amount plus an additional $100 per month.

They'd been able to complete a similar one-year deal previously with the financial help of family, but couldn't do it again, she said.

On May 8, they received their foreclosure notice.

Taking action

When, about a year after Matthew's birth, they realized the depth of their debt problems, the couple took cost-saving measures, including Ryan Bumgarner's purchase of a 2000 Nissan Frontier pickup truck to replace a Ford F-150 full-size pickup to save on gasoline costs. Behind on their utility bills, they paid "what we could pay so it wasn't shut off," she said.

"We're down to cable and phone. We own our vehicles. We don't go on vacations," she said, her husband adding, "We don't do anything."

Working for Help Me Grow, she learned of Bureau for Children With Medical Handicaps, a state government program that covers medical costs for their son that Ryan Bumgarner's health insurance through Whirlpool doesn't.

Before discovering BCMH, however, they used their credit cards to pay for groceries and medical costs, such as a $10,000 magnetic resonance imaging charge of which his insurance paid all but $3,000. "It may as well have been $50,000," she said.

Still a struggle

Living on his $35,000 gross annual pay, which amounts, he estimated, to $19,000 a year in take-home income, and her unemployment insurance, the couple continues to struggle financially.

"For a couple years I was working every bit of overtime I possibly could get," he said. "But with the economy" overtime is no longer available.

They are considering filing for bankruptcy, his wife said.

"Our income is not what it was when we bought the home," she said. "If they would modify our loan to what our income is now, we would not be struggling."

Turning to Legal Aid Society of Columbus, which provides information and counseling to those who face foreclosure, they've sought out mortgage assistance programs, including Save Our Dream, but their income exceeds the maximum eligibility limit.

"Your mortgage payment has to be the first mortgage, and we have a second mortgage on our home," he said, adding that that lender, CitiFinancial, lowered the interest it charged, and the couple is current on its payment.

On Sept. 23, they attended a mediation to work out an agreement to stay in their house, but have heard from Legal Aid attorney Ted Babich only that National City may offer another payment plan they can't afford.

"We're waiting on our letter," a frustrated Ryan Bumgarner said. "That's all we can do. Either give us something we can afford, or they can have it."

Clarifying her spouse's comment of frustration, she said, "We don't want them to have it."

Emotional attachment

Meanwhile, the parents try to make sure they don't discuss the foreclosure in front of their daughter.

"She's real sensitive," Melonie Bumgarner said, sharing that the Elgin West Elementary School kindergartner, who worries and cries about the possibility of losing her home, recently was put on ulcer medication by her pediatrician. "We try not to talk around her, but I think she's heard us talk on the phone."

"The kids, this is their house," she said. "... You try to keep a positive outlook, but sometimes you've got to go in another room because reality's reality."

Babich expressed his sympathy for the family.

"It's a heartbreaker," he said. "They tried very hard to do the right thing."

In need of help

Ryan Bumgarner said compounding the stress of the looming foreclosure has been what he sees as a slight by the bank.

"Truthfully, I am somewhat surprised, because I thought the banks would try to help us," he said, adding that he doesn't understand why the bank hasn't offered a plan that would reduce the monthly payment temporarily until they can resume the original mortgage schedule. "They'll get paid."

PNC Financial acquired National City last October, using a $7.7 billion government investment to help pay for the deal.

Ryan Bumgarner expressed frustration at the federal government's bailout program "that nobody's seeing any of," wondering aloud why the money isn't being used to help people such as himself facing foreclosure.

"We're not the only people in this situation," he said. "At what point is somebody going to step in and say enough's enough?"

Instead, they wait for a letter they expect will tell them whether their home is still theirs or soon to belong to the bank.

Wearing his "For the Love of Dirt" T-shirt and his leg braces, Matthew carries on not fully aware, his dad said, that his days of being able to look out the rear window at Farmer Young's bean crop may soon end.

Understanding a painful situation

Melonie Bumgarner tries to see the bank's point of view.

"They have to have their money to keep going, but to them that's what this is about, their money," she said. "To me and I'm sure everybody in this situation, it's their home. We don't not want to give the bank their money. We just need help right now. ... I just think it would gain everybody involved if they would be a little more understanding. I understand they're in it for the money, but they would actually make more if they would modify our loan."

Referring to the growing number of people facing foreclosure in Marion County and nationwide, she said, "I feel for all of them. It's their home. It's not just wood and here's my payment. It's a home."

Reporter John Jarvis: 740-375-5154 or jjarvis@nncogannett.com

Young professional turns hobby into career - Poughkeepsie Journal

Posted: 11 Oct 2009 07:13 AM PDT

Brian Drew has always been fascinated with computers. As a teen and young adult, he peered into their mechanics, poked around their programs and pried through their workings.

"My hobby and my love has always been taking apart PCs and fixing them," Drew said. "I would do it for my friends and family."

Yet he opted for a business degree in college, eventually working in corporate operations and marketing. But within three years, he was laid off twice because of budget cuts.

His father suggested he work with computers full-time. Drew balked, reasoning he didn't have any formal training in the field.

Then his father died and Drew had what he called a moment of clarity.

He quit his job at a car dealership and veered headlong into computer work, moving his hobby from an amusing way to pass the time into a full-fledged career.

He was 30 years old.

"I never looked back," said Drew, 36, a partner at Information Technology Group based in Mount Kisco, Westchester County.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2002 only 2 percent of business owners were under 25, with men and women between 25 and 34 representing 12 percent of the country's business owners.

Beyond that, owners between 25 and 34 accounted for 13 percent of non-employer firms, with 77 percent of them holding majority interests in their companies.

Drew used his experiences working for small and medium-sized businesses to run his own company, first called Simply Computers, to target small businesses and residential clients confused by their computer problems.

"I probably learned more about running a business in the first two years (operating my own) than I'd ever done in college or any prior experience," Drew said.

Transitioning from employee to business owner was a lot of hard work, Drew said.

He settled down and focused on his business, reading copiously, networking often and seeking advice from friends and associates who were small business owners, as well as others in the computer business.

"I know I'm not the smartest guy in the world," Drew said. "But I know if I surround myself with people who are smarter and more experienced, it will only help me."

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Citigroup Hires Mr. Inside - The Ledger

Posted: 11 Oct 2009 08:10 AM PDT

The nettle of rules and regulations, the web of agencies and regulators, and, of course, the harsh realities of politics combine to make Washington a confounding place. And with legislators looking to redraw the rules for financial institutions to prevent a repeat of the credit crisis, having an advocate in Washington is a must.

Few banks can use advice about navigating the federal government more than Citigroup, a company so hobbled by the crisis that it has essentially become a ward of the state, kept alive through multiple infusions of taxpayer funds.

Still, people inside and outside the bank say they were stunned when Richard D. Parsons, Citigroup's chairman, enlisted the services last spring of Richard F. Hohlt, a longtime Washington insider with a history of aggressive advocacy for the banking industry.

Critics say that as a top lobbyist for the savings and loan industry in the 1980s, Mr. Hohlt blocked regulation of these institutions and played a pivotal role helping to prolong dubious industry practices that cost taxpayers $150 billion to clean up.

After that crisis passed, he faded from the public eye but continued advising clients, cementing his contacts in the news media and even surfacing as one among a handful of Washington insiders involved in the public outing of Valerie Wilson as a C.I.A. agent.

Five former regulators who encountered Mr. Hohlt during the savings and loan fiasco expressed dismay and surprise that he had been hired by the chairman of a bank that has received tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer assistance, and voiced concerns about what exactly he had been hired to do.

"Mr. Hohlt has a track record as a behind-the-scenes, Republican influence peddler who caused severe damage to U.S. citizens by helping to delay and weaken the crackdown on the S.& L. control frauds," says William K. Black, a former regulator and a top investigator for the definitive Congressional report on the S.& L. crisis.

"It is singularly obscene that any recipient of taxpayer assistance through the TARP program during the current financial crisis would hire one of the most infamous lobbyists in the world to represent them," says Mr. Black, who now is a professor of law at the University of Missouri at Kansas City.

IN the 1980s, Mr. Hohlt's tactics as a lobbyist for the United States League of Savings Institutions — which he acknowledges included reneging on a promise to support legislation to recapitalize the industry — so enraged regulators that two government officials say they banned him from their offices.

Mr. Hohlt, 61, says he was simply the messenger for the S.& L.'s in their dealings with regulators. "Yeah, mistakes were made," he said in an interview last week. Of his current client, Citigroup, he says it has retained him as an adviser to provide strategic counsel on Washington matters related to the bank, and not as a lobbyist (meaning that he doesn't communicate with members of Congress, the White House or regulatory agencies regarding Citigroup).

"I would classify myself as the worker bee that knows what I think would be of interest to him," he says of his work for Mr. Parsons. "I feed him through the e-mail system quite a bit and give him my advice and counsel."

As for Mr. Black and his other critics, Mr. Hohlt says that his work with the league was "prehistoric" and that in the years since then he has built a reputation as an honest and experienced resource.

"I wish that everyone would comprehend that because of these past experiences, mistakes made, some problems that were created because of those mistakes, I can maybe offer more candid advice," he said. "There has to be something said that a person who's been in the operating room and watched 13 surgeries may be a good person to watch the 14th. That makes me valuable because I can say: 'Don't do it! Don't let these guys come in and say they want to change the accounting.' "

Mr. Hohlt says that he has never been investigated by any government agency and that his record, lobbying activities and political dealings are transparent.

Mr. Parsons says he hired Mr. Hohlt simply as a political adviser who provides information and counsel, and doesn't focus on particular legislation. "He is an old Washington hand," Mr. Parsons said in a interview on Friday. "I hired him to keep me in touch with what's going on in Washington and what the mood and tenor of the town is."

Mr. Hohlt's role is to solve problems and help Mr. Parsons communicate more effectively, but not to lobby on Citigroup's behalf. "I don't bring him to meetings," he said. "He is a useful source of information."

A spokesman said that Citigroup was paying Mr. Hohlt's fees, and that because he hadn't been retained as a lobbyist, his assignment did not need to be publicly disclosed.

The savings and loan industry hasn't been Mr. Hohlt's only controversial client. He was the longtime lobbyist for Washington Mutual, arranging Capitol Hill meetings for the chief executive, Kerry K. Killinger, and advising the bank on regulatory matters that related to the Federal Home Loan Bank, according to Mr. Hohlt and a former associate. Washington Mutual collapsed in 2008, becoming the biggest bank failure in history. Mr. Hohlt said he wasn't aware of the bank's many problems.

"I thought Kerry Killinger was a guy from Iowa who played in the band," said Mr. Hohlt, who said he lost thousands of dollars on WaMu stock when the bank failed. "Maybe I should have done due diligence on things like that."

Mr. Hohlt has also represented the mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, which was taken over by the government in September 2008 because of billions in mortgage losses. Once Fannie Mae went into federal receivership, it was banned from hiring lobbyists, including Mr. Hohlt.

Mr. Hohlt , an insider's insider who creates and executes political strategies, said he had known Mr. Parsons since 1989. Back then, Mr. Parsons was running Dime Savings Bank, an institution that, like others in the field, had been hurt by mortgage losses.

Since then, Mr. Hohlt has lobbied for Time Warner, the media company that Mr. Parsons led from 2002 until 2008. He called Mr. Parsons "a personal 20-year friend that appreciates that I will be candid and maybe tell him things that others will not and give him safe advice." He added that Mr. Parsons reached out to him because he "didn't want to get in the cocoon."

One of his first assignments: At Mr. Parsons's request, Mr. Hohlt spent a Sunday in New York sitting in the back of the company's auditorium watching its executives and directors practice for the annual shareholder meeting on April 21.

"I just sat and listened, and he asked, 'What do you think?' And I sent him a message saying what I thought," Mr. Hohlt says.

But two people briefed on Mr. Hohlt's engagement with Citigroup, who requested anonymity because speaking publicly about the situation would jeopardize their jobs, say Mr. Hohlt was also hired to advise Mr. Parsons on ways to blunt the demands of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, one of the bank's primary regulators. The F.D.I.C. agreed to insure some $300 billion of Citigroup's troubled assets in a loss-sharing arrangement last year and has been at loggerheads with the bank's management over stewardship of the sprawling enterprise.

Mr. Hohlt said that it was a "fabrication" that he was hired to jockey with the F.D.I.C. "I've never contacted anybody at the F.D.I.C.," he said.

A spokesman for the F.D.I.C. declined to comment on Mr. Hohlt's hiring because the agency does not discuss specific institutions. "Generally speaking, we expect banks to adhere to high ethical and reputational standards," said Andrew Gray, an agency spokesman.

Citigroup does not show up in lobbying records as a client of Hohlt & Associates, Mr. Hohlt's Washington-based firm. And Mr. Hohlt said that he was "not really" advising Mr. Parsons on regulatory matters.

"My contract prohibits me from any kind of lobbying, and I'm fired if I do," he said of his assignment from Mr. Parsons.

A HOOSIER by birth and a former aide to Senator Richard G. Lugar, the Indiana Republican, Mr. Hohlt parlayed his connections and experience into a lucrative lobbying business. He is also a founding member of an informal Washington salon, known as the Off-the-Record Club, where prominent Republicans, including Vin Weber and Karl Rove, gather for dinner to trade strategy. Mr. Hohlt is also a well-known background source for Washington journalists.

He surfaced in 2007 during the perjury trial of I. Lewis Libby Jr., an aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney. Mr. Hohlt had a cameo role in the leak that identified Valerie Wilson as a Central Intelligence Agency operative. The journalist who broke the story, Robert Novak, testified during the trial that he had given the column to Mr. Hohlt, a longtime source, before it was published. Mr. Hohlt said he gave the column to Mr. Rove, who was the White House's political director at the time.

For the 2008 election, Mr. Hohlt gave about $108,700 in campaign contributions, nearly all to Republicans. During the 2004 re-election campaign of President George W. Bush, Mr. Hohlt was among the "Super Rangers" who raised more than $200,000.

Mr. Hohlt began working for Mr. Parsons at a time when Citigroup was increasingly reliant on the public's largess to remain viable.

The bank received two injections totaling $45 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program last year. It has also raised $45 billion in debt using the backing of the F.D.I.C. and, through its subsidiaries, had an additional $28 billion in commercial paper and interbank deposits backed by the F.D.I.C. While other banks have weaned themselves from the program, Citi has continued to issue debt under it.

But the government is also on the hook for future losses at Citi. Late last year, regulators struck a loss-sharing deal with the bank covering a pool of assets that totaled $267 billion in the most recent financial statement. Under the terms of the arrangement, Citi will swallow the first $29.5 billion in losses on this pool; 90 percent of any additional losses will be borne by the government and the other 10 percent by Citi.

During the last decade, Mr. Hohlt and his firm also have done work for JPMorgan Chase and Sallie Mae, the student loan financing company. Mr. Hohlt was appointed to Sallie Mae's board by George H. W. Bush in 1991.

Beginning in 2007, Fannie Mae hired Mr. Hohlt's firm, even though as a savings and loan lobbyist two decades earlier, he had opposed the agency. "We fought against Fannie Mae," Mr. Hohlt recalled. "I made sure we got an amendment in a bill that prohibited them from having a PAC," or political action committee.

Hohlt & Associates has been paid more than $7 million in lobbying fees in the last decade, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. From 2000 to 2006, it made $400,000 to $700,000 in lobbying fees each year. In 2007 and 2008, the business took off, exceeding $1 million annually. In 2008, the year the credit crisis began in earnest, more than half of the firm's increased business came from financial services firms. His clients also include Altria, the cigarette maker formerly known as Philip Morris; Bristol-Myers Squibb; Chevron; and the Nuclear Energy Institute.

WHILE Mr. Hohlt's lobbying business appears vigorous, it is not nearly as high-profile as it was in his heyday as point man for the savings and loan industry and its lobbying group, the United States League of Savings Institutions. He reported to the president of the organization at the time, William O'Connell, and worked with a fellow lobbyist, James Freeman, to make sure that the industry's views were heard on Capitol Hill.

Mr. Hohlt cultivated a close friendship with M. Danny Wall, a top aide to Jake Garn, the Utah Republican who was chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.

For decades, savings and loan associations were sleepy institutions that operated under tight restrictions on the loans they made and the interest rates they paid to depositors. But in 1982, with interest rates rocketing, the industry persuaded Congress to relax these restrictions. The Garn-St. Germain legislation (also named for Fernand J. St. Germain, Democrat of Rhode Island) freed savings and loans to make more-risky loans and eliminated the caps on interest rates that they could pay on deposits.

Almost immediately, S.& L.'s were bought by high-rolling entrepreneurs who saw the opportunities in taking deposits that were insured by the government and lending them out to real estate developers.

Once this mania was under way, lobbyists for the industry worked hard to keep regulators at bay, former officials recall. "The U.S. League was very active in trying to water down the capital requirements for S.& L.'s," recalled Kenneth McLean, former staff director to William Proxmire, the late Wisconsin Democrat who headed the Senate Banking Committee in 1987 and 1988.

Two former officials, a banking regulator and an under secretary of the Treasury, said they banned Mr. Hohlt from their offices. "He wasn't my style," said Richard T. Pratt, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board president in the early 1980s. "He was very aggressive I thought, kind of the caricature of a lobbyist."

Mr. Hohlt said his actions should be considered in the context of the times. He said there were fears that "draconian" regulatory action could set off a run on banks and even a depression.

Mr. Hohlt noted the significant parallels between the savings and loan mess and today's financial crisis, only this time he says he is wiser.

"The mistake I did was follow the policy of the trade association," he said.

Former regulators said they don't regard Mr. Hohlt's tenure as so benign.

"The fact is, when it came to thrift matters in Congress, the U.S. League and many of its affiliates were the de facto government," said Edwin J. Gray, former head of the Federal Home Loan Bank, testifying before Congress in 1989. "What the league wanted, it got. What it did not want from Congress, it had killed."

In an interview last week, Mr. Gray laughed when he heard that Mr. Hohlt continued as a paid advocate for financial institutions. "He's a creature of Washington special interests and has been since I have known him, so I'm not surprised," he said. "Memories are short when money is involved."