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  National News : Saturday, June 16, 2012 12:00:00 AM Free Article ID:13277 (256) Last Update:     
Americans hang on after recession claims wealth

Looking back, the financial lives many Americans enjoyed until just a few years ago can seem like a mirage.

On a suburban cul-de-sac northwest of Atlanta, Michael and Patricia Jackson are struggling to keep a house worth $100,000 less than they owe. In a small town in West Virginia, Michael Bobic, who last year lost his job as a college professor, sells Star Trek collectibles on eBay to get by.

Their voices and those of many others tell the story of a country that, for all the economic turmoil of the past few years, continues to believe things will get better. But until it does, families are trying to hang on to what they’ve got left.

The Great Recession claimed nearly 40 percent of Americans’ wealth, the Federal Reserve reported last week. The new figures, showing Americans’ net worth has plunged back to what it was in 1992, left economists shuddering while sharpening attention on the pocketbook issues at the center of the presidential campaign. But for families across the country, the report, tracking the period from 2007 to 2010, confirms what they already felt in their gut and saw in their checkbooks. It is one more reminder that they’re not alone.

Most of the wealth was lost to the mortgage crisis and the drop in home values, wiping out equity many families counted on. But incomes and stock-based retirement accounts fell, too. In the 18 months since the Fed completed its survey, home prices have continued to fall in many cities, while stocks rose and then fell back to nearly the same level.

“There’s nothing in this report that makes me feel good,” says Alicia Munnell, director of the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College and an economic official in the Clinton administration. Bubble-inflated housing wealth was a fiction whose end should have been expected, she said, but the drop in incomes is especially troubling, because it gives people even less flexibility and confidence to save for the future. “There are signs of improvement, but I think that everybody is scared.”

It’s not just plummeting wealth affecting Americans’ financial psyche. Incomes have been stagnating for years. But until the bubble burst, lenders and credit card companies gave consumers freedom to borrow and spend. No more.

Americans “were told they were much wealthier than they really were and they believed it,” says Robert Manning, author of the book “Credit Card Nation” and an expert on consumer finance. “Now they’re kind of hearing they’re a lot less wealthy then they believed — and they’re in denial.”

In New York, Michael and Patricia Jackson shared a bedroom made from a walled-in front porch, in a house cut into three cramped apartments. Then, on a visit to Georgia in 2000, they drove past spacious new homes and lawns in subdivisions promising affordability, and they began to dream.

By the time they moved in to their brick-face colonial in Marietta four years later, even bigger dreams seemed within reach. The house in the new Hampton Chase neighborhood cost a little more than $200,000 and values were rising fast.

With $20,000 in equity and two paychecks, the Jacksons were financially secure. What they remember most, though, is feeling proud. Their daughter had her own room. Patricia loved the “humongous” master bedroom and bathroom. Michael devoted himself to the lawn that sloped down to a thick stand of trees, working hours in the heat with a relish he’d never felt as a renter.

“This is what we always wanted, was to live somewhere comfortable and to be part of the community as well,” says Michael, who is 53. “It made me a better man. I learned how to cut the grass. You know in New York you have one little patch of grass and you can take scissors and cut it.”

The couple said they rejected countless offers to borrow against the house. Instead, they made plans to save and let equity build, hoping to eventually buy a vacation home near Patricia’s parents in Jamaica and maybe even a small apartment in New York, for visiting family.

But in 2007, Patricia was cut from her job as a dispatch supervisor with a cable television company. Then Michael lost work as a contractor. They struggled to pay the mortgage. But they kept pace when their lender offered a forbearance plan that temporarily halved monthly payments, but added the balance to the loan, a fact the Jacksons say was not explained to them at the time.

They fell even further behind after getting into an accident on the long drive between New York and Georgia. Meanwhile, a foreclosure wave swept the metro Atlanta real estate market, sending home values down.

County appraisers recently valued the Jackson’s home at $166,000, but the couple say it probably would bring no more than $140,000. They are 11 months behind on their mortgage payments and, with penalties added, now owe $245,000 on the house.

Michael says they were naive. They tried filing for personal bankruptcy, which confronted them with the fact that they’d already lost their equity and would probably lose the house. So they withdrew the filing and decided to battle it out. They dropped cable, stopped taking clothes to the drycleaner and Patricia cut out tithing to the church.

Both found new jobs and the lender has cut the interest rate on their loan. But they are so far behind on the mortgage that the lender tells them they can’t qualify for government programs to help families stay in their homes. The Jacksons, who long ago shelved fantasies of vacation homes, now are desperate to convince someone they are worthy of keeping the house on Hampton View Court.

“We’re scared. We don’t know what’s going to happen,” Michael says. “Right now, our main thing is to hold on to what we have. I mean, we’re holding. But the mortgage company, they have a grip on us.”

For 13 years, Michael Bobic taught political science to college students. Now he sells Star Trek collectibles on eBay and teaches a fencing class at the YMCA to help pay the bills.

The 49-year-old drives only when he has to, shops around to save 50 cents on a gallon of milk and hasn’t bought a restaurant dinner since losing his job as a professor at West Virginia Wesleyan College last year.

“I’m incredibly cheap,” Bobic, who lives in Fairmont, W.Va., says proudly.

Once a week, Bobic spreads his gospel of frugality, teaching a money management class at Galilean Baptist Church in nearby White Hall. Growing up in Kingsport, Tenn., Bobic recalls that as his parents divorced and later remarried each other, their financial lives swung wildly. Their son learned to prepare for the financial uncertainties of his own adulthood by watching.

He tells his church class to do what he did — have an emergency fund to cover three to six months of expenses. When Bobic lost his job, he was prepared. Enrollment had been shrinking and he knew Wesleyan couldn’t afford an extra professor with two already tenured.

To get by, he took short-term work doing title searches for a lawyer, until the two-hour drive to Moundsville proved too much. Then he got a temporary job doing surveys for an opinion-research company. But a year later, his financial cushion is gone.

Bobic has always worked — he turned his first full-time job scooping ice cream into a 15-year career in store management. But this week he did something he’d avoided: For the first time since his kidneys failed at age 23 and he began dialysis, Bobic applied for disability benefits.

“I’d much rather work,” he says. “But that’s what we’re falling back on now.”

Bobic’s retirement account is gone. He cashed it out to buy a house in 2008 when he quit a 10-year job at Georgia’s Emmanuel College and moved to Fairmont so wife Jennifer could be near family.

Until he lands a job, Jennifer is funding their retirement, putting aside money from her job with the Social Security Administration.

Bobic keeps close track of their financial well-being. When he lost his job, 42 percent of the couple’s income vanished, he notes. He’d limited the mortgage to 25 percent of their lesser income, but now it eats up 32 percent of the total. Even now, though, he’s working on a plan to rebuild.

Within two months, Jennifer’s car will be paid off, and they can start to replenish the emergency fund. Bobic, meanwhile, is hoping to land a teaching job at a university in southern West Virginia.

Moving there would mean selling the house and hoping to break even. Worse, he says, it would take Jennifer two hours from relatives now just 10 doors away.

Maybe, Bobic says, he’ll work through the week and come home on weekends. He did it before in Georgia, sleeping in his office on a fold-out Army cot and showering at the gym.

It’s not so bad, he says.

“You’d be amazed how many people are doing it.”

Kathy Miller recalls when the finances of work and family life were adding up just right.

In 2008, her events planning company was having its best year ever. She and her husband had set aside money to put their two sons through college, with enough left in income and savings for “a very nice life” in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg, Ill.

Then the financial crisis sent the stock market tumbling and many of the corporate customers who had kept Miller’s Total Event Resources busy, stopped calling.

By the following year, business was down so sharply that Miller laid off 10 of her 15 employees. For four to six months, the rest worked only for benefits. Miller didn’t collect a salary for a year-and-a-half.

The business wasn’t all that suffered. The value of the Miller home in Hoffman Estates, another well-to-do suburb of Chicago, fell almost 30 percent. She’d been counting on the house to fund part of her retirement.

The family was forced to dip into savings to cover living expenses and the drop in stock prices took more from their nest egg. “We’ve lost one kid’s college money,” she says. So two years ago, when her older son was half-way through Illinois State University, Miller and her husband told him he’d have to pay for his last two years of school. They told their younger son he would also have to pay for his last two years.

Add it up now, Miller says, and her net worth is just half what it used to be.

“All of a sudden, you wake up and on paper, it’s completely different,” she says.

Business has rebounded to the point where Miller now has seven full-time and two part-time staffers. Old clients have come back, and she has new ones. But revenue is still down 20 percent. The family has adjusted their plans and expectations accordingly.

In Miller’s kitchen, there’s a door to nowhere. It was supposed to open onto a deck that hasn’t been built.

Vacations are shorter — a maximum of five days instead of two weeks. Money is one reason. But “being away from the office is more difficult because we’re doing more with less.”

When shopping, Miller asks herself, “Do I need this jewelry or pair of shoes? No, I don’t, because I’m thinking about keeping that money to sustain our business and make it work.”

Long after Main Street goes quiet, Mike Lamm is still at the back of his jewelry shop, surrounded by tools. There’ll be no more customers until the morning, but that does not mean the job is done.

“If I had to rely on retail sales out of my case, I’d have had to close my doors a long time ago,” the 48-year-old businessman says.

These days, people aren’t buying much jewelry. What saves Lamm is his ability to repair watches and make rings. There’s still enough call for that kind of work in Mediapolis, a small town in rural southeastern Iowa.

Things have always been tight for the Lamms, who Mike describes as a family of “modest means.” But like many of their neighbors, it’s become more of a struggle over the past five years. At this hour, Mike would rather be home with wife Tracey and their two children, Ethan, 16, and Raeann, 11.

But there are groceries to buy, cars that need gas, and a mortgage to meet, says Tracey, who works as a grant writer for their regional government council.

“I feel like, for what we make, we should be doing better. We should have more money,” says Tracey, who’s 43. “But all of it just seems to go to bills.”

Tracey estimates she spends $60 a week on gas, commuting to work. Mike, who uses a wheelchair after losing use of his legs in a car accident at 17, spends about the same for van that operates with hand controls.

Utilities and groceries at the one market in town also have risen 10 to 15 percent a year since the recession hit.

“And when you feed a teenage boy, you’re automatically at a different level,” Tracey says.

Other things, however, have had to go by the wayside.

The last family vacation — the only week away together Tracey can remember in years — was a trip to Disney World in 2009. But those trips are no more.

Now they rent a video and have a family night, or the kids go to their grandparents’ farm for a “getaway.”

This isn’t all bad, Tracey says. Their kids are learning to value what they have. “They don’t seem unhappy or deprived and they certainly know how much they’re loved,” she says.

But that doesn’t stop the worries.

Even working 65 to 75 hours a week, Mike is bringing in less than he did last year. They have little saved for their children’s college.

But they hold on to hopes, if not for themselves, then at least for their kids.

“I think it will get better,” Mike says. “It’s just going to take time.”

By ADAM GELLER

AP National Writer

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National News Section: Saturday, June 16, 2012 ( #13277 - 256)
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LOCAL OPINION:
▪ Our view: More challenges than ever
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▪ Make sure to handle food with care

COMMUNITY CALENDAR:

May 2013 Community Calendar

Wednesday, May 1

6:30 a.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

6:45 a.m. Breakfast Optimist Club, Stacy’s Restaurant, Grandview Plaza

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Noon Kiwanis meets at Kite’s, Sixth and Washington streets

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church 113 W. Fifth St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

2:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Woodrow Wilson ES, Manhattan

1 to 4 p.m. Cards at Senior Citizens Center

5:30 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

6 to 7:45 p.m. AWANA Club, First Southern Baptist Church

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

7:30 p.m. Melita Chapter 116, Order of the Eastern Star, 722 1/2 N. Washington St.

7:30 p.m. Chapman Rebekah Lodge #645, Chapman Senior Center

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Fort Riley and Dillons

Thursday, May 2

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Line dancing at Senior Citizens Center

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), First Southern Baptist Church, child care provided

1 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Episcopal Church of the Covenant, 314 N. Adams St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:15 p.m. JC Sundowners Lions Club meeting at Peking Restaurant, 836 S. Washington St.

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

6:30 p.m. Flinthills Depression and Bipolar Alliance Support Group, First Christian Church, Fifth and Humboldt, Manhattan

6:30 p.m. Junction City Aglow Lighthouse meets in the meeting room at the Hampton Inn.

7:30 p.m. Stated Communications, Union Masonic Lodge No. 7 AF&AM

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Walmart

Friday, May 3

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 p.m. It’s About Me Breast Cancer Awareness Association, Medical Arts II Conference Room, Geary Community Hospital

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with short-order meals

6 p.m. Ogden American Legion Bingo, 515 Riley Blvd.

6 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Women’s meeting, 119 W. 7th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. American Legion Riders, Chapman American Legion, 222 1/2 Marshall

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Saturday, May 4

8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Yard sale, Junction City First Assembly of God, proceeds going towards sending youth to camp

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1 p.m. Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Sunday, May 5

Noon Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1:30 p.m. American Legion Post 45 Auxiliary Bingo, Fourth and Franklin Streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Monday, May 6

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. 7th St.

1 to 2:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC rehearsal, Senior Citizens Center, 1025 S. Spring Valley Road

2 p.m. Doors open at Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6 p.m. JC South Kiwanis meets at Valley View.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie & Ladies Auxiliary joint meeting, 203 E. 10th St.

6:45 p.m. Social Duplicate Bridge, 1022 Caroline Ave.

7 p.m. Hope Al Anon meeting at First United Methodist Church

7 p.m. Hope Al-anon, First United Methodist Church, 804 N. Jefferson.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Afternoon Bingo at Senior Citizens Center

Senior Citizens Center errands to bank, post office and Walmart

Tuesday, May 7

10 to 11 a.m. Bible study at Senior Citizens Center

1:45 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Washington ES, 1500 N. Washington St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, JC airport terminal, 540 Airport Road

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Wednesday, May 8

2:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Milford ES, 402 12th St. Milford

6:30 a.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

6:45 a.m. Breakfast Optimist Club, Stacy’s Restaurant, Grandview Plaza

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Noon Kiwanis meets at Kite’s, Sixth and Washington streets

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church 113 W. Fifth St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

1 to 4 p.m. Cards at Senior Citizens Center

5:30 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

6 to 7:45 p.m. AWANA Club, First Southern Baptist Church

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Fort Riley and Dillons

Thursday, May 9

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Line dancing at Senior Citizens Center

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), First Southern Baptist Church, child care provided

11:30 a.m. NARFE Old Trooper Chapter 383 luncheon meeting, Senior Citizens Center, 1107 S. Spring Valley Road, members and guests welcome

1 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Episcopal Church of the Covenant, 314 N. Adams St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

7 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie, 203 E. 10th St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Walmart

Friday, May 10

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with short-order meals

6 p.m. Smoky Hill Free Trappers, Tyme Out Lounge

6 p.m. Ogden American Legion Bingo, 515 Riley Blvd.

6 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Women’s meeting, 119 W. 7th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Saturday, May 11

10 a.m. Geary County Women’s Democratic Club meets at Church of Our Savior Methodist Church, Thompson Drive

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1 p.m. Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Sunday, May 12

Noon Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1:30 p.m. American Legion Post 45 Auxiliary Bingo, Fourth and Franklin Streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Monday, May 13

1 to 2:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC rehearsal at Geary County Senior Center, 1025 S. Spring Valley Road

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. 7th St.

2 p.m. Doors open at Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5:30 p.m. Friends of Hope Breast Cancer Support Group and Circle of Hope Cancer Support Group, Medical Arts Building II, Third Floor Conference Room, Geary Community Hospital

6 p.m. JC South Kiwanis meets at Valley View.

6:45 p.m. Social Duplicate Bridge, 1022 Caroline Ave.

7 p.m. Hope Al Anon meeting at First United Methodist Church

7 p.m. Hope Al-anon, First United Methodist Church, 804 N. Jefferson.

7 p.m. Geary County Fish & Game Association meeting, 3922 K-244 Spur

7 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary meeting, 203 E. 10th St.

7:30 p.m. Acacia Lodge #91, 1024 N. Price St., Junction City

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Afternoon Bingo at Senior Citizens Center

Senior Citizens Center errands to bank, post office and Walmart

Tuesday, May 14

10 to 11 a.m. Bible study at Senior Citizens Center

1:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Eisenhower ES, 1625 St. Mary’s Road

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, JC airport terminal, 540 Airport Road

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Wednesday, May 15

6:30 a.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

6:45 a.m. Breakfast Optimist Club, Stacy’s Restaurant, Grandview Plaza

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Noon Kiwanis meets at Kite’s, Sixth and Washington streets

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church 113 W. Fifth St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

1 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Riley County Senior Center, 412 Leavenworth, Manhattan

1 to 4 p.m. Cards at Senior Citizens Center

5:30 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

6 to 7:45 p.m. AWANA Club, First Southern Baptist Church

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

7:30 p.m. Melita Chapter 116, Order of the Eastern Star, 722 1/2 N. Washington St.

7:30 p.m. Chapman Rebekah Lodge #645, Chapman Senior Center

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Fort Riley and Dillons

Thursday, May 16

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Line dancing at Senior Citizens Center

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), First Southern Baptist Church, child care provided

1 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Episcopal Church of the Covenant, 314 N. Adams St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

6:30 p.m. Flinthills Depression and Bipolar Alliance Support Group, First Christian Church, Fifth and Humboldt, Manhattan

7:30 p.m. Stated Communications, Union Masonic Lodge No. 7 AF&AM

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Walmart

Friday, May 17

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with short-order meals

6 p.m. Ogden American Legion Bingo, 515 Riley Blvd.

6 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Women’s meeting, 119 W. 7th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Saturday, May 18

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1 p.m. Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Sunday, May 19

Noon Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Father Kapaun Knights of Columbus, basement of St. Mary’s Chapel, Fort Riley

1:30 p.m. American Legion Post 45 Auxiliary Bingo, Fourth and Franklin Streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Monday, May 20

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. 7th St.

1 to 2:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC rehearsal at Geary County Senior Center, 1025 S. Spring Valley Road

2 p.m. Doors open at Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6 p.m. JC South Kiwanis meets at Valley View.

6:45 p.m. Social Duplicate Bridge, 1022 Caroline Ave.

7 p.m. Hope Al Anon meeting at First United Methodist Church

7 p.m. Hope Al-anon, First United Methodist Church, 804 N. Jefferson.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Afternoon Bingo at Senior Citizens Center

Senior Citizens Center errands to bank, post office and Walmart

Tuesday, May 21

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Friend-to-Friend Caregiver Support Group, Faith Lutheran Church, 212 N. Eisenhower Drive

10 to 11 a.m. Bible study at Senior Citizens Center

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

2:30 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Franklin ES, 410 W. Second St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. Sunflower Quilters Guild, Dorothy Bramlage Library

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, JC airport terminal, 540 Airport Road

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Wednesday, May 22

6:30 a.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

6:45 a.m. Breakfast Optimist Club, Stacy’s Restaurant, Grandview Plaza

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Noon Kiwanis meets at Kite’s, Sixth and Washington streets

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church 113 W. Fifth St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

1 to 4 p.m. Cards at Senior Citizens Center

5:30 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

6 to 7:45 p.m. AWANA Club, First Southern Baptist Church

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Fort Riley and Dillons

Thursday, May 23

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Line dancing at Senior Citizens Center

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), First Southern Baptist Church, child care provided

1 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Episcopal Church of the Covenant, 314 N. Adams St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

7 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie, 203 E. 10th St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Walmart

Friday, May 24

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with short-order meals

6 p.m. Ogden American Legion Bingo, 515 Riley Blvd.

6 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Women’s meeting, 119 W. 7th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. New Beginnings-New Life Support Group, Martha Hoover Conference Room, Geary County Community Hospital

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Saturday, May 25

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1 p.m. Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Sunday, May 26

Noon Doors open at JC Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

1:30 p.m. American Legion Post 45 Auxiliary Bingo, Fourth and Franklin Streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Monday, May 27

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. 7th St.

2 p.m. Doors open at Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

6 p.m. JC South Kiwanis meets at Valley View.

6:45 p.m. Social Duplicate Bridge, 1022 Caroline Ave.

7 p.m. Hope Al Anon meeting at First United Methodist Church

7 p.m. Hope Al-anon, First United Methodist Church, 804 N. Jefferson.

7 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary meeting, 203 E. 10th St.

7:30 p.m. Acacia Lodge #91, 1024 N. Price St., Junction City

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Afternoon Bingo at Senior Citizens Center

Senior Citizens Center errands to bank, post office and Walmart

Tuesday, May 28

10 to 11 a.m. Bible study at Senior Citizens Center

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

7 p.m. Composite Squadron Civil Air Patrol, JC airport terminal, 540 Airport Road

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Wednesday, May 29

Noon Troubadours of JC performance at Riley Centre, Riley

6:30 a.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

6:45 a.m. Breakfast Optimist Club, Stacy’s Restaurant, Grandview Plaza

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Noon Kiwanis meets at Kite’s, Sixth and Washington streets

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

12:15 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church 113 W. Fifth St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

1 to 4 p.m. Cards at Senior Citizens Center

5:30 p.m. Weight Watchers, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

6 to 7:45 p.m. AWANA Club, First Southern Baptist Church

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

8 p.m. Narcotics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Presbyterian Church, 113 W. Fifth St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Fort Riley and Dillons

Thursday, May 30

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Line dancing at Senior Citizens Center

9:30 a.m. MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers), First Southern Baptist Church, child care provided

1 p.m. TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly), Episcopal Church of the Covenant, 314 N. Adams St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles Aerie and Auxiliary kitchen is open with full meals

6:30 p.m. Bingo at American Legion Post 45, Fourth and Franklin streets

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

Senior Citizens Center errands to Walmart

Friday, May 31

9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Exercise at Senior Citizens Center

Noon Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.

2 p.m. Doors open at the Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles, 203 E. 10th St.

5 to 8 p.m. Junction City Fraternal Order of Eagles kitchen is open with short-order meals

6 p.m. Ogden American Legion Bingo, 515 Riley Blvd.

6 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, Women’s meeting, 119 W. 7th St.

6:30 p.m. JC Fraternal Order of Eagles Auxiliary Bingo, 203 E. 10th St., open to public

6:45 p.m. Troubadours of JC performance at Relay for Life, JCHS Stadium, 900 N. Eisenhower St.

8 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous, 119 W. Seventh St.
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