Newton County News (Newton, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 18, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 4, 2012 Page: 2 of 8
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Newton County News, Wednesday January 4, 2011, Page 2
American Style
By J.R. Lindsey
N.H.S. 1959
Have you thought
about how much "power" you
actually have over the econ-
omy? With the recent deci-
sion by many banks to raise,
or activate, fees on your debit
card, there is a newnational
movement to take back our
power as consumers. I'm
sure all of you have read, lis-
tened to, or even experienced
this new action by the aver-
age American citizen. I can
remember as young boy, my
mother doing a similar thing
even in the small grocery
stores in Newton. I never
though much about it back
then, but looking back from
today, I can see she did her
little part in keeping prices
down.
About the cheapest
meat to buy back in our days,
was the forever favorite, can't
go wrong, hamburger meat.
This seemed to be an every
day staple where we were
concerned. One of my very
bestest soups was made with
this product. Mom would do
what I always called
"goulash". Very simple to
make, fed the family, and cost
little. Simple ingredients but
a tasty little soup when com-
pleted.
We were lucky to
have at least three markets
within walking distance of
each other. There was Dick's
Grocery down near Meek's
Chevrolet place, Westbrook’s
just below the old Texan Cafe,
and of course, Beans right on
the Square. One day Mom
and I went shopping at Bean's
Grocery. Mom had a terrible
problem keeping her hands
off the grapes. Grapes was
one of her very favorite fruits.
When they were in season,
Mom could always be found
being ripped off on a pur-
chase.
Nevertheless, off she
went to conduct her meat
shopping. “Mr. Bean,” she
said, “why is your hamburger
meat so expensive?” I could
service. I do, and you want to
know where I learned it?
Right in little old Newton, and
from the most savvy shopper
I've ever known, my Mother.
One last thing, did I
tell you I married the second
see he wanted her to just "go— best shopper in the world?
away". No such luck, she This girl will ask for a discount
was here to stay. I felt like
slipping away behind the
cookie counter and out the
back door. No way, she had
her eyes on me at the same
time. She knew I felt embar-
rassed when she confronted
a store owner who she felt
had high prices.
In a few seconds, Mr.
Bean was at the counter and
asking if mother wanted sev-
eral pounds of hamburger
meat, her usual order. “No,”
she kindly informed him,
“NOT at those prices.”
“What's the problem?” he
asked. Gosh I wished he
hadn't done that. Mom came
unglued and lashed out, “Did
you know you can get 4
pounds of hamburger meat
for $1 over at Westbrook’s
market?” I could see he
wanted to just say something
like " Then go over there and
get your hamburger meat.”
But no, he didn't do
that. He seemed to think
about his reply and I saw him
take a look to see if there
were any other shoppers
nearby. Mom was no fool
when it came to dealing with
shop owners. She would
make sure there was a few
around the area when she
complained about prices. At
the time I never thought much
about the issue, just wanted
to find a hole and crawl up
into it..
After careful consid-
eration, Mr. Bean would say,
“Really? Four pounds for a
dollar?” Well, he wasn't about
to let a sale go by any more
somewhere in the vicinity of than Mom wanted to walk the
the grapes. One of her bad distance over to Westbrook’s
on any cash purchases she
makes or a discount for sen-
iors when eating out. Know
what the next best thing is out
there? You got it, the Senior
Discount. This is offered by
most large restaurant chains
doing
rprised
aveten wh
percent on numerous items,
including meals.. We do it all
the time. Give it a go and find
out. Go on, you can do it. Put
that money back in your
pocket.
most large restaurant chains If***V/** */***«
when eating out or doing ///$§*
business. You'd be surprised
to find you can easily save ten *f ?///;' ///;; * l
I *#«¥/*!*
si'?? I# I
Prayer for the
New Year
Father,
jive us a new year.
Not just a new num6er, but
a truly new year, (jive us a
year fuff of new things,
new adventures, new atti-
tudes, and visions. Lord,
give us a new year fuff of
new ideas and rfresh some
of our old ideas, jive us
new relationships and
renew old relationships that
have been broken.
In Jesus9 Name,
Amen
Constable Precinct 1 Odis Lane
is Running for Re-Election
T H 6
From the Newton Co. NewsI
habits was sampling the
grapes. She just had to taste
each and every type before
buying. I suppose most of the
older shoppers did the same.
One of the biggest
problems came when she
tasted one and it wasn't very
nice. Seems she would use
her "outdoor" voice to express
her displeasure with the fruit.
It wouldn't have been so bad
if she hadn't decided to make
sure every shopper in her
vicinity was made aware of
the bad tasting grapes. I
could see Mr. Bean looking at
us from over the meat counter
where he usually worked. I
would do my best to try and
keep Mom under control with-
out causing any riots. She
was, as usual, very expres-
sive about her opinions. She
didn't need any help on this
subject.
She was like this with
most items in the local stores.
There was competition
among the three stores for
your business. So, Mom
used this to her advantage
with great precision and com-
plete confidence. She had al-
ready checked the prices
before entering the market, so
she knew what the two other
stores had on sale. This was
one woman that would walk a
half mile to save 3 cents. As
a child, I could not see'the ad-
vantage of doing this. Three
cents versus a half mile trip?
It was only after I had grown
up and left home that I under-
stood the reasoning behind
her attitude. She was a savvy
shopper that I just didn't un-
derstand.
This one Saturday
my mother was shopping at
Bean's and noticed the
ground hamburger was three
pounds for $1. I thought she
would blow an artery for sure.
I could see her facial expres-
sion change from being a
"gentle" shopper, to some-
thing nearer an attack posi-
tion. Her eyes narrowed, chin
tucked in, her expression took
on something I had only seen
when she thought she was
Market. I suppose he also
took into account the sales
that were going on with the
other 2 markets in town.
Soon, he would lean over the
counter and say, "Ok, four
pounds for a dollar Mrs. Lind-
sey". She would say “I'll take
it,” and just as casually re-
mark how sour the grapes
were today. “Yes,” he would
reply, “Not as sweet as they
usually are this time of the
year.”
The same principal
works today, just as it has in
the past. When was the last
time you asked for a discount
when paying cash for an
item? Even Walmart matches
prices, why do you think they
do that? They want your
business, and understand the
power of the buyer. Today it
is even easier to move be-
tween markets for the best
price. With everyone having
a car, it is only a matter of a
few minutes between a sale
or a no-sale.
The larger banks of
today have discarded the
possibility of you taking your
account to another bank, or
moving to a good deal with a
local credit union. All your
money is protected and you
might even find a better deal
with another banking institu-
tion in town. All you have to
do is let your feet do the walk-
ing. Think about it. It worked
years ago, it will certainly
work today and the recent de-
cision to reverse fees being
charged by banks to use your
debit cards is a prime exam-
ple of the power the con-
sumer has over the economy.
So, understand the
power you have at your fin-
gertips. You and your neigh-
bors are a formidable force to
deal with. All you have to do
is put it to use. Next time you
see high prices, think about it.
What have you got to lose?
Just a few minutes of your
time. Put those walking
shoes on and let them know
you'll move your business
somewhere else if you aren't
satisfied with their prices or
Bad Day
When it all falls apart and life gets in the way,
And you've gave up on your everything went
wrong day.
Complaining about "nothing" not thinking
about the cost,
Taking for granted the "Love" that other peo-
ple have lost
We have soldiers fighting in wars that will
never make it back,
A mother who lost her life in a violent sense-
less act
A family of foster kids in custody of the court,
A wife sits with her husband that's still on life
support.
A young father of three who just buried his
wife,
A teen lost in drugs.....contemplating life.
A family returning home to find it burned to
the ground,
A son needing his dad who never comes
around.
The One who paid the price for both you and
me,
His agonizing death on the Cross of Calvary.
So how you define a bad day the choice is
yours to choose,
You can "suffer" through your life or walk a
mile in their shoes.
Just a few examples of what may lie in store,
If you ever have a bad day....followed by a
thousand more.
By Wilson White
October 10, 2011
Long Term Care Insurance
Could Be A Viable Answer
By BOB MOOS
Southwest Public Affairs
Officer, Centers For
Medicare & Medicaid Serv-
ices
Nursing home care
can be one of the biggest ex-
penses of retirement. Yet few
people plan for it.
If you’re 65, you have
just about a 50-50 chance of
entering a nursing home at
some point. The average cost
of a private room now ex-
ceeds $75,000 per year, and
the average length of stay is
almost 2 V2 years. That adds
up to more than $185,000.
One reason people
don’t give much thought to
the high cost of long-term
care is that they figure they
won’t have to pay for it. If and
when the time comes, they
tell themselves, Medicare will
pick up most of the tab, the
About a third of nurs-
ing home residents cover
their expenses out of their
own pockets. The high cost of
such care, however, can
quickly exhaust your life sav-
ings. Many people go through
their nest eggs after just six
months. They then turn to
Medicaid for support.
Medicaid is usually
seen as the state and federal
safety net that provides health
care coverage to the poor.
But it also pays for the long-
term care of millions of older
and disabled nursing home
residents after they have im-
poverished themselves.
Medicaid’s eligibility
rules vary from state to state.
Broadly speaking, you can
keep no more than a home,
your personal belongings, a
car and a small amount of
savings (often no more than
$2,000). Also, you can have
same as it does for hospital only meager income (usually
stays and doctor visits.
But that’s not the
case. It can be a real eye-
opener to discover that
Medicare typically doesn’t
pay for long-term “custodial
care” - the kind of personal
care that helps you with such
day-to-day tasks as getting in
and out of bed, bathing,
dressing and eating.
just hundreds of dollars per
month).
When one member
of a couple requires nursing
home care, the other spouse
can hold onto some assets
and income over and above
the limits for a single person.
A word of caution:
You can’t give away assets or
sell them for less than market
Deadline For Benefits
Extended to March 3
Medicare does cover value to qualify for Medicaid,
some skilled nursing or reha- The state will look at your fir
bilitative care if a physician nancial records for the past
orders it after a hospital stay five years to check for any im-
of at least three days. You proper transfers. If it finds
The deadline for job-
less Texans to qualify for
emergency unemployment
benefits has been extended
to March 3, 2012, affecting
approximately 78,000 Texans
who would have otherwise
exhausted their unemploy-
ment benefits dur
ing January 2012.
Congress approved
the extension before Decem-
ber 31 when qualified
claimants would have faced a
gap in benefits. Claimants
should continue to request
unemployment benefit pay-
ments on their scheduled day.
The legislation did
not add benefits for individu-
als who already have ex-
hausted their regular state
unemployment benefits,
Emergency Unemployment
Compensation and Extended
Benefits. Claimants who cur-
rently receive benefits may
find updated information on
their claims by logging on to
ui.texasworkforce.org, or by
calling TWC’s Tele-Serv at 1-
800-558-8321 and selecting
the second option (payment
information or status of your
claim). There is no need to
call TWC to qualify for this ex-
tension unless claimants re-
ceive a letter telling them to
do so.
Emergency unem
ployment benefits are entirely
federally funded, so Texas
employers will not be charged
for any claims paid on this ex-
tension.
TWC and the 28 local
Workforce Development
Boards remain committed to
providing work search assis-
tance, training and other serv-
ices to unemployed Texans.
Thousands of job postings
are available on Workln-
Texas.com, TWC’s online job-
matching website.
Subscribe
Today To
Keep
Up
With
The
NEWS!
pay nothing during the first 20
days of your care and then
part of the cost for the next 80
days. After 100 days, you’re
responsible for all bills.
Fewer than 10 per-
cent of nursing home resi-
dents pay their bills through
private long-term care insur-
ance. Buying it requires plan-
ning ahead. Generally,
people who already have dis-
abilities can’t qualify for the
coverage, even if they can af-
ford the premiums.
WITH
one, your eligibility will be de-
layed.
Nursing home resi-
dents who have been ap-
proved for Medicaid coverage
must contribute most of their
income toward the cost of
their care, after deducting a
small allowance for personal
needs, the cost of health care
insurance premiums and, for
couples, an allowance for at-
home spouses.
After you die, Medi-
caid also has the right to seek
reimbursement from your es-
tate for what it has spent on
your long-term care.
To find out more
about how to pay for nursing
home care, visit with a coun-
selor from your state’s Health
Insurance Assistance Pro-
gram. In Texas, the number is
1-800-252-9240. Learning
now about your options will
pay off when the day arrives
that you need care.
Have a Sole and floppy
new Yeor! -
God Ble//20I2!
I
TEXAS PRESS
ASSOCIATION
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Co-Publishers: Jay & Shawn Witkerson
Editor: Anne Roush-Dussetschfeger%
Office Manager: Karyn Lohh
Creative Director: Siyawn Wifkerson
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Roush-Dussetschleger, Anne. Newton County News (Newton, Tex.), Vol. 43, No. 18, Ed. 1 Wednesday, January 4, 2012, newspaper, January 4, 2012; Newton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth635160/m1/2/: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Newton County Historical Commission.