Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 128, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 2000 Page: 22 of 52
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Page 6, Sec. 2, The Hondo Anvil Herald, Thursday, December 7, 2000
Business Matters
Social Security and You
Q. Does where I live affect my
Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) payment?
A. It can. If you live in your own
place, regardless of whether you own
or rent, you may get up to the maxi-
mum SSI amount payable, $512 in
2000. You also can get up to the
maximum if you live in someone
else’s household as long as you pay
your food and shelter costs. If you
live in someone else’s household and
don’t pay your food and shelter costs
or pay only part of your food and shel-
ter costs, your SSI benefit may be
reduced by up to one-third. The rules
for children who live in their parents’
household are somewhat different.
Social Security looks at their parents’
income and how many other people
are living in the household to deter-
mine how much SSI a child should
get. You should also be aware of the
affect on your SSI when someone
else helps pay your living expenses.
Unless you are a child living in your
parents’ home, any food, shelter, or
clothing you get from someone else
and don’t pay for may reduce your
SSI payment. For instance, your SSI
may be reduced if you live in another
person's house, apartmerl or trailer,
and you pay only a part of your share
of your food or housing costs. There
is a limit on how much we can count.
The limit is about one-third of the
maximum SSI amount payable for a
month. Items you receive that can-
not be used for food, clothing, or shel-
ter are not considered income and;
therefore, they will not reduce your
SSI payment. If you have questions
or would like to apply for SSI, call our
toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213.
Q. I know this is the time of the
year when Social Security an-
nounces the changes for the com-
ing year. Do those changes in-
clude a different Social Security
tax rate?
A. No. The current tax rate is 7.65%
for Social Security and Medicare. The
Social Security portion is 6.20% on
earnings up to $76,200 in 2000. The
Medicare portion is 1.45% on all earn-
ings. Generally, out of every dollar
you pay in Social Security taxes, 85c
goes to a trust fund that pays monthly
benefits to retirees and their families
and to widows, widowers, and chil-
dren of workers who have died. Fif-
teen cents goes to a trust fund that
pays benefits to people with disabili-
ties and their families. From these
trust funds, Sxial Security also pays
the costs of administering the Social
Security programs. Those costs are
less than one cent of each Social
Security tax dollar collected. The en-
tire amount of taxes you pay for Medi-
care goes to a trust fund that pays
for some of the costs of hospital and
related care of all Medicare benefi-
ciaries. Money not used to pay ben-
efits and administrative expenses is
invested in U.S. government bonds.
These bonds are considered the saf-
est of all investments. While Sxial
Security introduces changes from
one year to the next, political leaders
and the public agree on leaving the
tax rate unchanged. To find out more
about the program changes for 2001,
visit our website at www.ssa.gov or
call us at 1-800-772-1213.
Q. I read something about Medi-
care coverage being extended for
disabled beneficiaries who are
working or thinking about working.
Is there any information on the In-
ternet?
A. It’s true that Sxial Sxurity ben-
eficiaries with disabilities who are
working, or thinking about working,
may be eligible for expanded Medi-
care coverage. This is the first provi-
sion to bxome effective under the
Ticket to Work and Work Incentive
Improvement Act that was signed into
law in December 1999. For more in-
formation, visit our internet website,
Social Security online at
www.ssa.aov/work or call our toll-free
number at 1-800-772-1213.
Readers are encouraged to send
their questions to: Oscar Garcia, So-
cial Security Administration, 8020
Alamo Downs Parkway, San Antonio,
Texas, 78238.
RRC rule stops gas cutoffs
The Texas Railroad Commission
today adopted an emergency rule to
stop discontinuance of natural gas
service during winter months.
In 1999, at least 21 people died in
Texas from hypotheria; of those 21,
at least 17 (81 percent) were age 60
or older and many of them died urn
expectedly in their own homes.
Without adequate heat, many people,
especially the elderly, are in danger
long before the temperature drops to
freezing.
“Our action today protects disad-
vantaged Texans, especially children
and the elderly, when winter tem-
peratures drop towards freezing,”
Williams said. “We do not want Tex-
ans forced to cl >ose between home
heat and other meds.”
Under the new rule:
• Natural gas utility companies
may not disconnect a customer on a
day when the previous day’s tem-
perature in the county where the cus-
tomer takes service fell below 40 de-
grees Fahrenheit and the National
Weather Service predicts that the
temperature in the county will fall
below that level during the next 24
hours;
• Providers may not disconnect
service to a delinquent residential
customer for a billing period in which
the provider receives a pledge, letter
of intent, purchase order, or other
notification from an energy assis-
tance provider that is forwarding suf-
ficient payment to continue service;
• Providers may not disconnect
service to a delinquent residential
customer on a day, or on a day im-
mediately preceding a day, when per-
sonnel of the provider are not avail-
able for the purpose of receiving pay-
ment or making collections or recon-
necting servic; and
• Providers are also encouraged ik ■
offer customers a deferred payment
plan as set forth in the commission's
quality of service rule, 16 TAC
§7.45(2), or a level or average pay-
ment plan.
Text of the emergency rule will be
provided on the Railroad Commis-
sion website at www.rrc.state.tx.us.
FS A announces Loan
Deficiency Payment
regulation change
The Medina County FSA has re-
cently received information concern-
ing special provisions of the Loan
Deficiency Payment program (LDP).
The new provisions for crop year
2000 are as follows:
Subject to certain conditions, a
producer who is otherwise eligible
to receive an LDP, will be allowed
to receive an LDP on any eligible
crop in 2000, even though the pro-
ducer has already marketed the com-
modity.
Originally, the rules stated that to
receive an LDP on a commodity, a
request for LDP had to be made prior
to losing beneficial interest of the
commodity. If you believe that you
may now qualify for an LDP pay-
ment, please contact our office at
(830) 426-2013 extension 2 for more
details.
Abused POWs
eligible for medal
Thanks to a little-publized four-
year-old change in criteria, former
American POWs may be eligible to
receive the Purple Heart medal.
The 1996 National Defense Autho-
rization Act stated that POWs
wounded or injured during captivity
before April 25,1962, are eligible for
the award. Since then, a number of
World War II and Korean War vets
have applied for Purple Hearts on the
basis of wounds and injuries received
while they were POWs, officials of the
Army’s Military Awards branch said.
Supporting documentation is required
and may include copies of repatriation
medical exams, or witness statements
from a fellow soldier or cellmate.
A recent example is a group of
troops who earned the Purple Heart
following their captivity more than a
year ago in the Balkans. Three U.S.
soldiers who endured frequent beatings
while imprisoned received medals.
Officials at the Military Order of the
Purple Heart headquarters in Spring-
field, VA. said veterans applying for
the medal should use Standard Form
180, Request appertaining to Military
Records, which is available at VA ser-
vice and medical centers.
This form is also available at the
Medina County Veterans Service
Officer’s office, 1706 Ave M, Hondo,
TX or call 830-741-6135.
:i jdf
Chamber Corner
By Evelyne Barbutti, Executive Secretary
• If you’re looking for a place to
send monetary donations this time of
year, but don’t quite know where,
we’d like to suggest that donations
can be made to the Salvation Army
and mailed to the Chamber office. We
will then forward to the Hondo Area
Ministerial Alliance which has just
recently taken over this responsibil-
ity. Any monies donated within the
county is to be used within the county
only, so you’re helping your commu-
nity as well.
• If you're looking for a unique
Christmas gift, particularly if you
have a golfer in the house, the Cham-
ber has golf passes to 289 courses in
Texas, including those in our local
area. The passes may be purchased
for $35, AND, 100% of the proceeds
from sale of these passes go to the
American Cancer Society. What a
wonderful cause!! Passes are good
January 1 thru December 31, 2001.
Just come by for a good buy......
• For a wonderful stocking stuffer,
St. John’s Altar Society has a “repub-
lished” version of a 1960’s cookbook
full of dee-licious and simple recipes.
Available at the Chamber for only $2.
What a buy!!!
• Just in time for Christmas —
check out the sales in the Downtown
Area starting this week. No you
don’t need to go to “a bigger city” to
find bargains for your friends or fam-
ily. Be sure to read the related ads and
special feature in this week's paper.
• The Chamber now has available
for sale, for a very worthwhile
$ 12.50, the “War Activities of Me-
dina County, 1917-1919”. This is a
very comprehensive book compiled
as her Master’s thesis by a former Me-
dina County teacher, Miss Annie
Duncan. It has been published in the
interest of preserving the integrity
of records of those who served and
died in the war, and contains service
records of many Medina County resi-
dents as well as information regard-
ing civilian aid during this time. It has
been made available to the public
through the efforts of concerned his-
torians, including Henry Briscoe and
Oliver Reinhart of the Medina County
Historical Commission.
• Come see the “new” office and
visit with the folks at Southwest Land
Bank next Thursday, Dec. 14, for their
open house and ribbon cutting.
Wisdom is knowing what to do
next; virtue is doing it.
Till Next Week......
Keep your hard-earned
money from crooks
By Waggoner Carr
Former Texas Attorney General
Is there anything present day scam
crooks won’t do to get your money?
Recently a clerk in an auto-parts
store had credit card information,
addresses and phone numbers for
dozens of customers. He called them
and claimed to be an IRS agent.
They gave him their birth dates, so-
cial security numbers and other iden-
tifying information, which he used
to steal more than $100,000’in cash
and merchandise.
You can protect yourself by never
giving out personal information on
the phone to someone you do not
know, especially if you do not place
the call yourself. The IRS does not
solicit data this way. Insist anyone
claiming to be an official make their
requests in writing and then call the
Texas Attorney-General’s Consumer
Protection Hotline on toll-free 1-800-
621-0508.
Some more good advice - Tear up
or shred unwanted credit card offers
you receive in the mail. Otherwise,
a thief could use one to apply for a
card in your name - and based on
your credit record - at a different
address. The thief could charge thou-
sands of dollars and damage your
credit rating before you discover the
problem. Also tear up credit card
receipts before you throw them away ’
to prevent thieves from finding them.
And never throw out receipts in a
public trash container.
I’m just trying to help you keep
your hard earned money out of the
hands and pockets of our present day
scam artists and thieves. Good luck!
(Professwnafs ♦ EBusinesses ♦ Services
WOOD • BRASS'* BI.Ui;
Locked Qut?
Lott Key?
T 741-7110
Alarm Systems
Paul Guinn
Hondo Area Sexton
Available seven days a
week to locate and mark
graves in all Hondo Area
Cemeteries
as a community service
since 1992
(830) 741-3216
Pager (2101 746-8415
DAVID LOERA
BACKHOE
SERVICE
Lie. Septic Systems
All Types Ranch Work
Dump Trucks Hauling:
-Top Soil
-Road Base Material
830-741-8159
Mobil 210-912-8916
Dr. John
Jennings
Optometrist
1113 17th St.
Hondo
By Appointment
741-2634
Closed Mondays
HRS: 9-121:30-5* Sat 9-121
Daily or Extended Wear Soft
Lenses, including astigma-
tism and to change eye color.
Also Gas Permeable C.L.
Huge Frame Inventory
with most all known
designer frames.
Elective or Required
Continuing Education credit
hours each year - since 1950.
3|\< ) I I Mil I IM WO SI RVIC I
Annelle Milam, Piano Technician
I Piano Tuning, Repair & Regulating
830-741-2584 • mobile 210-392-4158
| J3 annellemilam@earthlink.net $
JESSE G. GONZALES
House and Trailer House
Moving and Leveling
(830)426-2651
Hondo, TX 78861
Joey V. Gonzales, President
AI YAK I / I I LCTRIC
Bobby Alvarez
Licensed Electrician #EJ2300
830-741-8527 2111 Ave. D
Mobile (210) 844-8842 Hondo.Tx 78861
DOMINGUEZ
WELDING SERVICE
FREE ESTIMATES
Call 830-363-4286 • D Hanis. TX
%
Jose G. Gonzales
House Moving & Leveling
Not to be contused with the impostors.
k
Hondo, TX 78861 830-426-5234
RAY
SANCHEZ
PAINTER
2603 AVE. E ♦ HONDO«(830) 426-2605
HORT CUT
Lawn Service
s
Residential or Commercial
Free Estimates
Stacey Martin • 830-665-4218
sss.
Lawn Service &
■fteeTHmming
830-363-4286
Ask for Rubeim or Serapio
c I T-N-T WELDING
/> I SERVICES, INC.
830-741-7133
Anthony Peres, Jr. • Certified Welder I
Custom Welding & Fabrication
Free Estimates • email peresl @ prodigy.net |
I X It I looriiu*
T5ftP*IWATRi/S
| Carpet • Vinyl • Wood • Tile
Professional Installation
- Carpet Cleaning ~
I Since 1985 Hondo 830-426-300'
I7
PROFESSIONAL COUNSELING SERVICES
Individual • Marriage • Family
Medicaid Accepted
David Haertner, M.A.
Licensed Professional Counselor
741-4884
1613 Ave. K, Suite 107»Hondo (Gallo Bldg.)
SHREDDING tee.
• Free Quotes •
Commercial • Residential • Real Estate * Discounts for Contracts
Hourly or Daily • Job Quotas • Fast, Reasonable & Dependable
Medina • Bexar • Atascosa Counties
830-663-9788_ 8;
HEARTLAND
Septic System
• Septic Tank Installation & Repair
• State Licensed Installer
• All Systems - Written Guarantee
• Free Estimates
• Complete Mobile Home Setups
830-663-6430
t
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Hondo Anvil Herald (Hondo, Tex.), Vol. 128, No. 49, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 7, 2000, newspaper, December 7, 2000; Hondo, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth818999/m1/22/: accessed June 20, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Hondo Public Library.