VIEWPOINTS A8 • PRICE HILL PRESS • MARCH 28, 2012
Editor: Marc Emral, memral@communitypress.com, 853-6264
EDITORIALS | LETTERS | COLUMNS | CH@TROOM
got their start at Great Oaks. We must continue to close the education gap. One way to do so is to ensure that there’s a Robin White COMMUNITY PRESS direct link between eduGUEST COLUMNIST cational institutions and employers for the benefit of students. Great Oaks recently made a connection with Chris Hamm of Altimet, a brand-new aluminum processing facility in Batavia. We discussed their need for employees as they become established and continue to grow, and he expressed a desire to help our students develop skills that will make them successful in the future. We’re excited to work with Altimet, and it’s one of hundreds of partnerships Great Oaks has with area businesses – from auto body shops to corporate offices to advertising agencies to beauty salons to manufactur-
ing plants; and the list goes on. Each of those partnerships is designed to give our students real-world experience and a connection to future careers, while providing area employers with the chance to meet and mentor talented young people. That connection with business also ensures that the right training is available when needed. Great Oaks must anticipate and meet the demand; that’s why we’ve recently begun high school programs like biotechnology and lodging management, and adult programs like dental assisting and plumbing. A strong link between educational partners is necessary, too. We’ve worked for decades with the outstanding public two-year and four-year colleges and universities in southwest Ohio, and together we can provide an educational path for those who want to continue to grow and advance in their careers. Robin White is president/CEO of the Great Oaks Career Campuses.
Special earnings rule applies to first-year retirees Q) My wife is planning to file for retirement benefits in March, and we have a few questions. What is the maximum earned income she can have in 2012 without reducing her Social Security? Is it a monthly calculation or an annual calculation for first-year recipients? If she filed today and didn’t receive her first check until April, can she make whatever she wants for January, February and March without affecting her annual benefit? A) In 2012, a beneficiary under full retirement age can earn $14,640 and not lose any benefits. If earnings exceed this amount, $1 is withheld from the check for each $2 earned above $14,640. In 2011, a beneficiary under the full retirement age could have earned $14,160 without losing any benefits. People who retire in midyear already may have earned more than the yearly earnings limit. For these people, we have a special rule that applies to earnings for one year, usually in the first year of retirement.
The special rule lets us pay a full Social Security check for any month we consider you retired regardJan Demmerle less of your COMMUNITY PRESS yearly earnGUEST COLUMNIST ings. If your wife will be under full retirement age for all of 2012, she is considered retired in any month her earnings are $1,220 or less and she did not perform substantial services in self-employment. We do not count any income she earned beginning with the month she reaches full retirement age. Wages for Social Security purposes are gross wages – wages before any payroll deductions for income tax, Social Security tax, dues, insurance, or other deductions by the employer. We use gross wages as the basis for Social Security credit and for determining whether benefits must be with-
held because of earnings. Non-work sources of income, such as: inheritance payments, pensions, income from investments, IRA distributions, interest, 401(k) distributions, or other sources do not count as wages for the earnings test. The Social Security retirement program insures against loss of earnings from work and not against the failure to have investment income. You may want to use Social Security’s online Retirement Earnings Test Calculator to determine the effect of the earnings test on Social Security benefits. You will be asked to enter your date of birth, estimated earnings, estimated monthly benefit. More information may be found in How Work Affects Your Benefits, Publication No. 05-10069 that is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/ pubs/10069.html. By Jan Demmerle is the manager of the downtown Cincinnati Social Security Office.
Colorectal cancer is preventable In effort to raise awareness to colorectal cancer the physicians of Gastroenterology Consultants of Greater Cincinnati want to educate the community on the importance of colon cancer screenings. In observation of Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month celebrated throughout March, Gastroenterology Consultants of Greater Cincinnati want to spread the message that colon cancer is preventable, treatable, and beatable. Colorectal cancer is the No. 2 cancer killer in the United States, yet it is one of the most preventable types of cancer. Charles Schultz, creator of
“Peanuts,” Audrey Hepburn, Milton Berle, Vince Lombardi and Jackie Gleason all died of colon cancer. Allan Peck However when detected early COMMUNITY PRESS GUEST it is often curCOLUMNIST able. Colorectal cancer is most common after age 50, but it can strike at younger ages. Lifetime risk of colon cancer is equal in men and women. Many colorectal cancers produce no symptoms. That is why screening is so
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Highly skilled workforce needed Jobs. Jobs. Jobs. For many area residents, the search for meaningful and family-sustaining work is ongoing. At the same time, there are employers hunting for workers with the skills they need. The gap is an educational one. Many of those who are looking for a good career don’t have the training or education to begin in a high-demand field. Fortunately, Southwest Ohio residents have a wide range of public choices for career training and education – public colleges, universities, and careertechnical centers like Great Oaks Career Campuses. Each serves a specific need. Career-technical centers offer career certification and college preparation for high school students; they also offer certification programs for adults who want to begin a new career in a year or less. For example, many area welders, law enforcement professionals, firefighters, electro-mechanical maintenance technicians, plumbers, medical office staff, and others
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important. Some symptoms, such as abdominal pain, blood in the stool, or a change in bowel habits, should prompt a visit to your doctor. Most colon cancers develop from polyps, which are abnormal growths in the colon. If polyps grow unnoticed and are not removed, they may become cancerous. Screening tests, such as colonoscopy, find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer. Dr. Allan Peck is chair of Bethesda Hospital’s Nutritional Committee.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR No special deal
In a letter to the editor last week Dusty Rhodes was misinformed in suggesting that a local business was trying to continue a special deal that was never publicly approved by the trustees. The June 30, 2010, trustee meeting minutes show that the majority of the trustees delegated the responsibility of handling overnight parking requests to the township administrator. That night the board also instructed the Delhi Seniors to send future parking requests to the administrator. Following that meeting, trustees were sent a report monthly showing all approved parking requests for the upcoming month. The granting of requests that were properly submitted, approved, documented and reported does not seem like any type of special deal to me. The parking issue came up after trustees Luebbers and Klug recently denied a new parking request even though for at least 20 years the seniors had previously been permitted to park while taking bus trips. The recent denial was not agreed upon in a public meeting as required by Ohio’s Sunshine Laws. Do trustees Luebbers and Klug have a special deal?
Gary Schroeder Delhi Township
Parks and parking
There they go again. At the March 14 trustee meeting the board wasted 60-plus minutes discussing and debating a policy for parking cars at the senior center and the prohibition of fishing at Clearview Lake at the Delhi Park. Pat Kenny addressed the board on a matter much more important than parking Pontiacs or fishing fish. He again begged our trustees to face up to the severe budget challenges coming our way and to begin dealing
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with a possible police and fire levy. After less time than it takes to park a car, the trustees simply ordered a PowerPoint presentation and pushed off discussion to another day. We had a police officer retire in December who has not been replaced, as bank robberies and home invasions increase. When are the trustees going to be some effort into replacing onethird of our investigative police force? The Financial Advisory Board remains inactive and ineffective; the administrator has been fired and there is no plan to attempt to recover from the loss of the Ohio estate tax revenue or reduction in local government funding. The big deficit monster keeps marching toward us and a PowerPoint presentation isn’t going to make that monster retreat. Rose Stertz Delhi Township
Covedale: West Side living at its best It was a perfect Wednesday evening in June. I was relaxing in my lawn chair as the saxophone sounded soothing jazz renditions of classic surf music, evoking memories of long ago summers for the over-50 crowd. More neighbors were walking to Covedale Gardens from every side street – anxious to experience the long Jim Grawe anticipated COMMUNITY PRESS summer conGUEST COLUMNIST cert Series. Baby carriages, pushed by proud parents lined the event lawn. Young children danced and adolescents anxiously waited in line to purchase snow cones as curious motorists slowed down to observe the festival atmosphere. Old neighbors were getting reacquainted while newcomers easily established lasting relationships. Dog-walkers were out in force and, as the band played into the evening, people of all ages studied and admired the focal point of Covedale’s new public gathering place; the sculpture “Family Group” by renowned artist Don Drum.
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This casual neighborhood get-together was years in the making. A vision for the space, conceived in 2004, evolved from many frank discussions rooted in questioning what Covedale wanted to become. Many residents expressed, “Covedale could be another Hyde Park,” while a few were content with the status quo – a vacant lot where four beautiful homes were sacrificed to build a water retention basin. After designing the space, inspired by a community gathering survey, Chris Manning, the principle Landscape Architect, said, “I believe that Covedale Gardens will be a special place, unique to any neighborhood; a place that gives identity and creates added value to the surrounding area, a place that connects residents to their community, a place that residents will be proud of.” As I observed the activity, neighbors casually meeting and enjoying the evening without pretense, I thought to myself, “This is West Side living at its best – the way it was meant to be!” Jim Grawe is the co-founder of the Covedale Neighborhood Association.
Price Hill Press Editor Marc Emral memral@communitypress.com, 853-6264 Office hours: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday See page A2 for additional contact information.