Vol. 50 No. 37
January 2, 2020 -January 8, 2020
Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what people will submit to and you have found out the exact amount of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them and these will continue till they have resisted either with words or blows or words or with both. The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they suppress. —Fredrick Douglass (1849)
The High Desert Community Mourns The Loss Of Friend Jimmie Lee Veal
Publisher’s Corner Email: sbamericannews@gmail.com Clifton Harris Editor in Chief Publisher of The San Bernardino AMERICAN News
Trump's proposed Social Security disability cuts could end benefits for thousands. What to know Political/GovernmentNews
Community News Jimmie Lee Veal, age 85, passed away on December 15, 2019. Born April 23, 1934 in Doddsville, Mississippi, he was the youngest of eleven sons born to Mingo and Healena Veal. Mr. Veal attended school in a country school in Doddsville, Mississippi and received his High School from Okolona College in Okolona, Mississippi which was added to the National Register of Historical Places on August 9, 2002. Upon graduation, he left to join the military, serving in the United States Air Force. He met the love of his life, Hazel Wells, while on military break in Drew, Mississippi. They corresponded by mail until the young private returned to Mississippi and asked her to be his wife. They wed, started their family and began their journey as a military family. Jimmie served in the Air Force for 20 years, attaining the rank of Master Sargent (MSgt.). He was stationed on military bases throughout the world including temporary duty at Chateauroux Air Force Base (AFB) in France, and Landstuhl Medical Center Army in Germany, Mather AFB in Sacramento, California, Amarillo AFB in Texas, Tripoli AFB in Libya, Africa and The US Logistics Group (TUSLOG) in Ankara, Turkey. After multiple moves with his growing young family of four children, MSgt. Veal completed his tour of duty at George Air Force Base in Victorville, California where he served until his retirement in 1973. He took a series of training courses at every opportunity and also matriculated
Jimmie Lee Veal in college courses through the University of Maryland. MSgt. Veal trained service personnel and provided Tactical Air Command training services to the Combat Support Group at George Air Force. During his service he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for Meritorious Service. Even before his retirement, MSgt. Veal laid the groundwork in 1968 for his post-retirement career by opening the first African American-owned business in the Victor Valley area and his first
Restaurant Waitress “Blessed” With $1,200 Tip From Happy Customers National News
car lot, properly named Veal’s Auto Sales in Adelanto. He understood what the service personnel needed - a clean, reliable car that was affordable on a military paycheck. After the success of the car lot he invested further in the Adelanto community by providing an entertainment alternative, Bo’s Lounge, complete with good music, affordable food and ready company on any given night. Jimmie sought to be the consummate provider to his family and even while operating two in-
dependent businesses took his natural penchant for sales and became an insurance salesman with Prudential Insurance Company. His calming and honest approach to sales, allowed him to earn the honor of Top Salesman each and every year that he worked with the company. He often told stories of the many families that called to thank him for providing them access to the means for their comfort after the loss of a loved one. MSgt. Veal continued to engage in car sales eventually relocating to Victorville and renaming the business J & H Auto Sales. His love for car sales and the art of conversation that comes with ascertaining ones need, led him to work part time at Sunrise Ford in Fontana. Working only part time, he was still their Best Salesman and relished in training the younger, less experienced salesmen in the art of the trade. Msgt. Veal was an avid sports fan with his favorite teams being the Los Angeles Lakers, Dodgers and Rams. Msgt. Veal was preceded in death by his parents, Mingo and Healena and nine of his ten siblings Clifton, Charlie, Artie Palmer, Mingo, Ira, Lawrence, Joe, Percy, and Luther. He is survived by his lone brother, James, his wife Hazel Veal, four children Patricia Veal, Steven Veal, Carolyn Veal-Hunter (Dale) and Bonita Veal, four grandchildren, Candice, Jennifer, Sydney and Jordan, two great grandchildren Nolan and Evan and a host of nieces and nephews.
Restaurant Waitress “Blessed” With $1,200 Tip From Happy Customers...continued “What a wonderful day with friends as we celebrate our 1st Annual 100 dollar breakfast. We all gave our waitress Janet a $1200.00 tip.” Ballard was thankful for her answered prayer as she was able to pay her taxes and also make her car payment early to improve her credit score. Moreover, Ballard was also inspired to give back to others. After work, she ate at a seafood
lunch wherein she also “blessed” her server with a large tip. She then treated herself to a pedicure wherein she also gave a large tip to the manicurist even before her appointment started. “Because of the gift of love and caring and sharing I’m able to not only be a better Janet, but I am able to be an example for people this time of year who don’t have hope,” Ballard said
Janet Ballard Dublin, GA — Janet Ballard, a 53-year old mother of two who works as a restaurant waitress in Georgia, says she was recently “blessed” by a group of 12 generous customers who left her a $1,200 tip for her good service. Thankful for the blessing, she decided to also pay it forward. Ballard has been working at Cracker Barrel in Dublin, Georgia for over a decade now. Earlier this week, she went to work thinking it was just an ordinary day until lunchtime where she was assigned to a table of 12 who had planned to change her life. “I connected with them immediately,” Ballard told TODAY Food. “I’m a people person. I start with greeting them and finding out what needs they have, if they have allergies or whether they’re vegan. Everything that they can possibly need or want I try to hone in on those things when I’m taking that individual order.” At the end of their meal, the
group handed her a greeting card. She thought it was just a simple greeting card, but she was surprised when she unfolded it and saw it was filled with cash. “Counting the money, I got so choked up by the time I got to $400. They wanted me to count out loud. By the time I got to $400 I was like ‘oh my goodness this is really happening,'” Ballard said. “I got so emotional and I don’t really like to cry with a camera in my face, but I didn’t even care at this point,” she continued. “I had 12 total strangers saying, ‘Hey, we care enough about you because of how you made us feel while we were dining and we want to be a blessing to you and your family.'” James Deal, one member of the group that gifted Ballard with cash, said that he and his friends each contributed $100 because they felt it was the right thing to do. He wrote on Facebook, (continued in next 2 columns)
Applications Now Being Accepted For The San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury SB County News SAN BERNARDINO, CA?Applications for the San Bernardino County Civil Grand Jury are being accepted. Successful applicants will serve as Grand Jurors for the fiscal year period beginning on July 1, 2020 and ending June 30, 2021. The Civil Grand Jury is charged by the California Penal Code to investigate all aspects of the county, including cities and special districts, and also potentially hear information on certain criminal investigations. All communications to the Grand Jury are confidential and every signed citizen complaint is responded to after investigated. Service as a Grand Juror involves an average of three to five full working days per week, which is
compensated at $60 per day with appropriate mileage. The regular Grand Jury meeting place is located in the City of San Bernardino. To be eligible for selection, a person must be at least 18 years of age, a United States citizen, and a resident of the County of San Bernardino for at least one year prior to appointment. Other requirements include: sufficient knowledge of the English language, possession of natural faculties, of ordinary intelligence, sound judgment, and good character. By law, elected public officials are not eligible. Interested citizens are encouraged to apply on-line http:/ /www.sbcounty.gov/GrandJury/ ( continued on page 3)
Alan Chrisman holds medical bills and records near the McDonald's where he worked at as a maintenance employee before being diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. This photo has been altered to blur the address on the envelope.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Trump Administration is proposing new rules for the nation's safety net program for people with disabilities that could end benefits for tens of thousands of people. The rules would require more frequent paperwork checks of people getting Social Security disability payments in a process known as a "continuing disability review." The proposed new rules have alarmed some advocates for people with disabilities, who call it a "backdoor way" to cut people from a program already under scrutiny for taking years to review disability claims and wrongly denying benefits. Social Security Administration officials say the plan would "enhance program integrity and ensure that only those who continue to qualify for benefits will receive them." Whose Social Security disability benefits would be impacted? More than 16 million adults and children currently receive disability benefits, but the Social Security Administration isn't saying how many people the new rules would affect. The agency has said it expects to conduct 4.4 million more continuing disability reviews over ten years if the rules take effect. The reviews would add $1.6 billion in administrative costs, but save $2.8 billion in benefits when people are cut from the program. Using those figures, national advocates for people with disabilities estimate tens of thousands of people stand to lose disability benefits each year. Alan Chrisman holds medical bills and records near the McDonald's where he worked at as a maintenance employee before being diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal cancer. This photo has been altered to blur the address on the envelope. What is Social Security disability? The Social Security Administration is best known for retirement benefits, but it also oversees two programs for people living with disabilities: Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, is for low-income individuals without a work history. The maximum payment
for an individual is $783 a month beginning in January. Social Security Disability Insurance is for workers who become disabled. Payment amounts depend on past earning. In 2019, the average payment was $1,234 per month. To qualify for either, individuals must show they have a long-term medical, psychological or intellectual impairment that prevent them for working. Children who are blind or have severe functional limitations expected to last at least a year or result in death also qualify. Tennesseean investigation: How some Tennessee doctors earn big money denying disability claims The fine print on disability reviews Once on disability, adults and children are subject to "continuing disability reviews" by Social Security staff. The reviews require recipients to submit medical, income and asset records as well as documentation of living arrangements. Social Security staff then decide whether someone still qualifies for benefits. How frequently anyone is required to go through a review depends on which of three categories Social Security has placed them in. Individuals whose conditions are expected to improve — babies born prematurely, for example — are in a category called "medical improvement expected" and reviewed every six to 18 months. Victory for disability advocates: Supreme Court won't hear Domino's Pizza accessibility case People with debilitating or terminal conditions are in a "medical improvement not expected" category, reviewed every five to seven years. Those in the "medical improvement possible" category are reviewed every three years. Social Security officials are proposing a fourth category, "medical improvement likely," to be reviewed every two years. Children would also be automatically reassessed at age 6 and 12. The Social Security Administration would also change some of the criteria for deciding in which category to place individuals.
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