News Progress

•November 4, 2015•

By Ariana Cherry
for the News Progress

Over the years, the Shelby County C.E.F.S. office has been located at 2114 W South 3rd St. #26 in Shelbyville. At its location, it has served its community with outreach services and several government funded programs. The local branch agency has been able to serve many families and individuals in need. While it has been able to serve the community, the small branch office has always needed additional space.

The C.E.F.S. office will now be sharing space with the Job Center in Shelbyville at 515 N. Cedar  (N. Rt. 128). “The new location will provide C.E.F.S. customers with better parking and handicap accessibility, better visibility to the public, and coordination of services with Job Center staff such as on-site job search assistance and direct access to the availability of various representatives at the office such as Veteran’s Administration and Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS),” stated Beth Beck-Marts, the Coordinator of the Shelby County C.E.F.S. Office. Read More

•October 28, 2015•

With winter weather right around the corner, Lake Land College has taken steps to ensure that students, staff and faculty are aware of college closings and class and event cancellations.

There are several ways to receive the most up-to-date information on closings and cancellations. Every effort will be made to keep the college open, and in many cases, Lake Land College will remain open when elementary and secondary schools are closed.

In the event of inclement weather, mechanical or power failure, or other emergencies, the following procedures will be implemented. Closings will be communicated to the college community via area media outlets, emails, announcements on the home page, social media, text alerts and the Lake Land College student Hub. Since these methods are dependent on the cooperation of third parties and technology, the college encourages people to check multiple sources if it is anticipated that the college will be closed. Read More

•October 28, 2015•

The state of Illinois will no longer restrict the movement of any cut, non-coniferous firewood within the state. Illinois joins Missouri, Iowa, and Kentucky in the deregulation of Emerald Ash Borer (EAB).

The 2015 survey of traps detected EAB in 10 new counties in Illinois: Madison, Mercer, Jackson, Saline, Hamilton, Wayne, Clay, Jefferson, Washington, and Bond. The addition of 10 new counties has brought the total count of confirmed counties to 60.

“The survey results this year support deregulation with nearly 60 percent of our counties confirmed positive for EAB,” said Plant and Pesticide Specialist Supervisor Scott Schirmer. “Over the past decade, the regulations and quarantines have served their purpose to slow the rate of spread and afford people time to manage for this pest. However, there comes a time when the pest is too widespread to continue to regulate, and this is our time.” Read More

•October 28, 2015•

The Sullivan American Legion Auxiliary is holding a 50/50 raffle “Fireworks in December”.

Tickets are on sale now through December 4. (Please note there will not be actual fireworks in December)  Read More

•October 28, 2015•

By Trudy Lieberman
Rural Health News Service

The last couple of weeks have brought unexpected and unwelcome news to millions of seniors and disabled people on Medicare. Their already high out-of-pocket costs are going to get higher. For some, premiums for Medicare Part B coverage that pays for doctor and outpatient services will go up as much as 52 percent. For everyone Part D premiums, which cover drug benefits, will increase an average of 13 percent, and everyone will see their annual Part B deductible rise from $147 to $223.

These are not trivial amounts considering that half of all people on Medicare are living on annual incomes of $24,150 or less. In 2010 about 7 million people covered by the program lacked supplemental insurance such as Medigap policies, which cover what Medicare doesn’t. By 2013 the number of people without the additional coverage had more than doubled, most likely because they couldn’t afford to buy it.

What’s going on here? Weren’t Medicare’s costs supposed to go down thanks to the Affordable Care Act?

These increases have nothing to do with Obamacare and everything to do with the laws governing Medicare and Social Security.

Each year the Secretary of Health and Human Services examines the spending for Part B services which actually has risen this past year. By law premiums paid by everyone on Medicare must cover 25 percent of the program’s cost. (General tax revenues cover 75 percent.) And each year the Social Security Administration determines the cost-of-living increases (COLA) for seniors based on the Consumer Price Index. There will be no increase for the coming year. Read More