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Age Spots - By Ruth Dockins
The Silver Haired Legislature
The Silver Haired Legislature (SHL) is a formally elected body of citizens 60 years of age and older that promote conscientious legislative advocacy for Missouri’s older adults. All members are volunteers who serve without pay. Elections are held annually during the month of May at the local senior centers. Senior citizens elect three senators and twelve representatives from each of the ten area agencies on aging in the state, for a total of 30 senators and 120 representatives.
The Bootheel region is comprised of Scott, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Dunklin and Stoddard counties, there is one open seat for a representative from this region. The Ozark Foothills region is made up of Butler, Ripley, Carter, Reynolds and Wayne counties. This year there will be one representative elected from that region. One senator and two representatives will be elected from the Southeast Region which is made up of St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Perry, Iron, Madison, Bollinger and Cape Girardeau counties.
This past year the SHL met in Jefferson City October 9, 10 & 11. This annual meeting is held in the Missouri State Capitol building
It would be difficult to find a more dedicated group of senior citizens. Prior to the mock legislative session in Jefferson City they have meetings locally and determine what issues they feel are important enough to bring before the legislature as Silver Haired Proposals. After they decide on the issues they write the proposals which are presented to the SHL board for approval. The board chooses 20-21 proposals for presentation at the mock legislative session.
The SHL holds committee meetings the first day of the session. The committees are: Social Service, Health, Consumer Affairs and Taxation. Each member has been assigned to a committee based in part on their stated preference, this is where each proposal is heard.
After all proposals assigned to the committee are addressed, the committee will choose DO PASS, DO PASS AS AMENDED, or DO NOT PASS. When the committee has voted on each proposal this way, they are ready to go to the House or Senate for debate and final voting the next day.
In the evening of the first day, the SHL delegates will attend a banquet. At the banquet they will visit with old friends, new acquaintances and their table mates. Of course, much of the discussion centers on the bills their committee worked on that day. There will be a keynote speaker, many times it will be a state elected official.
After the banquet they gather in their caucus room to “plan their strategy” for the proposals they are sponsoring. These meetings are where any problems or questions regarding the proposals are addressed. In this meeting all the people are from the same area of the state and have met with each other in prior meetings regarding the proposals. The group is generally of the same mind with respect to the proposals.
The next day the legislators meet in the House and Senate chambers in the capitol building. On this day the proposals that passed out of committee as DO PASS are voted on and then five of them are chosen as the SHL priority bills. This past year the top five bills were:
1. Restore and increase funding of Medicaid, home-delivered and congregate meals
2. Transportation – increase AAA funding
3. Raise asset level for persons on MO Healthnet - $2,000 for a single person; $3,000 for a married couple
4. Silver Alert combined with Amber Alert
5. Grandparents’ right of guardianship
After the proposals are chosen and the SHL delegates go home they advocate for these bills with their state legislators and encourage them to write and pass bills of a similar nature in the General Assembly.
The Silver Haired legislators work hard all year long advocating for senior issues. Many of our state legislators have said that they count on and look forward to the input these folks have regarding the issues with which they must deal in the General Assembly.
If you think you would be interested in running for an open seat of the SHL contact me at 573-335-3331 or 1-800-392-8771 or your local senior center and we’ll get the proper paperwork to you. The paperwork must be in this office by close of business on April 21 with the election being held at your local senior center on May 6 during regular business hours. Our address is SEMO AAA, 1219 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO 63701.
Cape Girardeau, Missouri - "Last Call" will recognize each of the 48 fallen law enforcement officers in Southeast Missouri at the Law Enforcement Memorial Ceremony Friday, May 9, 2014, 10 am, at Cape Bible Chapel in Cape Girardeau.
The Memorial to Fallen Heroes sponsored by Seniors and Lawmen Together (SALT), honors family members and protects the memory of that one person that meant so much. SALT will honor that one husband, one father, one son, one nephew, one cousin, one friend.
Last year SALT unveiled, in Cape County Park North, a memorial monument honoring 48 fallen officers with ties to Southeast Missouri. Names of the officers killed in the line of duty are etched on the stone, including their department and date of death.The memorial replaced a monument honoring fallen officers at Cape County Park North and consists of three 4 1/2-foot-tall black granite panels and a separate 2-foot-tall panel engraved with a poem about the officers.
Representatives of SALT raised the money with donations from individuals, family members of fallen officers and organizations. The Memorial to Fallen Heroes will provide family members with the assurance their loved ones are not forgotten.
The public is invited, and encouraged, to attend. Chief Wes Blair, Cape Girardeau Police Department, will be the keynote speaker.
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Cape Girardeau, Missouri - Stacy Shore will be presenting an informational lecture on Common Core and what it will mean to our students. It will be held at the Rose Theater on the Southeast Missouri State campus at 2 pm on Sunday, March 30th.
The Rose Theater is located in the H.O. Graul Language Arts building on the campus and the address is 408 North Pacific St in Cape Girardeau MO.
Time is of the essence on this matter. Our state legislators have bills before them now to deal with this, but too many of them are in favor of this including Donna Litchennegger from Jackson (Donna personally told me that she would Vote to SUPPORT HB1490 "The Kill Common Core Bill" but now is doing something different). Also Kathy Swan from Cape Girardeau has always been supportive of Common Core and I don't believe she will support HB1490 although she's not personally told me that.
With many school board positions up for election in the beginning of April, it is also very important to support those candidates that are anti-common core so the timing of this presentation is very good. Please find out which candidates best reflect your values and get the vote out!
Thank you,
Alan Pendergrass
The views and statements expressed in the blog may or may not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of the ShowMe Times. We offer a blog for people to submit information to the public.
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Age Spots - By Ruth Dockins
Missouri Property Tax Credit
This is the time of year when most of us think bad thoughts about taxes. However, for some folks this time of year can bring some smiles because of tax credits. One of the tax credits I don’t want you to forget is the Missouri Property Tax Credit (MoPTC) also known as “Circuit Breaker.”
The MoPTC claim gives credit to certain senior citizens and 100% disabled individuals for a portion of the real estate taxes or rent they have paid for the year. The credit is for a maximum of $750 for renters and $1,100 for owners who owned and occupied their home. The actual credit is based on the amount of real estate taxes or rent paid and total household income (taxable and nontaxable).
If you are 65 or older as of Dec. 31, 2013 or 100% disabled with total household income of $30,000 as a single person or $34,000 as a married couple and have owned and occupied your home in the state of MO the entire filing year you should apply for the rebate. Also, if you are a 100% service connected disabled veteran you do not even have to include your VA payments in the income calculation.
If you are 65 or older as of Dec. 31, 2013 or 100% disabled with total household income of $27,500 as a single person or $29,500 as a married couple and have owned your home for part of the filing year, or rented in the state of MO you should apply for the rebate. Again, if you are a 100% service connected disabled veteran you do not even have to include your VA payments in the income calculation.
One other group of people that should file are those that are 60 or older as of December 31, 2013 and received surviving spouse social security benefits, and fall into the appropriate guidelines listed above.
If you have questions regarding this information you may call me at 335-3331 or 1-800-392-8771, or go to www.dor.mo.gov
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Sikeston, Missouri - Capitol Records recording artist Matthew West will kick off his spring tour on Friday, March 14 at First United Methodist Church in Sikeston, Missouri.
The US tour will be title, “Hello, My Name Is.” Matthew West is an American Music Award Winner, and Dove Award Winner, an ASCAP Christian Music Songwriter/Artist of the Year winner and lauded by The New York Times as "a vivid and compelling songwriter with impressive approaches to the familiar," four-time GRAMMY nominee Matthew West’s discography includes acclaimed releases: Happy (2003), History (2005), Something to Say (2008), The Story of Your Life (2010) and Into The Light (2012). His 2010 studio album, The Story of Your Life, was inspired by 10,000 stories from every state in the U.S. and 20 countries.
The album garnered attention from CNN Online, Fox News, Billboard, Country Weekly, American Songwriter and more. The Story of Your Life gave West the largest street week debut of his career, selling over 10,000 units the first week landing at No. 3 on Christian Soundscan, and No. 41 on the Billboard Top 200.
A multiple ASCAP “Song of the Year” winner, West has had five No. 1 radio hits including his latest, “Hello, My Name Is.” His songwriting credits include cuts by Rascal Flatts, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diamond Rio and more. Recently nominated for a Primetime Emmy® Award for Original Music & Lyrics for "The Heart of Christmas" from the film of the same name, West's fifth studio album, Into The Light, was released in 2012 and was nominated for Best Contemporary Christian Album for the 55th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. The new album features his most recent hit singles “Forgiveness” and “Hello My Name Is,” along with 10 other tracks inspired by 10,000 new letters submitted after West invited people to, once again, send him their stories. West spent much of late 2012 and early 2013 on a headlining stint of the No. 1 Tour in the World, the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular.
The concert in Sikeston will begin at 7pm. Doors will open at 6:30pm. All seats are $20 and general admission. There are 400 tickets available to the public. First United Methodist is located at 1307 North Main. “This is a great opportunity to see one of the most inspiring Christian artists of our time in an intimate, personal setting. Matthew will tell the story behind every song he sings,” says co-organizer Brad Aycock. Tickets can be purchased at any of the six southeast Missouri locations – First United Methodist Sikeston, First United Methodist Kennett, Lynwood Baptist in Cape Girardeau, First Baptist in Poplar Bluff, First Baptist in Dexter, and New McKendree in Jackson. For more info visit thefunchurch.org, or call 573.421.1824.
