Commission reaches settlement

A 15 month old dispute between the Jefferson Counties clerk office and the Jefferson County Commission which ended up in court has been settled. By a five to nothing vote the Commission approved the settlement this past Thursday, June 10 at the regular scheduled meeting of the County Commission.
Soon after the meeting started the commissioners went into an executive session with attorney Greg Bailey. After the closed door session Commissioner Frances Morgan said "I will move approval of the agreement as submitted," Morgan's motion passed unanimously. Other then the motion made there was no discussion or explanation of what the settlement consisted of. This was because in the settlement document it states that neither party would discuss the issue beyond a news release which was attached to the agreement. In court filings $48,000 dollars that was cut from the budget of the clerk’s office last year was put back and the budget for this fiscal year also added another 48,000 making the budgeted amount 448,188 dollars. Here is a partial copy of the order
“The Jefferson County Commission will make a budget revision to the Fiscal Year 2010 Budget to increase the County Clerk’s 402 budget for line item Salary and Wages from $400,000.00 to 448,188.00. The County Clerk intends to utilize a portion of this increase to make additional wage payments to current employees and shall submit a budget revision to transfer a portion of these funds into the professional services line item for the payment of legal fees incurred in this matter. The Jefferson County Commission shall set the County Clerk’s Salary and Wage line item for Fiscal Year 2011 at $448,188.00. Additionally, the Jefferson County Commission acknowledges that there will be an associated increase in FICA, Medicare, and other related costs and that corresponding line items will be increased appropriately.”
In a published report Tim Boyde the Jefferson County Administrator said that the $48.188 that has been added to the clerk’s budget will come from the counties unencumbered funds which is money left over at the end of each year.
Here is the text of the press release that accompanied the two page settlement agreement. “The Jefferson County Commission and Jefferson County Clerk settled their differences at mediation. The parties agree that they reached a workable solution to their budgetary differences and that they have agreed to dismiss the lawsuit currently pending in the Jefferson County Circuit Court. The parties expect to work collaboratively going forward to serve the citizens of Jefferson County.”

—James P. Whipple

Buddy, Dad and Me

On Thursday June 24, 2010 at 7:00 pm, photographers Jim and Carson Clark will present a photographic journey entitled “Buddy, Dad, and Me: A Journey of Discovery” in the Byrd Auditorium at the National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) in Shepherdstown, WV. This talk is co-sponsored by the Potomac Valley Nature Photographers. Fourth Grader and acclaimed author/nature photographer Carson Clark takes us on a journey as he and his dad wrote and photographed their first children’s book, “The Adventures of Buddy the Beaver.” Carson will take us back in time to when he started his interest in photography – at age six – to the creation of the idea for Buddy the Beaver. Preceding Carson’s program, Carson’s dad ‚ Jim Clark ‚ will present ”Spirit of –Portraits of Life.” The program is a visual and musical journey through the natural wonders of three locations in and near Loudoun County. Using his photography and the music of composers Gary Malkin, Gary Stribling and Brian Keane, Jim will show us the beauty and wonder of the seasonal nature that can be experienced nearby. After the program, there will be a book. Carson has been photographing since he was three years old and at age six, he became the youngest winner in Nature's Best Photography's Windland Smith Rice International Awards. In 2008, he won first place in the Washington Post Youth Photography Contest. The proud father of Carson, Jim Clark is a contributing editor for Outdoor Photographer magazine. The author and photographer of five books, Jim was a major contributor to the recently released Ultimate Guide to Digital Nature Photography. The talk is free and open to the public. The NCTC is located at 698 Conservation Way along Shepherd Grade Rd. in Shepherdstown, WV 25443 approximately 70 miles west of Washington and Baltimore. No tickets or reservations are required. For more information on the series please visit: http://training.fws.gov/history/publiclectures.html or contact Mark Madison (Mark_Madison@fws.gov; 304 876-7276).

Help for senior medication expenses

Now I know not everyone reading this is a senior, but chances are you know a few, so please forward along this email. It's long, but it has some important information.
I've got some good news for America's seniors -- those of you who have been hitting the gap in Medicare Part D prescription coverage will be receiving a $250 check in the mail starting this week. This is part of our promise to protect Medicare, help seniors manage health care costs and, ultimately, eliminate this gap (known as the “donut hole”) in prescription drug coverage.
Here's how it works. The one-time, tax-free $250 checks to help cover prescription costs go out in the mail today. Only seniors who have hit the coverage gap will receive them, and if you hit it in the future, you should get a check about a month later. If you don't already know if you are in the coverage gap, check the Medicare Explanation of Benefits notice mailed each month.
Even if you're not getting a check, the Affordable Care Act provides a number of Medicare benefits you should be aware of like free preventive care, community health teams to make it easier to deal with multiple doctors, and improvements to Medicare Advantage that save seniors money.
Earlier this week, President Obama answered questions from seniors across the country and took on the bogus rumors that folks are going to lose their guaranteed benefits. You can watch the full video of the event here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/seniors-town-hall
In case you don't have time to watch the entire video, here are a few important points seniors should know about Medicare and the Affordable Care Act:
Guaranteed Medicare Benefits
It's important that seniors know that their guaranteed Medicare benefits are protected -- regardless of whether they are in Original Medicare or Medicare Advantage -- and seniors who have Medicare Advantage can choose to continue to be enrolled in the plan. The biggest difference is that now Medicare Advantage plans will have to compete on a level playing field with Original Medicare and put more of their premium dollars into health care costs, instead of profits or administrative costs.
Free Preventive Care
Under the Affordable Care Act, Medicare beneficiaries will be eligible for free preventive care services like colorectal cancer screening and mammograms as well as a free annual wellness visit.
Patient-Centered Care
Community health teams will provide patient-centered care so seniors won't have to see multiple doctors who don't work together. The new law also helps seniors who are hospitalized return home successfully -- and avoid going back -- by helping to coordinate care and ensure they have access to support in their community.
Cracking Down on Fraud
The Affordable Care Act has important new tools to help crack down on criminals seeking to scam seniors and steal taxpayer dollars. Reductions in fraud, waste, and abuse will help extend the life of the Medicare Trust Funds by 12 years and provide seniors with cost savings.
Medicare Advantage is a topic I know many seniors care deeply about. While the benefits guaranteed to seniors will not change under the new law, there has still been a lot of discussion about the program. This came up at the President's tele-townhall this week, and his answer was a good example of the productive conversation there:
"There are examples of where Medicare Advantage has been a good deal for some seniors. But, overall, what happened to the program is, is that insurance companies were getting paid on average $1,000 more -- $1,000 more -- than the costs of regular Medicare...
"If you're in regular Medicare, which is about 77 percent -- so three out of four of you who are in Medicare are signed up for regular Medicare, and one out of four of you are signed for Medicare Advantage -- those of you who aren't in Medicare Advantage, you're actually paying a higher premium for that extra $1,000 going to the insurance companies.
"Well, that doesn't seem like a good deal. That doesn't seem fair. So here's what we did under the law. What we said was, you can maintain Medicare Advantage, but we are going to say to the insurance companies that you can't use this just to pad your profits or to pay higher CEO bonuses. Eighty-five percent of what you spend has to actually be for health services. We're going to review the rates that are applied. We're going to set a rate that is fair and appropriate so that Medicare Advantage isn't costing people who aren't in Medicare Advantage."
Watch the rest of that answer, and all the others here:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/seniors-town-hall
America's seniors have worked a lifetime with the security of knowing that Medicare will be there for them when they need it. They have earned those benefits, and we have a commitment to deliver them. We will continue working to protect and enhance seniors' Medicare benefits, promote cost savings, and give doctors and seniors greater control over care.
Article by
Joe Biden
Vice President of the United States

HEALTH NEWS AND NOTES

Crossing America's Food Deserts To Fight Obesity
(NAPSI)-When First Lady Michelle Obama announced her Let's Move campaign to fight child obesity, she noted that many families live in "food deserts": places where residents may not be able to get to a supermarket easily because they do not own a car, have access to public transportation or live along walkable roads.
A Solution
Researchers at the nation's Prevention Research Centers (PRCs), a network of 37 academic and community partnerships funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are working to improve the selection at the smaller markets that residents can reach.
"For many people, nontraditional food stores, such as convenience stores or the 'dollar store,' are the neighborhood supermarket," says Joseph Sharkey, PhD, MPH, RD, a researcher at the Texas A&M University PRC in College Station--about 100 miles east of Austin. Dr. Sharkey and other PRC researchers spent more than a year driving the rural roads in eight counties in the Brazos Valley and along the Texas-Mexico border, mapping the places where people bought food and learning how the residents shopped at convenience stores, discount stores, pharmacies, flea markets and even front-yard or mobile food stands.
Needed: Community Participation
Making healthy foods available at small stores often requires cooperation between the shop owners and the entire community. Store owners may try to offer produce, says Diego Rose, PhD, MPH, director of the Tulane University PRC in New Orleans, Louisiana, but if they do not have facilities to keep it fresh, it may not sell. Then such calorie-dense items as chips and candies, which do not require refrigeration, are likely to dominate the shelves.
"We need to see if we can reset this supply-and-demand relationship at a healthier level," says Dr. Rose. In post-Katrina New Orleans, the Tulane PRC helped form a food-policy advisory committee with local organizations and petitioned the city council to adopt the group's store-friendly recommendations, such as helping area merchants get low-interest loans. The advocacy helped secure $7 million in disaster-related Community Development Block Grant funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to attract new businesses and, in existing stores, finance upgrades, such as refrigerators that keep produce fresh.
The Power of Change
Neighborhood improvements can help residents feel good about their communities and their lives, so they are more willing to try a healthy diet, adds Jessica Kelley-Moore, PhD, from the PRC at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio.
"People start feeling that something is afoot and they want to be a part of that change," she says. The Cleveland PRC is working to increase school and community gardening programs, which help people grow healthy food and may make them want to buy more of it.
The PRC researchers are also working with corner stores, sharing successful strategies on selling healthy foods and even hosting cooking demonstrations--which surprised some shoppers, who said they thought such events only happened at fancy shops in affluent neighborhoods.
"We are telling residents that they are important people and that a good diet is important to staying healthy," says Dr. Kelley-Moore. "When you communicate that, residents jump in 100 percent."
For more information about the CDC's PRC network and research, see www.cdc.gov/prc.

AHA Meeting

The Arts and Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County will hold its annual meeting and picnic on Sunday, June 20 at the Entler Hotel. All members and those interested in joining AHA! are invited to attend and bring a dish for the potluck picnic.Please RSVP if you plan to attend to mailto:_ahappritchard%40aol.com_ (mailto:mailto:ahappritchard%40aol.com) Annual Members’ Meeting and Picnic Sunday, June 20, 2010 (Celebrate WV Day!) 4 – 7 p.m. The Entler Hotel German and Princess Street Shepherdstown WV Meeting to elect new Board Members And SOCIALIZE Members, families and friends welcome. RSVP – mailto:_ahappritchard%40aol.com_ (mailto:mailto:ahappritchard%40aol.com) by noon on Friday, June 18th 2010 Potluck A – K Salad L – P Entrée Q – Z Dessert

County Notices

NOTICE OF ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION
COUNTY COMMISSION OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
LAND DEVELOPMENT FEES
The County Commission of Jefferson County will hold a Roundtable
Discussion with key stakeholders to discuss the proposed Land Development
Fees. The meeting will be held on Thursday, July 8, 2010, at 7:00 p.m. in the
Old Charles Town Library Meeting Room on the ground floor of the Library,
200 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV 25414.
This meeting is open to the public but no public input will be received.
A follow up public hearing for the purpose of receiving public comment will be
scheduled at a later date.
By Order of The County
Commission of Jefferson County

NOTICE OF PUBLIC OUTREACH EDUCATION WORKSHOP
COUNTY COMMISSION OF JEFFERSON COUNTY
SUBDIVISION REGULATION AMENDMENTS
The County Commission of Jefferson County will hold a Public Outreach
Education Workshop to give staff an opportunity to brief the County
Commission and the public regarding the proposed text amendments to the
Subdivision Regulations. The workshop will be held on Thursday, June 24,
2010, at 6:00 p.m. in the Old Charles Town Library Meeting Room on the
ground floor of the Library, 200 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV
25414.
No public input will be received at this workshop. A follow up public
hearing for the purpose of receiving public comment will be scheduled at a
later date.
By Order of The County
Commission of Jefferson County