The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1331323
B-6 Wednesday, Januar y 20, 2021 The Press-Dispatch 50th wedding anniversary David and Bonnie Weath- ers, of Washington, will cele- brate their 50th wedding an- niversary. They were mar- ried January 30, 1971, at Pleasant Ridge G.B. Church. David and Bonnie gradu- ated from Petersburg High School, and both went on to earn master's degrees in ed- ucation. David taught at Pike Central for over 40 years. Bonnie was a homemaker, educator and developmen- tal therapist. They have two children, Brook ( Jim) Strah- le, of Vincennes, and Brian (Maaza)Weathers, of Wood- bury, Minn. They have five grandchildren, Egypt, Isra- el, London, Eyobe and Esh- an. A card shower has been planned and cards may be sent to: 410 S.E. 15th St., Washington, IN 47501. With This Ring... USDA offering corona assistance to some farmers U.S. Secretary of Agricul- ture Sonny Perdue announced the U.S. Department of Agri- culture (USDA) will provide additional assistance through the Coronavirus Food Assis- tance Program (CFAP), ex- panding eligibility for some agricultural producers and commodities as well as up- dating payments to accurate- ly compensate some produc- ers who already applied for the program. Producers who are now el- igible and those who need to modify existing applications due to these updates can con- tact USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) between Jan. 19 and Feb. 26. Some of these changes are being made to align with the recently enacted Consolidat- ed Appropriations Act of 2021 while others are discretion- ary changes being made in response to ongoing evalua- tion of CFAP. "The COVID-19 pandemic has left a deep impact on the farm economy, and we are utilizing the tools and monies available to ease some of the financial burdens on Ameri- can producers to ensure our agricultural economy remains strong, independent and a global leader in production," said Secretary Perdue. "As part of implementing CFAP 1 and CFAP 2, we identified new areas of support and Congress recently directed us to provide additional relief. This addi- tional assistance builds on to the $23.6 billion in assistance already provided to our farm- ers and ranchers impacted by the pandemic, and we will con- tinue to implement other pro- visions enacted by Congress." Contract producers of swine, broilers, laying hens, chicken eggs and turkeys who suffered a drop in reve - nue in 2020 as compared to their 2019 revenue because of the pandemic now are eli- gible for assistance. Produc- ers could receive up to 80 per- cent of their revenue loss, sub- ject to the availability of funds. Producers of pullets and turfgrass sod also now are eligible for CFAP payments. The commodities were not explicitly included in the ini- tial CFAP 2 rule. Payments are based on eligible sales, and the payment calculation in the updated rule includes crop insurance indemnities, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), and Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program – Plus ( WHIP+) payments. Similarly, FSA adjusted the payment calculation to use the producer's eligible 2019 calen- dar year sales, and 2019 crop insurance indemnities, NAP, and WHIP+ payments, mul- tiplied by the applicable pay- ment rate for all sales com- modities, which include spe- cialty crops, aquaculture, to- bacco, specialty livestock, nursery crops and floricul- ture, for CFAP 2. Producers who applied during the sign- up period that closed Dec. 11, 2020, can modify an existing CFAP 2 application between Jan. 19 and Feb. 26, 2021. Additionally, FSA adjusted the payment calculation for certain row crops for CFAP 2, specifically those for which a producer had crop insurance coverage but not an available 2020 Actual Production Histo- ry (APH) approved yield. FSA is now using 100 percent of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Cover- age-County Option (ARC-CO) benchmark yield to calculate payments when an APH is not available rather than 85 per- cent, which was in the origi- nal CFAP 2 calculations. This calculation change is only for producers with crop insur- ance coverage who grow bar- ley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton and wheat. Producers who applied during the sign-up period that closed Dec. 11, 2020, can mod- ify an existing CFAP 2 applica- tion between Jan. 19 and Feb. 26, 2021. FSA is providing an addi- tional CFAP 1 inventory pay- ment for swine to help produc- ers who face continuing mar- ket disruptions from changes in U.S. meat consumption due to the pandemic. Swine pro- ducers with approved CFAP 1 applications will soon auto- matically receive a "top-up" payment of $17 per head in- creasing the total CFAP1 in- ventory payment to $ 34 per head. Newly eligible producers who need to submit a CFAP 2 application or producers who need to modify an existing one can do so between Jan. 19 and Feb. 26, 2021, by contact- ing their local USDA Service Center. New applicants can al- so obtain one-on-one support with applications by calling 877-508 -8364. To learn more about this ad- ditional assistance, visit farm- ers.gov/cfap. New scam threatens utility turnoff CenterPoint Energy and the Better Business Bureau (BBB) are warning the pub- lic about a phone scam where customers receive a robocall claiming to be from the utili- ty, threatening local residents that power will be disconnect- ed unless a mandatory fee is paid. CenterPoint Energy and the BBB have been notified of multiple reports of custom- ers receiving this scam call. A customer who received the scam robocall detailed that the recording warned her that her electric service would be interrupted in 45 -60 min- utes. She was connected to a live caller who asked her to verify her address. The call- er then insisted the custom- er had a past due balance of three months. A fter the cus- tomer verified her account sta- tus on her CenterPoint Ener- gy online account and told the scammer his information was incorrect, he became hostile – a tactic used to intimidate the customer. The customer, rec- ognizing it was a scam, dis- connected the call. "CenterPoint Energy does not demand payments over the phone in order to keep the customer's service on," said Steve Greenley, Senior Vice President of Generation De- velopment at CenterPoint En- ergy. "We're urging any cus- tomer who is approached for such payments to contact the company immediately to ver- ify and discuss their account status." If you receive a similar phone call, CenterPoint Ener- gy and the BBB suggest the following to protect yourself and your information: •Hang up and call Center- Point Energy at 1-800 -227- 1376 or check your account online at Vectren.com to ver- ify your account status. Cus- tomers with actual delinquent accounts receive an advance notification included within the regular monthly billing – not a single notification right before disconnection. •Don't give personal or fi- nancial information if you don't know the caller and/or can't verify the legitimacy of their request. •Contact Vectren direct- ly to make payments online, by phone, via automatic bank draft, by mail or at an autho- rized pay site. •Report the scam to www. bbb.org/ScamTracker and let your friends and family know about this scam. If you believe you've been victimized by this scam and sent money to a scammer, con- tact your bank as soon as pos- sible and consider placing a freeze on your accounts. For related information, vis- it bbb.org/Evansville or call the BBB office at 812-473- 0202. Pike Foundation donates to PC Music Department The Pike County Community Foundation donated six new microphone stands, two audio interfaces for musical recording, two condenser microphones, four choral mi- crophones, as well as 12 new headphones with built-in microphones to the Pike Central Music Department. Pike Central music teacher Melissa Taylor said, "In addition those items, we received a MacBook Air and an iPad. All of these items will be used in various classes at Pike Central. They will help us make better recordings of our music in all of our choirs. They will also be used in our Piano/Keyboarding and Guitar classes. Lastly, these materials will be used in a new class added this year at the high school, Electronic Music, where students use technology to create new music. We sincerely thank the Pike County Community Foundation for your support of our future projects." Above are (l to r): Landen Mason, Grace Brandle, Lauren Young, Madelyn Fiscus, Maddie Williams, Jenna Meyer, Trent Zimmerman, Shelby Ridao, Hannah Woodford and Taylor Oswalt displaying some of the various donated items. Puzzled about what to read? ..and you will have your solution. subscribe to 812-354-8500 Life Milestones made free CALL: 812-354-8500 Put a free photo with write up on Weddings, Anniversaries & Engagements. Petersburg PAWS WEEK PAWS WEEK Pet of the PETRA The greatest love of all... is the love of a dog rescued from a shelter. This week, PAWS is fea- turing an adoring young canine named Petra, who is a fun-loving gal, and loves to play ball, frisbee, and hide and seek. She loves to sneak up on her sister, who was featured in last week's Pet of the Week article. Petra is a gentle dog that would be a very loyal member of the family. She is alert, curious and noth- ing escapes her attention. She has short, smooth black fur with tan accents, has all her vaccinations, is spayed and ready to be a devoted addition to your family. To adopt Petra, call 812- 354-9894.