The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, Januar y 6, 2021 A-9 obituaries: 812-354-8500 obits@pressdispatch.net Petersburg Monday Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor Repaying Social Security money taken by politicians Down on the Farm By Hans Schmitz, Purdue Extension How to overwinter Purdue Extension—Pike County news Make a healthy 2021 resolution By Brooke Goble Does 2020 have you thinking of how you can start fresh in 2021? This has been a year for the record books and probably has you thinking of ways you can make a difference in your life and those around you in the New Year. According to proactivemindfulness. com, 40 to 45 percent of adults in Ameri- ca make a New Year's Resolution. Howev- er, after the first month, only 64 percent of those adults are continuing with that resolu- tion. Statistics also state that after the first six months, only 46 percent have stuck with their goals. Purdue Extension Health and Human Sci- ence Educators want to help you be a part of the 46 percent of adults in America who stick to their personal goals in the coming year. We will help get you into the right mindset with Starting 2021 with the Smart Foot First to make this your best year yet. January's vir- tual Lunch 'N Learn series will educate you on what a SMART goal is, how you can set SMART goals in your life, Resolve to Move forward with positive health habits and Nav- igating through the Diet Maze. This series will take place on Jan. 11 and 25, starting at noon EST and will last for one hour. All participants must preregister by go- ing to https://bit.ly/Resolve2021 prior to the first class. Upon registration, you will receive a Zoom link and access to the recordings af- ter these educational events. Zoom requires a Smartphone or other device with an inter- net connection to participate. We want to help you lose those unwanted habits and gain the knowledge to move for- ward on the SMART path. If you have ques- tions about the Purdue Extension workshop, please contact Meagan Brothers at broth- erm@purdue.edu. DELLA M. SWAIN Della M. Swain, 81, of Fer- dinand, passed away on Sat- urday, January 2, 2021, at The Waters of Huntingburg. She was born on September 14, 1939, in Bowman, to Wil- liam and Marguerite (Sharp) Mallory. She grew up in Gibson County, living in Somerville and Mackey, before mov- ing to Petersburg, where she lived most of her life. She was a homemaker, and enjoyed time with her family and gos- pel music. She also enjoyed lis- tening to her brother-in-law, Albert Swain, play his fiddle. She is survived by her chil- dren, Marla (Terry) Berger, of Ferdinand, and Roger Swain, of Evansville; grandsons, Joshua Swain and Andrew Swain, both of Evansville; four great-grandchildren; and sis- ter, Linda Schmidt, of Evans- ville. She was preceded in death by her parents; husband, Ralph Herbert Swain, in 2009; and nine brothers and sisters. A funeral service will be at 2 p.m. CST on Thursday, January 7, 2021, at Corn-Col- vin Funeral Home in Oakland City, with Rev. Chalmer Bur- den officiating. Burial will fol- low at Somerville Cemetery in Somerville. Visitation will be from noon until service time on Thurs- day at the funeral home. Due to state mandated COVID-19 regulations, the number of people inside the funeral home during visitation and service is limited to 25 people, with masks and social distanc- ing required. Memorial contributions may be made to Pike County PAWS, 4224 N. Meridian Rd., Petersburg, IN 47567. Enve- lopes will be available at the funeral home. You may leave a message of sympathy or light a candle in memory of Della at www. corncolvinfuneralhome.com. Corn-Colvin Funeral Home is honored to serve the Swain family. DONALD CHUCK FARRELL Donald Chuck Farrell, 86, of Decker, passed away Wednes- day, December 30, 2020 at his home. He was born in Decker on June 12, 1934, to Daniel John and Ernestine (Trippett) Far- rell. He retired as the fourth gen- eration owner-operator of Far- rell Box Company, a sawmill in Decker. He served in the mil- itary for 30 years; four years in the U.S. Navy, then went on to the Naval Reserve, the National Guard, the Army Re- serve and the National Guard. He graduated from Decker High School in 1952. He was the former president of the Decker Town Board, mem- ber of the Decker Lions Club, Johnson Township Fire Dept., and a member of the Prince Masonic Lodge #231. He is survived by his wife, Carol J. Farrell, of Deck- er; daughters, Glenda (Rod- ney) Garrison, of Greer, S.C., Brenda (Richard) Caron, of Brownsburg, Linda (Greg) Longabaugh, of Hazleton, and Donna (Glenn) Longabaugh, of Hazleton; 13 grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents; son, Charles A. Farrell; brother, Max Farrell; and sister, Barbara Frederick. Funeral services were at 2 p.m. Monday, January 4, 2021, at Colvin Funeral Home in Princeton, with Pastor Sam Polito officiating. Burial fol- lowed in Hazleton Communi- ty Cemetery. Military grave- side services were provided by the Retired Military veterans. A walk-through visitation was from noon until service time on Monday at the funer- al home. Memorial contributions may be made the Riley Chil- dren's Foundation, 30 S. Me- ridian Street, Suite 200, In- dianapolis, IN 46204, give.ri- leykids.org or to St. Jude Chil- dren's Research Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105, stjude.org/donate. Condolences may be giv- en or you may light a candle in memory of Chuck at www. colvinfuneralhome.com . The Colvin Funeral Home is hon- ored to serve Chuck's family. JANICE SUE MAYES Janice Sue Mayes, 69, of Washington, passed away at 6:58 p.m. Thursday, Decem- ber 31, 2020, at Jasper Memo- rial Hospital. She was born June 8, 1951, in Washington, to Woodrow and Irene (Taylor) Russell. She was a homemaker and a Christian. She was an avid Indiana University fan and en- joyed her family. Surviving are her hus- band, Donald Mayes, whom she married August 20, 1976; her children, Sheila Guy, of Washington, Rhonda (Eric) Clark, of Montgomery, Tina Mayes, of Missouri, and Dav- ida (Chris) Wilson, of Wash- ington; her siblings, Ronnie Russell, of Petersburg, Gay- le Kirkpatrick, Susie Kend- all, Terry Russell and Mari- lyn Schwartz, all of Washing- ton; along with several grand- children, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchil- dren, whom she loved dearly. Preceding her in death were her parents; a son, Scot- ty O'Connor; siblings, Noble "Butch" Russell, Woody Rus- sell, Beverly Cutshall, Jack Russell, Harold "Inky" Russell and Sharon Bryer; a grandson, Seth Coy; and a great-great grandchild, Zoe Hillman. Public graveside services were at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, January 5, 2020, at New Veale Creek Cemetery. Private family viewing was from 10 -11 a.m. Tuesday. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the family toward funeral expenses. Online memories may be shared with Janice's family and friends at www.goodwinsieversfh.com. Goodwin-Sievers Funeral Home is honored to assist the Mayes family with arrange- ments. Obituaries Dear Rusty: It is common knowledge that over the decades politicians have taken bil- lions if not trillions of dollars out of the Social Security fund to finance other government programs. This information is never published or addressed and having the government re- pay this money back to SS is never discussed, as it seems to be the most logical solu- tion. When the SS program is financially viable again, future changes to the program can be discussed in a more meaning- ful way. Signed: Informed Senior. Dear Informed: I'm afraid that what you refer to as "common knowledge" is actually a common myth, pervasive on social media but nevertheless not accurate. Here at the AMAC Foundation we have thoroughly researched this charge and reality is that every dollar ever contributed to Social Security since the program's beginning has been used only to pay benefits to beneficiaries, or to pay for the cost of running the Social Security Adminis- tration (administrative costs are about 1 per- cent). Any surplus revenue exceeding pro- gram cost was deposited into the Social Secu- rity Trust Fund as "special issue government bonds" which pay interest (at 2.2 percent for 2019). As of the end of 2019 there were near- ly $2.9 trillion in assets held in Social Secu- rity's Trust Funds, and none of those assets have ever been used for any purpose other than Social Security. Some of the myths you may have heard in- clude: • That President Kennedy used SS funds to pay for the Peace Corp. • That President Reagan used SS funds to pay for his Strategic Defense Initiative. • That President Johnson used SS funds to pay for the war in Viet Nam. None of these are true, but the one which gains the most visibility is the last one. And that comes from an accounting gimmick that President Johnson used back in the 1960s to make the Federal debt look less than it was. When Johnson realized the Federal balance sheet didn't reflect assets held in the Social Security Trust Funds, he arranged for that balance sheet to reflect SS reserves as a Fed- eral asset, which masked the size of Federal debt. But no Social Security money was ever taken out of the Trust Funds and, indeed, this accounting "gim- mick" was reversed in the 1980s so that Social Security's reserves no longer partially offset the Fed- eral debt in the Government's fi- nancial reporting. I know how pervasive these allegations are, and I also know that some Americans will never be convinced that politicians have not accessed, and cannot access, Social Security's money. But by law, Social Security's assets can be used only for Social Security, and nothing else. Some say that the assets in the Trust Funds are merely IOUs and that the actual money has been used by politicians. The Trust Funds assets are interest-bearing investment instru- ments which can be redeemed on demand by the Social Security Administration, as needed to pay SS program costs. Those "special issue government bonds" are backed by the "full faith and credit" of the United States Govern- ment which, in investment circles, is viewed as primarily risk-free. If they are "IOUs," it is in the same sense that the assets in a stock and bond portfolio are IOUs. Social Security's current financial issue stems from steadily increasing life expec- tancies and the declining ratio of workers to beneficiaries. People are now collecting So- cial Security benefits for decades instead of a few years, and the number of beneficiaries is steadily increasing (about 64 million today). Simultaneously, there are now only 2.8 work- ers per SS beneficiary compared to, for exam- ple, 1960 when there were 5.1 workers for ev- ery beneficiary. Both these realities have re- sulted in the need to withdraw assets from the Trust Funds to fully pay benefit obligations. And, according to the Social Security Trust- ees, those Trust Fund reserves will be deplet- ed in the early 2030s, resulting in an across the board cut in benefits – unless Congress acts soon to restore Social Security to finan- cial solvency. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation.org/programs/social-se- curity-advisory) or email us at ssadvisor@ amacfoundation.org. The amount of daylight is getting longer each day now that the winter solstice has passed. Short days and long nights take a toll on plants, an- imals, and humans. Fortunate- ly, things like time outside or supplemental light exist to help keep everything running smoothly. Let's take a look at some common management tips for different species. Houseplants react different- ly to the shorter days based on their native region and shade tolerance. Some plants, like poinsettias, use the shorter days to initi- ate flowering. Clemson University recom- mends 14 hours of total darkness a day, with 8 hours of bright sunlight. For houseplants, bright sunlight can be most easily achieved near a south-facing window. Since we're in the northern hemisphere, the sun is always slightly in the southern sky. South-facing win- dows provide the most light. Supplemental lighting can also be used for more tropical plants that might require 12 hours of light a day. Special lighting that contains a full pho- tosynthetically active radiation spectrum ex- ists, but green plants generally show the most absorption in the blue and red wavebands of light. For some plants, simply having a stan- dard house light on will provide enough sup- plemental light. The University of Minnesota has an excellent publication evaluating light selection further entitled "Lighting for Indoor Plants and Starting Seed." Animals also react differently to shorter days. Light-related circadian rhythms are one reason (with cooler temperatures) that hiber- nation and migration occur. Like plants en- tering reproductive phases with changes in light, animals also utilize day length to in- fluence reproductive habits. When and how many eggs a hen lays falls into this category. According to an article by Katie Ockert with Michigan State University, 14 to 16 hours of day-length will provide maximum egg lay- ing potential. Artificial light, when applied, needs to be slowly introduced and in the warm spectrum of fluores- cent, LED, or incandescent light. Humans are affected by short day lengths as well. The incidence of seasonal affective disorder can be winter-induced, and light ther- apy is one treatment. Mayo Clin- ic suggests phototherapy be per- formed in 20 to 30 minutes within the first hour of waking. Compa- nies produce light boxes for this explicit purpose, but the boxes are not regulated by any agency for effec- tiveness, so buyer beware. Vitamin D defi- ciency also shows more prevalence in win- ter months, as skin exposure to sunlight is limited. Vitamin D supplements in pill form are common treatment. A recent rumor pos- ited that Vitamin D supplements would also protect one against COVID infection, but the Centers for Disease Control specifically state that data is insufficient for recommendation for or against this treatment. This statement is science-speak for "we don't know." Stating that Vitamin D supplementation is effective against COVID would be incorrect. Stating that supplementation is ineffective would be incorrect. Science does state that vaccines are effective against COVID-19. As the days get longer, we can expect to move those houseplants back around, man- age our livestock a little differently, and treat ourselves by getting back into the sunlight. Whether that's on a snow day or in short- sleeves, the sun still feels good when it shines, which is 59 percent of the possible time in Evansville, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. Other Indi- ana cities documented include Fort Wayne, also at 59 percent, and Indianapolis at 55 per- cent. For more information on anything cov- ered herein, contact Hans at hschmitz@pur- due.edu or 812-838 -1331. DONALD EUGENE HUME Donald Eugene Hume, of Winslow, passed away on De- cember 31, 2020, after a long, full and happy life of 94 years. He and his wife of 70 years, Shirley Ann (Rogers) Hume, have enjoyed fami- ly life with their daughters, Denise Elaine (Hume) Stew- art, Roxane Sloan and Darcee Hume-Thoren; sons-in-law, Joe Stewart, Jeff Sloan and Michael Thoren; grandchil- dren, Amanda Stewart and her husband, Will Smith, Joshua Sloan, Tess (Thoren) Bowyer and her husband, Peter Bow- yer; as well as two great grand- children, Kathleen and Helen Smith. Donald loved being surrounded by family and if musical instruments were in- volved, it was even better. He is the son of Austin and Myrtle Hume. His upbringing was in the countryside of Pike County, alongside his much loved six brothers and two sisters. This upbringing in- fluenced his choices and pas- sions throughout his life. He enjoyed studying and practic- ing science, philosophy, pub- lic service (a passion shared with his brother, Lindel) and old time music. Although he was often seen in a suit or uni- form, he was most happy out- side among the dogwood in his jeans, a flannel shirt and one of his many favorite hats. He was proud to call himself a Hoosier. His life was rich in friend- ships and service. He had an uncanny knack for running into good friends wherev- er he might be traveling. He served in the 1st Cavalry Di- vision in the Pacific Theater and, at (almost) 18 years of age, was among the last sol- diers trained on horseback. He served as a military scout in the liberation of the Phil- ippines (three bronze battle stars) and was present when the U.S. flag was raised over Tokyo. A fter returning from war, he served his communi- ty, state and country as a pub- lic school teacher and princi- pal for 36 years, as an officer and instructor at Culver Acad- emies for 51 summers, and as a Colonel in the Indiana Guard Reserve. He was elected and re-elected, serving South- ern Indiana residents as their State Representative for 22 years. He was a three-time recipient of the Sagamore of the Wabash (awarded by three different Governors). He also received an Honorary Doctor- ate of Law from Oakland City University. Many of his en- deavors could not have been accomplished without the help and support of his wife, Shir- ley, whom he loved dearly. He was a sweet man who genuinely cared for people. He enjoyed teaching students, young and old, always encour- aging their greatest potential and imagining their best fu- ture. His family is grateful for his strong example of full- on engagement in life, wheth- er it be learning to scuba dive in his 60s, teaching chess and archery in his 70s, traveling in his 80s, or learning about technology in his 90s. His ex- ample was always to go and do. His legacy to his family and friends is optimism. COVID makes it difficult to gather and celebrate his well- lived life, so please honor him by taking kind and careful care of one another during these difficult times. Wear a mask and social distance. If you would like to share a happy memory of Donald or of how he impacted your life, send it to: Lakewood Home, Attn: Family of Donald Hume, 840 North Lakewood Drive, Petersburg, IN 47567. These remembrances will be shared and treasured by his wife, Shirley, and his family. Donald was preceded in death by a son, Clinton Dirk Hume. Simple Cremation Evans- ville is entrusted with care. Friends may send a condo- lence to the family at www. SimpleCremationEvansville. com HAROLD E. ROBLING, JR. Harold E. Robling, Jr., 85, husband of Merrill Waltrip Robling, passed away on Sun- day, January 3, 2021, at his home. He was born in Winslow on August 2, 1935, the son of the late Harold E. and Marjorie Limp Robling. He grew up in Pike Coun- ty and graduated from Pur- due University with a degree in Electrical Engineering. A f- ter serving as an officer in the U.S. Navy, he resumed his ca- reer with Armco Steel Corpo- ration, with assignments in Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio. Following a 36 -year ca- reer, he retired to Summer- ville, S.C., in 1993. He was active in the community, es- pecially the Timrod Library, where he served as treasurer. He was also a member of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Charleston. He is survived by his wife, Merrill Waltrip Robling; his daughter, Anne K. Percival, of Richmond, Va.; his son, Stephen W. Robling, and his wife, Melanie Keel, of Fort Mill, S.C.; his sisters, Gwen Wishnew, of Las Vegas, Nev., and Linda Lindauer, of Bloom- ington; a niece; a nephew; as well as Harold and Merrill's dog, Lady. He was predeceased by his parents. A private graveside service will be at a later date, with in- terment at St. Paul's Cemetery in Summerville. Memorial donations may be made to Timrod Library, 217 Central Ave., Summerville, SC 29483, or Dorchester Paws, 136 4 Paws Lane, Summer- ville, SC 29483. Arrangements by Parks Funeral Home, 130 West 1st North Street, Summerville, SC 29483. www.parksfuner- alhome.com. net edition pressdispatch.net/edition Web, Smartphone, Tablet Streamline the Headline! The Press Dispatch PIKE COUNTY'S NEWS NETWORK SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Let us know at 812-354-8500!