The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1357204
My Things A-4 Wednesday, March 31, 2021 The Press-Dispatch Karan Thacker, AFSP Owner 704 E. Haub Street Haubstadt, IN 47639 THACKER TAX SERVICE 906 Blackfoot Drive Fort Branch, IN 47648 812-615-0071 (offi ce) 812-789-3852 (cell) kthacker01@gmail.com SAME DAY SERVICE • Complete plastic lab on premises • Quality eyewear by Karen Memering, Optician • Professional eyecare by Dr. Steve Gregory • Most insurance plans accepted WE FILL ALL DOCTOR'S PRESCRIPTIONS Complete Contact Lens Care & Service *In most cases **Some restrictions apply. Call for details. 812-254-6594 Corner of Hwy. 50 & 57, Washington, IN VALLEY OPTICAL 812-254-6594 50th wedding anniversary Jerry and Dianna Fisher, of Petersburg, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniver- sary. They were married April 3, 1971, in Evansville. The couple has one son, Jerry Fisher, Jr., and a grand- son, Kiefer Fisher, of Oak- land City. Love-Sinclair Petty Officer Third Class Zachary Sinclair and Micah Love were united in mar- riage on Thursday, Febru- ary 25, 2021, at the court- house in Virginia Beach, Va. Due to COVID-19, no fami- ly or friends were able to be present. The groom is a 2018 grad- uate of Pike Central High School and is an electronics technician in the U.S. Na- vy. He is currently deployed overseas. He is the son of Russ and Monica Sinclair, of Petersburg, and Ramy Wil- kes, of Winslow. His grand- parents are Stan and Violet Sinclair, of Bicknell, Doug and Glenda Jaccard, of Evansville, and Jeree Slaven and the late Billy Slaven, of Petersburg. He has a sister, Hannah Sinclair, and a neph- ew, Darrin. The bride, of Chicago, Ill., is a 2018 graduate of Glen- bard West High School and is employed full-time in a medical office in Virginia Beach, Va. She is the daugh- ter of James and Reina Love, of Chicago, Ill. Her grandpar- ents are Patsey E. Love and James E. Love, Sr., of Chica- go, Ill., and Candelaria Pas- cual Baranda and Ramon Sal- cedo Baranda, of the Philip- pines. She has a sister, Arri- ane Love, of Knoxville, Tenn. The couple currently re- sides in Virginia Beach and plans to have a ceremony once the groom returns from deployment. On the Square in Jasper 812-482-1617 Chocolate Bliss and Kitchen Essentials with a basket full of gourmet treats! Caramel & Peanut Filled Bunnies • Marshmallow, peanut butter, maple, coconut and caramel eggs • Gourmet coffees, pancake mix and wonderful jams for your Easter brunch • Spring platters, hand soaps and dish towels e Easter Bunny has arrived at M o n - F r i : 1 0a m – 5 : 3 0p m S at u r d ay: 1 0a m – 3p m SHOP SAFE SHOP SMALL With This Ring... FESTIVAL Continued from page 1 NORMAL Continued from page 1 Tips to protect seniors from financial scams right now (StatePoint) Social isola- tion among seniors is not on- ly linked to numerous nega- tive health consequences like depression and cardiovascular disease, but it's also a primary contributing factor in financial exploitation and scams. Esti- mated to affect one in 10 older adults and cost billions annu- ally, the threat of elder finan- cial fraud is pervasive, and es- pecially so right now. With seniors more isolated than ever due to the pandem- ic and stimulus checks being sent to millions of Americans nationwide, experts suggest that seniors and their families be extra vigilant. "Scammers look for key time periods where money and pri- vate financial information are in motion. Not only is IRS fraud one of the most common and successful types of scams that exists, as a general rule, addi- tional money equates to addi- tional fraud," says Ron Long, head of Aging Client Services at Wells Fargo. "Scammers are banking on the fact that many seniors are apart from families and friends due to COVID-19. When some- one is alone, physically or so- cially, they often miss out on the added benefit of a second pair of eyes and ears." Compounding the risks as- sociated with isolation is the number of seniors who feel their chances of falling vic- tim to a financial scam is un- likely. According to a recent Wells Fargo study conducted by The Harris Poll, 69 percent of all seniors age 60 and above believe they're not likely to be susceptible to a financial scam, despite nearly all seniors (97 percent) acknowledging that older people are very or some- what susceptible to becoming a victim. When asked about their peers, the poll found that 47 percent of all seniors knew someone who had already fall- en victim to a scam. "The results indicate what most of us want — the abili- ty to age relatively unaffected from the realities associated with aging," says Dr. Marti De- Liema, a gerontologist and con- sultant for Wells Fargo's Aging Client Services. "The problem is that when someone doesn't feel they're at risk, they're un- likely to take precaution." To better protect seniors from elder financial fraud and abuse, consider these tips from Wells Fargo: 1. Don't wait for a crisis. Se- niors should speak with trust- worthy family members about financial plans, as well as con- sult them when something doesn't feel right. 2. Stay up-to-date. Seniors and families should draft and periodically update legal doc- uments such as wills, health- care directives and powers of attorney. 3. Automate. Seniors should consider signing up for direct deposit, automatic bill pay and large transaction alerts. 4. Prioritize security. Se- niors should keep checks and credit cards locked away, and update passwords when infor- mation is compromised. They should also carefully review credit reports, account state- ments and bills for unusual ac- tivity or charges. 5. Be aware. Families can help seniors stay aware of the latest and most common scams, as well as help them identify potential red flags, in- cluding: • Alleged emergency situ- ations involving family mem- bers, often grandchildren, re- quiring immediate payment. • Lottery winnings requir- ing upfront cash payment for taxes and other fees. • Phone calls from alleged government agencies, such as Social Security, threatening arrest or penalties. For more information on fraud prevention, visit wells- fargo.com. "Aging resiliently requires planning ahead and not shy- ing away from difficult con- versations," says Long. "We have to talk with our older loved ones about the risks, the warning signs and preven- tion — and we have to keep talking." 10. "It is getting back to nor- mal," said Village Inn own- er Betty Wright. "There have been people here who haven't been here for a year and they are back this week. Most of them say 'we have our shots and we getting out now.'" She said last year's lock- down was a big hit to her busi- ness. "Our income fell in half and most of that was carry- outs," said Wright. She said she is taking a lot of reservations for Easter Sunday and last Sunday was a brisk business. "Not like be- fore COVID, but much better." Marge Leavitt, of Marge's Hallmark, said she is seeing more people get out in the last month as well. "Not like it was a year ago. I'm not seeing a lot of older people out. I'm seeing a lot of middle aged people," said Leavitt. She said in the beginning, they were telling people they had to wear masks and stay six feet apart. "We don't have to tell them anymore, they just do it." She said they started a curb- side service as well, with peo- ple calling in what they want- ed and having it brought out to them. Leavitt said most peo- ple continued to come into the store and practice social dis- tancing. "We don't have a lot of people at one time and I think that helped." Randy Harris, of Randy's Americana Cafe, agreed peo- ple are getting out more. "Yes and it is great. A lot of people have had their second shot and feel more confident. The sun- shine helps, but people are just happy to out and see oth- er people. Our restaurant busi- ness has been very good," said Harris. He said in the last couple of weeks he has been seeing people he hadn't seen in the restaurant for a year. "It is great to see America trying to come back a bit." The timing couldn't be any better for the Winslow Chris- tian Church. They plan to re- open for in-person worship services this Sunday, which is Easter Sunday. Their pas- tor, Dr. Robert Asa, said Eas- ter Sunday had been a target of theirs in the last month or so. He said they hadn't had in-person services since De- cember 21, after reopening last summer in July. Asa said they have been watching the numbers get better and listen- ing to doctors and reports of better COVID numbers before making the decision to open on Sunday. He said they will be follow- ing various protocols, such as wearing masks, social distanc- ing and not touching doors. "We are all looking forward to it. Resurrection Sunday seemed to be a good time to reopen," said Asa. Statewide, some COVID numbers are seeing a small rise, but are still way down. The number of new cases on March 28 was 717. Just a month earlier, there were only 548, but on January 28, there were 2,582 new cases. There were four new deaths due to COVID on March 28. That number on February 28 was 15 and on January 28 was 56. Hospitalizations for COVID on March 28 were at 655. That number had dropped to 548 on March 21, which was the lowest since the state started tracking it on April 2020, when there were more than 1,500 people hospitalized. It fell to 595 on June 26, then started rising gradually to 950 on Oct. 3, before exploding to 3,460 just one month later. Hospi- talizations then started to fall gradually. They were at 1,725 on January 28, 2021, and 763 on February 28. There is only one county in Indiana that isn't at the blue or yellow level. Blackford Coun- ty in northeastern Indian is at the orange level. There are 25 counties at the yellow level and the other 66 are at the blue lev- el, which is the lowest level. way as subcontractors are cut- ting and removing trees in the right-of-way of Highway 61. Running in conjunction with that project is the reloca- tion of a water line that now lies under Highway 61. Peters- burg bid and granted a con- tract on that project recently. They are going to put in a new line that will be to the side of the reconstructed Highway 61 in the right-of-way. Construction on a wastewa- ter treatment facility is sup- posed to start this week in Petersburg as well. A new wa- ter plant is also in the plans, as well as a new water tower to be built near the top of Half- Mile Hill. The Streetscape Project will put new sidewalks, curbs and light poles along both sides of Main St. Klipsch said its bid- ding has been moved back to late summer or early fall. So construction probably won't start until early 2022. Peters- burg is going to replace a main water line that is under Main St. This is being done so all the connections with the wa- ter line can be made to busi- nesses and residences while the sidewalks are being re- placed. "Main St. will not be closed during this," said Klipsch. However, he said there will be lane restrictions, but no full closures are planned.