The Press-Dispatch

By Hans Schmitz Purdue Extension Educator hschmitz@purdue.edu In a usual year, July is a pretty good month for events around the area. All the coun- ty fairs get underway and wrap up in July. Festivals and church cooks occur. Shooting matches, horse shows, the In- dependence Day celebrations of recent past, and all kinds of events occur in July. Over at Purdue Extension, we usu- ally focus on the fair and let others cover the rest. In the first post-COVID July, a few extra events are hitting the schedule. The Purdue Farm Manage- ment Tours are this week on Thursday and Friday, July 8 and 9. Koester Brothers, Kron Farms and Seib Farms are all highlighted as tour stops, with the Master Farmer rec- ognition ceremony thrown in as well. Now that the is- sue is out, Randy and Joyce Kron, of Kron Farms, are be- ing recognized this year as one of those Master Farm- ers. For more information on the tours or to register to at- tend, visit https:// ag.purdue.edu/ commercialag/ home/program/ farm-manage- ment-tour-2021/. The next event on the schedule that predates the Posey County Fair but does hit during the Gibson County Fair is on July 15. Purdue Ex- tension and the Soil and Wa- ter Conservation Districts are holding back-to-back meet- ings at the Vanderburgh Coun- ty 4-H Center. Purdue Exten- sion leads off with a work- shop geared towards military veterans with or wanting ag- ricultural ties. Lunch will be served at noon with the work- shop immediately following. Topics that will be covered include Indiana Grown and Homegrown by Heroes, Pur- due Extension resources for veteran and beginning farm- ers, direct marketing and agri- tourism opportunities, USDA programs for farmer veterans (FSA, NRCS), AgrAbility, Farmer Veteran Coalition, and In- diana AgVets up- dates. For more information or to register, contact Hans at the Pur- due Extension at 812-838 -1331. The website reg- istration URL is far too lengthy. The veteran farmer work- shop will conclude by 4 p.m. Central time, with the Con- servation Cookout then be- ginning at 4:30 PM in the ban- quet hall at the fairgrounds. In addition to burger and brats from Up in Smoke, there will be children's activities. The educational topics within con- servation covered at the event will include cover crops, sep- tic systems, and carbon cred- it markets, which is a diverse enough set of topics that at least one ought to interest anybody. The cookout ends at 7 p.m. for a decent chance to get home before dark. The address for registration to the Conservation Cookout is https://www.eventbrite.com/ e/conservation-cook-out-tick- ets-152739412695. I recom- mend using a search engine. With corn tasseling, ear- ly beans in full bloom, and hopefully a good rain shower or two in the five days or so between my writing of this ar- ticle and its publication, post- fair events in agriculture on the Purdue Extension side will quickly turn toward get- ting the August Pesticide Ap- plication Recertification Pro- gram (PARP) events in prior to harvest. Licensed farmers should give a quick check of their status at https://www. inplants.oisc.purdue.edu/US - APlantsIN/Index.aspx or by calling Hans at 812-838 -1331. Knowing your license expira- tion and how many programs you need to attend will benefit you now more than in Decem- ber. For more information on these or other programs, con- tact Hans at hschmitz@pur- due .edu or 812-838 -1331. Something newsworthy? Let us know at 812-354-8500! The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, July 7, 2021 A-5 FRIDAY SPECIALS CHILI Roast Beef Manhattan $ 8.99 Roast Beef Smothered in Gravy on Mashed Potatoes and Bread with Green Beans or Corn and Drink * Whitefish Sandwich $ 8.99 Dressed the way you like! Served with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans or Corn and a Drink Polish Sausage $ 8.99 with Sauerkraut, served with Cornbread, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy and a Drink * CHEESY CHICKEN BROCCOLI OR CHILI Grilled Chicken Salad $ 8.99 Grilled Chicken Breast on a Bed of Spring Mix with Red Onions, Tomato, Cheese and Bacon with Creamy Ranch Dressing. Served with Drink. * WEDNESDAY Boneless Pork Chop $ 8.99 Tender Pork Loin Baked with Special Spices and Parmesan Cheese served with Baked Potato, Green Beans and a Drink * *Your Choice of Regular Coffee, Tea or Coke Product. Specials and menu items are subject to food availability from suppliers. /RandysAmericanaCafe Like us on Facebook! 7TH & MAIN STREETS • PETERSBURG JULY 7–JULY 13 new MONDAY CHILI Spaghetti $ 7.99 Cheesy Mozzarella Toast, Side Salad and Drink * Chicken Salad Sandwich $ 8.99 On croissant served with Chips, Side and Drink * French Toast $ 8.99 Choice of Two Sides and Drink * CHILI Biscuits and Gravy $ 8.99 Served With Your Choice of Two Sides and a Drink * SATURDAY Stromboli $ 8.99 Our Own Special Stromboli Served with Grippos (Plain or BBQ), Side Salad and a Drink * daily Dine-in & Carry-Out THURSDAY Ham Steak $ 8.99 Thick-Sliced Ham Served with Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Roll and a Drink * Meatloaf $ 8.99 Green Beans or Buttered Peas and Carrots, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Roll and Drink * TUESDAY Turkey Manhattan $ 8.99 Turkey Breast Smothered in Gravy on Mashed Potatoes and Bread with Green Beans and Drink * Taco Salad $ 8.99 Served with Sour Cream, Salsa and a Drink * HAM & BEANS WITH CORNBREAD OR CHILI Fresh, Made-From-Scratch Cinnamon Rolls Friday Morning Large order? Call by Thursday evening, 812-354-2004. CHEESY POTATO OR CHILI G et them while you can! After this week, we will be taking a short breeak on cinnamon rolls. Mon-Fri 7am-8pm Saturday 7am-2pm 812-354-2004 Social Security Matters By Rusty Gloor Can I collect survivor benefits? Dear Rusty: My husband and I were only married five years before he passed away from cancer. I am 61 and was told by SS that I don't qualify to receive his survivor bene- fits because we weren't mar- ried long enough, and because I made more money than him when he was alive. I still work fulltime and plan to continue until my full retirement age. Am I able to collect any of his benefits? Why can his daugh- ter collect his benefits, but I cannot? Signed: Frustrated Widow. Dear Frustrated: You were given partially incorrect information by Social Securi- ty because you were married long enough to collect a survi- vor benefit, but there are also other rules which might affect your eligibility: • You cannot have remar- ried before age 60 and be cur- rently married. • You cannot collect full survivor benefits if you ex- ceed Social Security's annu- al "earnings limit." That you made more money than your husband (and are presum- ably entitled to a higher per- sonal SS benefit) isn't mate- rial, but your earnings from work could be. If you didn't remarry be- fore age 60 and remain mar- ried, and if you don't earn too much money, you are eligible to col- lect a survivor ben- efit as your hus- band's widow. You can even claim your survivor ben- efit (only) while allowing your per- sonal SS benefit to grow (if desired, up to age 70 when it reaches maximum). So, you may be eligible to collect a sur- vivor benefit from your hus- band now, but if you're work- ing full time, you may make too much money to be able to collect it at this time. Social Security has an "earnings test" which ap- plies to those collecting ear- ly benefits and which limits how much you can earn be- fore they take benefits away. For 2021, the annual earnings limit is $18,960 and if you earn more than that they will take away benefits equal to $1 for every $2 you are over the lim- it. That could mean you'll owe them more than you're entitled to in benefits, which would mean no benefits would be paid. Here's an example: Say you make $ 60,000 per year working full time. If you col- lect the survivor benefit and because you ha- ven't yet reached your full retire- ment age (FR A), you'll be subject to the earnings limit of $18,960. At this earnings level you would exceed the lim- it by about $41,000. Half of that amount would be about $20,500, and SS would re- quire you to repay them that amount from your SS bene- fits. Depending upon your survivor benefit amount, that could disqualify you from re- ceiving monthly benefits. As you can see from this example, if you work full time but do not significantly exceed the annual earnings limit, you may be able to collect at least some of your survivor bene- fits, but I cannot answer that without knowing your annu- al earnings and approximate- ly what your survivor bene- fit would be. For clarity, the earnings test no longer ap- plies once you reach your full retirement age. Regarding your husband's daughter collecting a survivor benefit from him: a surviving minor child of the deceased can collect a survivor benefit until they are 18 (or 19 if still in high school). An adult dis- abled child who was disabled before age 22, is also eligible to collect a survivor benefit from a deceased parent. So, let's recap: you were married to your husband long enough to be eligible for a survivor benefit, but you may have significant earnings which disqualify you from re- ceiving those benefits right now. There is no longer an "earnings test" once you reach your FR A (66 years and 10 months), so at your FR A you could collect your full survivor benefit. And you could collect your survivor benefit only first and allow your own personal SS benefit to grow until you are 70 when it would be more than your survivor benefit. At that time, you would switch to your own benefit which would be about 25 percent more than your FR A benefit amount. To submit a question, visit our website (amacfoundation. org/programs/social-securi- ty-advisory) or email us at ss- advisor@amacfoundation.org. Down on the Farm By Hans Schmitz, Purdue Extension Educator July has a full calendar of events Eagle eye perch Louis Duncan captured this photo series of an eagle perched high atop the Pike County Sheriff's Office's ra- dio tower in Petersburg on June 4.

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