Newspapers / The Yancey Journal (Burnsville, … / March 3, 1966, edition 1 / Page 2
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The Yancey Record litibllihcJ Jtly, 1936 <fi TUNA P. VOX, Bitter * PablldMt MISS ZOE YOUNG, Associate Editor -~™ THURMAN L. BROWN, Shop Manager • ~r- ARCHIE BALLEW, Photographer ft Pressman PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY BY VANCEY PUBLISHING CoMpaiy Second Class Postago PaM at Burnsville, N. C. THURSDAY, MARCH 3, 1966 NUMBER TWENTY-SEVEN SUBSCRIPTION RATES %2M PER YEAR • LETTER TO THE EDITOR Mrs. Trena P. Fox, Editor The Yancey Record Burnsville, N. C. 28714 Dear Mrs. Fox: May I comment on the editorial in The Yancey Re cord of February 17 ‘ The Bureaucrats Move Into Medi care”? r~ As a field representative (and not a policymaker) of the Social Security Admin istration, I presume I do not quite qualify as a “bureau crat.” But as an experienced field representative I am rather familiar with the policies re lative to Medicare. Also I am somewhat experienced in actual contacts with the public. So perhaps I can help to clarify matters a bit, and may possibly be able to correct a few erroneous im pressions. In the first place, the Soc ial Security “bureau” does not ask any applicants to furnish birth certificates ex cept in cases where (1) the applicants are stated to be 85-67 years old (which means that they may be in or near the 65-year-old borderline), and (2) birth * registration certificates are obtainable. Since births in general were not reglsterel in North Caro lina before 1913, no such re cords are obtainable for Medicare applicants bom in this state. Consequently oth er records of age are re quested which may be family Bible records, insur ance policies, discharge cer tificates. delayed birth cer tificates, etc. If the records submitted do not disagree with but substantiate the date of birth alleged, then the Social Security Admin istration will check with the Census Bureau—and under present policy we are doing .this at no cost to the appli cant —for confirmation and substantiation of the claim ant’s age. I personally feel that this is a very reason able policy. If, however, the Medicare applicants state that they are 68 years old or older, al most any valid records or documents that substantiate the stated age are accept able evidence thereof. In my Judgment this two is a sen sible policy. The purported congress man’s statement to the con trary, the "Medicare Bureau crats” do not insist, or even suggest, that applicants “pay $5.00 to the Census Bureau to run down records, fully knowing that no such re cords exist.” That charge is not only baseless but absurd. One possible and under standable cause of such mis taken notions (besides may be a generalized bias against the Federal “bureaucracy”) is lack of knowledge of and resultant confusion about the various kinds and sour ces of evidence of age. For Instance, birth records and census records sometimes are confused as evidently may be the case in this in stance. Another misunderstand ing apparently is based on the mistaken notion that all who are applying for Medi care “have their ages with Social Security in Baltimore” and for many years have had their ages so recorded. The fact is that many have, but others (actually totaling millions) have not. Many older people never worked under social security and there has been no record of their ages in our central ac counting office. Moreover, even of those who have had social security cards we have found that the ages of a cer tain percentage were —for one reason or another given erroneously or inac curately on their appllca-. tio*>s for social security cards. Nevertheless, „ the policy from the beginning of Medi care has been that in the case of applicants allegedly 68 or over the proof-of-age requirement is quite lenient almost any type of record or document generally will suffice to establish age for the Medicare purpose. It is rot necessary to request a birth certificate or a census record. So evidently the Medicare bureaucrats are not really so “bull-headed” as they have been .represented to be. And finally, a word of cau tion to those who feel so sure that they can take an “ob vious look” at an individual and tell, without needing to see any confirming evidence whatever, that he or she Is "well over 65.” Such a con clusion can be quite right In ma«y cases, and it can be quite wrong in many others depending on individual .including health and other factors. As every one knows, gray hair is often not'a reliable index to age. Besides the deceptive factor of prematurely gray hair, there is the added fact that ‘ many older people (not all of them women) have been W seats im the seventh) 6m you "A row—i want bow '/A Fourth row—-MTicketc—BuT Z/K and nothin' f \thetre not t vnhen This gov mmmgam 3°** To * show. f «thi BEST AinT 3000 ENOU6H— known to dye their hair. Neither is teeth necessar ily a reliable criterion ev en if we could ask the clai mants to open their mouths wide so we could examine their teeth.carefully! # Some people's teeth last longer than other people’s and many folks have dental plates. If we consider just about every other physical charac teristic, experience tells us that there are wide varia tions among individuals. Hie game of age-guessing can often be tricky and risky in deed. I am afraid that few federal interviewers and surely none who are experi enced feel that they have the gift of Infallible judg ment of people’s ages simDly by looking at people. But even if we had such truly Infallible age-judgers. I doubt that everyone would recognize or accept their In fallible Judgment by “ob vlous” perception and particularly those who were thus adjudged to be under age 65! So perhaps it is wise after all to have rules of evidence and to take a look at records and documents and not to rely solely on whatever per ceptive powers the particular Interviewer may possess. I believe you will agree that this is the best procedure to follow. Sincerely, and with kindest personal regards, D. C. Nichols Field Representative Comment by Editor: A num ber of letters such as the one below are received frequen tly at our office. Since we feel they will be of interest *to some of our readers, we cannot refrain from having you share them with us. March 2, 1966 Dear Editor: I am sending you five dol lars on my paper. I have stopped at the office several times and no one was there. I don’t know how much I owe. Please let me know if you get this. I was 82 years old yester day, and a’one. I am not able to do anything Just cook myself something to eat and make my bed. I think you know my youngest girl. Her name is Mamie She went to Mica ville High School. She is married and lives in Bridge- IT NEVER FAILS And ac goon ac ae acre INTO Hi« #4.40 seat- — OUR TOWN HOW T 0 During recent rains and periods of melting snow our new sewage plant has been overloaded by an excessive volume of water that enter ed our sewer lines. A large part of this excess water doubtless came from roofs where the downspouts are connected to the sewer lines. Sewage plants such as ours simply cannot handle large volumes of rain water, and it Is therefore essential that all property owners make sure that all downspouts are disconnected from the town's sewer lines. The town board has pre pared an ordinance that will be adopted at our March meeting, prohibiting the dis charge of rainwater, melted snow or other surface water Into the town’s sewer lines. Actually there are real ad vantages to the house own er in not having downspouts connected to sewer lines. Bird's nests and other trash washed down from gutters have contributed to blocking sewer lines. Three Instances have recently occurred ’ in town where rain water from roofs has been so excessive that partially blocked sewer lines on the property own er's premises could not carry the water. The unhappy re sult was that sewage tack ed up through the toilets and other fixtures into the house, making an awful mess So by disconnecting down spouts. you will (1) comply with the new town ordinan ce, (2) help our sewage plant to function properly, and (3) give yourself protection a gainst a back-up of sewage into your house. The cooperation of all property owners will be ap preciated. 808 HELMLE, Mayor port, Conn. She has a boy and a girl 10. Please let me know if you get this and if it is enough. I wish you cmld put the hospital in the moer. We have taken the Yancey pa per for many veers when it was the BLACK MOUN TAIN EAGLE, printed by Oscar Lewis. So bye row, and t*>a-<k you Mrs Bessie E Ballew Ft. 5. wox 16?. Burnsville, N. C. TITLE NINE WORK Title 9 of the Civil Rights Act is the one that provides equal job opportunities. It is causing some headaches and some laughs, too,, as businessmen try to comply with the complexities of the law, which Washington, now admits was thrown together in a haphazard fashion. Lawyers are now referring to it as “full employment act for lawyers.” It is keeping the barristers busy telling clients hew to meet the re quirements and stay out of trouble. And the lawyers themselves generally admit they don’t know all the an swers. Then there Is the stipula tion that an employee can not be discriminated against, not only for race, but also for sex. Everyone, Including Washington, has about de cided they wished they nev er seen this one. It seems this sex angle was thrown in at the last min ute as an amendment and it has provided so many conflictions with other sec tions of the Act that Wash ington is unable to tell which way to go in enforc ing it. Theoretically, at least, one Is not supposed to advertise in the want ads for a work er by sex However, It is psr mlssable to have the ad placed In the male or fe male classification. Just don’t say you want to hire a male stenographer. A Texas rancher had the answer, perhaps. He wanted !to hire a cowboy So he ad vertised, “Wanted Cow person. Must be proficient !n profanity. Must siepn In bunkhouse with three wran glers who don’t believe in taking baths.” Then, to show again how tricky Title 9 Is, a company may not have a rule requir ing that when a woman be comes pregnant she mu9t give up her Job This, it was * held, is discriminary. How- • ever, the ruling said, if the company had stated in plain / language that any person— male or female unon be coming pregnant would have to res'ern It V'uld have been non-dlscrlmlnary.
The Yancey Journal (Burnsville, N.C.)
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March 3, 1966, edition 1
2
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