Newspaper Page Text
Page 2 - The Wiregrass Farmer, September 6,2017
AFTER THE IMPACT
Federal disaster declaration How to deal with the insurance
The U.S. Department of
Homeland Security’s Federal
Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) announced
that federal emergency aid has
been made available to the
state of Georgia to supplement
state and local response efforts
due to the emergency condi
tions in the area affected by
Hurricane Irma beginning on
September 7,2017 and contin
uing.
The President’s action au
thorizes FEMA to coordinate
all disaster relief efforts which
have the purpose of alleviating
the hardship and suffering
caused by the emergency on
the local population, and to
provide appropriate assistance
for required emergency meas
ures, authorized under Title V
of the Stafford Act, to save
lives and to protect property
and public health and safety,
and to lessen or avert the threat
of a catastrophe. Counties de
clared as of Saturday are all
east of Turner County. De
pending on how the storm hits,
more may be added.
Specifically, FEMA is au
thorized to identify, mobilize,
and provide at its discretion,
equipment and resources nec
essary to alleviate the impacts
of the emergency. Debris re
moval and emergency protec
tive measures, including direct
federal assistance, will be pro
vided at 75 percent federal
funding.
Thomas J. McCool has
been named as the Federal Co
ordinating Officer for federal
response operations in the af
fected area. McCool said ad
ditional designations may be
made at a later date if re
quested by the state and war
ranted by the results of further
evaluation.
FEDERAL AID
PROGRAMS FOR THE
STATE OF GEORGIA
Following is a summary of
key federal disaster aid pro
grams that can be made avail
able as needed and warranted
under President Donald J.
Trump’s disaster declaration
issued for the state of Georgia.
Assistance for the State and
affected Focal Governments
Can Include as Required:
• FEMA is authorized to
provide appropriate assistance
for required emergency meas
ures, authorized under Title V
of the Stafford Act, to save
lives and to protect property
and public health and safety, or
to lessen or avert the threat of
a catastrophe in the designated
HASTY
(Continued from Page 1)
Mr. Hasty offered no proof of the allegations.
Item 1 in his list can be a criminal offense under HIPAA.
HIPAA is the acronym for the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act. The federal government can bring charges
against someone accused of HIPAA violations.
Items 2 and 3 falls into a gray area. Under Georgia Sunshine
law, two members of an elected body may meet to discuss mu
nicipal matters. If three or more gather, such discussions must be
held in regular or called meeting. The public must be notified of
a called meeting.
Point 4 may be unethical, according to the code of ethics Mr.
Hasty refers to, but it is not illegal of itself.
CITY
(Continued from Page I)
Also boosting the City’s performance was a $325K profit from
the water, sewer and gas departments. That pushed the City to a
$165,912 “profit” at the end of the year.
Overspending came in a few areas. Under General Govern
ment, the City had to pay about $78K unexpectedly to the pen
sion program. Mr. Montgomery said that expense will be
budgeted from now on. General spending was over budget
$59,848.
The Police Department went over budget because of overtime
to about $16,000. “That is all attributed to salaries and overtime
tracking back to the issue you had in the year,” Mr. Montgomery
said.
The 911 budget was also over $18,000. That too will be ac
counted for in the new budget.
The street department was the most over at $85,695. Mr.
Montgomery said more than half of that overage was from
salaries.
He also had praise for the City Hall staff.
“The City of Ashbum does a really good job. It is always in
order. You can’t say that about a lot of places you go,” he said.
AFTER
HOURS
SERVICE
NEW AND USED TIRES - COMPUTER WHEEL BALANCE
ALLEN'S
Tire Service Inc.
OPEN LATE
6 DAYS A WEEK free rotation
t ^ ^ AND REPAIRS
1-75 at Bussey Road on set of 4
Sycamore • 567-3390
• RV • TRUCK AND TRAILER TIRES
AUTO
BEKSIEBM
EXCELLEHT INVESTMENT PROPERTIES
17: Acres with 38 Homes
40 Unit Capacity, with
Room For Expansion
1657 Joe Lawerence Road
Ashburn, GA
2 Bed room/I Bath Home
Add to Rental Portfolio
Large 1.33+Lot
456 N Jefferson Street
Ashburn, CA
Also Setting Properties in CA & FL
Online Only Bidding Ends September 21 at 4:00 PM
800.323.8388 • RowellAuctfons.com
A Mark Net Alliance Member-10* BP - CAL AJU-C002591
areas.
• Specifically, FEMA is au
thorized to provide debris re
moval and emergency
protective measures (Cate
gories A and B), including di
rect federal assistance, under
the Public Assistance program
at 75 percent federal funding.
Following is a summary of
key federal disaster aid pro
grams that can be made avail
able as needed and warranted
under President Donald J.
Trump’s disaster declaration
issued for the state of Georgia.
Assistance for the State and
affected Focal Governments
Can Include as Required:
• FEMA is authorized to
provide appropriate assistance
for required emergency meas
ures, authorized under Title V
of the Stafford Act, to save
lives and to protect property
and public health and safety, or
to lessen or avert the threat of
a catastrophe in the designated
areas.
• Specifically, FEMA is au
thorized to provide debris re
moval and emergency
protective measures (Cate
gories A and B), including di
rect federal assistance, under
the Public Assistance program
at 75 percent federal funding.
An insurance plan can help
make the recovery process a
little easier. Following a major
disaster, many consumers may
be overwhelmed and confused
by the insurance claim-filing
process. However, it is critical
that a claim be filed correctly
to ensure you receive due pay
ment. Here are some tips from
Insurance Commissioner
Ralph Hudgens to help with
your insurance protection.
After Disaster Strikes and
Your Home is Damaged
• File your claim as soon as
possible. Call your insurance
company or agent with your
policy number and other rele
vant information. Your policy
may require that you make the
notification within a certain
time frame.
• Be sure you cooperate
fully with the insurance com
pany. Ask what documents,
forms and data you will need
to file a claim. Keep a diary of
all conversations with insur
ance companies, creditors or
relief agencies.
• Be certain to give your in
surance company all the infor
mation they need. Incorrect or
incomplete information will
only cause a delay in process
ing your claim.
• If your home is damaged
to the extent that you can’t live
there, ask your insurance com
pany if you have coverage for
additional living expenses.
• Take photographs/video of
the damage.
• Make the repairs neces
sary to prevent further damage
to your property (cover broken
windows, leaking roofs and
damaged walls). Don’t have
permanent repairs made until
your insurance company has
inspected the property and you
have reached an agreement on
the cost of repairs. Be prepared
to provide the claims adjuster
with records of any improve
ments you made prior to the
damage.
• Maintain any damaged
personal property for the ad
juster to inspect.
• Ask the adjuster for an
itemized explanation of the
claim settlement offer.
• Save all receipts, including
those from the temporary re
pairs covered by your insur
ance policy.
• Be wary of contractors
who demand upfront payment
before work is initiated or pay
ment in full before work is
completed. If the contractor
needs payment to buy supplies,
go with the contractor and pay
the supplier directly.
• Get more than one bid.
Ask for at least three refer
ences. Check with the Better
Business Bureau about the
contractor. Ask for proof of
necessary licenses, building
permits, insurance, and bond
ing. Record the license plate
number and driver’s license
number of the contractor.
• If you can’t cover all of
your expenses, contact your
creditors to negotiate a pay
ment plan.
• If there is a disagreement
about a claim, ask the company
for the specific language in the
policy in question and deter
mine why you and the com
pany interpret your policy
differently.
• If the first offer made by
an insurance company does not
meet your expectations, be pre
pared to negotiate to get a fair
settlement.
• If you believe you have
been treated unfairly in getting
a claim paid, please contact us
toll-free at 800-656-2298 or
online at www.oci.ga.gov
Army has troops ready to help with recovery
The U.S. Army (including
Active Duty, U.S. Army Re
serve, and Army National
Guard) is either already in
volved in, or prepared to sup
port State, Territory, or other
Federal Agencies such as
FEMA, as part of Hurricane
Irma relief operations.
At this time, governors are
best postured to determine the
needs of their residents and to
establish response priorities,
and are currently using Army
National Guard Soldiers to
help meet those needs. The
Army is also prepositioning
equipment and personnel in the
affected areas to ensure ade
quate resources are readily
available if/when needed.
Here are a few highlights as
of 5pm Eastern time, 09 Sep
tember 2017:
• The current Total Army re
sponse for Hurricane Irma is
more than 7,400 Soldiers and
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
civilians in the U.S. Virgin Is
lands, Puerto Rico, and the
continental United States.
• The Army has more than
140 aircraft, 650 trucks, 150
boats prepared; and additional
resources as necessary (partic
ularly trucks) on standby to
support response efforts if
called upon.
• Army National Guard Sol
diers from Florida, South Car
olina, Puerto Rico and the Vir
gin Islands are currently on
State Active Duty status and
are either responding, or pre
pared to respond to each Gov
ernor’s priorities. Additionally,
National Guard units in
Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
South Carolina, and North Car
olina are conducting routine in
active duty training, which
they will utilize to prepare for
a Hurricane Irma response, if
required.
• In Virginia, Governor
Terry McAuliffe declared a
state of emergency on Friday,
which will allow Virginia
Army National Guard Soldiers
to respond and support other
states if/when called upon.
• The Army Corps of Engi
neers is already working in the
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
to assist with power restoration
efforts and have teams on
stand-by to assist in Florida
if/when needed. The Corps is
also monitoring conditions at
the Herbert Hoover Dike (Fake
Okeechobee) and continue to
provide expert status updates.
• The Army also has active-
duty officers assigned with
FEMA Regions II, IV, and V
Headquarters to assist with
providing expert military ad
vice on storm response efforts.
McHugh receives excellence in ag award
Turner County Farm Bu
reau member Sallie McHugh
was honored with a district
award during the Georgia
Farm Bureau 8th District an
nual meeting held Sept. 5 in
Americus.
McHugh received the 8th
District Young Farmer Excel
lence in Agriculture Award,
given to young farmers who
earn the majority of their in
come from something other
than production agriculture.
“In my profession I serve as
a huge cheerleader for the agri
culture industry,” McHugh
said. “I work to promote the
importance of the industry to
my students. I stress to them
that not every one of them will
have a job directly in the agri
culture field, but it affects each
of them daily. We need to un-
Veterans salute
Did you miss last year's
salute to veterans? If so don’t
miss this one. We will be fea
turing the veterans in a mag
azine this year. You can either
email or bring in a picture to
go in our special salute com
ing in November.
There is no charge to sub
mit a picture. You do not have
to resubmit a picture.
derstand where our food and
fiber originates and have an ap
preciation for those that work
to provide it.”
McHugh is an assistant pro
fessor of agriculture education
at Abraham Baldwin Agricul
tural College as a part of the
school’s new agriculture edu
cation program. McHugh,
earned a PhD in career and
technical education and an
Ed.S. degree in agriscience
from Auburn University. She
has bachelor’s and master’s de
grees from the University of
Georgia and has taught a vari
ety of agriculture science
classes at the middle school
and high school levels since
2007.
She and her husband,
James, raise cattle and grow
produce, as well as running a
bulk fuel business to supply
the local agriculture commu
nity.
Founded in 1937, Georgia
Farm Bureau is the state’s
largest general farm organiza
tion and has 158 county of
fices. Its volunteer members
actively participate in local,
state and national activities that
promote agriculture awareness
to their non-farming neighbors.
GFB offers its members a wide
variety of benefits, including
insurance, but enrollment in
member benefits is optional
and not a requirement for
membership.
Turner County Farm Bureau member Sallie McHugh
accepts the Georgia Farm Bureau 8th District Young
Farmer Excellence in Agriculture Award from GFB 8th
District Director Don Wood. McHugh received the award
during the GFB 8th District Annual Meeting held Sept. 5
in Americus. The award is presented to agriculture pro
fessionals ages 35 and younger who may farm, but earn
the majority of their income from working in an ag pro
fession off the farm. McHugh is an assistant professor
of agriculture education at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural
College. (Photo courtesy of Georgia Farm Bureau)
www.TheWiregrassFarmer.com
The paper is available online Tuesday afternoon.
At $24 a year, that’s the same cost as a print subscription.
Read the news. Look through the archives. Post pictures