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... about your Social Security By Kate McLaurin Manager Griffin Social Security Office By now, most people know that the Social Security Administration is respon sible for running the Supple mental Security Income (SSI) program-the program that provides an income floor for the needy aged, blind and disabled. What they may not know is that each local social security office conducts an ongoing program to investi gate persons suspected of fraudulently applying for or receiving SSI benefits. According to Kate Mc- Laurin, Manager of the Griffin Social Security Office, recent investigative efforts have led to a number of indictments and sub sequent convictions both nationally and in the south eastern region which is comprised of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennes see. For example, said Miss McLaurin, in the approxi mately six-week period from January 10 to February 12,. 1977, a total of seven persons in four of these states were convicted of SSI fraud. In Alabama a 44-year old Talladega woman, Dorothy Henry, was convicted for having made false state ments concerning her marital status and income and for concealment of the fact of her employment. She had received a total of $1,085.85 in SSI payments between February and No vember of 1976 for which she was ineligible. Sentencing has not yet taken place. Columbus, Kentucky resi dent Elbert Dowdy entered a plea of guilty on three counts of having concealed his income which included social security, Veterans Admini stration payments and a Civil Service annuity. He was fined SI,OOO, SSOO of which was suspended, and placed on one year supervised probation. Another Kentucky resident, Loraine Keene of Richmond, also plead guilty of knowingly providing false information about her in come, property holdings and bank accounts. A U. S. Dis trict Court in Lexington ordered her to pay a $2,500 fine and court costs. She was also given a 3-year suspend ed jail sentence and was placed on probation for 5 years. In North Carolina, Brenda S. Bass of Greensboro entered a plea of guilty on two counts of converting for her benefit the SSI payments intended for the use of another. U.S. District Judge Eugene A. Gordon sentenced her to one year in prison. She must serve one-third of this term before being released on parole. The violation was discovered by the Greens boro Social Security Office when the grandmother of Ms. Bass’ two disabled minor children filed for SSI benefits on their behalf. Ms. Bass had been the payee for the children’s SSI benefits but they had not lived with her since she began receiving the payments and she was not using the money for their support. Another North Carolina resident, Margie Stewart of Micro, is awaiting sentencing her January 27 conviction in Raleigh on charges of making false representations in an SSI application on behalf of her brother, David Stewart. Evidence presented established that David was unaware of his sister’s action, that he was in any case ineligible for the benefits for which she had applied, and that the pay ments made based on her fictitious statements were received by Ms. Stewart at her mailing address and converted to her own use. Finally, George and Willie B Melton of Woodbury, Tennessee were recently con verted and fined by a U. S. District Court in Nashville for making false statements to obtain SSI payments. All of the foregoing violations were initially discovered by social security district Offices. The prelimi nary evidence they de veloped was turned over to a special SSA Program Inte grity Staff headquartered in Birmingham which conduct ed further investigations and ultimately recommended prosecution to the U. S. Attorney. Those convicted of de frauding the SSA program may be sentenced to a maximum jail term of one year and-or be fined up to SI,OOO. In addition, the court may order the repayment of whatever benefit amounts were received as a result of the fraud. Helpful Hints On Reading Electric Meter by SUSAN MILLSAP HOME ECONOMIST GEORGIA POWER Once you’re familiar with it, the little box containing the wheels and dials that measure the electricity con sumed in your home is neither complicated nor mysterious. In fact, an electric meter is as easy to read as a clock. The basic unit of measure for electricity is a kilowatt hour. One kilowatt (1,000 watts) used for an hour is one kilowatt-hour. For example, ten 100-watt light bulbs burning for an hour would consume one kilowatt-hour of electricity. Inside the electric meter’s glass is a metal disc rotating at varying speeds, depend ing on the amount of electricity the family is using. When no electricity is being used, the disc stops completely. This rarely hap pens because most homes have appliances such as clocks and refrigerators that either operate constantly or cycle on at irregular inter vals. As the disc measures precise amounts of electri city at the instant you use it in your home, the measure ment is transferred through a series of gears to the pointers on the dials of the meter The dial farthest to the right measures single kilowatt-hours. The dial to its All the comfort a quiet place and kind people can offer. Haistens offers the finest facilities available for the comfort of your family and friends. And a staff of dedicated men who know the special needs that sorrow brings and how to meet them. We assist in securing permits, certificates, and Social Security of Veterans’ benefits, completing insurance claims, notifying papers and many other details. For the peace ot mind that c< mes from knowing everything is in order, visit Haistens and discuss arrangements and costs. We stand ready to serve you. Haisten Funeral Home =*<fps 321 Igfl© THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGU3. JACKSON. GEORGIA CROSSWORD PUZZLE 48 Concur 41 Woe is me! DOWN 1 Male voices 2 Hamburg’s port 3 Found unaware (2 wds.) 4 Kith s tagalong 5 Volcanic depression fi Employed 7 Building extension 8 She’s “turning night into day” (3 wds.) 9 Almost a grad ACROSS I Support S The mating game If Jai - II Tiny brook 13 Benumb 14 Actress Dahl 15 Wet thoroughly It Summer (Fr.) 17 Norse healing goddess 18 Gasped 38 For (Sp.) 21 Rose essence 22 Harp con stellation 23 Negative prefix 24 Extra bed 25 Ensnare 27 add 29 Member of Congress (abbr.) 38 Jazz-group member 32 Electrical unit 33 “Don’t - Joe” 34 “Down under” bird 35 Like a snake or rope 37 Along in years 38 Verdi opera 39 Tortoise’s foe I 2 3 T |P S k 7 6 9 ||P _ 0. - , 2 i? ~~ " ' _ m !£*“ ~pn - ___ l 9 ~~ IP ‘§r* up 28^||pj _ im ~ 31 52 jp wp 35 jjs-/ _ flp^ ■*llll IrTTT~ left measures in tens; the dial to its left measures in hundreds, etc. Similar to the odometer in an automobile, each time a dial makes 10 revolutions the dial to its left makes one revolution. Note that some dials go clockwise and others go counterclockwise. When the pointer of a dial is between numbers, the smaller num ber if recorded. If the pointer is directly on a number, look at the dial to the right. If the pointer on that dial has not yet passed 0, record the smaller number ; if it has passed 0, record the number toward which the dial is pointing. The amount of electricity you are billed for each month is calculated by subtracting the previous reading from the current reading. For example, if your March reading was 2384 and your April reading is 3246, your April usage is 862 kilowatt hours. Consumers can check LOOKING FOR LOCKS? Sold, Serviced and Installed i>\ Machine & Lock Service 1L! ! \V. Gild Si Answer To Today’s Puzzle on Back Page 12 incognita 16 Verve 19 On the roof 22 Traditional knowledge 24 Buffalo Bill 25 Vestige 2S Parasitic like fish 27 “Watch the-!” 28 Item for Mathew Brady 30 Post-card offering 31 Certain portraits 36 Malay gibbon 37 Gotcha! their meters any time to determine how much electri city they are using each month, each week or even each day. Occasionally, because of bad weather or an emerg ency, a meter reading must be estimated based on the customer’s previous bills. When this happens a figure "one” is entered in the code column of the customer’s bill. Since the registration of kilowatt-hours on the meter is cumulative, any difference in the estimated amount and the actual usage is corrected on the next bill. Few pieces of equipment are as. reliable as an electric meter. Tests indicate that even after many years of service with no maintenance, these perpetually operating instruments are remarkably accurate. Of the more than 5.000 residential meters tested in Georgia each year, fewer than .004 percent are found defective. Griffin Office Of Employment Service Placed Many in Jobs The Griffin Office of the Georgia Department of La bor, managed by Jerry Buffington, assisted em ployers in this area in filling 2.274 nonfarm jobs during 1976. And the Georgia State Employment Service assist ed employers in filling approximately 86,592 non farm jobs during the year. The average weekly earn ings of insured workers in this area at the close of FY 1976 was $146.00, an increase of $12.00 over the 1975 figure. In FY 1976, 197,921 weekly benefit payments totaling $11,868,000 were made to unemployed workers in this area in cases of job loss resulting from no fault of their own. The Griffin Office serves Butts, Fayette, Henry, La mar. Newton, Pike, Spald ing and Upson counties. It is located at 122 E. Poplar Street, Griffin, Georgia. The information is contain ed in the 1976 edition of the Labor Department’s Annual Report, which Commissioner Sam Caldwell has submitted to Governor George Busbee and members of the Georgia General Assembly. Mr. Jerry Buffington, Manager, said that on a statew'ide basis, “We have been v called upon to serve more persons than in any of the previous years of the department’s existence. In order to meet the unprece dented need for our services, we have reorganized, strengthened and increased staff and in many instances have expanded facilities. We have streamlined and up graded our data processing operations, which have re placed outmoded methods and afforded faster and more accurate processing of claims. "Additionally, our staff has worked closely with employ- The Cost May Never Be So Low Again Every year inflation drives the cost of homes higher and higher. The house you would like to buy in 1977 will probably cost more in 1978. Right now mortgage money is available and terms are favorable for buying a home and some day you might find it was one of the best moves you ever made. Talk to us. Good For Us “"Good For You GRIFFIN FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION FSLIC West Taylor at 10th 348 S. Mulberry St. In Griffin In Jackson wmmßm lender THURSDAY. APRII, 14, 1977 ers in this area to help them retain qualified employees. "In spite of this extra work.” Buffington continued, "we were still able to serve the needs of our com munities. We are always looking for ways to better use our resources for the public good. For example, during fiscal year 1976, statewide, we used more than $127 million from the Comprehen sive Employment and Train ing Act (CETA) to help almost 100,000 persons. The Georgia Department of Labor will continue its increased emphasis on job training and special assist ance to the under-educated, unskilled and handicapped,” Buffington said, “and to place them in gainful employment as soon as possible.” "Your Labor Department will also help those whose skills are no longer in demand due to shifts in national priorities. These include skilled persons in several fields,” Buffington added. The Unemployment Insur ance Division experienced a decrease of 121,300 new claims filed during FY 1976 -- to 428.200 - down from 549,500 the previous fiscal year. More than $193 million was paid out in FY 1976, compared with more than $202 million paid out the previous fiscal year. The Trust Fund, from which unemployment bene- Butts County VFW Post 5374 Regular Meeting Nights THIRD FRIDAY in each month. Youth Center 7:00 JOSEPH R. CRANE 1 its are paid, reached an all time high of $465 million in September of 1974. However now, because of the record payouts, the Trust Fund has dropped to about $206.2 million. The present unemploy ment rate in Georgia is 5.6, as of December 1976, down from 8.7 per cent at the same time last year. Add Caraway Classic in cookies and cakes, caraway seed can also add a poignant flavor to sauerkraut, noodles and cheese. Early Sweet Teeth Candy makers, catering to the age-old craving for "something sweet,” were pictured in Egyptian tombs as far back as 3,500 B.C. Looks Like Vi Carat Diamond . 7 DIAMOND CLUSTER JM RING 111111111 l 111111111111 l The secret is the massed brilliance that creates the effect of a large single diamond. Stunning ultra-modern mounting in your choice of white or yellow gold. $9095 Matching Wedding Ring. $29.95 FREE Inspection and Cleaning of Your Diamond Ring During April Shields Jewelry 129 E. 2nd Street 775-7798 Rings and Diamonds enlarged to show detail. BEHIND “Aim to be kind,” said Horace Mann, “generous, magnanimous. If there is a boy in school who has a club-foot, don’t let him know you ever saw it. If there is a poor boy with ragged clothes, don’t talk about rags in his hearing. If there is a lame boy, assign him some part of the game which does not require running. If there is a hungry one, give him part of your dinner. If there is a dull one, help him to learn his lesson. If there is a bright one be not envious of him; for if one boy is proud of his talents and another boy is envious of them, there are two great wrongs, and no more talent than before. If a larger or stronger boy has injured you and is sorry for it, forgive him, and request the teacher not to punish him. It is much better to have a kind heart than a great fist.”