The Indiana Gazette, Thursday, July 23, 2015

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Indiana Floral Flora ral 721 Philadelphia St, Indiana

www.indianagazette.com

724-465-2608

Vol. 111 — No. 330

24 pages — 2 sections

SS disability will run dry next year, report finds

July 2015

Thursday

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Who’s in the news There is good news today in The Indiana Gazette about these area people: Cameron Kline, Katrina Martin, Ron Shields, Samantha Williams, Lisa McCann, Dalton Mack.

By STEPHEN OHLEMACHER Associated Press

Inside INCREASE PROPOSED: Fast-food workers in New York state heralded a plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 even as restaurant owners vowed to fight what they said would be a damaging increase./Page 3 NEW CHARGES: Federal authorities on Wednesday indicted the man accused of killing nine people at a Charleston, S.C., church on new charges, including hate crimes./Page 7

JAMES J. NESTOR/Gazette

INDIANA ATTORNEY Myron Tomb addressed a rally Wednesday at the White Township Recreation Complex.

Hundreds gather over reassessment By KAYLA CIOFFO

kcioffo@indianagazette.net

MOVING ON: The top aide to Gov. Tom Wolf resigned Wednesday in preparation to run for U.S. Senate in 2016./Page 9 JAIL CELL DEATH: A woman who died in a Texas jail cell told a guard during the booking process that she had tried to kill herself in the past, according to the county sheriff./Page 10

Weather Tonight

57°

Tomorrow

80°

Clear and nice tonight. Sunny; pleasant tomorrow. See Page 2.

Deaths Obituaries on Page 4 POWELL, Louella Jane (Long), 66, Parma, Ohio, formerly of Uniontown (Indiana County) Late death PAPPAL, John, 93, Indiana, formerly of Dixonville

Index Calendar .........................8 Classifieds ...............20-23 Comics/TV....................17 Dear Abby .....................11 Entertainment ..............19 Family ...........................18 Lottery.............................2 Sports.......................13-16 Today in History...........11 Viewpoint .......................6

Blueberries: U-Pick And Picked stutzmanfarms.com (724) 463-7915

IndianaPAFlowers.com

75 cents

Comparable properties. That’s the key to a successful reassessment appeal, according to Indiana attorney Myron Tomb. “If you think your tax is too high, talk to your neighbors. Talk to people who have property like you,” he said to a group of about 200 concerned citizens Wednesday evening at the White Township Recreation Complex. “Those comparables mean everything when you go into that hearing.” Tomb spoke at a rally organized by Indiana County PA Against Tax Reassessment Increases to provide insight and advice to those who are unhappy with their recent tax reassessment. Since the beginning of the month, some county residents have been protesting over the reassessments and have started the process of appealing. An assessment center set up adjacent to Radio Shack at the Indiana Mall by Evaluator Services and Technology Inc. offers an informal hearing for property owners where some have been able to get their tax amount lowered if they could provide proof of a flaw in their property reassessment. Many are continuing on Continued on Page 5

Commissioners order review of some cases By RANDY WELLS

INDIANA COUNTY

rwells@indianagazette.net

The Indiana County commissioners have directed Evaluator Services and Technology Inc., the Greensburg-based company conducting the county’s property reassessment, to “review and research areas where there are insufficient valid sales or where new information has become available” in the review of property data and parcel documentation. At their meeting Wednesday, the commissioners announced that revised notices of assessment changes

WASHINGTON — The 11 million Americans who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year, the government said Wednesday, handing lawmakers a fiscal and political crisis in the middle of a presidential campaign. The trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare said the disability trust fund will run out of money in late 2016. That would trigger an automatic 19 percent cut in benefits, unless Congress acts. The average monthly benefit for disabled workers and their families is $1,017. The typical beneficiary would see a reduction of $193 a month. “Today’s report shows that we must seek meaningful, in some instances even urgent, changes to ensure the program is on stable ground for future generations,” said Jo Ann Jenkins, the chief executive officer of AARP. In more bad news for beneficiaries, the trustees project there will be no cost-of-living increase in benefits at the end of the year. It would mark only the third year without an increase since automatic adjustments were adopted in 1975. Separately, about 7 million Medicare beneficiaries could face a monthly premium increase of at least $54 for outpatient coverage. That works out to an increase of more than 50 percent. The annual report card on the financial health of Social Security and Medicare shows that the federal government’s largest benefit programs are feeling the strain of aging baby boomers as they both approach milestone anniversaries. Medicare turns 50 at the end of the month and Social Security turns 80 two weeks later. Continued on Page 12

PAGE 6 • Read a joint statement from the

commissioners on reassessment.

will be mailed to affected property owners within the next several weeks. Commission Chairman Rodney Ruddock said the decision to do the additional review and research Continued on Page 5

Supervisors question new calculation of land values By SEAN YODER

syoder@indianagazette.net

WHITE TOWNSHIP

Because White Township holds about a third of the wealth in Indiana County, officials in the municipality have a responsibility to voice their opinion on the reassessments. That’s according to George Lenz, a White Township supervisor. Township officials voted Wednesday night to direct Solicitor Michael

Delaney and Township Manager Milt Lady to draft a letter requesting the county to modify the reassessments, especially concerning “nonproductive land.” Lenz came prepared with a first draft of the letter that might serve as Continued on Page 5

County seeks $400,000 grant to extend trail By RANDY WELLS

rwells@indianagazette.net

The Indiana County commissioners Wednesday approved the filing of an application for $400,000 from the state’s Multimodal Transportation Fund to help pay for design work and engineering on a multimodal corridor in White Township, Indiana Borough and on the Indiana University of Pennsylvania campus. The corridor, the route of which is not yet decided, will extend the Hoodlebug Trail from its end point south of Indiana across the campus and through the borough to the White Township Recreation Complex. The grant money, if approved, will be added to $30,000 commitments each from Indiana, White Township, IUP and the county for engineering and design work. Continued on Page 4

Officials declare emergency to speed fix of Martin Road By SEAN YODER

syoder@indianagazette.net

The White Township supervisors declared an emergency Wednesday to expedite efforts to repair Martin Road. Recently, erosion has caused the side of the road to crumble about a foot per week, according to Township Manager Milt Lady. The declaration allows the township to bypass the usual Christmas In July Half Price Gift Certificates. Online Only This Weekend. indianagazette.com

bidding process. The damaged portion of the road is less than a mile from Route 954 near the railroad crossing. A drainage pipe that runs underneath the road and train tracks has been undercutting the road and causing a slide on the shoulder. Township officials first noticed it on July 9. The road is now down to one lane. Lady said he hopes Russ Klingensmith, of Irwin, will Nap’s Weekend Special: Seared Sea Scallops Indiana Gazette Online

start work on the project in the next two days. It will likely cost more than $10,000. Lady didn’t have an exact figure but said the materials for the fix alone cost more than $5,000. He said there is a delay because Klingensmith needs an oversized load permit. Indiana County expedited the approval but the equipment can’t immediately get out of Westmoreland County, he said. Our Fresh Picked Butter & Sugar Sweet Corn ... Ready Now! Yarnick’s Farm (724) 349-3904

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JAMIE EMPFIELD/Gazette

A SECTION of Martin Road about a mile from Route 954 continues to crumble. Stauffer’s Market, East Of Brush Valley. Our Own Sweet Corn $3.99 Dozen, Now Until August 1.

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Weekend Specials: Italian Baked Chicken, Stuffed Pork Tenderloin, Walleye Pizzolia. Luigi’s


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