The Hastings Banner — Thursday, November 18, 2021 — Page 5GUEST COMMENTARY
SOCIAL SECURITY
HASTINGS PUBLIC
LIBRARY SCHEDULE
Editorial erred on one critical point
To the editor:
There is a serious factual error in Fred
Jacobs’ Nov. 11 editorial “A nation of leaders- or rulers?”
Not every bit of erroneous information is
important, but I believe this one is.
Mr. Jacobs stated, “Even here in Barry
County, parents have filled school board
meetings to voice concerns with mandatory
masking, yet the federal government responds
by authorizing the U.S. Department of Justice
to view these parents as domestic terrorists.”
A simple internet search inquiry for
“Justice department directive regarding vio-
lence and threats at public meetings” disclos-
es on the first hit that this is not true. The
actual memorandum is readily available, and
it does not mention terrorism or terrorists at
all. It concerns “harassment, intimidation and
threats of violence against school administra-
tors, board members, teachers, and staff who
participate in the vital work of running our
nation’s public schools.”
Does Mr. Jacobs really have a problem
with that?
The Banner has reported some of these
threats of violence and lawless behavior
against school and public health officials
here. It is important to distinguish between
the legitimate right of all citizens to express
their opinions at public forums or air griev-
ances with public officials and threatening
violence and dangerous behavior. The DOJ
memorandum makes this clear: “While spirit-
ed debate about policy matters is protected
under our Constitution, that protection does
not extend to threats of violence or efforts to
intimidate individuals based on their views.”
Mr. Jacobs has the right to express his
opinions in The Banner. It is his newspaper.
But, as with citizenship, “rights come with
responsibilities.” I would say the publisher
of a newspaper has an extra responsibility to
make sure his statements are factually cor-
rect.
An editorial writer has the power to influ-
ence readers. I reckon Mr. Jacobs didn’t
intend to provoke upset parents with his false
accusation against the Department of Justice.
But such statements may inadvertently give
encouragement to some citizens to take the
law into their own hands and believe they
have the right to do so if they are upset.
I believe it also is counter-factual to assume
that those public officials charged with keep-
ing our children and the rest of us safe during
a serious infectious disease pandemic are
trying to assume dictatorial powers. They are,
for the most part, sincerely interested in the
welfare of their young charges and the com-
munity at large.
It also seems to me that those “bureau-
crats” in the Department of Justice are doing
their duty to ensure civility in the relationship
between parents and other citizens and those
public officials – and to make sure interac-
tions are lawful and peaceful.Dr. Kenneth M. Kornheiser,
Prairieville TownshipHastings Middle School releases honor roll
Hastings Middle School has released its
honor roll for the first quarter of the 2021-
2022 academic year.
Students qualify by earning all A’s or all
A’s and B’s on their most recent report cards.
Those on the honor roll include:
Sixth grade
Principal’s List
All A’s honor roll
Violet Bivens, Kyanne Casey, Parker
Castaneda, Landon Currier, Gavin Fields,
Joseph Furrow, William Hilbert, Kendyl
Hinkle, Graceyn Horrmann, Remington
Jerzyk, Jason Jimenez, Braxton Kirby,
Cayden Kirby, Tanner Krzysik, Nolan Lucas,
Mya Luna, Weston Meinke, Kassidy Peake,
Lilly Randall, Trevin Russell, Aiden Vance
and Avery Walsh.
A’s & B’s honor roll
Audrey Acker, Jace Acker, Isabella Arias-
Pease, Taylor Aspinall, Colin Baker, Jax
Balderson, Deagan Blough, Kylee Bosworth,
Allison Brown, Sophia Bucher, Olivia
Buehler, Kade Case, Morgan Casselman,
Molly Cherniawski, Brody Clark, Cameron
Clock, Dakota Cole, Thomas Cook, Graden
Courtright, Carter Danks, Fenix Davis,
Zachary Davis, Lillian Edger, Parker Erb,
Temperance France, Ashlynn Goldsworthy,
Carson Gole, Alyssa Greene, Landon Griffin,
Elsie Haight, Jonah Hamp, Ethan Hetrick,
Alyssa Hocsak, Cooper Hokanson, Kylie
James, Maxwell Kensington, Evyn Kindel,
Alexis King, Lylah Kopf, Annabelle Kuck,
Reece Laws, Sydney Lindsey, Mya Loftus,
Kaden Main, Olivia Malik, Jayce McCord,
Lillian McFarlan, Angelia McGregor,
Gregory Neubauer, Jaelynn Neymeiyer, Jett
Nofz, Sydney Patterson, Jazmin Porras-
Griffin, Brendon Rabideau, Addison Reaser,
Gregory Rutkowski, Cora Shattuck, Caiden
Shull-Frye, Owen Spicer, Hunter Sutfin,
Alexander Timmers, Grant Tossava, Weston
Troyer, Ryan VanHouten, Kiley Wilcox and
Samantha Wright.Seventh grade
Principal’s List
All A’s honor roll
Meredith Ansorge, Owen Boge, Ashton
Brubaker, Jackson Busson, Morgan Cross,
Alexa DeCamp, Sadie Hanford, Ethan
Hawthorne, Sophia Haywood, Brissa
Hernandez-Hernandez, Tori Morgan, Chloe
Pirtle, Mallory Rohe, Donald Smith and
Annika Solmes.A’s & B’s honor roll
Audrey Aicken, Olivia Allen, Adria Arent,
Brennen Armstrong, Mayla Bell, Reilly
Campbell, Benjamin Carl, Sydnie Diljak,
Quintin Eberly, Henry Elzinga, Petra Foster,
Tyler Frazer, Bella Friddle, Lola Grego,
Kennedy Hall, Ava Herbert, Sierra Hester,
Harlie James, Colt Jousma, Gabryella
Juskewicz, Madison Killian, Cordelia Kniaz,
Aubree Lambert, Reese Loftus, Riley Luna,
Aaron Minogue, Miracle Morgan, Olivia Orns,Brody Peake, Maverik Peake, Jasper Ramsey,
Caroline Randall, Grady Reed, William Renner
IV, Cassie Rosenberg, Lila Schweizer, Aiden
Smith, Hannah Sorensen, Allison Tefft, Ember
Twiss, Emma Warner, Raegan Wattles, Jack
Webb and Spencer Wilkins.Eighth grade
Principal’s List
All A’s honor roll
Ashlyn Bailey, Breanna Busboom,
Matthew Domenico, Charlotte Drake, Lauren
Gee, Riley Herron, Ethan Holman, Daniel
Jensen, Alexander Kohmescher, Carter
Krzysik, Adriana Meyers, Jadalie Miller, Ava
Noteboom, Shealagh Rose, Josalyn Russell,
Mazie Waterman and Gracie Wilson.A’s & B’s
Austin Abson, Chloe Aicken, Annemarie
Allerding, Aden Armstrong, Seth Arnold,
Gavyn Avila, Colton Baker, Carter Bell,
Olivia Bucher, Aiden Byle, Madison
Chipman, Ricardo Contreras, Ellie Cousins,
Shiloh Crandall, Colten Denton, Kyle
Echtinaw, Anderson Forell, Olivia Friddle,
Olivia Goodrich, Reese Hammond, Tanner
Hill, Isaak Lambert, Dezarae Mathis, Rylee
Meece, Claudia Minch, Maylee Olin, Aiden
Oliver, Madilynn Peake, Carisa Rosenberger,
Alyxis Rudd, Deagan Sanders, Matthew
Shults, Bayley Smith, Natalie Snyder,
Isabelle Stanton, Parker Stephens, Brayden
Thielen, Collin Tossava, Angelina Waterman,
Lucas Waterman and Lainey Westworth.FDA needs to halt dairy product mislabeling
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative
Mislabeling of imitation dairy products is
an important issue for customers and farmers.
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative is preparing
to work with President Biden’s newly nominat-
ed commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration to halt the practice. Dr. Robert
Califf was just nominated for the post, which
has been vacant since Biden took office.
Leaders at the co-op said they are pleased
to see that post finally filled. The agency
oversees everything from food and drugs to
tobacco, dietary supplements and cosmetics,
and thus regulates dairy labeling.
It’s time for the FDA to get serious about
correctly labeling food.
Edge President Brody Stapel said, “While
the agency uses its enforcement discretion,
dairy farmers lose out and customers are mis-
led with products that use dairy’s good name
to sell nutritionally inferior products.”
Stopping the use of untruthful labels on
imitation dairy foods has long been a top
policy priority for Edge.
Current law creates a clear definition of
milk as “the lacteal secretion, practically
free from colostrum, obtained by the com-
plete milking of one or more healthy
cows.” Regulations state that terms such as
milk, cheese, ice cream and yogurt apply
to products made from the milk of cows.
Yet the FDA allows the makers of imita-
tion products to use those terms freely.
A national survey co-commissioned by
Edge found that customers are confused
about whether imitation cheese products are
indeed dairy foods and whether they carry the
same nutritional value.
Some of those findings are:- One-quarter of customers mistakenly
think plant-based products labeled as cheese
contain milk. - One-third of customers believe that the
products contain protein, and 21 percent
think that it is of a higher quality than dairy
even though the imitations have little to no
protein. Real dairy cheese has 7 grams of
protein. - One-quarter of customers purchase imita-
tion cheeses because they believe them to be
low in calories and fat and without additives.
In reality, these plant-based foods contain an
equal or comparable amount of fat and calo-
ries and substantially more additives than
dairy cheeses.
Stapel is calling for Califf’s speedy confir-
mation followed by a swift resolution of the
issue – for the good of the consumer and the
farmer.
Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, based in
Green Bay, Wis., is the third largest cooperative
in the country based on milk volume. For more
information, go to: http://www.voiceofmilk.com.
Gov. Whitmer broke her promise
to auto-injured victims
Maureen Howell
For months, a group of mothers of serious-
ly injured auto crash victims – including
myself – have been begging Gov. Gretchen
Whitmer for a few minutes of her time. Not
as Democrats, Republicans or a high-pow-
ered special interest group, but as her constit-
uents and fellow moms.
We’ve heard nothing but silence. And that
silence has been so hurtful.
For years, Whitmer said she was a strong
defender of auto crash victims and would
stand up for the less fortunate. But, in 2019,
she broke her campaign promise and sold our
families down the river. All for a cheap polit-
ical win. Our children are paying the price.
The 45-percent cut to provider reimburse-
ments and limits to family attendant care,
passed as part of auto insurance reform, has
thrown families across Michigan into disar-
ray. Our kids are losing the caregivers who
help give their lives dignity and meaning –
losing those who keep them alive. We’re
watching our children backslide and lose
hard-won progress in real-time, and we’re
heartbroken as we watch their suffering.
There’s nothing we can do to fix the situation.
The pain is unbearable.
Our children are being treated like roadkill,
like their lives don’t matter. They’re not some
pawns in a political game. They’re people.
They deserve to live full and healthy lives,
and to recover to the best of their abilities, as
they were promised.
I want to talk to the governor about my son,
Sam. Before his catastrophic car accident in
2005, he was thriving and taking pre-med class-
es at Michigan State University. Then he came
home on break one day and his car collided with
a tree. His skull and lungs were crushed; his
neck and spine broken. He was in a coma for
three months and acute rehab for seven months.
The governor knows these details as she
served in the Legislature with Sam’s dad, Jim
Howell, just before Sam’s accident. And, as
Rep. Whitmer, along with the rest of the
House of Representatives and Senate, she
said a prayer for Sam’s survival and recovery.
Years later, she signed a bill destined to
destroy the auto no-fault that allowed his
recovery and the recovery of thousands in
Michigan. This was not the answer to the
prayer that I envisioned.
Our no-fault auto insurance saved Sam’s
life and set him on a path to the full life he
leads today. He no longer needs a wheelchair,
he dances, and he even graduated from col-
lege – all things that doctors predicted he
wouldn’t do again.
This wouldn’t be possible without the post-
acute care and services covered by our no-fault
policy – care that has now been eliminated.
Accident survivors with debilitating injuries
like Sam’s are suddenly ending up in hospitals
and nursing homes. Some are dying. This
can’t be what Gov. Whitmer had in mind when
she championed no-fault reforms in 2019.The Legislature deserves a lot of blame
for this crisis – for example, Senate Majority
Leader Mike Shirkey and House Speaker
Jason Wentworth have refused to move bills
that would protect accident victims – but
Gov. Whitmer shouldn’t get a pass. She
could have vetoed this awful bill in 2019, so
she bears some responsibility for this
wretched situation.
She needs to listen to us and she needs to
get this right.
At the Mackinac Policy Conference, she
spoke of her statewide listening tour and how
she started those conversations off by talking
about her daughters and her worries for their
future. Well, governor, with all due respect:
The future is looking extremely bleak for
people like Sam unless there are immediate
changes to the state’s reform of the auto
no-fault law. Our families are desperate for
your vocal, enthusiastic support. Please don’t
let us down again.
Do whatever you would do to protect
your own daughters should they be cata-
strophically injured.
As a mother, you would move heaven and
earth. Now do that for our children!
Maureen Howell is a member of Parents
Against No-Fault Insurance Chaos (PANIC)
and We Can’t Wait, two groups dedicated to
protecting auto accident victims following
the 2019 auto insurance reforms. This guest
commentary appeared in Bridge Michigan.Family Owned and Operated
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328 S. Broadway, Hastings, MI 49058
269-945-3252 • http://www.girrbachfuneralhome.net
Dale Billingsley
Owner/ManagerRay Girrbach
Owner EmeritusCarveth Village
of MiddlevilleCarveth Village
- Independent and Assisted Living
- Spacious one and two bedroom apartments available
- Providing the comforts of home including
housekeeping and laundry services
Family Owned and Operated since 1999
Call for details: 269-795-4972 • http://www.CarvethVillage.com
690 W. Main Street, Middleville, MI 49333
New filers for unemployment
benefits must register with
Michigan Works
As of Nov. 7, unemployed workers filing a
new claim for benefits will be required to
register for work with Michigan Works staff
and verify their registration with either an in
person or virtual appointment.
“Registering with Michigan Works not
only fulfills a requirement to receive unem-
ployment benefits, but it also provides unem-
ployed workers with a great advantage in
landing one of the 114,000 available jobs
listed by employers on Pure Michigan Talent
Connect,” Unemployment Insurance Agency
Director Julia Dale said in a Nov. press
release. “Work registration is also helpful for
employers in recruiting job candidates at a
time when hiring has been difficult.”
To register for work, claimants must com-
plete two steps. First, visit MiTalent.org to
create a job seeker profile on Pure Michigan
Talent Connect.
Second, meet with staff from a local
Michigan Works Service Center either virtual-
ly or in person at least one business day before
the first certification (claimants must certify
bi-weekly that they are eligible for benefits).
Claimants will receive an email confirma-
tion when registration is complete and veri-
fied. If claimants don’t meet with Michigan
Works Service Center staff to verify theirregistration it could delay the payment of
unemployment benefits.
Claimants must register for work in addi-
tion to completing and reporting to the UIA
their work search activities. Those filing for
benefits must report at least one work search
activity for each week they claim benefits.
Work search activities include, but are not
limited to, applying for jobs in person or
online, attending job fairs, creating a profile
or resume on a professional networking or job
site such as MiTalent.org, and participating in
online job search workshops or seminars.
The Michigan Works Association partners
with UIA to assist claimants with getting back
to work. The statewide network of MWA offic-
es provides job-search resources, including job
postings, job matches, hiring fairs, workshops,
seminars, career resources and more.
A claimant’s work registration is valid for
one year after their initial claim for unem-
ployment benefits. Work registration is
required with every new benefit year.
The UIA website, Michigan.gov/UIA,
offersmore information about Work
Registration.
Local Michigan Works Service Centers
can be found at MichiganWorks.org or by
calling 800-285-WORKS.Help for certain recipients starting or returning to work
Vonda VanTil
Public Affairs Specialist
If you rely on Supplemental Security
Income payments or Social Security
Disability Insurance benefits and want to start
or return to work, we can help.
Ticket to Work is a program that supports
career development for SSDI beneficiaries
and SSI recipients who want to work and
progress toward financial independence. The
Ticket program is free and voluntary. Learn
more about the Ticket to Work program at
ssa.gov/work or call the Ticket to Work Help
Line, 866-968-7842 or 866-833-2967 (TTY)
weekdays 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In addition to the Ticket to Work program,
the Plan for Achieving Self-Support, or
PASS, program also helps people with dis-
abilities return to work. A PASS allows you
to set aside resources and other income
besides your SSI for a specified period. With
a PASS, you can pursue a work goal that will
reduce or eliminate your need for SSI or
SSDI benefits.
How does a PASS help someone return to
work?- We base SSI eligibility and payment
amounts on income and resources (items of
value that the person owns). - PASS lets a person with a disability set
aside money and items they own to pay for
items or services needed to achieve a specific
work goal. - The objective of the PASS is to help peo-
ple with disabilities find employment that
reduces or eliminates the need for SSI or
SSDI benefits.
You can read all about the PASS program
at ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-11017.pdf.
The PASS must be in writing, and we must
approve the plan. To start, contact your local
PASS Cadre or local Social Security office
for an application (Form SSA-545-BK). You
also can access the form at ssa.gov/forms/ssa-
545.html. Ticket to Work service providers,
vocational counselors, or a representative or
relative can help you write a PASS.
For more information about PASS, read
“The Red Book, a Guide to Work Incentives”
at ssa.gov/redbook.
Your job isn’t just a source of income – it
can be a vehicle to independence or the
beginning step to fulfilling your dreams. Let
our Ticket to Work program or PASS pro-
gram help you achieve your goals.
Vonda VanTil is the public affairs specialist
for West Michigan. You may write her c/o
Social Security Administration, 3045 Knapp
NE, Grand Rapids MI 49525, or via email to
[email protected].Thursday, Nov. 18 – Baby Café, 10 a.m.;
Novel Ideas Book Club discusses “True Sisters”
by Sandra Dallas, 12:30 p.m. in the Michigan
Room; Movie Memories and Milestones watch-
es a 1962 film starring Gary Cooper based on
the life of Lou Gehrig, 5-8 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 20 – Dungeons and Dragons
starts back up from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 22 – Crafting Passions CraftWork Group meets, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 23 – mahjong, 2:30 p.m.;
chess, 5:30.
Wednesday, Nov. 24 – Itsy Bitsy Book
Club meets via Zoom (pick up monthly story
time bag with link and crafts), 10:30 a.m.
More information about these and other
events is available by calling the library, 269-
945-4263, or checking its Facebook events.