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N/Warren Town and County News
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Older Iowans Warned About Offers of 'Free Government Benefits'
Older Iowans who receive official-looking mailers
with "FREE government benefits" in large print
should beware: A private company might be fishing
for your information and trying to sell you
insurance.
An Arizona printing company and a Missouri
insurance agency must stop sending deceptive
mailers to Iowans as a result of separate consent
judgments. The Iowa Attorney General's Office had
alleged that the companies had violated the Iowa
Consumer Fraud Act and the Older Iowans Act.
The mailers were sent to at least 61,750 Iowans.
The front of the mailers had an illustration of the
U.S. Capitol and below it said "Official Business"
and "Important information about your government
benefit". The envelopes also said "Receive your
FREE Government Benefits Information Brochure"
with "Free Government Benefits" in larger type.
Inside, the mailer offered a "Senior Final Expense
Program" that would "pay 100% of all funeral
expenses not paid by Social Security, up to $15,000
for each senior covered. To see if you qualify, mail
this postage paid card today." The addressee was
asked to provide name, address, phone, age, and
spouse's age and name. In small type at the bottom
of the page, the card read "Not affiliated with or
endorsed by any government or Medicare program."
The Attorney General's investigation showed that
the mailers were targeted to Iowans as old as 85
and with annual incomes as low as $15,000. More
than 1,000 Iowans responded to the mailer. The
mailers were sent by Countrywide Printing and
Mailing Services, LLC, of Tempe, Arizona, at the
direction of McAfee and Associates of Hannibal,
Missouri.
In a consent judgment entered by Fifth District
Chief Judge Arthur Gamble in November,
Countrywide and its owner, Troy V. Fish, are barred
from engaging in printing and mailing services
aimed at Iowa consumers. They also must pay
$10,000 to the Consumer Fraud Enforcement Fund
and destroy any names or other personal
information of Iowans. Fish also agreed to cooperate
with the Attorney General's investigation.
In a consent judgment entered by Polk County
District Judge Celene C. Gogerty, McAfee and
Associates and its representatives - John A. McAfee
of Hannibal; Alexander Chasteen of West Des
Moines; Clay Walters of Grimes, Iowa; Justin
Roberts of Waukee; and Rachael Edmondson of
Kansas City, Mo. - are barred from sending mailers
to Iowans that, among other things, "create a false
impression that the mailer is sent from any
government entity or department." The mailers also
must say that McAfee and Associates is a for-profit
insurance business. The defendants must pay $5,000
total to the state.
McAfee and its agents denied that they were
involved in the design of the mailers.
If the defendants violate the consent judgment,
they could be subject to fines of up to $5,000 per
day of the violation under Iowa's Consumer Fraud
Act.
B.usinesses that commit fraud against the elderly
can face additional civil penalties under the Older
Iowans Act.
Seniors are frequent targets of scammers,
according to a U.S. Senate report released in
January. The Special Committee on Aging found
that older adults lose an estimated $2.9 billion each
year to financial scams. Among the top scams are
people posing as representatives of government
agencies.
If you receive questionable mailings or calls,
contact the Iowa Attorney General's Office at
www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.gov, consumer@ag
.iowa.gov, or 515-281-5926 (outside the Des Moines
area, call toll-free: 888-777-4590).
constructors
&engineersM,c,
CONSTRUCTION HELP NEEDED!!
Gleeson is accepting applicatiOnS for the following positions:
Laborers
Carpenters
Ironworkers
Concrete Finishers
$17.00-$19.00
Szt.oo- $z4.oo
$Zl.OO- $z4.oo
$21.oo- $z4.oo
PRIOR EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!
Please apply online:
www.gleesonllc.com
Email Resume:
ptabbert@gleesonllc.com
In person at the jobsite trailer, located at:
Job site Trailer- (515) 344-8665
c/o: Michael Foods, Inc.
101 Delaware Street
Norwalk, IA 50211
Must be able to pass pre-employment physical * Post Offer Pre-Employrnent Drug Testing & E-Verify Required
Gleeson Constructors & Engineers, L.L.C. is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer (EEO/AA Employer).
Have a news item
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Send it to us
by email at
news@norwalk
newspaper.com
Norwalk Easter
Public Library
Hours of Operation
Monday- Thursday
I0 a.n - 8p.m.
Friday, 11 a.m. - 6p.m.
Salurday, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Sunday, 1 - 4 ]zra.
1051 North Avenue
Sole Mates and
Surgery
By Dorothy Rosby
I used to keep the partners of every sock my family
ever lost on the off chance that someday their sole
mates would return. It was wishful thinking,
considering some of them probably went missing
while we were living in our last house, and we left
there more than 20 years ago.
Then an acquaintance needed socks for a craft
project, so I gave her some and tossed the rest, and it
felt good to be rid of them. But it's a law of the
universe, as reliable as gravity, that shortly after you
finally dispose of something, even something you
haven't used in years, you'll suddenly wish you had
it.
I had foot surgery in December. It wasn't serious.
I did start getting uh cold feet right before the
procedure but it turned out to be fairly easy. In fact,
I slept right through it.
Recovery was harder - especially for my husband.
I needed to keep my foot up for a few days and yelling
for help every time I needed something was
inconvenient for him.
But it wasn't an easy time for me either. Showering
was a challenge. Several times, while I was
maneuvering in an out of the shower, trying to keep
my bandaged foot dry, I almost broke my leg.
And getting a pant leg over the bandages was so
hard that I was tempted to wear pajamas my first
day back to work.
Naturally, I also needed socks. Fortunately, I have
some sleep socks that are big enough to fit over the
bandages and into my surgical shoe. Unfortunately,
they're too big to fit into my other shoe. And that's
when my bag of widowed, separated, and divorced
socks would have come in handy. You're probably
wondering why I didn't just wear a sock one day and
its partner the next. How naive. Anyone who thinks
it's that simple probably also thinks socks only go
missing in the dryer.
Those of us who have studied the phenomenon of
missing socks know that the minute a sock is left
alone, it's in danger. I've had socks go missing from
the laundry basket and from the heap of dirty clothes
beside the laundry basket. I've had them wander
away from the pile of clean, unfolded laundry on the
couch. I've even had them go missing while I've been
sitting on my bed, putting on their partner.
And now, they're disappearing off the top of my
dresser, which is where I've been keeping them while
I wear their mate and they wait their turn. At least I
thought that'swhere I was keeping them.
Eventuallyi' I got my bandages off. You have to be
pretty impressed by medical staff who can remove
bandages from a foot that hasn't been washed in
weeks. I was excited about washing it again that I
thought about having a little celebration, maybe
inviting some people over to watch. I didn't, but I
thought about it. They could have helped me look for
my socks: " i
I'd hoped tl at once I got the bandages off, life
would return normal for me and my sock drawer.
But my foot isn't quite ready to jam into a real shoe
yet, so I'm s{ ill wearing my surgical shoe and
mismatched, flocks. And once again, I have a big
collection of single socks. Not only that; I'm missing
a shoe.
Iowa Scholarship for the Arts
The Iowa Schols/rship for the Arts is bffered annually to Iowans who will
graduate from an Iowa high school this' year and be accepted as a full-time
undergraduate student at a fully accredited Iowa college or university with a
major in animation, architecture, dance, fashion, fine arts education, folk and
traditional arts, graphic design, literature, media arts, music, theater, or visual
arts. This year's recipientswill receive $1,500 toward his or her 2019-2020
academic year expenses.
Applicants must submit an application, write an essay about their artistic
vision and career goals, and provide work samples and one letter of
recommendation. The application deadline is March 1st. Scholarship recipients
will be invited to an award ceremony in April at the State Capitol. Contact Jennie
Knoebel at jennie.knoebel@iowa.gov for more information.
Administered by the Iowa Arts Council, the Iowa Scholarship for the Arts
was established in conjunction with a benefit concert by world-renowned opera
singer Simon Estes for the state of Iowa's Homecoming '86 celebration. Two
years later, the Iowa Arts Council established an endowment to guarantee
perpetual funding of the program. The Iowa Arts Council is a division of the
Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs. More information is available at
iowaculture.gov.
