State Constitutional Amendment on ballot this election

This election, Tuesday, November 6, there will be an amendment to our state constitution on the ballot. Depending on the way a ballot measure is worded it can be confusing to figure out exactly what voting in favor or against means. WV voters can review exactly what is proposed and determine in advance whether they intend to vote for or against the measure by reviewing sample ballots in the newspaper, or checking the ballot language on the Secretary of State's office website www.sos.wv.gov/elections/currentelection/Pages/ConstitutionalAmendment.aspx, reprinted here below:

From the Office of the WV Secretary of State:

On the November 2012 General Election Ballot, voters will see the following proposed amendment to the West Virginia Constitution. Ratification of the amendment requires a majority vote. If this amendment is ratified by the voters, the language below will be removed completely from the West Virginia Constitution, and nothing will be added in its place.

WV Code §3-11-4

Language to be Removed from the West Virginia Constitution

A person who has been elected or who has served as a sheriff during all or any part of two consecutive terms shall be ineligible for the office of sheriff during any part of the term immediately following the second of the two consecutive terms. The person holding the office of sheriff when this section is ratified shall not be prevented from holding the office of sheriff during the term immediately following the term he is then serving.

West Virginia State Election Commission Information

The West Virginia State Election Commission has provided the following non-partisan information about the proposed amendment:

Voting “For the Amendment” means you are in favor of removing the two term limit on county sheriffs.

Voting “Against the Amendment” means you are in favor of keeping the two term limit on county sheriffs.

The Exact Wording of the Amendment on the Ballot

No. 1

Repeal The Two Consecutive Term Limitation for Sheriffs Amendment To repeal section three, article IX of the State Constitution which provides that a person who has been elected or who has served as a sheriff during all or any part of two consecutive terms shall be ineligible for the office of sheriff during any part of the term immediately following the second of the two consecutive terms, and that the person holding the office of sheriff when this section is ratified shall not be prevented from holding the office of sheriff during the term immediately following the term he is serving.
[ ] For the Amendment
[ ] Against the Amendment

Social Security COLA 1.7% for 2013

Beginning with benefits in January 2013 Social Security benefit checks will go up 1.7%. The annual Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) is based on the Consumer Price Index from the 3rd quarter. Neither Congress nor the President decides how much or whether Social Security benefits increase to keep pace with inflation.

The maximum earnings that are subject to Social Security tax will also increase in 2013 from $110,100 to $113,700. That means that Social Security tax is withheld for every dollar earned by a worker during the year until the worker reaches $113,700. All earnings above that have no Social Security taxes imposed on them.

The retirement earnings test exemption amount will also increase in 2013. The earnings limit for workers who are younger than "full" retirement age (age 66 for people born in 1943 through 1954) will be $15,120. Social Security deducts $1 from benefits for each $2 earned over $15,120. The earnings limit for people turning 66 in 2013 will be $40,080. Social Security deducts $1 from benefits for each $3 earned over $40,080 until the month the worker turns age 66. There is no limit on earnings for workers who are "full" retirement age or older for the entire year.

Medicare will likely increase the Part B premium for 2013, as well. That has not yet been determined. If it does, some Social Security beneficiaries who pay Medicare Part B premiums may actually not see any increase in their monthly benefits take-home amount, since the increase in Part B premium might offset the COLA increase.

Free Legal Assistance Available For Storm Survivors

A toll-free legal aid line is taking calls from survivors of this summer's derecho in designated West Virginia counties. These counties are Barbour, Boone, Braxton, Cabell, Calhoun, Clay, Doddridge, Fayette, Gilmer, Grant, Greenbrier, Hardy, Harrison, Jackson, Jefferson, Kanawha, Lewis, Lincoln, Logan, Marshall, Mason, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Nicholas, Pendleton, Pleasants, Pocahontas, Preston, Putnam, Raleigh, Randolph, Ritchie, Roane, Summers, Tucker, Tyler, Upshur, Wayne, Webster, Wetzel, Wirt, Wood and Wyoming. Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments. The service, which allows callers to request the assistance of a lawyer, is a partnership between the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (www.abanet.org/disaster), a partnership of national legal services support entities (www.disasterlegalaid.org), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (www.fema.gov).

Survivors facing legal issues may call 877-331-4259 24 hours a day to the message line to request assistance. Phone lines are staffed during the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and callers may leave a message after those times. Callers should identify that they are seeking FEMA legal assistance, and should identify what county they are located in. Survivors who qualify for assistance will be matched with West Virginia lawyers who have volunteered to provide free legal help.

The types of legal assistance available include:

• Assistance with securing FEMA and other government benefits available to disaster survivors
• Assistance with life, medical and property insurance claims
• Help with home repair contracts and contractors
• Replacement of wills and other important legal documents destroyed in the disaster
• Assisting in consumer protection matters, remedies and procedures
• Counseling on mortgage-foreclosure problems
• Counseling on landlord/tenant problems

Silver Alert: Laurence Howard Nichol, 79, Mon County

UPDATE 10/9/12:

State Police issued a Silver Alert for a missing elderly man from Monongalia County. Police received a call a little after 3:00 Tuesday afternoon, that Laurence Howard Nichol went missing from his daughter's Turtle Creek home in Morgantown. More than 100 people, including search crews, volunteers, and police were out searching for the man.

Nichol is seventy-nine years old, weighs 145 pounds, and has blue eyes. He also has gray hair, and was last seen wearing a red jacket, light colored pants, and brown shoes. Nichol suffers from Alzheimer's and walks with a limp.

Police say he should have contact information in his pocket. LT. Roger Gidley of the Mon County Sheriff's Department said, "We have three or four canines that are coming out, that specialize in tracking. We're in the process now of getting a helicopter here with the thermal imager, so we can look for any heat source out in the woods."

If you've seen Nichol, please call the West Virginia State Police at 304-624-7573. You can also call the Monongalia County Sheriff's Department at 304-291-7260.