November Birthdays

11/1	Anna Hines	Okeechobee
11/1	Katrina Sullivan	Delaware State News
11/4	Jaclyn Fuller	Delaware Printing
11/4	Wanda Mazza-James	Delaware State News
11/5	David Hughes	Delaware State News
11/8	Joel Smyth	Chairman
11/8	Jacob Stanek	West Valley
11/11	Antoine Sample	Delaware Printing
11/13	Timothy Spong	Delaware State News
11/15	Terry Webb	Valley Printing
11/21	Diana Orozco	Valley Printing
11/24	Barbara Bryan	Delaware State News
11/24	Andrew West	Delaware State News
11/25	Frank Dentice	West Valley
11/25	Amy McDowell	Delaware State News
11/27	Lisa Dale	Corporate Services
11/28	Antoinette Hewes	Delaware Printing
11/29	Jessie Ryan	Delaware State News

November Anniversaries

11/1	4 YRS	Wendy Miller	East Valley
11/4	40 YRS	James Daisey	Delaware Printing
11/4	4 YRS	Maria NidoDeVaca	Valley Printing
11/5       3	7 YRS	Michael Jacobs	Valley Printing
11/5	3 YRS	David Gallegos	Valley Printing
11/13	3 YRS	Norma Kilpatrick	West Valley
11/16	25 YRS	David Rehkamp	Delaware Printing
11/16	2 YRS	Jose Lopez-Beltran	Valley Printing
11/16	1 YR	Amy Mullen	Delaware State News
11/17	2 YRS	Michael Joseph	Delaware State News
11/18	7 YRS	Bonnie Mankin	Delaware State News
11/20	11 YRS	Heath Michael	Valley Printing
11/20	10 YRS	Toni Ayers	Corporate Services
11/20	3 YRS	Clifford Collison	Daily Banner
11/21	38 YRS	Deborah Devlin	Delaware State News
11/26	4 YRS	Frank Dias	West Valley
11/30	6 YRS	Jamie Fritchman	Delaware State News

Delaware State News Staffers Ride the Amish Country Bike Tour

Delaware State News publisher Tom Byrd, Ad Manager Katrina Sullivan participated in last month’s Amish Country Country Bike Tour.

Delaware State News is a sponsor of the event and our Newshound was there to send off the 2300 cyclists.

“The Amish Country Bike Tour is a wonderful community event!”, said Katrina.  “ The easy ride through the back roads of Kent County is invigorating and relaxing at the same time. Every kind of bicyclist is there, from the trained and competitive, to families with their children riding beside them and even little ones being pulled behind in little carts. The roads are marked clearly throughout the ride and our local police department helps folks navigate through downtown at the beginning of the race. The best part-- the pumpkin pie at the Amish Schoolhouse stop is delicious!!”

“It was another perfect day for a ride, perfect conditions”  said Tom.  “The first year I was here, I did the century  and it was the hottest day of the year with temperatures on the road over a hundred on the way back.”    Unfortunately, Tom’s perfect ride was cut short by an unrepairable sidewall blowout on his road bike.    “I was at mile twenty outside of Marydel.  Lots of cyclists stopped and offered to help, and I had extra tubes and patching materials, but the tire was too damaged to be rideable.  It was actually a fairly new Vittoria with only a couple of hundred miles on it.  A nice support person from Kent County Tourism gave me a ride back to Dover.  I missed the fun and pie at the Amish Schoolhouse, but got to have my pulled pork sandwich early!”

Salisbury Independent Staff Take a Field Trip

Salisbury Independent Publisher Darel LaPrade recently led the newspaper staff on a tour of the Blind Industries And Services of Maryland's Salisbury hub. Employing about 90 people who have various levels of visual disability, the Salisbury manufacturing facility makes clothing for an array of clients, including the military branches of the U.S. Defense Department.  LaPrade, known for his wearing of bow ties, paused to try on an especially colorful bow tie being crafted from special fabric made in Uganda. 

Read To a Child - It Always Pays Off

The Economic Opportunities Council (EOC) hosts a Head Start Community Read Week during the week of Oct. 11 to Oct. 14 at its Okeechobee and Indian River County Head Start Centers.

EOC invites members of the community to come to a Head Start classroom and read a story to the children. To help develop their love of reading.

Head Start is a full-day and full-year, early childhood development program for at-risk, low-income children 3 to 5 years old. Head Start prepares children for school readiness. The program provides comprehensive education, health, nutrition, dental, and family engagement services to improve the physical, social, emotional, and intellectual development of children.

Tammi Kelly from the Okeechobee News went and read “The night before Halloween” to a class on Wednesday, Oct. 12.

“The class absolutely loved the book and they were very excited about having someone read to them,” said Mrs. Kelly.

“You would be amazed at where a love of books can take you in life,” said Mrs. Kelly.

This is an annual event and Mrs. Kelly looks forward to attending next year as well. 

Important Notice About Your Insurance

Important  Notice from Independent Newsmedia, Inc. About Your Prescription Drug Coverage and Medicare CreditableCoverage

Please read this notice carefully and keep it where you can find it. This notice has information about your current prescription drug coverage with INI and about your options under Medicare’s prescription drug coverage. This information can help you decide whether or not you want to join a Medicare drug plan.  If you are considering joining, you should compare your current coverage, including which drugs are covered at what cost, with the coverage and costs of the plans offering Medicare prescription drug coverage in your area. Information about where you can get help to make decisions about your prescription drug coverage is at the end of this notice.

There are two important things you need to know about your current coverage and Medicare’s prescription drug coverage:

1.   Medicare prescription drug coverage became available in 2006 to everyone with Medicare.

You can get this coverage if you join a Medicare Prescription Drug Plan or join a Medicare Advantage Plan (like an HMO or PPO) that offers prescription drug coverage. All Medicare drug plans provide at least a standard level of coverage set by Medicare. Some plans may also offer more coverage for a higher monthly premium.

2.   INI’s benefit broker has determined that the prescription drug coverage offered by INI Health & Welfare plan, on average for all plan participants, expected to pay out as much as standard Medicare prescription drug coverage pays and is therefore considered Creditable Coverage. Because your existing coverage is Creditable Coverage, you can keep this coverage and not pay a higher premium (a penalty) if you later decide to join a Medicare drug plan.

When Can You Join A Medicare Drug Plan?

You can join a Medicare drug plan when you first become eligible for Medicare and each year from

October 15^th   to December 7th.

However, if you lose your current creditable prescription drug coverage, through no fault of your own, you will also be eligible for a two (2) month Special Enrollment Period (SEP) to join a Medicare drug plan.

What Happens To Your  Current  Coverage If You Decide to Join A Medicare Drug Plan?  If you decide to join a Medicare drug plan, your current INI coverage will not be affected. You can keep this coverage if you elect part D and this plan will coordinate with Part D coverage.

If you do decide to join a Medicare drug plan and drop your current health coverage through INI,  be aware that you and your dependents will not be able to get this coverage back except during open enrollment or if you experience a qualified life event.

When Will You Pay A Higher Premium (Penalty) To Join A Medicare Drug Plan?

You should also know that if you drop or lose your current coverage with INI and don’t join a Medicare drug plan within 63 continuous days after your current coverage ends, you may pay a higher premium (a penalty) to join a Medicare drug plan later.

If you go 63 continuous days or longer without creditable prescription drug coverage, your monthly premium may go up by at least 1% of the Medicare base beneficiary premium per month for every month that you did not have that coverage. For example, if you go nineteen months without creditable coverage, your premium may consistently be at least 19% higher than the Medicare base beneficiary premium. You may have to pay this higher premium (a penalty) as long as you have Medicare prescription drug coverage. In addition, you may have to wait until the following November to join.

For More Information About This Notice Or Your Current Prescription Drug

Coverage…

Contact the person listed below for further information. NOTE: This notice is published each year. You will also get it before the next period you can join a Medicare drug plan, and if this coverage through INI  changes. You also may request a copy of this notice at any time.

For More Information About Your Options Under Medicare Prescription Drug

Coverage…

More detailed information about Medicare plans that offer prescription drug coverage is in the “Medicare & You” handbook. You’ll get a copy of the handbook in the mail every year from Medicare.   You may also be contacted directly by Medicare drug plans.

For more information about Medicare prescription drug coverage:

•    Visit www.medicare.gov

•    Call your State Health Insurance Assistance Program (see the inside back cover of your copy of the “Medicare & You” handbook for their telephone number) for personalized help

•    Call 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227). TTY users should call 1-877-486-2048.

If you have limited income and resources, extra help paying for Medicare prescription drug coverage is available. For information about this extra help, visit Social Security on the web at www.socialsecurity.gov, or call them at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778).

Remember: Keep this Creditable Coverage notice. If you decide to join one of the Medicare drug plans, you may be required to provide a copy of this notice when you join to show whether or not you have maintained creditable coverage and, therefore, whether or not you are required to pay a higher premium (a penalty).

Date:               October 10, 2016

Name of Entity/Sender:               Independent Newsmedia, Inc.

Contact--Position/Office:               Payroll Department

Address:               110 Galaxy Drive Dover, DE 19901

     Email:               inipayroll@newszap.com

                  Phone Number:              302-741-8206/302-741-8259