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Navy ship will bear Billy Frank’s name

A new addition to the Navy’s fleet will be named for a Pacific Northwest leader of Native Americans.

Navy officials announced the USNS Billy Frank Jr. will be a Navajo-class towing, salvage, and rescue ship when it’s built. The name selection follows the tradition of naming such ships in honor of prominent Native Americans or Native American tribes

Frank was a Nisqually tribal member and an iconic Native American environmental leader and treaty rights activist before his death in 2014. His promoted cooperative management of natural resources while dedicating his life to activism. He served as chairman of the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission for more than 30 years.

“I am honored for the opportunity to name a naval ship after a man who was a proponent and leader for Native American rights,” said Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro . “Billy Frank Jr. spent his life serving others, and his namesake ship will do the same as it travels around the world enabling humanitarian assistance and the maintenance of freedom.”

The Senior Scene by — December 14, 2023 in Food, People
Higher Social Security payments start in January

Social Security benefits will be 3.2 percent higher in 2024, the latest of annual increases that weren’t always a sure thing.

The cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which was officially announced in October by the Social Security Administration, begins in January for the monthly benefits currently paid to more than 66 million beneficiaries. The same increase applies to approximately 7 million recipients of Supplemental Security Income.

The amount of the boost is based on the percentage increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, which is determined by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. By law, it’s the official measure used by the Social Security Administration to calculate COLAs.

The COLA for 2024 is less than half of the 8.7 percent increase in 2023. The year before that, the increase was 5.9 percent. From 2017 to 2021, the amounts ranged from less than 1 percent to 2.8 percent.

COLA’s aren’t automatic. The purpose of them is to help the purchasing power of Social Security benefits from being eroded by inflation, but they didn’t exist until Congress authorized them in 1972, and they weren’t automatic until 1975. Before that, benefits increased only when Congress passed special legislation.

National organizations such as the Senior Citizens League and AARP have pointed out that most older Americans relying on Social Security report that persistently high prices affect their household budgets.

Jo Ann Jenkins, chief executive officer of AARP, said “retirees can rest a little easier at night knowing they will receive an increase in their Social Security checks to help them keep up with rising prices” of gas and groceries. She said AARP wants Congress “to work in a bipartisan way to keep Social Security strong and provide workers and retirees with a long-term solution that current and future retirees can count on.”

The Senior Scene by — December 14, 2023 in Everything Else
USO brightens holidays for military           

Thousands of U.S. military members deployed overseas – many to the Middle East in response to the Israel-Hamas war –will be spending the holidays far away from loved ones. That’s where USO comes in.

Since forming in 1941, USO (United Service Organizations) has helped connect servicemen and servicewomen to their families, homes, and country.  Want to volunteer or make donations? The chapter for Joint Base Lewis-McChord and a USO center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport can be contacted at volunteers.uso.org and 253-589-8772.

And here is how USO programming helps make the holiday season bright:

  • Care packages. They’re a reminder that servicemen and women aren’t forgotten back home. Aside from standard USO Care Packages, which contain snacks or toiletries, USO Holidays Care Packages have festive treats and goodies, such as holiday candies and clothing that help bridge the gap between home and the frontlines. This year, USO will deliver 50,000 holiday packages to over 250 locations globally.
  • Holiday traditions. USO Centers and mobile teams host holiday meals. And dach December, USO Holidays Cookie Week celebrates the time-honored tradition of baking and decorating cookies, putting service members and military families in the holiday spirit wherever they are. Other seasonal programming can include tree decorating, arts and crafts, holiday-themed movie nights, and ugly-sweater competitions.
  • Connections to home. The USO Reading Program enables deployed service members to record themselves reading a book to their child. The recording and a copy of the book are sent to that service member’s family.
  • Happy trails. Thousands of service members and trainees from military installations across the country participate in the Holiday Block Leave period, many traveling through some of the busiest airports in the United States to be with their families during the holidays. USO airport centers provide a place to relax and unwind before the next leg of their journey, along with all the comfort items they need.

More information is at uso.org/campaign/holidays.

Source: StatePoint Media

HOW TO HELP

Want to volunteer or make donations for the USO? The chapter for Joint Base Lewis-McChord and a USO center at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport can be contacted at volunteers.uso.org and 253-589-8772.

The Senior Scene by — December 14, 2023 in News

The first death of a Pierce County resident attributed to the current flu season has been reported.

A woman in her 70s died Dec. 2, according to the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department.

People 65 or older are among the most at-risk of severe complications or death from flu. Pregnant women and anyone with a health condition such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease also are considered high-risk.

The Health Department tracks flu cases, but officials noted that only a healthcare provider can determine if someone is sick from flu or some other respiratory illness.

The Senior Scene by — December 14, 2023 in News