McCaskill Introduces Amendment to Protect Seniors from Predatory Lending

For almost three years, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill has been fighting to protect seniors from the predatory lending abuses in the reverse mortgage industry that can drain their hard-earned savings. This week, she introduced an amendment to the Wall Street reform legislation to ensure increased oversight and regulation of the reverse mortgage market and help ensure that America doesn't face another mess similar to the subprime mortgage market collapse.

"While reverse mortgages are great for some seniors, too many of our greatest generation are being hoodwinked by misleading advertisements and predatory lenders looking to make a buck," McCaskill said. "Because these are government-insured loans the taxpayers are on the hook when they default. If we don't put in place some better oversight measures, we're going to end up in a mess worse than we saw with the subprime lending collapse."

A reverse mortgage is a tool for seniors to tap into the equity in their homes, which for many represents their largest asset. These loans are expensive and complicated, and many seniors struggle to understand all the terms and fees. While they can be appropriate for seniors in some cases, they are not a good choice for many others, especially when they are sold alongside other expensive products like deferred annuities that may not be suitable for seniors. Further, because reverse mortgages are federally insured loans, they are often falsely marketed as a government entitlement program. If the loan goes bad, the government is on the hook for the money, not the lender.

Moreover, many now believe the reverse mortgage market resembles the subprime market, a market that substantially contributed to the financial disaster on Wall Street and the real estate collapse. The market for securities backed by reverse mortgages grew from $1.5 billion in January 2009 to $13 billion in March of 2010. Some reports indicate that many subprime lenders have moved into the reverse mortgage market following the collapse of the housing market in late 2008. McCaskill has been fighting to protect<http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=121> seniors against the worst abuses in this rapidly growing industry since arriving in Washington. As a member of the Special Committee on Aging, she has held two field hearings<http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=107> examining the numerous problems with the industry and passed legislation<http://mccaskill.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=139> to increase counseling for seniors before they take out a reverse mortgage and restrict misleading advertisements.

Her amendment, which she introduced with Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chair of the Aging Committee, would create standards for whether a reverse mortgage is suitable for seniors, prohibit misleading advertisements, and increase regulation and transparency of the industry. Specifically, the measure amend the Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 (S.3217) to require the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to issue rules to, at a minimum:

* Prohibit misleading advertisements of reverse mortgage products.

* Create standards for whether a reverse mortgage is suitable for a senior, with consideration for o Whether the borrower plans to live in the home on a long term basis o Whether the borrower plans to buy an annuity or other product with the proceeds and whether the costs of the reverse mortgage and annuity outweigh the benefits o Whether the borrower plans to pass the home on to an heir, etc.

* Restrict the cross-selling of annuities, long-term care insurance, or other similar products with a reverse mortgage

* Provide clear disclosures of the cost of a reverse mortgage and the terms required to avoid technical default on a reverse mortgage (such as maintenance and property tax requirements).

* Require seniors to receive counseling before taking out any reverse mortgage (currently, the requirement only applies to federally insured reverse mortgages).

Milan firm sued

A federal class action lawsuit alleging that Farmland Foods did not pay employees for the time they spent getting into and out of safety gear, cleaning it and walking to and from their workstations, also known as "donning and doffing," has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri. David T. Butsch of the Clayton, Mo., law firm of Butsch Simeri Fields LLC, along with the St. Paul, Minn., firm of Larson · King LLP and The Farwell Law Firm LLC, of Kirksville, Mo., filed the suit on April 29, 2010. The name of the case is Jacob Ingersoll et al. v. Farmland Foods, Inc., no. 5:10-cv-06046-REL.

Five Farmland employees working in the company's Milan, Mo., processing facility filed suit on behalf of themselves, as well as current and former workers in the facility. The workers allege that federal and state wage-and-hour laws were violated when the company requires employees to be ready to work, with personal protective gear on, when the production line starts running but refuses to pay them for the time spent gearing up at the beginning of the day or cleaning up at the end of the workday. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, "donning and doffing" time is work time that must be compensated. "Farmland's workers are entitled to be paid the full amount of wages they have earned," explains Butsch, "and they want Farmland to revise its pay practices and follow the law." Several recent cases involving donning and doffing demonstrate the savings companies hope to achieve by violating the wage-and-hour laws:

€ In 2007, Gold'n Plump Poultry Inc. agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle donning-and-doffing claims brought by poultry workers in its Minnesota and Wisconsin processing plants. € In 2006, George's Processing Inc. agreed to pay $1.24 million in back pay to its poultry workers in a settlement negotiated with the Department of Labor. € Workers at various meat and poultry processing companies, including IBP Inc. and Perdue Farms, have benefited from settlements and judgments ranging from $8.4 million to $10 million in back pay. Mr. Butsch invites employees of the Milan plant to contact his firm at 314-863-5700 or fairwages@bsf-law.com if they wish to obtain information on the lawsuit and how they can participate. Federal law prohibits an employer from retaliating against any employee who seeks enforcement of labor laws.

McCaskill: Rural Users will see Increased Local Coverage on Satellite Television

As the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010 heads to the President for his signature, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today applauded the inclusion in the new law of a measure she fought for during Senate consideration of the bill. Specifically, because of McCaskill’s efforts, the legislation will provide satellite television users with access to local channels in all designated markets. Previously, many rural communities could not get their local tv channels via satellite service. In Missouri, markets that will now have access to their local stations are Kirksville and St. Joseph. Users in all other Missouri markets currently have access to local channels from satellite providers.

“In Missouri, it’s important that people get local news, if for no other reason than to have up to date information about severe weather,” McCaskill said. “This measure will mean people in rural areas will have access to local channels even if they choose a satellite provider.”

In advance of a hearing late last year, McCaskill learned that in certain rural areas of Missouri, satellite providers do not provide access to local channels and instead supply viewers with local news from regions that are not close by, such as New York or Los Angeles. McCaskill believes that local television and local news is extremely important to Missourians.

Satellite providers often cite economic conditions as the reason that they cannot provide local coverage in rural areas. In response, another amendment sponsored by McCaskill that was included in the final version requires the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to study any economic conditions that may be preventing satellite carriers from providing local coverage in certain areas.

Fountain Replaced with Bottled Water

The Worth County Commission voted to replace the fountain with bottled water on each floor level in the Courthouse. Presiding Commissioner Kevin Austin said that the water out of the fountain was not fit to drink and smelled even before the present fountain was disconnected, citing the frequent boil orders and what he said were dirty pipes. He offered to pay for it personally, but the other two commissioners voted to have the county pay for the bottled water after he left the meeting, saying that having bottled water would be more sanitary. The county had a plumber look at the fountain and he told the county that it didn't have a filter and that it couldn't be retrofitted. Austin left the meeting just 45 minutes after calling it to order due to illness. West Commissioner Dennis Gabbert was appointed to take the place of Austin in his absence.

It was reported that the Village of Denver is seeking a grant for a bulldozer, for which they might be eligible for a higher percentage under the USDA grant/loan program. The county is partnering with Denver in the effort; Economic Developer Charity Austin said that she would check into the possibility. It was reported that Caldwell County had gotten a similar grant with one of its townships under this program. Denver is also in the process of getting a loan for a new emergency siren.

Road and Bridge Crew Foreman Jim Fletchall reported that the 2007 Caterpillar grader was broken down and that the county crews were in the process of trying to determine the problem. It was binding in the turntable. Parts needs were discussed and Fletchall reported that the county was ready to start bridge work in a week or so, starting with the Nonneman Bridge. He relayed a request from Larry Scott for ditching and a tube on Road #87. Dennis Gabbert reported that the Batson bottom was rutting, needed ditch work, and needed crowned.

Much of the discussion centered around a permanent solution for the Cook Bridge north of Allendale. The bridge was put in around 1988 and had not been engineered. At the time it was put in, there was no water running underneath, but now, the water runs underneath all the time and runs over the road regularly. Fletchall said that a permanent solution would involve raising the bridge six feet so that it is the highest point and getting brush removed. In the worst-case scenario, the water goes over the guardrails. There had been one low spot which had always overflowed, but it has gotten progressively worse since the flooding of 2007 and 2008.

County Clerk Lisa Hargrave reported that the Courthouse Roof was continuing to leak. While recent repairs had narrowed down the leaking, it was continuing to leak in one area and that a roofer would come in and give an evaluation for the county. East Commissioner Rob Ruckman said that when they originally built the slate roof in the 19th century, it was the best that they had, but that it was not the best solution now. He worried about how the roof would handle hail damage in the event of strong storms.

Jim Fletchall said that a lot of the feedback that he got concerned mud on the roads and trenching work that was needed. Another problem was what to do in the event that phone lines underneath the roads were exposed; East Commissioner Rob Ruckman said to grade them anyway, saying that it was more important to properly crown the roads and fix them up in the long term.

The Commission attempted to seek out bids for fuel, but only got one bidder this time. Previously, the county had automatically gotten its fuel from MFA, but decided to get bids this time in an effort to get a better deal. After commissioners called prospective bidders, the county decided to reject the one bid received and restart the bidding process over again.

Tiger Boys Second at Districts

Worth County's boys finished second at Districts with 88 points, which was 10 points behind Stanberry. They were part of a three-way dogfight for first place as Rock Port was third with 81 points. Mound City was fourth with 64 points and Craig 5th with 61 points.

The Tigers finished 1-3 in the Pole Vault as Zach Harmening won with a leap of 11'6". Harmening elected to go for 12'6 after winning the event, nearly clearing it before knocking down the bar on his way down on one of his jumps. Alex Harmening was third with a jump of 10'6". Worth County then went 2-4 in the Long Jump. Eli Mullock was second in the event with a jump of 18'11.5", which was good enough for second place in the windy conditions. Grant Parman was 4th with a jump of 18'1.25". Both of them will be back and provide the Tiger boys with a steady punch in that event. Zach Harmening narrowly missed qualifying in the Triple Jump as his leap of 37'0.75" was three quarters of an inch behind the fourth place finisher.

Qualifying in the Discus was Brian Hall with a throw of 126'11", which was good enough for second place. Dallas Greenland added a 6th place finish with a throw of 110'10". Hall also qualified in the Shot Put with a throw of 41'6", which was good enough for third place.

The 4x800 Relay Team of Mitch Andrews, Jordan Harding, Dakota Owsley, and Bryce Ross qualified with a second place finish of 9:12.29, which was 12 seconds behind Stanberry. Eli Mullock won the 100 with a run of 11.25; this was four tenths of a second ahead of Mound City's Gage Rosier. Barrett Baker was 6th with a time of 12.12. Mitchell Andrews, after nursing an injury through much of the stretch run of the track season, came back to qualify for the 1600 with a 4th place finish with a time of 5:10.90. The 4x100 Relay Team of Barrett Baker, Dallas Greenland, Alex Harmening, and Bryce Ross was the second relay team to qualify for the Worth County boys with a 4th place finish and a time of 47.62.

Jordan Harding ran one of his best times of the year in the 800 and qualified for it with a time of 2:11.62. That was good enough for 4th place and a trip to sectionals. Eli Mullock punched his ticket to Albany with a win in the 200, beating Mound City's Gage Rosier by 27 hundreths of a second with a time of 23.52. Levi Kalal missed qualifying in the 3200, but still finished with one of his best times of the year with a run of 11:53. The 4x400 team of Mitch Andrews, Jordan Harding, Zach Harmening, and Ryan Smith missed qualifying, finishing 6th with a time of 3:59.00.

On the girls side, Chelsea Ebrus qualified in the Pole Vault with a leap of 7'6", which was good enough for fourth place. That was her best jump of the year. Both Lauren Null and Ebrus had been trying to break the seven foot barrier all year; Null did so at the GRC Meet and nearly cleared 8 feet; it was Ebrus' turn to break the 7-foot barrier Saturday. Brooke Gilland and Jessica Garrett finished 3-4 in the 100 Hurdles as both of them qualified for sectionals. Gilland ran for a time of 17.38 while Garrett finished with a time of 17.45. Both of them will be back next year.

Lauren Null was 6th in the 1600 in a tough field as she did not qualify for the event; she ran for a time of 6:36.34. But the 4x100 relay team of Chelsea Ebrus, Jessica Garrett, Kiley Reynolds, and Brooke Gilland qualified by finishing fourth with a time of 56.40 in the event.

Jacqueline Takes Three at Home Away from Home

Standout Northeast Nodaway athlete Jacqueline Schulte once again outdid herself as she took three first place finishes at the District Track Meet Saturday. Northeast Nodaway does not have a track of its own, but it seems that Jacqueline has found a home away from home as she won her specialty events of the 1600 and 3200 and added a surprise win in the Triple Jump as well. Her two best performances of the year in the 3200 were both at Worth County; she shattered two meet records and set a personal best in the 1600 earlier this year at the Tiger Relays. And at the Early Bird, she established dominance in both the 1600 and 3200 after she had been in several thrilling races in those two events last year.

Things started out innocently enough for Jac as she had two ordinary jumps in the Triple Jump of 30'2" and 31'4" going into the wind. She was not even expecting to qualify as there were four other athletes who had beaten her during the year and only the top four advance from districts to sectionals. But then it was obvious that it was going to be her day as she would go on to do some of her best jumping all year; she jumped 32 feet into the wind and never looked back. All three of her remaining jumps were over 32 feet, with her best jump being 32'8". That was good enough to tie her for first place with Mound City's Taylor Miles, who had finished ahead of her all year in that event. Schulte got the tiebreak in the event as her second-best jump was farther than Miles', who didn't have a second jump farther than 31'4".

It looked like another duel between Schulte and Mound City's Jordyn Pankau was in the offing, but Pankau fell to fourth by the middle of the second lap and didn't even finish the race. It was Rock Port's Abbey Lawrence, running one of her best times of the year, who pushed Jacqueline in the 1600, keeping up with her stride for stride in the first two laps of the race. But Jacqueline steadily pulled away and finished with 5:44.03, which she was pleased with, given the brutal conditions.

But it was the 3200 in which she really shined as she ran away from Rock Port's Lacy Kirkland early and was never threatened. It became a race for Jacqueline against time as she sought to erase the 17-year record held by Jefferson's Dana Luke. She fell behind five seconds at one point after starting off several seconds ahead, but she picked up the pace and erased it by the last lap. Then, thinking that she wasn't going to get the record and just wanting to finish as strongly as she could, she picked up the pace on the final lap even more. As she made the final turn, everyone from all the schools gave her a big round of applause as she came into the straightaway on a dead sprint. And when it was all over, she had set the new District Record with a personal best time of 12:14 -- all done in the wind and the cold.

Teamwise, Northeast finished with a total of 52 points, which was good enough for 5th place. Michelle Schulte missed qualifying in the High Jump as she jumped 4'8", but had more misses and finished 5th in tiebreaks. However, she did qualify in the Long Jump, finishing second to Jefferson's Shanna Welch. She struggled with her location, jumping behind the board much of the event, but got stronger as the event progressed and saved her two best jumps for last. Sarah Teaney got a break in the 300 Hurdles as both of the top two seeds ahead of her faltered; one of them false-started and one of them fell on the 5th hurdle and didn't finish the race. Consequently, Teaney placed in the event, getting 5th and running one of her better times of the year with a 57.17.

Michelle Schulte won the 800 and qualified with a time of 2:32.71. Continuing her duel with Larissa Kirkland and Abbey Lawrence, she took the lead early this time and did not let the Rock Port duo catch her. It was Lawrence who Michelle passed at the last possible moment to win in Rock Port, but this time, it was Kirkland who pushed Michelle, staying 1-2 steps behind her until the final stretch when Michelle finally opened some breathing room. Michelle won with a time of 2:32.71, just over one second ahead of Kirkland. Lawrence was third, almost three seconds behind.

Junior High Boys 3rd in Tight Race at GRC

Worth County's Junior High Boys were third in a tight race for the top at the GRC Meet Thursday. Several different teams had a chance at the crown, but the boys were third, ten points behind the winning Princeton team. Princeton won with 77 points while Albany was second with 75 points and Worth County 67. Hamilton was fourth with 65 points and Stanberry 5th with 58 as five different teams were bunched together within 20 points during the afternoon.

Placing second in the High Jump was Shane Kollitz with a jump of 5'4"; he was one of three people to achieve that jump and was second on tiebreaks. Worth County was able to achieve a 2-3-4 finish in the Pole Vault. Wyatt Rush was second in the event with a jump of 9 feet while Andrew Mullock was third with a jump of 8'6". Placing fourth was Dillon Schrock, also with a jump of 8'6". Placing 6th in the Long Jump was Cole Parman with a jump of 14'5.25". The Tigers placed two in the Discus as Wyatt Rush won with a throw of 102'0.5". Also placing in the Discus was Josh Warner with a throw of 82'11, good enough for fifth. Caleb Mace was 6th in the Shot Put with a throw of 34'7.5".

In the 100 Meter Hurdles, Aaron Green was second with a time of 17.15. Andrew Mullock was 6th in the 100 Meter Dash with a time of 13.50. Worth County won the 4x200 as the team of Wyatt Rush, Shane Kollitz, Andrew Mullock, and Dillon Schrock won by almost three seconds of Maysville with a time of 1:52.16. Dillon Schrock was 5th in the 800 with a time of 2:28.61. Green was third in the 200 with a time of 26.66.